Beading Arts

Once you've mastered your techniques and built up a reasonable amount of inventory, what can you do to immediately start promoting and selling your jewelry?  Consider booking home jewelry parties.  A surprising number of successful jewelry business owners say that this is the least expensive and most immediate way to launch that there is! Interested in trying out home parties?  One of your first decisions needs to be what type of party you'd like to have.  Are you going to offer finished wares, or have party-goers choose the finishing elements themselves?  Will you focus on a theme ( Twilight still seems to be very popular right now...go figure!), on specific items of jewelry, or will it just be everything you've got?  Once you've made these opening decisions, your success will depend mostly on doing your homework: Meylah writes about her top 10 tips for throwing a successful jewelry party .  After you've read through this short post, you'll probably ha

Oh, how we hate to talk about money!  We feel like we need to apologize for our prices, explain why the pieces are worth what we're asking, and then when all is said and done, we too often underprice them anyway!  Why is that?? I shared some ideas awhile ago for how to improve your jewelry designs and how to make better art .  Once you've moved past the stage of learning basic techniques and have begun to create pieces that truly bare your mark, your next big decision is whether or not to sell your pieces .  And then... shudder ...you've got to figure out how much to charge.  Yikes!   Let me recommend Alyson Stanfield's excellent post to you: 12 tips for pricing your artwork .  No, Alyson will not tell you how much to charge, or even what formula you should use to determine your prices, but she does give you valuable guidelines for the mindset that you must have in order to figure it out for yourself.      Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable

  The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton Want to help a small business out? It's so easy! With a few clicks you can help Allegory Gallery get some free advertising dollars! About.com Jewelry Making Are you struggling with the cost of metal right now? Tammy gives you a tip for getting the look of metal beads without the cost.   Art Bead Scene Gaea shares some of her current favorite beading and craft related tools. Beading Arts Interested in publishing this year? How about starting out with a magazine?     Beads and Books Join the spring challenge and makeover a ready-made wintry bracelet into a piece of springtime jewelry!   Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! Everyday Gemstones from the publishers of BeadStyle magazine is beautiful, easy, and is a special Winter 2012 issue --and Jean thrilled to be in it!   Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

Doris , who writes By His Stripes We Are Healed blog, is the winner of the Ceramic Sculptures book!  Congratulations, Doris! Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

This is the final week! Most of you already know that Lark Publishing gave me all eight Studio Series books to give away this month.  I'm splitting them between here on Beading Arts and over on Mixed Media Artist , so please make sure you head over there when you're finished signing up here.  Each week for the whole month, I'll be offering one of the books on each blog.  I think that these are the perfect books to inspire you to try something new this year, and since January is traditionally the month we focus on education and all things new, the timing just couldn't be better. ***Free Stuff Alert!!!*** Last up is the Art Tiles book!  Just leave me a comment below and you'll automatically be entered to win.  If you tweet or post on Facebook or other social spots about the contest, you can leave a second comment and be entered twice! Please make sure that your link will lead me to an email address, or else I won't be able to co

Beading with Gemstones: Simply Inspired Jewelry Designs by Valerie MacCarthy 100 Beaded Flowers, Charms & Trinkets: Perfect Little Designs to Use for Gifts, Jewelry, and Accessories by Amanda Brooke Murr-Hinson The Art of Resin Clay: Techniques and Projects for Creating Jewelry and Decorative Objects by Sherri Haab, Rachel Haab and Michelle Haab The Beaded Bracelet: Beadweaving Techniques & Patterns for 20 Eye-Catching Projects by Carole Rodgers Creative Pilgrimage: An Exploration of Artful Gatherings and Discovery of Innovative Art Techniques by Jenny Doh Silversmithing for Jewelry Makers: A Handbook of Techniques and Surface Treatments by Elizabeth Bone The Art of Metal Clay, Revised and Expanded Edition (with DVD): Techniques for Creating Jewelry and Decorative Objects by Sherri Haab Fabric Flowers (Twenty to Make) by Kate Haxell The Complete Photo Guide to Needlework by Linda Wyszynski Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wear

I love this stitch!  It looks so good when you make it a bit uneven...or free form if you prefer that term.  Of course it looks good when it's done in even rows too, but for my my Take a Stitch Tuesday quilt, with its underwater theme, I thought a couple lines of free form cretan stitch would look great running up the middle. TAST week 1 - fly stitch TAST week 2 - blanket stitch TAST week 3 - feather stitch  TAST week 4 - cretan stitch Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

