Retired - The Secret Garden Bracelet

Note: Components and tools listed within this INSTRUCTIONS box and the printer-friendly PDF, if available, may have been discontinued since this project was published. Refer to the PURCHASE COMPONENTS and TOOLS AND OTHER SUPPLIES sections for current availability.

1. This is not a quick project but the results are well worth the effort. You will treasure your new bracelet for years to come.
2. Take your two antique brass ornate five bead strand reducers, and using flush cutters, cut off the single loop at the top (on the side opposite the 5 loops). Do this for both strand reducers. Using a diamond file, sand down any rough edges from your cut.
3. Take your two strand reducers from above and your 3 Vintaj natural brass diamond swirl filigrees and using your fingers, apply a layer of Gilders Paste in iris blue ontop of the brass. Here is a video on applying Gilders Paste. Wipe off any excess with a paper towel so that you are re-exposing the raised brass but the blue is settled into the recessed area. Next, again using your finger, apply a thin layer of Gilders Paste in African Bronze over the raised brass. If you feel like you have too much color, wipe off some with a paper towel until you are happy with the look. Do this to all your brass pieces and let dry for 12 hours. After they have dried, apply a layer of clear acrylic matte sealer (such as one put out by Mod Podge) and let dry. Repeat with 2 more coats of sealant and let dry.
4. On your beading mat, spread out some of your Czech glass seed beads from the Irish green emerald mix. The lime colored opaque green ones we will not be using at all. We will be using the shiny emerald green, frosted green, and the two tones of metallic blue (the darker iris metallic and the more denim colored metallic).
5. View the How to Do a Flat Right Angle Weave - Single Needle video. Following what you learned in this video, cut a piece of K.O. olive green thread 7 feet long and thread a needle onto one end of it. Position the needle about 1/3 down the length of your thread, this will make it easier to work with. Start your right angle weave with the following beads: 1 shiny emerald seed bead, 1 metallic blue, 1 shiny emerald bead, and another metallic blue (for this it doesn't matter which blue you choose). Continue until you have 12 units of 4 beads. See the video again if you need a refresher on what constitutes a unit. When you get to the end and have made your 12 units, start your second row but instead of using the shiny emerald beads combined with your metailc blue, use the frosted green. This will mean when you turn, you will pass through one of the metallic blue beads at the top and that will be the start of your next unit of 4, so you will string on: 1 frosted green, 1 metallic blue, and another frosted green. Continue beading using right angle weave until you get to the end of this row. Repeat the above steps until you end up with 4 rows of shiny emerald beads alternating with 4 rows of frosted green beads. Tie off your thread using the technique shown in this video
6. Repeat the last step until you have a total of 4 of these "panels" of bead woven seed beads. Put aside for now.
7. View this video to see how to make circular brick stitch rounds. Following what you learned in this video, make a total of 8 seperate circular brick stitch rounds which start with 3 dark iris blue metallic seed beads, the next row should have 7 shiny emerald green seed beads, and the third and final outer row should have 10 Miyuki delica seed beads in red gold luster. Tie off your thread.
8. You now have made all the components you need to assemble your bracelet, and from this point on, it will be a matter of putting them together. Look at the photos so you can get a good visual to go along with the following instructions. Also, view this video to see how to add a new thread into bead weaving. For most of the following steps, you will be adding a thread into the beadwork based on the technique shown in the video and then tying off the thread as well.
9. Cut off a thread length of 2 feet. Thread your needle. Take one of your circular brick stitch rounds and position it in the center front of your Vintaj diamond swirl filigree. Going from the back to front, sew the circular round directly onto the filigree. To begin, tie the end of the thread to the filigree in the back using a surgeons knot. Double it if you feel you need it to be more secured. As you are sewing, just be careful that your stitching it tight and does not show on the front side. You can sew in and out of the open work holes in the filigree. When you feel that the circular round is secure, bring your thread back to the underside of the filigree and tie it off by tying it to some of the back threading which developed in this step. Use a surgeons knot. See this video as to how to do various knots. Repeat this step with your other 2 Vintaj filigrees.
10. Cut off a thread length about 2 feet long and thread your needle onto the thread. Take one of your beaded right angle weave panels and position two corners of a Vintaj diamond swirl filigree over the the longer edge of the panel. See the photo for an idea of how much to overlap. Going from the back to the front, thread your needle through the beadwork to one side of the swirls of the overlapping filigree. Go over the neck which connects the swirl part of the filigree to the body of it. Thread back down through your bead work, then back up and over again. There is a little open work hole in this "neck" area and for added security, thread down into this open work hole to the backside of your beadwork and then back up and over again and back down around the side. You are literally sewing the corner of the filigree to the bead work. Once you have looped around at least 5 or 6 times, position your needle so that it is on the top side of your bead work along the outside edge of the neck above the swirls. Now string 4 Czech seed beads: 1 dark iris metallic blue, 1 denim colored metallic blue, 1 dark iris metallic blue, and 1 denim colored metallic blue. Sew up and over all the stitching you have done in this step, arching to the other side of the swirls, and then back down through your bead woven panel to the back side. Tie off your thread.
11. Repeat the last step on all the corners of the filigrees until you have fully attached your 3 Vintaj diamond swirls filigrees to your 4 panels.
12. Cut another 2 feet of thread and thread your needle. Sew a circular brick stitch round into the center of each of your 4 bead woven panels. Make sure to sew in and out of your existing bead weaving to hide the threads.
13. Next, take one of your strand reducers and position it along one of the edges of your bracelet. You want the 5 loops to be under the bead woven panel. Cut 4 feet of thread and thread your needle onto it. Going from the back side to the front, go through the middle loop of the strand reducer, pulling 2 feet through and leaving approximately 2 feet on the other side. Using the process of going back and forth through the bead work and making sure to go up and around the loop, sew the strand reducer to the bead work. Once you feel that the first loop is secure, move to the one next to it and follow the same process of securing it. Once that one is done, move on to the end one and secure it. At this point you should have 3 of the 5 loops secured. Tie off this end of the thread. Go back to that 2 foot end of thread sticking out the middle where you first started, thread your needle to this thread. Using the same process as you just used to secure the first 3 loops of the strand reducer, secure the remaining 2 loops and tie off your thread.
14. Repeat the above step on the other side of your bracelet.
15. Cut 5 links of Vintaj chain. Open the end link the same way you would open a jump ring and connect it to the open work hole at the front end of one of your strand reducers (which is now connected to your bracelet). Close the link back up. On the other end of your 5 link chain, open the end link and link it through one of the gaps in your last circular brick round. Close the chain link.
16. On the other side of your bracelet, open the loop at the base of your Vintaj hook the same way you would open a jump ring and link it to the open work hole at the front of your strand reducer. Close that loop back up.
17. C'est Fini! Good job, enjoy your new bracelet!

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• XTL-1106 - Baroque Art Gilders Paste - Highlight Metal, Wood and More! Iris Blue 1 oz
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• XTL-1101 - Baroque Art Gilders Paste - Highlight Metal, Wood and More! 'African Bronze' 1 oz
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• XTL-5700 - Fiskars 5 Precision Tip Scissors - Super Sharp
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