We had a blast this week! Those of us living in the U.S. celebrated our independence with fireworks and barbecues. We showered the sky with radiant bursts of color and cacophony. The 4th is a great holiday to spend with friends. Or you can make it a day for family. Now we are looking forward to Christmas. If you love to make DIY Christmas decorations and handmade ornaments, it is a good idea to get started early. Want a little bang of seasonal inspiration? Come check out our week in review!
Kristen continued her summer suncatcher series. This time, she made an orange suncatcher with craft wire. This is a great craft if you want to use beads that do not fit a necklace or jewelry design idea. Any shape or color is fair game for a suncatcher. Perfect for a deep dive into your bead soup. On Wednesday, we threw a beading party with Sam Siegel of Sam's Bead Shop. We caught Sam during a very busy time - he is in the middle of moving and totally forgot about the show. Regardless, Sam made an appearance and we caught up. We opened one of his subscription boxes (Sam's Bead Box) and made jewelry. It was a fun hour of beading - even if things did not go as planned!
Do you love the holidays? Make sure you catch our Christmas in July collaboration. We have joined with 6 beading companies to kickstart your seasonal creativity. We have DIY Christmas ornament ideas you will love! You can find the video below. Stay tuned for a full blog soon, we will share the finished designs and fun!
We caught up with friends on YouTube. Marcie Creates and Rosanna Brafford showed us how to make earrings with our Lavender Lemonade Design Kit. Juicy summer jewelry ideas are so fun. Stay cool this summer and bead the heat with your favorite new handmade earrings. Finally, Beki Foster showed us how to paint with watercolors and designed a Summer Sunrise necklace.
It is so hot outside. Let's cool off and get creative!
Jewelry Making Videos
DIY Rainbow Beaded Sun Catcher With Orange Craft Wire
This week on Free Spirit Beading, we watched Kristen make an orange suncatcher with Soft Flex Craft Wire. If you are following her summer series, this is design six. When she is finished, she will have a stellar suncatcher full of sparkling beads. To complete this wire wrapped project, Kristen used leftover beads from our design kits and Czech Glass from her stash. Want to try a new project this summer? This handmade home decoration is the perfect idea for brightening a porch or common space.
Soft Flex Craft Wire in 16ga & 22ga
Bead MixesCzech Glass Beads
Nylon Jaw PliersRound Nose Pliers
Flat Nose Pliers
Chain Nose PliersBent Nose Pliers
Multi-Size Mandrel Wire Looping Tool
Wire Whacker
Cutters
Live Beading Party With Sam Siegel Of Sam's Bead Shop - Sam's Bead Box Jewelry
We love Sam Siegel this bright and young business owner is always on the go. He has a wonderful personality and an incredible eye for gemstones and beads. Every beading party is an adventure and a fun time for all. We think this party was a success - even if it didn't quite turn out the way we expected.
After Sara had a great chat with Sam, she then made a gorgeous summer bracelet. If you want to learn how to make a necklace to accompany the bracelet, make sure you check out the Instagram Reel she filmed!
From Sam:
I think it really started to sink in yesterday that this move is full steam ahead! I got so focused on making sure we were prepared for the movers on Friday that I managed to blank on my beading party with our friends over at Soft Flex Company! Sam!!!!
I finally answered Rachel’s call as I finished stuffing plastic totes into my car at Home Depot. She was checking in to see what was up. I felt pretty bad when I realized I dropped the ball. I was on a roll all day, checking off tasks for the move. That feeling came to halt pretty quick.
Luckily, Sara Oehler of Soft Flex is pretty awesome and understanding. She started the show having not heard from me. I popped on about 10 minutes late… from the Home Depot parking lot. Once we started chatting I realized, maybe this isn’t the worst thing and I can give myself some grace.
It became a unique moment to get to share a glimpse into the move. It’s something the whole crew and I are very excited about. I’m so excited that even my mundane plastic totes and first plant purchase for the new office felt like joyous things to share. Thanks again to Sara for keeping the show moving! I told her, we surely won’t forget this one!
Sam's Bead Box
Soft Flex Beading Wire Trios
Soft Flex Craft Wire
Nylon Jaw Pliers
Round Nose Pliers
2x2mm Soft Flex Crimp Tubes
Magical Crimping Pliers
Cutters
Check out the video for the bracelet and then move on over to Instagram and learn how to make a perfect necklace to pair with the bracelet!
Christmas In July Ornament Making Party - A Collaboration Of 6 Beading Companies
If you are a creative and love to make your holiday gifts, there is no better time to start planning for Christmas! Catch our Christmas in July ornament making party for home decoration ideas. Deck the halls with DIY holiday crafts or give them out as gifts!
We are collaborating with six exciting jewelry companies to kickstart your holiday crafting. Learn how to make many different styles of ornaments. Celebrate Christmas in July with some of your favorite bead artists and their companies: Cassandra Spicer for Beads to Live By, Rebecca Combs for Design & Adorn, Abbi Berta for The Bead Place, Danielle Wickes for John Bead, Joyce Trowbridge for Just Bead It and Sara Oehler for Soft Flex Company.
Follow our blog. We will publish a wrap up with all of the finished designs and fun, soon!
Marcie Creates: Earrings With The Lavender Lemonade Jewelry Making Kit
Rosanna Brafford: How To Make Earrings With The Lavender Lemonade Kit
Beki Foster: Summer Sunrise Necklace And Watercolor Demonstration
Join our Facebook group – VIB. Stay in the know. Stay up to date. From our bead shows to our video shows and sales, you can stay in touch with us. The community is full of artistic and helpful beaders and crafty people. Inspire and be inspired. Share your pictures and get the beading bug from others!
Visit the Soft Flex Company YouTube Channel!
Blog contributor Thomas Soles loves Jazz Age writers and crunchy french fries. His favorite gemstones are Lapis and Pietersite. His favorite hobby is day dreaming. And his favorite mustache is Freddie Mercury's. As you can see, he has a healthy (or possibly unhealthy) sense of humor. You can write to him at Thomas@SoftFlexCompany.com