CAT | Products
We recently released a follow up PDF to Rebeca’s super popular Elfweave Braid project. Elfweave Variations takes the weave to the next level by offering your tips for creating 4 additional projects based on the original weave. This PDF was created in response to folks who have been asking us for more advanced projects – we hope those of your looking for the next challenge will find it inspiring!
You can find the Elfweave Variations PDF
on the Elfweave Braid kit page!
Each of these variations can be made using enameled copper for the colored rings in place of the anodized aluminum rings used for the Elfweave Braid. Below are some of our favorite two color combinations to help inspire your color choices for these variations.
Violet + Gold
Lime + Green
Gunmetal + Ice Blue
Burgundy + Black
Royal Blue + Seafoam
Lavender + Eggplant
Amber + Peacock Blue
colored jump rings · Elf Box · Elf Sheet · Elfweave Braid · kits · variations
We decided our enameled copper mixes could use some…well….mixing up! We have come up with six possibilities and are leaving it in your hands to determine which 3 to start selling.
Click the button below to vote for your three favorites and help us decide. By the way, thanks to our community on Facebook for helping us come up with a name for the “Merlin Mix”! We had a great time reading all your suggestions and a heck of a time choosing our favorite. We’ll have to have you guys help us name things more often!
(Check out the sneak preview of the choices below….then go cast your vote!)
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Chainmaille Project Inspiration: Using crystals in your maille
No comments · Posted by Jenna in Featured Product of the Month, Products, Weave Ideas
Our Featured Product coming up for April is Swarovski® Faceted Round Crystal Beads in 6mm or 8mm, available on our findings page. Integrating crystal beads into chainmaille is a trend that has been developing over the last several years; we love the combination of shiny rings and bling-y beads.
There are a variety of ways to include crystal beads in your work. For this post, we pulled together lots of inspirational images of projects created by a wide variety of chainmaille artists (more information for each can be found by clicking the image and many can be found on our magazine projects page.) You’ll notice that more often than not, the beads are added using looped wire. We recommend using Wubbers Round Nose Pliers to aid in this task. 
We hope these projects will inspire you to experiment with adding crystals into your own work – who knows, it could just earn you a $25 Blue Buddha gift certificate! (Stay tuned to our blog for details.) For even more inspiration, check out our past blog post matching the crystals to our niobium colors. You may also find our post about caring for jewelry with fragile components helpful.
"Beaded Zig Zag Byzantine" by Rebeca Mojica
"Timeless Teardrops" by Karen Karon
"Niobium Crystals" by Rebeca Mojica
"Captive Pearls" by Lauren Anderson
"Lancelot Necklace" variation by Rebeca Mojica
"Rings of Saturn" by Lauren Anderson
"Chain of Command" by Arja Aalto-Viittala
"Floating Bead Pendant" by Rebeca Mojica
"Floating Bead Necklace" variation by Rebeca Mojica
"Beaded Romanov" by Scott David Plumlee
"Byzantine Crosses with Turquoise" by Lori Weidhuner
"Crystal Quad Cuff" by Lauren Anderson
"Cool Summer Breezes" by Lauren Anderson
"Spine of the Centipede" by Lauren Andersen
"2 by 2 Chainmaille Bracelet" by Gladys Botz
"Crystal Constellations" by Miachelle DePiano
Stay tuned to our blog to find out how you can participate in our “Featured Product of the Month Contest” and create some inspiration of your own!
chainmaille projects · jewelry project ideas · swarovski crystals
Over the past year, we have slowly been transitioning to stainless steel rings made from a new, easier-to-manipulate wire. We began by replacing some of our most popular sizes (F18. H18, L16) and liked the new wire so much that we decided to replace all of them!
At this point, almost all sizes of our stainless steel rings are made from this new wire and the final sizes, N16, R16 and Z16 will be available soon. If you have ordered stainless steel from us in the last several months, you have likely already noticed a change in their “friendliness”. If you have not worked with our stainless steel before (or tried it a long time ago) you may want to order one of our “Try Before You Commit” stainless steel packs. This $0.75 cent pack will give you a selection of each gauge we sell so you can see if you might want to try working with it.
To make room for our newer rings and complete the transition, we must clear out our old stainless steel rings. These rings are not for everyone but we do have a number of customers who enjoy muscling through this awesome metal and we think you’ll find these prices enticing! Please do shop carefully – sale items are non-returnable and we wouldn’t want you to be stuck with something you don’t enjoy working with! Please also note our difficulty ratings and tool recommendations for each size.
Happy Muscling!
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Chainmaille kits by artists – FOR YOU!
2 Comments · Posted by Jenna in B3 General News, Products
We released the first B3 project (“Scale Barrette”) from chainmaille designer Omni Mee last week and have turned our focus to a long-anticipated tutorial for Lisa Smeltzer’s epic “Dragon Eye Pendant” (shown left). Beginning to work with more new designers is a fun new adventure for B3. We are also continuing relationships with successful B3 projects designers and ambassadors like Kat Wisniewski and Vanessa Walilko (both of whom are always busy creating something epic-ly awesome on their own!)
Long-time relationships and new partnerships alike, working with these folks is an honor for B3. We feel so lucky that such talented folks are willing to share their ideas, not only with our business but with our customers. It really takes a special artist to be willing to teach others and encourage them to grow using their designs as stepping stones.
These designs are just the beginning, however. We have been busy putting everything into place to start working with more and more designers each year. “Who are these designers?” you might ask. Well, they could be you!
B3 project proposals are accepted on an ongoing basis. Many of you have already sent us your initial ideas via email (don’t worry, we haven’t forgotten about you!). We now have a more thorough and official submission form. Whether you’re just learning about this program or you have already sent us an email with ideas, we encourage you to look over our project submission form and consider completing it for your project pitch. We will begin reviewing the submissions more closely and contacting potential designers for 2013 project releases in the Spring and Summer.
chainmaille tutorials · desiginers · design a chainmaille project · jewelry instructions
