Coffee Table Book - Beady Girl

'Beaded Jewellery by Beady Girl Volume 1' showcases Beady Girl's beaded jewellery of all categories. It is a collection of projects she has taught during the 4 years in Singapore. The photo journal is now available for viewing at Beads Cage (#02-24A Centrepoint) or you may visit our site for online viewing.

Here's wishing all a very Happy New Year!

"Closer" Necklace

In 2004 'Closer' film, Julia Roberts wore a necklace at the gallery scene. My husband pointed it out to me that I should make a similar necklace to sell. While it was easy to imitate, it was not exactly easy to find the right materials. I created an inspired one using red horn beads with black-lip shell leaves, and sold it at the Redwood City Farmers' Market then.

Recently (6 years later), while clearing up my stuff, I came across the poster with the photo of Julia Roberts wearing the necklace. I started to have thoughts of recreating the necklace. I looked through my pile of beads and came up with Swarovski Coral pearls with some bronze metallic leaves. The completed necklace has almost similar colourways as JR's necklace but still doesn't look close. I am not completely satisfied with it and shall continue my quest to look for the perfect beads!

3-tier Necklaces

I love to wear long necklaces whenever I can. I like the way it dresses up my outfit instantly while my baby used to hold on to it like a "lifeline"! I was at The Shophouse Fair last November and saw a vendor selling beaded jewellery from Indonesia. I spotted this 3-tier black pearls necklace strung with metallic silver string. It is very simply made but makes a huge statement. Costing only S$15, I bought the necklace.

With the inspiration from this necklace, I used Spiral Rope technique to create the bone of the necklace and attached 3 layers (6 strings in total) of seed beads and 4mm, 6mm beads. The Turquoise Silver was created with opaque turquoise and picasso turquoise rondelles while the Golden Emerald was a luxurious spread of Swarovski round crystals. The formulations of the two necklaces are slightly different.

The variations to the design are endless and different beads give you different looks. The Turquoise Silver is more for smart casual because of its picasso finish while the Swarovski crystals give a more glamourous effect on the outfit. I will be trying other beads/colour combinations when I get a chance!

Seasons Greetings!

The idea to create this "Tiffany" inspired bracelet came after I watched the Tiffany & Co's romantic holiday commercial. It was stitched with the Right Angle Weave, using 6x4mm Opaque Turquoise rondelles, Swarovski crystal chatons in 4-hole setting, Size 15 seed beads and a rectangular Swarovski crystal button.

There is nothing fanciful about the stitch, just the good old RAW technique. The only difference is to incorporate the chatons and Size 15 seed beads as you weave the rondelles together. Rondelles, when stiched in a RAW form tend to show the connecting thread, so stitching with the seed bead helps to conceal the thread. The most challenging part has to be weaving with the chatons because the needle goes through the holes from side to side. If you encounter one (many you will find) with uneven holes, you may either have to forsake the chaton or unravel your work and start again because it could be up to the last hole where it simply refuses to accomodate the bulk of the the threads (Fireline 4lbs)! And yes, prepare lots of needles. I broke countless along the way.

This RAW bracelet probably took me the longest time I have ever worked on a single project! If you like to try the project, do hand-pick the good chatons first and this would cost you less frustration.

Thank you all who have left lovely feedbacks, makes it all worthwhile to create this bracelet!

Back to Basics

When I first took up jewellery making, it was basic stringing that I learnt from Tanja Sadow (of JDMIS). It was also the class that got me hooked onto jewellery making.

So, on this lazy afternoon where my boys are napping and I have "nothing better to do", I decided to string up a necklace!

This necklace measures about 15.5" long when worn and comprises of ceramic beads in turquoise (with raku finish) and red glass rondelles.

I know I am boring, always working with turquoise and red but that's my colour! :) The best part of this project is that it took me only 10 mins to complete!

Bling, Bling, Bling!

I find the most daunting part about beading is to decide the colour palette for my beadwork. I always believe less is more so my palette is usually monochromatic. The chance to experiment with more colours came when Helena (of manek-manek.com) recommended me a specially coated Swarovski crystal rivoli. This dazzling 27mm Peacock rivoli was specially coated (not by Swarovski) with peacock eyes design. With such a charismatic piece, I decided to go all out to complement with “peacock” coloured beads (6 colours in total).

