BeadsForever

Elegant Elements Clasps - Part II

2011-12-22T13:40:00.000-08:00

Meeting Steven Weiss from The Beadsmith has been one of the most memorable and fun events in my life. He organized a wonderful group of beaders to receive two of the Elegant Elements Clasps which The Beadsmith distributes to beading stores throughout the world. What was created with the clasps was totally up to each beader. The creations are beginning to be collected in a wonderful album on facebook which you can view HERE.

I previously blogged about the freeform bracelet (Enticement) I created with one of the gold plated Elegant Elements clasps, but I'm just now getting around to blogging about the second one. Here is a picture of the beautiful clasp. It is rhodium plated with Swarovski crystals - pure bling!

And here are some pictures of the necklace I created. I used the beautiful clasp as the focal. The beaded beads were created with crystal, silver and black seed beads using Cubic Right Angle Weave (CRAW). I call it Destiny, a very fitting name I believe!

Because it has such special meaning to me, this one will not be for sale.

There are more exciting creations being added to the facebook album by some incredible beaders, so don't forget to check back often. And if you are interested in the Elegant Elements clasps, you can contact The Beadsmith to find a store near you that carries them.

Around the Next Corner

2011-11-11T14:13:00.001-08:00

You just never know what lies around the next corner.

One day you send in some pictures to a Beadsmith Kumihimo challenge on Facebook and the next day you are speaking on the phone to Steven who is a sales rep for Beadsmith. Never in a million years would I have expected to find that around a "Kumihimo corner." What a pleasant surprise it was!

Not only did I meet an interesting person in the beading industry, but I was given the opportunity to receive two gorgeous Elegant Elements clasps! My first introduction to these clasps was from one of my German beading friends a few years ago who said they were Helby clasps. I have lusted after them ever since.

Steven sent me a link to a pdf file containing their beautiful clasps. The first clasp I chose is a slender 5 strand gold clasp that I planned to use on a freeform bracelet.

Before the clasp arrived, I had almost completed the freeform bracelet. Since the clasp was 30mm long, I created a bracelet to fit that size and I think the simple but elegant clasp suits it perfectly.

I used 24k gold and silver plated Delicas, seed beads and fire polished beads, bronze colored beads, and miscellaneous accent beads in those same colors.

I call my bracelet "Enticement" and it will soon be for sale in my Etsy shop.

The 2nd clasp I chose is a dazzling 2 strand silver and crystal clasp which I plan to use on a necklace. It's a beautiful clasp and I hope I will do it justice with my beadwork.

I am very thankful to Beadsmith for this opportunity to work with their beautiful clasps. Click this link to visit their website and find out more about the products they offer. Their products can be found in a local beadstore near you.

Calling all Kumihimo Lovers

2011-11-02T14:07:00.000-07:00

Beadsmith is sponsoring an event on facebook titled "Beadsmith is looking for the best Kumihimo braiders in the land..."

They are looking for photos to be sent to them at kumihimo@beadsmith.com displaying your best Kumihimo work in either of two categories:

Beaded Kumihimo (braid must be at least 50% beads)
"Naked" Kumihimo (braid must feature a large focal bead)

You can read more about the great opportunity and the prizes offered by going to the event page on facebook.

I shared 4 of my Kumihimo necklaces with them. This first necklace features a cabochon by Artisan Clay.

This necklace features a porcelain sliding pendant by Amazing Porcelain Fantasies.

This necklace was created around a stoneware cabochon by Lisa Peters Art.

This necklace features a polymer clay focal bead and clasp by Mikki Ferrugiaro.

I created these necklaces on a Marudai, but they can be created on a Kumihimo disk as well. You can purchase Beadsmith's Kumihimo products at most local bead shops. There is also a link on the facebook event page to get more information about where Beadsmith products can be purchased.

Congratulations to the Winners!

2011-10-22T13:08:00.000-07:00

The drawing for my Thank You Celebration was held last night. My husband drew three names out of his lucky fishing hat. And the winners are ....

The first name drawn was Kristen. She has a wonderful blog called "My Bead Journey" where you will be inspired, highly entertained and learn about many fantastic beading artists. Kristen won the book 'The Art of Bead Embroidery' by Heidi Kummli and Sherry Serafini along with one of my more wild and crazy dichroic glass cabs.

I stole this picture from her facebook page - so cute! She calls it Owl's Knot.

The 2nd winner was Therese who won two of my dichroic glass cabs. She has a lovely blog called Therese's Treasures. She also has a facebook page called by the same name. This is her facebook profile picture and I love it!

The 3rd winner was Beatrix (from Germany) who can be found on facebook here. I could not find any pictures from her so I hope she will share something with the dichroic glass cab I will be sending her.

Once again, thank you to all who entered my giveaway and have supported my creative adventures.

Giveaway Prizes

2011-10-19T17:02:00.000-07:00

Here are pictures of the drawing prizes I'm giving away to celebrate all my fans on my Facebook BeadsForever business page. If you haven't already entered, take a moment to enter now. Just "like" my facebook page (if you haven't already) and leave a comment on my blog under either of the two posts about my giveaway and you are entered. It's that easy. My husband will be drawing three names out of the hat on Friday, October 21 at 6pm PST. There will be three names drawn and three prizes given away. Be sure there is a way to contact you if you are the winner.

If you want to have a 2nd chance, share this blogpost on facebook and for a 3rd chance, share it on twitter. Be sure to let me know where you shared it so I put your name into the hat for each share.

OK, so ready for the prizes? The first name drawn will win one of my larger, more wild and crazy cabs as well as a fabulous book on bead embroidery 'The Art of Bead Embroidery' by Heidi Kummli and Sherry Serafini. You can view a picture of the book on Amazon here.

The 2nd name drawn will win these two dichroic glass cabochons - both are hot out of my kiln.

The 3rd name drawn will win this dichroic glass cabochon.

Good luck to everyone. Most of all, THANK YOU to all my fans for your support and affirmation!

Super Duper 1000 Fans Celebration!

2011-10-15T16:05:00.000-07:00

I'm celebrating and I hope you will join me. My BeadsForever business page on facebook is very close to having 1000 Fans. As of this writing I only need 3 more "LIKES" and then the bells and whistles are going off!

If you are one of my "fans" and have "liked" my facebook page, and you'd like to participate in my celebration giveaway, all you need to do is leave a comment on this blogpost (or on the wall of my Facebook BeadsForever business page under this posting).

If you'd like to have your name entered more than once, share my blogpost on Facebook and/or Twitter and leave a comment telling me about it.

Your name will be entered into a hat (up to 3 times depending on how may ways you participate) and the giveaway drawing will be held on Friday, October 21 at 6 pm PST. My husband will be the person who pulls the names out of the hat. Winners will be announced on Facebook and sent personal notifications - so be sure to leave a way to contact you in your comments.

There will be three names drawn and three prizes given away. The first name drawn will win a large dichroic glass cabochon made by me, plus a fabulous book, 'The Art of Bead Embroidery' written by Heidi Kummli and Sherry Serafini. (I happen to have two copies, so it is only fair that I share such glorious information with someone else!)

The 2nd name drawn will win 2 medium sized dichroic glass cabochons made by me. The 3rd name drawn will win 1 medium sized dichroic glass cabochon made by me.

Unfortunately, the cabochons are currently firing in the kiln and I won't have pictures of them until tomorrow or the next day. So stay tuned for the pics! If you'd like to see some of the previous cabochons I've made, you can view them either on facebook, or on Flickr.

I'm full of gratitude to everyone who has supported me in my passion. I hope you will share my happiness by participating in my celebration.

Hot! Hot! Hot! July Bead Journal Project

2011-10-12T11:05:00.000-07:00

OK! I'm way behind! I know it is already October and I've just finished my Bead Journal Project for July. There were several reasons for the delay.

The main reason for my taking so long is that I wanted to make a dichroic glass cab that represented the sun. Seemed like a good idea, but it actually took me over a month. I'll spare you the gorey details.

After making a "sun" that I thought I could use, I could not figure out how to place it on the backing so I could bead around it. I ended up breaking off some of the rays and refiring the piece, so that I could place it in the upper left hand corner. That helped!

Once that was done, it was not difficult to figure out a beading design. I wanted to show how HOT the month of July was and using all the "hot" colors was a no brainer. These colors are not my favorite colors - as I'm a "cool color gal" by nature. But once I gave myself permission to get wild and crazy it finally took shape.

So here is my July Bead Journal Project. Not my favorite, but it does represent the very hot weather we experienced here in the high desert of Southern California.

You can view the work of other members of the Bead Journal Project by going to these links:
http://beadjournalproject4.blogspot.com/
http://blog2beadjournalproject4-2011.blogspot.com/

You won't be disappointed by all the creativity! Happy Beading Everyone!

Finally! I made Etsy's Front Page!

2011-09-17T10:32:00.000-07:00

I was very delighted to find out last night that my Going Green bracelet had made the front page of Etsy. This was a FIRST for me and I had almost given up hope it would ever happen. Many thanks to LaBellaJoya for her beautiful treasury!

I searched for green by LaBellaJoya - this is what she said:

"in my list of favorite shops. (Did you know you could do that?) I came up with these beauties while simultaneously realizing that my favorite shops are embarrasingly skewed towards jewelry...enjoy!"

Last Strand---AAAA-... norah62 $44.99	Forest Floor Sterli... ThirtySixTen $76.00	Sukan / Turquoise-G... sukanart $52.95	Dress, Plaid, Forma... Makool $875.00
Genia - street bag ... EllaOsix $42.50	Arrowhead Pendant celiefago $200.00	Small Molded Leathe... karenkell $140.00	Going Green Bracele... beadsforever $225.00
Forest Green Silk ... digforvictory $125.00	Medium DSLR camera ... mariforssell $159.00	Steam Punk Metal Ro... alleymaranto $235.00	ACEO Art - Harmony ... JessicaDoyle $65.00
Ruffled Ring - Gree... MariannMonika $210.00	Jamn Silk Greens Th... Jamnglass $49.75	The Lady of Shalott... JezebelCharms $40.00	Chrysoprase Dangle ... ashleyjewelry $50.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

ArtFire Beadweavers Guild Summer Fun Challenge

2011-09-07T11:58:00.000-07:00

Each month the ArtFire Beadweaver's Guild has a beading challenge. This month it was called "Summer Fun." For my entry I created a bracelet called Summer Memories. The colors of the dichroic glass square reminded me of the beach - a relaxing vacation, wading through the waves, sand in my toes, a cool breeze on my face, and finding treasures.

