Beading Arts

Refined Deadline: 11/21/11       Altered Couture Deadline: 12/15/11   Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

One of the first beading techniques that most people learn is how to string.  After moving on to bead weaving, bead embroidery, and mixed media techniques, some of us forget about that thrill that we got when we first learned how to string a pleasing necklace or bracelet.  We forget how exciting it was to learn how to finish off a piece with a polished-looking closure. Never forget the basics! All this month, we're going to revisit basic stringing and figure out ways to make our pieces unique!  I'll have a number of projects and featured artists for you, plus a fabulous vintage bead giveaway , all dancing around the issue of how to make your stringing projects unique.  Do you have a piece you'd like to share, or have you written up a tutorial for an innovative stringing piece that will help take our work to the next level?  If you'd like to share, please drop me a line at cyndi @ mazeltovjewelry.com (remove the spaces). Technorati Tags: h...

I believe that everyone is intrinsically creative, and the variety and amazing strangeness of our dreams proves. We all dream, which at core is, a creative act. Dreams and their origin in the deep psyche have been central to my life path, and to my art which connects me to my spiritual center, and the greater Mystery of the universe. I treasure beauty (in nature and art and all its forms) as a gift that infuses my life with meaning, joy, wonder and gratitude. By creating art, I work to bring more beauty into the world, in hopes of sharing a sense of wonder and wholeness with others. I created Mystic Dreamer: Art for the Earth , as a service project, to donate 100% of proceeds to rainforest preservation ( World Land Trust - US and Nature and Culture International ) as a way of giving back to the Earth. My deepest hope is that my art project will inspire others to bring their gifts of service into the world.  Visit Ann on Facebook for ongoing dialog on art, dreams, crea...

 Hummingbirds and butterflies, gems of peridot, green garnet, Swarovski crystals  Jackie Ryan makes beautiful polymer clay pieces that are featured on her website, Kydo Jewellery .  You can also find out what she has been up to on her blog .  Jackie writes: I started out in the arts as a botanical painter later a soft sculputre artist then into making jewellery with silver and gold but, a few years back I was introduced to Premo Polymer Clay, as a painter I thought 'it's a bit like paint in solid form' many years ago I worked with clay but this was different I had colour now and many more colours could be mixed from the basics! To begin with, I made different items from small sculptures to jewellery, which is now my preference. I prefer to make appliquéd raised and sculptural designs I make mainly necklaces some are very elaborate, but all contain gemstones, opals, fossils, pearls, vintage Swarovski crystals or other elements of silver or gold. I work fro...

  About.com Jewelry Making Break into glass jewelry making with these tutorials and techniques.   Beads & Books How long does it really take you to make a piece of jewelry? Michelle shares the long process behind a simple pair of earrings. Carmi's Art/Life World Carmi has a cute fabric brooch idea for Halloween.   Cindy Gimbrone Beads This week's Tuesday Tangle features handmade earrings of metal clay and wire.   Resin Crafts! This week we have a nice series showing you how to use an ice tray to make fun skull and bone cast pieces.   Snap out of it,Jean! There's beading to be done! Wonderful, really exciting giveaway from Beaducation! Read all about it and sign up on Jean's blog!   A Bead A Day Are you sharing your talents with others? Lisa shares her recent experience teaching a group of friends a simple, but rewarding project.   Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jew...

Artist: Cindy Lietz Business name: Polymer Clay Tutor Website & Blog: Polymer Clay Tutor blog Bead Videos , video library Cindy, how do you describe your work? I would describe my work and my style of teaching to be easy going, friendly, nature inspired, a little rustic, sometimes quirky and a whole lot of fun! I consider myself your partner and guide in the learning experience rather than  your master, hence the name Polymer Clay Tutor . What is your creative process like? My creative mind is always whirring...think several hamsters on wheels trying to outrun each other. And it is a good thing it is that busy, because I have made the commitment to come up with a new polymer clay or jewelry making tutorial each and every week for my students. As well as creating new techniques and samples for the tutorials, there are a lot of non-creative tasks that also need to be done on a daily basis...so there is a lot of multi-tasking going on during my creative process...

