Tila Twin Bracelet

Many people have sent emails saying they have missed my posts and current class information.  Thank you everyone, for the kind words.  I have been very busy - a new bead warehouse is in the construction phase.  A very, very exciting time - but more about that later.

We had a lot of classes in July.  Almost all of them were special requests and they filled immediately.  We are going to repeat most of them in August - and if necessary, more repeats in September.  Below is one new class made with the new Tile (CzechMates) and 2-hole Twin beads (aka Super Duos).   These new beads have been flying off the shelf.  We had enough interest to fill 3 classes and only able to get two scheduled in July.  The third will be in August.  If you like what you see, just let me know.



Technically called a Tila Twin Band, this pattern was designed by Deborah Roberti and
Sandy purchased the instructions for our students.
 We used CzechMate Tiles and Czech Super Duos which are pressed glass
and we think much more uniform than the two-hole Twin beads.
You can reach Deborah at espresso@sonic.net



This was the first class and Heidi's sister from San Diego was able to join in.



This is Irene's and she used the Silver Metallic Tiles, S11598E seed beads
 and Super Duo colors TW101G and TW104G



Claudia used Bronze CzechMate Tiles,  S11217E seed beads,
and TW130N Super Duos.



I'm sure most of you will recognize this as Janet's. 
The Tiles are much prettier than this photo shows - more of a pale Icey TQ Blue



Heidi choose to use Brown Iris Tiles, Super Duos TW132N,
and seed beads in color S11059E




Another beautiful color selection.
Elaine used Matt Apollo Jet CzechMate Tiles
and Matt Apollo Gold Super Duos



Lucy LOVED this pattern.  So much, she made 3 color samples
so she could choose her beads and then finish her bracelets at home.



Lucy's second colorway has Luster OP Green Czechmate Tiles,
 S11337E seedbeads, and Super Duos in OP TQ Green and OP TQ Blue



Heidi, Claudia, our instructor Sandy and Janet. 
This was one of Claudia's last classes.  She was trying to attend as many beading classes as she could before moving with her husband to Choteau, Montana.  We will miss her beautiful smile and her fabulous color choices. We all wish her well and hope she will be able to visit Boise often.



Heidi and her sister.
 Not sure what it is about this pattern, but everyone said it was a really fun project
 and as always, Sandy did a wonderful job teaching

The August Class Schedule has been posted even though we have a couple of days to be announced.  If you are interested in a particular project, let us know via email or calling Bead Street 336-9707 and we will try to accommodate.  Nancy is now back from her hiking trip in Colorado and is anxious to get back to teaching as well.

Thanks for reading and happy beading!  Eileen


Inspiration from Bead Street Classes

In the last couple of weeks I have received at least a dozen emails from people in  Italy, Hungary, Germany, London, the Netherlands and Turkey telling me what fabulous beading we are doing in lil' ol Boise, Idaho.  Who knew?  I do know that the Super Duos (aka Twins) and Peanut beads (aka Farfalle or Butterfly beads) have been in Europe for a while.  I also know that the CzechMates (aka Tiles) and Tila beads have not.  So I'm sure that's part of the interest in this blog.

A big, big, thank you to my  Czech glass bead vendor - I get the new beads first and then our instructors create new patterns for our classes.  But then our students take those patterns and tweak them, bling them up and make them their own.  All of that even before the new beads are even introduced at the major bead shows. 

Some of you may not think this is a big deal but  I came to Boise in 1972 before there were any bead stores in Boise, the only art show was 'Art in the park', and long before Boise Town Square Mall.   Since I was a beader - resources and inspiration were lacking in this otherwise wonderful town.  To remember those days and now get emails suggesting we are on the leading edge of jewelry trends - even creating  'the'  trend..... amazing!

So keep up the great work.   I've been telling everyone that their creations are 'fabulous'.  Hopefully they now believe me.  Here is a sampling of students' work.  As a side note, we currently have 30 colors of the Twin beads, and 50 or 60 colors of the Super Duos should be here this next week. We also stock almost 100 colors of the CzechMate Tiles and 60+ colors of the Japanese Miyuki Tilas.

Irene beaded this  ladder stitch bracelet using bugle beads
 in a random pattern.  She also made the flower from polymer clay. 
 I think this was the very first project she did with clay.
You can find a how-to for the 'Chan Luu' style bracelet under Videos.

This is going to be a new class - coming soon. 
 From Penny Dixon - see more of her work on her blog,
http://www.pennydixondesigns.com/



This is from Janet.  She learned this technique in a Russian Spiral bracelet class
and then made this great necklace. I think she found this wonderful ceramic pendant
in Seattle when she was visiting her new grandchild. 
Oops, maybe giving away too much info.
Love how she beaded her own 'bail'. 




Nancy Sathre-Vogel, created this freeform peyote piece a while ago. 
But I just recently learned that the 'fish' are actually
 chopstick holders she found in Thailand.
Nancy and her family are hiking the Rocky Mountains
this summer but we will schedule her freeform
peyote class again in the fall.



Janet learned how to bezel a couple different ways
 in two or three different classes. 
Now she is 'bezeling' a lot of things - here a Tagua nut.



Love how she finished this necklace with her own 'beaded toggle'.



This is just a small portion of  Deb's beautiful, freeform necklace. 
 She learned the technique in Nancy's Freeform Peyote class. 
 Deb also combined 'ruffleing' and netting (she learned in other classes)
and added other stitches she already knew, to make this stunning piece.



A closeup of another section.  We'll have more on this later. 
 I think this necklace deserves a post of its own.