It was a bit tricky figuring out how to constuct the bracelet so that the open space in the square focal was covered and didn't show bare skin. (Don't want any sunburns!) For fun, I added a small starfish under the antique glass button closure.

To vote for your favorite entry, please visit the ArtFire Beadweaver's Guild Blog. Hope you all had a Fun Summer!

Bead Journal Project - June Gloom - NOT!

2011-07-18T15:50:00.000-07:00

June is the month often known for it's gloomy weather and therefore has gotten the name "June Gloom." But that was not the case for us here this year. We did get rain, but we also got glorious sunshine. The combination of rain and sunshine gave us an early growing season. The plants really did thrive.

So to reflect the month of June for my Bead Journal Project I chose one of my dichroic glass cabs that I had called River Scene. The rippling surface of the cabochon reminded me of a painter's rendition of the scene at a river - rushing waters and lush vegetation. I surrounded the cab with beads and fringe in an effort to keep the rippling effect going. If it weren't for mosquitoes, I think it would be a great place to have a picnic.

You can view more Bead Journal Projects on these two sites:
http://beadjournalproject4.blogspot.com/
http://blog2beadjournalproject4-2011.blogspot.com/

Bead Journal Project - May 2011 - May Gray (with a little bling!)

2011-06-29T17:02:00.000-07:00

I don't know what happened, but time got away from me. Here it is the end of June and I just finished my May Bead Journal Project. I know one of the reasons I got a late start was because I didn't have any gray dichroic glass (do they even make any?) and I was determined to use the May Gray theme. So I pondered and procrastinated and then I took a vacation and went to the Bead and Button Show in Milwaukee (more about that in another post). It was just a short flight from Milwaukee to South Dakota where my family lives, so I continued my vacation with them for another 10 days. By the time I got back home and resettled into beading, June was almost gone too!

I call this piece "May Gray" because out here in California, the month of May is often full of gray days. The large dichroic piece has a grayish bluish purplish hue. I surrounded it with some size 8 Ceylon grey/lilac beads and then added the matte cylinder beads in an outward array. The layers all use muted colors from gray to pale yellow (with some shiny beads interspersed), hoping to represent the changes throughout the month of May. I added the dichroic glass hands of a clock in the 5 o'clock position to represent the 5th month.

You can view the Bead Journal Projects of others on these two sites:
http://blog2beadjournalproject4-2011.blogspot.com/
http://beadjournalproject4.blogspot.com/

I Can't Stop Making Them!

2011-05-24T13:25:00.000-07:00

My latest bead addiction is making Statement Rings. I owe this new addition to a wonderful beading artist and friend, Sabine Lippert of Try to Be. She started making rings a few months ago and is now determined to make 365 rings - one for each day of the year. You can see all the rings she has made on her blog. Each ring is unique and simply wonderful!

My granddaughter and daughter saw one of Sabine's rings posted on facebook and my granddaughter said, "I would so rock that ring!" But no amount of arm twisting or persuading would get Sabine to sell any of her rings. There was only one solution to that problem - make my own ring and hope that my granddaughter will "rock it" as much as Sabine's.

My first ring was an experiment to see how things would go so I decided to make it for myself - a more subdued ring - not too wild and crazy.

I used one of my own dichroic glass beads (a cabochon with a hole in the middle) which I call my DichroCentrics line. I've had them around for quite a while and even though I love them, I just wasn't sure how to use them. Until now, that is!

I made my second ring for my daughter (sort of working up courage to make one for my granddaughter). They wanted some big "funky" rings and so my journey into "funkiness" began. I called my daughter's ring Peace, Hope and Love based on the dangles. I chose those specific dangles because they mean something special to her. The dove represents peace (and her husband calls her his little dove). The wing represents hope as in Isaiah 40:31 "But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint." She calls her husband her Eagle. The heart represents love. So it is a special ring with a statement - thus the name "Statement Rings."

Before I could start on my granddaughter's ring, I had to order some special dangles. While I was waiting, I practiced on another ring and came up with this Ladybug Halloween ring. It reminds me of a spider - EEK! This one is for sale in my Etsy shop.

I have now completed the ring for my granddaughter and I'm calling it "Life's a Hoot!" You'll see why when you see the main dangle. I sure hope she likes it.

Yes, I am an addict and proud of it! Happy Beading Everyone!

Bead & Button Show 2011

2011-05-17T10:27:00.000-07:00

I'm getting ready to go to the Bead & Button Show in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. If you haven't been to this show, you are missing out on the largest bead show in the world! From June 4 to June 12, I will be in bead heaven - greeting old beading friends and meeting new ones, attending classes to learn new techniques, and of course - shopping for beads! And another special reason for going is I get to see my grandson who lives, works and goes to school in Milwaukee.

The Bead and Finished Jewelry Marketplace opens to the public June 10 - 12th, 2011. Admission is $10. There are hundreds of vendors!! You can view a list of all the Bead Exhibitors here. For the first time ever, one of my beading friends from Bulgaria will be attending as a bead exhibitor.

Vladislav and Kremena Ivanov are the owners of Golem Design Studio. They create high quality artisan handmade stoneware beads, pendants, and cabochons with a folk art look utilizing detailed glazing techniques. You can view their work on their website and find out more about them on their facebook page.

Golem Design Studio is sharing booth 111 with Marsha Hedrick who is a porcelain artist. You can find out more about Marsha on her website and on her facebook page (Amazing Porcelain Fantasies). Here is one example of a new line of cabochons Marsha has created.

This year I will be taking three classes. My first class is "Wire Finishing Techniques" taught by Adrienne Gaskell. My second class is "Paper Clip Bead Looming" taught by Judy Walker. My third class is "Kumihimo Sparks" sponsored by Swarovski Elements and taught by Jamie North. I always look forward to the classes and learning new techniques and skills.

Only a few more days to wait! Hope to see you there!

What's Old is New Again! - Artbeads Blogging Project

2011-04-29T19:05:00.000-07:00

I think turning old jewelry into new jewelry is a wonderful thing but I had not taken the time to try it myself. The Artbeads blogging theme this month - "What's Old is New Again!" - was the perfect opportunity to do just that.

First I went down memory lane, hauling out boxes and containers of old jewelry from various nooks and crannies. I've received most of my "saving to recycle stash" from my mother, my grandmother and my sister. I had great fun getting reaquainted with all my oldies but goodies, but nothing seemed to fit with the beads I had selected from Artbeads. That is until I opened up a small bag containing a broken metal linked necklace that had belonged to my mother. Since Mom is 98 years young and I don't remember her wearing it in the past 30-40 years, I'm assuming it's at least 30 years old. Nothing of great value - it may be gold plated, but then again it might not. It doesn't matter to me - I think it goes perfectly with my Artbeads selections and I will treasure it always.

I was attracted to the "retro" looking puffed porcelain "I Spy" pendant and beads in black, gold, silver and white which are found in the Steampunk category on Artbeads.

The Swarovski faceted roundelles in Jet and Black Diamond AB were a perfect match to the porcelain beads and I wish I would have gotten more of the 3.2 bright gold filled roundels. They were wonderful accents for the crystals.

Everything went together very smoothly and the only mishaps were my fingernails since I was opening and closing jump rings and manipulating metal wire.

The necklace is just a tad over 20" (51.5cm) and won't be going to any new home. This one will be living here with me.

I'm so happy with my new necklace and give thanks to Artbeads for their active participation in inspiring jewelry artists to create new designs. I do not receive any compensation from Artbeads for being their blogging partner.

Bead Journal Project - April Showers Bring Spring Flowers

2011-04-26T12:32:00.000-07:00

OK, not a very original title for my April Bead Journal Project, but it just seems so right for this month. I was able to use three of my "DichroCentric" dichroic glass beads and turn them into Spring flowers. When I was almost 3/4 of the way finished, I did think of another idea for this month's project that excited me a little bit more than this one, but I was so close to being finished. I'll just save that idea for another rainy day!

You can view many other beautiful BJP's on these blogs: http://beadjournalproject4.blogspot.com/ and
http://blog2beadjournalproject4-2011.blogspot.com/.

Bead Journal Project for March 2011

2011-03-30T11:01:00.000-07:00

I had high hopes when I chose my dichroic glass cab to use for the March Bead Journal Project. It was green and it was quirky. I was sure I was going to make a Pathway to Spring and show it coming in like a lion and leaving like a lamb. Now that I've finished it, it looks more like some wild cosmic galaxy swirling in outer space. Therefore I have named it "I Have No Clue How This Relates to March!" Whatever --- it is finished on time this month!

It was a bear to photograph. The dazzle of the size 15 gold plated rocailles in the green pathway have no "dazzle." But at least I got a different comment from my husband this month, "That's pretty wild!" Not sure if that is an improvement over "that's different" or not. :} Hmmmmm - maybe I could call it 'March Madness.'

If you are interested in seeing more Bead Journal Projects by other artists, check out these blogs:

http://blog2beadjournalproject4-2011.blogspot.com/

http://beadjournalproject4.blogspot.com/

February Bead Journal Project

2011-03-10T13:14:00.000-08:00

My new motto: Better Late Than Never! For my 2011 Bead Journal Project, I am creating 3"x3" bead embroidered art pieces around my dichroic glass cabochons for each month of the year. I just finished my February BJP piece (only 10 days late).

For February, I wanted to make a dichroic glass heart to bead around and I was quite pleased with how it turned out. For some reason, abstract swirls came to my mind, so using the pinks, reds, golds and purples in the glass, I came up with this design.

It will be interesting to see how all these different "bead paintings" look together at the end of the year. I'm sure I will hear my husband's most used comment when he views my bead work, "That's different." But that's OK because I'm having such fun with these!

Winter Enchantment Beading Fun from Artbeads

2011-03-03T14:21:00.000-08:00

I'm not a winter loving gal! Give me the same old sunny dry days every day and I'm a happy camper. But I must admit it was so much fun to design this Winter Enchantment necklace using these awesome beads and findings from Artbeads.com.

Artbeads offers Swarovski Crystal Pearls in many different sizes, shapes and delicious colors. But for the winter theme, I chose cream colored Swarovski crystal round and asymmetrical pearls and some sterling silver Mirage S cut beads along with a sterling silver toggle clasp.

I decided to create a freeform necklace using silver and cream colored seed beads and Czech firepolished glass beads to combine all of the pearl and sterling silver beads. I also ordered an awesome Swarovski crystal pearl baroque drop from Artbeads to use as the focal of the necklace. I am officially in love with Swarovski pearls!

I think all the components knew just what part they were supposed to play in this Winter Enchantment necklace. They played so nicely together and the necklace was a joy to create.

I think the necklace would be perfect for a bride on her lovely, enchanted wedding day.

