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Showing posts from July, 2010

Amazing exhibit!

Ray Lipovsky & Eve LLyndorah Representing the year 2000, "Dragon Gate" Pendant I thought you might enjoy taking a look at the Facere Jewelry Art Gallery show, Celebrating 70 .  Each piece relates to one year from 1940 to 2010!  There's some amazing mixed media wearable work here. Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

Bead & jewelry blogging round-up!

  The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton Andrew's blog recently marked its four year anniversary. Celebrate with him, by entering to win a HUGE bead stash via this week's Thursday Giveaway! A Bead A Day A new beading component is on the market, created by and named after our fellow bead blogger Katie Hacker.   About.com Jewelry Making As part of the "Start a New Hobby" theme running through About.com's hobby blogs this week, Tammy takes a moment to think about jewelry as more than a hobby. What about jewelry as a job?   Art Bead Scene Want to capture a bit of the summer? This week's collection of sea beads will keep those summer memories alive all year 'round. Carmi's Art/Life World Carmi was at CHA in Chicago and has a fabulous post about Prima Marketing.   Cindy Gimbrone aka The Lampwork Diva This week's rewind makes a statement.   Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! Jean reviews a SU...

Jewelry artist: Alicia Van Fleteren

Artist: Alicia Van Fleteren Website: AliciaVF Every last one of the vibrant, imaginative pieces is handcrafted by Alicia Van Fleteren in her SF Bay Area studio, using top quality, unusual materials including black diamonds, turquoise, turquoise, natural coral, Peruvian Opals, freshwater pearls and many other precious and semi-precious gemstones. Alicia Van Fleteren pieces are priced so any budget can afford well-made, high-quality jewelry. Alicia Van Fleteren - Up-and-coming San Francisco Bay Area Financial advisor turned jewelry artist, designs vibrant, imaginative pieces that reflect her singular focus on designs that are sophisticated but accessible, elegant but with a touch of playfulness, and that organically complement everything from jeans, work wear, and the dressiest of styles. Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

Cabbing Rough sponsors a giveaway

I don't know about you, but one of the most difficult things for me in beading and jewelry making is simply to find wonderful stone cabochons that inspire me.  If I buy them through a catalog, they don't always look like the picture, plus dozens (or even hundreds) of other people can end up using the very same cab in their piece. This isn't a problem if I'm designing a piece that I intend for someone else to make...it's actually an advantage when I'm writing up tutorials to be able to tell you exactly where I got the whatever-it-is.  But when I'm designing a piece to be a one-of-a-kind, I don't want it to end up being seen around every neck in the country! Enter Cabbing Rough to the rescue.  I know that you will be delighted by the wide variety of gorgeous hand-selected and cut stones that they have available.  Geometrics, freeforms, you name it.  And if you need a hole drilled or are interested in wholesale pricing or special orders, they welcome ...

Recent publications: July 2010

Beading Basics and Beyond Beading Basics and Beyond by Alice Korach and Toshi Myoda Get Connected: Make a Friendship Bracelet (Adventure Guides) by Dana Meachen Rau Making Mixed Media Art Charms and Jewelry by Peggy Krzyzewski and Christine Hansen Stamped Metal Jewelry: Creative Techniques and Designs for Making Custom Jewelry by Lisa Niven Kelly The Art of Metal Clay, Revised and Expanded Edition (with DVD): Techniques for Creating Jewelry and Decorative Objects by Sherri Haab Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

Congratulations to Jan!

Jan Vermillion-Thomason is the winner of the fabulous giveaway package from  Mama's Minerals !!  Yay for Jan!

Resin paper

I'm sure you already know that there are many ways to use epoxy resin or polyester resin in your jewelry. Besides being an amazing adherent, especially when you are trying to "glue" two different materials together, resin also makes great cabochons, creates a hard shiny finish, pours right into jewelry molds, and stiffens paper and makes it translucent. I was experimenting with this last property recently, and I thought I'd share a few tips with you to help you in your own experiments. I mostly use epoxy resin rather than polyester, so whenever I refer to resin, that's what I was using. Your results may vary from mine if you try polyester resin instead. 1. When you are applying resin to paper, use a non-stick mat under it and work with small areas of paper at a time. I spread resin all over a large sheet of paper towel, and it was difficult to achieve a thin even application. 2. Speaking of thin and even...there's nothing wrong with applying the ...

