Beads Archives - Page 2 of 12

Ouch! A Remedy for Chapped Hands and a New Issue of Stringing Magazine

February 25, 2016 By candiecooper 6 Comments

It’s always exciting to see my projects go to print. Big thanks to Stringing magazine for including three of my designs in their winter issue! I don’t like to kiss and tell so this is as much as I’ll show. It’s on newsstands now or there are digital copies available which are especially great for tablet users!Winter is still here.

Still here.

And my hands are dry and chapped. I wanted to share one of my new favorite fixes:C.O. Bigelow’s Rose Salve No. 012. You can get it Bath and Body Works or online of course. There are lots of things I love about it–it’s pink, it smells nice, all in a compact tin. I keep it in my jewelry making pliers kit.

I don’t know about you, but by the end of winter, my skin is comparable to a 220 grit piece of sand paper. I try to drink more water, use lotions after showering and so on, but inevitably I am dried up.

Totes.So this has been one of my recent treats for my dried up, cracked and chapped handsies.The thing is, don’t stop after one application. As soon as your hands feel good, put it on again….and then again to rehydrate them.

Happy hands make good jewelry.Plus, I’m a sucker for a vintage looking tin. I will totally recycle this thing into jewelry when it’s empty (and that won’t be long if we keep getting hammered with these cold bursts!).

Until next time, sweet people!

Filed Under: Beads, Staying Well

Red Carpet Ready–A Blog Hop Featuring FAB DIY Earrings

February 15, 2016 By candiecooper Leave a Comment

Hey everybody, I’m throwing an impromptu party to celebrate the upcoming Oscars! You’re invited to add links to your DIY red carpet-worthy earrings this coming Thursday here on my blog.

I’m a big movie and fashion fan and this is one tv night I don’t miss. Join me for this hop! It’s easy!

When: Feb. 18th, 2016 (this Thursday)

How: Pop over to this page http://candiecooper.com/blog 8AM EST (or after) and insert your link!

Then: comment on others links and share on your social media channels so others can enjoy the party

Also: Feel free to use the image in your shout outs! Share with others <3!

I’ve been noticing a lot of petite elongated, designs on the awards shows and this was the inspiration for the hop. I’ll be posting my project on Wednesday night to kick the link-up party off on Thursday morning–8AM EST.

See you there, party people!!

Filed Under: Beads, fabulous

Teen DIY Jewelry Making

January 5, 2016 By candiecooper Leave a Comment

Over winter break, I had an opportunity to work with kids and teach them jewelry making. It was a great experience. Fourteen girls, but I learned that boys wanted to make jewelry too so in the future we will maybe do a metalworking class. I love that.

We made necklaces, bracelets and earrings over two days. They learned all the basics. I’m so proud of the results–you can see them in the slideshow below. But real quick–I wanted to give you the link to a tutorial I did well over a year ago–

But real quick–I wanted to give you the link to a tutorial I did on the above necklace well over a year ago–you can see it here. All the components are from JesseJamesBeads.com and the findings are by Beadalon.

Filed Under: Bead Love, Beads, Tutorials

Bluebird of Happiness Necklace

December 14, 2015 By candiecooper 3 Comments

Have you ever started making something and you don’t know what you’re doing or where you’re going, but you just dig in? That’s how this necklace came to be. I made it on the show floor in Tucson two years ago (the first year I worked with JesseJamesBeads.com). I had just read the Happiness Project book by Gretchen Rubins.

Happiness.

I’m no stranger to soul searching, contemplating (ok, over-thinking sometimes) and trying to figure out what really makes me happy. As someone with a diagnosed mild to moderate anxiety disorder (aka worry wort), I think this comes with the territory.
Back to simply digging in on this necklace, I think it’s kind of a metaphor of my happiness: Stop talking and thinking about it and just dig in. Choose to do what makes me happy.

And that’s the cool thing about jewelry—it serves as a reminder. In Gretchen’s book, she talks about having a bluebird of happiness reminder (paper weight, I think). This is mine. I wear it because it makes me happy, as a shield (you will not steal my joy) and when it’s not being worn I hang it up where I can see it.

Tassels from Woman Shops World on Etsy

Large Beads from JesseJamesBeads.com

Filed Under: Bead Love, Beads, Jewelry

New Kids Jewelry Craft Videos Available Now!

December 9, 2015 By candiecooper Leave a Comment

You guys know I have a passion for teaching children how to make things–jewelry especially because I started making it in sixth grade! That was practically yesterday (cough-cough, eye roll).

