Gail Nettles

Dichroic cabochons are like potato chips; it's hard to stop with just one!  I had bought a few several years ago, and they were indeed lovely, but I hadn't found any really nice ones at a decent price.  And you know how it is -- you have something that you love to look at, but are afraid to use because you'll never find something like it again.

(I have the same disease when it comes to seed bead colors, LOL.)

Now I have these cabs that I'n not using because I can't find more good ones at a decent price, but I really love the cabs.  I don't know why I didn't think to look on ebay -- after all, I used to sell my own lampwork beads there for a few years.

OK,I admit -  sometimes I am a little dense, but I finally went to go look at the variety of that were available.  Oh boy-- I was like a kid in a candy shop!

You can see one of my purchases to the right, made up into earrings; two cabs that are about 14mm in diameter.   The purchase was a bargain, considering I got 12 cabs (all of them gorgeous) for less than $15.  My next creation with some of the other cabs in this batch will be to make either a bracelet or necklace (leaning towards the bracelet).  So, that was one purchase.

Then I found one glass artist, Carolyn Relei, whose work I just had to add to my collection-- she has some beautiful dichroic cabs.  Just looking at her work makes me want to run out, buy another kiln and some glass to make some of my own.  But since I barely have time to feed my beading need, it's more time and cost efficient for me to buy them ready made. Well, time efficient at any rate, given the number I have purchased at the moment and which haven't arrived yet). 

Anyway, I bought three off ebay; here is the photo of the three.

 Using Dichroic Cabs in Bead Embroidery

Fortunately, since these are made of glass, they can be glued to an embroidery foundation just like a gemstone cab.  The one thing you do want to keep in mind is that glass is fairly heavy, so if you don't plan to capture the cab with a bezel (like in the earrings at the top of this post), you will need a glue like an epoxy or E-6000 to attach the cab to the beading foundation.

If you do plan to capture the cab with a bezel, then you can use a white glue or double-sided tape to temporarily attach the cab to the foundation.

And since I mentioned that glass can be fairly heavy, you'll want to carefully consider the weight of the glass (not to mention all the rest of the beadwork) if you're making earrings.  Some people can comfortably wear very  heavy earrings; I am not one of them.  If you aren't either, your better bet is to go smaller in size for your cab.

When it comes to bracelets, keep in mind that these are made of glass.  Although cabs are a very durable shape, glass is glass, and if you really bang around your bracelets, keep this in mind.  (I am hard on my jewelry, but I don't tend to get into situations where I will smash the bracelets, so for the most part I am OK.)

Pendants and necklaces can usually handle anything you can throw at them.  Keep in mind the final weight of your necklace/pendant when choosing your clasp, though.  The last thing you want is for the clasp to give out and you lose the creation you lovingly beaded. I favor magnetic clasps for necklaces these days, and am careful to match the strength of the magnet to the weight of the piece.

There you go -- the story of my cabs, plus tips when creating your own bead embroidered dichroic jewelry.  If you need more help with bead embroidery, consider looking at my tutorial for bead embroidery.

I've been saying for awhile that my Intro to Bead Embroidery Components tutorial was just about done.  But this time I can say it is finally ready!  I know, it's taken me a lot longer than I expected to complete it, but that's because I kept getting one more idea to include something else...

Finally I had to quit adding more projects to the ebook tutorial, or else I was never going to finish!

What's in the Tutorial

The whole idea behind this was to make bead embroidery fast and easy.  While I love the beaded collars and intricate cuffs, that just isn't the kind of jewelry I wear.  And to be honest, I'd never finish one because it would take me too long, and I'd abandon it half-way through.

So instead of making elaborate jewelry that I wouldn't wear, I decided to make smaller components that I would wear.  Some are fairly simple and more tailored in appearance.  Some are more exotic, with dichroic glass and/or fringework.

But the great part is that they can be worn together or separate.  Make one component large and you have a pendant.  Two smaller components make for a set of earrings.  Several connected together make a bracelet or necklace.

And of course each component can be dressed up or down.  Just changing the cab or the seed beads can give a component a whole new look.

