Black Ombre Faceted Multistrand Bracelet

Black Ombré Faceted Multistrand Bracelet

Hi there! Today on the blog, I will be making a fancy ombré multistrand bracelet. The sparkly faceted rondelle beads from Just Bead It work perfectly with the glitzy theme of this design, and give an alluring mirror-effect in the sunlight which I just love. I hope you enjoy reading this tutorial!

Just Bead It products used:

• JBX68 - Black Faceted Glass Rondelle Beads
• JBX44 - Dark Grey Faceted Glass Rondelle Beads
• JBX99 - Small Silver Faceted Glass Rondelle Beads

Additional products used:

• Beading wire
• Three-hole bar ends
• Silver lobster clasp
• Silver extender chain
• Crimp beads
• Silver crimp covers
• Wire cutters
• Crimping pliers

Firstly, start by attaching the first strand to the outer hole on the bar end. Add a crimp bead to a length of wire, thread the wire through the hole and back into the crimp. Then, take your crimping pliers and make an indentation in the crimp, and then press and fold it over itself to secure it in place. You can either add the crimp cover over now, or at the end (I decided to add mine at the end). Now, the wire is prepped for beading!

To begin, thread an uninterrupted stream of the JBX44 beads (medium-sized dark grey beads) onto the wire, making sure to tuck the tail of excess wire into the first few beads to hide it. Once you have reached the desired length (or you can stop halfway and start the next wire if you think that's easier), begin to attach the next wire to the middle hole of the bar end, by repeating the first step.

Make sure to tuck the excess wire through the first few beads

Once the second wire is attached, thread the JBX99 beads (small silver beads) onto the wire until you reach your desired length. Then, just as before, begin the next strand, where you will then thread the JBX68 beads (black rondelle beads).

Once all the beads are strung, and you are happy with the length, you can begin to secure the other ends of the wires to their respective ends of the bracelet. Thread a crimp bead onto one of the lengths that need securing, and thread the wire through a second bar end and back into the crimp bead. Next, just as before, press the crimp and fold it into itself with crimping pliers to secure. Then, simply add a silver crimp cover. Likewise, repeat these same steps for the other two ends of wire.

Thread the wire through the crimp, into the hole in the bar end, and back through the crimp bead

Pull the wire through a few of the beads for added security, and use crimping pliers to secure the crimp

NOTE: As you are securing your bracelet, make sure that you leave a very tiny amount of room and don't pull the wire too tight when adding the crimp. This is because, when the crimp cover is later added, it will tighten the bracelet even further since that remaining space is being shortened, and that could make your bracelet very stiff and difficult to wear. Leaving a bit of room will allow the bracelet to curve nicely and as such, fit comfortably around the wrist.

As you can see, I chose to place my crimp covers on at the end of the process.

Once all the wires are secured, and the excess tails have been tucked inside the beads, it was at this point that I added the crimp covers over the raw crimp beads. But again, you could choose to attach yours at the beginning. Lastly, simply attach a lobster clasp to one bar end and an extender chain to the other using regular jewellery pliers... I personally like using bent-nose pliers, but chain-nose or round-nose work well too.

Lastly, add a silver lobster clasp and extender chain

And that's how simple it is to make a fancy-looking ombré bracelet, using the faceted rondelle beads from Just Bead It! I hope everyone had a great Easter, and I hope you have a very relaxing weekend!

I hope you enjoyed this post - hopefully this can inspire you to have a go at using some of the Just Bead It beads. Thanks for reading - happy beading!

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 gemstone bracelet will soon be uploaded to my store, so stay tuned for that :)

If interested, you can follow me on Twitter @DominiquesWares

or Instagram: dominiques_wares

You can also follow my Dominique'sWares blog

Natural Green Gemstone bracelet with White Howlite Accents

Natural Green Gemstone Bracelet with White Howlite Accents

Hello! Today on the blog, I will be sharing with you how to make a lovely green and white beaded bracelet, using the new JBNS range of beads from Just Bead It! The beautiful gemstone beads from Just Bead It are so fun to work with and the great range of colours and sizes makes every piece unique :)

Just Bead It products used:

• Large green Canadian jade round beads - JBNS43
• Medium green Canadian jade round beads - JBNS74
• Small white magnesite spacer beads - JBNS50
• Large white howlite beads - JBNS61

Additional products used:

• beading wire
• crimp beads
• silver crimp covers
• silver 3-hole bar ends
• silver lobster claw clasp
• silver extender chain
• bent-nose pliers
• round-nose pliers
• crimping pliers

Firstly, to secure the first length of wire to the 3-hole bar end, thread the crimp onto the wire, then add the 3-hole bar end, then thread the crimp back through itself and secure with crimping pliers. Add a crimp cover over the top to hide the raw crimp. Next, begin to thread the first few beads onto the secured wire. 