Here's a good goal for the new year: get published! Do you want to write for a magazine or see your work featured in one?  Then take a look through this updated list of contacts: Bead & Button Step by Step Wire Jewelry Stringing Beadwork Bead Design Studio Belle Armoire Jewelry Jewelry Affaire Jewelry Artist Art Jewelry BeadStyle Bead Trends Bead (UK) Beads & Beyond (UK) Where Women Create Studios Jill Oxton's Cross Stitch and Beading What am I missing?  Anymore that you know about? Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

Hi Cyndi, I just love your bracelet with the bottle lid.  I have made one other embroidered bead cuff and am hooked.  It came out pretty good for a first try.   I would like to make your bracelet.  Do you have a pattern I could buy?  Or is it in a book?  I am not much of an artist so it would definitely be a challenge to get the bracelet pattern on a backing.  I plan to keep the bracelet for myself and not use a brass cuff but back the bracelet only, sewing the two pieces together.  I have a very small wrist --5 1/2"--cuffs feel awkward to me and look too big.  I think it would work out with a closure of some sort sewn on--what do you think? Thanks, Shirley Turns out that I did have a tutorial for that bead embroidery cuff , but it didn't have a specific pattern.  I do think that a stitched closure would work out fine, maybe a sewn on button style like these.  What I used was a very plain cuff blank, much smaller than the finished piece, and the stiffness o

Congratulations to Hajer, who writes My Beaded World .  She won a copy of the the Pendants book from Lark! Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! Valentine's Day is one of the most delightful days on Jean's calendar! Why? Because she gets to think about love, and jewelry such as the astounding pendants at NanoStyle! Tell your beloved "I love you" in a most incredible way!  A Bead A Day Interested in using plastic to create special Valentine's Day Jewelry? Here are a couple of pieces for inspiration. About.com Jewelry Making What is better than some beaded embroidery how-to for a buck? Errr..nothing!   Art Bead Scene Heather offers a beautiful free project inspired from high in the treetops!   Beading Arts Cyndi has been trying to encourage everyone to get out there and take a class this year!   Beads & Books See the 30+ beautiful winter jewelry designs in the Secret Snowflake Challenge. Participants used techniques such as bead embroidery, resin, stringing, wirework, etching, and more!   Charlene Sevier Jewe

Most of you already know that Lark Publishing gave me all eight Studio Series books to give away this month.  I'm splitting them between here on Beading Arts and over on Mixed Media Artist , so please make sure you head over there when you're finished signing up here.  Each week for the whole month, I'll be offering one of the books on each blog.  I think that these are the perfect books to inspire you to try something new this year, and since January is traditionally the month we focus on education and all things new, the timing just couldn't be better. ***Free Stuff Alert!!!*** Next up is the Ceramic Sculptures book!  Just leave me a comment below and you'll automatically be entered to win.  If you tweet or post on Facebook or other social spots about the contest, you can leave a second comment and be entered twice! Please make sure that your link will lead me to an email address, or else I won't be able to contact you.  No co

Most of you know my friend Jean Yates , who writes Snap out of it Jean!  There's beading to be done!   For those who don't, I would suggest that you get acquainted...Jean is totally delightful.  You'll find her links in my weekly blogging round-up posts each Friday morning. In fact, it was one of those posts that led me to visit her one day and leave a comment, because she was giving away a set of those stunning beads you see at the top of the post.  Amazing, huh? The beads are handmade by Beaded Lily , and I just can't WAIT to make something with them.  You'll be the first to see it when I do :-) Thank you, Jean! Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

So many people dream of having a jewelry making business.  I'd like to ask you one thing: why? Have you really thought about whether you want a jewelry business ?  Have you considered that there is absolutely nothing wrong with NOT having one?  That it's ok to decide to have a jewelry hobby, or maybe to sell just enough to support that hobby?  Here are a couple of terrific posts and videos which lay it all out.  As we head full-steam ahead into a new year, I hope you'll find these thoughts helpful in clarifying your own goals, dreams, and plans! Megan Auman , who writes Designing an MBA , has a post called Running your business vs. pursuing your hobby that you won't want to miss.  You'll need to read it along with the podcast that she did for Crafty Pod .  Megan assures us that there is absolutely nothing wrong with just wanting a hobby, and the realities of running a business are not for everyone. Jennifer VanBenschoten tackles a slightly smaller que

The edges of my Take a Stitch Tuesday quilt are slowly starting to fill up!  This week featured one of my favorite stitches, feather stitch , so I really enjoyed myself this afternoon, running a couple rows of the stitch along an edge and adding some shell and beads to it. My theme for the quilt is an underwater kelp garden, so I could very easily end up adding more feather stitch before the piece is done.  I just don't want to go overboard right now, not knowing what stitches are coming up in the following weeks.  This has really been fun!  TAST week 1 - fly stitch TAST week 2 - blanket stitch TAST week 3 - feather stitch Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

