I was captivated by Svetlana’s faux ethnic beads two years ago when I posted this and her methods still excite me. Luckily her tutorial is still there for you to study.

Svetlana Gracheva from Donetsk, Ukraine embeds what look to be jump rings into her faux ethnic polymer beads with a stunningly realistic effect. The jump rings become bezels for small imitation turquoise and coral pieces.

Other metal is sandwiched in the middle of faux amber and turquoise beads. You can see examples of the techniques in her Lhasa and Nagrang Tibetan-style necklaces.

On her Tibetan bead class description page, Svetlana offers pictures (scroll down her page) that show how she performs her sleight of hand. In that class she finishes the beads with mosaic inlays. What a treat for those of us searching for new faux fun.

Vacation post from the archives

  • reply Sherry Bailey ,

    Gorgeous!

    • reply Margaret Heizenrader ,

      I love this! For a translation highlight and copy the test, and paste it into Google Translate. The translations can be kind of weird but should be good enough for you to “get the gist”. I’m going to try Svetlana’s method!

      • reply Boni Pienups ,

        “I was captivated by Svetlana’s faux ethnic beads two years ago when I posted this and her methods still excite me. Luckily her tutorial is still there for you to study.”

        Love the technique. But, even translated, I cannot find the tutorial. Any help? Hugs, Boni

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