Jewel Tone Bracelet

This is a bracelet I created a few years ago. It's still one of my favorites because it's fun to make and comfortable to wear. Click here for the bracelet instructions.

You can alter the look dramatically just by substituting the beads. Since it's a stretchy design, stick with inexpensive beads like these pressed glass ones. Rolled fabric or wooden beads would be fun, too, and would keep it lightweight.

Happy New Year!

Linky Love

Here's this week's roundup from the bead bloggin babes, plus, a few extra links to keep you busy...

About.com Jewelry Making
New Year's Eve means it's time to put your big bling pieces on, and Tammy has lots of ideas to make you super sparklie.

Art Bead Scene
The crew is on a short holiday break, but we hope you will come by the blog to celebrate with our special week's worth of the Best of Art Bead Scene posts from this past year.

Jewelry & Beading
One of Cyndi's designs was chosen for a new book on the Art of Jewelry ~ Wood. Come and see her necklace, called "Measure Twice, Cut Once"!

Savvy Crafter
No clue what jewelry you’re wearing to the big New Year’s Eve bash? Hop on over to Candie’s blog for an easy and festive fix!

Snap out of it , Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean just had to repost these sweet necklaces that she made for the childrens' teachers as holiday gfts! They are just too yummy looking snuggling up aganst the luxurious rose velvet pouches she packaged them in. Happy Holidays to the VIPs in our lives!

Polymer Clay Craft Gossip
Heather Powers has a great overview of some fab polymer clay pendants on the Polymer Clay Craft Gossip site this week. Check 'em out!

Shiny Little Things
Cynthia shares a link to a candy wrapper bracelet from one of the members of Cut Out + Keep - this is a super fun recycled craft!

Strands of Beads
Look at the cool Ace of Spades charm that Melissa made.

Chain Tassels

I think I've mentioned that I love tassels. And, since chain is super versatile, I've been incorporating it into all kinds of jewelry projects. This is a necklace I made for Beads, Baubles & Jewels (click on the link for instructions).

This is an easy necklace idea using pretty basic materials. You could use this method to embellish any donut-style charm or pendant. You use a small length of chain to make a simple bail, and then make a chain tassel to elongate the look.

Just a little over a week until I go to Cleveland to tape the next series of Beads, Baubles & Jewels. The countdown begins!

Linky Love

Here's a round up from the bead bloggin babes, plus, some other crafty links to keep you busy surfing all weekend!

The Impatient Blogger
It's the final installment of Ornament Thursday and Margot pulls out all the stops with four fabulous ornament ideas! Check out what this week's roster of talented crafters has in store for you!

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean shows a new necklace for her chain maille gallery for her book, Links: all the great beads are made by Cathy Lybarger!

Savvy Crafter
Scurry over to Candie's blog if you've got gifts to wrap in a hurry! This idea puts the pedal to the metal in more ways than one when it comes to wrapping gifts!

PearlEsq.
Track Robin's travels to the traffic-laden trickiness of NYC and the tasty trinkets she turned up at Tinsel Trading!

Katie's Beading Blog
Visit Katie's blog this week for links to a fun podcast interview, last-minute bracelet idea and the final (for now) installment of Ornament Thursday.

Jewelry & Beading
It's not too late to make a super-easy sparkly pin for Christmas!

Art Bead Scene
Elaine wraps up the Art Bead Scene 12 days of Christmas with a joyous rendition of a classic holiday tune, updated with our favorite beading goodies! Come sing along!

About.com Jewelry Making
Still in need of some last minute jewelry gifts? Earrings are the way to go, and Tammy has some super easy projects to help you out.

Shiny Little Things
Check out Cynthia's lovely filigree earrings - a great quick & easy gift idea!

Betz White's Blog
Super cute felted peas ornament this week. Love it!

Ornament Thursday Grand Finale

This week's ornament is super easy and fun to make. If you are at all intimidated by needle felting, don't be. This is only my second or third time ever trying it, so I'm no expert. And look how nicely it turned out! I love this ornament so much that I'm going to make enough to hang one from each arm of my chandelier.