There's so much to be said for classes...being able to see the technique demonstrated, being able to ask questions, mixing and mingling and meeting new people. It's all good.  Unfortunately, it's not always possible for everyone to go somewhere to take a class. Fortunately, there is the internet! There are two main categories of posts on Beading Arts that will lead you to lots of techniques, tips, tutorials, and fun new projects to try. There are also new resources that I'll be adding to these categories pretty regularly. There will be some overlap on these lists. Sorry, but it's unavoidable :-) The Basics - Getting Started - online instruction to help take the place of basic classes Tutorials & Techniques - all kinds of beading and jewelry how-tos There are other class and tutorial resources all over the internet, and I've included quite a few of them below.  Note that not all of them are free. If you'd like to share a source that yo

American Jeweler's Institute in Oregon Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts in Tennesee Boca Raton Museum of Art - The Art School in Florida Colorado School of Jewelry & Metalarts Idyllwild Arts in California Jewelry Creations Workshop in Florida John C Campbell Folk School in North Carolina Lillstreet Art Center in Illinois Miami Jewelry School in Florida Northwest Gemological Institute in Washington Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts in California Rye Arts Center in New York Studio Jewelers Ltd in New York City 3rd Ward in Brooklyn, New York I'm sure there are more schools and non-profit organizations that offer classes. Can you think of any to add?  Leave me a comment with your suggestions and I'll add them to the list! Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

  Resin Crafts! Carmi has a two part series featuring resin on agate! Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! Margot Potter, Swarovski, the incredible low down on the most fab event at Tucson this year! You must check this out!!! WOW!   Carmi's Art/Life World Carmi declares 2012 as the Year of The Knot! Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

Michelle , aka Shel , writes MiShel Designs , and she is the WINNER of our Earrings book, the first Lark book giveaway this month!!   You might remember that Shel gave us an up close and personal view of going to Tucson last year.  Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

Most of you already know that Lark Publishing gave me all eight Studio Series books to give away this month.  I'm splitting them between here on Beading Arts and over on Mixed Media Artist , so please make sure you head over there when you're finished signing up here.  Each week for the whole month, I'll be offering one of the books on each blog.  I think that these are the perfect books to inspire you to try something new this year, and since January is traditionally the month we focus on education and all things new, the timing just couldn't be better. ***Free Stuff Alert!!!*** Next up is the Pendants book!  Just leave me a comment below and you'll automatically be entered to win.  If you tweet or post on Facebook or other social spots about the contest, you can leave a second comment and be entered twice! Please make sure that your link will lead me to an email address, or else I won't be able to contact you.  No contact, no

I've just launched my newest bead embroidery e-booklet!  Three Bezels Plus a Bonus looks at how to add Swarovski rivolis to your bead embroidery and dress them up with three creative bezeling techniques.  Additionally, you'll receive step-by-step advice on how to bezel around an irregularly shaped cabochon. For only $3, you can download your own copy of this 30 page e-booklet if you're interested in this topic.    Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

Hanging the Moon If you'd like to share a piece you've made, all you have to do is shoot me an email to beadingarts @ gmail . com (remove the spaces). Please put beading arts image to share in the subject line. We love to read about things like what inspired you to make the piece and any challenges that you faced, so tell us a bit about yourself and the image that you're sending. Please size your image to 72 dpi resolution, and make it no wider than 600px. I'll gladly share your website and/or blog link along with your image and description. If you'd like to consider sharing an in depth artist profile with us (see Artist Profiles for past examples), just put beading arts artist profile in the subject line. I'll send you the questions that I ask profiled artists to consider...I think you'll be able to tell from those questions whether or not you'll want to do a full profile. If it seems to be too much, you could simply send m

Here is my second Take a Stitch Tuesday entry.  This week is blanket stitch , which is also known as buttonhole stitch.  Since I usually refer to it as blanket stitch on Mixed Media Artist , that's the term I'll use here. The image above is the unadorned quilt top.  Each week (more or less!), I'll show you the little area that I add stitching to, but I'm not going to show you updates of the entire quilt top until it's finished. Below is the blanket stitch sample I did.  The entire quilt is actually pieced together by hand with blanket stitch, as you can see in the photo, but that's not the sample part!  I added a couple of strands of fuzzy yarn using blanket stitch to couch them in place, and then I added a second row of blanket stitch below the first so that some of the arms would stick out.  I made the arms uneven lengths to make it a bit more interesting, since all of the piecing blanket stitch that I do during quilt construction is fairly even...or at

