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I’m beginning the new year by working on two follow-up titles to my book Teach Yourself Visually - Jewelry Making & Beading.

Scheduled for release in 2009, the new books will be part of the Visual Quick Tips series. Quick Tips are smaller, portable volumes that you can carry in your beading or jewelry making kit and use for quick reference anytime, anywhere.

Quick Tips Beading and Quick Tips Wire Jewelry Making will have tons of the same high-quality, close-up photos we used in the Teach Yourself Visually book, but with about 25% new material - so you’ll have access to more advanced beading techniques and stitches, and more elaborate wire working methods. And, I’m happy to report, each of these new books will be spiral bound, so you can easily lay them open while you work.

As we get things finalized, I’ll post again with a list of the techniques and reference charts included in each.

For an idea of what the books will be like, check out these recently-released Quick Tips titles:

It’s pretty clear that online video is here to stay - and it’s finally starting to compete with television, which I’m pleased about because I’ve been getting really frustrated with TV over the past few years. (I hardly watch TV anymore, and yet we’re still paying a lot for cable - go figure.)

Here’s a look at two sites that have been pioneers in bringing professional quality jewelry-making video to the web of late. (They are not the only sites in that category - just two that especially caught my attention this year.)

The first, Beaducation, appears to be doing well (it’s a nice site - so I hope that’s true); but the second, Metal Chik, may be having some troubles.

Beaducation.com

I recently added Beaducation to my slowing-growing courses-classes directory on BellaOnline.com. Here’s what I had to say about it in last week’s Jewelry Making Newsletter.

Beaducation was started by jewelry artist and instructor Lisa Niven Kelly. It’s a gorgeous, well-designed site offering professional jewelry-making video classes. Many classes are available for free, and the ones that have a fee are reasonably priced.

When you register for a class, you’ll have online video access to it for two weeks, and you’ll receive a detailed written instruction sheet to keep for future reference. There are some great, original projects to choose from in both beadwork and wirework.

You can read about Beaducation’s team of instructors here and see a current class listing here. The site also hosts a shoppe offering kits and supplies used in the lessons - including metal blanks and some stamps personally designed by Lisa Niven Kelly - also reasonably priced (yay!).

Yes, I get excited about stamping sometimes. (Can’t help it, I like working with sheet metal.)

MetalChik.com

Metal Chik is a show produced by the media company Next New Networks. It’s hosted by jewelry designer and artist Victoria Tillotson (who also recently took over the Jewelry-Weblog after the departure of Tammy Powley).

For ten weeks in 2007, the show released a new episode online every Monday. Victoria, usually with her apprentice, Adam, visited interesting jewelry-related destinations and demonstrated metalwork techniques from her studio.

The videos are nicely done, although the technique demonstrations are a little hurried - which is typical with jewelry making shows because of their time constraints. However, viewers could use the comment system on the website (or simply email) to write in with questions or to ask for elaboration, which was a nice touch.

That was then. Today, the Metal Chik website is still live, but no new episodes of the show have been released since the Halloween episode in October. (It also looks like the blog hasn’t been updated since mid-November).

The last word on the show’s status seems to be a blog comment response posted on November 14:

[W]e’ve decided to take a break from producing Metal Chik and refocus our efforts. The videos will remain up but we will not be posting any new episodes this year.

Of course, I’m curious what the team is up to - and whether the Metal Chik project will re-emerge. But I’m going to allow them some privacy rather than badger them about it. I’ll try to keep an eye on the site to see what happens.

I recently posted about Jewelry Television’s new jewelry making DVD series called Jewel School. Over the weekend I had the opportunity to review the first DVD in the series, Basic Wire Wrapping, and I must say that I was impressed!

You can read my review here on BellaOnline.com, or visit the Jewel School web page to preview some video clips.

She Beads: Single Beads on Chain

[Originally uploaded by tigeropulos]

The handcrafted-jewelry studio She Beads recently announced that their jewelry has been selected for inclusion in the 2007 American Music Awards swag bags. It’s unusual to see truly handmade pieces, much less polymer clay items, showcased as fashion items at a major event like this one. It’s also quite refreshing!

She Beads was started in the early 1990s by stay-at-home mom and radiologist Sandy Rueve. Sandy developed a unique style for her colorful beads and beaded jewelry, which she creates by hand-rolling each bead using intricate millefiori techniques.

Over the years, Sandy’s business has really grown. What began as a one-woman business in her home basement now employs over 30 people and operates from a 4,000 square foot production facility in Chicago.

You can ready more about Sandy and her business and designs at the She Beads website.

I remember when, several years ago now, Martha Stewart featured her bead-and-wire snowflake project on her show - and everyone went crazy for it. Wire snowflake forms (also called snowflake armatures) flew off the shelves at craft stores, and bidding wars broke out for them on eBay.

I was just thinking about them again, with the holidays approaching this year, when I spotted the cover of the Martha Stewart Living December 2007 issue at the grocery store. There they were. . . framing Martha’s pretty, smiling face on the cover.
I think this year’s versions are more striking than ever, featuring larger, metallic, fluted beads in soft pastel colors.

The general instructions for making them are available for free on the Martha Stewart website. The directions are not super-detailed, but if you have a little experience with wire, I don’t think you’ll have trouble with them.

You have two options for the wire forms: purchase them pre-made, or make your own. You can find pre-made versions at Fusion Beads , and some folks still sell them on eBay.

If you’d like to try making your own forms, you can use either tinned copper wire or piano wire (also called music wire). After crossing several equal lengths of wire over one another at their middles, you’ll need to either wire-wrap them together (using very fine, 30-gauge wire) or solder them.

I was unable to confirm which gauge of piano wire Martha uses for her soldered forms, but I’m guessing it’s the equivalent of 20-gauge (.032 inch diameter). I’ll pick some up shortly to experiment with and then post my results.

If you’re tired of snowflakes and would like to try something different, the December issue of Martha Stewart Living offers instructions for making other holiday-themed wire ornaments, including little dancing people and simple, yet striking, icicles. (And, as you can see, dragonflies - which don’t really remind me of the holidays, but they are cute nonetheless.)

Again, the instructions are not the most clear, but they do include helpful diagrams like these:

If you’ve wanted to experiment more with beads and wire, the holidays are a good excuse to pick some up and get going. You may even discover ways to use these versatile materials to create decor and gift items that you can use all throughout the year. (If you can’t think of any, then check back! I’ll share some of my own here on AdornmentCraft.)

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Martha Stewart Living Magazine Martha Stewart Living Magazine was created by the famous television hostess who has become the popular advisor on all things for the home and garden.

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You may also be interested in:
Wire in Design: Modern Wire Art & Mixed Media (Jewelry Crafts) by Barbara A. McGuire

Click here to browse all of my recommended wire decor project books in the AdornmentCraft Amazon Shop.