I’m excited to announce one of my new videos with Interweave called Rainy Day Projects: Bead Crafts with Kids. These videos take you step by step how to make three projects as well as give you ideas for choosing materials and avoiding craft fails. Even though the projects are geared towards kids, I think you might want to make a couple of the projects yourself! Macrame bracelets with buttons, hammered pendants, and rubber band and bead bracelets.

We all know the pressures that kids are under these days and I always think it’s a good idea to encourage making things with their hands. Allowing children to be creative, make their own color choices in a positive environment also helps boost their self-esteem. It’s good for everyone. I could go on, but I’ll get off my soap box here.I hope you’ll check it out at the Interweave Store here. Thanks in advance 😉

Filed Under: Beads, Kids Arts and Crafts, Tutorials

How to Use the Conetastic Inverted Attachments

October 2, 2015 By candiecooper Leave a Comment

This post brought to you by BEADALON!Are you into wire working? Then you need to know Sandra Lupo!
She is the inventor of the Conetastic tool for Beadalon. The Conetastic is a fun tool that makes wrapping wire into well, a cone shape! I’ve gotten to know Sandra over the last year and she is one of the most delightful people in the DIY jewelry making industry. That makes using her tool that much nicer, doesn’t it?For the tent sale, Sandra showed off her new Inverted Conetastic attachment pieces. Now you can make two bead cones at once OR a cool bead piece like she did for this tutorial. Remember those Steampunk earrings I made about a year ago? Those were made with Conetastic 1.0 attachments.
Just like before, the inverted version comes in multiple sizes, so pick your size and attach one end to the Conetastic handle piece and the opposite cone piece threads onto the tip. It should look like an hour glass shape.

These are the days of our jewelry making lives….

Sorry, I couldn’t help it.
Anchor your wire in the hole at the base of the cone (see the arrow?) and start turning that wire! For this one, Sandra made a long coil in pink thin Artistic Wire using the Coiling Gizmo (also by Beadalon) and slid them onto the copper colored wire to add a second layer.Keep wrapping through the hourglass shape.
She pulled the coil out so you can see some of the metal underneath. I was loving all of this layering action!
Then she snipped the pink wire and finished wrapping how she started with only the copper wire.
The variation in copper and layered pink is really fun right? The possibilities! Now to free your coiled bead from the Conetastic tool, cut the anchor wire…
and unscrew the top cone attachment piece.
Shore up the wire ends and tuck them in with pliers. Ready to string. You guys, this thing took seconds to whip up! Amazing. Here are a few ideas from Sandra’s stash on her table.
Check out how she stacked the cones on top of each other? Also, how about that twisted Artistic wire in the bottom bracelet?? Hot.And for this one she used Artistic Flat wire. The beads nestled down in had me at helloooo.

Good stuff Sandra! Thanks for showing us how to use the Inverted Conetastic tool! Here’s a link to Sandra’s website so you can see more Conetastic inspiration!

Filed Under: Beads, Tutorials, Uncategorized

Katie Hacker and Artistic Wire Braid and Flat Wire

September 30, 2015 By candiecooper 4 Comments

This post brought to you by the Beadalon crew!Welcome to day 3 of the party where we visit with Miss Kaaaatie Hacker! Good ol' Katie Hacker at the Beadalon tent sale If you’ve been in the DIY jewelry world for any length of time, I’m positive you know Katie. She’s a good egg and one of my favorite people. She also hosts the popular television show, Beads, Baubles, and Jewels on PBS. Katie is the author of many jewelry making books and has been on the Beadalon design team for years. Needless to say, she is a pillar in the DIY jewelry making community and I’m honored to call her a friend.For the tent sale, Katie was showing off Artistic Wire in braid (above) and flat versions (below).Both wires come in multiple metal finishes. The wire is super sturdy so it holds and shapes beautifully. I especially love hammering it. Didn’t I mention yesterday on the blog that I wanted to hammer some metal links? It might be my next favorite technique next to fringe….if fringe were a technique that is.The wire wraps easily and you can use regular round nose pliers to make loops at the end of it. But! Have you seen Beadalon’s large bail making pliers? They have a consistent cylinder tip vs conical. Handy.When you have your piece formed, you can wrap it with more wire and the like. This will make it even more sturdy and add a little texture to the smooth surface.

I love texture.This is the class that Katie taught at the tent sale. She is masterful at designing projects that look like it took hours to make, but you could make in an evening. I love that kind of instant gratification.Did I mention all the classes were $25 at the tent sale?!? And it included all the supplies and then some!Katie and I flew out to Pensylvania together and first stop…Michaels Craft store for some last minute supplies (and a few treats for ourselves).