Maybe you don't collect the Lark Publishing 500 Series the way I do, but if not, this is one that you don't want to miss.  21st Century Jewelry: The best of the 500 series is a compilation book, created by Marthe Le Van and a team of jury experts.  This volume has selected the best of the best from the last 10 years of brilliant Lark books featuring art jewelry. Even though I've seen most (all?) the books that these brilliant pieces are culled from, I ended up seeing them in new ways and really enjoying the additional information provided by the jurors about what the pieces mean to them.  And I rediscovered some amazing art jewelry artists.  The pieces range from very traditional to extremely experimental, and even unwearable.  But all had something arresting about them: the beauty of a perfectly cut stone, a line, a color palette, beautiful balance. I was totally taken by Kath Inglis's Skin-Deep Bangles (one shown above), which are totally contemporary and t

I am just about ready to launch my newest e-booklet!   Three Bezels Plus a Bonus looks at how to add Swarovski rivolis to your bead embroidery through three creative bezeling techniques.  Additionally, you'll receive step-by-step advice on how to bezel around an irregularly shaped cabochon. Three Bezels Plus a Bonus , 2012, 30 pages, $3    Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

Jewelry and beading classes are offered all throughout the extravaganza in early February in Tucson. Here is some general information on Tucson, including a map: Show guide: an overview Besides Tucson, there are many beading shows throughout the rest of the year that also offer classes. Why should you take a class this year? Why not just learn everything online (preferably for free)? Well, there are actually lots of good reasons to go the hands-on route, and here are just a few of my best tips: you won't waste as much in materials, you'll learn the techniques properly and efficiently, you'll have a chance to have your technique corrected if need be, and you'll figure out which tools and materials you must have as opposed to just want to have! The Innovative Beads Expo Shows and classes in the northeast only. Bead&Button Show Milwaukee, WI. Best Bead Shows (Crystal Myths) Tucson, AZ. Click on Bead Shows. To Bead True Blue Tucso

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Melanie starts a new blog project for the year, being inspired by places of the imagination. Read about the first month's inspiration of places in the sky. Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! Jean's involved in a new project! It's jewelry, wait--it's crafts, no--hold on--it's dolls, no wait! It's a book! Hold on to your hats! It's a whole bunch of fun and it is debuting this week! See more on Jean's blog!   About.com Jewelry Making Step up from the basic pearl post earrings with this dangle earring tutorial.   Art Bead Scene It's the start of a new year and a new month and that means a new Art Bead Scene challenge! Check out the beautiful color palette that we pulled from a William Morris wallpaper design. Beading Arts Have you heard about Take a Stitch Tuesday ?   Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixe

Click image for readable version The show will be shooting in LA at the end of February and through March. The time commitment is only about 3 - 4 days. Casting will proceed until all spots are filled.  There is no website or network being disclosed at this time.  Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am about the opportunity that Lark Publishing has given me!  I think you already know how much I love their books: the photography, the layouts, the projects in general...I think they publish some of the best inspiration and how-to books that you'll find anywhere.  And I just love the little Studio Series, where they've taken over 100 selections of the best pieces from the 500 Series.  It's like having a pocket-sized art gallery...except that your pocket needs to be a bit bigger than average ;-) Anyway, get to the point Cyndi!! Lark gave me all eight Studio Series books to give away.  Yes, that's right...score!!  And I'm going to split them between here on Beading Arts and over on Mixed Media Artist , so please make sure you head over there when you're finished signing up here.  Each week for the whole month, I'll be offering one of the books on each blog.  I think that these are the perfect books to

Bead-It-Forward bead quilt project Deadline: 03/01/12   Bead Dreams Deadline: 03/06/12   The Ugly Necklace Contest Deadline: 03/15/12     Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

I told you a few weeks ago that I had decided to join the stitching challenge run by Sharon Boggon , called Take a Stitch Tuesday .  So here's my first weekly entry.  I've decided to add the stitches that seem appropriate to this manipulated fabric quilt that I've been working on.  Stitches that don't seem to fit will just end up on some scrap cloth, so I can't promise that I'll be posting about TAST every week.  But I was excited to get started today ;-) The quilt instructions will be posted on Mixed Media Artist soon, and I'll be sharing more details shots and explaining how it was made.  In the meantime, the first TAST stitch is fly stitch , and that seemed just perfect to add to the upper right border of my painted silk pieces. Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

  Poseidon's Embrace by Rebeca Mojica My word!  Just when you get jaded and think you've seen everything that can be done with metal, plastic, resin, clay, and other alternative materials, along comes Art Jewelry Magazine to knock your socks off!  This amazing piece by Rebeca Mojica (above) is featured in the July 2011 issue, and you can also see it plus plenty more in the Magazine Gallery that is available online.  Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading