Another wonderful week has passed. You will not want to miss these exciting jewelry making videos. Kristen kicked off the week with an episode of Free Spirit Beading. She showed us how to make connectors with Soft Flex beading wire. We watched Nealay Patel create an elegant bracelet during his Tuesday Tut video. Sara designed some lovely holiday jewelry during her live Fusion Beads Design Challenge. Finally, Sara gave a fantastic demonstration on jewelry components – if you have ever had questions about findings, this is a must see!
It is Christmas time at Soft Flex Company. We hope you are having a lovely holiday season. We have really gotten into the spirit. We have recently added some festive new items to our shelves. Holly Jolly Trios are a jovial beading wire pack containing three spools of beading wire – Red Coral, Green Emerald, and White Quartz. This Trio was inspired by our recent Holly Jolly Christmas Design Kit. The design kit has sold out, but we wanted to offer the colors of the kit. We added a limited quantity bead mix - Holly Jolly Under The Tree Bead Mix. This bead mix was available in our Holly Jolly Kits, if you missed out on the kit, you can still get this bead mix. And we have our latest kit – the Winter Wonderland Design Kit. This kit is still available, but hurry, supplies are very limited.
Jewelry Making Videos
Free Spirit Beading with Kristen Fagan: Make A Holiday Necklace With Soft Flex Wire Connectors
Kristen filmed another episode of Free Spirit Beading with Kristen Fagan on Monday. She showed us how she creates Soft Flex connectors. If you are unfamiliar with connectors, they are as simple as their name suggests. They connect parts of a jewelry design. If you have worked with connectors, you might think of them as Craft Wire or metal jewelry elements. Kristen showed us how to use Soft Flex beading wire to create an easy and beautiful connector.
Creating a connector with Soft Flex is a great way to personalize a design. When you create the components of your jewelry, it will always be unique. Soft Flex connectors are a great way to add color to a design. Rather than have a metal finish, you can add the wonderful rainbow of beading wire color. Connectors are great for lengthening a jewelry design. They are wonderful adding a focal bead to an earring. And they are fun to use when designing linked jewelry.
Supplies:
Soft Flex Craft Wire 22G - Non Tarnish Silver Plated
Soft Flex Medium /.019 Beading Wire - Red Coral
Soft Flex Trios - Holly Jolly
11 - 6mm Green Glass Pearl Beads
12 - 2x2mm Sterling Silver Crimp Tubes
Silver Lobster Claw Clasp
Tools:
You can use regular crimping pliers to make connectors, but Kristen suggests using a pair of Magical Crimping Pliers. If you use regular crimpers, your finished crimp may not be as lovely and you may opt to cover it with a crimp cover. Magical Crimping Pliers turn a tube into a beautiful rounded bead. It is a one step process - you will not need to find a cover to conceal the crimp.
How fun! What a lovely holiday necklace! If you would like some other free beading project ideas using Soft Flex connectors, we have a blog featuring earrings made with connectors.
Tuesday Tut With Nealay Patel: Make A Bracelet Using Pearlesque Chain And SakiSilver Findings
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Nealay Patel created a stunning multi-strand bracelet using Pearlesque Chain And SakiSilver Findings. This was his final Tuesday Tut video for the year. He is going to take a break and hopes to return with some fresh new ideas for the new year. Even though he is taking a breather, he is continuing a 15% off discount on his website for the rest of the year - use the coupon code '15FREE' at checkout to receive the discount.
We love Nealay. He is a talented designer and the owner of SilverSilk and More. His work is amazing. His Tuesday Tuts are fun. You get to watch him consider a design idea, sketch the design out, and then follow through. His finished jewelry designs are always lush and eye catching.
Follow him on Facebook and check out his store here - SilverSilk and More.
Soft Flex Live Design Challenge: Sara Makes Holiday Jewelry With Items From Fusion Beads
Sara returned with another Live Design Challenge. This time, she opened a mystery box from Fusion Beads. Fusion Beads has a vast collection of beading products. They have a fantastic website with tutorials, videos and all sorts of great information.
Sara recently got to spend some time with Lindsay from Fusion Beads. They were both on the set of Beads Baubles & Jewels. Lindsay filmed four episodes and Sara filmed two. Sara was exhausted and was amazed by Lindsay’s stamina and elegance.
Sara opened her mystery box. There was a coupon inside – 20% off on the website using coupon code ‘Q4ARH2F’. The coupon is valid for orders over $75. The offer ends on January 31, 2019. Fusion Beads carries Soft Flex Wire - make sure you take advantage of that!
The mystery box contained some lovely chain, seed beads, metal rings, components and more. Lots of fantastic beading stuff.
Sara immediately gravitated toward the metal rings. She felt that wire wrapping some Craft Wire around them would make a great earring.
Sara also wanted to turn some chain and seed beads into earrings.
There is a lot of festive jewelry ideas and inspiration at Fusion Beads. Make sure you visit their site and take advantage of the coupon code.
Live Demonstration with Sara Oehler: Beading Components And Findings Explained
Sara filmed a video on Thursday discussing the beading components and findings you can find on Soft Flex Company’s website. If you are a beginner beader – this is a fantastic chance to have some questions answered and learn some new techniques. Even experienced designers can find some good stuff here.