I used Peyote Stitch to create a bezel for the rivoli, alternating with 4 different colours of seed beads. As for the fringes, the technique was taught by Rachel Nelson when I took her class in US. I completed the necklace with a herringbone chain, stitched with Size 15 Metallic Gold Hex (for the sparkle) seed beads. I didn’t want the chain to over-shadow the centrepiece, so having a slim chain is more appropriate. However, stitching an entire chain with Size 15 beads sure took me a long time!

The completed necklace may look glam but it is appropriate for both smart casual and formal wear. If you pair it with a plain white shirt & jeans, it would brighten up your outfit instantly. For a formal look, you can wear it with a little black dress and the accessory just speaks for itself.

New Project Kit - Pearly Intricate Links

There are many ways to create circular rings using Peyote Stitch. Our new Pearly Intricate Links bracelet is my latest addition to my Links fanaticism. While it looks very similar to my previous Intricate Links, the formulation for these circular rings is different. Here is a rundown on the differences.

Pearly Links take lesser time to create and the formulae of beads is less confusing than the Original Links. You can embellish the edges of Pearly Links luxuriously with Swarovski Crystal Pearls or 3mm beads. For an economical alternative, Size 8 seed beads work as well. This new formulation also enables you to create oval rings but yields a different effect from its predecessor.

On the other hand, the structure of Pearly Links’ rings are flatter than the original links’ because they have not been expanded as much.

The photo shown above is the main project inside the manual where the rings are built in gradual sizes, using Toho Gilded Turquoise seed beads and Swarovski Crystal Pearls. Other design variations will also be discussed.

The full project kits will be on sale at Beads Cage from 2 Dec onwards. You may purchase the pdf file of the manual at our new online Etsy shop (from 2 Dec onwards).

Full Kits include:
1. Manual
2. 30gm of Size 11 seed beads
3. 412 units of 3mm Swarovski Crystal Pearls
4. 2 units of #12 Beading needles.


Choices of Materials:
1. Toho Gilded Turquoise with Bronze ($76)
2. Toho Hybrid Jet Black with Mystic Black ($68) as shown above
3. Supra Gold with Bordeaux ($76)

New Project - Green Agate

This was a long overdue cuff which I completed recently. It was meant for my last Embroidered Cuff class but I didn't complete the finishings then.

The focal centerpiece is a Green Agate cabochon, very nicely carved with patterns on it. To be honest, when I first bought the cabochon, I wasn't exactly thrilled with the look of it and kept it in the cupboard for a long while. I found some leftover Aventurine cabochons and thought they complement each other nicely, hence the creation of this cuff.

I like the way it turned out so I am keeping it for myself!

New Project Kit - Doilies

Our Doilies Kits in original colours (Picasso Turquoise & Dark Red with Supra Gold) are now available for sale at Beads Cage (#02-24A Centrepoint).

Level : Intermediate (Knowledge of Peyote Stitch & Right-Angle Weave is required)

Project Kit with manual - S$64

Materials Kit - S$49

A Collaboration

Izel's Sun-Drop Pendant first caught my fancy when it was launched as a class project. I finally got around to order one from the master recently. The green stone (oops, sorry Izel, I forgot the stone's name) was intricately wired around and embellished with Swarovski crystal pearls.

Next, I had to decide which beading stitch to go with the pendant. I didn't want the chain to be too loud as the focus should be on the pendant so I thought of all the stitches I know and finally settled on St Petersburg stitch. I used the TOHO permanent galvanised silver and olive green seed beads to do the beading.

The photograph on the right was taken by the expert, Mr Cliff Lim, at the photography workshop.

Glamour

This was made specially for an Australian client who spotted the necklace at my online gallery. Named "Glamour", half of the necklace is made up of embroidered onyx cabochons while the other half is strung with onyx coin beads and Swarovski Crystal pearls.

Although it looks similar to my earlier piece done three years ago, this "Glamour" necklace has its own unique characteristics. For example, I have included more black seed beads on the embroidery part to complement the black onyx cabochons. And since it was a custom order, the length and choice of materials were also discussed with the client. Similar but yet different.

Thank you Danielle, for giving me the chance to remake this necklace again. It certainly brings back alot of memories when I did the first piece. :)

NEW PROJECT KITS - Pearly Netted Necklace

The long awaited Pearly Netted Necklace kits are now available for sale online and at Beads Cage (from 10 Oct onwards).