Dimensional Bead Embroidery: A Reference Guide to Techniques by Jamie Cloud Eakin The Complete Idiot's Guide to Beading Basics by Georgene Lockwood Bracelets (Magpie) by Joan Gordon A Bounty of Bead & Wire Earrings: 50 Fun, Fast Jewelry Projects (A Bounty of Bead & Wire Series) by Nathalie Mornu The New Encyclopedia of Jewelry-Making Techniques: A Comprehensive Visual Guide to Traditional and Contemporary Techniques by Jinks McGrath Color, Texture & Casting for Jewelers: Hands-On Demonstrations & Practical Applications by Carles Codina Craft, Inc. Revised Edition: The Ultimate Guide to Turning Your Creative Hobby into a Successful Business by Meg Mateo Ilasco How to Sell Your Crafts Online: A Step-by-Step Guide to Successful Sales on Etsy and Beyond by Derrick Sutton The Absolute Beginners Guide: Making Metal Clay Jewelry: Everything You Need to Know to Get Started by Cindy Thomas Pankopf Stunning Jewelry Made Easy by Svetlana Kunina...

So, you already know that I'm not too much of a polymer clay girl, but I do enjoy diving into it once in awhile.  I was actually surprised by how many tutorials I have posted that involve polymer clay, including the three that I posted this month! Making an assemblage style necklace A polymer clay frame pendant A textured polymer clay pendant Polymer clay swirl necklace Passion flower necklace Simple polymer clay earrings Silver leaf polymer clay cabochons   Polymer clay frame necklace Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

Like many of you, I am a collector, a saver, a…dare I say it?...packrat.  There are many things I can’t bring myself to throw away, including greeting cards.  So I really wanted to figure out a way to remember the cards, but to weed out my collection somewhat.  Framed is the result.  It’s so much fun to be able to take greeting cards that you enjoyed receiving and recycle them into jewelry that you’ll now enjoy wearing!  Polymer clay, an exacto knife, and some greeting cards with pretty designs are what you’ll need to get started.  I used a Christmas card that I received long ago to make this necklace.                          Materials and Tools: 1 oz black polymer clay Greeting cards 24 silver-toned jump rings Diamond Glaze by Judi-Kins or 2-part epoxy resin 7 inch silver-toned bracelet chain with lobster claw Parchment paper Rolling pin Exacto knife Bone ...

  Ann Kruglak We've seen some really wonderful new-to-us polymer clay artists this month and received some great updates, and I don't want you to forget about some of our old favorites!  Amy E Fraser Heather Powers CA Therien Helen Breil Dayle Doroshow  Tina Farthing Lisa Mackin Rebecca George Hunter Reynolds Kristin Hipple Ann Kruglak Cindy Lietz Tiffany Long Jackie Ryan Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

  A Bead A Day Need to stop buying and start making? Lisa is having the same problem, BUT check out these sparkly connectors she found.  About.com Jewelry Making You will fall in love with this new necklace tutorial, or at the very least follow your heart. Art Bead Scene Jennifer shares a free tutorial on making adorable bead zipper pulls, perfect to spruce up a fall jacket!     Beads & Books See the fun earrings Michelle made with sari ribbon and get inspired to work with this popular material.   Cindy Gimbrone Beads Cindy's back from her class with Hadar Jacobson. Take a look at the mokume gane pieces she made from metal clay.   Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Melanie shows off her holiday packaging and questions photography in another Etsy Boot Camp post. Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! Jean reviews the beautiful new book by Heather Powers, Jewelry Designs from Nature .   The Bead Drea...

My friend Heather Powers has written a new book which is perfect to introduce to you during Polymer Clay Month !  Jewelry Designs from Nature features gorgeous nature-inspired necklaces, bracelets, and earrings that Heather has designed in tribute to her beloved woodlands, flowers, fields, ponds, gardens, and seas.  You will probably already be familiar with Heather's beautiful polymer clay beads, but perhaps you didn't know that she loves creating finished pieces as well. This book is not about making beads, but rather takes you deeply into the creative process that Heather employs as she gathers artist-made beads and finds a jewelry "home" for each.  You won't have to worry about not having the exact same beads that Heather uses: she gives you extensive information on size and feel if you'd like to make your own (or just gather them at shows!), and she also gives you contact information for the artists whose work she uses just in case you see a bead y...

