Jewelry Vendor, Durbar Sq... Ethel Davies 12x16 Phot... Buy From Art.com

Bead & jewelry blogging round-up!

Strands of Beads
Melissa is thankful for generous friends - who share their beading supplies!

A Bead A Day
Stop by A Bead A Day for a wonderful week of cubic zirconia sparkle sponsored by Artbeads.com. Ideas are always welcome!

About.com Jewelry Making
It's is so easy to get into the holiday spirit when you have the perfect lampwork beads to get you there. Just think of all the jewelry possibilities.

Art Bead Scene
Are you a Twilight Fan? If yes, then check out the Twilight inspired jewelry on the Art Bead Scene!

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi uses embossing powder to make a bird pendant...a fun idea!

Cindy Gimbrone aka The Lampwork Diva
It's Double Dippin' Week - a week full of ideas for the Double Dips. Try a necklace and become "Entwined."

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
Melanie gives her review of Enchanted Adornments, and gives a reminder to enter the Art Bead Scene monthly challenge for your chance to win a copy of it and some other great beads, including new Earthenwood beads!

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Ah, Etsy! So many of our problems solved by visiting Etsy for gifts for our dearest friends at this time of year. Take a look at this premade pendant, which also comes in a kit so you can teach yourself if you prefer. It's all jump rings and it's all beautiful. The Alchemist's Star!


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Make It Merry!

Happy Thanksgiving, folks. Welcome to another edition of Make it Merry, where talented crafters share their holiday how-to's.

Snowman Ornament
Sherri Osborn will show you how to create a cute snowman face using a clear, glass ornament. It's a great project for the whole family.

Recycled Pine Cone Gnome
Get a glimpse of this pine cone gnome at the Recycled Crafts blog. It's a cute reason to collect a few pine cones around the yard.

CopprClay Pendants
Try your hand with pendant making this year with a little help from some winter foliage. The Beading Arts blog will show you how.

How to Make Paper
Handmade paper not only makes a great gift for the avid scrapbooker in your life, but you can also create tags and cards for every present on your list. Marion Boddy-Evans shows us how.

Little Town of Bethlehem Cross Stitch
Get down to the true meaning of Christmas with this simple cross stitch pattern from Connie G. Barwick.

Mitten Earrings
Tammy Powley shows us how to make these cute mitten earrings using lampwork beads.

Christmas Stocking
This cute two-color Christmas stocking is a breeze to knit, even if you've never knit a sock before. Worked with bulky yarn on big needles, it will be done and ready for you to embellish in no time.

Advent Garland
If you are looking for something a little different when it comes to counting down to the holidays this year then take a look at this pyramid box garland. Use the free template to make the boxes and decorate them with your favorite festive stamps.

Miniature Gift Boxes
Have a little gift to give? Check out these free printable miniature gift boxes for small gifts or advent calendars from Lesley Shepherd.

Manga Holiday Card
Instead of a traditional Christmas card, you could go with something a little more contemporary this year. Helen South has tips on how to create a manga style card.

Want to Join Make it Merry to show off your holiday crafts? We will showcase your crafts and recipes of all holiday traditions. Learn more.



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

Artist profile - part eight

Metal clay by Lorena Angulo

Six more brilliant glass, bead, and jewelry artists for your viewing pleasure. All of these profiles were originally posted on Jewelry & Beading, the network blog that I write. If you'd like to be featured on Jewelry & Beading, please leave me a comment here with your email address or email me directly at cyndi @ b5Media.com (remove the spaces). I'd love to talk with you :-)

Jamee Jones

Lorena Angulo

Beverly Ash Gilbert

Lea Avroch

Doug Frates

Liliana Cirstea Glenn

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

Recent publications: November 2009

Beyond Beading Basics by Carole Rodgers

Creative Native American Beading: Contemporary Interpretations of Traditional Motifs by Theresa Flores Geary

A Year in Earrings: 365 Designs and Variations by the Editors of BeadStyle magazine

Enchanted Adornments: Creating Mixed-Media Jewelry with Metal, Clay, Wire, Resin & More by Cynthia Thornton

The History of Beads: From 100,000 B.C. to the Present, Revised and Expanded Edition by Lois Sherr Dubin



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Work in progress: The Lady of Shalott - part three

OK, we're getting there!

Copyright 2009 Cyndi Lavin. 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:handmade beaded jewelry,wearable art,beads,jewelry,necklace,mixed media,beading

Some simple CopprClay pendants

Here are a couple of really easy pendants you can make that would be good Christmas or holiday gifts this year. I used CopprClay, but you could use any other metal clay you wanted, or even polymer clay. Since these end up looking somewhat like fossils, it would be interesting to experiment with some of the "granite " colored polymer clays, or to mix your own faux stone.

The first pendant is made by simply rolling a leaf or anything else with texture right into the clay. You can either peel the leaf (I used a fern) back up, or leave it in place as it will burn out during firing.

Polymer clay mold

The second pendant takes an extra step. You first will need to create a mold of your leaf or texture, using polymer clay or any other mold-making material. Then the clay is pressed into the mold and removed before firing. The first technique gives you a pendant with the shape pressed into the metal, and this second technique gives you a raised shape on the surface of the metal. Both are very cool looking...it's really just a matter of preference.

For instructions on handling, firing, and finishing copper metal clay, please see my post here:
General instructions for working with CopprClay

Tools

Copyright 2009 Cyndi Lavin. 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:handmade beaded jewelry,wearable art,beads,jewelry,necklace,mixed media,beading

Detail of Beads for Jewelry Making, M... Alison Jones 16x12 Photograph... Buy From Art.com