Dominique's Wares: July 2019

Metallic Ice Blue Bracelet with Rhinestones

Hello all! Today on the blog, I will be showing you how to make a multi-strand, metallic ice blue bracelet, using the beautiful beads from Just Bead It. I've gone for an icy vibe for this bracelet, and accented the metallic blue pearls with faceted glass beads and rhinestone connectors to give a sheen that will catch the light and sparkle in the sunshine. Let's get started!

Just Bead It products used:

JBSV51 metallic blue pearl beads
JBSV75 white pearl beads
JBSV77 diamond-shapes faceted beads

Additional products used:

silver 5-strand bar ends

crimp beads

silver crimp covers

beading wire

crimping pliers

wire cutters

5-hole rhinestone bar connectors

silver lobster claw clasp

silver extender chain

Firstly, start by attaching all three strands of wire to the silver bar end. For this bracelet, I found it easier to work on the three wires simultaneously rather than one-at-a-time. To do this, thread the wire through its respective hole in the bar end and back through a crimp bead. Use crimping pliers to secure the crimp to the wire by pressing down and folding the crimp over itself. Then, add a crimp cover over the top to hide the raw crimp. Repeat this for each of the three strands.

Once the strands are attached, start threading about 7 metallic blue pearl beads (JBNS51) onto the far-left wire. Then, for the middle strand, add one of the glass seed beads first, followed by a large diamond-shaped faceted bead (both from the JBNS77 strand), followed by a white pearl bead (JBNS75) and another diamond-shaped bead (JBNS77).

For the last strand, thread another 7 of the metallic blue pearls (JBNS51) onto the wire, so that it should be the same length as the rest of the strands so far. Then, add a rhinestone connector bar, by threading each of the wires through the first, third, and fifth hole in the connector, respective to the three strands. I have elected to use a 5-strand connector, even though we are only working with three wires, so that there would be enough space to allow for the size of the middle strand. A 3-strand connector would have made the strands fit too tightly together.

That first portion of the bracelet is the main pattern, that basically gets repeated another three times, with only a minor difference. For the second portion after the rhinestone connector, instead of adding a glass seed bead to the front of the middle strand like before, it will be added after the pattern. So, add the diamond-shaped bead > a white pearl bead > another diamond-shaped bead > and then add the glass seed bead. Then add the same quantity of blue metallic pears to the other two strands, and add a rhinestone bar connector. The reason I am being pedantic with the glass seed beads, is so that the length of the middle strand matches the length of the blue pearls. Two seed beads makes the length slightly too long, while no seed beads means the length is slightly too short. But in order for the pattern's sake, it is better to alternate the position of the seed bead after each section, which I promise will give a nice flow to the finished design.

As you can see, the subtle alternation of the seed beads between sections gives the pattern a nice flow, as well as creates the perfect length for the middle sections that fits the length of the blue pearl beaded sections

Once all the beads are strung, you can now secure each of the strands to the bar end on the opposite end of the bracelet, using crimp beads like before. Then, simply add a silver lobster claw clasp to one end, and a silver extender chain to the other (using pliers), and the bracelet is finished! The finished look is shown below. I hope you enjoyed this blog post :) Happy beading!

If you would like to get more information on some basic jewellery-making techniques such as how to use crimp beads and covers, and attaching lobster clasps etc, you can refer to my more thorough jewellery tutorial on the Just Bead It blog.

I hope you enjoyed this post - if you would like to view more of my designs, I also have an Etsy store called DominiquesWares which features more beaded jewellery. This particular bracelet will soon be uploaded to my store, so stay tuned for that :)

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Thanks so much for reading - happy beading!

Glass Faceted Purple Beaded Necklace

Hi there! Today on the blog, I am making a purple and champagne glass necklace, made with the lovely diamond shaped beads from Just Bead It. This necklace is really simple to make. The beautiful beads are the show piece as their colours refract light splendidly, to give a luxurious feel and look to the necklace.

Just Bead It products used:

JBSV90 Purple faceted glass diamond beads
JBSV44 Purple glass pearl beads
JBSV07 Glass champagne-coloured faceted beads

Additional products used:

Beading wire
Crimp beads
Silver crimp covers
Crimping pliers
Wire cutters
Silver toggle clasp findings

Firstly, cut a length of wire that will span the entire necklace length and begin threading the beads. Begin with one JBSV44 purple pearl bead, followed by a JBSV07 champagne-coloured faceted bead, and another purple pearl bead, finished with a JBSV90 purple faceted diamond bead. This simple pattern is repeated until you have reached the length that will comprise the front portion of the design.

For the remaining space behind the neck, this will be filled by a solid stream of JBSV44 purple pearl beads on both sides of the main pattern.

Continue beading with the JBSV44 purple pears beads until the desired length of the necklace is reached. Then, thread a crimp bead and one part of the toggle clasp onto one side of the wire and use crimping pliers to secure the wire through the crimp. Add a crimp cover over the top and smooth over with crimping pliers to hide the raw crimp. Repeat the crimping process on the other side of the wire, and the necklace is finished!

Overall, this necklace is very simple to make - as it only consists of a single strand - but the effect that is given when light hits the glass faceted beads is stunning despite its simplicity.