The big event is here! The world's largest virtual bead show is back! The Great Bead Extravaganza kicks off tonight with Preview Night. Meet the exhibitors and designers that make this beading bonanza so exciting. This weekend is going to be loaded with jewelry making demonstrations, sales, giveaways, and more. Be a part of the biggest bead show on the internet! Also, do you love Pantone's Color of the Year? Check out our Very Peri color beading supplies!
The Great Bead Extravaganza is back. Have you joined us for previous shows? If not, you missed out on so much fun! Don't worry, you can catch up, check out our TGBE blogs. If you want a preview for the upcoming show, check out our guide to the Tucson 2022 edition of TGBE. Make sure you join the shows live so you can participate and win giveaways! If you cannot be there during the live demos, you can check out the replays later.
This week, Kristen filmed her episode of Free Spirit Beading on Valentine's Day, to celebrate, she used a heart bead as the focal in her design. If you are not a fan of the bubble gum pinks of this holiday, you will love this mature Valentine's bracelet. Sara is back after a loss in her family. She is using beading as a healing art. Make Very Peri earrings with her and see what new products we have on our shelves. Sam Siegel welcomes his sister Rachel to his shop, she is now an official part of the crew. We have the first beading class they taught together - learn how to wire wrap brios! Wendy Whitman shows off a stacked bracelet jewelry demonstration. She uses beads she got from the Bargain Bead Box. Finally, Nealay Patel, from SilverSilk, reveals his new designing product and shows us how easy it is to use. Learn how to make a bracelet with SilverSilk Pipe Chain. This is a great week for beading!
2022 Pantone Color of the Year Duo of Beading Wire (Very Peri)
2022 Pantone Color of the Year Duo of Beading Wire (Very Peri) - Tanzanite and Purple Amethyst
Celebrate Pantone color with this collection of beading wire. This year, rather than select a pre-existing color, Pantone has created a new color for their Color of the Year. They took a calming blue and married it with a radiant red. The gorgeous mix is a periwinkle tone they named Very Peri. We have selected two colors that are a stunning accent for this Pantone selection. Tanzanite and Purple Amethyst Soft Flex Beading Wire is going to look amazing with your Very Peri beads! Design with color in mind and make jewelry that is fashion forward. Pantone is the authority on trending color. Make sure you grab the 2022 Pantone Color of the Year Very Peri Bead Mix and Chain too! (Bead Mix Sold Separately)
"As we move into a world of unprecedented change, the selection of PANTONE 17-3938 Very Peri brings a novel perspective and vision of the trusted and beloved blue color family, encompassing the qualities of the blues, yet at the same time with its violet red undertone, PANTONE 17-3938 Very Peri displays a spritely, joyous attitude and dynamic presence that encourages courageous creativity and imaginative expressions."
~ Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute.
Duos Color Wire Sets let you apply color theory to your next design.
Duos Color Wire is a lead-free beading wire for designers that want to create jewelry with color mixing in mind. Duos Color Wire Sets encapsulate the vivid palette of nature and the glamour of the fashion world. Duos Color Wire Sets are comprised of two 10 foot spools of beading wire: Soft Touch .019 (Medium) in Satin Silver and Soft Flex .019 (Medium) in Yellow. Both are constructed of 49 micro woven stainless steel wires.
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!
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!
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!
The Great Bead Extravaganza Tucson 2022 Is Here!
The Great Bead Extravaganza is back! You do not want to miss out on a minute of the fun. Check in for Preview Night and meet the lovely exhibitors of the show. Enjoy some laughs and see what everybody has in store for the big bead show. Lots of the crew of TGBE have been to Tucson many times and they have insight and stories to share!
Once the show commences, make sure you join us live. There are giveaways and sales that you do not want to miss out on. Also, attending a jewelry demonstration live gives you the opportunity to engage with your favorite designers. Ask them questions or just see what new jewelry they are planning to make. Who knows, you might even make some new friends in chat. This is a fun community full of creative people. You are bound to find a like-minded friend!
Join us LIVE for the Tucson edition of The Great Bead Extravaganza.
Preview night kicks off tonight, February 18th.
The show dates are February 19th - 20th
Don't miss Sara and Kristen's jewelry making demo on Saturday, February 19th - 1:30p - 2:30p (PT) / 4:30p - 5:30p (ET). They will be using TGBE kits and bead mixes to make something marvelous.
Links:
The Great Bead Extravaganza Site
Official Facebook Page
TGBE Instagram
TGBE YouTube
Protect Your Heart Bracelet Jewelry Making Tutorial
Are you excited for the latest edition of the Great Bead Extravaganza? This online event is a super fun way to experience the sales and magic of a big bead show, without leaving the house. Two days of unique jewelry making demonstrations and fun presentations are in store for you. Kristen shared a preview of the Soft Flex jewelry demo for TGBE. If you want to see what Sara and Kristen have planned for their segment, you can get an idea here.
On this episode of Free Spirit Beading, Kristen celebrated Valentine's Day with a beautiful bracelet. The centerpiece of the bracelet is a heart bead from Green Girl Studios. The finished design is a dance of gold, red coral, black, and silver. It is great if you love this holiday but prefer more mature jewelry designs, rather than the popping pink and radiant red. If you are not a fan of Cupid, you can always change up the colorway and remove the heart - we won't judge!
Kristen created her jewelry with beads from our Lunar New Year Design Kit (Sold Out) and our Retro Christmas Bead Mix (Sold Out). Buying a kit or a bead mix from us is a great way to work with a theme. All of our collections have a fun concept. But, they are also great if you just want to restock your beading supplies and add them without keeping the theme intact. For this bracelet, Kristen used beads from two very different themes and in the end, they came together beautifully. Don't miss out, our design kits and bed mixes are limited in inventory and they sell out fast!