You start out by wrapping a thinnish layer of purple wool roving over a Styrofoam® ball. Poke it all over with a felting needle so the wool is securely attached to the ball. (This is also a great way to exorcise any holiday aggression you may have. Bonus!)

Next, form two red "ribbons" of roving by rubbing them between your palms in the same manner that you'd use to make a clay snake. They should be long enough to wrap around the ornament as shown. Poke them with the felting needle so they flatten out a bit and are securely attached.

Pass a 1/2" head pin through a jewel toned sequin and press it into the red roving and Styrofoam® ball. Alternate colors and shapes as shown to form a row of sequins on each red roving section.

For the hanger, string a 6mm purple Swarovski® crystal donut, a 12mm silver filigree bead cap and a 14mm magenta felt bead onto a 2" silver eye pin. Press the eye pin into the top center of the ornament. Lift it out of the Styrofoam® ball about 1/2", place E6000 glue on the eye pin shank, and press it back into the Styrofoam® ball.

Attach a twisted jump ring to the eye pin loop, then pass a 8" length of red suede lace through the jump ring. Tie the ends in an overhand knot. Use a bead opening tool to open two 6mm round silver beads, then slip one onto each end of the suede lace. Use chain nose pliers to close them.

Materials: wool roving, felting needle, felt bead from Ornamentea;
silver beads from Jangles; bead opening tool, bead cap, eye pin, head pins,
jump ring, suede lace, pliers from Beadalon; E6000 glue, Styrofoam® ball,
multi colored sequins from your local craft store.

All of the Ornament Thursday peeps have outdone themselves this week! There are so many cool posts to finish up this round robin. Make a cup of hot cocoa and visit these blogs:

Christmas cookie - Jennifer Heynen

Christmas tree finger labyrinth - Hali Chambers

Ring in the New Year - Kriss Cramer

Quilty pieced snowman - Linda Augsburg

Simply striking sparkling spheres - Margot Potter

Beaded memory wire - Elaine Luther

Wire & beaded tree - Lynn Kvigne

Beaded sun catcher - Debba Haupert

Jolly and yummy ceramic candy - Melanie Brooks Lukacs

Polymer snowflake embedded in resin - Melissa Lee

Beaded candy canes - Candie Cooper

Polymer clay gift tag/ornament - Heather Powers

Twisted blues - Lampwork Diva aka Cindy Gimbrone

Holiday spiral tree & party pixie - Art Bead Scene

Wire bird's nest - Rebecca Peck

Plush gingerbread doggie - Jenny Harada

Swell ornament - Alexa Westerfield

Holiday paper crafting - Brandy Lung Gill

Shaving cream & chipboard ornament - Michelle McGee

Easy needle-felted orb - Katie Hacker

Lisa Liddy's Lovely Ornament

Delightful wreath - Molly Schaller

Beads, Baubles and Jewels

I've been working on my Beads, Baubles & Jewels scripts for the last couple of days. When I'm preparing for a taping, I write everything out first. Then, I start putting my step-outs and eye candy together. It takes several hours to put each segment together. I'll travel to the studio in a few weeks for the taping.

This is a bracelet that I made for a segment about gemstone attributes on Beads, Baubles & Jewels series 700.

Find station listings and viewing times here by plugging in your zip code. Did you know that you can see all of my Beading Lessons segments on the Beadalon website?

Linky Love

Spent a fun half hour today being interviewed by my friend Debba Haupert for her weekly Girlfriendology podcasts. We talked about friendship and creativity and I shared some ideas for last-minute gifts. It was really fun chatting with Debba - I just hope I didn't sound like too much of a dork! Especially at the end, when I got a little teary about how much I love and appreciate my girlfriends. (Yes, I am THAT cheesy.) You can download the podcast here.

So, without further ado, here are this week's links from the bead bloggin babes:

About.com Jewelry Making Tammy at About.com's Jewelry Making site has a long list of ideas for jewelry makers to give and get this holiday season.

Art Bead Scene As a thank you to our loyal readers, the editors of Art Bead Scene present 12 Days of Christmas: 12 free projects using art beads, running over the next two weeks. These projects are quick and easy gift ideas, perfect for the holidays!