Some projects using organic materials

Here are some tutorial links to projects that use pearls, leaves, and split geodes. We've seen some incredible work so far this month, and I hope that it's inspiring you to think outside the "glass"! Making a pearl dangle pendant Turning a geode into a beaded pendant Making a wrapped and bead-embroidered paua necklace Making silver clay leaves Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

Jewelry artist: Vicki Dehne

Artist: Vicki Dehne Website: Paper Bead Girl My work is all made from paper. I invented a tool to make paper beads. It is now being sold with Fire Mountain Gems and they had me design jewelry for them. I was in their May catalogue. Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

Jewelry artist: Robin Humphrey

Artist: Robin Humphrey Website and blog: RobinCharlotte RobinCharlotte blog My name is Robin Humphrey and I am designer from Los Angeles and my jewelry line, RobinCharlotte features real recycled fish, seahorses and insects embedded in one-of-a-kind accessories. I collect the fish as they naturally pass away at local pet shops. i am a gradute of the Rhode Island School of Design and launched my jewelry company in 2008 after working for several years in the apparel and accessories industry. Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

Lark books giveaway

Lark Craft's division of Jewelry and Beading is giving away copies of  the three Beadingweaving Masterclass books!  Leave a comment on their post by July 26, 2010! Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

Bead & jewelry blogging round-up!

  Strands of Beads Melissa has finally hung out her shingle and opened a modest store-front on her website. The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton Up for grabs in this week's Thursday Giveaway is an organic, lampwork glass bead by Susan Jones Designs. A Bead A Day If you enjoy recycling, Lisa shared a bracelet idea using an "old" canvas belt.   About.com Jewelry Making Tammy catches you up on some of her latest free jewelry tutorials.  Art Bead Scene It's the Art Bead Scene Monthly Carnival Blog. This month's theme is "Commitment."   Beading Arts You won't believe the goodies that Mama's Minerals in giving away on Beading Arts this week!   Carmi's Art/Life World Carmi has completed the necklace featuring her "found again" bezel!   Cindy Gimbrone aka The Lampwork Diva Mad for Monday features Cindy's new Step by Step Wire Jewelry Double Dip Adjustable Ring Project.   Earthenw...

Bead Journal Project: bracelet for July

This is my Bead Journal Project piece for July. Even though I don't visit the ocean much during the summer (red hair and pale pale skin!), I always think about it a lot at this time of year.  When I was younger and not so afraid of icky things like skin cancer, I would spend lots of time outside and at the beach.  Sometime during this last decade though, I developed an allergic reaction to sun block!  My days of sunning are definitely over, but I can still appreciate the beauty of the ocean at any time of the year :-) January February March April May June Here are the instructions for how I am making these bracelets.   Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

Jewelry artist: Jewels

Artist: Jewels Website: Jewels The daughter of an Air Force pilot, Jewels spent her formative years growing up in Tripoli.  She traveled extensively with her family from Tunis to Tangiers and recalls endless wanderings through exotic market souks with her mother.  Struck by the beauty of the coral, amber, silver and gold - all the wealth of North African families - she says, “I was hooked”.   After her education in Europe Jewels spent many years traveling, living in India, South America and again in North Africa enlarging the scope of her knowledge and always collecting. Jewels’ cultured eye and her nostalgic passion for the dreamy North African cities have given her designs the allure of exoticism and sophistication. She accomplishes a balance and beauty without being contrived and the resulting pieces are hip and elegantly understated wearable works of art. The appeal of Jewels is, not surprisingly, broad.  She has long time devoted client...

Jewelry artist: Miss Mae

Miss Mae Couture Collection is composed of a unique, bohemian, chic style created of raw and precious materials to enhance and add elegance to your life while providing functionality and comfort. All pieces are handmade. Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

Yay for Tara!

  Tara Roberts was the winner of the book Beading In No Time by Linda Peterson that we just gave away! Congratulations, Tara! Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

Fall/ Winter 2010/2011 color and style forecasts

Pantone As we've discussed here before, not all of us pay that much attention to the color and fashion trends, especially if we just make beaded pieces for our own amusement.  But most of us who sell our work find that giving at least a passing nod to what's going on in the world of fashion helps us to sell more.  For thems that want it, here are some links to the latest Fall and Winter predictions: PANTONE Fashion Color Report Fall 2010 Jewelry trends at the Bead Jewelry Blog Lenzing Textile and Color Trends Autumn/Winter 2010/2011 Darquer Autumn/Winter 2010/2011 Trends CIFF Autumn/Winter 2010/2011 Fashion & Color Trends APLF Color & Material Trends Fall/Winter 2010/2011 New Swarovski Color charts These will help you match colors with the upcoming trends Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

Do you use BlogSpot or WordPress?

