French beaded flowers are a gorgeous way to bring your beading obsession into your home. In this Beading Lesson, I'll show you how to get started.

You'll need thin Artistic Wire, such as 26 or 28-gauge. You can use a color that blends with your beads, or a contrasting metallic color, depending on how you want the finished flower and leaves to look.

Petals and leaves are formed by a basic lashing technique. You fold a piece of wire in half and twist it together below your starting point. Then, string the required number of beads onto one wire end. This wire becomes the "dummy" wire, while the other wire is the working wire.

Add beads to the working wire (or slide them down if you have pre-loaded your wire as directed in some instructions) and wrap the working wire around the dummy wire above the beads. Bring the wire downward, add more beads, and lash it again. Always wrap in the same manner (over under or under over) so the finished petal or leaf has a right and wrong side.

Once the petal or leaf is the desired size, bend the dummy wire down over the outer row and use pliers to flatten it against the back of the petal or leaf. Trim off the extra wire. For the other end, twist the working wire around the base of the petal or leaf. The exposed wire will be covered with floral tape when the flower is assembled.

The rose pictured here was made by Meredith Roddy for Beadalon.
Tools http://www.beadalon.com/tools.asp