At long last the new design is here!

I often get requests for instructions.  In response to the many requests, I am now offering instructions only for certain designs.
 
All instructions come on a CD in PDF format, ready to print. The CD contains photos of the piece, the history behind the design, a supply list and a suggestion sheet for colors and materials.

Please Email Me (maggie@mmmbeads.com) with product and kit availability questions.

Ancient Bits & Pieces

These instructions cover many of the techniques I use for bezeling focal beads such as seed bead caps, two techniques for bezeling 8-12 mm focal beads, spool beads using various stitches such as circular peyote, ladder stitch among others.  It is a great way to use your small amounts of beads left from other projects.

The armille was worn in pairs by Roman woman during 79AD – the time of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius.  They were worn around the upper arm.  Remains of these armilles were found throughout the area devastated by Vesuvius – Pompeii, Herculaneum, etc.  The armille found on the cover sheet was found in Pompeii and is in remarkably good condition.  You will learn to use circular brick stitch to make small domes and how to switch to peyote stitch from brick stitch to finish the components which are then joined to make an elegant bracelet with a closure inspired from antiquity.

Inspired by the ancient Byzantine collars and gold work of old, this piece is the first in a series.  The original for this piece was found in Egypt but research has shown that it was probably made in Constantinople. Broad collars were very popular in the Byzantine Era.  They were made with gold and precious gems.  One of the most famous depictions of the collar is found of the famous mosaic found in Ravenna of the Empress Theodora.

Using peyote and right angle weave, you will create components incorporating Venetian gold foil beads, freshwater pearls and semi-precious stones (some of which are bezeled with seed beads).

I walked every morning in Southern Italy at the local NATO Base.  On the not-so-lovely dirt path there was a wire fence and on it grew the most beautiful Morning Glories with dew on them.  I designed this piece in my head while walking away the pounds of pasta and bread. 

The necklace is made of individual components which are then joined together and embellished with small crystals.  The stitches you are going to use are:  tubular herringbone (rope), tubular brick stitch, and flat peyote.

The Hercules Knot has a long history beginning in Egypt centuries ago.  It was Alexander the Great who adopted the design and brought it to ancient Greece and later was adopted by Rome.  It was originally worn over very high coiffures by the Greek women. The knot symbolized the union of Zeus and Rhea as snakes.  It also was believed to have functioned as an amulet for healing wounds.  This motif can be found in many cultures and is sometimes known as the Gordion Knot

This bracelet incorporates tubular right-angle weave, herringbone and brick stitch.  The components are then joined with a clasp embellished with semi-precious stones.  The clasp is made with seed beads and semi-precious stones. 

Isis was an Egyptian goddess worshipped at the time of the destruction of Pompeii.  Among the ruins of Pompeii is evidence of a temple dedicated to her and frescoes depicting the worship of this goddess.  The Isis Choker was inspired by these findings.

This delicate choker uses a combination of peyote stitch and ladder stitch to create elegant components.  You then join and embellish the components with semi-precious stones and finish the necklace with a herringbone chain and seed bead clasp.  The result is a lovely necklace to be worn for all occasions. 

The Kantharos is a style of urn which represents the giving of life in ancient Greek and Roman times.  The necklace was inspired by a mosaic pattern found in the Domus di Tappeti di Pietra (House of the Stone Carpet) in Ravenna, Italy.  The piece is made of components using circular brick stitch, peyote, diagonal brick and square stitch. 

I remember with fondness those wonderful little fabric yo-yos my grandmother taught me to make – although this is about as far as I went as a seamstress!  This project is the beaded version of those fabric yo-yos.

Using circular peyote stitch, you will make individual yo-yos to be combined in many different ways to make bracelets and necklaces.  The instructions also cover how to use the yo-yos as findings, earrings and to bezel a larger size bead.  You will also learn how to embellish the yo-yos and how to make a closure.

Inspired by the ancient “ribbon” mosaic patterns found throughout antiquity, this cuff is made of components of a combination of brick and square stitch.  The components are then joined to form the ribbons with bezeled freshwater pearls and a closure made with flat peyote and large stick pearl.

Sogno d’ oro was inspired by a necklace I saw in a rather large and expensive book at the National Museum in Naples, Italy.  Not wanting to carry such a large book or pay the amount of Euro that was wanted, I proceeded to sketch the necklace on the back of my checkbook.   When I returned home, I made the necklace based on my “so-called” sketch and my memory.  When I returned next year, the book was no longer available and I started to search for it.  I finally found a book from the 1940s that had the collection in black and white.  There was the necklace and it looked nothing like my sketch or what I remembered.  I reworked the necklace to what you see today and inspired by the picture below.
 
It was found in Metaponto which was a part of the Magna Grecia section of the Greek Empire in Southern Italy.  Some of the necklace is missing but it is made of gold with granulation and quite a bit of detail.  From what I can translate, it was found in a tomb in a century before Christ.  The piece is made using components made with tubular peyote, circular peyote, brick stitch and spiral rope chain.

Beader’s Canvas is a new program designed by Robert Dunn for graphing patterns for beadwork.  This program is wonderful! It is extremely user-friendly. You can transfer pictures and photographs to the program and graph them in square stitch, brick, peyote (single drop, two drop and three drop) right angle weave and loom.

The program allows you to design and modify your own color palette. It also allows you to make bead soup as well as several other functions. It comes with an animated tutorial to guide you through the many aspects of this program. 

System Requirements: Windows 98/ME, XP, Vista