Bordeaux

These lovely deep red pearls are mixed with the all-time favourite Supra Gold seed beads and Colourfast Bright Gold seed beads. The completed necklace stands out against a white/light coloured blouse.

Silver
These are greyish silver pearls mixed with Supra Silver seed bead and Black-Diamond seed beads and the necklace would look great against black/dark outfit.

Powder Almond
This is an earthy mix of Powder Almond crystal pearls with Matte Dark Bronze and Hybrid Brown seed beads. Great for earth tone lovers.

African Turquoise OUT OF STOCK

These gemstone beads are mixed with Opaque and Matte Black seed beads to bring out the dark tone from the gemstones. A strong coloured necklace.

New Camera Case

I always use my husband's hand-me-down cameras for my photography work. When the last one broke down unexpectedly, he bought me a new one. So, for once it is MINE and I know I have to "dress" it up with a nice case. I immediately thought of engaging Winniel of The Laughing House to customise the camera case for me. To date, I have 5 pouches from her and I simply love her works.

The case arrived today and it was just perfect!

Thank you, Winniel!

Russian Rondelles

One of our students asked about using the newly launched rondelles with the Russian Spiral technique. Yes, it can be done. Here is a small section, stitched with the 6 x 4mm rondelles with 3mm Swarovski crsytal pearls. For 1.5" section, I used 33 rondelles and 66 pearls/beads. Thus, for 17" length (it will shrink to 16" due to the bulkiness of the cord), you will need about 380 rondelles and 750 units of pearls/beads.

From my experience, Size 8/0 seed beads (which is almost equivalent to 3mm beads) are not suitable when working with rondelles. This is because the rondelles are wide and flat, so you need the round beads to fill in the gaps nicely. You do not have to use crystal pearls, any round beads are fine.

For light coloured beads, you may like to use the crystal white Fireline or Nymo thread as bits of threads can be seen.

New Products - Rubies!

Those who saw my crochet necklace worn at the Beady Party would have agreed that those glass rondelles are simply irresistable! The good news is I have managed to bring in some of these glass rondelles. They are available in 3 colours for now and I am waiting for the RED one to arrive. I had to return the first batch because they weren't right.

You can be rest assured (my gurantee) that these glass beads have the same luster and sparkle as the red ones I have. The facets and traces of lead in the rondelles give them the shine that is almost comparable to crystal rondelles.

You may PRE-ORDER them and it will take about 2 weeks to reach you. The details and costs can be found at my online shop.

A Beautiful Necklace by Wyndi Chin

Wyndi sent me a photo of her latest project this morning. I am in awe of her stunning work! It is very nicely embroidered and beautiful mix of materials. Thank you for sharing, Wyndi!

Beady Party 18 September 2010

A memorable day, filled with fun, laughter, food, drinks and BEADS! A big "Thank You" to Beady Girl's supporters!

Win Beady Girl's Jewellery!

(Article from Expat Living)

Win one of three necklaces worth over $200 each in Expat Living Magazine September issue.

Three lucky readers will soon be adorning their outfits with these gorgeous pieces.


Turquoise Crochet Rope, $220

Cleopatra herself would have died for this colourful Egyptian inspired piece. It's versatile, too, so if you find the crocheted chain a little too much for dayway, you can remove the bejeweled turquoise centrepiece and thread it onto something plainer, then switch back again for extra va va voom.


Emerald Cellini, $261

Instantly become a Greek Goddess in this hand-stitched tribute to Mount Olympus. The twisted golden rope made of glass beads perfectly sets off a deep-green Emerald pendant enthroned by more gilded beads.


Antique Brassy Necklace, $298

Add a touch of glamour to any outfit with these metal beads frosted with Swarovski crystal pearls. It's a subtle nod to a vintage look redolent of a rediscovered brass antique, without being too bold or past it.


These are just a small selection of Beady Girl's stylish range that is meticulously handcrafted by its founder, Cynthai Poh. You can also commission Cynthia to make a one-of-a-kind piece to love forever. Not only does Beady Girl produce stunning statement and bespoke jewellery, it also sells make-your-own sets that can be ordered online. The beginner packs are a great introduction to beading or you can hone your skills with an intermediate design.

To commission your own piece or to find out more about Beady Girl, visit Beads Cage at 176 Orchard Road, #02-24A, Centrepoint, call 6733 2480 or visit http://www.beadygirl.com/.

