Beading Arts

The UncommonGoods Jewelry Design Challenge is running from now until July 12th This challenge is a call for all designers, metalworkers, and artists to share their jewelry designs for a chance to see their work sold on UncommonGoods. One grand prize winner will win $500 and a vendor contract. All finalists will be invited to share their entire portfolio with the team of UncommonGoods buyers, receive feedback from a panel of judges, and receive exposure to our online community. Artists can learn more on the design page and submit their designs through the online form . Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

  Art Bead Scene Heather picks out a treasury of cool and woodsy white colored beads and components for summer inspiration .  Beads & Books Michelle shares some red, white, and blue inspiration for the Fourth of July. Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Melanie joins along in the Bohemian Inspired Jewelry blog hop with a necklace inspired by projects in the book. Resin Crafts! A one week complex resin project featuring bezel wire and resin begins with the first of five posts.   Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! It is food for thought...Or maybe it's just food, when Jean wonders "Who am I Today?" About.com Jewelry Making Cool off, kick off your shoes, and make some jewelry for your tootsies.         Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

Not everything I do with beads ends up being wearable!  I wanted to show you two of the four fabric panels that I've been working on recently.  I'm not sure quite yet what they're going to turn into, but it will definitely be some sort of quilt or fabric collage.  When we visited Hawai'i this past February, I ended up a bit obsessed with sea turtles.  Upon our return, I cut out a stylized turtle form and painted some fabrics.  In July, I'll be sharing the whole how-to process on Mixed Media Artist , and I'll make sure to share the link at that time. [Note - as of 07/23/12, the link above will take you directly to the correct post] I used a simple running stitch to accent the outlines of the turtles and spirals on each piece.  Then I stitched on a few buttons and followed up with embroidered fly stitch and beads, beads, beads.    Copyright 2012 Cyndi Lavin. All rights reserved. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistributed for pro...

Contemporary Native American Artists by Suzanne Deats and Kitty Leaken A Bounty of Bead & Wire Necklaces: 50 Fun, Fast Jewelry Projects (A Bounty of Bead & Wire Series) by Nathalie Mornu Beaded Bugs: Make 30 Moths, Butterflies, Beetles, and Other Cute Critters by Nicola Tedman and Jean Power The Complete Photo Guide to Art Quilting by Susan Stein 30-Minute Bracelets: 60 Quick & Creative Projects for Jewelers (30-Minute Series) by Marthe Le Van Metal Magic: Etch, Pierce, Enamel, and Set Striking Jewelry by Kim St. Jean Solder Technique Studio: Soldering Iron Fundamentals for the Mixed Media Artist by Giuseppina Cirincione Wild Jewelry: A Complete Guide to Making Statement Jewelry from Objects Found in Nature by Sarah Drew Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

Resin tutorials Destiny bracelet Bottle cap pins Beaded assemblage Make Time necklace Key to My Heart pins Frame pendant Sublime Spring bracelet Rubber glass necklace Resin paper Found Objects and Unusual Materials Easy bezel for watch face Framed necklace Metal Fabrication tutorials Metal Fabrication books Fiber tutorials Tutorials from the archives Fibers, Fabrics, and Beads Ethiopian Crosses necklace Glass pendant Fishing for Trout necklace Tape measure bracelet Bead embroidered heritage necklace Reworked earrings and bracelet Sunlit Seas necklace Fun in the Sun necklace Copper bead necklace Fashionable tassels necklace Brass wire and fabric flower bead embroidered necklace Part one was posted yesterday! Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

Ok, what exactly am I supposed to include here, and what should I leave out? So many of the tutorials that I share here could easily be called mixed media, but they fall into different categories depending upon the primary medium.  So that's what I'll do!  I'll group them up and share them with you in broad categories.  I've probably missed many of them, but at least this can get you started. What makes any of these pieces into mixed media jewelry is when you combine one category of material with another.  That's the simplest definition of mixed media jewelry that there is! Polymer Clay tutorials   Polymer Clay books   Wire tutorials Wire books Lampwork tutorials Lampwork, fusing, and glass bead books Lampwork projects Metal Clay tutorials and resources Metal Clay books Seed Bead tutorials Best Seed Bead books Seed Bead basics online Tomorrow - part two

