Blush Bracelet Tutorial by Jamie Hogsett

Blush Bracelet

Materials:
Pink Tourmaline .019 diameter Soft Flex Beading Wire
Non-Tarnish Silver 22-gauge Soft Flex Craft Wire
11x17mm Sterling Silver Flat Oval Toggle Clasp - 1 clasp set
6mm Sterling Silver Flower Bead Caps - 8 bead caps
2x2mm Sterling Silver Crimp Tubes - 6 crimp tubes
3mm Sterling Silver Crimp Covers - 6 crimp covers
8mm clear/green/pink Czech pressed-glass rounds - 4 glass rounds
10x12mm matte green Czech pressed-glass leaves - 5 glass leaves
Shimmering Pink AB size 11 seed beads - 8 seed beads
Silver Galvanized size 11 seed beads - 2 seed beads

Tools:
Cutters
Chain Nose Pliers
Round Nose Pliers
Crimping Pliers

Finished size: 7 3/4"

Step 1: Use 2 1/2" of 22-gauge wire to form a wire-wrapped loop. String 1 pink seed bead, 1 bead cap (narrow end first), 1 glass round, 1 bead cap (wide end first), and 1 pink seed bead. Form a wire-wrapped loop. Set aside.
Step 2: Use 2 1/2" of 22-gauge wire to form a wire-wrapped loop. String 1 pink seed bead, 1 bead cap (narrow end first), 1 glass round, 1 bead cap (wide end first), and 1 pink seed bead. Form a wire-wrapped loop. *Use 2 1/2" of 22-gauge wire to form a wire-wrapped loop that attaches to the previous wire-wrapped loop. String 1 pink seed bead, 1 bead cap (narrow end first), 1 glass round, 1 bead cap (wide end first), and 1 pink seed bead. Form a wire-wrapped loop. Repeat from * once. Set aside.
Step 3: Use 4" of Pink Tourmaline wire to string 1 crimp tube and the bar half of the toggle clasp. Pass back through the crimp tube and crimp. Cover the crimp tube with 1 crimp cover. String 1 glass leaf (point first), 1 crimp tube, and the first wire-wrapped loop formed in Step 2. Pass back through the crimp tube and crimp. Cover the crimp tube with 1 crimp cover.
Step 4: Use 6" of Pink Tourmaline wire to string 1 crimp tube and the final wire-wrapped loop formed in Step 2. Pass back through the crimp tube and crimp. Cover the crimp tube with 1 crimp cover. String {1 leaf (point first) and 1 silver seed bead} twice. String 1 leaf (point first), 1 crimp tube, and the first wire-wrapped loop formed in Step 1. Pass back through the crimp tube and crimp. Cover the crimp tube with 1 crimp cover.
Step 5: Use 4" of Pink Tourmaline wire to string 1 crimp tube and the second wire-wrapped loop formed in Step 1. Pass back through the crimp tube and crimp. Cover the crimp tube with 1 crimp cover. String 1 glass leaf (point first), 1 crimp tube, and the ring half of the toggle clasp. Pass back through the crimp tube and crimp. Cover the crimp tube with 1 crimp cover.

Czech pressed-glass rounds and leaves available by calling the Soft Flex office at 1-866-925-FLEX. Seed beads available from Beyond Beadery and The Bead Cache.

Guest blogger Jamie Hogsett is the Education Coordinator for Soft Flex Company. Contact her at Jamie@SoftFlexCompany.com.

Spotlight on...Ayla's Originals International Bead Bazaar

Ayla's Originals International Bead Bazaar

Once upon a dreary, confining Illinois winter, Ayla found herself at a crossroads in her life; she was bored with her career, recovering from a divorce. She wandered into a store and selected two art kits to occupy her weekend: one for pottery and one for jewelry making. At home, she randomly chose to try the beading kit first and immediately fell in love. On her lunch hour on Monday, she discovered her first bead store. The pottery kit never found its way out of the box.

Read More!

Article - Getting Ready for Success by Charlene Gary

Color by Margie Deeb - Intangible Weight

Designer - Diana Shiraishi

Book - Wire Art Jewelry Workshop by Sharilyn Miller

Local Bead Group - The Madison Bead Society

Bead Seller - Ayla's Originals International Bead Bazaar

Happy Memorial Day Weekend

Well, life continues to throw me curve balls and I continue to swing and attempt to hit the ball out of the park. I arrived home from our big week in Sonoma taking photos for our upcoming book to find that my computer will not turn on. Oh boy! I definitely need a computer to finish the book!! I considered a good cry and then decided that there are probably better courses of action. It was a really exhausting week, and frankly, watching Oprah's last shows have made me extra weepy this week. I wondered, what would Oprah do? She might cry, but she definitely would work toward a solution. So, although I was supposed to have Friday off, I buckled down and made the necessary phone calls to figure out how exactly I can have a computer to do my work next week. All is well that ends well, right?