I will be selling my Enchantment Wedding Necklace in my BeadsForever Etsy shop. Stop by and check out all the details and to see more pictures.

Much appreciation to Artbeads.com for supplying many of the beautiful components used in this necklace. I am a part of the Artbeads blogging group, and I receive no compensation from them for writing about their products.

Winnings from Beaded Impressions Contest

2011-02-25T12:02:00.000-08:00

A package from Beaded Impressions (abeadstore.com) arrived yesterday full of beading goodness and I just had to share pictures of my contest winnings with you.

I'm always looking for interesting and well made closures, end caps and findings and I'm delighted with all the sterling silver, silver plated, copper and copper plated pewter items I received.

Sterling Silver and Silver Plated Findings

Copper and Pewter/Copper Findings

I also chose a variety of beads (of course) in a variety of colors, shapes and sizes. I have some specific projects in mind for some of them. Other I chose simply because I liked them. I'm sure they will speak to me and tell me how they want to be used. We all know, one can never have too many beads!

Iolite Heishe, Labradorite Heishe and Teardrops, and Tiny Button Pearls

Flat Square Glass Beads, Czech Flowers, and Glass Peridot AB Daggers

Chinese Turquoise Heishe and 2mm rounds, and Rosebud beads

Tourmalinated Quartz Chips and 2mm Carnelian Agate Beads

I promised all my facebook friends that I would share my joy at winning 1st place in the jewelry category with them (thanks to their votes) - so stay tuned to find out more details about my "Thank You Giveaway."

Beaded Impressions 2011 Beading Contest Winners Announced

2011-02-21T10:48:00.000-08:00

Beaded Impressions announced the winners of their 2011 Winter Beading Contest. There were two categories: Beaded Jewelry and Beadwork. Two winners were chosen from each category. The judges selected the winning entries from those that received the most votes from the public.

Thanks to all who voted, my "Rhythm and Blues Bracelet" won first place in the Jewelry Category.

The first place winner in the Beadwork Category was "In the Autumn of my Life Hat" by Leslie Ann Campbell

Second place winner in the Jewelry category was "Woodsy Florals" by Nancy Celeste.

Second place winner in the Beadwork Category was this "Beaded Victorian Lampshade" by Adrienne Herrick.

You can find out more about the winners and view all the entries here. Beaded Impressions can also be found on facebook.

I am very thankful to Beaded Impressions and abeadstore.com for providing this opportunity to beaders. I cannot lie - I had so much fun on my shopping spree in their online store. I'll share pictures of what I chose after I receive them later this week.

Beaded Impressions Contest - Voting is Open

2011-02-09T14:54:00.000-08:00

I entered my Rhythm and Blues freeform bracelet in the Beaded Impressions 2011 Beading Contest, sponsored by abeadstore.com. Winners win money to buy more beads, and who doesn't need more beads? Voting is now open and winners will be announced Feb 18, 2011.

My entry is #46 in the Jewelry Category and I need your votes in order to win. Everyone who votes (even if you don't vote for me) will receive a 10% discount coupon for 10% off any purchase at abeadstore.com through March 15, 2011.

Thanks very much for your support, time and vote!

Bead Journal Project - January 2011

2011-02-01T16:51:00.000-08:00

I'm only one day late in finishing my very first Bead Journal Project! Yay! I thought I was being so smart to limit my size to 3x3". Believe me, that is huge when it comes to doing bead embroidery. Next year, I will think even smaller!

I am hoping to put all of my monthly projects together into an art picture, so I am leaving the edges unfinished until I know how I'm going to put them all together. I will be using one of my own dichroic glass cabochons for each month of the year. This cab has always reminded me of a winter blizzard, so I thought it was appropriate for January. You can see just a bit of the trees, buildings and ground through the swirling snow.

This was very difficult to photograph, so it looks a bit blue in this picture. All of the beads (except for the green ones) are crystal, silver or white and many have an AB finish.

I'm very happy with my first Bead Journal Project and excited that I finished my January project before leaving for the Tucson bead shows tomorrow.

Artbeads Tucson Sweepstakes

2011-01-21T12:55:00.000-08:00

Artbeads just launched their ‘Road to Tucson’ Sweepstakes. The grand prize is a trip for two to Tucson, Arizona to attend the 2012 Gem, Mineral and Fossil Showcase! This fantastic prize package includes round-trip airfare for two to Tucson, Arizona and 3 nights accommodation. The winner will also attend classes with well-known beading instructors and have access to the biggest shows.
This sweepstakes is open to US and Canadian residents (excluding Quebec) age 18 and up. Entry deadline is March 16, 2011 at 11:59pm PT. For more information: http://www.artbeads.com/road-to-tucson-sweepstakes.html

I'll be headed to this year'sTucson show for a few days at the beginning of February. I'm sure it will just whet my appetite for another trip next year. I'm headed over to enter the contest now.

Bead Journal Project 2011

2010-12-30T12:14:00.000-08:00

I'm very excited about deciding to participate in the Bead Journal Project 2011. BJP is a group of people who have decided to create 12 beaded journal pages, one per month, for a year. The goal is simply personal development and providing a pathway to expand our own artistic creativeness.

One of the goals for myself in 2011 is to increase awareness of myself as an artist. I am looking forward to not following any rules and letting my muse have her way on these monthly projects.

We can use any medium in our projects as long as we also include beads. I'll be using some of my dichroic glass cabochons and using bead weaving to create my journal pages.

I haven't decided on any particular theme, but I have decided to keep my projects small (no more that 3" x 3") so that I don't get overwhelmed and give up. I guess that's my worst fear.

I hope to share my progress and my creations with you all throughout the year. Happy Beading in the new year to one and all!

Bead Mavens Ice Queen Challenge

2010-12-04T13:30:00.000-08:00

The Bead Mavens recently held an Ice Queen Challenge and the winners have been announced. You can view all three winners on the Bead Mavens website and also on their blog.

I was one of the donors to the prize pool and so I got to "meet" the 2nd place winner, Cindy Holsclaw of Bead Origami.. Cindy gave me permission to display her beautiful winning necklace. The necklace contains 17 individual Pagoda Beaded Charms in a beautiful Icycle blue color.

You can read more about the necklace on Cindy's blog. She also has her own website and Etsy shop where she sells her beadwork as well as tutorials - one of which is for the pagoda bead used in this necklace.

My donation was a gift certificate for something in my Etsy shop. Cindy chose one of my dichroic glass cabochons which I called "Symphony."

It's a bold piece and I'm really looking forward to seeing how Cindy might use it. Congratulations to all the winners of the Bead Maven's Ice Queen Challenge. Every entry was outstanding.

What Inspires You?

2010-11-23T11:41:00.000-08:00

Artbeads.com provided a beading contest entitled "What Inspires You?" Voting opened today, November 23 and ends Wednesday, December 8. Winners will be announced Thursday, December 16, 2010.

There are two categories - a Necklace Category and a General Category and you can vote for your favorite in each one. Click on the first name in the group and it will show you the original inspiration and the creation it inspired. From there you can click on the "next" tab and see all of the beautiful entries in each category.

Congratulations to everyone who entered and good luck! The prizes are fabulous!

And the Winner is...

2010-11-15T18:33:00.000-08:00

In honor of reaching 200 sales in my Etsy shop, 43 people commented on my blog and/or let me know that they tried but couldn't due to technical difficulties. All 43 names went into the hat and my husband pulled out the name "Cali." Cali won one of my Walk on the Wild Side dichroic glass cabochons I called Midnight Mystery.

Congrats, Cali! I left a comment on your facebook page!

Thanks to everyone who commented (or tried) and to all those who have been such an encouragement to me over the past year!

Big Dreams Start Small

2010-11-08T13:40:00.000-08:00

Little did I know when I opened my BeadsForever Etsy shop in November 2007 that it would bring such joy to my heart. I didn't make a big splash when I opened my shop. Far from it! It wasn't until almost a year later that I sold my very first item, a necklace I named "Bronze Delight" which combined beadweaving with one of my polymer clay cabs.

Today I had my 200th sale to a very dear facebook friend - one of my dichroic glass cabochons.

While 200 may not be a very large number to many of you, to me it is a huge milestone! It took a lot of determination and perserverance to stand alone and keep putting one foot in front of another. I'm so happy I did not give up and let my little dream die. I praise God for giving me faith to continue on and thank my friends who encouraged me to keep going.

To celebrate this milestone and to thank you all, I am having a giveaway. Whomever leaves a comment on this blog post will have a change to win this new Walk on the Wild Side dichroic glass cab called Midnight Mystery.

To enter this giveaway just leave a comment on my blog (say anything you want) and your name will be put in a hat for a drawing on November 15, 2010. Only one entry per person. Please leave some hint as to how I can get in contact with you to get your mailing address (if I don't know you already).

Remember, big dreams start small. It just takes a little faith, courage and perserverance. What's your dream?

Leafy Greens are Good For You!

2010-11-03T10:58:00.000-07:00

For the past few weeks I've had the pleasure of collaborating with Marsha Hedrick, a porcelain artist I met on facebook. Marsha created some new porcelain pendant and end cap sets and she asked me to use a few of them with the Kumihimo braiding technique to create some necklaces. Here is a picture of the Leafy Green set from Marsha's website, Amazing Porcelain.com which I used to create the first necklace.

For the Kumihimo braid, I used two strands of multi colored fiber, two strands of metallic gold cording, two strands of green and amber triangle beads, and two strands of size 8 transparent dark green seed beads. I used the round braid pattern to create a 15" necklace. The slider pendant fits snugly on the 11mm diameter necklace braid. I attached a bezeled glass drop from the hole in the slider pendant.

After tying off the Kumihimo braid ends, I attached the porcelain end caps and metal toggle closure using needle and thread. Another option would have been to use wire which can be securely attached to the braid ends and then inserted through the holes in the end caps. I chose to use thread because I wanted to use matching beads to extend the closure. The total length of the necklace with the end caps and closure is 17".

Please check out all the other new pendant sets on Marsha's website HERE. And great news, all the new items are currently on sale! Stay tuned for more collaboration pieces to be shown soon.

Hidden Glory - Colors of Fall

2010-10-15T12:51:00.000-07:00

The theme for Artbeads current blogging design partners is "Colors of Fall." It was fun to select these gloriously colored artisan lampwork beads for my project - colors I wouldn't normally choose, but that fit the theme perfectly. I was delighted with the colorful coral and beige mix mini Kaleras lampwork beads in coral, tan, and brown, with hints of blue and green. To go with the lampwork beads, I chose some Toho Natural Picasso size 11 seed beads and they were a perfect match. Artbeads has a huge selection and variety of Toho seed beads to choose from.