So, I teach 5 components, and then 2 projects on putting the components together. Plus, I have a "Fringe 101" section where I show how to make fringe and some ideas on how to use different kinds of fringe.

It's about 60 pages long and has loads of photos. Originally I had planned on about 30 pages, then 40...and when I got to 60 pages I just had to stop, LOL.  (I'll just have to make another ebook for my other ideas and projects.)

Anway, here's the link for Intro to Bead Embroidery Components tutorial.   Meanwhile, I have to go shopping for some more cabs (as if I didn't have enough already...).

I recently had someone ask me if there was a good colored wire that could be used for viking knit jewely.  You know, a colored wire that would survive repeated travels through a draw plate, and not look all mottled because the color flaked/rubbed off.  Guess what -- I found one!

I've tried several brands, with varying results.  One thing I quickly learned was not to use one that was plated.  I'm talking about the wires that are bright and colorful and shiny -- beautiful on the spool, but starts degrading when you're working it.  (Let alone try to put it through the draw plate.)

Before today, my standard wires were red brass (resembles 18 kt gold) and copper, because of the coating issue.  I was able to get some wire from the local Joann store which was fairly decent, as long as you only sent it through the drawplate twice.  It's manufactured by a company called Darice.

A New Kid in Town

A few months ago I had heard about a brand called Zebra Wire, but only recently did I get some to try it out.  And am I ever happy I did (and sorry I waited so long)!

To the above right are two samples I made, using 26 gauge Zebra Wire in magenta.  I did two double-knit chains, and passed them through the draw plate relentlessly.  Well, maybe not relentlessly, but the top chain was sent through 6 different holes on the draw plate, and it came through beautifully!

The bottom chain was drawn down less, only 4 times.  It had more petals, and I didn't want to have the chain any narrower anyway.

Still, as you can see from these extreme close-up photos, the color stayed on the wire!  (Any white-ish color you may see is just light reflection.)

That was the good news.  The bad news is that it only comes in about 8 colors (although they are very nice) and it's really hard to find!  I've only found 2 places where I've been able to get it -- Fire Mountain and  .

(If there's anyone out there who knows of another source for this great wire, please pass it along.)

I got my first spool from Fire Mountain, but I have recently ordered some from ebay as well (gotta love free shipping).

I also bought some on ebay.  I don't know how it will stand up to the drawplate, but it does come in a slightly wider range of colors, so I'll give it a try.  Well, when it gets here at any rate! 

I've made a right angle weave video tutorial using earrings as the example.  While I also have a video that shows RAW (as it is also called) as a bracelet, these earrings are easier.  Well, faster at any rate!  In fact, this set is easy and fast enough to make a pair of earrings in about a half hour.

About Right Angle Weave

This is one of the hardest beading stitches to get the hang of, but then one of the easiest once you do!  I remember several years ago when I first tried it.  I sat down at the kitchen table with size 11 seed beads and swore that I would not get up until I got the hang of it.

A couple of hours later, the"ah hah!" moment arrived. I'm sure it would have been much faster if I had a video to watch.  So I decided to do a video that will introduce you to right angle weave with a pair of earrings.

You won't need a lot of supplies, and you can make them as long or as short as you want.  I've used larger size beads in this pair, but you can make them larger or smaller.  That's the great part about these earrings -- they are extremely versatile.

Right Angle Weave Earring Video Tutorial

Here are the supplies for this video.

• Czech druk beads, 6mm, 20 beads.
• Czech druk beads, 4mm, 12 beads.
• Size 11 seed beads, less than a gram.
• Earring findings.  I used sterling silver french wires.
• Thread; I used Fireline, but you can use Silamide or Nymo if you wish.
• Needle, size 10 or 12 (whichever you prefer).
• Pliers (used to open and close the loop on the earring findings).
• Scissors or other thread cutter.

If you've never done RAW before, watch the video all the way through before you make the earrings.  It's not terribly long -- not quite 10 minutes.  Then once you've done it all the way through, try it again by following along.

Hope you enjoy it!