Jan 24th 2020

Weekly Video Recap: Making Jewelry With Soft Flex, SilverSilk, And TierraCast Beading Supplies

by Thomas Soles

The cold breath of winter has not slowed our creativity. We had a fiery week of jewelry making inspiration. We just loaded our shelves with some delightful TierraCast metal components and wanted to dig in and make some magic. We also had fun showing everybody how to make a wire wrapped bezel to cage a cabochon. Finally, we made some romantic jewelry to get everybody in the mood for the upcoming holiday of love - Valentine's Day. You are going to adore this jewelry video recap!

Kristen kicked this week off with a gorgeous knitted red bracelet and a pair of earrings. This jewelry set is full of playful passion. You are going to want these for your sweetheart! Sara filmed a jewelry demonstration showing off the new TierraCast items on our shelves. She made a necklace fit for a queen. Join us Saturday morning, she is going to be premiering a follow up video showing how to make a matching bracelet. You can watch her on YouTube on Saturday 1/25 at 8am PST. Click the link below for information and check out finished images of her work in the blog. James showed us how to make a gorgeous handcrafted bezel. And we watched our good friend Nealay, from SilverSilk, as he crafted an amazing necklace. Lets make some lovely jewelry!

Don't miss Sara's Snow Queen Bracelet video premiering Saturday, January 18 at 8am, PST.

Sara is designing a bracelet to match the Snow Queen and TierraCast necklace she made this week. TeirraCast has some wonderful metal components that you will love, you won't want to miss this video if you want some inspiration. Make a date with us this Saturday and join us for the premiere.

You are going to love the newest TierraCast additions to our inventory!

We have some lovely hammered clasps, some textured connector rings, and multi-strand end bar connectors. All are handcrafted and look amazing. Add some handmade elements to your next jewelry design, these weathered metal components have a timeless look fit for your modern sensibilities.

Jewelry Making Videos

Soft Flex Wire Knitted Charm Bracelet and Earrings for Valentine’s Day

Kristen filmed another exciting episode of Free Spirit Beading on Monday. She is live on Mondays at 12pm PST.

Kristen wanted to make some love themed jewelry. She filmed this episode on MLK day and she reflected on the insightful words Dr. Martin Luther King gave us regarding the strength of love over evil. Love is a better option as hate is too great a burden to bear. And love will always drive out hate, just as light drives out the darkness. It was a good day to think about the power and beauty of love.

Valentine's Day is also on the way. It is a great time to plan out some handcrafted jewelry for a date night - or gift something to a loved one.

Let's embrace all things love today!

Soft Flex Wire Knitted Charm Bracelet and Earrings by Kristen Fagan

Would you like to learn how to use a knitting spool with Soft Flex Beading Wire? This is a great introduction. Knitting spools are so easy to work with. You can use our beading wire or our Craft Wire. We have three different knitting spool options - a 3-pin, a 4-pin, and a 5-pin.

A 3-pin has an open finish that is great for adding beads. Four and five pin options are more wire dense. If you love the rich look of wire, you might want to grab a 4-pin or 5-pin spool.

Soft Flex Craft Wire will be a little rigid as the wire holds its shape - but it is very malleable on the spool. Beading wire will be a little more soft. It feels sponge-like and you can get away designing without a clasp, if you are making a bracelet, as it will expand and slide over the wrist.

Soft Flex Wire Knitted Charm Bracelet by Kristen Fagan

Supplies:
Soft Flex .019/Medium Diameter Wire in Red Coral
2x2mm Crimp Tubes in Sterling Silver
3-pin Knitting Spool
Sterling Silver Heart Charm with Faceted Austrian Crystal
4mm Jump Rings
6mm Black Beads
10mm Red Beads
Capital Cord End Caps in Rhodium Plated
Maker's Clasp in Rhodium Plated
Cutters
Crimping Pliers

Soft Flex Wire Knitted Charm Bracelet and Earrings by Kristen Fagan

Doesn't this bracelet look decadent? It is so detailed and stunning. You just want to stare at it and take in the eye candy. The charms are a fun addition. Classy and fun. This is jewelry for the young at heart. This is a great and playful design for Valentine's Day.

If you need a little help kickstarting your new knitting spool hobby, make sure you visit our Jewelry Making Tips & Tricks section online. Kristen used Knit Style 3 for this design. We have patterns and tips for 3 styles we think are really gorgeous.

Check out our how-to pages on the three styles of knit we like to work with:

Knit with Beading Wire - Style 1

Knit with Beading Wire - Style 2

Knit with Beading Wire - Style 3

Soft Flex Wire Knitted Charm Bracelet by Kristen Fagan

If knitting spools look familiar, you may have had one as a child. Lots of use grew up with a creative grandpa or father that loved to make stuff in the garage. You may remember a wooden spool with nails for pins. You may have learned how to use this homemade spool with yarn. If you did not have this fantastic little memory as a child - it is never to late to explore this fun hobby. You can master it easily and make some dynamic jewelry you will adore.

Don't forget to make an easy pair of Soft Flex earrings to complement your new bracelet. Soft Flex wire is perfect for earrings. You can make them with remnant wire (the small pieces you cut from larger designs - make sure you save them!!!). You can also shop our wide array of yummy colors and make the earrings that best suit your mood. You need very few beading supplies on hand to actually create them. An ear wire, crimps, beads, crimping pliers, and a cutter will be pretty much all you need in your tool kit to create easy earrings.

Soft Flex Wire Heart Charm Earrings by Kristen Fagan

Live Facebook Video with Sara: Jewelry Making Demonstration with Hammered and Distressed Metal TierraCast Components

Sara wanted to show off all of our latest TierraCast components. She figured a quick jewelry demonstration on Facebook would be a fun way to show off some techniques and styles you can create with these lovely weathered metal jewelry elements.

It was also a good time to take a breather and have some 'me time'. Sara had spent the night before at the ER when her infant son had some issues and she had a lot of nervous stress energy bouncing around her. Making jewelry in a quiet studio is a great way to focus and balance yourself. It is a good time to be creative and think about the things that really matter. Even if you have an audience on Facebook watching your wonderful work.

TierraCast Findings

We have so many stunning new items from TierraCast. You are going to love them. We have a multi-strand connector for projects where you need a larger component to gather your beading wire. We have some lovely weathered ring connectors that could potentially be a good focal display. We have some luscious ellipse clasps that just look amazing. And we have a hook and eye clasp that will make the finish of your jewelry design really stand out.