I added some other seed beads for contrast and created this bracelet which I call Hidden Glory. The glory of the orange lampwork beads is hidden within the more common browns of autumn. The bead weaving stitch is the Oglala stitch, named for the beadweavers of the Lakota nation in South Dakota (a great state where I was born)!

I'm very happy with how the bracelet turned out and will be listing it in my Etsy and Artfire shops.

My evaluation of Artbeads' products is given honestly and freely and I receive no compensation from Artbeads for my participation in their group of blogging design partners.

If You are Afraid of Clowns, Don't Look

2010-09-01T19:31:00.000-07:00

I was exposed to a new bead artist by a facebook friend this past week and immediately fell in love with her work. The artist is Uliana Aleksandrovna and her website is way too hard for me to pronounce but you can click here. Google will translate the site from Russian into English and it worked wonderfully!

Uliana is located in Ukraine, but I didn't let that stop me. I spent a lot of time looking at her beaded works of art and I kept going back to the Clowns. I couldn't resist - so I sent an e-mail to her via her website to ask about purchasing them.

She is not on Etsy and doesn't use Paypal, but it was explained to me that I could send payment via Western Union. Having never done that before, I ventured into a Vons store in San Diego where they have offer Western Union to their customers. It was so easy - just a form to fill out and cash in hand to pay. I was given a "Money Transfer Control Number" which I e-mailed to Uliana. After she confirmed that she had received the money, she mailed the package to me and amazingly to me, it arrived in less than 1 week!

Here is the most joyful beaded work of art I have ever seen. It makes me smile just looking at it. If you are afraid of Clowns - don't look!

And part of the joy of the piece is that you can turn it over.

And to top it all off, the clowns came in a beautiful gift bag closed with a hand beaded "closure."

I definitely know how to buy presents for myself! And I'm so pleased with my gift! Thank you Uliana.

Beautiful Artists and Their Works of Art - Part 1

2010-08-23T11:05:00.000-07:00

This post has been on my list of "to do's" far too long. I confess I have been procrastinating and I'm not sure why - especially confusing because the subject matter is so dear to me.

It is so rewarding for me when someone uses something I've created to create something even more creative and beautiful. This series of posts will feature those artists who have purchased one (or more) of my dichroic glass cabochons and turned them into works of art. My deepest gratitude to each of you.

The first artist I want to thank is Anita Martinez whose Etsy shop name is Turiana07. She purchased one of my dichroic glass cabochons and turned it into this masterpiece she called "Celestial Wings."

It all started with one of my dichroic glass cabs I called "Scuba Diving Twin B."

There are many other beautiful works of art in her Etsy shop like this necklace she calls "Aztec Princess."

Be sure to stop by and let her know how beautiful her work is. Thank you Anita!

Artbeads has Cool Beads

2010-07-06T18:33:00.000-07:00

For my Artbeads Summer Project, I chose this fun ceramic bead to incorporate into my beadwork. Artbeads has lots of stoneware pendants from which to choose. Even the back of the pendant bead is cool.

To go with this "Cool Bubbles" ceramic bead, I chose several matching colors of size 11 Delica beads in a wonderful Matte AB finish like these Miyuki Transparent Matte AB turquoise Delicas (DB0862) or these Miyuki Transparent AB Matte Tropical Teal Delicas (DB1283). Artbeads has a wonderful selection of seed beads from which to choose.

I decided to create a spiral herringbone rope using needle and thread and adding two beads at a time. The colors of the seed beads matched perfectly with the colors of the pendant. I'm very happy with the finished necklace and have placed it for sale in my Etsy shop. I call it Cool Spots because we all need a cool spot to relax now that the summer heat has arrived.

I hope you'll check out Artbeads.com. I'm sure you'll find some more "cool" things there. I am delighted to be a part of Artbeads blogging group. I do not receive any compensation from them for blogging about their products.

And the Winner Is ... (Plus the Contest Answers)

2010-05-18T11:13:00.000-07:00

The winner of my guessing contest is Deborah L. Gray-Wurz, owner of Sneekbead on Etsy. You can also read more about her on her blog "Bead Indulgences." Just for posting her answers here on my blog, she wins any dichroic glass item of her choice from my Etsy shop.

The answers to the contest are:

1. Millifiore Glass (although I do admit it looks a lot like Christmas candy!)

2. 1/8" Diamond Copper Mesh

3. Fine Silver Wire

These items are all available from Delphi Glass and are part of their "Ring of Fire Contest." The contest is open to all artists - not just glass artists. They also have Pressed Flowers, Mirrored Tiles, Krafty Blok, DG3 Art Gel Glaze, and Recycled Glass Tiles. All you need to do is purchase one item, create something and enter it in the contest.

The prizes are fantastic. Grand Prize Sponsor: Jen-Ken Kilns Delphi Ez-Pro Deluxe 15-6 Kiln – Fuse glass and ceramics in one kiln
Plus:

Choice of instructional video from Glass Craftsman
Choice of Best-Of Glass Patterns Quarterly instructional CD
Choice of book from Wardell Publications

All Delphi award winners will receive:

$50 Delphi Dollars

Multi-media craft pack, including KraftyBlok from Diamond Tech Crafts

Choice of instructional video from Glass Craftsman

Choice of Best-Of Glass Patterns Quarterly instructional CD

Choice of book from Wardell Publications

Delphi’s Favorite award winner will be featured on one of Delphi’s catalog covers.

Artfire will award the following:

Free Lifetime ArtFire Pro Account

$100 Shopping Spree on ArtFire

Free ArtFire Pro Account 1-Year Membership with Graphics Package from ArtFire’s designer

I originally purchased the Dichroic Scrap package and created this as my entry. I call it "Say It With a Flower." You can vote for your favorite entry here. Just click on "View Entries" and choose your favorite.

I hope you will be encouraged to enter the Ring of Fire Contest sponsored by Delphi Glass and Artfire and their Sponsors. Have fun!

How Joy Gets Spread Throughout the World

2010-05-17T17:54:00.000-07:00

Today I received a surprise gift from a Facebook friend. I have not met this friend in person yet, but I'm excited that in just a few short weeks I will. She is a reminder to me that we can all make the world a better place by being thoughtful of others. Here's the beautiful pendant created by ViSart on Etsy that my friend purchased and mailed to me.

My friend bought the pendant for me simply because I had posted a link to it on Facebook and had said that I loved it. I originally saw the pendant on Polymer Clay Daily.

A short while after she purchased it from ViSart, I introduced my new line of DichroCentrics - a layered glass cabochon with a hole in the middle (dare I call it a bead?). I'm sure you can tell that the pendant by ViSart was the inspiration for my new line. I called this necklace "Lizard Tango" and entered it in the BeadStar contest.

I call this one Rhubarb Pie:

And this one I named Tangerine Dacquiri:

You can see more of my DichroCentrics and other dichroic glass cabochons, buttons and pendants in my Etsy shop.

So the world was made happier today by the thoughtfulness of a friend. I hope we will all pass on this spirit of joy to brighten the world even more.

Can You Guess What These Are? Plus A Little Giveaway

2010-05-14T14:23:00.000-07:00

Here are three pictures of items I just received in the mail. Let's see how good you are at guessing what they are. Whoever attempts to guess what all three items are and what purpose they are for (even if they are wrong) will have their name put into a hat for a drawing to win a dichroic glass cabochon of their choice from my Etsy shop.

Just post your answers here on my blog and be sure to let me know how to contact you. The guessing will end Monday, May 17, at midnight. The winner of the drawing plus the correct answers will be announced on Tuesday, May 18.

I haven't decided yet what I'm going to make with these interesting pieces, but I have a pretty good idea. You'll have to check back to see what develops and find out the answers. Good Luck!

Ring of Fire Artist Challenge at Delphi Glass

2010-05-10T13:04:00.000-07:00

Ring of Fire Artist Challenge is a new contest sponsored by Artfire and Delphi Glass.

This contest was designed for artists of all crafts and abilities. All you have to do is create a project of your choice using one or more of the products from the Ring of Fire. You can also incorporate elements from your favorite craft. Whether you're interested in fiber, glass, paper, jewelry, fabric or any other craft, this contest is for YOU! Check out the contest rules. You can also check out the fantastic prizes here.

I purchased the scrap bag of dichroic glass and created this pendant which I called "Say It With a Flower."

If you would like to help me win, you can vote for me on the Delphi Ring of Fire Challenge site.

Etsy Beadweavers May Challenge

2010-05-10T10:45:00.000-07:00

The theme for the EBW May challenge is Embedded Colors in the World of Insects. The entries have been posted on the EBW blog. You can view them and vote for your favorite from May 9 and May 15.

Making Gifts for My Family

2010-05-06T11:51:00.000-07:00

One of the things I love best about being an artist is making gifts for members of my family. I never did like shopping for gifts for people. But I do like planning and creating handcrafted gifts as they are truly from my heart.

I recently made two necklaces - one for my Mother for Mother's Day with beading around a petrified palm root cabochon ...

(even though brown is not her favorite color, I chose it so she would have an excuse to go out and buy a new outfit to match)

... and another for my sister, Sherry, who loves turquoise - a belated birthday gift.

The necklace for my sister was made by beading around one of my dichroic glass cabochons. The beaded chain on both necklaces was made using the herringbone stitch. I love using that stitch.

I often daydream that my gifts will one day be heirlooms, passed down from generation to generation. Well, one can dream, can't they?

April EBW Challenge Winner Announced.

2010-04-17T09:45:00.000-07:00

Isabella of bead4me won the Etsy Beadweavers April Challenge "Light as a Breeze." She calls her necklace "Sakura Japanese Flowering Cherry Blossom Beadwork Necklace." This is the 2nd win in a row for her!

You can read more about the other winners on the EBW Blog.

Etsy Beadweavers April Challenge - Light as a Breeze

2010-04-09T10:29:00.000-07:00

The Etsy Beadweavers (EBW) April Challenge is now open for voting. The theme is Light as a Breeze.
Vote for your favorite from April 9 - 15 on the EBW blog.

Etsy Beadweavers Treasury Makes the Front Page

2010-03-30T11:29:00.000-07:00

Little Stone Design created this beautiful treasury and it made the front page of Etsy. Congratulations and Easter Blessings to all! Read more about the Etsy Beadweavers on their blog.