Now, I am typing away this blog from our ipad, wishing that I could figure out how to add a beautiful, color photo to this post. No such luck! At any rate, I hope that you all have a wonderful holiday weekend. Hopefully my next post will be written from my new computer. Cross your fingers that it gets here in a timely fashion!

Bead and Button Class: Swarovski Elements Presents - Royal Jewel by Alice Babcock

Swarovski Elements Presents - Royal Jewel by Alice Babcock

Level: Intermediate

Maximum Class Size: 10

Class Fee: $165.00

Techniques Learned:

Multiple Stitches

Netting

New Technique

Description: Learn to create a Swarovski-encrusted reversible jeweled pendant using seed beads and crystals. The pendant will be suspended on a crystal necklace incorporating gold-colored daisy spacers and small beaded beads. This challenging piece is created using a new technique based on netting with interconnecting sections. The pendant is available in your choice of two sizes.

Materials in Kit: Swarovski bicone crystals in various sizes, 11/0 seed beads for a 1 1/2-in. diameter pendant or 15/0 seed beads for a 1-in. diameter pendant, 12 mm clear fire-polished bead, 8 mm crystal rondelles, 6 mm and 4 mm rounds, gold-colored daisy spacers, clasp, stringing wire, crimp beads. A portion of this kit is underwritten by SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS. 

Flex Your Creativity Beading Contest



Our 2011 Beading Contest is underway! We are very excited about this year's challenge. We want you to use both our beading wire and our craft wire together in a design. We can't wait to see how you might mix these two top of the line products to create something really special and unique. You know that we love color! So don't be shy. Choose a full color palette from either product and BE COLORFUL! Yay!

More Details!

Spotlight on...The Madison Bead Society

 The Madison Bead Society

The Madison Bead Society (MBS) began in 1992 as a University of Wisconsin-Madison campus student organization by Jonathan Mark Kenoyer, an associate professor of anthropology at the UW-Madison.

During it's first 10 years of existence, the MBS attracted many locals who were not students and eventually it became a community organization. MBS got their 501(c)3 status in 2002 with our focus being the education of the public about beads and beading from every aspect -- culture, history, art, and personal hobby.

Read More!

Article - Getting Ready for Success by Charlene Gary

Color by Margie Deeb - Intangible Weight

Designer - Diana Shiraishi

Book - Wire Art Jewelry Workshop by Sharilyn Miller

Local Bead Group - The Madison Bead Society

Bead Seller - Ayla's Originals International Bead Bazaar

Scraps by Jamie Hogsett

It's crazy crunch time for the book right now! This is what wire scraps from fifteen book projects look like. As you read this, Sara and I are in Sonoma at the Soft Flex office working on pictures for the book. It's so exciting to see it all coming together. I can't wait to show you all the finished designs - they're pretty cool!

amie Hogsett is the Education Coordinator for Soft Flex Company. Contact her at http://softflexgirl.blogspot.com/jamie@softflexcompany.com.

Guest blogger J

New! New! New!

5 COUNT 15x10mm DARK AMETHYST POLISHED NUGGETS

Retail: $27.00

5 COUNT LIGHT AMETHYST SIMPLE CUT NUGGETS

Retail = $18.00

3 COUNT 20x18MM CITRINE SIMPLE CUT NUGGETS

Retail = $32.00

3 COUNT 20x15MM SMOKY LEMON QUARTZ POLISHED NUGGETS

Retail = $30.00

5 COUNT 15x17MM ROSE QUARTZ FACETED NUGGETS

Retail = $33.00

10 COUNT GRADUATED BLUE-GREEN PERUVIAN OPAL NUGGETS

Retail = $33.00

9 COUNT 11x9mm PINK PERUVIAN OPAL POLISHED OVALS

Retail = $14.00

12 COUNT 10mm PINK PERUVIAN OPAL POLISHED RONDELLES

Retail = $30.00

Mike Sherman - Update

I updated Mike's blog Mr. Flex this week.  I realized that there are still important friends that didn't know about his accident. If you know Mike, it is hard not to adore him. He is funny, witty and often the center of attention. That is as true today as it ever was. It isn't hard to imagine that he made friends far and wide during his travels. I suppose that it shouldn't completely surprise me that some folks still don't know about his spinal cord injury. I guess when you put something on the internet, you just sort of expect it to spread like wildfire. At any rate, it felt good to update his blog this week. I am heading to Sonoma next week to work with Jamie on our book. Although I'll be excited to see all of the Soft Flexers, I especially look forward to spending a little bit of time with both Mike and Scott. If you get a chance, please leave Mike a comment on his blog. He does read the comments and I think that it is so nice for him to hear how many folks are rooting for him!

