Rusty Tools? No Problem!

I love this tip - mainly because my jewelry/glass/enamel studio is a little shed in the backyard. And, although it has some amenities (you can't live without AC in Houston in the summertime!), it can get a little humid in there sometimes - even with the kilns running. And, although all of my tools and beloved hammers are in boxes or drawers, I've found a few with the beginning of some rust on them.

So,when I found this tip from Fusion Beads, I knew I just had to try it.

They recommend you spray rusty areas of your tools with a lubricant like WD40. Let the lubricant soak in for a few minutes and then wipe away with a clean cloth. If the rust doesn't come right off, add more lubricant and scrub away stubborn spots with a kitchen scouring pad. Don’t be tempted to use sandpaper or a file! Harsh abrasives like these can permanently scratch the surface of a tool and the rough spots they create may mar your future jewelry projects.

If you prefer more natural cleaners, then it’s time to raid the kitchen! Pour a tablespoon of lemon juice into a bowl or cup and start mixing in pinches of baking soda until it’s the consistency of toothpaste. The lemon juice and baking soda will get excited and fizzy, so keep and eye on it to make sure your mixture doesn't overflow. Apply your paste to the rusty areas of your tools and let sit for a few minutes. Give those spots a hard scrub with a clean, dry cloth. If you have really stubborn rust, let your tool soak in lemon juice for 30-60 minutes and you’ll see the acid in the lemon juice lift off the rust! Give the tool a quick rinse to get off any remaining residue and dry it thoroughly before returning it to your tool kit.

The only thing I would add is that if you go the natural way and use lemon juice, after drying the tool I would give it a light spray of WD40 and wipe it down.

Now go bead something!

Seed Bead Chicks

It's almost Easter (and it came early this year), so if you are looking for some Easter decorations for your house or dinner table. Check these out:

Seed Bead Chicks by Preciosa Ornela

Preciosa Ornela is celebrating Spring with this cute Beaded Chick pattern made with Czech seed beads from the PRECIOSA Traditional Czech Beads brand. This is a relatively simple tutorial for creating spring chicks from seed beads and, of course, you can always change the color or size of seed beads according to what you want to make.

The focus of this project is the PRECIOSA rocaille with its distinctive yellow, white and metallic grey opaque colors while the beaks are made using the new Spike bead in the smallest size.

To get the pattern for these Beaded Seed Bead Chicks, visit the Preciosa Ornela website by clicking HERE.

Now go bead something.

Annual Gathering of the Guilds - April 27, 2013

Picture by the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft

Don’t forget, this year, Houston Bead Society will finally again be participating in the Gathering of the Guilds on Museum Day - Zone 2, April 27th, at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (HCCC). It’s been several years since we have joined with our fellow artists and craftsmen to let the public know about us and what we do.

The Museum Experience features four walk-able “zones” to help visitors navigate through the area and learn more about all 19 museums in a more personal way. Each zone will showcase a handful of museums at a time, complete with special programming, pedicabs in select zones and food trucks. The other museums in the District will be open even when their zone isn’t featured.

HBS volunteers will be doing beading demonstrations of their choice. We will also have a display of various types of beadwork created by some of its members. Other guilds will also have all day demonstrations.

For more information about Museum Day and the Gathering of the Guilds, including a list of who is participating, click HERE.

Crystallized Elevator

So what do you do when you have a couple or more thousands (possibly millions) of Swarovski crystals laying around? Well, if you're the Crystal Ninja you crystallized a lift (that's an elevator to us Americans).

Still from the Video

Check it out by clicking HERE.

Make a Split Ring Loop

Most of the time, a simple wrapped loop is fine for whatever you're creating. But, what to do when you are sure that a simple wrapped loop won't do? Fire Mountain Gems shows you an easy way to make a strong, split ring loop using wire or even a head or eyepin (if the length is long enough).

Fancy Split Ring Loop by Fire Mountain Gems

Click HERE to get the easy two step directions.

Now go bead something!

Bead It Forward Bead Quilt 2013

Last month, I posted pictures of the Bead It Forward Bead Quilt squares that HBS Members and the bead gang from Tiny Dog Seed Beads created. And, here is what Bead and Button staffers are doing with them and the hundreds of others they have received.

Picture by http://cs.jewelrymakingmagazines.com

This year, they are combining the bead squares with actual quilt squares! They will also be assembled into shadowboxes, picture frames, greeting cards, jewelry boxes and ornaments to be sold/auctioned off at the Annual Bead and Button Show held in June. The proceeds benefit breast cancer research.

I also had these latecomer squares from HBS Treasurer, Kim Butler:

And, this clever design by Kathleen Stauber that will form a sunflower when put together.

 

To learn more about the Bead It Forward Bead Quilt, click HERE.

 

Now, go bead something.

Eat Sushi - Make Earrings

Sushi Tray Earrings by Jessica at jthq.com

Have you seen those cute containers the store bought sushi comes in? They remind me of a quilting technique called "Sashiko." Anyway, I've always thought they had to be good for something else other than storage or recycling. And, I just found out there is. 

Jessica at JTHQ has come up with the brilliant idea to make this pair of Mod earrings out of them.

Not only are they super-cute, but they're also super-easy and super-economical (okay - cheap) and one of the best DIY recycle projects to make that I've seen.



My version of Sushi Tray Earrings

So, I pulled out one of my trays which just happened to have gold details instead of the white that Jessica had. The bonus was that my tray had embossed designs on it - so, they have some dimension too.

Really, it took longer for me to find my hole punches than it did to make the earrings. So, pull out those sushi trays (or other decorative trays), a large and small hole punch, some ear wires and jump rings and make some of these now to wear tonight - you know - to the sushi restaurant.

Click HERE to get all the how tos.

Now go bead something.