More Information about Our Processes There are many different processes for making rose petal rosary beads, most of which involve boiling a large number of petals and mixing them with various organic ingredients. We do it a little differently because we not only wish to preserve the flowers, but want to make sure that the finished bead is going to last as long as possible. We chop and then grind the dried petals down, gently knead the rose powder into the chosen clay, hand-roll the beads to 8mm each and fire them (unglazed) in a kiln. This creates strong, ceramic beads that contain the essence and elements of the original petals, thereby preserving the memory for a lifetime. Alternatively, we can use polymer clay. Both materials are excellent, but each has its advantages and disadvantages: Ceramic Clay Polymer Clay Color and Appearance Ceramic or "earth" clay starts out white, brown or terra cotta. We add clay stain to bring about other colors, but the colors are generally soft, pastel-like, and have a matte-finish. Name a soft, pastel color, and we can "make it happen" with ceramic clay. We do not glaze the ceramic beads. The flower fragments cannot be directly seen in the clay, but irregularities in the surface reveal them. A large variety of colors are available, including strong, bold ones not available in ceramic clay. Also, colors can be easily mixed, and additives kneaded in to give the beads pearl-like, sparkle, translucent, or even glow-in-the-dark effects. They look smooth, almost polished, compared to ceramic clay beads. The flower particles are usually visible to the unaided eye. Shape and Size Whether ceramic or polymer, we usually make the beads 8mm spherical (unless requested otherwise). We can make larger, smaller and other shapes upon request (cylindrical, barrel, square, disk, pony, conical and others). Feel/Touch Ceramic clay beads feel like the water-worn pebbles one might find in a stream; it is slightly abrasive, like a fine sandpaper. If the rosary is kept in a pocket the constant rubbing will wear against the metal parts of the rosary and remove metal. This can darken the beads, and the metal might also be transferred to (and darken) the fingers. Polymer clay is smooth and non-porous. It doesn't appear to have any abrasive action on metal components. Longevity Kiln fired ceramic clay can last thousands of years. The longevity of polymer clay isn't certain. But it is a PVC-like plastic material, impervious to water, and should last hundreds of years. The color, however, may fade if exposed to excessive sun or other UV light sources. Solvents, cleaners or other chemicals may have unanticipated effects. Bead Strength Both materials are very strong. The ceramic clay beads are rigid like small stones, where the polymer beads have a degree of flexibility and resiliance. Both can be broken if purposefully attempted - with a hammer, for example - but common actions like an accidental drop or placing something heavy on top them is not going to cause any damage to the beads. Nor will an accidental trip through the washing machine - something that would destroy organic beads. In normal use, it is unlikely that an individual bead will ever experience more than about 5 pounds of force. In our testing, 200 pounds of direct pressure had no visible effect upon the ceramic bead. The same 200 pounds caused the polymer bead to deform and begin to crack (at lower pressures it was fine). Speed It takes just about the same length of time regardless of the clay used. They both require similar working, mixing, rolling, pinning and firing. Though the firing process is longer for ceramic clay, it does not significantly-affect the overall rosary-making process. Smell Rose beads do not naturally have any fragrance. Regardless of the bead-making method used, the rose-odor must be added to the beads after the firing process (even with almost all organic processes, too). We do this using rose oil, and usually omit this unless it is specifically requested so as to avoid allergy problems or situations where people don't care for the particular perfume or oil used. If you ever wish to add more "smell" to the beads, rose-fragrance oil is available at many craft shops; keeping the beads with a sachet will have a similar effect. Cost The cost to make the clay beads, themselves, is the same whether they are ceramic or polymer, about $50 for a typical rosary. Add the labor to then assemble the rosary, plus the cost of the other parts, and most rosaries made with real roses start around $75. We offer discounts of 10% or more for large orders in which we can make the clay in a single, large batch. Which is better? It is purely a matter of personal taste. However, if the rosary is likely to be kept in a pocket or purse, if you want to be able to see the flower particles in the clay, or if you would like a stronger, non-pastel color, then we recommend polymer clay instead of ceramic for reasons mentioned above. We usually use polymer clay unless you specifically request otherwise. Close-up Image of Sample Beads Polymer clay beads are available in almost any color, even mixed/swirled colors. They are smoother and the rose petal particles are visible in the clay. Ceramic clay beads are available in pastel colors, white and terra cotta. They generally have a rough exterior. How to Order Try our fancy new, or If ordering the beads alone or a small chaplet like a bracelet, there is a minimum charge of $25 for making the beads. If the online ordering system seems too complicated or confusing, please feel free to simply mail your roses to us along with a note describing your order. See the questions, below, for a list of the information we need. After Ordering... Once you place your order, please send your dried rose petals to us in a padded paper envelope (the petals are easily dried on a tray in an oven set to low heat). Our address is at the bottom of every web page. We will need at least the petals from one entire flower for each set of rosary beads. If you wish to send more, that is fine, but one will be enough (even a single petal is sufficient if that is all you have, as the bulk of the bead is clay). Please do not send them in a sealed plastic bag - any residual moisture can lead to mold. If you have any last-minute, special requests about the rosary, it is usually best just to include them in writing with the flowers. Please allow 2 weeks from the time we receive your rose petals for us to make the beads - up to 4 weeks if we are also making a rosary with them. Do not be alarmed if we do not use all of the roses that you send. It is important that we do not weaken the clay by adding too many rosepetals. Common Questions How do I preserve the flowers? It is best for us if they arrive already dried. They do not need to be on the stem. We remove the petals from the stem anyway and use only the petals in the clay. It is easy to dry petals by removing them from the stem, laying them on a cookie sheet and warming them on low heat in an oven, or by setting them in the sun for a few days.

