Fimo, Pearls & Noodles.. what more could a beady girl need?

The very long awaited mini fimo bead mix is now back in stock - one of my official favorites!

I'm off to a Christening on Sunday and I was lucky enough to have a little spare time this afternoon, so I made myself the little bracelet pictured above and a very blingy pearl & fimo lariat necklace here:

The dress I'm planning on wearing is really plain - so I think I'll get away with wearing both!

If you'd like to give them a try, here's the instructions:

Noodle Bracelet:

Materials

Fireline Jewellery Thread (or any other stringing material - I just really like Fireline!)
Fimo Mini Beads

2 Jumbo noodle beads

1 Bali Clasp

9 Mini Daisy Spacer Beads

2 4mm jumprings

2 silver calottes

4 2mm crimps

You'll also ideally need chain nose & flat nose pliers, or 2 pairs chain nose - and a pair of scissors

Method

Cut a length of Fireline to fit your wrist, plus 1" just in case :-)

Thread on 1 calotte & 2 crimp beads close to one end of the Frieline.

Squash the crimps flat with your flat nose pliers and then carefully close the calotte over the crimps. Ease the calotte loop over the calotte shell to secure.

Open a 4mm jump ring and thread it through the calotte loop. Attach one half of the Bali Clasp to the jump ring.

Thread on one daisy spacer, one noodle bead and another daisy spacer.

Thread on one fimo bead and one daisy spacer. Repeat this another 5 times.

Thread on one noodle bead and another daisy spacer.

Check for fit. (If you need to make the bracelet longer then remove the daisy spacer and noodle and add one more fimo bead and a daisy spacer.)

Thread on one calotte and 2 crimp beads. Double check the tension of the piece - it needs to move, but not have big gaps when worn

When you're happy, squash the 2 crimps flat and close up the calotte. Ease the calotte loop over the shell to secure, then add a 4mm jump ring, and the other half of the clasp.

Pearly Lariat Necklace

A long time ago, someone told me that ladies wore pearls because they flattered the skin. Being 20 something and immortal(!) I dismissed this very silly idea... but 20 years later, I find that it's true. The lustre of pearls, glass ones, or otherwise, does seem to bounce light away from the funny wobbly bit that has mysteriously appeared under my jawline... I'm not one for the classic 'knotted pearls' though - so this lariat necklace uses the flattering pearls with some fun Tibetan silver and more funky fimo.

You can make this any length you like, but longer is better as the end that threads through the donut loop hangs nicely if it is a bit longer - mines 30" in total. Just experiment as you string up!

Materials

Fireline, calottes, jump rings, crimps mini fimo mix and daisy spacers as above - if you've made the bracelet, there are plenty of beads rings & calottes left over for this project too!

2 packs Floral bead caps (you need 28)

1 2" eye pin

1 28mm donut connector

28 12mm Jolie Vache pearls

1 daisy charm

This lariat needs you to make one wrapped loop, so you will need chain nose pliers. Flat nose pliers would also be helpful.

Method


Cut a long piece of Fireline - around 34"

Attach the calotte using the method described above, threading the eyepin onto the calotte loop before easing it over the calotte shell

Using the donut as a guide, make a right angle bend in the eyepin about 10mm from the eye pin loop. Put the donut into position and bend the pin around the donut.
Between the eyepin loop and the donut, wrap the wire around twice to fill the gap and secure the donut. Snip the end tightly and make sure that it's tucked away and not sharp.

Thread one floral beadcap, one pearl, one daisy spacer, one pearl and one beadcap. Next thread one fimo bead, one daisy spacer one fimo bead, one daisy spacer and one fimo bead. Repeat the pattern to the length required and check that you're happy.

Secure the calotte using the method described above. Attach one 4mm jump ring and finish with the daisy charm.

Wear and enjoy!

Have a lovely weekend! :-)

More Quick Makes for the Impatient

Welcome to July. The rain is raining a LOT in Long Newnton today. It must be the Summer..

In between making sure the stock control 'thing' for the madcowbeads website was behaving itself today, I whipped up some really quick projects. Same rules as last time - no specialist tools, only cheap things, less than 5 components, all under £1.

Anyhow - hope you like the bead project ideas. I did think that they might be nice for teacher presents, or end of school keepsakes. :-)

Bookmark - perfect bead project for newbies, kids & the impatient!

What you need:

Squiggle Bookmark Blank

Beads & Charms (I used lilac fimo, and a daisy) - these look better with a couple of beads rather than loads. Choose any beads you like, but remember the hole needs to be about 1.2mm

1mm wax cord

Scissors (you probably have some in your kitchen drawer)

Superglue, or clear nail varnish

Method

Cut about 25cm of wax cord and thread it through the loop on the bookmark. Level up the ends a bit and then tie both cords together in a knot. Aim for about 1cm under the loop.