Life.

Have you ever noticed in life that things (good and bad) all seem to happen at once? This month was a prime example of that for me. I worried throughout March and April that May might be really tricky. I knew that I'd be wrapping up some classes from Spring semester and have finals. I knew that I had a trip planned to go to Los Angeles to pick out my wedding dress with my bridesmaids. I knew that our book deadline would be looming large all month long. Of course, I knew that my birthday was on May 17th. Lots of things to look forward to, but lots of things that also require work, time and thought. What I didn't know was that my Dad would die and be buried right at the start of May. So what I had predicted to be a high stress time in my life became more stressful than I could have ever anticipated.

Sometimes when things get hard, you just have to put one foot in front of the other. That's what I did and what I continue to do. When the airline lost my luggage on the eve of my Dad's funeral, I hung in there. When finals week threatened to test my patience with waiting in line at a testing center, I breathed. The weekend away to pick out my wedding dress was a blessing. It was a smidgen of calm inside this big storm that is my life right now. And this week, I finished all of my projects and project instructions for the book. That is not to say that there is still not a lot of work left to do to pull our book together, but it does feel nice to have one more thing done.

I wonder when I look back at this month in my life what I will remember most? I hope that I remember how fortunate I was to have support from Josh (my love), our families, our friends and my co-workers. I hope that I remember how fun it was to pick out my wedding dress and how happy I was when I found out that I had straight A's in my classes even though it was nearly impossible to concentrate the last few weeks of class. Most of all, I hope that the projects that I created for the book are unique, special and inspiring. I hope that when I receive my official copy of the book that I think back to May 2011 and appreciate my strength and perseverance. I hope that I remember the good things because I've been blessed with so many.

Twist N Curl Tutorial

Have you ever used the Twist N Curl? It is fun and easy to make your own colorful beads!

Pictured below are the two TNC's that come in the Mini set. There is also a regular set. The smaller the dowel, the smaller the coil that you will make. You can also control the size of the coil by choosing thicker or thinner gauge of Soft Flex Craft Wire.

First, you will create the outside coil. I used 24g in blue on the thicker of the two Mini TNC's. Anchor the wire onto the TNC.

And start to spin. If you hold the wire onto the dowel with your pointer finger and thumb, you can twist the handle with your free hand and make a coil pretty quickly. When the coil gets to its desired length, you can remove it from the TNC.

And start your base coil. I used 20g in purple.

Slide the first coil onto the base wire.

And then coil the coil.

And finish off your bead!

Tah - da!

Now, I'm going to string these up with some Amethyst chips and Purple Amethyst Soft Flex Beading Wire!

And a day later, here is the final result....

And here is another version. I think that this is a bit more elegant. I used 22g non-tarnish silver plate and 28g brass to make the TNC beads. I anchored the beads in place on .024./Heavy Bright Silver Extreme Soft Flex and 2x2 crimp tubes.

Bead and Button Class: Stars and Diamonds Bracelet by April Machan

Stars and Diamonds Bracelet by April Machan

Level: All Levels

Maximum Class Size: 10

Class Fee: $145.00

Techniques Learned:

Bead Stringing

Right-angle Weave

Description: Have a blast making this fun and festive sparkler. Create your bracelet using a new Swarovski crystal shape along with 3 mm bicones in a two-strand treasure. Dichroic Delicas also make an appearance here. Most students will leave wearing their creation. A cool color choice (shown) and a warm color choice will be offered. If you're looking for a star-quality project without a lot of time invested, this class is for you. Additional session on Friday, June 10 (B11619). 

Materials in Kit: Fireline 6 lb. test, Swarovski crystals, dichroic Delicas, clasp, needle, Soft Flex beading wire, crimp beads.

The Perfect Shell

The little swirly shell in the middle came home with me from my trip to Santa Monica. It has a perfect piercing just waiting for a piece of Soft Flex Beading Wire. Now wouldn't that little shell look just lovely with those Tahitian Pearls that I continue to admire? Ooh la la! What found objects have you used in your design work?

