THE NEW TOHO DEMI ROUND INSPIRATION - By Lisa Jordan

Hey Beaders!

Have you been looking around for ways to use the new TOHO Demi Round beads? As part of the Starman TrendSetter team, I'm lucky enough to get my hands on the beads early on, so I've been using them for a while now. While it's such a new bead, there is not too many patterns out there yet, but soon there will be! For now, I just wanted to give you this fun little inspiration piece to look at, and maybe help get your creative juices flowing. 

This is a simple RAW I did with 6mm Firepolish in Halo Ethereal - Linen (1-06-P29270). I used 2mm Rounds in Matte Metallic Flax (5-02-K0171) as well, and then I basically added the Opaque-Frosted Jet (TN-11-49F) as an embelishment. I gathered them in the center with a Bronze 15/o round. 

This design is very simple, but still makes a great statement, especially with these colors. The reason why I love the Demi bead is because you can use it just like any other TOHO seed bead with all of your designs, but it also works so great to create loads of added texture that you could not normally achieve! And I'm a texture freak, so this is great!

I also made a pair of matching earrings by taking the same design as above and turning it into a 4 sided cube. It turned out very elegant. Hopefully I'll get some better photos of it since this one doesn't do it justice.

What are your thoughts on the new Demi bead so far? I can't wait to see what all the great designers start coming up with!

Good luck!

-Lisa J.

TREASURE ISLAND BEADED BRACELET - By Lisa Jordan

Hey Beaders!

I just realized that I hadn't made a blog post about one of my most popular designs, Treasure Island Bracelet!

This design is fairly simple using beads you already have in your stash, but can be made to look so different depending on what colors you use. 

CzechMates Tiles are so great for using as a base bead to create all sorts of designs, but they are also great as a focal piece in the design! They are one of my favorite beads!

You can find this pattern HERE.

These are the versions I made for the tutorial:

And here are some versions that were sent to me by others:

Have you tried this pattern? I'd love to see your version!

Happy Beading!

NORTH STAR BEADED BRACELET TUTORIAL - By Lisa Jordan

Hey Beaders!
I finished one of my favorite patterns yet!
This design was so fun to make and takes on many different looks depending on how you connect the components or what colors you use. 
This design uses the CzechMates QuadraLentil for structure and Crescents for texture. 

I'd love to hear your feedback on this one! You can purchase the tutorial on my Etsy shop HERE.

Happy beading!

-Lisa J.

CELTIC SQUARE EARRINGS - Pattern By Lisa Jordan

Hey Beaders!

I have a new pattern available now in my Etsy shop! I call it Celtic Square. 
Since I love the TOHO Magatama drops so much, and I used them in my Quatrefoil Pattern, I used them once again for this gorgeous and versatile earring.

This pattern is a 7 page, full color PDF that takes you through step by step instructions with very detailed color photos. 

I hope you enjoy making it as much as I did, and I would love to hear your feedback or see your color choices! 

Happy Beading - Lisa J.

ROSE WINDOWS - Bracelet for Starman TrendSetters

Hello Beaders!

This is my latest pattern to come out for the Starman TrendSetter team. It is available to Starman Wholesale customers. I have heard a number of people say "I wish Starman would provide these patterns to everyone"... well, not only does Starman provide FREE patterns to the general public HERE, but they also have a few that are chosen to give to bead stores who purchase through them. This is a way to help the local bead stores stay in business by providing patterns to their customers, and also teaching classes, etc. If you are looking for a Starman pattern, please ask your local bead store to bring it in! There are also bead stores who have online shops that carry Starman patterns. 

For this piece I used the new MiniDuo bead to create a little delicate 4-pointed flower pattern. The inner circle stands above the MiniDuo with the help of 4 SuperDuos (or CzechMates Bars), and rounds. I used 15/o seed beads to encase and connect the flowers. Also, the rounds that were used are from the Sueded collection which is one of my favorite colors for the subtle gold shine on the base glass. LOVELY!

I'm very excited about this piece and I hope you like it too. It's so much fun to wear, and would be great in any color!

Enjoy, and happy beading!

-Lisa J.

Find some stunning versions of my Rose Windows pattern HERE!

QUATREFOIL BRACELET - Designed for Starman TrendSetters

Hello Bead Lovers!

My latest design is out! I created this for the Starman TrendSetter team. I call this design the Quatrefoil (thanks to my girl Amanda for helping me come up with a name). This pattern is currently available to bead stores, as pattern of the month, for those who place orders from Starman. 

When you look at the design from the top it looks almost like a vintage 4 leaf clover the way the seed beads curve around. 

I was looking to make something with the new QuadraLentil from Starman so I paired it with the classic CzechMates Tile as the base. The tiles make a great base for almost any design. It's so easy to work with all of the CzechMates beads because the holes are the same spacing so there's no worry about bunching. They fit perfectly together! With the new 4-hole CzechMates beads, it's really easy to get beautiful textures and dimension without a ton of work. The QuadraLentil is the perfect bead to hold this design together and give it depth that it would not normally have with any other bead.
Once you make the main component in this design, you can do all sorts of things with it. It makes good earrings, bracelet, or even a necklace. There are also plenty of ways you can make the same design have a totally different look. Here (photo below) I've added tear drop beads to the center, and it looks more like a flower. (Also the colors really change the look too)

I hope you enjoy this design as much as I do! I'd also really love to hear your feedback if you try it out. 

Thanks! 

Happy Beading,

-Lisa J.

BULK PATTERNS - For Bead Stores

Beaders,

Bead stores can now order bulk Make-And-Take patterns from Starman in 50 packs. This is very exciting, and should be a great promotion for store owners to pass out to customers. 

You can find one of my recent patterns Pinch of Elegance HERE. 

Enjoy!