Artbeads Valentines Day Creation

2010-03-28T14:56:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I gave a little preview of my Artbeads Blogging Partner creation which was supposed to be in honor of Valentines Day. I had ordered these beautiful ceramic hearts as well as several types of beads that I thought would look good with the ceramic hearts - some cute mother of pearl hearts, sterling silver roundels, 1.8mm square cut beads, and 4mm Druk cherry red beads. Artbeads has a great selection of Valentine's Day components which you can find HERE. (Good to know for next year!!)

I had originally intended to make a bead embroidered cuff but when I started beading around the large heart I discovered some problems. The larger ceramic heart bead is about 5mm thick and I was having a hard time figuring out what size beads looked good next to it. I was also perplexed about what to do with the inner cutout part. After several attempts I decided my idea wasn't going to work and I had to come up with plan B which came together much easier.

First I created two different pendants with the ceramic hearts.

Both pendants can be hung from the same beaded necklace "chain."

I plan on listing this necklace in my Etsy shop and will donate all proceeds to the relief efforts in Haiti.

I am delighted to be a part of Artbeads blogging group and I receive no compensation from them for blogging about their products.

Dichroic Glass Buttons

2010-03-21T18:24:00.000-07:00

I am very excited about my new dichroic glass buttons. To make a long story short, I found out my husband had purchased a drill press several years ago (which I never knew we had). I purchased some diamond drill bits and learned how to operate the drill press. In just a few minutes I had created my first button out of one of my dichroic glass cabs.

After drilling the holes I had to put the button in the kiln again to round out the holes. After this first success, I was excited to make more. Here are two of the next ones I made.

Rosita Pisarchick bought two of my buttons and created this beautiful bracelet that she called "Peacock Struttin it's Stuff" using one of my buttons for the closure. I'm lovin' it!

Rosita has several shops on Etsy. She sells her beautiful beadwoven jewelry in her CrownRoseGems shop. She sells vintage and antique buttons in her ButtonStash shop. She sells Jacquard and woven trims in her Trim Goddess and Trim Goddess2 shops. She is one busy lady keeping up all those shops!

It's always an honor to see my work displayed on someone else's creation. It motivates me to make more buttons (which I have done). Here's a couple more that I'm getting ready to list in my Etsy shop.

I think there should be a National Button Day! What do you think?

And the Winner Is ....

2010-03-16T09:52:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Isabelle of Bead4Me for winning this month's EBW challenge titled "A Fairy Tale."

You can see all of the winners on the EBW blog.

EBW Fairy Tale Challenge

2010-03-10T10:41:00.000-08:00

The Etsy Beadweavers Fairy Tale Challenge is now open for voting. You can vote for your favorite here now until March 15th.

I Won! I Won! Look What I Won!

2010-02-27T11:23:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I received some amazing news. I won something in a giveaway! I never ever win anything, so this news was somewhat shocking! But the best part of winning is not that I won. It's WHAT I won!

This painting was created by Jean Hutter of Totally Twisted who had a giveaway on her blog, I entered it with longing to be the winner but quickly squashed my hopeful yearnings as I didn't want to experience the disappointment of not winning again. So you can imagine my delight at actually having won! I can't wait for the painting to arrive so I can see it in person.

Jean is not only a painting genius, but a very talented beadweaver and jewelry designer. You can see more of her creations in her Etsy shop. Take a few minutes to go look - you won't be disappointed!

Did I Miss Valentine's Day?

2010-02-26T13:21:00.000-08:00

I don't know how it happened, but I'm pretty sure February 14th passed me by and I didn't finish my Valentine piece or blog about it yet. And yes, I'm feeling guilty! So just to show I have good intentions and really am working on it, here's a little preview.

This will be part of the pendant for a beaded necklace which I hope to have finished soon and I will post pictured of the completed piece - hopefully before next Valentine's Day.

I am privileged to be a member of the Artbeads blogging team and for January we were given the theme of Valentine's Day. "No problem," I said to myself and I ordered these beautiful ceramic hearts to use in a bead embroidered cuff.

I also ordered several types of beads that I thought would look good with the ceramic hearts - some cute mother of pearl hearts, sterling silver roundels, 1.8mm square cut beads, and 4mm Druk cherry red beads.

Artbeads has a great selection of Valentine's Day components which you can find HERE.

I have no pictures to prove I actually started on the cuff, but I did. I even made a special trip into San Diego to find some other beady goodness to go on the cuff. I cut out the Lacy's stiff stuff and glued the components onto it with E6000 glue. Then I started beading around the large heart and found it harder than I expected. The heart bead is about 5mm thick and I was having a hard time getting the inner "cut out" part of the heart to look good. After several attempts I decided my idea wasn't going to work and I had to come up with plan B which is working out much better.

I receive no compensation from Artbeads for blogging about their products. I am delighted to be a part of their blogging group and hope they will forgive me for this late posting.

The Joy of Creating

2010-02-10T12:40:00.000-08:00

I find that creating brings me such joy - a deep seated happiness that makes my heart sing and my spirit soar. I greatly admire artists who express themselves through their work. I enjoy seeing things of beauty - whether in nature created by God or in books and magazines, created by fellow artists. I know what goes into the creating process and the feelings involved are not always pleasant. Anxiety and fear can play a role as well as hope and love. When the artist perseveres through all the emotions and the creation is finished, that's when the final joy of creating is experienced.

When I make my dichroic glass cabochons, I not only experience joy in the process of creating but also every time I open the kiln and see the results of my labors. But it doesn't stop there. I get another dose of joy when someone tells me they like my work. And another when they actually purchase one of my cabs and use it in one of their own creations. And it doesn't stop there because someone may actually purchase that new creation because they love it and share it with others who enjoy it as well. That is a lot of experienced joy for which I'm very grateful!

Here is just one example of how it all works. I created a dichroic glass cabochon I called Lava Bed.

Lorraine Hickton of Trinitydj on Etsy purchased the cab and created this wonderful necklace she named after her friend Nancy Dale.

I'm very thankful for all of this shared joy. It's what keeps me going when I experience the momentary anxiety and fear that come with temporary disappointments. I hope that viewing this beautiful creation will help spread the joy even more.

My First Cab Used in Silver Working

2010-01-30T11:02:00.000-08:00

A proud moment here! One of the cabs I sent to a friend in Germany was given to her friend, Elvira, who is learning silverworking. She created this beauty!

You can visit Elvira's blog called Maybe-Beads and if you read German, you can read more about it there. She calls it Abyss. I love it!

It brings me such joy when other artists use one of my dichroic glass cabochons to bring more beauty into the world!

Thank you, Elvira!

Cab Featured on Inspirational Beading Blog

2010-01-27T20:08:00.000-08:00

Mortira who writes on her Inspirational Beading Blog honored me yesterday by featuring my Lily Pads dichroic glass cabochon in the poster sketch of designs by some of her favorite Etsy bloggers.

Thank you Mortira for the feature and congratulations on winning the Sunshine Award for your wonderful blog.

Mortira owns The Sage's Cupboard shop on Etsy where you will find a great selection of metal free beadwoven jewelry. Here is her Gaia Pendant Beadwoven Necklace.

Check out her shop for more beautiful items!

TrinityDJ Creates Another Beauty!

2010-01-26T12:25:00.000-08:00

Trinitydj, who has a shop on Etsy, created another beautiful necklace she calls "Grape Vine." using one of my dichroic glass cabochons. I love the colors she chose and the unique beaded chain.

The original cab was called Mysterious and was sold out of my Etsy shop called "BeadsForever."

Lorraine, who owns "Trinitydj" on Etsy, is from Cape Town, South Africa. She is not only a beautiful bead weaver, but an beautiful person. I hope you will check out her shop. Here is another beautiful necklace she created - not using one of my cabs, but gorgeous nonetheless! She calls it "Royal Princess."

800 Hearts on Etsy

2010-01-26T09:10:00.000-08:00

Today I received my 800th heart from a "secret admirer." Secret admirers are wonderful, but they remain secret, so today I'm honoring my 799th heart on Etsy!

I had a very nice convo from "Little Fish Like Green" - my 799th Heart on Etsy. She said my "Implosion" dichroic glass cabochon reminded her of the cover art for Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" - exploded.

I know the music from that album, but couldn't remember what the cover art looked like, so I did a quick google search and found it.

Wasn't it nice of her to send me a message and tell me that? It's easy to understand her reasoning as she is an artist and photographer. As I looked into her shop on Etsy, I read that she has another shop where she sells her artwork and photographs - "In a Beautiful Daze." Here is one photograph from her shop called Red Day Lily that I think is gorgeous!

I'm so thankful for my Etsy hearts and the kindness of Etsy people to spread the love! I hope you will continue to pay that love forward around the world.

Artbeads Sweepstakes

2010-01-24T11:07:00.000-08:00

Artbeads.com has just launched their biggest Sweepstakes ever on facebook.com. Enter to win a $1,000 Shopping Spree at Artbeads.com. This contest is open to US and Canadian residents (excluding Quebec) age 18 or older. http://apps.facebook.com/sweepstakeshq/contests/16554

The Sweepstakes started January 06, 2010 and ends March 4, 2010.

I was given no compensation for posting this. I'm just excited about the possibility of winning and if I'm not the winner, then why not you?

A Beautiful Work of Beadweaving

2010-01-19T13:36:00.000-08:00

Recently Lorraine Hickman of Trinity Designer Jewellery on Etsy purchased some of my dichroic glass cabochons. This one is the first one she used in a beautiful necklace she calls "High Tide."

She used my "Ocean Depths" dichroic glass cabochon to create her beautiful entry into the Etsy Beadweavers Jan/Feb Challenge with an "Ocean" theme.

Here is her beautiful High Tide necklace which is available for purchase in her Etsy shop.

If you are interested in my dichroic glass cabochons, you can find them in my BeadsForever shop on Etsy.

Jewelry Created with Cubic Zirconia

2009-12-29T16:53:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I posted a picture of some beautiful cubic zirconia components I received from Artbeads.com and thought I would have a completed necklace within a couple weeks.

In the meantime, I did a bit of research. According to Wikipedia, "Cubic zirconia (or CZ) is the cubic crystalline form of zirconium dioxide (ZrO₂). The synthesized material is hard, optically flawless and usually colorless, but may be made in a variety of different colors."

Artbeads.com has hundreds of different Cubic Zirconia items including beads, pendants, drops, clasps, links and earrings in many different colors and shapes. I chose the CZ teardrop shaped drop and CZ round beads.

I had grandiose plans to create a necklace using all of the components in the same piece. But as things often go in jewelry design, I ended up not liking what I created. After five different "re-dos" I gave up and decided to go simple. I'm glad I did as the CZ components are really beautiful all by themselves and don't need anything added to really show off their beauty.