Sara started with what she feels is the most important jewelry component – crimps and crimp covers. Crimps are really one of the most essential findings to keep in your beading kit. They secure your jewelry designs and can enhance jewelry – like illusion necklaces. You will not find a seasoned beader that lacks a stash of crimps.
Sara discussed crimp sizes.
Basic usage by wire diameter:
.010 Very Fine - Ideal for embellishing, weaving, crocheting and stringing very small beads. We suggest finishing with 1x1mm crimps. Micro Crimping Pliers are suggested to close 1x1mm crimps.
.014 Fine - Ideal for soft materials, seed beads and fresh water pearls. We suggest finishing with 2x2mm crimps. Regular Crimping Pliers are suggested to close 2x2mm crimps.
.019 Medium - Ideal all purpose wire. Great with glass, mineral, and metal beads. We suggest finishing with 2x2mm crimps. Regular Crimping Pliers are suggested to close 2x2mm crimps. For this diameter, you can also use 2x2mm crimps with Magical Crimping Pliers.
.024 Heavy - Ideal for abrasive materials, large stones, lamp work and bracelets. We suggest finishing with 2x3mm crimps. Regular Crimping Pliers are suggested to close 2x3mm crimps.
If you would like information regarding how many wires will fit through a particular size crimp, check out this page. This is a great reference if you are using larger crimps and creating a multi-strand necklace. Mighty Crimping Pliers are suggested for multi-strand designs.
If you need basic crimping instructions with regular crimping pliers, click here.
If you need basic crimping instructions with Magical Crimping Pliers, click here.
Sara discussed crimp covers. They can be used to conceal a finished crimp. Not everybody likes the look of a finished crimp. Crimp covers clamp down over finished crimps. They look great as part of a jewelry design. You can use crimp cover to conceal regular crimped tubes or tubes crimped with Magical Crimping Pliers. Magical Crimping Pliers eliminate the need for a cover – but if you would like to cover them, it is perfectly reasonable.
Sara discussed Wire Protectors. She does not use Wire Protectors in her designs, so she does not feature them in her videos very often. They are great if you are picky about how the end of your wire looks on your design. They are great at concealing the end of wire on a finished design, but if you are using Soft Flex wire, they are not really protecting the wire. Soft Flex is strong and durable; it does not need a protector. If you are not using a beading wire that is as flexible and durable as Soft Flex, then the Wire Protector may be more important to keep in your toolbox.
Sara strung a strand of .010 Soft Touch wire through a Wire Protector to demonstrate how the protector looks on a finished design. She said a finer design like .010 could be a good candidate for a protector as it is such a tiny wire. The finished Wire Protector on a design is a very unique look. It is worth it to explore them just to make an interesting design.
Sara showed how Jump Rings work. Jump Rings can lengthen or shorten a design. They can be used to add a different clasp. They can be used to enhance a piece of jewelry and even make chain. Jump Rings offer a lot of flexibility when designing. There are two different styles of Jump Rings – open and closed. Closed Jump Rings are permanent on a design, there is no opening. Open Jump Rings can be opened and closed.
Sara discussed Split Rings. Split Rings and Jump Rings are very similar. They both have similar functions. The difference between the two is a Split Ring basically looks like a micro key chain. The ring is pulled open at the center to move it on to a design in the same way a key is added to a key chain. A pair of Split Ring Pliers is invaluable if you work with Split Rings (or have key chains). These pliers have a tooth that keeps the Split Rings open.
Sara discussed clasps. There are a variety of clasps out there. You can find some ornate clasps that can be part of your designs or basic clasps that do their job and do not really contribute to the aesthetic of the jewelry. Lobster clasps look like little lobster claws – they latch on to Jump Rings to finish a design. Designer clasps are the high end clasps that can be used as focal beads on a necklace or worn at the front, rather than hidden away at the back of the neck. Slide clasps slide in and out. There are multi-strand clasps for multi-strand jewelry designs. Toggle clasps are clasps with a large toggle that tucks into a hoop to close a jewelry design.
Sara discussed ear wires. Ear wires can be elaborate or simple. They all work the same way, basically. Ear wires can be purchased or created with Craft Wire if you would like to personalize your earrings. Posts are similar to ear wires but do not dangle. There are also leverback ear wires for people that lose their earrings a lot. The leverbacks close so the earring cannot slip off.
Sara discussed head pins and eyes pins. Head pins are metal wires with a ‘head’ at the top. Eye pins are very similar with a loop at the top, rather than a head. They come in different gauges.
Head pins stop a bead from moving and support a dangling bead. They can be used as the final segment on a dangle. They are useful for earrings.
Eye pins are connectors. They are used to connect beads. The loop at the end allows for the eye pin to attach to another link. To finish the eye pin, you can create a second loop and add it to a chained segment or to a loop on a head pin and finish a chained segment.
Finally, Sara discussed Crystal Squaredelles. Our collection of Squaredelles is on closeout and heavily discounted. They come in a range of beautiful beads and clasps. There are lots of fantastic colors and shapes to choose from. They make a great stocking stuffer!
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 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