Tie a knot in one cord about 7 cm away from the first knot and thread on your bead. Tie another knot in the end and pull as tight as you can. Snip off end.

Trim the other cord to the length required and tie on the charm with a reef knot (square knot)

Make sure this knot is pulled as tight as you can. Hold it tight and dot a little clear nail varnish or glue onto the knot. Leave to dry. When dry, snip off the end neatly. Voila! One cute book mark that costs less than 70p (and that's if you don't have odd beads and charms to use)

Keyring - again really quick and easy with minimum hassle, great for beginners or kids crafts

What you need:

Keyring clip

20mm split ring

foldover end

Black wax cord

A few beads - your choice. I used a green lentil bead, 2 floral bead caps and a cute haircomb charm

Scissors.

If you can possibly find some flat nose pliers (even electrical ones!) then the foldover clasp part is made a lot easier. If you don't have any, then use something solid to press in the clasp - I have been known to use the edge of a marble chopping board(!)

Method:

Cut about 15 - 20cm of wax cord. Thread on your charm.
Push the charm to approximately half way along the cord and then tie both cords together.
Thread on your beads, knotting tightly between each one.
Cut the cord to length and attach your foldover end. Press down on each side in turn, making sure the end is as tight and flat as possible
Thread clip and foldover onto the 2omm ring. Alternatively, thread a split ring onto the foldover and attach to the 20mm ring. (more flexible and will last longer)

I hope these quickies give you lots of project ideas!
Have a lovely weekend
Best wishes
Georgie

Fun & Friendship Bracelets - Mad Cow style

Grumble grumble - I've been mooching and looking and sniffing out bead project kits.

Chiefly to find some nice 'gifty type' things to stock at www.madcowbeads.com, but also, in a more general, nosey type way.

*sweeping generalistion alert!* I have to report that I found:
a) they're often not great value - cheap, badly finished beads is a consistent theme
b) the better quality ones are nice, but often unaffordable to mere mortals, wanting some prettiness to while away some spare time
c) more often than not, you need to buy tools & pliers. Which is fine if you're a beader already - but if you're an experienced beader, you probably don't need a ready to make kit... and if you're a beginner, it's becoming very costly to whip up that cute bracelet.

This got me thinking. Now, the obvious answer is for madcowbeads to produce a range of kits surely? Probably not - you see the small quantities you need for a kit mean that they're 'labour hungry' and this is what puts the price up. So - I decided to make a small 'thing' and set myself a challenge.

The 'thing' (finished and pictured above right) had to:

• Need no tools - except things that a non beady person would have (like scissors)


• Use no more than 5 different items - and each item had to cost less than £1


• Be quick & easy to make


• Look groovy

To save you time - I've put all the things you need together and called it 'Fun & Friendship Kit - madcowbeads style'. You can buy it by clicking here. The total cost is £3.07 and that makes a minimum of 3 bracelets, with heaps of hanger beads, grooved beads and about 5 metres of cord left over. If you buy another couple of packs of the lustrous focals here - you can get a total of 9 bracelets for less than £4. This will use up most of the things in the 'Fun & Friendship kit'

You could also add jumprings and charms - either directly to the cord, or using the loops on the hanger beads. A pack of jumprings & a bag of mixed old fashioned charms adds £3.49 to your total outlay - for 9 really different bracelets.

So - here's how to make the 'Fun & Friendship bracelet'

• Cut 50cm of wax cord - a bit more if you like a looser fit, a bit less if you're a small person


• Fold in half and cut so you have two pieces the same length


• Tie both pieces together, wiggling the knot so it's about 8 cm or so from one end


• Thread one bronze groove bead onto one cord


• Pick up the second cord and tie a knot to secure the grooved bead - close-ish to the bead, but don't get too picky about that as if it's too close, your bracelet will be unbendy


• Thread a hanger bead over BOTH lengths of cord


• Tie another knot


• Thread a large focal bead over ONE cord


• Pick up the second cord and tie a knot to secure


• Thread a hanger bead over BOTH lengths of cord


• Tie another knot


• Repeat the pattern so you end up with 2 focals, 3 grooved & 3 hanger beads, finishing with a simple knot at each end


• Now... to make the sliding knot. I'm pretty good at explaining things, but not how to tie a double overhand knot (double fishermans knot, some call it.....) so, either find someone to show you - or teach yourself from this really handy & easy to understand picture guide here


• Trim ends to suit

Enjoy!

Get the kids to make something for Fathers Day..

Something simple but useful - a great Father's Day gift that is easy to make.

I'm sure that Dad will be thrilled with this beaded bookmark and it's quick and easy to make for those with shorter attention spans. Best of all, it needs no special tools at all! If you're feeling flush, add a book. I find books about motor racing or vintage aeroplanes are very successful, but all Dad's are different!

