Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Large Hole Beads and Leather - Perfect Together! AND a Giveaway!

I have been on this large hole bead-making kick lately, mostly because I love making them.  But they are fairly versatile.  I have customers who use them on dog leads, bracelets, and who just collect them! Here are some of my recent designs.




Today I'm going to show you some bracelets you can make withe the ammonite pressed ones!

My friend Melinda Orr (who lives fairly close to me but I only seem to see at Bead Fest!) makes awesome jewelry and has this amazing ability to just sit down and experiment and come up with really cool things!  She also has a great shop and she was the first person I thought of when I wanted to use leather with these beads.  We did a little swap, and I sent her some ammonite beads sets, and she sent me some leather, clasps and jump rings.

Here's what I  made with the beads and components!

This first bracelet was made with four strips of 2mm leather, end caps and a pretty floral clasp.  I twisted the leather slightly to make it a little bit interesting!  In adding the end caps, I glued one end on first, then added the beads, then cut the leather to length and added the final end cap. I used E6000 glue but Melinda says you can even use super glue! 
This second bracelet was made with 4mm leather, some pretty large hole silver beads in the swirl shape that matches the ammonite shape, and end caps and lobster clasp.  The ammonite large hole beads move a little bit in this design, which is fine with me, but if you don't want them to move at all, you can use larger leather diameter or what I did in the next photo.

For this bracelet, the leather is more like 6mm width.  I had a harder time getting the large hole bead on the leather, but found one that worked.  I used two enameled headpins that I made on the ends of the large hole bead.  You could do this if you didn't want your beads to move like the ones above.  This clasp is a copper magnetic clasp Melinda sent along. I also decided that if I wanted to use the larger, 6mm leather width, I could just double-dip my large hole bead mandrel to make the hole size slightly larger on the bead!

I can't wait to hop over and see what Melinda made with the beads I sent her.  I had a sneak peek so I know at least one is pretty awesome!  Please visit Melinda's Etsy Shop, and her Bandana Girl shop, for awesome leather components and many other items! 

Please visit Melinda's blog here to see what she made!

I am also offering a giveaway - please comment on this post and on Melinda's and you will be entered to win these beads - drawing by Melinda on Friday!


Susan Kennedy


32 comments :

  1. I love these Sue. I'm always looking for cool beads to use with leather and these are perfect. That white and silver combo is just super. Excited to see what Melinda did with her beads too. You nailed it.

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  2. I just love your beads Sue!! I have been hoarding many from you over the years and pretty much everything I make with them, I keep.. lol Your new ammonite bead is really cool and I especially love the etched versions. They can stand by themselves in a simple design or handle bead work around them. Excited that you connected with me to play with them! Thank you!

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  3. Those beads are so cool! And the giveaway ones would be perfect for a turtle themed project I'm working on. I really like the simplicity of the last bracelet best. The enameled head pin wrap is a very cool detail.

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    1. Thank you, I'd love to see the project when you're done!

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  4. Love the colors and detail. Instant fan !! Thanks for the inspiration!

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  5. I love the beads, leather, findings and tutorial. Thank you for sharing it!

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  6. A lot of cool ideas! My favorite beads are the etched green ones with turquoise spots, just beautiful! :)

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  7. Love your ammonite design beads and also that they are large-hole! Your new leather & ammonite bracelets are simply beautiful and are giving me new ideas. Thanks so much for sharing!

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    1. Thank you, glad you are getting some ideas!

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  8. Oh Sue, you know I'm a huge fan of your Lampwork! Which reminds me, I need more round flower tabs! LOL I love the designs you did with the leather and Lampwork! I've tried playing around with multiple strands of leather in the past and haven't been able to make it work for my self, you my dear, have nailed it! Beautiful! Thanks for the giveaway opportunity, the only thing better than georgouse aret beads is FREE georgouse art beads baahahahaha!

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  9. Absolutly LOVE that olive green and blue bead set, by the way, perfection!

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  10. Lovely Sue! They make great bracelets!

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  11. I am new to beading and to your blog. Love your work! Simply beautiful!

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  12. Oooo Sue! I love the bright blue version that you made and the ammonite impression is perfect any time of year. Loving all the bracelets you created. I'm heading over to see what Melinda made, too!

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  13. I lobe sue beads and ammonites
    Lori8448@hotmail.com

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  14. Love the ammonite beads! And leather is so nice for summer. I don't use leather as much as I'd like, but this has given me some great ideas.

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  15. I love the third bracelet. The balance is perfect with the magnetic clasp. Of course they are all beautiful.

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  16. Lovely work. Thanks for sharing.

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  17. Your beads are so beautiful! I love leather bracelets in the summer. They are light and fun to wear as I spend more time at outside events. The giveaway beads are so pretty. Between your post and Melinda's I got some good ideas.

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  18. I think your creations showcase the beads wonderfully. Thank you for sharing!

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  19. Beautiful, Sue! I had not (yet) been bitten by the large-hole bug, but I may be a convert... Love the first bracelet -- and the giveaway beads with their swirling colors!

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  20. It’s amazing, full of information and inspiration! Thank you for sharing!
    Ear Cuff Earrings, Freshwater Pearl Earrings

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  21. Love what both you and Melinda made. Now to buy some beads.

    Carolyn

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  22. I LOVE your beads, it's always a delight to see what you make with them too! Melinda did an excellent job with the beads you swapped with her. Her style is different from yours, but both of you have created beautiful jewelry with them.

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  23. I love your beads! And those bracelets ROCK!
    Thanks for the chance to win!

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