This cute activity is perfect for a Halloween party or crafting afternoon. We used Color Changing UV Beads in these Pony Bead Critters that can hang from backpacks, zippers, lockers, classroom ceilings, party favor bags or wherever. They will even change color in the sunlight. Here’s step-by-step instructions on how to make a skull using UV Beads. We’ve also included links to other sites that offer a ton of different Halloween bead patterns. You can use any pattern and just substitute the UV Beads for pony beads. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, partly because I love its history and partly because I love how it has a life apart from that original history! There are simple Halloween bead patterns for holiday crafts are all over Pinterest. That being said, here’s how I like to make a Halloween skull. Not just any ordinary Halloween skull, mind you; let’s make a skull that has two faces. To do this, you will need some Steve Spangler Science UV Beads. Make a pile of 32 beads of one pale color. Make a pile of 7 darker beads. White and black are great, but be creative! Just be sure you’ve got a big pile of beads that will be pale even when exposed to UV rays, and a smaller pile of beads that will get darker in the sunlight. UV beads are all white until exposed to the sun’s rays, so be sure you are keeping your colors apart! Cut a piece of heavy string about 2 feet long. Thread both ends through a long, strong needle. Fold the string in half and tape it to a table or cutting board so it won’t move when you tug on it. And you will be doing some serious tugging! Some people like to tie a clasp of some kind at the top so your skull is easy to hang. I prefer leaving some slack thread at the top for hanging. Your call.

