April 18, 2016

Bead the Bern Grand Opening!

I opened my Etsy Store today! I'm really excited. Thanks so much for all the encouragement and feedback on my Bernie bead loom designs. Check out my store. https://www.etsy.com/shop/PecosRiverJewelry?ref=l2-shopheader-name Let me know how it looks. I had to teach myself a bunch of new things this weekend but I think it all came out pretty good.

Here are some of the designs I came up with...







I'm also posting these on Pinterest under Crafters For Equality. https://www.pinterest.com/craft4equality/bernie-sanders/ That's a board I started after the Hobby Lobby decision pissed me off. I figured that board would have lots of Bernie crafters. I really want to get these designs out to other artists/crafters so we can all spread the word. What a great conversation starter these would be. I priced them low to be accessible to most but if you want one and you really can't afford it, let me know and I can work something out.

They're designed for the bead loom but will work with square stitch. I also think they could be adapted to any grid based craft like cross stitch, plastic canvas, Perler beads, etc. I'm going to start a thread in the Arts and Crafts forum, too, where I will be able to give people tips on how to use these. Bead looming is actually pretty easy once you get the hang of it and these patterns would be good for a beginner.

Please help me spread the word. If you go to the Etsy page you can Pin, or Tweet or Facebook these. Thanks again!

April 15, 2016

What do you think of my new Bernie bead designs?

A few weeks ago, I did a giveaway for a Bernie bracelet I made on a bead loom. Here is a picture of that bracelet...


Since then, I've been coming up with some new designs. This is my most recent one. What do you think?


I broke down and bought some pattern software and have been going a little crazy with designs. I'm going to try to sell the patterns so that more people can be making Bernie bracelets, hat bands etc. I've come up with several versions of the first two with the Bernie head and peace symbols, birds, etc. I'm going to try to put some of the patterns on Etsy this weekend.

Anyway... here's the reason for this thread. I need some design input. I came up with this new pattern last night and I want to get some opinions. I like it a lot but I'm just not sure how it works with beads. I want to make this one myself but I'm wondering if the square grid makes his profile look too "blocky." Here's a version the new pattern...