  About.com Jewelry Making Summer time means time to get organized for many of us jewelry designers. Read about how some of us get organize and consider sharing your own tips as well. Carmi's Art/Life World Resin, bezels and Christmas imagery! Is it too soon to start projects for December?   Resin Crafts! This week Resin Crafts focused on the launch of new components by Nunn Design. If you review the week you'll also find an amazing give-a-way!   Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! Jean reviews Katie Hacker's great new book, LiveWire Jewelry!   A Bead A Day If you are looking for an EASY hemp cord project, Lisa is sharing one that requires no special skills!   Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

Catcophony Wearable Art by Diane Perry grew from a desire to create jewelry with simple lines and timeless appeal. Catcophony , a play on cacophony, resulted from a love of cats and the inability to settle on only one technique for creating jewelry. The artisan uses both traditional and unconventional jewelry techniques to create wearable art from copper, silver, and brass. The use of a scrapbooking technique resulted in the ‘Watercolor’ earrings she created for celebrities & media at the GBK Productions Oscars Gift Lounges and will be featured in the GBK MTV Movie Awards Gift Lounges. Diane is currently working on a copper electroplated organic line using native Georgia flora, an embossed and patinaed line, and metal clay guitar pick necklaces. She is a member of The Artisan Group, a juried group of talented artisans. Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

Don't miss our Mod Podge Rocks! book giveaway, over on Mixed Media Artist .  Today is the last day to enter!

I have long been an admirer of Irina Miech's designs, which you will often find gracing the pages of Bead&Button , BeadStyle , and Art Jewelry magazines.  Now you have the opportunity to slip into Irina's mind and see just how she comes up with her amazingly versatile ideas! I like the organization of Irina's Inspirations for Jewelry .  Irina starts with easier projects and moves into more challenging ones as you go.  The first project to use a basic technique, such as crimping, has detailed instructions.  Thereafter it is assumed that you know how to do it, but there is also a technique summary section for easy reference. From a simple but beautiful necklace inspired by autumn leaves that uses preformed components, all the way to a metal pendant that you will cut out and stamp with your own design, Irina's 24 projects are beautifully thoughtful.  I love how she shows you the object or photo that inspired her design and explains how she translated ...

Dragon Guardian set Carole Shashona Affectionately known as the Feng Shui Mistress, Carole's services, designs and products have landed her on many network and cable shows including HGTV's Selling New York and the recent premiere of Beverly's Full House on OWN. She brings her expertise to wide array of services offered on her website and is currently a fashion consultant on two shows for CBS, The Talk and Big Brother . Aphrodite bracelet National and international publications such as In Style , WWD , In Touch Weekly, New York Times, Vogue, Self, Cosmopolitan and Elle have been a platform for showcasing her jewelry.  Some of her clients and celebrities spotted in her signature products include Susan Sarandon, Illeanna Douglas, Julie Chen, Beverly Johnson, Sheryl Crow and Annette Bening. Heart & Om Love bracelet Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

Last week, I showed you how I turned some pretty French Ivory (antique celluloid) buttons into mixed media flowers to use in a necklace .  Now I want to share with you how the rest of the necklace came together.  If you don't already have a copy of my free e-book chapter called Bead Embroidery Stitches , please help yourself.  Visit the link and scroll down slightly until you reach Chapter One of my book.  It covers all the stitches and finishing techniques that I will show here, but step-by-step for those who would like to learn bead embroidery. Stitch some small bead embroidered pieces to coordinate with the mixed media flowers. Add a backing fabric to cover your stitching and add edging brick stitch all around the edges.  Do the same for each of the flowers you've created: add backing fabric and edging brick stitch. Using a necklace template, arrange the stitched pieces as desired. Add a strand of brightly colored thr...