Ready to try a different technique in the new year? Take those beautiful beads you love working with and turn them into beaded cuff bracelets! You don’t have to learn any crazy new skills when you’re figuring out how to make beaded cuffs. Sometimes it’s even as simple as using glue to attach the beaded piece to a fabric backing. Plus, most beaded cuff bracelets are adjustable so that you can go as bold or as minimal as you’d like with your style. Try out some new techniques and maybe even a new style with these beaded cuff bracelets from our Craftsy designers. 1. Fire and Ice Beaded Cuffs This fab cuff uses circular peyote stitch to create ice and fire-inspired color palettes. The tutorial comes with instructions for both colorways. According to the designer, a basic knowledge of beadweaving is helpful for learning the circular peyote technique. Get the pattern » 2. Peyote Wide Cuff with Cube Beads The designer says that all these cube beads woven together creates a bracelet that’s just as comfortable as a leather cuff. Use the same color bead throughout, or create some color blocking with complementary colors. Take a look at the designer’s other photos of the bracelet for more color inspiration. Get the pattern » 3. Mirrix Tapestry/Bead Cuff Bracelet This cuff was created by Craftsy instructor Claudia Chase for her class. Claudia used a Mirrix Loom to weave the beautiful tapestry of the bracelet. Download the pattern for the bracelet or enroll in the class to get all Claudia’s tricks and tips for creating bead and tapestry cuffs. Get the pattern » 4. How to Finish a Beaded Cuff Bracelet If you already know how to bead but aren’t sure how to attach it to a cuff, this tutorial is for you. The designer guides you step-by-step in attaching your beadwork to a blank cuff, plus adding a professional-looking backing to finish it off. Get the pattern » 5. BeJuled Cuff This beaded cuff has a design that looks a lot harder than it actually is. You can make the bracelet as wide or as narrow as you’d like it; just keep any changes in mind as you’re shopping for supplies. 6. Montana Ridge Beaded Cuff This is a fantastic way to use up those random beads that are leftover from other projects. I love the color palette in the sample above, but you could also use several shades of the same color for a cool ombré effect. Get the pattern » 7. Golden Cuff Beaded Bracelet Make this cuff as it is, or trade out the pearls for beads you already have. You can even shorten the height of the bracelet by trading the long bugle beads for shorter ones. Even a beginner can complete this versatile design. Get the pattern » 8. Moon Flower Cuff Bracelet A right angle weave — and the perfect embellishment — are used to create this bracelet. The instructions come with diagrams and illustrations to make the bracelet longer or shorter so you can get the perfect fit. Get the pattern » 9. Celtic Knot Cuff Tutorial Looking for a beadwork pattern that’s a bit more challenging? This Celtic knot uses 19 different colors of beads. You’ll need to know how to do an odd-count peyote stitch before you begin.

Online Gallery Market Place! A new way to buy my one-of-a-kind pieces online. It's in early development but I thought I'd share it with you here. I have a great selection of earrings available. New Tribal Necklaces at my Holiday Shows! I have a busy holiday show season ahead and wanted to share one of my new pieces with you - the Tribal Necklace. Shown below are the Brights & Blacks Tribal Necklace and a Tribal Necklace in more muted tones. . . . Take a Peek inside my studio... I'm dipping my toe into the blog world to share my studio with those of you who don't have an opportunity to visit me in person here in Gloucester, MA. I'll have notes and some one-of-a-kind pieces available to purchase from time to time. Here's a link... . . . Did You Know? Take the Train from Boston to Beth's Studio! Beth's studio is less than an hour from Boston by train and is only a 5-block 10 minute walk from the Gloucester main train station stop!

Gather your materials. While Perler beads, jump rings, and Perler accessories can usually be found in craft stores, you might have to order the key chains online. You can also just use string to attach your creation to the item you're accessorizing. Prepare the work area. Pull out a pegboard, if you're using one, or use a hard, iron-safe work surface like a wooden table. Make your pattern. Arrange the Perler beads on the pegboard or surface in whatever pattern you want, such as a heart or Pokeball. Use a picture for reference if you need to. Prepare to iron. If using a pegboard, carefully transfer it to an ironing board and turn on the iron. If not using a pegboard, leave the beads on the surface and turn on the iron. Place a sheet of parchment paper or Perler ironing paper over your design. Make sure the iron is on a "dry" setting, not a steam one. Press the hot side of the iron over the beads. Carefully move it in a circular motion, making sure that all of the beads are fused. Pressing too hard or moving too roughly can knock beads out of place! Completely fused beads shouldn't have visible holes in the center. Set the iron aside. Put a heavy flat object on top of your creation and let the beads cool. Remove the heavy object. Lift the fused beads and flip them over, then iron the back for a smooth, finished look. Part 2 Turning Your Craft into a Keychain Carefully poke a hole through one of the perimeter beads. If you have jump rings, spread one open with your fingers or jewelry pliers. Push it through the hole in your creation. If using string, thread it through the hole. Secure the jump ring around the key chain's end, joining it through the key chain's last link. If using string, simply loop the string through the key chain's last link (you can loop it through more than once for extra strength), tie it off in a knot, and trim the ends. Attach the key chain to a buckle, zipper tag, or decorative metal loops on the purse/backpack/etc. Alternatively, tie the Perler bead creation directly to the purse/backpack/etc. using string. Tips Using more than one bead color can add depth to your design. The ironing paper or parchment paper protects your iron from the plastic beads. I've found that using parchment paper works just as well as the official Perler ironing paper, but feel free to experiment. A picture can be really helpful in figuring out your design! The heavy object placed upon the Perler pattern during cooling helps prevent the beads from warping. Warnings Using a pegboard is recommended, because otherwise it's very easy for the design to be skewed or knocked out of place.