Soft Flex Beading Wire .019 Diameter in Red Coral color
Beads from our Lunar New Year Design Kit (Sold Out)
Beads from our Retro Christmas Bead Mix (Sold Out)
Hammertone Rondelle Beads
Czech Glass Mini Dagger
Green Girl Studios Heart Bead
Bead Stoppers
Hammered Metal Texture Magnet Clasp
2x2mm Crimp Tubes
Crimping Pliers
Cutters
Very Peri, Pantone Color Of The Year, Jewelry Making Demonstration
We are feeling Very Peri. Very Peri is Pantone's Color of the Year. This color is a blended periwinkle featuring the calming state of blue and the energy of red. Very Peri is the first time Pantone has used a color they invented specifically for the Color of the Year, rather than using an existing color. We think they made a great choice for this selection!
Sara began her video discussing some of our latest Very Peri products on our shelves. We have a Very Peri Duo of Beading Wire. We selected our Tanzanite and Purple Amethyst colors of wire as accents to this lovely periwinkle. And we have a 2022 Pantone Color of the Year Very Peri Bead Mix and Chain.
Sara also showed off the lovely new TGBE beads we have on our site. These beads were all in our Tucson Great Bead Extravaganza Design Kit (Sold Out). If you missed the kit, you can grab the beads. If you bought the kit, this is a great way to enhance the collection. The beads are the colorway we think strongly evokes the mystery of the American Southwest. Design jewelry that stirs thoughts of Tucson!
2022 Pantone Color of the Year Very Peri Bead Mix and Chain
2022 Pantone Color of the Year Duo of Beading Wire (Very Peri) - Tanzanite and Purple Amethyst
Beads
2x2mm Crimp Tubes
Magical Crimping Pliers
Cutters
Sam's Bead Shop: Wire Wrapping Briolettes With Sam and Rachel
Sam, from Sam's Bead Shop, joined us for a beading party a year ago and we have been following his designs since. He has a wonderful collection of beads at his shop and he is an incredible designer. His free beading classes are always fun to watch. If you are a beginner, you are sure to pick up a new technique. If you are a practiced and wise owl, you are sure to get inspired. Recently, Sam's sister decided to pack up and move to the Bay Area. She has joined Sam at the shop and they are making jewelry together. This is a great video if you would like to learn how to wire wrap a gemstone. It is informative and full of the special love two siblings share. It is odd to think a jewelry making video could be heartwarming, but we guarantee this will put a smile on your face!
From Rachel:
Hi all! I'm Rachel, Sam's sister. I just moved from Wisconsin to California (bye bye freezing temps!) and am now an official member of the team at Sam’s Bead Shop! I help curate our monthly Sam's Bead Box, picking out a new theme and finding Czech and gemstone pretties to inspire bead lovers! I love exploring new creative mediums and have dabbled in ceramics, woodwork, metalsmithing, and wirework. I had a blast joining Sam for his weekly class. For this necklace design on the fly, I gave us the challenge to wrap each pear brio in it's own unique way - no two could be the same!
If you have never visited Sam's Bead Shop, make sure you check it out! He has a gorgeous collection of beads. You will find a striking collection of gemstones and a delicious mix of Czech Glass. If you need to restock your beading supplies, you can do that too! It is a fun little one stop shop. If you would like to subscribe to his Monthly Bead Box, that is an easy way to save money on a bundle of beads and goodies.
Learn a more about this young business owner from our first beading party with him. We think he is going to be a creative force in this industry for decades to come! Catch this rising star early.
Sam's links:
Website
Bead Box
Join our text list for LIVE alerts!
Gem Chat
VIP group
YouTube
Wendy Whitman: Stacked Bracelet Set Using Beads From Bargain Bead Box Feb 2022
Be your own kind of beautiful - that is the message that Wendy Whitman wanted to share for this video. She made a bracelet tutorial the other day and followed it up with the video demonstration above. Stacking bracelets is definitely in style and why not? Why settle with one bracelet when you can grace your wrist with many beautiful pieces of jewelry? She used beads from her Bargain Bead Box to create these lovely designs. Get creative and get stacking!
If you would like to see more of Wendy's work, check out our blogs!
To subscribe to Bargain Bead Box, click here: Bargain Bead Box. Coupon Code Wendy2 will get you $2 off your first box or $2 off your order in their sister store Beadboxbargains.com
Visit Wendy's links:
YouTube
Website
Facebook Group
Instagram
How To Make A Bracelet Using SilverSilk's New Pipe Chain
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!
From SilverSilk:
The new SilverSilk product, pipe chain in various colors, is now available on silversilkonline.com! Nealay Patel will be demonstrating with this new product, during the TGBE Tucson 2022 event this Saturday at 4:45 pm CT. There are so many possibilities for this product! Since it is hollow, you can string it on wire, beading wire, memory wire...the possibilities are endless! Use long sections or cut it into shorter sections to use between beads in projeccts. Get yours today & work along with Nealay, when he demonstrates with this project on Saturday! Buy yours here: https://www.silversilkonline.com/pipe-chain.
From Nealay:
Round up time! Let’s get our first look at SilverSilk Pipe Chain and make a bracelet with it
Be sure to mark your calendars for every Tuesday, 5:30pm CST and hop over to facebook.com/groups/silversilk to watch Nealay's videos live and ask questions.
Nealay's channel is dedicated to learning how to make high quality jewelry with SilverSilk with an emphasis on design. You can follow his journey here:
www.instagram.com/silversilkandmore
www.facebook.com/silversilkandmore
Or join his Silkies group and be a part of the conversation
www.facebook.com/groups/silversilk
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