How to Design Jewelry With Lampwork Beads

Handmade lampwork beads are small, colorful and unique. They add variety to your jewelry making and art projects. These beads are treasured and passed from generation to generation. Lampworking is the craft of making glass beads by hand. Romans created this technique by using oil lamp to melt down glass and create decorated beads and sculptures. Today, modern lampworkers use a propane-oxygen torch as their heat source. Read on to learn more.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 10 lampwork beads
• 10 tube beads
• 20 rounds
• 20 large bail style beads
• 1 package pony beads
• 1 oval filigree clasp
• 1 package crimp beads
• 1 spool softflex beading wire
• Crimp tool
• Wire cutters

1. Order your beads from a website or catalogue. The Eebeads.com and firemountaingems.com websites have good bead selections.

2. Gather your materials together.

3. Cut a 25-inch piece of softflex. String softflex through one crimp bead, loop through oval filigree clasp, and then back through the crimp bead. Snug the crimp bead up to the oval filigree clasp. Using your crimp tool, crush the crimp bead and trim the excess wire. Tuck the remaining into the next bead.

4. String round, pony bead, round, heishi, lampwork bead, heishi, round, pony bead, round, heishi, lampwork bead, tube, heishi. Repeat pattern three more times. Then string round, pony bead, round, crimp bead.

5. String softflex through the other end of the oval filigree clasp (looks like a hook) and then back through the crimp bead. Snug the bead up the clasp, and crush the crimp bead using your crimp tool. Now you're done. The finished bracelet will measure about 7.5 inches.

Tips & Warnings

• You'll have excess wire when you're finished with your bracelet. Cut off the remaining excess with the wire cutter.
• You can exchange any color lampwork bead or tube bead to make this necklace; just make sure they're the same color as the one you're replacing. For a wilder-looking bracelet use a wide variety of bead colors.

Resources

• bead-dazzle designs
• jewely website for ordering jewelry and designing beads