To enter, go to www.expatliving.sg/competitions

(entries close 30 September 2010)

Direct link : http://www.expatliving.sg/competitions/win-one-three-necklaces-worth-over-200-each

Beady Party I - Simply Red

One of the dress code requirements for the forthcoming Beady Party is to wear own beaded jewellery. Being the host, I have to come up with something which my students have not seen it before. I decided to bead crochet with rondelles.

These "fat and short" rondelles almost drove me crazy when I first started the beginning rows. They don't sit nicely as they should and I was using one coloured 6mm by 4mm beads, which made it even more challenging. After trying a few times with the conventional method, I decided to switch to the jig from Studio Dax. The jig really helped alot in lining up the beads but I still didn't manage to do a decent row. Then I realised I have used the wrong crochet needle! For larger beads, the needle should be switched to a larger size and for this project I used a 1.65mm (1.5mm would have worked as well).

With the beginning rows all crochet properly, the rest was actually quite a breeze after that. My next problem was trying to find the right sized beadcaps to hide the two ends and after searching around in vain, I asked Belinda of BelLee Beadz if she happens to have any beadcaps of the large sizes. She did! She was very kind to pass on her bead cones which she bought from overseas to me! This necklace would not have been completed without her bead cones! Thank you very much, Belinda!

The rondelles are deep red and faceted throughout. The facets in these glass beads are really well-cut which make them look almost like Swarovski crystal rondelles. The photo does not do justice to the actual piece which looks really sparkling.

So, now that I have the necklace, I have to go search for an outfit!

Last Class @ Beads Cage

We had a fun and crazy time today at Beads Cage. Thank you, Ladies!

An Inspiring Story

I read about this article in the Woman & Home Magazine (UK magazine) August issue and found the article very inspiring. Googled for Ms Sarah Herriot's jewellery and found her site here. She designs and makes very nice, elegant pieces. Check it out!

Endless Herringbone Necklace

I love long necklaces but not exactly a big fan making them. Newly added to my necklace collection is this "Endless Herringbone", stitched with Tubular Herringbone Stitch. The beads used in this necklace are Raku finished porcelain beads in red and turquoise, chalk turquoise gemstones and metallic gold seed beads. There is no clasp involved and every bead is securely stitched together.

This project will be available as project kits very soon and there will be other materials to choose from. For those who are interested to learn the Herringbone stitch, I have a class (my last class) on 12 September. Read details here.

RELOCATION

I wish to let you know that September is my last month teaching at Beads Cage as I will be moving to Australia by the end of this year.

I would like to thank Beads Cage, students and customers for the great support these three years. It has been an incredibly rewarding journey and wonderful learning experience. I will definitely miss you all!

I will be re-establishing Beady Girl in Australia in early 2011. In the meantime, BeadyGirl.com remains active online, and my works and kits will be sold at Beads Cage in Singapore.

You are welcome to email me at info@beadygirl.com or any enquiries pertaining to orders can be made through Beads Cage.

Thank you!

Jewellery Trends

Check out this great xinmsn Video: For the coming months: it’s got to be big, heavy and visible… Jewellery trends with catwalk images

New Picasso Seed Beads

NEW ARRIVALS

(WHILE STOCK LASTS)

Russian Spiral

I made this necklace specially for my mentor's wife. It was stitched using the Russian Spiral technique. This technique may look complicated but it is deceptively easy to stitch as compared to other beading stitches. It allows you to make use of different sized beads to create a beautiful rope in no time.

For this piece, I have chosen the Picasso Firepolished glass beads and seed beads in Turquoise. The Picasso finish on the beads gives it a very natural, earthy look.

This technique will be taught at my forthcoming Beady Party. Do check out the details!



Using the same Russian Spiral technique, I made this long, endless opera necklace for a customer. It was stitched with Supra Gold and Bright Gold seed beads throughout. The combination of the matte and bright gold blends together very well and doesn't overpower you with the gold.

After stitching the necklace, I like it myself and was actually hoping the customer may decide not to take it. Hopefully, I will be motivated to stitch this 48" long necklace!

New Project Kits

Newly added to the Intricate Oval Links project kits is the "Sapphire Mix" coloured seed beads. This is a cool combination of TOHO Permanent Finish Sapphire Opal Silverlined with the normal TOHO Sapphire Silverlined Matte. The finished chain bracelet is suitable for a smart casual wear with jeans as the blue colour tones would complement the jeans blue colour nicely.

