My television debut yesterday on Jewellery Maker TV went well and I am now looking forward to the next appearance! There was a lot to learn and I found it surprising how busy the studio is and how many cameras and monitors there are to worry about. I was very nervous, but I enjoyed the whole experience. I found that …
This is a glimpse of an ingenius button hole fastening which requires only beads and cords and if all goes well I will be demonstrating the method on Jewellery Maker on Tuesday 6th May between 1 and 2 pm GMT (8 and 9 am EST). This will be my television debut, so watch out for trembling hands and quivering …
This was my entry for the spring challenge. Button fastenings work brilliantly with kumihimo and there are several different ways of making the loop and attaching the button. For this one I decided to experiment with making a button hole during the braiding process. Half Round Braid is ideal for this sort of technique. When I reached the required length …
This pretty bracelet can be found in the latest issue of Digital Beading. The spikey rizo beads are offset by the ultra-feminine bow. It is quick and easy to make up and the huge range of colours and surface finishes available in this grain of rice shaped bead means it can be adapted to suit any colour scheme or theme. …
Happy Easter to all kumihimo braiders! The long weekend is a great opportunity to eat far too much chocolate and spend way too much time braiding. Just be careful that sticky, choccy fingers don’t spoil your braids! I made this braid using my Stylish Stackers tutorial and was very pleased to find the perfect props for the photo. They won’t …
After such a wet winter it is wonderful that spring has arrived with such gusto! The gardens and parks have been transformed with vibrant displays of fresh spring colours, so I have decided to do the same thing to the pages of my blog. I took lots of photos in my garden, but I found that I got by far …
I will always be particularly fond of this design because it was my first front cover on Beads & Beyond. When a friend messaged me to say that my design had made it to the magazine cover I was amazed and delighted and it will always remain one of my proudest achievements. I have taken my time in reworking this …
Yesterday I attended a great workshop with Rachel Norris, the well known and well loved UK wire artist. We made this amazing dragonfly using just 10 beads and loads of wire. The workshop was only 3 hours long, so it was not possible to finish and I have been working hard to get mine done before I forgot how to …
It is Mothers’ Day here in the UK and I would like to wish every mother a very happy day. I thought I would find some pretty flowers to post for Mothers’ Day. I haven’t shown this bracelet before and nor have I written a tutorial for it because the construction is rather complex and I found another way of …
The tutorial for this natty, knotty bracelet is about to go into the shop. The design was originally launched as Nautical Knots in Digital Beading magazine. It has now been rewritten, renamed and expanded and will soon be available as Charming Knots. Why do I make so many changes to a tutorial before I put it on my site? One …