Sue , who writes Sue Beads , is the winner of the fabulous vintage bead package from Bumbershoot Designs and Beads !  Congratulations, Sue!! Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

  Are you bored?  Are you in the mood for something completely new?  Whether or not you have any experience with polymer clay, I can't imagine that Julie Picarello's new book, Patterns in Polymer , won't excite you!  this book has the kind of cover that makes you go, Whoa!  How did she do that??  Well, Julie wants to show you exactly how. Patterns in Polymer launches right into an explanation of Mokume Gane and how the techniques can be applied to polymer clay...much easier than with metal, I do believe!  Starting with a stack of colored layers Julie will teach you how to imprint the stacks of clay for maximum color impact, slice off layers for unexpected pattern treats, make beads and pendants from the gorgeous layers, and put them together into truly unique projects.  There is an excellent section in the beginning with the basics of working with polymer clay, including a section on color blending that will have you mixing like a pro. ...

  "True love stories never have endings.." Wedding theme. 8x10 photo opening Website: Designs By Mona MonaFleming446@yahoo.com  Over the past few years I've had a roller coaster with my art work between conquering life changes as well as being a single parent! A full time job put Designs By Mona at a slower pace last year but also gave me the opporunity to really explore new ideas and techniques with polymer clay! Even through the slow times I still continued to take orders from many of my clents, only feeding that desire to put more time back into my true passion, Designs By Mona. "Friendship is the golden thread that ties the heart of all the world" Friend Theme. Vintage/ Retro/ Earthy styles. 5x7 photo opening I still love making my custom "traditional" frames since each one has it's own story to tell, BUT I have also added some new pieces to my portfolio including some keepsake boxes! As you know, many of my custom orders are...

Falling Leaves Deadline: 10/26/11 Consider entering the first ever Beadaholique Beading Challenge ! This month the challenge is to create an original piece of jewelry inspired by the theme of “Falling Leaves.” Beadaholique will select 10 finalists from the contest entries, all of whom will have their work published on their blog and Facebook page, for public voting. The winner will receive a $50 Beadaholique gift certificate and further exposure on the blog and Facebook page! Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

Last week, part one of this tutorial covered how to make these sparkling polymer clay cabochons.  Today, I want to share with you one way to construct a wearable pendant from one of the cabs.  For more specifics on bead embroidery or more details on each of the stitches and steps listed below, please download my free e-book chapter of  Every Bead Has a Story .     1. Glue to a piece of soft suede-like fabric and back stitch around the cabochon. Use an even number of beads. 2. Use peyote stitch to build up a bezel around the cabochon.  Add another row or more of back stitch. 3. Cut out the embroidery with a scant 1/8th inch of extra fabric.  Lightly glue the piece to the wrong side of some backing fabric (I used the same suede-like fabric for both top and bottom). 4. Cut the backing off even with the top and add edging brick stitch all around the edge. 5. Add a picot stitch around the outside. 6. Stitch a square stitch ba...

Hunter sent me an update on her wonderful whimsical polymer clay work, along with a link to a new website, Lexn7th ! Hunter writes: Since your last blog post featuring some of my work, I have been a busy bee. I've been doing a lot of custom work for many different occasions, from weddings and birthdays to female sports fan OOAKs. I was listed on etsy and other sites, but I was not able to do a lot of branding and many of my customers kept urging me to create my own site, so I did. In July of this year, I opened Lexn7th where I create not only clay pieces, but pieces I've made using a wide variety of other materials. I REALLY enjoy working with clay, and trying to find new ways to bring my ideas to fruition . As you can see, I am still experimenting with different techniques and trying to invent news ones. Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

  The Bead Dreamer Charlene shares how life seems to be crowding out jewelry making! Sometimes that's just how it is... About.com Jewelry Making October's jewelry designer interview includes some interesting ideas from Lorelei Eurto.   Art Bead Scene Heather shares a free project that tells a little story of her recent move back to Michigan . Carmi's Art/Life World A little Apoxie Clay goes a long way when you have time to play in the studio.   Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Melanie shares another week of Etsy Boot Camp goals .   Resin Crafts! This week Carmi demos several layers of resin in a small tin.   Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! Jean reminisces about the lovely book which she and Melanie of Earthenwood were in. She used Melanie's knockout components and they look just as fab today as they did then!     Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , ...