Monica Gonzales
Monica's first beading class project, a pair of earrings, turned her head and she's never looked back! Her passion is beading, primarily making complicated, bead-woven "chest ornaments." Her flair for the dramatic, strong color sense, and expert needle skills turn her projects into pieces of art. Twice a year Monica disappears with beading supplies in her suitcase and returns with amazing new projects to teach. Here's a sampling of those projects:
2010 Customer Appreciation Bracelet
As thanks to our customers for their business over the past year, we hold a free class for beading students who have taken a class from February 1, 2009 through January 31, 2010. This year's project is an easy yet elegant bracelet made with faceted round gemstones and size 8 seed beads.
Buttonhole Stitch Pouch
Using waxed linen thread, showcase your treasured beads. We'll start by making a buttonhole stitch pouch. The fun part comes when you add trinkets and teasures to more thread and dangle them from the sides and bottom of the pouch.
Cellini Spiral
Pick up the colors of a special bead and enhance it with this lovely rope. The spiral occurs from changing bead sizes as you weave circular peyote stitch.
Chinese Pi Bracelet
Gather several rings or gemstone donuts and connect them with brick stitch adding
interesting elements off the sides.
Crocheted Neckpiece
Make a different kind of necklace using C-lon thread and a crochet technique. Make it long or short, many strands or few.
Crystal Fantasy
We know you have a truly special bead made by a wonderful artist that you can't figure out how to showcase. Here's the answer: surround it with complementary beads knotted in groups on multiple strands. See how happy my bead is?
Crystal Scissors Fob
Make a wonderful gift for the seamstress on your list using a simple bead embroidery technique. This sturdy round piece can be used as a button cover, scissors fob, pendant -- the possibilities go on! This easy project can be done in three hours or less so it's great for a party project.
Dutch Spiral
Different sized beads and a unique bead weaving technique give this peyote-based spiral its special twist.
Freestyle Bangle
You'll find making these bangles contagious! Start with a peyote base and embellish with anything you choose -- a color, materials, or subject -- they all work beautifully.
Kumihimo
Learn to braid the Japanese way on a Kumihimo disc. Embellish the braid with a simple needle weaving technique then add a beautiful focal bead with some fringe.
Mermaid's Joy
Is the shell the focal piece or is it the wonderful double embellished spiral rope? Whichever you think, you'll find joy learning how to take your spiral rope skills to the next level as well as learning to make this gorgeous embellished bail for the shell.
Mystical Magical Bag
Here's a great project for learning netting, ladder stitch and fringing. All of these techniques are useful for many other projects and, as combined here, produce a delightful result.
Pearl Knotting
This is the real thing. Learn to knot between pearls or other beads like a jeweler for a classic necklace.
Peyote Amulet Bag
Making this bag is a great way to learn peyote and get a wonderful little pouch from your effort. You'll start at the bottom and work in a circle, learning peyote and how to count a peyote pattern.
Peyote Charm Bracelet
Peyote is such a versatile bead weaving technique. Here I used it to show off charms in the tope version and to highlight gemstones on the bottom.
Peyote Large and Small
Try this project for a nice challenge after you've taken Peyote 101. It's amazing what changing your bead size will do!
Peyote Spiral Rope
This simple twisted peyote rope is another must for your beading repertoire. It makes a great bracelet and is a substantial rope on which to hang a gorgeous focal bead.
Right Angle Weave Pouch
Here's an unusal use of Right-Angle-Weave (R-A-W). We first make a flat piece of R-A-W, then sew it up to create the pouch. You can embellish it in many different ways as you can see at left.
River of Pearls
You can never have too many pearls as evidence in this gorgeous bracelet.
Spiral Rope
A must in any beginning beader's tool box! This technique has endless possibilities depending on the beads you use and the count you choose. It's hard to believe that the top two examples are done with the same technique as the bottom three!
Surface Embellished "Kid's Bracelet"
We called it the Kid's Bracelet because we thought it would be a great gift for kids to make for Mom. Instead, Mom made it and gave it to her friends! Made with a square bead peyote base and embellished on the diagonal.
Surface Embellished Rope
Once you learn a basic spiral rope, this is the next one you'll want to add to your skills. Built on a spiral rope base with larger beads, the example on the left used lovely pearls and on the right, multi-colored gemstone chips.
Sweater Necklace
I wore one of these beautiful necklaces with a turtleneck so much the first winter I made them that I started calling them sweater necklaces. Start with netted tubes and connect them with seed beads and accent beads for a great look.
Tolkien Earrings
Create your own fantasy using a ring or donut from which embellishment of various types will dangle.
Treasure Bracelet
Here's a great way to show off those little treasures of only one of two that you have in your stash. You'll enjoy the movement on your writs. Nothing in your stash? Build this bracelet from our great assortment of unusual metal gemstone and glass beads.
Triangle R-A-W Bracelet
Though it looks complicated, this bracelet is really easy. You can use any 6mm center bead you choose and build your color design story from there.
Twisted Wire Breeze
It's called a breeze because it's so easy and some "girls just wanna have fun!" You'll twist very thin wire without tools and use leftover beads from other projects. Or you can pick out a totally new color group to work with. This piece changes as you go along so you never know how it will end up. Quick and easy, it's great for a beading party.
Venetian Lariat
After I picked up a piece in Venice, I worked out the netting technique and added great Venetian beads to the ends of my new piece, hence the name: Venetian Lariat.
Zulu Flower Necklace
A work of art! Use unusual beads to complement the Zulu flowers. The Zulu flowers make a wonderful necklace, as shown here, and also work well in a bracelet.