2012 Battle of the Beadsmith

And so it begins - The 2012 Battle of the Beadsmith!   You say, "What in the world is a Beadsmith Battle?!"

This is the first (and hopefully annual) beadweaving battle for beaders from around the world.  The battle was the brainstorm of mastermind Steven Weiss of the Beadsmith/ Helby company.  They distribute beads and beading supplies to bead stores all over the globe.  What better way to inspire the love of beads than getting 80 beaders from around the world to create some beading masterpieces? 

If you are on facebook, you can read more about this contest and get to know the participants as well as see some fabulous beadwork HERE.

While the name implies a fierce fight to the finish, it is really a celebration of beads and beaders everywhere.  The 80 participants from twenty-two different countries have been paired up with another beader (names were drawn out of a hat by the Weiss kids).  All participants will secretly create a beading masterpiece (gulp!!) and send pictures to the Beadsmith in early July.  The judges (all participants, plus an extra panel of judges) will choose between the two matched participants.  So in the first round, 40 beaders will be eliminated.  The remaining 40 beaders will then be matched in pairs and voting will eliminate 20 of these.  And so on until only the champion remains standing.  What a proud moment that will be for the last beader standing!! 

The participants who will battle it out are (by country)

Australia:

 Patrick Duggan

 Melissa Ingram

 Joanne Browne

 Neva Brown

 Lauren Macgregor

 Maryanne Villalba
 Karyn Healey-White
 Noel Wyres

Belgium:

 Laurence Dethier

Belgrade/Serbia:

 Ella Des

Canada:

 Jacquie Champion

Czech Republic:

 Lea Palickova

 Katka Vaclavikova

 Marta Koudelova

 Denisa Kangas

 Iva Jar

Dominican Republic:

 Edgar Lopez Disenos

France:

 Anneta Valious

 Mouna Marini

Georgia:

 Tamuna Lezhava

Germany:

 Elke Leonhardt Rath

 Olga Haserodt

Hungary:

 Annie Hatvani
 Eva Dobos

 Orsolya Füzesi

 Ibolya Ingesné Barkóczi

 Éva Csizmadia Lajosné

 Katalin Budainé Nagy

Ireland:

 Anastasia O'sarantseva

Israel:

 Ann Braginsky

 Miriam Cielo Shimon

Italy:

 Eliana Maniero

Japan:

 Guzialia Reed

Mexico:

 Sigifredo Contreras

Netherlands:

 Sandra Dokter van Esveld

Russia:

 Irina Chikineva

 Nella Moskvichjova

 Julia Turova

 Alla Maslennikova

 Olga Shumilova

 Ekaterina Kalinina

 Marina Nosova

Sweden:

 Olga Petterson

 Misan Tejre

 Nausikaa Dahllof

 Anna Lindell

Singapore:

 Helena Tang

Ukraine:

 Alla Vizir

 Katherine Gezey

 Anna Bystryk

United Kingdom:

 Heather Kingsley Heath

 Jill Thomas
 Lynn Davy

USA:

 Linda Roberts (me) :)

 Sharayah Sheldon

 Nancy Dale

 Cynthia Newcomer Daniel

 Marsha Wiest Hines

 Carol Dean Sharpe

 Christina Neit

 Sue Horine
 Alexandra Sydorenko

 Betty Stephan

 Callie Mitchell

 Christian Rodriguez

 Kinga Nichols

 Mikki Ferrugiaro

 Amy Katz

 Kassie Inman

 Dini Alves

 Jennifer Chasalow VanBenschoten
 Rosita Pisarchick

 Roxan O'brien

 Christine Boyer Maj
 Kathy King

 Susan Brackett

 Hannah Rosner

 Terri Richards

 ARachel Nelson Smith

 Ulyana Rakcheyeva Seryankina

I am fully prepared to do my best and also to be eliminated in the first round. lol 

Stay tuned for future posts about the judges and the piece I will be making.

Metal Bead Blessings

Yesterday I received the exciting news that The Beadsmith will be placing a full page ad in the award winning German beading magazine Perlen Poesie.  The advertisement (shown below) will be promoting their heavy metal seed beads and they are using my Metal Bead Sampler Bracelet as the picture.

I absolutely love my bracelet.  I wear it all the time.  It seems to go with almost every outfit I have.  I also enjoy making this bracelet.  It works up very quickly and I can easily complete one in a day.  The beads are very uniform in size and shape.  It's almost like they were made for the Right Angle Weave stitch.

Metal seed beads come in size 15 (tiniest), size 11, size 8 and size 6 (largest) and are more expensive than glass seed beads, but the size 6 metal beads are the least expensive of all the available sizes. 

The beads are solid metal.  They start out with a brass base, and then are heavily plated in the various finishes. They all have a seam.  On the smaller beads the seam is barely noticeable.  On the larger beads the seam can be seen and on a very few beads (1 out of approx. 50) the seam may not be closed properly.  These beads should be discarded, but as will all glass beads, this culling process is normal and to be expected.

Almost all metals will tarnish and most plated metals will wear with time.  Oil on our skin, humidity and exposure to the elements, or excessive rubbing will speed up this process.  To slow down or prevent the plated finish from changing color or rubbing off, some suggest using a sealant such as Permalac Sealer, Renaissance Wax, Future Floor Was or another protectant/sealer.  I have not tried any of these sealants yet, so I cannot speak to their effectiveness.

I sell a pattern for this bracelet in both my ArtFire and my Etsy shops.  For the pattern only you need to purchase the size 6 metal beads and Elegant Elements clasp from your local bead store.  Both the metal beads and the clasps are distributed by The Beadsmith.

I also sell a kit in both my Artfire and Etsy shops which includes the pattern and all supplies needed to make the bracelet.

Life is good, and metal beads make it even better.  Have fun with beading and be adventurous with your beads.  You never know what blessings await you.

 

Elegant Elements Clasps - Part II

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.