A Bead A Day Do you find yourself taken by certain beads or techniques for periods of time? Well, head on over to A Bead A Day to share your experience of "Bead Love"!  About.com Jewelry Making Leslie Rogalski is the featured jewelry designer for June. Stop by and read her wonderful interview.   Art Bead Scene Try adding some fiber fun to your jewelry-making this Summer season! You can set off a handmade bead or component with soft materials, like in this necklace tutorial by Erin Siegel.   Beading Arts Mixed Media Jewelry month gets off to a rousing good start on Beading Arts with a tutorial that includes buttons, beads, fabric, lace, and wire!   Resin Crafts! Resin Crafts has a great demo featuring polymer clay!   Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! Jean makes an appearance in not one but two new Kalmbach books of BeadStyle jewelry designs!   Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable ...

Kharisma Ryantori Sommers  Popnicute I'm a wire artist who incorporates metal sheets in my pieces. I'm a self taught jewelry artist with a degree in Visual Communication Design. I learned how to do wire wrapping in the Summer 2008 and opened my first shop online in November under the name  Popnicute  (pop/knee/cute). It has been a wonderful journey and it's fun to think of that I have customers all around the world. I have been exposed to many art forms since childhood through formal courses and self teaching from books but eventually found my calling in jewelry designing especially with wire. I feel like wire is the extension of my brain that I can manipulate at will to form a beautiful wearable art. I almost never followed a sketch precisely. Designing as I go is how I roll. Currently, I've been busy preparing my work to be sent to The 2012 MTV Movie Awards, in association with  The Artisan Group , that will be held in  L'Er...

Maybe you're not exactly sure what Bohemian-Inspired Jewelry is, but I'll bet you know it when you see it!  Think fun, think a mix of organic materials and great textures, think ribbons, cords, and other very cool fibers.  And then think about Lorelei Eurto and Erin Siegel .  Both authors are well-known for this style, and thus are the perfect duo to put this wonderful book together for Interweave Press .  Plus, they've called upon the talents of 3 more marvelous contributing artists. Fifty projects, folks!  And all of them are attainable by people of any skill level: the techniques are simple, but the results are outstanding.  Do you like to make pieces using the exact materials as in the instructions?  You'll be in heaven then, as there is a complete resource list in the back.  Do you prefer to merely be inspired by your books?  No problem!  The directions give you measurements and generic sizes/shapes so that you can easily m...

Autumn Leaf bracelet I use pmc bronze for the leaves and gold filled wire. The leaves come from my garden .     Vie Blakey Vis à Vis Jewelry Baby Sea Urchin ring Bronze pmc, white cz and bronze 20gauge wire I first create all of the metal pieces and then use wire wrapping to put them together. I get inspired by ancient civilizations, mythology and of course mother nature. I use bronze or pure silver for the metal pieces and gold filled wire and chains. Etruscan earrings I hand carved the design in bronze pmc, placed a white cz in the middle. Gold filled chain and wire and a chrysoprase. Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

On my last trip to visit my cousin in New Jersey, I found this set of celluloid buttons that I fell in love with.  This style is known as French Ivory: you can identify them by the closely set stripes in the plastic on the backs, which you may just be able to make out in my photo. I knew that I wanted to use the buttons as cabochons, but it took awhile to come up with the exact plan.  My first thought was to use some of them as the centers of lace fabric flowers, and to use others as the centerpieces for seed beads and pearls.  You might remember the lace flowers that I made a few years ago: they are very simple and served well for the background of the mixed media flowers I had in mind.    It wasn't until I started fooling around with putting them together that I figured out something was missing: wire!  Having just finished Wire Month at Beading Arts, I still had wire on the brain, and I remembered a wonderful copper wire flower p...