Even though most (not quite all) professional bloggers prefer Wordpress for their blogging platform, I've noticed that many of us in the arts still stick with Blogger , aka BlogSpot . I'm not quite sure why that is. I've used both, and while I'm perfectly happy to use WP when I write for someone else, my heart still seems to belong to Blogger! Maybe because it has just the right amount of bells and whistles for me. I've been able to tweak it to look the way I want, and it doesn't have a bunch of stuff that I don't ever want to use. Anyway, if you are a Blogger user, you know that it can potentially hold you back from presenting a professional-looking face to the blogging world. It needs to be tweaked.  I found a fabulous post by Darnell Clayton on BloggingPro titled 8 Tips for BlogSpot Lovers .  Just what the blog doctor ordered!  There's lots of great info on this blog in general, so once you've read through Darnell's post, go expl...

Mama's Minerals sponsors a giveaway!

Do you like working with stones, fossils, semi-precious gems and all things from the earth? Have you ever wanted to try rockhounding yourself, but weren't sure where to start? Mama's Minerals might be just the supplier that you've been looking for. Personally, I'm a huge fan of fossils, like these ammonites , but I've always had to wait until a gem or mineral show comes around and maybe there will be a vendor there with specimens that I like.  Now I know where I can get them online!  Or how about meteorites or fossilized fish?  There is a bead section too, with lovely offerings, some of which you'll see above in the picture.  And guess what... ***Free Stuff Alert!!!*** Mama's Minerals is giving away everything that's in the picture at the top of the post (not the ammonites).  Included is a strand each of Lapiz Lazuli, Onyx, Bamboo Coral, and multicolored Turquoise beads; a carved dragon / phoenix Blue Agate focal bead; Turquoise pendants; B...

Jewelry artist: Crystal Taggart

Artist: Crystal Taggart Website: Crystal's Idyll My formal education is in biology and I get most of my inspiration from nature. I find organic materials intriguing and mysterious; entire worlds can be found in the nacre of a pearl or within the depths of a chunk of amber. Most of my jewelry is what I call natural fantasy. A visit to the beach fills me with dreams of naiads' crowns and sea monsters just waiting to be given form. And what better materials to use than those provided by nature. Pearls become butterfly wings, prehistoric amber a prehistoric spider. Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

Beaded rope necklace

I told you awhile ago about the splendid lampwork glass beads that I got from Auntie's Beads : At the time, here's what I planned to do with some of them: I think I'm going to use the oval beads and the round beads right above them to accent a right angle weave rope that I've been intending to try. The rope can be found in Marcia DeCoster's book Beaded Opulence . Assuming that I do make this piece, I'll share pictures of it when I'm done. Well, it worked out even better than I had hoped. Most of you know that bead embroidery and not beadweaving is my primary thing. I sometimes get sloppy and miscount the beads, because I like to listen to recorded books while I work. Fortunately for me, Marcia's instructions are so easy to follow that once I got going, it was pretty much idiot-proof. 1. I started by weaving right-angle weave sections between the beads. 2. I added the full embellishments to the base in the middle section, ...

Jewelry artist: Sherry Duquet

Pearls and a Smokey Quartz clasp Artist: Sherry Duquet Webiste: Solstice Designs Jewelry An amber pendant strung on strands of amber, coral, peridot and lapis The pieces I create are designed to reveal the inner beauty of the stones and metals from which they are made. Some pieces are delicate and classically designed; others are chunky, funky, statement pieces. Each composition is inspired by its raw materials. A brooch created using Precious Metal Clay, black diamonds and copper wire Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

Jewelry artist: Lynn Daue

Artist: Lynn Daue Website: Aloha Kitchen I create jewelry because it gives me an escape from the daily grind. Sometimes life can overwhelm us—bills have to be paid, children have to be fed, houses have to be cleaned, spouses need our time and attention — and it’s not always pretty. By taking a few hours a week to sit back, relax, and making something whose only purpose is beauty ( ars gratia artis ), I find myself able to maintain balance. My favorite materials change based on my mood and what I have on hand. I find myself being drawn to pearls because of their versatility and simple beauty. I prefer to make pieces that exude a sense of elegance, grace, and luxury, and I believe a pearl encapsulates those qualities. Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading