Beaded Bead Reflection Photography

I've been playing with photographing some of my beaded beads on a reflective surface.

It's a fun but challenging photography technique and I think it works particularly well for silver beadwork. I used a piece of dark reflective plastic to generate the reflection, which does the job quite nicely however it also picks up every single speck of dust in the light tent. I had to spend a ton of time editing out the dust specks in post-processing to generate these shots.

Here's a shot of a Fairy Triangles beaded bead. I like how the reflection picks up the lower part of the beaded bead as well as the top.

Here's another shot of the silver Half Tila Technocluster beaded bead, which I previously tried to photograph in a previous post.

For reference, here's my previous attempt at photographing this beaded bead. The big difference is in the reflective surface; in the older shot I used a clear piece of plastic to generate the reflection (instead of a dark piece of plastic), but since both the top and bottom sides of the clear plastic show, it makes a double reflection rather than a single reflection.

I like the reflection in the new shot, but the beaded bead is a little overexposed. I prefer the way the beaded bead looks in the older photo.

Finally, I used this same technique to photograph the Diffractions Necklace, which is the project that I'll be teaching at the Beading by the Bay bead retreat in March of 2016.

This necklace features both cube- and dodecahedron-shaped beaded beads that use a unifying set of materials and embellishments, and I'm looking forward to teaching this project because it's a great example of beading with different geometries to make different types and sizes of beaded beads.

Thanks for looking!

New Beading Video: Geometric Beaded Beads, From Cubes to Dodecahedrons

A few months ago I had the opportunity to film a series of videos based on four different areas in beading. The videos are now available at the Interweave Store both as instant high definition video downloads as well as in the DVD format. This is the second in a series of four blog posts on those video projects; check out the previous post on working with 2-hole beads here.

Together with the team over at Interweave/F+W, we organized these videos with each level of beader in mind. Beginners can watch me weave each step of the project one stitch at a time, I share several variations for experienced beaders, and throughout the course of each video I include many tips and tricks that are useful for beaders of all levels. If you're new to my Bead Origami style then these videos are a great introduction to my approach to beadweaving, but if you're already familiar with my work then you'll want to check them out too as I cover a new project in each one.

The second of these videos focuses on a topic near and dear to my heart; geometric beaded beads.

When I was putting together this video, I asked myself: "if I could teach a beginning beader the fundamentals of geometric beaded beads, what would I cover?" I started outlining this video on how to weave the five Platonic Solids, and I still give a brief lesson on what makes these particular forms so interesting, but after thinking about it and receiving some insightful feedback I decided to focus the beading portion of the video on cubes and dodecahedrons and an important variation on each form.

There are several different ways to make beaded beads using these basic geometric forms, and many different beaders have explored these forms over the centuries (Valerie Hector's research in The Art of Beadwork indicates that Chinese beaders have been making these beaded beads since at least the 15th century). I cover both the basic cube and the dodecahedron using the single-needle, cubic right-angle weave (CRAW) approach with sparkly bicone crystals, and I explain each stitch to fully show each step of the process.

In the next part of the video I show how to weave a cube beaded bead with corner-cover beads. In this variation, we weave the structure using both bicone crystals and seed beads to give us seed beads at each corner. The advantage of adding these beads is that they protect the threads that can show at the corners, and they give us points where we can further embellish the beaded bead.

A pair of these beaded beads makes a quick, delicate pair of earrings.

The section on dodecahedron beaded beads with corner-cover beads is the most challenging part of the video, but I think it's one of the most useful techniques to master. Adding this form to your stitch repertoire will give you a strong foundation to tackle more advanced embellished beaded beads.

For a neat pendant using just this one thread path, I created three beaded beads in different sizes using a simple bead substitution...

...And then I wove them one by one, enclosing the smallest inside the medium inside the largest structure for a dodecahedron, inside of a dodecahedron, inside of a dodecahedron. It's three dodecahedrons in one!

A collection of cube and dodecahedron beaded beads pair with round crystal pearls for a very sparkly necklace.

Experienced beaders will want to check out the sections on bead type variations, and the summary of several advanced designs that use these beaded beads as a base.

This video is available both as a High Definition Video Download and in the DVD format, and includes a supplementary PDF pattern with step-by-step written instructions and a complete materials list for the beaded beads, necklace, and earrings shown here.

Thanks for looking!