Spotlight on...Color by Margie Deeb - Intangible Weight

Intangible Weight

by Margie Deeb

I'm going to focus on design this month. I want to explore what I call intangible weight, which is so important in jewelry design. This concept plays a critical role in the balance and proportion of your designs. I refer to this weight as "intangible" because you can't measure it. Intangible weight does include what you can measure. And it also includes what you see, feel, and most important, what you sense. Rev up your intuition for this, folks!

Read More!

Article - Getting Ready for Success by Charlene Gary

Color by Margie Deeb - Intangible Weight

Designer - Diana Shiraishi

Book - Wire Art Jewelry Workshop by Sharilyn Miller

Local Bead Group - The Madison Bead Society

Bead Seller - Ayla's Originals International Bead Bazaar

A Little Pick-Me-Up by Jamie Hogsett

The skies that have been overcast and gloomy for days now and the big book deadline is rapidly approaching, so I'm feeling a little stressed and grouchy today. Something new and sparkly always seems to cheer me up though and this morning I pulled out some my Tucson purchases to make a quick pick-me-up pair of earrings.

The earrings were made in under ten minutes with blue/green small flower tarts from Glass Garden Beads hanging from orange glass rounds and rondelles from Sylviebeads. I used non-tarnish silver 22 gauge Soft Flex Craft Wire to make the ear wires and do the wire wrapping. There is something about the color combination of orange, aqua, and peridot that makes me feel happy.

Hopefully wearing these earrings today will snap me out of my funk and bring a little sunshine to your day too!

Guest blogger Jamie Hogsett is the Education Coordinator for Soft Flex Company. Contact her at Jamie@SoftFlexCompany.com.

The Great Balancing Act by Kristen Fagan

Tree of life belly cast painting by me

Nine years ago I left an office job and took a telecommuting job with Soft Flex Company. My desire for doing this (besides the obvious perks of working from home) was to start a family. Being available to my family while working was important to me. When my son was born, I worked all hours of the day squeezing in time between naps and working late into the night. After about a year I realized that yes, I was balancing my time but, I was in chaos, tired, and not fully engaged with my family or my work and I wasn't creating art at all. I realized then, that balancing your time doesn’t necessarily mean you are balancing your heart and soul. And finding that heart and soul balance is something I continue to work towards.

Today I work full time, make art, connect with new people and old friends, and at the end of the day, I feed my children, read to them, put them to bed, and catch beautiful moments of their childhood. Here are some of the ways I stay connected.

Ways to stay connected as a family  

• Discuss your day and your feelings. We turn off the TV during dinner and discuss our day. We also have semi regular family meetings. They are a forum to discuss family issues going on (like the boys insatiable need for snacks) and what things have made them happy, upset or sad. Having time to safely share their feelings has proved to be invaluable.
  
• Schedule free time. We enjoy parks, museums, visiting friends but, we also enjoy hanging at home. So each weekend we leave some "free time" for us to just be home and with each other. That sometimes means missing out on an event and that's okay.
  
• Volunteer at school if possible. I visit my son’s first grade class 2x a month on my lunch break and give a 20 minute art history lesson. This is rewarding on many levels, I share my love of art history, I get to know the teacher and students and my son is very happy I am there. There may be something you can do to help that is in line with your time and interests or maybe you can stop in for lunch with your child.

• Maintain a healthy relationship with your husband. My husband and I currently work from home and are lucky to spend lots of time together already however, we still need to maintain a deep connection. Making time to talk about things that interest us (other then the kids) is important. I like to read and he likes to listen to podcasts and we share what we are learning about with one another. We have a special Sunday morning show we always watch together and we share the responsibility of putting the kids to bed early each night giving us each one on one time with the boys. Putting them to bed early allows us some time to ourselves in the evening.

Me and my son painting together.

Ways to stay connected to your art 

• Take time for creativity. In my situation I am not able to be in my studio every day but, I try to get there once a week and on the days I’m not in the studio I look for ways to enjoy creative time with my children such as drawing, playing with dough, music, dancing and reading. All those little moments support me as a whole artist. If you are serious about putting time in your studio pick a schedule for yourself that works with your life, not against it, and get into a routine. Also regularly evaluate where your time is going and see what adjustments can be made.
  
• Make your workspace work for you. You have to have a creative space that works. For me, I have to be at home but, in my own space. My garage has served this purpose well. I go out there in the evenings when the kids wind down and are playing quietly (and my husband is home) or I go out there on weekends and bring my kids with me. They have an easel setup right next to mine so, that we can create together. Lastly, try to keep your workspace neat.  My studio isn't always in tip top shape which okay but, when it's a big old mess I don't want to go out there.