I created a necklace that can be worn two ways. The simplest necklace uses CZ round beads in two sizes strung with tiny size 15 rocailles. The sparkle is amazing and a bit hard to capture in pictures.

I wanted to use at lease one of the CZ teardrops as a dangle, so I decided to make one that is removable. By adding the dangle, you can dress up the necklace and add a bit of romance.

Since my original necklace design didn't work out as I had imagined, I had two pairs of CZ teardrops left that were just begging to be used as earrings. Fortunately I had some Swarovski crystal beads that go very well with the CZ.

I am so pleased with the CZ jewelry components I received from Artbeads.com. I would highly recommend them to anyone who wants to make classy romantic jewelry with lots of sparkle. One thing I learned is that the larger CZ drops are heavier than I expected. Things don't always work out like we plan, but I'm very happy with the end results.

As part of Artbeads.com blog group, I received these products free of charge and am giving my honest critique of the products received. I have not been paid for providing this review of their products.

Classy Glass Artists

2009-12-20T11:18:00.000-08:00

Today I was nicely surprised by a new glass artist group I joined - Classy Glass Artists. They featured my work on their blog.

Classy Glass Artists is a new group on My Craft Corner. Currently there are 11 members and they are actively looking for more. So come check us out and join our group. Great things are going to happen I know.

The founders of the Classy Glass Artist group, Jason and Jannelle, have an Etsy shop called Nomad Crafts Etc! This set of 2 Focal Fish beads is one of my favorites from their store.

You can become a fan of the group page on Facebook here. Hope to see you there!

Sabine Lippert - Bead Magician Extraordinaire

2009-11-23T12:23:00.000-08:00

Today a friend posted a link of her work on my facebook page and I was so honored. She used one of my dichroic glass cabochons and created a fantastic necklace using her magical beading powers! I'm talking about Sabine Lippert from Germany.

Here's the original dichroic glass cab.

And here is Sabine's necklace after she did some serious beading magic. Isn't it beautiful?!

Check out her blog to see more of Sabine's beautiful work http://try-to-be-better.blogspot.com/. If you are interested in seeing more of my dichroic glass cabochons, you can see them in my Etsy shop.

Gorgeous CZ Faceted Components from Artbeads.com

2009-11-18T14:02:00.000-08:00

Have you ever looked at some special beads and thought "I'd sure love to have some of those!" Well, my fantasy was fulfilled yesterday when these beauties arrived in the mail. These CZ faceted flat teardrops and CZ faceted round beads are from Artbeads.com and boy do they sparkle!

Artbeads.com has hundreds of different Cubic Zirconia items including beads, pendants, drops, clasps, links and earrings in many different colors and shapes. I chose the orange, yellow and peridot flat teardrops because I love those shapes and I also love those colors together. The thing I like most about CZ components is the sparkle created by the facets.

Can you guess what I'm going to make with them? Stay tuned for the finished creation. I won't be finished too quickly as I have to make some beadweaving components to match the CZ beads, but hopefully I'll be done in a week or so.

Thank you, Artbeads, for getting my creative juices flowing with these lovely beads. As part of Artbeads.com blog group, I received these products free of charge and am giving my honest critique of the products received. I have not been paid for providing this review of their products.

Etsy Beadweaver's November Challenge Winner

2009-11-17T09:13:00.000-08:00

This month's EBW challenge entitled "Beauty of the Flower" had 17 entries and received 685 votes. With 174 of the votes, the winner is number 13 - Hibiscus Necklace - grakowsky.

You can read more about the winning entry as well as the top ten winners on the EBW blog. Congratulations to all the beautiful entries.

EBW November Challenge Mosaic

2009-11-08T09:45:00.001-08:00

EBW November Challenge Mosaic, originally uploaded by wMarlaine.

Check out the fabulous entries into the Etsy Beadweavers November Challenge entitled Beauty of the Flower. You may vote for your favorite between Sept 9 and Sept 15 on the group blog at
http://etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com/

700 Etsy Hearts!

2009-10-27T13:13:00.000-07:00

I just received my 700th Etsy heart from The Sproutz Store. Wouldn't you know, this shop is full of one of my favorite things - FABRIC! So now I have to decide which fabric to purchase - to thank her for being my 700th! Here's some examples I have to choose from, but it's going to be a tough choice as there are 26 pages of fabric for sale in her shop!

If you love fabric as much as I do, you're sure to love browsing in The Sproutz Store!

Some Beauties Created in Germany

2009-10-11T11:21:00.000-07:00

Where have I been and what have I been doing? Amazingly, I haven't been anywhere outside my four walls, but I have been busy.

To start with, I've been caught up with making dichroic glass cabochons. I just can't get enough of them. And while I'd like to do beadwork around each and every one of them, I only have 2 arms and there are just not enough hours in the day. So I started selling them in my Etsy shop.

Here are the first two cabochons that were purchased by Sabine Lippert from Germany.

I just love what she did with them. Her beadwork is always unique and I think she really shows off the cabs wonderfully!

You can see more of her work on her blog, Try-To-Be-Better or on her website, Try-To-Be. She also just opened an Etsy shop, Try-To-Be-Unique, where she sells her patterns. I am going to be one of her customers for sure!

Stay tuned for more dichroic cab updates and some information on the process of making them.

Beads, Beads, Beads Treasury on Etsy

2009-09-19T13:10:00.000-07:00

When I see the word "Beads," it gets my attention. Just imagine all the beads it took to create all the lovely bead woven items in this Etsy Treasury.

SF Beads created this treasury and included my "Royal Affair" necklace with all the other lovely work. I checked out her shop and found many other items that could have been included, like this pretty "Summer Necklace."

This bracelet is called "Copper Age" would be perfect for fall.

If you've never stopped to consider the beauty of beads before, now is the time. You can find many beautiful bead woven items on Etsy, all handmade and created with love.

And the WInner Is ....

2009-09-18T15:37:00.000-07:00

The winner of the Etsy Beadweavers September Indian Summer Dream Challenge has been announced. Lorraine of TrinityDJ won with her beautiful Indian Summer Sunset necklace.

You can read more about the winner on the EBW Blog and you can see more jewelry created by Lorraine in her Etsy shop.

Parvati's Grace necklace, created by CieloDesign came in 2nd.

Indian Summer Nights by Triz came in 3rd.

The top ten winners are listed on the EBW blog. In reality, everyone that entered was a winner as all of the pieces created were just outstanding.

Indian Summer Dream Beadweaving Challenge

2009-09-09T14:15:00.000-07:00

The Etsy Beadweavers "Indian Summer Dream" Beadweaving Challenge has 33 beautiful entries this month. Voting is now open on the Etsy Beadweaver's Blog. You can click on the names below the mosaic to go to the shop of each artist to read about the piece they created.

Voting is only from the 9th thru the 15th so put on your thinking cap after checking out the entries and vote to choose which is your favorite.

BEM September "Fall" Challenge

2009-09-09T11:34:00.000-07:00

As the winner of the BEM "New Horizons" challenge, Dini of Beadazzled of Oregon chose "Fall" as the September Challenge theme. She states "I love fall! I love the smells and sounds, the dryness of the leaves, the really cold mornings and the beautiful still warm afternoons. Above all, I love the fall colors."

There are 5 entries for the new "Fall" challenge. The first picture is by Bedazzled of Oregon and is entitled Shades of Fall.

This 2nd entry is by Nans Glam and is entitled Autumn Flora Brooch.

The 3rd entry is by Rachele's Originals and is entitled Inspire' d'Automne.

The 4th entry is by GG's Designs and is called Fall Bargello Bracelet.

The 5th entry is by Silver Dragon Creations and is called Autumn Goddess.

All of these entries can be seen on the BEM blog. Voting will take place from September 5th through September 9th. Stop on by and vote for your favorite.

Colorful Treasury on Etsy

2009-09-06T11:02:00.000-07:00

Smadar's Treasure on Etsy created a Colorful Treasury and she included my Summer Garden Bracelet.

This bold ethnic necklace by Smadar fits this colorful treasury perfectly. She has so many beautiful items in her Etsy shop.

There is lots of eye candy and color in her shop. Stop by and give her some well deserved love.

Up For a Treasure Hunt?

2009-08-31T10:48:00.000-07:00

Kitzbitz on Etsy has created this wonderful and fun Etsy treasure hunt treasury. It's only available until Wednesday, September 2nd - so join the fun now while you can. There are two great prizes available to the lucky winners.

My New Life pin was included in this treasury of gorgeous items available from Etsy sellers. The selections were chosen from members of two Etsy teams: FHF Team and HAF Team. Kitzbitz is a member of both teams. I am a member of the HAF team.

I Love This Stuff Treasury

2009-08-24T13:03:00.001-07:00

My Silky Copper Bracelet was included in this treasury created by Little Stone Design.

Her June Garden Beadwoven Bracelet is one of my favorites on Etsy. But there are many many more beautiful items in her shop. Check it out!

If you aren't familiar with Etsy, you are missing out on some wonderful hand made creations. It's a great place to shop for gifts for everyone in your family.

Totally Turquoise Treasury

2009-08-23T15:28:00.000-07:00

My Fantasy Three Blues bracelet was included in this Totally Turquoise treasury created by Beads and Blooms on Etsy.

If you want to see more gorgeous turquoise pieces, check out her shop on Etsy. For example, here's her Open Squares Turquoise bracelet - one of my favorites.

There are many more lovely items in her shop. Be sure to check it out!

Stuff I Want Treasury

2009-08-22T13:34:00.001-07:00

My Limeonade Medallion Neckace was included in this beautiful treasury by Kitzbitz Art Glass on Etsy.

Here's some lovely Liquid Oil lampwork beads I found in her shop.

Kitzbitz and I are both members of the Handmade Artists Forum (HAF) Team on Etsy.

Walking in the Woods Treasury

2009-08-22T12:41:00.000-07:00

My boulder opal bracelet was included in this lovely treasury created by Smadar's Treasure on Etsy.

If you feel like shopping for some beautiful beadwoven items, check out her shop. Here's one of my favorites (it was truly hard to pick just one!).

I met Smadar through the Etsy Beadweaving (EBW) Team Group on Etsy and she has truly been an inspiration to me.

600 Hearts on Etsy! (But Who's Counting?)

2009-08-20T09:37:00.000-07:00

I received my 600th heart on Etsy today from Blessed Republic, and Etsy shop that sells handmade bags, belts and scarves. Here's a picture of a laptop tote from her shop.

Thanks for the 600th heart, Blessed Republic!

Thanks For Your Votes!

2009-08-14T21:44:00.000-07:00

Oodles and oodles of thanks to everyone who voted for my necklace in the Abeadstore.com Beaded Impressions contest. My entry came in 2nd place and I won a $50 gift certificate! Here's my necklace but you can view all the winners here.