A beautiful peyote and netting ruffled pearl necklace.
 This was done by Boise Bead Society President, Mary Ireland,
in a class she attended at Bead Street.

Joy beaded all of these.  Top one she learned in Bead Street's Tila Band class
from a pattern designed by Adele Kimpell. 
Middle is a pattern Joy purchased from Kassie Inman. 
Bottom from a Tila/Tile Spiral class taught by Sandy Taylor from another Adele pattern.

Right Angle Weave (RAW) with Peanut beads beaded by Virginia. 
This is the 'Gator' pattern designed by Adele Kimpell.
 Virginia created her own version by changing the pattern 
and then adding 6mm pearls down the center.
I like this version alot.

A beautiful embellished peyote bracelet beaded by a gal from Twin Falls.
You can learn basic peyote from one of our Beaded Bead classes.

This bracelet much prettier in person. 
Beaded by Yvona from Nicole's "Ice Ruffle" pattern. 
 We have convinced Yvona to teach this -
 hopefully, sometime this summer.

This is another version of Sandy Taylor's Tila / Tile Herringbone class
 taught using an original pattern from Marcia Balonis. 
The Tiles (aka CzechMates) have been replaced with
Czech glass pearls and seed beads



We teach a number of Beaded Bead classes at Bead Street.
Masoumeh created these bracelets using beads she made in class.



 For more information and other photos, see the link at the top of this blog for a class schedule.  You can also click here for a link to Kassie's site beadingbutterfly.com.  Or here for Adele Kimpell, http://www.beadreamers.net/  and here for Marcia Balonis, http://www.baublesbybalonis.net/ .  We are currently scheduling classes for June and July.   If you would like more info or to request a class, just send us an email.

Freeform Peyote

We managed to squeeze in another Freeform Peyote class with Nancy.  Because this is a two-part class with 'homework' in between - we need to try and schedule this when students don't have gardens, vacations and  other life issues to deal with.  No, we are not so obsessed with beads that they are the ultimate priority in our lives.  My friend Barb, from Portland, did travel to Boise to get in on a class with Nancy.  Okay, so maybe some of us are obsessed.  Here are photos of the first class and hopefully the gals will bring in their finished projects so all of us can see them.

Elaine is making a necklace in some of my favorite colors.

Barb made great progress. 
She did send me a photo of her finished bracelet from her phone to my phone. 
When I figure out how to get the photo to my computer, I'll pass it along,

They look pretty serious don't they? 

This is Linda's 'beading palette'. 
Freeform is a little easier when you have a good selection to choose from.

This is a great example of using 'bridges.'

Tile and Tila Spiral

We do a lot of Tile (aka CzechMates) and Tila classes.  Sandy Taylor taught this Tila Spiral in February (see March 3rd post).  This is another great pattern created by Adele Kimpell that Sandy purchased for our students.  Thanks to everyone for bringing in your finished projects to be photographed.  You have no idea what an inspiration you are to everyone.  Keep up the great work!



 

Great colors for all of these and very trendy - 
colors we are seeing everywhere this spring.  

More Spring Flowers

We recently had a sale of all of our Czech flowers and leaves.    Because the weather has been so rainy lately, many of you have chosen to stay inside and design 'flower gardens' for your wrists.  Here are photos of some bracelets Janet created and brought into the store to share. 

Beautiful colors and Janet added some Vintage Lucite and a flower button.

A tiny lucite flower layered on top of a Czech bell flower.  Really cute!



Also from Janet.   Another color version and beaded loop for her closure



Here's one worn as a necklace. Great work Janet.



Even Joy had to admit these were really nice.
Thanks so much, Janet for inspiring all of us.
Keep up the good work!



Freeform Peyote Tutorial

It's inventory and tax time so have not had time to post much lately - and now we are into April already.  How did that happen?  Thought I would concentrate on just finishing one project before starting something new - a brand new concept for me.

This is more of a "how to get started with freeform" instead of a real tutorial.  You can find many on the Internet but this is how I started.   I am not a freeform beader.   So for me, starting with a little structure and control worked a lot better.

Here is the beginning of my freeform bracelet.   Notice I used mostly 11's and 15's with some 8's and very few 6's.  I kept the first strand free of any larger beads and just did segments of each color.  I forgot to 'blend' - so I have a few areas that are blocky.  Hopefully I can take care of those when I am ready to embellish.

Here is the second phase.  I have added 'bridges' because I want this piece to be looser and notice I am now blending colors from one to another.  These 'bridges' are  just little half inch to one inch segments of peyote stitched beads coming out from one area and connected somewhere else.  If they seem too skinny - just add another row of peyote stitch to that segment only.

Third step was to add picots and ruffles - just here and there - to create a lacier look. 

For those of you who took our 'Ruffle' class - this should be easy for you -

 just ruffle along a few segments, here and there.

Here is the finished piece.  At least I think it is finished. 

Bead instructors will tell you the piece will speak to you and tell you when its 'done'. 

 So far the only 'speaking'  I hear is  "pick me, pick me, buy me". 

So, I'm going to let this sit for awhile, start another piece and see. 

If you know peyote stitch - give this project a try. 

You do not have to make your item this large. 

Try a thinner band for a simple bracelet. 

 If you want to make it larger without continuing with freeform

- add a couple of larger focal beads, or a vintage button, or a colorful cabochon.

 Any questions - email or come into the store - we'd be glad to help.  Enjoy!

If you would like more info, Bead Street carries some great beginner, intermediate and  advanced books on the subject.  And. we also have a great beginner class as well. 

 Let us know if you are interested - we'll get one scheduled.