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KRISTAL: Kristal Wick here with Artbeads Café, where we have all things beady, sparkly, caffeinated,
and Cynthia.
CYNTHIA: Hi.
KRISTAL: Hi, Cynthia, it's so fun to have you here again to talk about our favorite
thing -- beads.
CYNTHIA: Oh yeah.
KRISTAL: We love them. All kinds, shapes, sizes, everything, right?
CYNTHIA: Never enough beads.
KRISTAL: Never enough beads. Or chocolate. I always have to throw the chocolate part
in there, too. So today, what are we talking about? This is kind of fun.
CYNTHIA: Yes. Some very different shapes of beads. I want to start with this headband,
using the Tila beads.
KRISTAL: We are featuring the Tila beads on this headband and this beautiful bracelet
here.
CYNTHIA: Beautiful bracelet, yeah.
KRISTAL: That is really cool.
CYNTHIA: It's really cool, and the headband is pretty easy to make, actually. It's just
a weaving pattern, like you do a wrap bracelet.
KRISTAL: Oh, sure. Okay.
CYNTHIA: And it's using two needles. One thing to say, also, headbands are getting very popular
this season. They're coming back, and in all different shapes, and lots of beads also using
for the headband.
KRISTAL: What I think is really cute about the headbands is it's age appropriate. Like
any age, young little girls like them, and to make some beaded headbands for your granddaughters
or something would be really sweet, wouldn't it?
CYNTHIA: Exactly. Like this one can be worn any ages, because the colors are very natural
and very muted.
KRISTAL: Kind of earth tone, yeah. Very good idea. I love that. Very nice. And now we have
a little tour, a little beady tour here. Oh my goodness, where to even start with this?
This is kind of like a buffet. This is our bead buffet. Cynthia, let's talk about a few
of these favorite seed beads that we have these days that are just popping up right
and left in different colors and finishes, and we love them.
CYNTHIA: So those are getting very, very popular, especially for bead weaving, because you can
create so much with them. You can do so many different patterns than used to be before.
Let's start with those SuperDuo. How much fun are those?
KRISTAL: They're adorable, and they're SuperDuo obviously because they have two holes. Thus,
the duo. The finishes, I love that they come in such different finishes.
CYNTHIA: Yes, and look at the difference between the transparent one and the metallic one.
You don't feel like it's the same bead.
KRISTAL: Doesn't even look like the same bead.
CYNTHIA: But it's actually the same.
KRISTAL: And they weave up differently, too, don't they, which we have a couple samples
here to show you how different they look, using the actual same bead, but just because
of the finish, changes the entire landscape of the piece you make. Love that.
CYNTHIA: And then other beads that are really fun is the Rulla beads.
KRISTAL: Rulla beads are hot, hot, hot right now, aren't they? They're everywhere.
CYNTHIA: And they have also two holes, and look at this amazing bracelet.
KRISTAL: I love that. Oh, that looks like a garden, doesn't it? Just beautiful. And
with the 2-hole beads, the Rullas, this is the same bead as this... as this... as this.
Which is just, again, amazing because of the different finishes. Oh, I love it.
CYNTHIA: And all the possibilities, too, with them. So it's really great.
KRISTAL: I love how this really makes the whole piece pop, that beautiful button there.
Oh, gorgeous.
CYNTHIA: And then the 2-hole Lentils.
KRISTAL: The Lentils, those are fairly new, aren't they? Lovely shape.
CYNTHIA: They are. And here, they've been used in the middle, so you weave them in the
middle, and they are kind of making the bone of the bracelet.
KRISTAL: Yes. So it's an interesting -- it's a really interesting concept here. They're
standing up, as opposed to the way we bead with the round beads or the tube beads. It's
just a very different architecture. So when you're designing with these, I think it's
a very, very fun practice to think of the different ways, because each shape is going
to stand up a different way with the two holes, because it's a very different thing now.
CYNTHIA: And like you were saying, there are so many different shapes, and the way you
can build with them -- so things are not flat anymore.
KRISTAL: Architecture, yeah.
CYNTHIA: Yes, exactly. Three-dimensional.
KRISTAL: I love that. Love that.
CYNTHIA: And the last one is the Magatamas. They're also really fun, and here they were
used with kumihimo.
