String Art Earring Display

A 12x12 inch canvas, copper nails, C-Lon Micro Bead Cord, beading wire & crimp... to create a wall display for 9 pairs of earrings. 

Here are a few tips if you want to make your own. 

Tip #1. Plan the basic design. Do a quick sketch.

Tip #2. Pre-drill the holes for the nails. Mark the spots with a pencil first. Hammer all the nails at the same depth or change the depth on purpose. 

Tip #3. When creating the string art, use a thread burner to melt the cord beginning and end. It keep the design nice and neat. 

Tip #4. Work colors in layers. 

Tip #5. Use beading wire and crimps for the grid which will be used to hang the earrings.   

References

C-Lon Micro Bead Cord

Thread Burners

Kumihimo Neckpiece with PIP Beads

Many kumihimo bracelet patterns can be lengthened to make a neckpiece, but not all of them successfully. A neckpiece or long necklace needs special considerations. Some beaded kumihimo braids will roll over and show their backside making them inappropriate for a neckpiece at the base of the neck or a long necklace. They might work for a tight choker, but who wants to wear a tight choker... 

So with this in mind, I took two of the patterns created for the PIP Beads Kumihimo Bracelets and made neckpieces with them. 

This Argento neckpiece is 17 inch long and made using the Half Round PIP Pattern. This pattern has PIPs only on the front and all 8s on the backside. This pattern would not work for a long necklace. For this piece, I doubled the C-Lon Fine Weight Bead Cord and the Satin Cord length, but increasing them by 1.5 is sufficient and multiplied the beads quantities by approximately 3. I used around 360 PIP beads, and about 12 g of Miyuki 8s for this neckpiece. I loaded the beads in 3 batches to keep the EZ Bobs from overflowing.

These two neckpieces shown here were made with the PIPSs All Around Pattern, so they are bit more dimensional than the pattern shown above.

References

For kits and tutorials go here: PIP Beads Kumihimo Kits and Tutorial

This post continues previous posts on Kumihimo with PIP Beads found here:

Kumihimo with PIP Beads

Compare Kumihimo with Bead Weaving and Crochet Techniques

Kumihimo Earrings with PIP Beads

Kumihimo Earrings with PIP Beads DIY Kits & Tutorial

This post continues the series of posts about kumihimo with Preciosa PIP beads. The two previous posts are Kumihimo with PIP Beads and Kumihimo Bracelet with PIP Bead - Compare Kumihimo with Bead Weaving and Bead Crochet Techniques.

After designing the Kumihimo PIP Bracelets Kit and Tutorial, I made a few necklaces using the Half Round PIP and the PIPs All Around Design Patterns included in the bracelet tutorial. Both designs work well in a necklace form. The one shown here is 17 inch long and used the Half Round Design. I will be writing a post these necklaces next.

After making the necklace, I needed earrings to wear for a wedding I was attending, so I set all my other projects aside and went to work designing my very first kumihimo earrings. Please note that I went about it without doing any research online whatsoever. I did not want to be influenced by someone else’s designs.

The first earring I made was a PIP ball earring, but it was not quite distinctive enough, plus the finishing of the end cords was a bit complex for a DIY, so I decided to try for a design with a beaded tassel. The first ones were pretty good, but the bead placement was not quite right yet and the tassel was a tad short, but the Jellyfish design just needed a bit more refinement.

Everything gelled in the next attempt. The earring had a nice distribution of the PIP beads in the kumihimo body, and the beaded tassel, the tentacles, was just right. This is the design I adopted for the kit and tutorial. > Kumihimo Jellyfish Earrings with PIP Beads

The tutorial is very comprehensive and includes 15 pages with over 30 pictures, tables and charts. Please note the tutorial assumes you have prior knowledge of the braiding steps and beaded kumihimo. The manual does not included the basic steps. If this is your first kumihimo project, make sure to get the Kumihimo PIP Bracelets Kit and Tutorial first. Make the bracelet first as the bracelet manual includes very detailed pictures showing the braiding steps.

The earring tutorial includes 3 design variations and several options for the beaded tassels. The kits are available in the following color and design variations:

Design 1

That's the basic design... This earring style works well with the neckpiece or by itself.

Copper Venus

The PIP beads are transparent with an AB finish. The 8s and 11s are Miyuki Duracoats in a dark copper finish. The leverbacks are gold filled. The necklace is made with the PIP All Around Design. 

Argento

The PIP beads have a silver metallic coating all around. The 8s and 11s are Miyukis in a gunmetal finish. The leverbacks are sterling silver. The necklace is made with the PIP Half Round Design. 

Azuro Metallico

The PIP beads have a blue metallic coating all around. The 8s and 11s are Miyukis in a AB gunmetal finish. The leverbacks are sterling silver with an oxidized finish. The necklace is made with the PIP All Around Design. 

Sapphira

The PIP beads have a dual finish, transparent colors on one side, with a graphite metallic coating on the other side The 8s and 11s are Miyukis in a gunmetal finish. The leverbacks are sterling silver with an oxidized finish.

Design 2

Design 2 as a shorter kumihimo body. Any of the earring kits shown above can be made into Design 2... You will have a few PIP beads leftover for another project. As to the tassels, I started playing with the individual beaded cord length. The tassels can have blunt cuts, staggered or uneven beaded cord lengths... Your choice.

Coppertone - Design 2

The PIP beads have a dual finish, transparent colors on one side, with a copper metallic coating on the other side The 8s and 11s are Miyuki Duracoats in a bright copper finish. The leverbacks are sterling silver with a light oxidized finish.

Design 3

Design 3 as a longer kumihimo body and the tassels are made with Delicas...

Coppertone - Design 3

Same as above earrings but with a longer kumihimo body, so more PIP beads, and the 8s and 11s have a darker patina copper finish. The tassels are made with Miyuki Delicas with staggered lengths.

Opalesque - Design 3

The PIP beads have a dual finish, transparent colors on one side, with a silver metallic coating on the other side. The 8s and 11s are Miyukis in a gunmetal finish. The leverbacks are sterling silver.

When these earrings were all designed and the samples all finished, I searched online to see if anyone else had designed any earrings similar to these and I could not find anything already published on the internet thus far. I am super happy as I love to pioneer a new style!

The kits and the tutorial are available HERE. Check back soon for the next post on making the necklaces...