Beaded tin purse

So, this is what I did with that funky little piece of bead embroidery! Thanks for the suggestions :-)

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I have no idea what this is

If you know, will you please write and tell me? LOL!!

Well, it's now too wide to be a bracelet, but I just haven't figured out yet where I'm going with it. I'm sure it'll eventually come to me...

I hope!

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I forgot to mention...

There's a tutorial for how to make this bracelet in my list of tutorials over on the right-hand sidebar!



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Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh!

My bracelet took second place in its category in the Fire Mountain Gems contest!

Now I have to send it in to be photographed for use in their catalog and advertising. Yay!
Added 10/26/06: how to make this bracelet tutorial

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Call for entries: Lark Books

Lark has put out a call for entries for one of their "500" series: 500 Wedding Bands




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Carnival of the Creators

I'll be hosting the next Carnival of the Creators November 9. I'm looking for submissions, so if you've got an arts-related blog post that you'd like to share with a wider audience, please send me the permalink as soon as you can. I'm not sure what the official cut-off is for submissions through the website, but my personal cut-off will be two days before. Please don't miss out by procrastinating!

Submissions

FAQ

Beautiful stitchery projects

The Embroiderers' Guild has a number of beautiful projects on their website, along with great instructions, many of which include beads and buttons. The lovely piece pictured above is by Jane Iles, and her directions are here.





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Try MapMuse for bead shop locations

MapMuse can be used to find your local beading shops...but you already know where they are! So how about using it to find shops when you travel? :-)

What I'm reading now

Nobel Peace prize winner, Muhammad Yunus. I love this man!

Bead embroidery stitches

Bead Wrangler

I haven't had a whole lot of time to work on the piece that I started the other day. Although I've gotten a bit farther with it, rather than bore you with an incremental change, I thought you might enjoy seeing some instructions for doing embroidery stitches with beads. This is a different style than I usually use, but definitely something to think about. Some of these stitches would look absolutely beautiful in a crazy quilt or on patterned fabric that you weren't planning on covering totally with beads.

Here's the reason that I haven't had a lot of time...Dani is coming home to visit for quad-break with her three suite-mates. I've been shopping for all their favorite foods and cooking up a storm :-)

Dani in her art studio

Want to learn the basics?

Bead&Button is offering a special issue which will cover all the basic techniques you'll need to start beading. It comes with a DVD as well, and if you order it before November 15, you save a dollar plus receive free shipping


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Princess Hyacinth has come home!

After wandering around the country for awhile, a necklace that I made featuring this Mucha beauty has come home to roost for a bit :-)


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And now for something completely different!

I don't usually work in such high contrast, so I'm not really sure where this piece is going yet!

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A brand new blog!

I have been blessed to be hired by b5media, the wonderful blogging network, to write their mixed media blog! Layers Upon Layers just launched last week, so please join me there for daily posts on all aspects of mixed media lunacy!

My jewelry blog at Mazel Tov! Jewelry will still be charting my more-or-less daily adventures in jewelry making. Obviously, there will be some overlap between the two blogs, but I still encourage you to visit me at both of them :-)

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"Stay Tuned"

I just received email notification this morning that these two pieces have been accepted into my local WCA (Women's Caucus for Art) show. The title of the show is "Stay Tuned" because it's being hosted by the Fitchburg cable company! They have a great new building with a lot of traffic each day. We'll be hanging the show in early November, and it will run from November 15 through January 4. If you're going to be in central Massachusetts during that time, email me and I'll send you directions :-)

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You've got to see this film!

Campaign for real beauty

Next time you're feeling unattractive or geeky, play this film again. Remind yourself. There are standards out there that only one out of a thousand of us could live up to without airbrushing and photoshop!

I need help with a name!

Is anyone clever with naming pieces? This necklace is made from muslin fabric beads, hand-dyed, ceramic beads, and wire. I'm at a total loss. Help!!


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Next time I'm tempted to complain...

Click and watch!

Miniature Earth

Iolite pendant

This pendant uses my client's beautifully cut iolite as the focal piece. It has a mother-or-pearl backing, and uses the rim of a vintage watch as the base. It features a profusion of vintage lucite flowers and glass leaves, and pretty little freshwater pearls. In this shot, it's lying down, so you can't see exactly how it hangs, but it's quite pretty.


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Fused glass beads

Glacial

One of my favorite artists who supplies me with goodies that I don't want to make for myself is Jeanne Kent of New Terra Artifacts. Even if I wanted to make them, I doubt I could do as good a job as Jeanne anyway! I'm out of stock at the moment, and Jeanne is making me one of her fabulous rainbows in royal blue!

Oh do I have plans for these beauties...


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Kindness

Kindness

There may not be anything about this necklace that specifically makes you think of kindness, but it's a very appropriate name nonetheless! The paua shell which forms the center cabachon was given to me by one of my online friends ~ one of those many people whom you know but have never met. Ellen is a very special person, and I wanted to name this piece in her honor.

This also (finally) gets me back on track to create a series of nine pieces that I started a couple of years ago. Each piece is named for one of the fruit of the Spirit in the New Testament. So far I've done love, joy, peace, patience, and kindness. The ones left to go are goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.


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Time for a strap

You can just see the two little loops peeking out of the border at the top. I've got to add a couple of rows of ruffles around the edge (in gold delicas), and then it's time to figure out what to do for a strap!


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