At Long Last!

Finally, the day has arrived!  Almost all of the gorgeous 2012 Battle of the Beadsmith entries have been posted and I must say - they are breathtaking!

You can see all of the entries in the group page on facebook.  Click on this url:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/edit/a.2468982920008.2109259.1115392815/#!/groups/274053372682035/photos/

My entry was held up being posted until almost the end because my competitor's entry was not received and they are unsure if the e-mail was lost or not.  I have no misgivings about being a finalist, but I did have a lot of fun making my piece.  It features cabochons created by Vladislov Ivanov and Kremena Ivanova, married owners of Golem Design Studio.

I had so much fun creating this necklace.  I love the zentangle nature of the cabs and knew I needed to keep the beadwork simple because of all the design and motion going on in the cabs.  I'm also excited that the artists who create these amazing cabs are making smaller sized cabs - providing jewelry designers with even more creative possibilities.

Golem Design Studio also has an Etsy shop.

Making Gifts for My Family

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?

Sabine Lippert - Bead Magician Extraordinaire

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.

Taking the Time to Care

Sassy Glass Designs is a seller on Etsy and she recently convo'd me to tell me she wanted to put a mini-Etsy of my work on her blog. Isn't that a wonderful example of someone taking time to care about a fellow Etsian - like Paying It Forward! And she does this for lots of people!

So I'd like to say "thank you" by telling everyone all about her. Sassy Glass has two shops on Etsy. In this shop she has fabulous cabochon jewelry. Here's one example that I really really love! It's a ring made with Ocean Jasper.


Her other shop features her glass beads, and here's a picture of her Apricot Sorbet lampwork beads. Aren't they luscious?


Thank you Sassy Glass Designs! Your kindness is just what the world needs!