Origami Interlude: Larger Masu Boxes

I just realized that I missed an Origami Interlude for the month of April... Oops! Well I'm remedying that today with some origami boxes.

Masu Boxes

A while ago I blogged about the origami boxes that I hand-fold for the jewelry that I sell in my Etsy shop. The boxes are a variation on the Masu box, a traditional origami design that you can learn to fold yourself here. I fold mine from 6" squares of paper; washi for the top and card stock for the bottom, with both parts lined with card stock for extra stability. The finished box is about 2 inches wide by one inch tall:

This box is great for earrings, pendants, and beaded beads, but it's a little small for necklaces and even for some bracelets. I could use larger sheets of paper, but the resulting box would retain the same proportions of the original box (it would be wider, but it would also be deeper than 1"). I wanted a more traditional necklace-sized jewelry box that would be only one inch deep, but about 3-4 inches wide.

Larger Masu Boxes

To remedy this problem, I came up with another variation that results in a wider box with different proportions than the original Masu box. The trick to this variation is to both use a larger sheet of paper, but to also modify step 3 to fold the sides in only partway. With an 8" sheet of paper, and by folding the sides in only 1", I had a box that's still one inch deep, but about 3.75 inches wide:

Small vs. Large Boxes

Here's a photo of both the small and large Masu boxes in the same pretty purple Japanese crane washi print:

I like how the larger box not only solves the how-to-package-a-necklace question, but it also shows off more of the gorgeous prints that you can find in washi. I'm particularly fond of Japanese crane and cherry blossom prints.

Though, now that I think about it, this would also work well with Italian papers too... Hmm.....

Check out some of my previous interludes into paper origami here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

What's your favorite kind or style of paper? Do you know of one that would look particularly nice in a Masu box? Drop me a line in the comments section!

Purple Velvet and Jet Cubed Tilas Necklaces

To wrap up this series on alternate colorways for my Bead & Button classes (check out my other two posts here and here), I present the Cubed Tilas Beaded Bead Necklace in two additional colorways. First up we have this version in purple velvet with dark blue transparent AB tila beads, one of my favorite colors of seed beads:

Next up we have this version in black and bronze, with a touch of emerald green. I usually use some kind of silver in my jewelry, so creating this version was a nice departure into a silver-less color scheme:

Seats are still available for the Cubed Tilas Beaded Bead Necklace class on Sunday, June 10 at the Bead & Button Show. More information about Bead and Button Show class registration, along with general information about the show can be found here.

Hematite Crystal Helix Necklace

A while back I bought some Swarovski bicone crystals in the crystal silver night shade. They sat in my bead box until I decided to pair them with some cobalt and silver-colored seed beads for some Crystal Helix beaded beads. They pair very well with hematite round beads for this dark silvery necklace:

In the Crystal Helix pattern, I talk about how this beaded bead can be woven in both left-handed and right-handed symmetries so that the seed beads will twist up to the left or right, respectively. All of the beaded beads in this necklace are in the left-handed symmetry, so they twist in the same direction from one bead to another along the necklace.

The Crystal Helix pattern is available for purchase exclusively at my new website. Remember that from now through Monday, January 23, enter the coupon code 20off at checkout to receive 20% off your entire order!

Free Pattern: Candy Cubes Beaded Bead

In the time that I have been writing patterns, I've often been asked if I have any patterns suitable for a beginner. Regrettably, until now, most of my patterns have been for the intermediate or advanced level, although I've always sought to write my patterns clearly enough that anyone with a basic understanding of beading diagrams will be able to understand them. But if I were to recommend a beaded bead design to someone with no previous beading experience, my first choice would be a basic cube. I've written a pattern for such a cube, and it's available as a free download at my website.

The basic cube beaded bead is woven in right angle weave, and is also the simplest unit of the box stitch. Once you learn how to make a cube beaded bead, you can change the bead type and color patterns to get a variety of different effects from this simple design. Here I've used AB2X Swarovski crystals in three different colors for a very sparkly pair of earrings, perfect for a night on the town:

But this design also works well with Miyuki drop seed beads. Here I use four colors of these seed beads in an even color distribution for a petite pair of earrings. In the pattern, I describe how to use two, three, or four colors of beads to get an even color distribution throughout the beaded bead, a color pattern strategy often used in origami. The result reminds me of candy, so I like to call them Candy Cubes.

