We may not have had any snow here in London yet, but I couldn’t wait any longer to post this frosty, snowflake bracelet. I made it for the Kumihimo Challenge group last month. The challenge is monthly and is great fun, so I would highly recommend it to anyone. The braid is made using one of my favourite ingredients, ribbon …
I was really delighted to find my latest design for Beads & Beyond magazine splashed across the front cover. 2013 was a good year for seeing kumihimo in print and as this is the January 2014 issue I hope it is a good omen for next year! I believe that kumihimo can only continue to grow if the flow of …
These ultra sparkly beads work particularly well in the Sitting Pretty bracelet. The beads perch up on the modified ladder braid to catch the light and maximise the sparkle. The beads themselves are not cheap, but this design uses very few. With less than 12 beads you can make a real statement. The beads can be fragile, so a design …
This is a version of my Luscious Lentils bracelet. Instead of using lentil beads I have used these gorgeous blue dagger beads. The beads in the middle are size 6, which are great for creating a chunky bracelet.
I am always on the look out for interesting cones and focals for use with Kumihimo and when I came across these amazing bells and cones made by the very talented lampwork artist, Kat Newman, I knew I had struck gold! Kat and I have been working together to take Kumihimo jewellery in a new direction and here are the …
There is more than just one spider climbing up this water spout! I couldn’t resist these little fellows and they work so well in the Sitting Pretty bracelet. I interspersed them with lilac crackle beads and used one of the beads to finish off the cone. The pattern is very versatile and the sides of the braid can be lengthened …
I was contacted a while ago by the editor of Digital Beading Australia and asked to contribute a tutorial. We were still enjoying warm summer weather then and autumn was on its way, but I had to forget all of that and think up something light and fresh for the Australian spring. I had just taken possession of some of …
My latest tutorial is finally ready to be published. I had hoped that it would be on the website a couple of weeks ago, but all sorts of things have come in my way. The good news is that it has just gone into the shop. I will be very interested to see how this sells because it is my …
Here is another way of using the Feathers Tutorial. Contrasting bracelets look great worn together and can work well when the same beads are used for both bracelets and the cord is contrasted, as in this example. Alternatively, you can keep the cord the same and use contrasting beads. The clasps I have used are probably better suited to necklaces …
The Feathers tutorial can be adapted to make these bracelets. An extra row of magatama beads is added in the centre of the braid on one side only. The advantage of this is that you can get the full magatama look, but use far fewer beads. In addition the bracelet sits beautifully on the wrist because the inside of the …