I'm sure you won't be able to figure out what I'm going to buy with my $50 gift certificate! Happy shopping tomorrow!

Voting Change - ALERT - Voting Change

2009-08-11T09:52:00.000-07:00

Due to some technical difficulties (the main mod is on vacation) the location for voting for the Etsy Beadweavers August Challenge "First Ladies of Style" was moved to another blog.

Please go here to vote. You have until the 15th to vote for your favorite.

Thanks for everyone's understanding and love of beadweaving!

First Ladies of Style - EBW Challenge

2009-08-07T10:19:00.000-07:00

Thirty Etsy Beadweavers Team members entered the EBW August challenge entitled "First Ladies of Style." Using tiny beads with a needle and thread and incredible patience, each EBW member used their talents and creative spirits to design wearable art. You can click on the item in the text list below the mosaic which links to the Etsy Shop listing of each entrant where you will see more detail of each piece!

Be sure to visit the EBW Team Blog June 9th thru the 15th when you will be able to cast your vote for your favorite piece.

1. Nefertiti's Treasure Beadwoven Choker Necklace - RachelesOriginals

2. All That Glitters ... Is Not Gold - beadsforever

3. Gaia Goddess Beadwoven Bracelet - cigarboxbeads

4. Punk Rocker Bracelet in Blue and Black - roseworksjewelry

5. Peyote bracelet for Queen Maud of Norway - PFordCustomJewelry

6. Shades of the Southwest - beadsandblooms

7. Black and Gold - ArtfulAr

8. The FIRST Lady of Style - BettyStephanBeadwork

9. Bright Young Thing - copperwaycrafts

10. Luthien - MadeByOlga

11. Black Beauty jewelry set - BeadCatcher

12. Mademoiselle Coco Couture Wrist Cuff - gypsyeyesjewelry

13. The Elizabethan - daynamiles

14. For Sofia - Choker - triz

15. Brigid Flower Necklace - SpringColors

16. S.W.A.L.K -'Sealed With A Loving Kiss' - Astersadler

17. Just Our Style - 1BeadAtATime

18. Coco Chanel Inspired Cuff Bracelet - GinjaGirlDesigns

19. Lagoon Lustre - sutkibeads

20. A Necklace for Michelle - BeadazzledofOregon

21. Royal Blue - Marie-Antoinette - StudioAnnieVeillette

22. 2 in 1 Multi Strand Silver and Blue Iris Necklace - SmadarsTreasure

23. Princess Jezebel's Jewels - Fivefootfury13

24. Memories IN Style - trinitydj

25. Victorian Cameo Brooch - enchantedbeads

26. Aphrodite - GreenEnvyDesigns

27. Classic Celtic Braided Bracelet - AmethystRavenstar

28. Alexandra's necklace - CieloDesign

29. Turtle Dream Weaver Necklace - kraftymax

30. Montana Sapphire - beadwoman3

Etsy Beadweavers August Challenge Entry

2009-08-03T22:24:00.000-07:00

All the members of the Etsy Beadweaver's Team are finalizing their entries into the August challenge entitled "Ladies of Style." The mosaic showing all entries will be prepared and ready for viewing and voting on August 9th on the group blog.

Here is my entry into the challenge. I chose to make a simple bracelet combining an old technique with modern bling.

I began with a netting base. Netting, which dates back to well before the Christian era, is the stitch with the longest history. Lacy and soft, netting has lots of open spaces. You can see the diamond pattern on the backside of the bracelet.

To the netted base, I added over 200 6mm Swarovski bicone crystal beads in various colors of blue giving it lots of flash and sparkle - sure to get attention is this day and age of bling. The closure is a new and modern 18" Swarovski Rivoli crystal enclosed in a peyote stitched bail.

If you don't want to wait until August 9th to see all the entries, just go to http://www.etsy.com and search using the search word "EBWC".

My First Etsy Trade

2009-07-26T10:39:00.001-07:00

A few posts ago, I talked about making my first dichroic glass cabochons and using one to make a bead woven necklace which a fellow Facebook friend (FFF) wanted. I agreed to a trade and got not only a necklace and cuff for my daughter (see pictures in previous post) but a fabulous leather cuff for myself.

Jennifer of Tocadora Leather on Etsy, didn't just make one cuff. No, she lovingly made two cuffs and told me I could have my pick. This was quite a bit of work on her part, as I am allergic to nickel. She lined both cuffs to cover the exposed metal parts. I also have a small wrist, so she made both cuffs on the small side to fit me.

I honestly couldn't decide on just one cuff, so I got one in trade and bought the other one. Here I am wearing them - one on each wrist.

The buttons are from LisaPetersArt on Etsy. The button on the left is a Ceramic button and the one on the right is a Raku button. There are some beautiful and unique beads and buttons in this Etsy shop, so check it out.

Captured Treasury on Etsy

2009-07-20T13:21:00.000-07:00

Wonder of wonders! This is Treasury Jackpot Day! I received another convo that my Golden Elegance bracelet was included in this beautiful treasury.

This treasury was created by Dorothy Domingo who also has a shop on Etsy. Here are two of my favorites from her shop. The first is called Ocher Freeform Disc Bracelet and the second is Berry Disc bracelet. I think they are both wonderful!

Please visit Dorothy's shop and give her some love. Thanks, Dorothy!

Ooooooooh! Treasury

2009-07-20T12:22:00.000-07:00

I received a convo today that I'm in this new Ooooooooh Olive Blue! treasury on Etsy.

I clicked on all the images and was amazed at all the favorites I found. This treasury was created by Diane Woodall who has a shop on Etsy. Here are a couple of my favorites from her shop. The first is called Vortex and the 2nd is called Happy Go Lucky.

Thanks Diane for the great treasury! Please visit her shop and enjoy her work!

Only One Day Left to Vote

2009-07-14T11:51:00.000-07:00

The VOTING is almost over at the Beadweaving Emporium Market. Only one day left to vote in our first challenge with the theme "New Horizons."

Please go to http://www.thebeadweavingemporium.blogspot.com to vote for your favorite. The voting polls will be open from July 9th through July 15th, 2009.

The participants are as follows:

1. Sandfibers with You are my sunshine

2. Njema with New Horizons Bowl

3. Slavetobeads with Green Earth the New Horizon

4. Beadazzled of Oregon with A New Horizon; Sunrise

5. Three Fates Design with Rising Sun-New Horizon Necklace

6. Rachele's Originals with A New Horizon Barrette

7. Enchanted Beads with New Horizons Wedding Necklace

8. Beadsforever with Night Vision Necklace

Thanks again for your support!!

Finished Goods and an FFF

2009-07-14T11:12:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd better show you the finished product using one of my first dichroic glass cabochons.

Just by coincidence I had been working on a right angle weave chain necklace made with Japanese rainbow colored beads. I was about three-fourths of the way done and I was feeling good about it. I had conquered RAW.

When I looked at my new cab and then at my new chain, I thought they complimented each other and so a new necklace was born. The bezel around the cab and the bail were made with peyote stitch. It feels so good to create something from beginning to end. (Well, OK, I didn't create the seed beads!)

My necklace is on it's way to a new home. A fellow Facebook friend (better known as an FFF) and I agreed on a trade. I'm receiving a wonderful leather cuff which will be a surprise and my daughter in South Dakota is receiving a necklace and leather bracelet. I think I made out very well on this trade!

My FFF has two shops on Etsy - Tocadora Leather and Blest Beads. Please check them out. Here's the bracelet and necklace that my daughter picked out. Aren't they beautiful! My daughter and her husband love EAGLES so this was the perfect bracelet for her.

Thank you FFF. Sometimes Life if So Good!

Ta Da! My First Dichroic Glass Pendants

2009-07-08T11:15:00.001-07:00

I'm not a morning person. I usually stay up until 11pm and then read for at least 1/2 hour, so waking up before 8:00 is not my cup of tea, so to speak. But this morning was different. My eyes popped open at 6:30 and I had to sneak out of bed, get dressed and skip out to our shed where my kiln awaited. It was Christmas time!

My heart was beating fast and I was holding my breath. I was full of hope, but prepared for disappointment. I cautiously opened the door of the kiln.

I should have taken a picture of the pendants still in the kiln, but my mind just wasn't working that way. I couldn't wait to get my hands on them. Here's my precioussssssss pendants!

Pendant 1

Pendant 2

Pendant 3

OK, maybe they aren't the most beautiful pieces of dichroic glass in the world, but they mean so much to me. I learned a new skill and it was FUN! And I'm so looking forward to doing it again - and again - and again.

Let me know which pendant you like best and why. It will be fun to read your comments!

New Venture - Glass Fusion

2009-07-07T17:27:00.000-07:00

I took a dichroic glass fusion class from Fusion Glass Company in San Diego last month. It was so much FUN! Using a variety of 90 COE dichroic glass and total freedom to be creative, we built our "potential" pendants. Here's an example of the pieces I chose for my 1st pendant. The black square will be the base.

I used this grinder/polisher to shape the glass.
I rounded down the corners so it wouldn't be
quite so square.

The pieces are all shaped and stacked on top of each other in the pattern and design I chose.

For my second pendant I chose a vibrant orange colored base, some wild glass for the middle and a clear glass top - and again I rounded the corners.

Both pendants are currently in my Sierra kiln. I'm praying that I was able to program it correctly so that it will do all the things it's supposed to do at all the right temperatures.

I'll know in about 6 hours. The suspense is intense (at least for me)!

Stay tuned for pictures of the finished product. Hopefully I will have some beautiful pendants to show you.

Let Me Introduce - Christine Burgess

2009-06-18T09:34:00.000-07:00

It all started with a simple Etsy convo. Chris contacted me to let me know that she liked my "Going Green" bracelet and had added it to her favorites which she has posted on her blog. So of course I had to check out her blog - Chris' Comments - which was a very pleasant experience!

The first thing that greeted me was a beautiful picture of where Chris lives in Florida. Isn't this beautiful? I know I could create in that setting!

Chris creates mosaics and she has started sharing the process on her blog. You can read part 1 by clicking here. She also has an Etsy shop called Memories in Mosaics where she displays her work. Here's one example called "Garden Harvest Mosaic."

Her work is beautiful and I can't wait to read the next part of her "how to" series on her blog.

I believe Chris found me because I joined a new Etsy team called HAFteam (Handmade Artists Forum Team) which I'm just getting familiar with. More to come about this new team!

Thanks, Chris, for your convo. It's been a pleasure meeting you.

Red, White and Beadweaving Sale-e-Bration!

