Bead-Making Lab: 52 explorations for crafting beads from polymer clay, plastic, paper, stone, wood, fiber, and wire

by Heather Powers

Overview

Fill the year ahead with handcrafted beads that you can make yourself by following tutorials from Bead-Making Lab!

Imagine a year in beads. We're talking 52 handmade varieties all handcrafted by you! Bead-Making Lab makes this bounty of bead making possible with instructions for bead designs that run the gamut from sophisticated to playful.

Bead-Making Lab is organized by material, and single-spread lab tutorials for each bead design make the book simple to use. The tutorials are brief, accomplishable, and rewarding. Choose from traditional materials like paper mache and polymer clay, or opt for new materials such as resins and shrink plastic. Once you've selected your medium, follow the lab instructions for the bead-making technique of your choice. Try a new technique each week! With how-tos including molding, carving, painting, gluing, drilling beach glass and pebbles, and creating fiber-art beads with felting and embroidery, you'll have a year of unique projects ahead of you. Bead-Making Lab also offers ideas on how to turn your beads into jewelry and gives you a sneak peek at some contemporary bead artisans' best work. Get busy beading, crafters!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781631591822
Publisher:	Quarry Books
Publication date:	05/15/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	144
File size:	22 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Heather Powers is a bead maker, jewelry designer, and author. She is a frequent contributor to bead magazines and her popular blog, Art Bead Scene (artbeadscene.blogspot.com) brings her love of handmade beads and art inspiration to jewelry designers around the world. Heather organizes an annual Bead Cruise and teaches at workshops and retreats around the country. She is the author of Bead-Making Lab, Jewelry Designs from Nature, and Beautiful Elements: Creative Components to Personalize Your Jewelry.

Heather Powers is a bead maker, jewelry designer, and author. She is a frequent contributor to bead magazines and her popular blog, Art Bead Scene (artbeadscene.blogspot.com) brings her love of handmade beads and art inspiration to jewelry designers around the world. Heather organizes an annual Bead Cruise and teaches at workshops and retreats around the country. She is the author of Bead-Making Lab, Jewelry Designs from Nature, and Beautiful Elements: Creative Components to Personalize Your Jewelry.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Bead-Making Tools
Unit 1: Clay
Clay Basics
Polymer Clay
Lab 1: Sgraffito Beads
Lab 2: Ombré Beads
Lab 3: Faceted Beads
Lab 4: Matryoshka Beads
Designer Spotlight: Heather Millican
Lab 5: Swirl Disks
Lab 6: Woven Stripes
Lab 7: Milkweed Pods
Lab 8: Renaissance Relics
Lab 9: Rosy Posy
Guest Bead Maker Lab Report: Claire Maunsell
Air-Dry Clay
Lab 10: Faux Bois Beads
Lab 11: Wildflowers
Lab 12: Tiny Houses
Lab 13: Blue Birds of Happiness
Lab 14: Golden Owls
 
Unit 2: Paper and Cork
Paper Basics
Papier-Mâché
Lab 15: Deco Beads
Lab 16: Color-Block Pendants
Lab 17: Map Pendants
Rolled Paper Beads
Lab 18: Paper Saucer Beads
Lab 19: Paper Patchwork Pendants
Lab 20: Poetry Beads
Layered Paper Beads
Lab 21: Faux Copper Pendants
Lab 22: Stacked Beads
Recycled Cork
Lab 23: Cork Coins
Designer Spotlight: Cat Ivins
 
 
Unit 3: Plastics
Plastic Basics
Shrink Plastic
Lab 24: Doodle Charms
Lab 25: Vintage Vignette Bracelet Cuffs
Designer Spotlight: Yvonne Irvin-Faus
Lab 26: Butterfly Charms
Lab 27: Photo Charms
Lab 28: Geo Watercolor Matchsticks
Resin
Lab 29: Faux Sea Glass
Lab 30: Dazzled Druzy Charms
Lab 31: Charmed by Words
Lab 32: Glossy Floral Pendants
Guest Bead Maker Lab Report: Jen Cushman
 
Unit 4: Backyard
Natural Basics
Beach Glass and Pebbles
Lab 33: Drilled Beach Glass
Designer Spotlight: Staci Louise Smith
Lab 34: Gilded Pebbles
Lab 35: Message from the Sea Charms
Trees and Wood
Lab 36: Driftwood Beads
Lab 37: Wood Gems
Lab 38: Buoy Beads
Lab 39: Acorn Beads
Guest Bead Maker Lab Report: Carol Dekle Foss, Terra Rustica Design
 
Unit 5: Fiber and Textiles
Fiber Basics
Felt
Lab 40: Wee Felties
Lab 41: Strung-Out Felt Beads
Lab 42: Oak Leaf Pendant
Lab 43: Folk-Art Beads
Fabric and Thread
Lab 44: Thread Riot Flower Beads
Lab 45: Rolled Fabric Beads
Lab 46: Rope Beads
Leather
Lab 47: Blossom Bracelet Cuff
Lab 48: Leather Gingko Leaf Pendant
Designer Spotlight: Rebekah Payne
Lab 49: Knotted Leather Beads
Guest Bead Maker Lab Report: Gail Crosman Moore
 
Unit 6: Wire
Wire Basics
Lab 50: Faux Enamel
Lab 51: Wire Nest Beads
Lab 52: Abacus Pendants
 Directory of ArtistsResources
Index
About the Author
 

Editorial Reviews

"A useful book for jewelrymakers who are interested in customizing their own beads and would like to try out an array of techniques."

—Library Journal

From the Publisher

07/01/2016
Powers's (Jewelry Designs from Nature) book covers beadmaking using polymer clay, paper, shrink plastic, resin, wire, fiber and textiles, and natural materials such as pebbles and wood. Each section focuses on a particular material, with a brief overview of the basics, followed by beadmaking projects. They include a full supply list, a color photo of a completed bead, and written instructions with photos of key steps. Most use supplies that are readily available at craft stores, and there's enough variety here that most crafters will find a beadmaking project that suits their style, budget, and abilities. VERDICT A useful book for jewelrymakers who are interested in customizing their own beads and would like to try out an array of techniques.

Library Journal