KRISTAL: Lovely. Look at that. Look at these different -- again, they are such a fun shape
with the different finishes and colors. We have some matte here, and then we have some
transparent. And that just looks like -- oh my goodness, it looks like some kind of thing
from an exotic garden, doesn't it? Like those stalks, you know? It looks like a flower of
some sort. Wow.
CYNTHIA: And the trick in this bracelet is you have to put the beads all in the same
side. So if you put the beads in a different -- if it goes in different ways, then the
bracelet changes completely. All the beads will be all going in different directions.
KRISTAL: Mixed up. Which is another interesting look, of course, but yeah, it's just...
KRISTAL: Oh, so it would be good, if you're using different types of beads like this,
especially with kumihimo, to do some swatches or do some strands first to start out, just
to see the different techniques, and then make your bracelet, right?
CYNTHIA: Yes.
KRISTAL: So you can test it, make sure you love it before you do the whole thing. We've
all done that. Oh, these are so fun. What a great tour. I love this. Don't you love
this, Cynthia?
CYNTHIA: I do, yeah. The colors are so great, too.
KRISTAL: Yeah. It opens up a lot of possibilities for designing now.
CYNTHIA: Yes.
KRISTAL: Okay, Cynthia, it is time for our Q&A. Tracy in San Francisco asks, "How many
types of wire wrap loops are there?" Now, I know you are an expert at wire wrap loops,
so I thought maybe you would want to share your tips with us.
CYNTHIA: Okay. There are three types that I really like and I use a lot. The first one
is the normal wrap loop, just like that. Very simple wrap loop. Then, when you're finished
with this one, instead of cutting your wire, keep wrapping on top of the bead. I kind of
make it like a bead cap. And you have some examples here with a bicone, and teeny, teeny
-- so if your bead is really big, then you won't have that much wire, but if your bead
is really small, then you can really cover the bead, and it's really cute.
KRISTAL: It's like a little hat.
CYNTHIA: Yes.
KRISTAL: That's so cute.
CYNTHIA: Yes. And then I did it on two beads here, I put two beads and I did it on the
top of the other one.
KRISTAL: That's a really nice idea.
CYNTHIA: So you can really play with those. It's really fun. And then the other wrap loop
is when you have a bead that is shaped differently, the hole is shaped differently. Like the hole
is going side to side, and you don't know how to use it. Sometimes you can put a jump ring,
sometimes you cannot. So I use here a wrap loop for those teardrops.
KRISTAL: Okay, and like briolette -- yeah, those are -- everybody has trouble figuring
out what to do with the briolettes.
CYNTHIA: They're pretty simple to do, and the site in the Learning Center, Handy Tips,
will show step by step how to make those wrap loops.
KRISTAL: Great. Oh, that's great.
CYNTHIA: Very simple. And to show also, I put some earrings together.
KRISTAL: Those are lovely. Oh, nice.
CYNTHIA: And I also used the same technique with some beads completely different, so they're
rectangular and two holes.
KRISTAL: Nice.
CYNTHIA: I really wanted to make them as earrings, and I thought "Okay, what kind of -- how can
I put them..."
KRISTAL: Right, because they're going the opposite way of what you normally would wrap
them.
CYNTHIA: So I used the same technique that I used for the briolettes, and it works really
well.
KRISTAL: Nice.
CYNTHIA: So this is a wrap loop that is really handy to know, because then you can use with
different beads.
KRISTAL: That's really lovely. And, of course, the more you do, the better you get, which
is kind of the key to wrap loops, right?
CYNTHIA: Yes, it is. It's practice, practice, practice. In the beginning, your loop won't
look good; that's okay. Just cut it and practice, practice. So at the beginning, practice with
a wire that is cheaper than the silver one. Then you can use Artistic Wire.
KRISTAL: Move up.
CYNTHIA: Yes. And just practice.
KRISTAL: Good to know. Great. Well, Tracy, I hope that answers your question. We love
wire loops, wire wrap loops here, along with everybody else at Artbeads and all of our
lovely goodies. So we thank you for joining us here at Artbeads Café. Please join us
on YouTube and subscribe if you want to see our lovely Artbeads Cafes when they come out,
and subscribe to our newsletter, where we have all kinds of tips and tricks and projects
for you. So in the meantime, happy beading!