The pattern is as follows (for the bottom strand): 

small white (JBNS50) > medium green (JBNS74) > 2x small white (JBNS50) > howlite (JBNS61) > small white (JBNS50) > large green (JBNS43) > start again and repeat until desired length is achieved.

You can now start on the second strand (the top strand). The pattern for the top strand is as follows:

small white (JBNS50) > howlite (JBNS61) > small white (JBNS50) > large green (JBNS43) > small white (JBNS50) > medium green (JBNS74) > 2x small white (JBNS50) > start again and repeat until desired length is reached. NOTE: Once you've finished one whole sequence,, you are acutally going to start again from the howlite part of the sequence (step 2), or else, if you start at the beginning and add another 1x small white, you will end up with 3x small white beads before the howlite. The picture below clarifies this pattern further.

As you can see, I added my crimp covers at this point, but it really doesn't matter if you place yours on at the beginning or end.

After the beads are strung, you can go ahead and attach both the wires to a second 3-hole bar end. Like before, add a crimp bead onto the wire, thread the wire through the bar end and back into the crimp bead. Create an indent using the crimping pliers, fold the crimp back onto itself for security, and fasten a silver crimp cover over the top to hide the raw crimp. Do the same with the second wire.

Once all the strands are secure, simply attach a lobster claw clasp to one end, and a silver extender chain to the other, and you're finished! That's how simple it is to make a lovely handmade beaded bracelet. The combination of green and white makes this a really natural and earthy piece that can blend into any style, whether casual or formal.

As a side-note, while photographing the bracelet, I've found that the camera doesn't quite pick up the green colour as nicely as I would have liked. In real life, the jade beads are a rich, deep green shade and the photos don't always accurately represent that. Green is such a beautiful colour, but can be very tricky to photograph sometimes...

 

I hope you enjoyed this post - hopefully this can inspire you to have a go at using some of the Just Bead It beads. Thanks for reading - happy beading!

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 gemstone bracelet will soon be uploaded to my store, so stay tuned for that :)

If interested, you can follow me on Twitter @DominiquesWares

or Instagram: dominiques_wares

You can also follow my Dominique'sWares blog

Luxe Bronze Beaded Howlite Choker

Luxe Bronze Beaded Howlite Choker

Hi there. Today I will be sharing a bronze-toned choker, featuring the howlite gemstone beads from Just Bead It, which give the design a luxurious feel.

Just Bead It products used:

• JBNS61 - white, round howlite beads
• JBI788 - glass bronze-toned seed beads
• JBI86 - silver alloy bicone spacers

Additional products used:

• silver beading wire
• silver 3-strand bar ends
• crimp beads
• silver crimp covers
• silver 3-strand connector beads
• crimping pliers
• wire cutters
• bent-nose pliers

Firstly, cut two equal lengths of beading wire. Place one howlite bead on the centre of the top strand, and one silver bicone spacer on the centre of the bottom strand, right underneath it.

For the next roughly 2.5cm on both sides, evenly fill the top and bottom strands with bronze seed beads, then place a silver 3-strand connector bead on both sides. These connectors will keep the strands from spreading too much as you continue beading, and will help to add to the aesthetics of the finished necklace.

Continuing on the bottom strand, place about four bronze seed beads beside both of the connector beads on either side, then place one howlite bead on both ends. For the top wire, place about 3cm worth of seed beads on both sides, then place a silver bicone spacer on the ends. As you continue with the necklace, this basic zig-zag-like pattern between the howlite beads and silver bicones will provide continuity to the design and will help draw the eye.

Essentially repeat the previous step, except in reverse this time; place about 2.5cm worth of bronze seed beads after the howlite bead on the bottom strand, and place a silver alloy bead. On the top strand, place about 2.5cm of bronze beads and then place a howlite bead (do this on both sides of course). This step can be shown in the picture below.

Next, for the top strand, place four bronze beads and then thread the wire through a silver connector. On the bottom strand, place about 3cm of bronze beads and then thread that wire through the bottom-most hole in the connector as well.

For the last part of the choker, thread about 2.5cm of bronze beads after the connector bead on both strands, and on both sides of the necklace. This is going to be at the back of the neck when the necklace worn.

Lastly, to secure the necklace, place a crimp bead on each of the wires and use crimping pliers to fasten the strands to the holes in the 3-strand bar end. Place silver crimp covers over the top to hide the raw crimps. Then, simply add a silver lobster clasp to one end of the choker, and an extender chain to the other.

The necklace is finished! The beautiful howlite beads from the new Just Bead It range make lovely accent beads; perfect for adding a little bit of interest and an expensive feel to the finished piece.

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 choker will soon be uploaded to my store, so stay tuned for that :)

If interested, you can follow me on Twitter @DominiquesWares

or Instagram: dominiques_wares

You can also follow my Dominique'sWares blog

Thanks so much for reading - happy beading!