I’ve done a few jewellery making projects in the past and am often left with a few beads left over each time. Having collected these in a little jar, I thought that I would have a go at making a bead soup bracelet.
I also recently got wind of a new tool that would make the process of forming the loops on headpins much much easier – so I thought that this would also be a good opportunity to put this to the test.
Firstly, what is bead soup you may well ask? Basically it’s just a group of random beads; it could be a mix of colours and textures, ultimately it is totally random.
Here was my little pot of bead soup.
Previously I would have had to have formed each headpin loop in several motions using round nosed pliers and wire cutters. I in fact did do that for this necklace that I made a while back.
However, as I mentioned I discovered a new tool that does all of these ‘motions’ all in one squeeze of a handle – yes, the loop forming and wire cutting, all in one.
The tool that I refered to was the Beadsmith 1-Step Looper Pliers. They look like this.
Here is a shot of them with the wire loop formed using the pliers.
Whilst I show you the loop with no bead, you can work the loop with the bead on the wire so it takes the guess work out of how much wire to use and also avoids inconsistent loop sizes and means that the loop is perfectly positioned at the top of the bead.
I found this video demonstration to help you see how it works…
With this in mind, the tool in hand and a packet of head pins by my side I set to work …
… and whistled my way through the bead soup and end up with a pot of beads ready to attach to my bracelet.
The bracelet I made some time ago and was a simple 2 in 2 chain (where each connection has two jump rings in it). I attached “pairs” of beads to every alternate link so that they would all lay in one direction.
When it was all done I ended up with something quite wonderful …
What do you think?
I was so happy and proud when I had finished it. I must say, the looping tool made things so much easier and quicker; I think that it may have ended up as another UFO had it not been for them.
The pliers are widely available – just type Beadsmith 1 Step Looper Pliers into google and you should find somewhere near you that sells them.
Anyway, thank you for reading and I hope that you like my little creation.
If you have any questions or comments about this post, please feel free to use the comments section below.
Take care. See you again soon.
J :)
GENTLEMAN CRAFTER 
love that new tool. I was wondering, can you get the hoop completely closed ?
hugs, Joanne in France
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Stunning! who’d have thought that this was made from soup! That tool must have been an absolute gem in its own right
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Great, thanks John
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I’ve got the looper gadget! I agree with you, it makes the job soooooo much easier. Now I wish I had such a nice selection of beads, I love purple!
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What a fabulous bracelet, and in my favourite colour! I have ordered the tool as I can never get my loops right, thanks for sharing xx
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Hi John……I’m amazed by this…..don’t really do jewellery apart from odd thing now and again, but this looks amazing. Just started following you because I bought a ScanNCut which is brilliant. Only thing I’m totally not happy with is the situation of consumables and C&C! So fed up waiting for pen holders for my pens which are sitting on my desk that I’ve bought one from the States – cheaper than C&C and I know I’ll get it in about 7 days. Have a word please! Thanks x
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What a gorgeous bracelet, John. I love the mix of shapes and colours. Your info about the 1-Step Looper is invaluable. I’m heading to everyone’s favourite auction site just now to get one! Thanks is for sharing.
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I’ve been wanting a loop tool for yonks, John as my manual loop making is totally chaotic…but I’m patiently waiting for it to come down in price as it’s a little out of my range right now. The bracelet is divine :)
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Hi John I think your tool is great I will see if I can get one
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Hi John, I think this is a fab gadget. I bought mine last year and find it saves so much time.
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Hi John, I have been using this tool for over a year and it’s brilliant when making rosary bead necklaces, bracelets and even earrings. I can make a quick pair of earrings to go with any outfit just place a bead on an head pin push the headpin as far as it will go and squeeze loop done pop on an ear wire made in no time.
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The bracelet is lovely – come to that, I really like the necklace too.
I’ve fancied one of these ‘loopers’ for a while and have promised myself I’ll get one when I see one on sale as I visit lots of craft and bead shops. I’ve never seen one so I think it is time to try harder. I hate making loads of loops, I have little patience!
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Hi John
Been contemplating this tool since it was released but not got as been busy with other types of crafting. Thanks for showing your beautiful bracelet and the looper is going onto my list:-)
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Gorgeous john My fave colours Cough erm its my birthday next week lol xXXx yet another tool on order this tool looks fab xXx thank you for sharing xXx
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Hi John you are right this tool is great I bought this tool last year and it does everything it is supposed to do. I used to struggle with loops and would try to avoid making jewellery that involved making to many loops now I am experimenting with using loops in my jewellery making
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