Crystal Excitement Bracelet (retiring this kit)
Designer: Warren Feld
BS1-01
BEGINNER LEVEL 
-- Bead Stringing Sequence
-- Lesson: Stringing with Cable Wire and Crimp Beads
-- Bracelet

Strut your bling with crystals! Elegant and exciting, this bracelet will show-case your jewelry-making talents. Learn Bead Stringing using cable wire and the crimping technique.

NOTE: Regular retail and wholesale store discounts do not apply to kits.

The CRYSTAL EXCITEMENT BRACELET KIT
Instructions to make a 7" bracelet
Supplies to make up to an 8" bracelet

Palette 1: Mardi Gras (Crystal Copper)

Colors may appear differently on different monitors.

Palette 2: Heliotrope 

Colors may appear differently on different monitors.

Palette 3: Purple Velvet

Colors may appear differently on different monitors.

 FORMAT OPTONS

(1) KIT with Instructions on CD

(2) CD Instructions Only

About the Kit...

Stringing beads on cable wire, thread or cord is not difficult, but it does require a thorough understanding of the pros and cons of the various parts and stringing materials that you will use.

The bead stringer has several goals to achieve: You want your piece to
a. Look good and be appealing
b. Last, not break and be durable
c. Move well as it is worn
d. Feel good and drape good as it is worn
e. Withstand all the forces and pressures that result, when your jewelry moves, as it is worn
f. Fit the context within which it is worn

For our Crystal Excitement Bracelet, we will be using flexible, nylon coated cable wire. The quality of cable wire we will be using is called Flex Wire, which is the middle-range or Designer grade in this product line. [The low-end of the cable wire line is called Tiger Tail].

We will be attaching the wire, using crimp beads, to a Toggle Clasp -- basically a ring on one end and a bar on the other. From a functional standpoint, the Toggle Clasp is considered the best clasp. It is considered the easiest to get on and off, and the most secure. It has no moving parts. It has great "jointedness" or support. Toggle Clasps should always be bought and used as a set. You never mix and match rings and bars, because they are tightly engineered to work as a set and you don't want your necklaces and bracelets to fall off, when worn.

We will be stringing on Austrian crystal beads of different sizes, shapes and colors as well as some pewter beads.

In the Crystal Excitement Bracelet project...

LearnToBead Goals:
- Selecting Cable Wire, Crimp Bead, Crimp Cover, and Horseshoe Wire Protector
- The four steps of crimping
- Selecting a clasp and fashioning a "clasp assembly"
- Creating a "support system" with a loop
- Using a bead board and sizing cone
- Relationship of cable wire method to needle/thread method

Table of Contents

Supplies List

I. Planning Your Project
Choosing Clasps, Clasp Assemblies and Support Systems
Choosing Stringing Materials
IA. Conceptualizing Your Piece
IB. Measurements
IC. Selecting Materials
ID. Sketching a Pattern or Graph
IE. Identifying Potential Areas of Weakness within Your Piece
IF. Visualizing Your Process
IG. Organizing Your Work Space

II. Beginning Your Project
IIA. Basic Steps
About Cable Wires
About Crimp Beads, Crimp Covers, and Horseshoe Wire Protectors
Let's Practice Crimping
Let's Make Our Bracelet

IIB. Dealing with Contingencies
IIC. Finishing Touches

III. Summary of Learning Objectives You Have Met
After Accomplishing This Project

IV. Next Steps
IVA. Suggested Readings