Beading for Beginners |
When learning to bead you will realize early on that you need more than just beading needles and some thread. There are hundreds of organizers and tools available for beading, and those tools have a direct impact on the look and style of any beading project. Yet there are five basic tools that will get you started:
Tool 1: Round Nose Pliers While you can find round nose pliers at any hardware store, it is often better to buy them in a craft or beading store, because these are made especially for beading. Also, you should look for round nose pliers that have a spring in the handle, because they are more comfortable and convenient for beading. The round nose pliers are used for making round or circular pieces of wire. Tool 2: Flat Nose Pliers Again, you can find these tools in most hardware stores, as their uses range from beading to auto repair. Yet buying them in a craft or beading store will assure that they are made for jewelry. These pliers should be soft inside the nose, and they will be the primary pair of pliers with a flat nose used in jewelry making. Tool 3: Wire Cutter Wire cutters are an essential in jewelry making, because you will be using various kinds of wire. You will want to get a small pair of wire cutters that can cut through things like headpins. They should be small, because the work you will be doing is small. If the wire cutters are too big, you will not be able to cut the wire close to the project. Tool 4: Glue Many jewelry projects require that you use glue, but you want to make sure you purchase glue that is specially designed for jewelry making. White or craft glues will not adhere correctly, but beading glue often gets into the delicate details of a project. Tool 5: Tweezers As you continue beading, you will find that you are using very small, delicate beads. A pair of tweezers will help you pick up small objects that you just cannot do with your hands. Tool 6: Scissors You will need scissors for many beading projects, but be sure you purchase the kind that is specially created for jewelry making. As you continue beading you will need other tools like Ez-Beaders and hand tube beaders. You will also find yourself in need of organizers for your beads. |
Encaustic Art |
Encaustic painting, also known as hot wax painting, involves using heated beeswax to which resins and colored pigments are added. This results in a paste like meduim which is applied to a surface such as prepared wood or canvas. | |
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Introduction to Color Theory |
Color is a very broad topic. Entire books have been written on color and it would be quite difficult to cover every aspect of it within the confines of this article. My hopes with this introduction to color theory is to peek your interest and hopefully cause you to study this topic further on your own. Understanding color theory is perhaps one of the most important aspects of becoming a good painter. When you understand the elements of color and how colors interact with one another, you have unlocked one of the biggest puzzles of painting | |
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How to make your own oil paints |
Oil paints are made basically by mixing cold-pressed Linsed oil with pigment or color until a smooth buttery paint is produced. When the oil paint is used and applied to a surface the oil oxidizes or absorbs air and then forms a solid film that binds the pigment to the surface of the painting. | |
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