• Have a secret weapon. My secret weapon is my husband. He is a tremendous help with household chores and cooking. If it wasn't for his help I wouldn't have the energy to do half of what I am able to accomplish.  Having someone there to support you in whatever shape that means to you is invaluable. It could be your sister, an artist friend you can relate too or maybe it's a spiritual guide or simply a cup of coffee that gets you going. Your secret weapon could be just about anything.

How do you balance motherhood and the life of an artist? Do you have a secret weapon that helps you along your way?

Guest blogger Kristen Fagan is the Website Graphic Designer for Soft Flex Company. She also has her own blog and etsy shop.  She'd love to hear from you! So, please feel free to leave comments or email her at Kristen@SoftFlexCompany.com.

Wedding Accessories

I can't believe that I am getting married in just shy of 6 months. This past weekend my girlfriends and I flew to Los Angeles to fit and purchase my wedding dress. Of course, I can't talk too much about the actual dress (which I love). A girl does need to keep a few surprises under her hat.

After the fitting, we walked down to a bridal store that featured accessories. Holy smokes! Why are wedding accessories so expensive? I was looking at some of the items and knew quite certainly that I could make the same item so easily and for cheap. Do people really pay those prices?

Spotlight on...Getting Ready for Success by Charlene Gary

Getting ready for success

Written by: Charlene Gary

If you’re a human being, and if you’re reading this you probably are, you dream about success, whether it’s personal or business. We think about it often, we make plans, goal sheets, charts, and graphs. We say to ourselves that once we finish school, we’ll do what we’ve always dreamed about and have our success. Once we’ve paid off this bill, or have the right tools or amount of funding, then we’ll start and have our success.  But that day never seems to come for some of us. So what’s the problem? I think I may have an answer.

Read More!

Article - Getting Ready for Success by Charlene Gary

Color by Margie Deeb - Intangible Weight

Designer - Diana Shiraishi

Book - Wire Art Jewelry Workshop by Sharilyn Miller

Local Bead Group - The Madison Bead Society

Bead Seller - Ayla's Originals International Bead Bazaar

Winner Announced - Stretch Magic

Pretty blooms at the Phoenix Desert Botanical Gardens

Thank you so much to everyone who took time to enter our First Friday Giveaway for May. Congratulations to this month's winner fishyfacedesigns!

She noted in her comment that she just found her jewelry making passion and has not attended any bead shows. I hope you will be able to attend a bead show soon! Please enjoy experimenting and stretching your imagination with Stretch Magic and thank you for following us on this blog and twitter.

Our next First Friday Giveaway will start on June 3rd. Until then, I hope that you enjoy our articles, free project ideas, show updates and more.

Bead and Button Class: Vertebrae Chain Maille Bracelet by Diane Miller

Vertebrae Chain Maille Bracelet by Diane Miller

Level: All Levels

Maximum Class Size: 10

Class Fee: $155.00

Techniques learned:

Wirework

Description: The vertebrae weave is still one of my favorites! This beautiful bracelet will gently hug your wrist and turn heads every time you wear it. Students will work with the instructor’s hand-coiled, cut, and polished Argentium® Sterling Silver jump rings to weave this bracelet. Finish your bracelet with your own favorite single-strand clasp. Additional session offered Friday morning, June 10 (B11950).

Materials in Kit: Argentium Sterling Silver jump rings, instructions.

Other classes available from the same teacher....

Jens Pind Chain Maille Bracelet

Vertebrae Chain Maille Bracelet - Friday's class

New Beads Available Online

Check it out! We added some new short strands to the website recently. 

Affordable + Beautiful = Awesome

BON-CHC1831

5 COUNT 8-10mm CHRYSOCOLLA SIMPLE CUT NUGGETS

Price: $15.00 

BON-CIT1833

5 COUNT 6-14mm CITRINE SIMPLE CUT NUGGETS

Price: $17.00 

BON-GAR1835

7 COUNT 6-14mm GREEN GARNET SIMPLE CUT NUGGETS

Price: $33.00 

BON-KYA1837

5 COUNT 11x11mm BLUE KYANITE POLISHED SQUARES

Price: $29.00 

TL-ANT1851

2 COUNT 25mm ELK ANTLER NATURAL END POINTS

Price: $9.00 

TL-ANT10409

1 COUNT ELK ANTLER POLISHED TIP

Price: $18.00