Jan 6th 2022

Sparkle In A Winter Wonderland

by Thomas Soles

Well, the holidays are over and life is returning to a familiar busy pace. We hope you had some time to relax and take a needed break. After sharing warm moments and good fun with our friends and family we are back to work. We are adding wonderful new beading supplies to our site and filming jewelry making videos that are instructive and fun. This blog is loaded with great tips and beading ideas. Make a resolution to make jewelry this year!

The holidays are over. But winter just started. Today we are looking at videos that we filmed over the holiday break. Lots of great ideas here. Bundle up and make jewelry with us! You are going to love the chilly snowman jewelry that Kristen made. Kay Goss, from Star's Beads, has a gorgeous necklace for the New Year. Celebrate 2022 in style with stardust and sparkles. Nealay Patel, from SilverSilk & More, has a big class of jewelry demonstrations. This is a magnetic mix of New Year's fashion!

Snowman Golem Studio Winter Ceramic Bead Set

We adore Golem Studio beads. We think you will too (if you don't already)! Add a little holiday magic with a collection of these wonderful beads from Golem Studios. These fun collections are perfect for handmade ornaments, holidays decorations or playful jewelry that is perfect for the holiday season. Share a little magic with friends and family that love to make crafts and jewelry. These beads are fantastic as gifts. But you will probably want to keep them for yourself. Don't worry, that won't put you on a naughty list. We wish you the happiest December ever. If you turn your Golem Studio beads into a fun beaded design, make sure you visit our Facebook group and share it with us!

From Golem Design Studio:

We (Vladislav Ivanov and Kremena Ivanova) are an artist family from Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria. We have been working as a team, gradually gaining experience in the ceramic art - different techniques, clays and glazes since 1992. We work as a company since the year 2000, when Golem Design Studio was officially born. Since 2005 we have been successfully dealing with retail and wholesale clients from USA, UK, Australia and few other countries. Our first appearance at a bead show in USA was in 2007, at To Bead True Blue in Tucson, AZ. Starting in 2010 we won several prizes in the Bead Dreams competition, a competition organized by the people behind Bead & Button Magazine and Bead & Button Show in Milwaukee, WI. Living on a crossroad between Europe and Asia we have developed eclectic interests and tastes, which are reflected in each of our beads and pendants. Although our work cannot be associated with any specific national tradition or style, we incorporate patterns taken from a variety of ancient and contemporary art forms.

Jewelry Making Videos

Follow Us On TikTok And Instagram - Learn How To Craft and Make Jewelry In Just Minutes

Follow us on the web! Our social media sites are loaded with instructional jewelry making videos YouTube and Facebook have a ton of long form videos that will teach you how to make jewelry. You will find in depth discussions on how to use your tools and finish your jewelry on those channels. Our Instagram page and SoftFlexWire@TikTok will teach you how to make jewelry in under a minute. Smash that learning curve and learn a new technique at lightning speed. Instagram Reels and TikTok are great tools for learning something new or finding quick inspiration. If your creativity needs a quick cup of coffee, make sure you visit us for a much needed jolt of crafting caffeine!

Visit our Instagram Reels

Check out our 30 second jewelry tutorials on Soft Flex Company's Instagram Reels! Master a new technique in minutes. These videos move quick but are easy to follow. You will get a sense of how to use your tools and finish your crimps securely. If you need more assistance, make sure you check out our YouTube catalog for deeper dives into jewelry making education. Stand on the shoulders of giants and enhance your jewelry making knowledge in a flash!

Visit us on TikTok

Got a minute? Follow us on the Soft Flex TikTok Page! Learn how to make jewelry with a fun soundtrack. Sara is here to show you how to make something amazing in just a minute. This is a great quickie if you need the basics. You can always follow up with more in depth videos on our YouTube channel if you need extra help. Sara has ideas for bead stringing, wire wrapping, and so much more. Learn from a jewelry designer pro at the pace you choose!