To make this you need 1mm wax cord a few metal beads - we used drum beads but any beads you like are fine - just make sure they'll fit on the wax cord. You also need a charm - we used a suitably manly skull and crossbones for a Dad-Pirate, one jump ring and a foldover clasp

Cut about 30cm of wax cord and tie a knot in one end and pull it very tight, snipping the end close to the knot. Thread on a bead or three, and then tie another knot. I'm sure somewhere there is an amazing technique for knotting close to other beads, so if anyone knows it, please let me know - however, the 'tie a loose loopy knot and then wiggly it into position before tightening' method works well for me!

Next, put your cord into a book to make sure the length you are planning works. If you've bought a special 'Dad book' for Fathers Day, then use that one. The top of the bookmark should hang down along the spine of the book. Tie another another knot and wiggle it to about 1cm down from the top of the book. Thread on another few beads, and tie another knot.

Still with me? Good - Cut the wax cord 4cm below the last knot that you tied. Attach your end tip or clasp. I squashed a foldover clasp into a rounder shape and used a dot of superglue to make sure it was stuck!

If you're raiding your existing beady stash rather than buying new supplies, feel free to substitute. We made some with coloured veggie suede which looked rather funky.

These bookmarks also make excellent makes for charity or fetes - they're quick to make and need only a few good value materials so they don't use up loads of valuable time and beads, while producing something really cute and saleable.

Instead of a charm at the end, you could use a cute doll bead and then just tie a knot. Remember the dolly needs to be upside down on the bookmark so that she hangs right way up in use!

Introducing the Hertfordshire School of Jewellery.co.uk

Joanna Mason is a great customer of the mad cows, and she runs a really innovative and creative jewellery making school too! A full four hooves up from the madcows

Hertfordshire School of Jewellery runs a comprehensive programme of jewellery making workshops for adults, from beginners to the more experienced artist.

They offer a wide range of jewellery making workshops, specialising in Precious Metal Clay and Resin Jewellery courses .

There is a friendly and relaxed atmosphere at the school. All jewellery making workshops are located amongst rolling Hertfordshire farmland less than two minutes from Radlett town centre.

All of their jewellery making workshops have just 6 pupils - so you get all the attention you require and are taught by experienced, professional artists. All courses are run in our well equipped, purpose built workshop.

Hertfordshire School of Jewellery was started by jewellery artist and silversmith Joanna Mason who wanted to share her skills and creations with local community. Joanna aims to awaken the inbuilt creativity which we all possess, endeavouring to improve mental, physical and emotional wellbeing through the creative process.

Hertfordshire School of Jewellery strives to revive and keep alive art and craft skills by encouraging artists and crafts people to pass on these skills.

For more information please see their website:
www.hertfordshireschoolofjewellery.co.uk
or call Joanna directly on 07946334498.

Contact details:
T: 07946334498
www.hertfordshireschoolofjewellery.co.uk
Address: Unit 5a Battlers Green Farm, Common Lane, Radlett, Herts, WD7 8PH


Testimonials:

One of the attendees Sue from Herts said: “Absolutely excellent class. Highly recommended.”
Helen from Herts said: Jo is a great teacher with an encouraging and enthusiastic manner. She creates a really good atmosphere in which to work.”
Lisa from London said: To pack so much into one day whilst still having fun and being inspired is an amazing accomplishment. I would recommend to anyone!”
Bernie from Herts said: “Am surprised to come away with 3 pendants and 2 pairs of earrings all in one day!”

If you fancy having a go at something new, - contact Joanna

Meet Julie!

It's always really nice to hear from our customers.

Julie Davis 'bumped' into the mad cow herd when she won the 'star letter' spot in 'Creative Beads & Jewellery' magazine. We sponsor the letters page there, and give away a fab £50 bunch of beads findings and goodies each month.

Julie loves making jewellery and sells her work locally in art shows and craft fairs.

She sent us some pics of her latest creations - I recognise a few of those madcowbeads!

If you have some pictures you'd like to share - do send them in and we'll display them for you.

Enjoy the long weekend

Georgie

Tiaras and Pearls - Rah Rah Royal Weddings!

The madcows have had a very patriotic time playing with tiaras.

Created by the lovely Steph, our new tiara is princess-perfect, in red white and blue.

This is a stylish but very simple tiara and would be a nice 'first project' for you to get to grips with the whole new world of 'wedding jewellery'

You don't have to make it in such Great British colours though - any of the Czech Firepolish mixes would look totally fab. Or, be a traditionalist and use crystal AB beads - or 4mm Czech glass pearls. I'm working on a new design using fuchsia and cream 4mm pearls, for a

'strawberry and cream' Summer theme.

If you would like the tiara instructions - just email georgie@madcowbeads.com and I'll email the project sheet back to you.