Gardanne Beads enameled bears make beautiful focal points in these earrings. They pair well with PRESTIGE crystals and Raven's Journey Czech glass.
Add a Sun Wheel bead to a 3-foot length of thread. Bring your thread back through the other end of the stringing hole to form a loop around one side of the bead, leaving a 4-6 inch tail. Pull tight so the thread is up against one side of the bead. Repeat so there are two strands of thread.
Bring your thread back through the other end of the stringing hole to form a loop around the other side of the bead. Repeat so there are two strands. You should now have two strands of thread on each side of the bead.
Add two 11/0 seed beads to the thread. Bring them down next to the bead. Bring your needle under the two threads around your bead and pull tight so that the seed beads are now against the Sun Wheel bead. Bring your needle up through the second seed bead added and pull. Your seed beads should now start to snug up against the bead, forming a frame. Pick up one seed bead and bring your needle back through the two thread strands around the bead. Bring the needle back up through the bead. This is much like the brick stitch technique for adding beads.
Brick Stitch Diagram
Basic Brick Stitch Text Tutorial
Decreasing and Increasing Brick Stitch Text Tutorial
Brick Stitch Video Tutorial
Continue the brick stitch frame around the the entirety of the Sun Wheel bead. You may need to adjust the two threads as you go, to keep them on the edges of the bead. After you add your last seed bead, bring the needle back down through the first bead you added to the frame and back up through the last bead added.
Add a seed bead, a Yellow Opal bicone, and a seed bead to the thread. Bring the thread back down through the second bead over from the bead you are already coming out of to form a picot edge. Then, come up through the next bead over. Repeat to form a picot edge all around the Sun Wheel bead.
Your thread should be coming out of one of the frame beads once you've added your last picot edge. Attach a bear pendant to a jump ring. Then, attach the jump ring to the brick stitch frame between two picot edges. Trim and secure your working and tail threads by weaving back into the beads and knotting 1-2 times.
Add a jump ring to one side of the bicone at the top of your Sun Wheel bead. Add another jump ring to the other side.
Add a fire-polished bead and a Yellow Opal bicone to an eye pin. Slide the eye pin through the two jump rings, above the bicone in the picot edge. Then, add another Yellow Opal bicone and a fire-polished bead to the eye pin. Make a simple loop at the end of the beads.
Add a fire-polished bead, a Yellow Opal bicone, a Blue Zircon bicone, a Yellow Opal bicone, and a fire-polished bead to an eye pin. Make a simple loop at the top of the beads. Repeat once for a total of two beaded links.
Attach one of the beaded links to one end of the beaded link holding your bear focal. Attach the other beaded link to the other end.
Connect the ends of the beaded links to a jump ring on the other ends to form a triangle frame with your beaded links.
Open the loop of an earwire and attach to the jump ring at the top of your triangle frame. Close the loop.
Repeat these steps to make the other earring.
Nice choice! All or most of the products needed for this project are shown below with quantities. Sometimes we sell out of components and aren’t able to order more from the manufacturer (we know, it is very disappointing to us, too). Use the opportunity to mix up the design and make it yours by substituting similar products or altering the entire color scheme—it’s up to you!
Gardanne Beads enameled bears make beautiful focal points in these earrings. They pair well with PRESTIGE crystals and Raven's Journey Czech glass.
Add a Sun Wheel bead to a 3-foot length of thread. Bring your thread back through the other end of the stringing hole to form a loop around one side of the bead, leaving a 4-6 inch tail. Pull tight so the thread is up against one side of the bead. Repeat so there are two strands of thread.
Bring your thread back through the other end of the stringing hole to form a loop around the other side of the bead. Repeat so there are two strands. You should now have two strands of thread on each side of the bead.
Add two 11/0 seed beads to the thread. Bring them down next to the bead. Bring your needle under the two threads around your bead and pull tight so that the seed beads are now against the Sun Wheel bead. Bring your needle up through the second seed bead added and pull. Your seed beads should now start to snug up against the bead, forming a frame. Pick up one seed bead and bring your needle back through the two thread strands around the bead. Bring the needle back up through the bead. This is much like the brick stitch technique for adding beads.
Brick Stitch Diagram
Basic Brick Stitch Text Tutorial
Decreasing and Increasing Brick Stitch Text Tutorial
Brick Stitch Video Tutorial
Continue the brick stitch frame around the the entirety of the Sun Wheel bead. You may need to adjust the two threads as you go, to keep them on the edges of the bead. After you add your last seed bead, bring the needle back down through the first bead you added to the frame and back up through the last bead added.
Add a seed bead, a Yellow Opal bicone, and a seed bead to the thread. Bring the thread back down through the second bead over from the bead you are already coming out of to form a picot edge. Then, come up through the next bead over. Repeat to form a picot edge all around the Sun Wheel bead.
Your thread should be coming out of one of the frame beads once you've added your last picot edge. Attach a bear pendant to a jump ring. Then, attach the jump ring to the brick stitch frame between two picot edges. Trim and secure your working and tail threads by weaving back into the beads and knotting 1-2 times.
Add a jump ring to one side of the bicone at the top of your Sun Wheel bead. Add another jump ring to the other side.
Add a fire-polished bead and a Yellow Opal bicone to an eye pin. Slide the eye pin through the two jump rings, above the bicone in the picot edge. Then, add another Yellow Opal bicone and a fire-polished bead to the eye pin. Make a simple loop at the end of the beads.
Add a fire-polished bead, a Yellow Opal bicone, a Blue Zircon bicone, a Yellow Opal bicone, and a fire-polished bead to an eye pin. Make a simple loop at the top of the beads. Repeat once for a total of two beaded links.
Attach one of the beaded links to one end of the beaded link holding your bear focal. Attach the other beaded link to the other end.
Connect the ends of the beaded links to a jump ring on the other ends to form a triangle frame with your beaded links.
Open the loop of an earwire and attach to the jump ring at the top of your triangle frame. Close the loop.
Repeat these steps to make the other earring.
