Tutorials

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

TUTORIAL: SPIRAL ROPE

 

    Spiral rope stitch is one of the most versatile stitches we have, very simple to make, if I must say and unique in its own way. It can be used for necklace, bracelet, even bag straps.
    There are so many variation you can use that make it looks different every time.

The basic spiral rope is made up of two section, the core, and the outer spiral rows which wraps around the bead.

MATERIALS:
1. Size 3 seed bead which is the core bead.
2.  Size 2 seed bead which  is the outside bead.
3.   0.25 fishing line.
4.  Beading Needle. 

PROCEDURE:
1. cut a comfortable length of fishing line, insert a stop bead and a needle, leaving about six inches tail.
2.  pick up four core bead and four outside bead.

3. Stitch up your needle through the four core bead, and pull snug.
    

4.  pick up one core bead and four outside bead.
5.  Stitch your needle up through three of the core beads from the previous step and the new core bead just added, pull snug.

6. Use your thumb to push the new outside beads over to the side so that they rest next to the first set of outside beads.

7. Repeat from step 4, untill you reach your desired length. 



    like I said earlier, there are so many variation of Spiral rope stitch,  for this particular variation, ( see the picture after the cut)

Thursday, April 23, 2015

OWANBE: RAW COLLAR

    She called me yesterday,  she wants a very beautiful and unique piece for OWANBE, and she will be making use of it today,   wow!!! how am I going to do that, all the unique designs I know are time consuming, how am I going to give her the best within this short time, "hmmmm"  after thinking for a while, I settled for this RAW COLLAR.
See it after the cut,

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

CELLINI SPIRAL TUTORIAL


    Cellini spiral is a variation of tubular Peyote, where different size and colour of beads are used to create a spiral effect.

    Just by changing the arrangement of the beads the possibilities are endless, its always very hard at first, because a lot of beads and patience are always needed to create something unique.

     To stitch a Cellini spiral, you need to determine a pattern for your spiral, you can use any combination of seed bead, in any size and colour you want, once you have your first row ready, the rest of the stitch is very straightforward.

     Yay!!! Finally I finished my Cellini spiral design,  I eventually made it into a bracelet,  "biko no be everything we dey put for neck" ...lol... our hands need to do the talking too.



    For this particular pattern you will need:

1. Size 1 seed bead (pink)                          A
2. Size 2 seed bead (light blue & deep blue) B &C
3. Size 3 seed bead (light blue)                        D
4. 0.25 fishing line.
5. Beading needle.

Procedure:

1. Attach a needle to a comfortable length of fish line.
2. Pick up the beads in this sequence:
6A + 4B + 2D + 4C.
3. Tie them in a circular shape at the end of the fish line leaving about a 6 inch tail, tie it three times.
4. Stitch through two of the A beads, you must begin your spiral here.
like any other peyote stitch technique, you pick up a bead, skip a bead in the base row, and stitch through the next bead,  you need to do this round the base row, skipping the next bead till the end.
There’s no need to count bead or stitches, just remember to always pick up the same type of bead your fishing line is exiting through.
     After you have added the last bead of that first peyote row, you will need to step up, stitch through the first raised bead, which is also the first bead you picked up in the last round.
   Gently push your beadwork into a tube shape, after the third round, also, do not try to bend your beadwork to get a curve, any tubular beadwork will appear very rigid when it is short,  but it will become more flexible as you add length, when it's long enough,  you will be able to bend it easily.

Here are some other combinations you might like to try:
6A + 2B + 2D + 2B + 2D
6A + 4B + 2D4 + 2B


While surfing the net, I saw some really beautiful designs of cellini spiral,  see them after the cut:

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

AM THE BADDEST PHOTOGRAPHER

*****The normal saying is "a picture is worth a thousand words", but now in this social media age " a picture is worth a few hundred likes, a couple of comments, and a handful of retweets and shares"****




      Good morning guys, how was the Easter celebration, mine was fantastic, although I spent the holiday at home working on a beadwork "beaded curly fur", except for the fact that I went to church on Sunday morning, I was home for the rest of the day and also on Easter Monday.




Saturday, April 4, 2015

HAPPY EASTER

***May the good lord bless you on this day and may it be a new beginning of greater prosperity, success and happiness, I wish you all a happy Easter celebration.***



At the cross I bow my knee
Where your blood was shed for me
There’s no greater love than this 
You have overcome the grave
Glory fills the highest place
What can separate me now?
                       These are lyrics from a song by Hillsong.

        The celebration of Easter marks the cultural idea of remembering our redemption from sins, it’s the day we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from death, a time in a Christian life to remember Christ’s eternal  gift.




       As a way to celebrate and remember all that Christ did for me, I made this beaded crosses, using cubic RAW beading. This beaded cross is a special craft for the Easter season, you can use them as charms, pendants or earrings, key chain ornaments ,and  it can also be worn all year long as a proclamation of faith, you can also give it to a friend as a gift for the season. 
     Happy Easter,
            Stay creative,
    Tomisin .

BEADED EASTER EGG


  As a catholic that grew up in the western part of Nigeria, Easter period is like a mourning period in our church, and also in our house.  We celebrate the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, beginning with the season of  lent, a forty- day period of abstinence and mourning, then end it on Easter Monday, which is the accession of Christ into heaven, it has been the same ritual every year.  Then I noticed the use of Easter bunnies and colorful decorated Easters eggs to celebrate Easter in some certain culture in the world, I was very confuse about the significance of Easter bunnies and Easter eggs but am more enlightened now and I really wish we can incorporate that in our culture.

The practice of decorating Easter eggs is a tradition shared by many cultures around the world, from children using vegetable dye to decorate eggs, to professional artists creating beautiful designs.  The egg is a symbol of creation, spring and fertility in many cultures and religions, its seen as a source of new life, for just as a hard shell of the egg is broken open so that new life can emerge, so was the rock- hewn tomb of jesus broke open when he rose from the dead on the third day.

  According to Wikipedia, Easter eggs, are also called Paschal eggs, they are decorated eggs that are often given to celebrate Easter or springtime. As such, Easter eggs are common during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The oldest tradition is to use dyed and painted chicken eggs, but a modern custom is to substitute chocolate eggs, or plastic eggs filled with confectionery such as jelly beans. Eggs, in general, were a traditional symbol of fertility, and rebirth In Christianity, for the celebration of Eastertide, Easter eggs symbolize the empty tomb of Jesus, though an egg appears to be like the stone of a tomb, a bird hatches from it with life; similarly, the Easter egg, for Christians, is a reminder that Jesus rose from the grave, and that those who believe will also experience eternal life.
  While the origin of Easter eggs can be explained in the symbolic terms described above, among followers of Eastern Christianity the legend says that Mary Magdalene was bringing cooked eggs to share with the other women at the tomb of Jesus, and the eggs in her basket miraculously turned bright red when she saw the risen Christ. The egg represents the boulder of the tomb of Jesus.

As a way of celebrating Easter this year I made these lovely beaded eggs, I even made them into a necklace.

Have a fun filled Easter with lot of colours to brighten your day. 
Click here,here,here, and here for my gift to you this day. 
                            Tomisin.