Famous Jewelry Collections: THE BEADING GEM'S JOURNAL

Thursday, January 17, 2013

THE BEADING GEM'S JOURNAL

Posted: 17 Jan 2013 05:14 AM PST

Many people like to make memory wire bracelets which are completely covered with beads. Nothing wrong with that. But if you prefer just to showcase a few beads and add color to the unbeaded portion, colored tubing is the solution!

I've shown rubber tubing ideas before (see links below). But the kind I and other people use has a rather small internal diameter so the overall effect is dainty. Plus the rubber tubing is usually cut up in order to sandwich beads and make them stay put.

So I was most intrigued when I came across Linda's awesome lampwork bead jelly bracelet tutorial on her Earthshine blog. As a lampwork artisan, she needed a way of making simple bracelets so her customers could choose their own beads and just slip them on. It's an awesome tutorial because she shared not only how to make it but included supply sources too (some are in the UK).

The design is striking because she used much larger pvc tubing to great effect. The design does resemble plain jelly bracelets which first became popular in the 80's.

Who knew pvc tubing came in so many cool colors? What holds the lampwork beads in place are little rubber o-rings on either side of the focal ones. Yes, they come in cool colors too! Chain maille suppliers will have them.

Before You Go:

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Original Post by THE BEADING GEM
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