Where I Find Patterns: Bead Loom

When I first started make bead loom bracelets, I used other people's patterns because I wanted to be sure that the pattern would work and look good! As my confidence grew, I wanted to experiment a little more with making my own patterns, which I did using BeadTool.

BeadTool allows users to easily create patterns for any beading, be it brick stitch, peyote, square stitch or beading on a loom. You can select the stitch that you want to use, which will change the grid, and select the colours you want to use from the full selection of Miyuki Delica palette listed on the program. Simply select the colour that you require, and draw in the squares! Easy! BeadTools offers a free download of this program so you can try it out, test it and see if it's something you want to buy. It's only £30, which for a beading program, isn't too bad at all! The downside is that with the free trial, you are unable to save your patterns you've created and you also can't screen capture them. I guess it makes sense though.

Another alternative is to use friendship bracelet patterns. My websites of choice for these are http://friendship-bracelets.net and http://braceletbook.com. If you click through to the "alpha" patterns, you will see a grid design, identical to a bead loom pattern! There are hundreds of premade patterns to suit every occasion, but also on both of these websites, you have the opportunity to create your own patterns and submit them to the site, so other people can use them! I have done this for a couple of patterns, such as this one:

 

And this one:

You can then read these patterns just like you would a regular bead loom pattern, where each square is a bead.

Here are a couple of examples:

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So that is where I find my bead loom patterns! Where are your favourite places to find bead loom patterns?

Delicious Strawberry Yoghurt Ice Lollies!

The boyfriend and I "treated ourselves" to some ice lolly moulds from ASDA a couple of weeks ago. I mean, they were only £2.50 so we were hardly breaking the bank! That evening, we decided to whiz up some strawberries, add some yoghurt and a touch of sugar then freeze them to see what happened. Turns out we'd made delicious lollies!

The lolly mould we've bought (image from ASDA)

We were clever and didn't note down quantities but that day we had enough mixture to make 6 lollies. I decided to film a video for The C of C on YouTube on how I made these, as I'd had a request via my Facebook page so here we go!

To make 5 lollies, you will need:

20 Strawberries (The strawbs I used were pretty small!)
5 tbsp Low Fat Natural Yoghurt
2 tsp Granulated Sugar

Utensils:

Lolly Mould (or yoghurt pots that have been washed out and lolly sticks)
Stick Blender
Spatula
Spoon
Teaspoon
Jug
Chopping Board
Sharp Knife.

Start by hulling the strawberries (this just means taking off the leaves and stalk" and place 15 of them in the jug. Slice the other 5 strawberries thinly and place to one side as these will line our moulds.

Whiz up the strawbs in the jug using the stick blender until there are no lumps left. Scrape excess juice off the blender using the spatula.

Spoon in 5 spoonfuls of the yoghurt and give it a mix. Taste and if it isn't sweet enough for you, add the sugar. I find that 2 tsp is enough, but you can add more if you like.

Line the lolly moulds with the thinly sliced strawberry, just adding slices sporadically. Pour in the strawb-yoghurt mixture.

Gently bang the mould on the counter a couple of times to pop any air bubbles, add your sticks and pop the lollies into the freezer for at least 3 hours.

If you can't get the lollies out of the moulds once frozen, run the mould under some cold tap water for around 10-15 secs and you should find that the lolly comes right out!

Enjoy!

How to Make Bead Loom Bracelets!

Creating beadwork on a loom is something that has been done for centuries by the Native Americans, along with others. It is a quick and easy way to create intricate designs to use for bracelets, necklaces and even headbands!

You can use any size bead you like on a loom; the larger the bead, the quicker it will grow! Here is a video tutorial on how to make your very own beaded bracelet on a loom!

In this video. I use size 10 glass seed beads, thin crochet cotton and Nymo beading thread. Of course I use a loom too! The loom I have is the Jewel Loom by Beadalon.

Let me know if you enjoyed this tutorial and don't forget that you can show me pictures of your own bead looming creations on Instagram, using #TheCornerofCraft!!