2009-06-15T15:47:00.000-07:00

The 1000Markets Beadweaving Emporium Market (BEM) is gearing up for a July 4th Firecracker SALE-e-BRATION!

Many of the shops that are members of The Beadweaving Emporium (BEM) market at 1000 Markets have teamed together and are planning a fantastic 4th of July SHOPPER-TUNITY SALE in their shops. Items on sale will be designated by their SALE-A-BRATION badge; some shops will have selected items and others may have every item in their shop on sale.

Participating beadweaving shops will be:

1. CigarboxBeads...................Marilyn

2. BeadsForever....................Linda

3. NossubGallery..................Ana

4. KeepsakeTreasures.........Tanya

5. Enchantedbeads...............Ileana

6. SilverDragonCreations....Patricia

7. ConlinsCreations..............Amanda

8. BeadazzledofOregon........Dini

9. RachelesOriginals.............Rachele

10. LittleStoneDesign...........Cheryl

11. GoodRiverGallery...........Hannah

Be sure to check out each and every designated shop for outstanding handmade items and generous sale prices! Look for the SALE-e-BRATION badge in the participating shops for their SALE ITEMS.

Below is your own invitation to join us at BEM anytime the first week of July in our own Independence Celebration. Use the scissors to cut out this reminder ~ Shop right here at home!

RED, WHITE and BEADWEAVING SALE-e-BRATION!

DATES: July 1 through July 8th, 2009

WHERE: http://www.1000markets.com/groups/bem

WHAT: unique and creative beadwoven art

HINT: shop early for the holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, and more!

Bead Giveaway Contest

2009-06-12T09:09:00.000-07:00

Bead Giveaway Contest Reminder!

Okay, so the contest ends TODAY - Friday, June 12th, but you still have time to enter - until midnight tonight. Check out http:/silverparrotdesigns.blogspot.com for more details. Click here to read the wonderful logic behind this big givaway. This is one wonderful woman who can give away beads!

If I'm honest, I really don't want anyone else to enter because I want to win all the loot for myself, but we gotta follow the rules!

Here's some concrete evidence of what a LARGE pile of beads you can win and what a great opportunity it will be for someone. See how the entire cardboard box is overflowing? Free Beads - WHEEEEE!

A closer look at the FREE BEADS!

In this pic you can see lots of cube beads, large delica beads, some Czech glass black cat beads and a whole bag of black hex-cut seed beads.

Pretty cloisonne beads and large pink fiberoptic oval beads. Also, a baggie of clear/pink Czech firepolish ovals in the upper left corner.

Some green size 10 delicas and some Miyuki pink/amber triangle beads.

Getting into the blues and greens here: A strand of blue lace agate graduated rondelles and barrels, some green cube beads, green/clear Czech glass flowers and a green stone star.

Some mini bugle beads and a pink rhodonite donut peeking out in the center of the picture.

In this bag? A strand of genuine emerald oval beads.

And this is just a taste of what is in the box.

So, get out there and post on your blogs and leave a link in the comments on Silver Parrot's Blog before midnight on Friday, June 12th, to be entered!

Need a Good Laugh?

2009-06-10T16:37:00.000-07:00

If you need a good laugh, check out the Etsy Beadweavers (EBW) blog to view the 21 entries into the June beadweaving challenge entitled "Humor."

If you click on the item in the list below the mosaic you will be taken to the Etsy Shop listing of each entrant where you can read about how each artist came to create these fun pieces of jewelry. Please visit the Etsy Beadweavers Blog and VOTE for your favorite June 9th through the 15th!

1. Adios Pollo - BeadazzledofOregon

2. HOUSE for RENT with Garden View - enchantedbeads

3. Jolly Jester - ArtfulAr

4. WEED Necklace - HauteIceBeadwork

5. Riot of Color Sparkly Rope Necklace - roseworksjewelry

6. Curly Black Rock Bacelet - SpringColors

7. inside jokes - thebeadedlily

8. Clown Fish Join the Carnival - beadsandblooms

9. Where's Waldo - Oops... I Mean Where's Lizard - fashionsfrome

10. Tartan Scottie Dog beaded cuff - Crownrosegems

11. Gone Fishing---Cat and fish bracelet - vanishingpearl

12. HERE'S LOOKIN' AT YOU Blown Glass Eye Pendant Set - caraway

13. Curiosity killed the Toilet Paper - LiciaBeads

14. Where Is My UFO - binkaminka

15. NOT My Mother - PfordCustomJewelry

16. Money doesn't grow on trees Necklace - CieloDesign

17. Harlequin - Free Form Beaded Cuff - ThreeFatesDesign

18. Punch-Line Bracelet - FrancescasFancy

19. Pond Frog Bracelet - savoystudio

20. Harlequin - jmackgems

I've already voted. Please join me in selecting your favorite humorous creation.

Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained

2009-06-10T12:28:00.000-07:00

We've all heard the old saying, "Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained." Today, I'm repeating it to myself because I have scary butterflies in my stomach about a new line of jewelry I'm determined to pursue.

While I'm scared, I'm also excited. Why? My mother taught me to sew at a young age. First, I learned to sew hems with a needle and thread. Then Mom was actually brave enough to set me in front of a sewing machine. I fell in love with needles and thread, fabrics and scissors way back then and while I put this love on the back burner for several years, it's been poking my conscious mind for quite a while now and finally I am listening.

My sister from South Dakota makes beautiful quilts. While visiting my family there recently I went with her to her quilt group and a fellow quilter had some beautiful batik fabrics for sale. Well, how could I resist? She also gave away some awesome quilting magazines where I saw true art created from fabric, beads and buttons. My imagination took over and the next thing I knew I was designing jewelry made from fabric, beads and buttons!

Here is the first fabric cuff I've created. I call it Nostalgia. Not only has it brought back so many fond memories, it's inspired me to get out the sewing machine once again. I hope it's the first of many new fabric creations. My sister gave me the beautiful vintage button.

So I've come full circle (funny how that happens in life)! To be able to create with fabric, beads and buttons - it doesn't get much better than that. I'm so thankful for the gifts God has given me and for the ability and opportunity to use them!

Obsessed with Cuffs

2009-06-03T11:31:00.000-07:00

If you are a bracelet lover, you'll enjoy checking out the fashion blog by Terry Mulligan, an owner of two shops on Etsy, who did a series of posts on cuffs on her fashion blog. My Striped Rose Cuff was featured in Part IV of her series.

Terry has two shops on Etsy. Her Raw Leather Gallery Shop features handcrafted items cut from raw leather from Italy. Here are two items from her shop. The first is a genuine python leather cuff she made and the second is a pair of striking geometric shaped leather earrings.

Her other shop on Etsy is called Original Treasures and features art and handmade treasures in many different mediums.

Thanks, Terry, for your kind gesture in featuring my cuff in with so many other unique and beautiful cuffs.

WInner of the Etsy Beadweavers Challenge Announced

2009-05-16T16:20:00.000-07:00

The May EBW Challenge had 21 entries. With a total of 467 votes, 104 of them went to our winner - Suprastellar Red Carpet necklace by CieloDesign.

This necklace would look perfect on the neck of some Hollywood Red Carpet star! You can read about the other top 9 winners on the EBW blog.

Get ready for the next challenge - the theme is Humor!

Don't Go Bare Treasury

2009-05-15T11:18:00.000-07:00

Noahs Ark Collection created another Etsy Treasury and included my newest necklace called "Over the Edge."

My necklace is the top center picture. I created it for a Step By Step Bead contest called Colorworks. The contest rule was to use the tertiary colors orange, green and purple in a piece of jewelry. I called it Over the Edge because it was so out of my comfort zone. You can see more pictures and read more about it on my Etsy site.

Check out Noahs Ark Collection's shop on Etsy. Here's a cute dolphin pendant she has in her shop. As you can imagine, her shop is full of animals in all shapes and sizes!

Marguerita Treasury

2009-05-09T10:37:00.000-07:00

Here is the pretty Marguerita Treasury created by Sweet Surrender Candle on Etsy. She included my Watermelon Blossom earrings. I love all the pink and lime creations.

I checked out her shop on Etsy and found some wonderful candles with names that just make me want to try eating them. How about these Orange Carmel Crunch candles, for example?

I also received a convo from another Etsy seller, Nifty Knits, who said my earring looked like the fuschia flower. Here's a pretty "Golden Sunset Corsage" from her shop.

She lives in Britain and gave me the url for the British Fuschia Society. I checked out the site and she's right! I don't think I'll change the name of my earrings, but it does inspire me to try creating the fuschia flower out of polymer clay!

In fact, I'm feeling inspired right now! But wait, the dishes from yesterdays party are waiting. Oh, the struggle between artistic endeavors and reality!

Etsy Beadweavers May Challenge

2009-05-07T19:22:00.001-07:00

The entries for the challenge are in! As always they are simply beautiful, creative and amazing! Twenty-one Etsy Beadweavers used their talent and took the time to create these wonderful and inspiring challenge pieces using tiny little beads and a needle and thread along with incredible patience.

You can click on the item in the list below the mosaic which links to the Etsy Shop listing of each entrant where you will see more detail of each piece. Go to the EBW blog and vote for your favorite starting May 9th through the 15th!

1. Diamonds and Gold II - beaglebeads

2. Buried Treasure OOAK - GoodQuillHunting

3. how to be a rock star beadwoven cuff - thebeadedlily

4. Amethyst Netted Necklace - glimmerstone

5. Black Tie - beadsandblooms

6. Queen Of Sheba Necklace - HannahRachel

7. Golden Brooch with Pearls - enchantedbeads

8. Bollywood Glamour - SmadarsTreasure

9. Sophia Loren's Green Garnet encrusted choker - crownrosegems

10. Ms. Monroe - Evandra

11. The Prince and the Showgirl - ThesePreciousThings

12. Josephine Baker Burlesque Wrist Cuff - gypsyeyesjewelry

13. Suprastellar Red Carpet necklace - CieloDesign

14. Angelina Jolie Bracelet - triz

15. To Liz.. - beadsbyvezsuzsi

16.Scarlett's bracelet - carmenesque

17. The Red Carpet Bracelet for a Mom - alatvian

18. Night of Stars - jodihorgan

19. Vera Similitude Walks the Red Carpet - HauteIceBeadwork

20. Gladiator - jmackgems

21. Cascade - njema

Voting begins on Saturday, May 9th and ends midnight May 15th. You can show your appreciation for the efforts of these EBW artists by taking on the difficult task of voting for your favorite.

Many thanks to Ann of Francesca's Fancy for creating this beautiful mosaic of the Challenge pieces.