Beadshop.com Stringing Video: More Than Just Stringing
If you're fairly new to bead stringing, or heck even if you're not, you can probably remember a time or two when you sat in front of your bead board and thought, "Okay, now what?" Sure, you may have a grasp on the basics of bead stringing. You know how to use crimping pliers and you've attached a bead tip or two, but what about designing your jewelry? How do you learn how to do that? It's not as easy as it seems. Some people may have a knack for selecting just the right beads to go together, but admit it. There's always something that doesn't work out for whatever reason. Most of our designing experience is gathered through trial and error.
But, let me digress a little. Beadshop.com has definitely geared this video for the novice. Kate starts off by discussing the tools you'll need, like crimping pliers and wire cutters, and then moves on to findings and their use, how to work with Soft Flex ® and nylon, and she does a thorough job of describing bead boards and how to use them. Before she jumps into actually showing how to do all of this, though, she spends some time discussing different design elements such as using pendants, center drops, accent beads, and specialty beads. Kate also reviews ideas for selecting the color of beads you use in a piece. This sort of design discussion is what surprised me. While she talks about things an old-timer like myself knows, these are tips and tricks that I learned the hard way. However, I have to admit I still learned a few things.
After the introductory and design segment, Kate goes on to show and tell the viewer how to begin and end a number of stringing projects using findings like crimp beads and bead tips. As she explains each technique, she continues to interject helpful tips and design ideas throughout the video.
I definitely recommend this to anyone starting out, and for those who may be in the intermediate stages of learning to string, this video might also be useful. Many of us don't have the luxury of taking classes, and with a video like this, you can take a class in your home with the added advantage of rewinding the instructor so you can see what she's doing over and over again.