Once upon a time (8 or so months ago) I had this great idea that I was going to open up an Etsy shop...then I got pregnant and realized I had no time for something extra. I came to the conclusion I enjoy sharing and showing you how to make your own jewelry so much more than I would selling it. So here is to another fun and super easy polymer clay diy! This is s great project to start with if you are a beginner or polymer clay seems intimidating to you. You can not mess this one up. What you will need: Polymer clay-you can use as many colors as you want. The color combinations are endless. Waxed cotton cord Toothpick Begin by conditioning your clay in between your hands until it is soft and pliable. Roll out your clay beads by taking a small piece of clay and then making a little ball with the palm of your hand. You can make them as large or small as you like. Use the toothpick to poke a hole in the center of each bead. If the clay you are using is really soft, you can wear latex gloves to help prevent fingerprints. Place your beads on a baking tray and bake according to clay directions. I baked mine at 270 degrees for 25 minutes. String your beads onto the cotton cord. This is where you can get creative. You can place all your beads on one stand or make a bunch of necklaces and layer them. Totally up to you!

Steps Choose your project. Different jewelry projects require different wire, so choose wire anew each time you begin a new type of wire jewelry creation. Choose what material you want to use. Wire comes in aluminum, iron, copper wire, craft, colored, French wire, gold-filled, memory wire, sterling silver wire, silver plated and tiger tail. The price largely depends upon the material used to make the wire. Tiger tail wire is a very common wire in jewelry making. It is a braided stainless steel wire that is coated in nylon...

