Beading and Bead Making Sources

Bead Making

• The Alchemy of Precious Metal Clay  Just a few years ago, the idea of turning clay into pure gold or silver would have sounded like the fantasy of a Medieval alchemist, but since the invention of Precious Metal Clay, better known as PMC, this seemingly magical transformation has become a routine event. In fact, the metal is present in the clay from the start, suspended in an organic binder that burns away when the material is fired in a kiln -- and when fired at the appropriate temperature for the correct length of time, an object fashioned from PMC will emerge from the kiln as solid metal.

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• Beersheba Porcelain  The pictures below give a brief outline of how we make each bead. Every bead is hand-made, hand glazed and then fired in our home-made kiln.

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• Easy Enamel Beads  Have you ever wanted to try glass bead making but were discouraged by the cost or difficulty? Then enamel bead making is for you! Far easier and less expensive than lampworking, enameling is the perfect introduction to the world of glass bead making.

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• Hollow Silver Bead  Why a project on a simple thing like doming a silver bead? Maybe it’s not so simple. If you shy away from making beads, perhaps this project will get you back on track. It details the steps for making a 3/8" round 24-gauge silver bead from two 1/2" discs by using a dapping block and punches.

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• How To Hand Make Beads  Daniel lectured at an international bead conference in 1996 on the subjects of "Stone Bead Making" and "Opal Bead Making Techniques". In 1997 a group of individuals established a new guild for bead makers, thus the name World Beadmakers Guild. The guild chose four guild masters, Jamey Allen --- Polymer Clay; Art Seymore --- Furnace Glass; James Smirich --- Lampwork Glass and Daniel Lopacki --- Stone.

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• Making and Firing Ceramic Beads  Generally, when we think of making ceramic beads, we think of the asymmetric balls of clay with holes made by shoving a toothpick through them that each of us made in grade school. From the perspective of the jewelry designer who will eventually string a hand-made bead, the hole may not be the most important design feature of the bead but is certainly amongst the most significant. How you craft your beads and how you fire them will significantly effect the quality of your finished bead.

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• Making Paper Beads  Don't have the beads to go with your current project? Why not make your own!

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• Making Rose Petal Beads  The history of beads made out of rose petals is a long one. Various sources trace them back to ancient Greece, medieval times, and Victorian England. I am currently trying to verify some of these stories; however, it seems to be widely accepted that rosaries got their name from the rose beads that they were originally made out of.

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• Making Wooden Beads  Easy method for making lovely wooden beads!

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• Modern Bead Making In India  India is the "mother of beads." She gets that honor because she is home to three major bead industries whose products have been leaders in the global bead commerce. (Glass, Stone and Clay) This is not to mention hundreds of smaller industries and a resurgent modern glass bead industry.

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• Paper Beads  Recycled Paper Beads - In Victorian times, women in England gathered in dining rooms to make beads by rolling scraps of wallpaper on knitting needles. They would then string the beads on long pieces of yarn to create curtains that separated rooms. You can make these beads from recycled scrap paper, and string them together to make jewelry!

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• Polymer Clay  You can cover anything (as long as it won't melt or burn at the low firing temperatures) with a veneer of polymer clay: wooden boxes, picture frames, mirrors, tableware. One popular application is jewelry: polymer clay can be used to make beads, pendants, bracelets, and neckpieces. Small sculptures and buttons are other possibilities. Clay artists have developed techniques to give polymer clay the appearance of granite, jade, amber, coral, turquoise, and ivory, and its flexibility means you can make pieces in shapes and sizes that wouldn't be possible using actual stone.

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• So You Want To Make Lampwork Beads  You have ogled and drooled over the beautiful lampwork beads on ebay and in Galleries. Now you can’t resist the call of the glass anymore and get the idea that “I can make those”. It is really not difficult to get started, so let me throw a few ideas and tips at you to help you on your journey.

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• Society of American Silversmiths - Precious Metal Clay  Precious Metal Clay represents a dramatic development in the handling of precious metals. PMC consists of microscopic particles of silver or gold suspended in an organic binder to create a pliable material with a consistency similar to modeling clay. PMC can be worked with the fingers and simple inexpensive tools to create a vast range of forms and surfaces that would be unattainable or laborious with traditional techniques.

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• Tara Projects  Tara Projects association provides support services to the production and marketing of handicrafts on fair trade lines and looks after the community developmental needs of grassroot crafts-people to help them gain awareness, rights and human dignity in an area of approx. 200 kms. in and around Delhi in north India.

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