For our Endless Spiral Necklace kits, we have also added a new material, i.e. Turquoise Raku finished porcelain beads with Swarovski Crystal pearls in Bordeaux. They are complemented with the Metallic Gold/Dark Gold seed beads.

The samples are available for viewing at Beads Cage, #02-24A Centrepoint.

Bead Crochet Sequel

We had our first Bead Crochet class on 18 July and 8 ladies attended the session. Of all, 2 have done conventional bead crochet before while others are totally new to the technique.

I believe most felt apprenhensive with the jig at first but the clear instructions from the manual guided them along. Phyllis and Cheng Hong who have done conventional bead crochet before felt that the jig really helps alot in stabilizing the beginning rows. When they were using the conventional method, they had to undo several times before they got the rows of beads to sit nicely. While not all were totally comfortable with the jig, most of them were able to create a small section of the crochet rope by the end of the session.

Phyllis also tried using the Size 11 beads on the jig and felt that it was so much easier than the conventional method. Another student, Kelly, is currently croceting with Delica seed beads on the jig and agrees that it is less confusing wtih the smaller sized beads. Kelly has a great suggestion on picking up loose beads with the flexible needle. She threads part of the flexible needle (strung with crochet thread) to the #12 beading needle and uses the sturdiness of the latter to pick up the beads, and slowly transfer onto the crochet thread. Alternativelly, if you can get hold of medium to heavy weight flexible needles, those are much sturdier to pick up loose seed beads.

Thank you for all the feedback provided by the students!

Beads Galore Part I

Listed here are the uniquely coloured Size 8 seed beads from Czech Republic and Japan. The pre-strung ones are suitable for bead crochet and are sold in hanks. They only come in limited quanities so while stocks last!

You may place your order through email (info@beadygirl.com) or login to our website to use the shopping cart (preferred).

Item: Size 8 Topaz/Turquoise Picasso
Country of Origin: Czech Republic
Weight: 80 gm
Packaging: 1 hank of 12 long strands (20" each)
Cost: S$25 / hank
Stock Level: 10 hanks
Remarks: These seed beads were used in my Bead Crochet project. I used 5 strands for 1 necklace so 1 hank can make about 2 necklaces, with excess beads.

OUT OF STOCK
Item: Size 8 Old World Picasso
Country of Origin: Czech Republic
Weight: 45 gm
Packaging: 1 hank of 12 short strands (10" each)
Cost: S$35 / hank
Stock Level: 4 hanks
Remarks: This mix includes primarily brown, blue and green seed beads.

Item: Size 8 1-Cut Metallic Dark Bronze Charlotte
Country of Origin: Czech Republic
Weight: 50 gm
Packaging: 1 hank of 12 short strands (10" each)
Cost: S$35 / hank
Stock Level: 4 hanks
Remarks: If you have worked with Charlotte beads, you would know that the cut on the beads gives an illuminating effect. The actual beads are darker than photographed.

Item: Size 8 1-Cut Opaque Jade Charlotte
Country of Origin: Czech Republic
Weight: 80 gm
Packaging: 1 hank of 12 long strands (20" long)
Cost: S$35 / hank
Stock Level: 4 hanks
Remarks: Like the Dark Bronze beads stated above, these Charlotte beads illuminate with its 1-cut feature. The actual beads look much greener than photographed, like a dark jade green.

Item: Size 8 TOHO Hybrid Picasso Turquoise
Country of Origin: Japan
Packaging: Sold in loose beads of 10 gm per pack
Cost: S$6 / 10gm
Stock Level: Plenty
Remarks: The TOHO Hybrid series combine the goodness of both countries, i.e. uniformity in size and shape from Japan and the picasso finish from Czech Repub. Alas, they don't come pre-strung.

Enjoy 10% discount for 50gm & above.

Item: Size 8 Mystic Blue Mix Picasso
Country of Origin: Czech Republic
Packaging: Sold in loose beads of 10 gm per pack
Cost: S$6 / 10gm
Stock Level: Plenty
Remarks: The mix includes alot of brown and some Picasso turquoise green and blues. If you like beads that look rustic, this will be suitable.

Enjoy 10% discount for 50gm & above.