Spotlight Saturday: Paracord

Give yourself a break this Labor Day and complete an easy project. I love these Parachute Cord, or Paracord, bracelets. They come in really fun vibrant colors and they are really easy to work with. This is a very quick project, so you can get out and enjoy all those parades and backyard BBQ's!

Featured Video: How to Make a Basic Cobra Paracord Bracelet

In this video you will learn how to make a complete paracord bracelet. This is such a fun project. It's also a great way to learn how to do the macrame knotting technique. You will see the technique on a larger scale so that you can get the hang of it. Once you have mastered the macrame square knot, you can try out other projects, like the Infinity Macrame bracelet.

Featured Project: Basic 2 Color Paracord Bracelet - Pink and Black

What's great about this project is that you don't need a lot of extra items to complete it. All you need is the paracord, buckles, flush cutters and a lighter. Simple as that. You will also get a lot of paracord to work with so you can make several bracelets from just a few bundles of the paracord.

Featured Product: Paracord

Paracord comes in several different sizes. When buying your supplies, make sure you get the right size of paracord and the cordinating size buckle for what you want to make. With any left over paracord, you can make another project, the Celtic Button Knot Bracelet!

Quick Tip Tool!

Here is an added bonus. Check out the new EZzzy-Jig Parachure Bracelet Maker. This tool is designed to hold your bracelet in place as you make your cobra knots. One of the great features of this tool is that it also helps you measure the length of your bracelet.

Get The Look: Wrapped Bracelet

We designers are constantly on the lookout for hot new trends in the world of jewelry. We are often trolling the blogosphere, trying to spot that piece that screams for its own Beadaholique version.  Web sites that feature "Young Hollywood" and street styles are always a great place to start looking.

source

While perusing these sources, I came to the conclusion that the wrap bracelet is still going strong-- although it is morphing into something slightly different.  The bracelets that are oh-so-now only wrap around once, but you layer the heck out of them, wearing upwards of a dozen at a time.  There are many that are knotted, in a micro-macrame fashion.  We settled upon one style that we wanted to try out for you, and here it is:

Shashi version found here for $62

Our version features a segments (the connectors) from this chain, Swarovski flatbacks, and our new waxed Irish linen cord .  It uses the knotting technique found in the tutorial "How to make a knotted waxed lined wrapped bracelet":

And here are our results!

So next time you see a celebrity wearing something you love and the thought occurs to you "I can do that" - go out and do it! It's a fun challenge to take on and very rewarding.

- Andrea

BTW: Bead Table Wednesday 6/22/2011

Andrea's Table 

The featured item on my bead table today is waxed linen.  I am extremely excited about getting this stuff in-- it is so perfect for making macrame wrap bracelets; absolutely made for knotting.  I'm experimenting with using the "cobra" knot, and adding beads as I go.  Pictured here is a wrap bracelet using 8/0 Toho beads woven into the natural waxed linen.  I also made a triple-wrapped bracelet using the brown waxed linen with some antiqued copper metal seed beads along the outside.  Watch for upcoming instructional videos on both bracelets!

Julie's Table

I love the look of bead weaving, especially when combined with brass filigree or other unexpected elements. Front and center on my table is an earring which only needs the hook to be added. Using a circular brick stitch, I've combined 3 shades of Toho beads to make each round pictured. If you have yet to try beadweaving, give it a try - it's addictive! There are lots of instructional videos on the Beadaholique website on different bead stitches and more are soon to come.