The Candy Cubes can look very elegant with just one or two types of beads. The bracelet below uses two types of cube beaded beads; one made from 3 mm round grey freshwater pearls, the other from irregularly-shaped "keshi" freshwater pearls.

Strung with alternating 4 mm and 6 mm round freshwater pearls, they make an elegant pearl bracelet.

Finally, I experimented with several different types of beads that can be woven into cubes. The picture below shows Candy Cubes made from 4 mm Swarovski bicone crystals, 4 mm fire polished Czech glass, 3.4 and 2.8 mm Miyuki drop seed beads, and drop-shaped freshwater pearls:

Gathered all together, they make a tactile cascading pendant:

The beaded rope for this necklace is another variation on the right angle weave technique, woven with Japanese round seed beads, drop seed beads, and fire polished glass beads.

The Candy Cube beaded bead pattern is available on my website as a free download. Have you woven a cube beaded bead before? I'd love to see what you made!

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New Pattern: Crystal Helix Beaded Bead

Along with the development and launch of my new website, I also wrote up a new pattern, the Crystal Helix Beaded Bead:

These little beads work up quickly and are fun to weave, and are a great step up in complexity from the simple cube beaded bead. When woven with 4 mm bicone crystals they make a nice size for earrings, but with 6 mm crystals they make a petite pendant:

I discuss how to make both sizes in the pattern.

I also like how this design can be woven in both the right- and left-handed directions; the seed beads will spiral one way or the other, regardless of how the bead is oriented. The photo below shows both versions. Imagine turning them over or upside-down... The seed beads will still spiral in the same direction, just like DNA.

I also made a simple necklace in black and cobalt using both sizes of this design. Even though the design is based on a cube shape, the finished beaded bead takes on a round form.

The AB finish on the jet black bicone crystals looks a little yellow in this particular batch of crystals (jet AB crystals are notorious for looking different from batch to batch), but I think it provides a nice contrast with the blue beads.

The Crystal Helix pattern is available for purchase exclusively at my new website. Remember that from now through Monday, January 23, enter the coupon code 20off at checkout to receive 20% off your entire order! 

Origami Interlude: Hollow Blue Cube

My husband took me on an origami paper shopping spree for my Christmas gift last December, so I picked out several sheets of beautiful Washi paper. I decided to make this modular cube:

It's a Tomoko Fusé design from one of her many origami books. The book is called Cranes and Fans, and it's only in Japanese as far as I know. 

While the edges of the cube are constructed from washi paper, the faces are constructed from TANT origami paper, which differs from standard origami paper in three ways: it's thicker, textured, and colored on both sides. I like it a whole lot better than standard origami paper for such 3D structures that contain so much open space, because the thicker paper helps to stabilize the model.

This model uses 12 sheets of washi and 6 sheets of TANT paper, each at 4 inches square. It holds its shape well without adhesives.

Have you tried a new material within the past few months? How did it work out?

Origami Interlude: Sonobe Unit Origami

This January, I've been thinking about what I'd like to accomplish this year, both with this blog and with my beady and crafty art in general. I want to get back to exploring some of the basic geometric shapes that I've used in my work, both in beads and in origami. 

I was first introduced to modular origami many years ago through the Sonobe unit, an invention of Mitsonobu Sonobe. As one of the simplest units in modular origami, combinations of multiple Sonobe units can be pieced together to form an infinite number of polyhedra. Twelve units create this stellated octahedron:

Here's an individual basic Sonobe unit. Each unit has two tabs on the edges and two corresponding pockets in the center.

I used four sheets each in three colors of paper to create this polyhedron. The flower-patterned paper is washi, which is a dream to fold.

The smallest Sonobe octahedron that I've ever made measures about 20 mm in diameter, or about the size of a medium beaded bead. I've thought about creating beads out of Sonobe origami, but they would need to be reinforced with glue or a layer of varnish to withstand any wear and tear. 

An additional fold to the Sonobe unit results in a slightly different effect, as shown in this cube. It uses six units in three colors:

A popular Sonobe polyhedron is the stellated icosahedron, which requires 30 units. Here's one in six colors:

Free instructions for a simple Sonobe unit can be found at this link, with instructions on how to piece together the 30-unit polyhedron here. Check out this page for a taste of the many more variations on this unit, which have been thoroughly explored by origami masters such as Tomoko Fusé, Kunihiko Kasahara, and Meenakshi Mukerji.