French beaded Italian Ruscus Bead-along

We will be making French beaded Italian Ruscus.

Difficulty Level:

Leaves: Beginner Blossoms: Intermediate Berries: Advanced

UPDATE: PDF now available for sale >> French Beaded Ruscus PDF

For free video tutorial, view below.

Starting October 1st, I will show you how to make French beaded Italian Ruscus…to use as filler and to use as a feature on its own. Since we’re getting close to that time of year, the berries branch can be used as unconventional holiday décor and still can be displayed year-round.

There is something here for every level. The leaves are beginner level. The blossoms are for intermediate beaders. If you are looking for a challenge (and maybe curse me a little), give the berries a try.

In flower arranging, ruscus leaves are normally used as filler. However, this unusual plant has a lot depth and can be a star on its own. Its flowers and berries grow directly on the leaves. In this tutorial, you will learn how to make the leaves as filler and make the blossoms and berries. The blossoms and berries are completely optional.

If you are a complete beginner, refer to this for the beginner basic frame techniques. (PDF & VIDEO)

beaded ruscus materials:

150 to 200 grams11/0 dark green seed beads
20 to 40 grams1/0 red seed beads
5 grams 15/0 white seed beads
1 gram15/0 yellow seed beads
1 gram 15/0 cranberry seed beads
24 gauge green copper-core wire
26 gauge red copper-core wire
28 gauge gold copper-core wire
30 gauge green copper-core wire
30 gauge red copper-core wire
4 lengths of 16 gauge stem wire (18 to 22 inches (45.7 to 55.8 cm) in length)
4 lengths of 18 gauge stem wire (18 to 22 inches (45.7 to 55.8 cm) in length)

Beads

You can use whatever beads you have on hand, but for your information, these are the beads I used:
All were sourced from Fire Mountain Gems.

Leaves:

11/0 Matsuno Dynamite Iris Green

Blossoms:

15/0 Miyuki opaque white luster pearl
15/0 Miyuki opaque luster yellow
15/0 Miyuki translucent gold luster cranberry

Berries:

11/0 Mastuno Dynamite transparent red

Wire

The wires recommended are the best for each unit. However, there are some suitable substitutions.
Leaf: 24 gauge green copper-core wire/ 30 gauge green copper-core wire- 22 gauge wire can be used if you’d like your leaves to feel more stable. Though 22 gauge could be hard to work with for some people. Lacing wire can be 30, 32, or 34 gauge. Using a thinner wire to lace may be harder to grasp or see. Thirty (30) gauge wire is thin enough and is easier to manage.
Blossoms: 28 gauge gold copper-core wire – 26 gauge wire can substituted. Some of the finer details may be harder to twist/wrap with 26 gauge wire.
Berries: 26 gauge red copper-core wire/ 30 gauge red copper-core wire – stay with the recommendations for the berries and lacing.

Stem wires

With the end goal of thin sub stems and a stable final main stems, we will be using 16 and 18 gauge stem wires. If 18 gauge wire is not available, you can use all 16 gauge wires. I do not recommend going thinner than 18 gauge or thicker than 16 gauge.

16 gauge galvanized steel wire – four (4) 18 to 22 inch (45.7 to 55.8 cm) lengths
18 gauge galvanized steel wire – four (4) 18 to 22 (45.7 to 55.8 cm) inch lengths

Finishing

The stems in this project are finished with floral tape. can also wrap the stems with embroidery floss for a more polished look.

Videos

Videos in these lessons will be updated in this post. Come back to this post on the specific dates, subscribe to my youtube channel or newsletter to get an email straight to your inbox.

Oct 1