Hello. My name is Ema Kilroy. I am a glass bead maker, metalsmith and jewelry designer. I've been a follower of all the marvelous contributors and their inspiring posts here at Art Bead Scene for a few years now. I'm thrilled to be asked to be a guest contributor today. I'm going to share with you one of my favorite jewelry designing techniques; kumihimo braiding. What is Kumihimo braiding? A Brief History: Kumihimo braiding is an ancient Japanese art which roughly translates into English as braided cord. Often used as a belt over traditional Japanese clothing. The braided cords are also used as ornamentation on festival carts, tea containers, as ribbons for fans and as closures for clothing in place of buttons. The braids were traditionally created using wooden braiding tools, called marudai, although there are a variety of loom like structures also used to create the braids. The history and development of Kumihimo braiding is undocumented until around 645 – 784 A.D, as it was considered a small part of textile tradition. A wooden loom used for braiding. A traditional Japanese sash tied on with a kumihimo belt Here we are in 2014 and kumihimo braiding is now a hot trend in jewelry designs. I've been adding seed beads, fibers, lampwork beads and sterling silver beads to kumihimo braids to create unique pieces of art jewelry. I'll share with you a few of my own pieces for inspiration and then give you a tutuorial so you can create your own beaded kumihimo jewelry. This is my very first kumihimo braided bracelet. I created this bracelet using rattail cord. Rattail is a good beginners choice to learn the rythym of kumihimo. I quickly progressed to using seed beads in my braided designs. I just love the sparkle of seed beads! I added sterling silver beads into the weaving process. Adding beads directly into the kumihimo braid is a bit more complicated. I thought I'd share these pieces with you to show you where you can evenutally head with your braiding if you choose. Lampwork beads were added to the kumihimo braid using various techniques. Again these focal beads have been woven directly onto the kumihimo braid. In this case a lampwork bead was added after the braid was complete. A much more straightforward method, using basic jewelry making skills, to add a bead to the kumihimo. Here is a design combining fibers and beads. As you can see the possibilities are endless! So let's get to the tutorial. I'm going to show you how to create a beautiful kumihimo braid using seed beads. You may want to create a practice piece or two using inexpensive rattail before you begin using seed beads. The basics of the braiding techniques will be the same. Your first task is to decide on the focal and the seed beads you'll be using in your design. So many wonderful options! Forgive the not so great picture. I tend to spread out on my floor when I'm pulling out various materials to consider my options. Materials: A kumihimo disc and 8 spools 30 - 35 grams size 8/0 Miyuki Delica seed beads C-Lon thread in color to match your seed beads 2 sterling silver end caps (8mm outer diameter - 6 mm inner diameter) 2 - 4 or 5 mm sterling silver rounds 1 sterling silver toggle clasp 2 - 4-6 inch lengths 22 ga sterling silver wire Jewelers glue - I prefer G-S Hypo Cement A measuring tape A weighted clip scissors basic jewelry making tools (pliers, cutters) Focal: 1 bail - 10 mm inner diameter lampwork focal 2 - 5 mm sterling silver rounds 1 balled headpin Kumihimo Braiding Supplies Supplies for the lampwork focal piece Decide on the length of your finished piece. In this case we will be making an 18 inch necklace. I will subtract 1.75 inches from the finished length to accomodate for the end caps and clasp to determine the actual length of woven beads we will need. 18 - 1.75 = 16.25 inches woven seed beads. The length of your cut thread will be 3x the finished length (this is a basic kumihimo guideline but I always find I have a substainal amount of extra thread left on my spool - just an fyi). In this case our finished length of an 18 inch necklace, 18 x 3 = 54 inches + 'just in case' inches = 57 inches. Cut (8) pieces of C-Lon thread, 57 inches each. Gather one end of all eight cords and tie together into one big knot. On the opposite ends of your threads string 11 - 12 inches of seed beads onto each of the 8 cords. Tie a knot on the end of each thread after you have added the seed beads and immediately roll onto a spool. Spooling before you begin to add beads to the next thread keeps your work nice and neat so your threads don't tangle up on each other. A needle is not necessary as the C-Lon thread is sturdy enough to pick up the seed beads. This is the tedious, time consuming bit. Find a sunny spot, put on some good tunes and get each thread loaded with beads and wound onto their spools. Tie a knot on the end of each thread. You definitely don't want those seed beads sliding off unexpectedly. Wind each cord onto a spool. Snap the spool closed. Finish adding seed beads to the remaining 7 threads. You're work will look something like this. You're now ready to to add the work to your disc. Insert the knotted end into the center of the disc. The weight is optional but I find it extremely helpful in the early stage of the braiding process. Not only does it give you something to hold onto but it also adds weight to help your work pull down through the center. Place two threads, into adjacent slots of the disc in of the north, south, west and east positions of the disc. Set up as you see in the photo below.

New jewelry & craft designs are added to our Learning Center often. Be sure to keep checking back for new and innovative ways to design with our products. Step-by-step instructions are provided as well as a complete product list. Follow our designs or use them for inspiration! If you're a beginner at making jewelry, this section is a great way to get started. Here, you'll find helpful explanations on how to create beautiful jewelry designs and you'll view step by step instructions to guide you through all the tricky parts of putting your own jewelry together...

Court adjourned The court has adjourned for the day. The trial will continue tomorrow. 'Accused drilled three holes through thick wall' Mr Evans continued: “Uninterrupted thereafter, the men spent the night cutting through the second sliding iron gate and then drilling three adjoining and circular holes in the thick wall of the main vault (on the left-hand side) with the Hilti DD350 drill they had brought with them. “Their efforts left a 25cm by 45cm breach in the wall. “They would at this point have encountered the back of the heavy metal cabinet housing the safe deposit boxes which was fixed both to the floor and ceiling...