Bead & jewelry blogging round-up!

A Bead A Day 
What does blogging mean to you? Lisa's sharing her thoughts on the beauty of blogging, check it out!

Art Bead Scene-Color Cord Mixes and a Free Bracelet Project 
Are you looking for a place to start on a jewelry design to enter into our Art Bead Scene Monthly Challenges? Lorelei has been creating color cord combinations inspired by the art piece chosen by the Art Bead Scene team. 

Resin Crafts Blog! 
Making textured, coloured and rubberstamped pendants is a breeze with Jewelry Clay! 

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! 
It it National Children's Book week! Jean has a giveaway on her blog for a children's book written by a famous author, Elizabeth King Gerlach, which Jean herself illustrated! Come over and sign up! It is adorable! 

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton 
Using the Now That's a Jig!, Andrew made some fun earrings for a local musician! 



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Tree of Life pendants and gem trees

Just check google images for  "tree of life" pendants and you will find hundreds of stunning examples!  There are tutorials available for sale, and several really nice free ones too, like this one from Dana's Jewelry Designs.  Thank you, Dana!  If you want to go beyond pendants, Dana has a book on making Gem Tree Sculptures too.




Technorati Tags: bead embroidery,handmade beaded jewelry,wearable art,beads,jewelry,necklace,mixed media,beading

Book review: Build Your Own Wire Pendants

Every year I swear I'm going to work at getting better with wire.  And every year I learn a bit more, but still end up intimidated by my pliers!  Now there is a totally unique book with a brand new take on using wire with beads and cabochons, and I love it.  While I also love traditional wire wrapping, I'm not particularly good at it.  Kimberly Berlin's free form style in Build Your Own Wire Pendants makes me think that just maybe I could actually do this.  This just might be the year!

Kimberly starts with all the basic techniques that you'll use, which is especially helpful to have all in one place when you begin to design your own pendants.  Working through Kimberly's projects will have you making a basic frame, creating embellishments, and learning to mix the techniques to suit your own materials and style.

Framed projects are the majority of the book, with 14 projects plus multiple variations.  Kimberly then moves on to working with drilled pendants and creating wire bezels.  I think of these 6 additional projects as a bonus that will unlock even more possibilities for the frames you've already mastered, but that can also stand on their own. 





Technorati Tags: bead embroidery,handmade beaded jewelry,wearable art,beads,jewelry,necklace,mixed media,beading

Wire advice from around the town!

Frame-style wire and bead necklace

Since I read a lot of blogs, I end up with files of saved links to share with you.  Recently, I culled my list for projects and advice that focused on wire, and found these winners!

Fancy wire rivets

Fairy Wings from wire and resin

Cold Connections, including wire

Best wire jewelry-making tips

Frame-style wire and bead necklace



Technorati Tags: bead embroidery,handmade beaded jewelry,wearable art,beads,jewelry,necklace,mixed media,beading

Insulator pendant necklace - a wire fitting

We used to have a lot of old knob and tube wiring in our house before the electrical system was updated, so on a recent trip to the attic, I discovered a paper bag (which had rotted through) just full of the old insulators!  Very very cool, huh?  I happily dove into figuring out different ways to add color to them, which I'll share in June during Mixed Media month, but I digress.

The most important step, really, was to figure out how to hang them.  They have holes clear through the length, but they're a bit ungainly, especially the longer ones.  I wanted to create a wire fitting that would allow me to hang them as pendants.  Here's what I came up with!

1. Cut two pieces of wire and turn a loop at one end of each, with a short tail left over as shown.  I made my wires each 4 inches long so that I would be sure to have plenty of length.  After you've made them once, you'll know how much you actually need, so use cheap wire to practice if you want to end up using expensive metal for your final piece.

2. Wrap each wire half way around the insulator, working from opposite directions.

3. Use the free end of one wire to wrap around the short tail below the opposite loop.  Clip the wire off and file as needed.

4. Slip the fitting onto the insulator and wrap below the opposite loop as shown.

5.  I attached chain to both loops, but you could attach to only one loop and leave the other one free for adding more beads or dangles.

6. I used a sari silk strip to finish it off.  This photo doesn't show off the colors of the insulator very well, but it's got some crazy beautiful iridescence that I'll teach you in June!

Copyright 2013 Cyndi Lavin. All rights reserved. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistributed for profit. May be printed out for personal use or distributed electronically provided that entire file, including this notice, remains intact.

Technorati Tags: bead embroidery,handmade beaded jewelry,wearable art,beads,jewelry,necklace,mixed media,beading

Bead & jewelry blogging round-up!

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton 
Trying to help out those who want sell their work in stores and galleries, Andrew sheds a little light on the process from the other side of the counter. 

Resin Crafts Blog! 
It is amazing what a little acrylic paint can do on resin clay pendants. Carmi focussed on creating the look of a ceramic pendant without the kiln! 

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! 
Jean reviews a great book by Anna Elizabeth Draeger: Crystal Play: Fun & Fabulous Designs for Stitched Jewelry 


Technorati Tags: bead embroidery,handmade beaded jewelry,wearable art,beads,jewelry,necklace,mixed media,beading

Wire artist: Elaine Harrison

Elaine Harrison 
Miselayne's Jewels  
On Facebook


Elaine writes:

It is fun to start with natural stones or handpicked sea glass and watch as they transform into beautiful, original pieces of art. Each piece is uniquely made with different wire techniques and some are enhanced with accentuating beads. They are finished with different chains or handmade cords made with silk strands or Kumihimo. I hope you enjoy my pieces as much as I did creating them!

Beautiful colors accentuate these Fire Agate stone necklaces that are wire wrapped and placed on 16" coffee silk cords. The Fire Agate stone consists of layers of iridescent Limonite or Goethite within an individual stone, with some having shades of brownish red, green, blue and orange colors in the stone.

This stone has a powerful vibration that sharpens your desire to take action, even when you're not sure what the best course to take should be. It can help you to feel fully grounded and physically aware, and it quickens the fire in your spirit and makes you aware that being alive feels great!

Technorati Tags: bead embroidery,handmade beaded jewelry,wearable art,beads,jewelry,necklace,mixed media,beading