Snow

With the whispers of snow for San Antonio (this is a big thing here..it rarely ever snows here), i have decided to add to a set of earrings and pin that i already own. I added a Swarovski flat back crystals to some silver snowflake earrings.

You can see the set as i bought it on ebay here.

I'd like to add a ribbon to the Snowflake pin in velvet to make it look luxe.

We'll see how it turns out.

Let it snow!

Right Angle Weave My journey into bead weaving

Right Angle Weave (or RAW) is a wonderful weave. It's name describes it - all the beads are at right angles to each other. There are 2 methods - single needle and double needle. RAW goes fairly quickly once you get the hang of it. If you've ever made a beaded daisy chain you should have little problem adapting. One warning, however, it is addictive!! RAW adapts to many shapes and is a soft weave, feeling almost like fabric in it's flexibility.

I found a simply explained pattern for Right Angle weave in the book Beadwork Creates Jewelry : 40 Beaded Designs by Jean Campbell (review to come soon) that i borrowed from the library. It was a pair of beaded earrings called Watermelon Balls and it is just delicate and lovely.

Having a ton of 4mm Swarovski crystals, i decided to try it out. I finally had purchased Clear monofilament thread as well. So to work i went. After two hours i had two sets of earrings. It would have been sooner but i lost a bead and had to search forever for it.

My result was this:

Delicate cluster earrings that just sparkle. I wish it was sunny today so I could have taken pictures outside to capture all the sparkle. They are just amazing. There is another project ..a cuff bracelet i an aiming to create that i found in a Bead & Button magazine that i so want to make and it's all right angel weave! So can't wait to try it out.

here is a video from Jewelrysupply.com that explains the Two needle method of right angle weave. which is what i used.

How to Do a Double Needle Right Angle Weave - Beading - Click here for more home videos

This is so exciting and i am so happy to expand my skills and learn new techniques. I hope you are inspired to try something new and look for jewelry books at your local library and take up a new skill or learn a new technique.