Cute Jewelry For Winter - Snowman Ceramic Beads & Chilly Czech Glass

Snowmen are such a fun and iconic symbol of the coldest season. Clumsily put together by excited children or added with precision by people that have spent their lives perfecting the art of the carrot nose and button eyes. What better way to walk through winter in style than with a cute set of snowman jewelry? Kristen showed us how she made a festive necklace and snowman earrings. You are going to love this episode of Free Spirit Beading if you love Frosty the Snowman.

Snowmen are a great representation of handmade crafts in general. When you create something by hand, it might have bumps and flaws, but it is an act of love. We think handcrafted jewelry should be fun and have an occasional imperfection. It gives the jewelry an organic look and adds character. Free Spirit Beading is a show that celebrates embracing the kinks and bruises of DIY jewelry, but continuing on and enjoying the journey. Kristen shows you how to avoid being a perfectionist and how to overlook an error or possibly add it into the final design. Watch this fun artist in action! You are going to learn a lot!

Jewelry Making Supplies:

Small Teeny Tiny Beads, Winter Holiday Ceramic Beads For Playful Jewelry Making
Sparkle and Shine Bead Mix
Soft Flex Beading Wire, .019 Diameter in White Quartz
2x2mm Crimp Tubes
Magical Crimping Pliers
Ear Wires
Cutters

Snowman Necklace and Earrings by Kristen Fagan

Bead With Me - Kay Goss Countdown To New Years

Kay started the year off with a gorgeous necklace that is perfect for winter. The colorway is on par with the brisk chill in the air. But it can be worn any time if you change up the colors. It looks amazing and Kay is so fun to watch. Check out her online beading classes!

Kay is a good friend of the Soft Flex family. She is a talented jewelry designer and co-owner of Star's Beads. We met Kay on the road. We traveled in similar circles for decades. We set our booth up at the same shows as she did. We got to watch her business grow. And we saw her start a family. When COVID hit, Kay faced the challenge of maintaining a brick and mortar store during the pandemic. She considered her options and decided that moving to the digital realm was the best option. Her store is amazing as ever and you do not even have to live nearby, anymore. Check her out online and support her small business. Small businesses are helmed by passionate people that care about the products they sell. Kay's store is full of exceptional products and she is there to educate you on how best to use the items she sells.

From Kay:

Upcycle from the jewelry jar of Thriftmas and learn more for the New Year's eve upcycle challenge. A quick sneak peek at something new too! See the unboxing here https://fb.watch/aaTzeGpuRL/ If you enjoy this video, make sure you check out Kay's links!

Join Kay for Bead with Me!

Need something to do? Do something creative! Check out Kay’s new series Bead with Me to get you inspired. Get free video tutorials, design tips, and product highlights to keep you creating!

Bead with Me is a LIVE broadcast designed to offer inspiration with free video tutorials, guest artists, project tips, product highlights plus custom kits and care packages to make your designs uniquely you!

Airing Monday thru Thursday on FB Live

Visit Kay's links:

Beadorea
Star's Clasps
Facebook
Pinterest

NYE Stardust & Sparkles Workshop From SilverSilk

Nealay Patel is the owner of SilverSilk & More. SilverSilk is a knitted wire jewelry chain. But, it is like no other jewelry chain out in the craft market. SilverSilk is made by many tiny latch-hook needles that spin around with wire, intricately machine-stitching the wire into an elegant yet strong and supple knitted wire chain. This knitted wire stitchwork offers the crafter new and unusual ways to use it. You can string large-hole beads on it, sew through it, wire-wrap it, glue it, put it in resin or just leave it as a draped jewelry chain. We love SilverSilk chain, it is the perfect complement to Soft Flex Craft Wire or beading wire. These beading elements can be interwoven and wire wrapped into exciting new jewelry. Design something elegant and rich today with these two stringing options. Your finished jewelry will look like you bought it from a high end gallery!

NYE Stardust & Sparkles Workshop: Stardust Necklace