Grab a cuppa and settle in. Kristen broadcast her latest episode of  Free Spirit Beading on a rainy Monday morning. Nothing better than making jewelry in a cozy place while rain tick tacks on the window panes. Kristen realized she had an abundance of  jump rings and wanted to incorporate them into her next jewelry design. During this episode, she makes a couple of necklaces with beads from  Jesse James Beads and components from Soft Flex.

Free Spirit Beading airs on Mondays at 12:00pm PST. Free Spirit Beading is a live beaded  jewelry making series on YouTube. Kristen is a free spirited designer that loves to create. She does not worry about perfection. She believes that art is a journey and part of that journey is making mistakes and living with them. If you miss an episode, you can find it in our YouTube library.

Kristen starts the video discussing the rain. Arizona is overcast and it is lovely. The summer heat is finally retreating and it is time for fall! Kristen is wearing orange today. She is wearing the  black and orange earrings she made during the last episode of Free Spirit Beading. She is wearing an orange headband. She is wearing her  Vitality Kumihimo bracelet she created during a September episode.

Kristen says she is working with the new Trios today.  Autumn Spice is our latest Trios package. Autumn Spice comes with Citrine, Red Jasper, and Purple Amethyst spools of  Soft Flex Beading Wire. Kristen plans to string some necklaces with Citrine and Purple Amethyst.

Kristen discusses our sales. Soft Flex always has a good deal going on, on the  homepage. Sales are a great way to stock up before the holidays.

Kristen says she wanted to work with our  Austrian Crystal Squaredelle line. The Squaredelles are lovely and on closeout, they are a great buy. But she had already used all of her Squaredelles in other designs. She shows a piece she made with Fire Agate Beads and light sapphire  Squaredelles. The necklace is strung on 24K Gold Extreme Flex Wire. The toggle is a matching light sapphire. The Squaredelles we carry come in toggles, charms and beads. Kristen shows a matching bracelet she made to complement the necklace. If you would like to make the  bracelet and necklace, instructions can be found on our site. Click on SCHOOL OF DESIGN at the top of the page. Click on  Free Project Ideas. The instructions are in both Necklaces and Bracelets.

Kristen realized she had an abundance of jump rings as she went through her jewelry making supplies. She decided to work on a jump ring project. Initially she thought about a chain mail project. She decided she did not have the patience for making chain mail at the moment. Perhaps she will explore that at a later date. She recalled seeing jump rings strung as a design component. She decided that was going to be her next project. Simple, fun and will exhaust some of the many jump rings in her beading stash.

Kristen shows us her beading supplies. She has a bead mat. She has 4mm copper jump rings. She has 16mm to 18mm copper beads from  Jesse James Beads. She has Cathedral Fire Polished Czech Glass Beads from  Fusion Beads or Shipwreck Beads. She has Purple Amethyst color beading wire and Citrine color beading wire in .019 medium diameter. 

Kristen shows the tools she will be using. She has  flat nose pliers, chain nose pliers, and Magical Crimping Pliers. If you do not have Magical Crimping Pliers, regular crimping pliers are fine.  Magical Crimping Pliers turn a crimp tube into a rounded bead. They are great if you do not like the look of a finished crimp and use crimp covers to hide your crimps. The rounded bead finish basically replaces the need for crimp covers. Kristen has  2mm crimps for these projects and lobster clasps.

Kristen says to make sure your jump rings are all closed for this. She shows how to close a jump ring with two pliers. She says you want to open a jump ring by twisting the ends slightly. If you open a jump ring by pulling the two ends, you will lose the circular shape of your jump ring. 

Kristen starts her first necklace. She is using Citrine color Soft Flex Beading Wire. She unspools a little wire. She leaves the wire on the spool so one end is secured. Bead Stoppers can be used for this if you do not want to leave your wire on the spool. Simply string your wire at the desired length and clip a  Bead Stopper on the end of the wire so nothing slides off it. Bead Stoppers are great if you do not have time to finish a project. You can place a Bead Stopper at each end of a design and crimp it later.

Kristen strings six jump rings on the wire. She adds three beads. She strings six more jump rings. If you want to create a similar design, you can string any number of jump rings or beads to make your piece your own. Kristen says she likes the way the jump rings seem to dance on the wire. Kristen continues her design with more beads and more jump rings. She does not string the entire length of the wire. If you plan to string the entire length of your wire on your designs, Satin Silver color is a good option. Satin Silver is a matte silver. If you plan to expose the wire on your designs, choosing a good color option is a must. Soft Flex has a wide range of colors that will enhance your jewelry.

Kristen wants to crimp her beads in place. She says if you are using regular crimping pliers, you can crimp the bead on a single strand of wire. If you are using Magical Crimping Pliers, it is best to crimp with two wires. Since she is floating her beads on a single strand of wire, she adds a tiny piece of soft flex so the bead will close on two wires. She  cuts the excess wire off so the second wire is not visible on the finished piece. This will give that crimp a little extra security. She crimps both ends of the beads.

Watch the rest of the video for some great tips and tricks. Kristen discusses Kumihimo braiding. She shows a flat Kumihimo bracelet she made. She makes another necklace with Purple Amethyst color Soft Flex. She shows a design she strung with  Pro Econoflex Wire, she finishes this with chain crimped to her wire. She discusses  how to crimp with regular crimping pliers and more.

Note your calendars for Mondays if you enjoyed this video. Free Spirit Beading airs on Mondays at 11:00am PST. If you watch live, you can interact with Kristen and she will answer any questions you might have about bead stringing or art in general. Kristen is a talented jewelry designer, painter, and author. Picking her brain about designing is always fun.

Join our  Facebook group – VIB. VIB is a community of jewelry designers and jewelry lovers. There is a lot of inspiration and a bunch of fun pictures posted daily.

Visit the Soft Flex Company YouTube Channel!

Blog contributor Thomas Soles is the Trade Show Coordinator for Soft Flex Company. His favorite stones are Lapis and Pietersite. His favorite hobby is day dreaming. And his favorite mustache is Tom Selleck's. As you can see, he has a healthy (or possibly unhealthy) sense of humor. You can write to him at Thomas@SoftFlexCompany.com