Bead Arts Cyndi is continuing the countdown to Christmas with a link to a new project every day! All with beads, of course.

Jewelry & Beading Stunning jewelry and other artwork are featured in an interview with Penny Purdie, one of Cyndi's favorite

PearlEsq. Check out the travels of Robin at Tim Holtz' Holiday Hideaway!

Savvy Crafter Candie takes a walk down Candy Cane Memory Lane.... See two different versions of beaded candy cane ornaments on her blog. Yum!

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! Jean displays a little parallel chain style chain maille and borosilicate bracelet for her chain maille gallery on her site: Margot Potter has the perfect name for it!

The Impatient Blogger It's week three of Ornament Thursday! Margot offers a simply lovely and quick idea in this week's post, plus links to the amazing ideas of the rest of our talented participants!

Ornament Thursday #3

This is the third installment of Ornament Thursday, an online round robin ornament (idea) exchange that grew out of a desire to spend some time crafting with friends. It has been so fun to see this thing take on a life of its own.

For this week's ornament, I wanted to frame a little piece of art. Of course, beads had to be involved somehow. Ranger's Memory Frames turned out to be just the ticket. I turned one upside down so I could make a tassel at the bottom. I heart tassels!

I love this idea because it can be as simple or as complicated as you want to make it. If you have less time, you can just turn the frame right side up and put a quote inside it. If you have more time, you could add a more intricate seed bead tassel to the bottom. There are a lot of possibilities.

The image inside the frame is from Cardmaker's Christmas Clear & Frosted Overlays by Hot Off The Press. I love this because it looks stamped but is super quick and easy. It's transparent, so it would look especially pretty hanging in a window. I'm all about hanging ornies all around my house.

For the hanger, I made spirals on each end of a 4" piece of 20-gauge Colourcraft wire and folded the wire in half and glued the spirals to the front and back of the frame. Repeat for the other side of the frame. Then I used crimps to attach a short piece of red Beadalon 7 to the spirals.

For the tassel, I folded the fibers and a piece of wire through the loop on the frame. I coiled a short piece of wire around the tassel to hold all of the stuff in place. Then, I spiralled the wire ends. I loosely coiled the long wire and added some beaded dangles to the bottom. The wire, red suede lace and beads are from Beadalon and the fuzzy fibers are from Hot Off The Press.

Tons of people have joined our crafty round robin! Surf these links for more fun ornament ideas. We don't want anyone to feel left out - if you want to join in, just leave your url in the comments...

Fun spoon snowmen - Candie Cooper
Joyful stamped dovie - Margot Potter
Pretty bead embroidery - Linda Augsburg
Scented clay cookie - Melanie Brooks Lukacs
Dual purpose art bead ornie - Art Bead Scene
Jingle spiral - Cindy Gimbrone
Charming art bead ornies - Heather Powers
Stamped poly clay & beads - Polymer Clay Craft Gossip
Glitter paint and glass - Alexa Westerfield
Sparkly girlfriend ornies - Debba Haupert
Starry stamped polymer clay - Elaine Luther
PMC & kid's art ornie - Melissa Lee
Painted glass orbs - Michelle McGee
Super bright starburst - Jennifer Heynen
Stephen Colbert angel - Hali Chambers
Vintage cone - Kriss Kramer

Peppermint decor - Lisa Liddy
Sweet snowy guys - Brandy Lung Gill
Christmas card star - Jenny Harada
Glittery vintage goodness - Rebecca Peck
Patterned paper orbs - Sara Naumann
Metal stamping - Lynn Kvigne
And there's a cool star ornament at Beading Daily

Summer in Winter

Hip Hoops by Katie Hacker for Simply Beads August 2007

I've spent the last couple of days finishing up my projects for the August issue of Simply Beads magazine. Yes, August! It's a little hard to feel summery when it's gray and snowy outside, but I managed to make some really fun projects. It was a nice excuse to imagine what type of jewelry I'd wear on a warm summer evening near the sea. (I guess August and beaches just go together in my mind, especially in the midst of this winter weather.)

Since I can't show you my unpublished projects, I thought I'd share a design from last August's issue. These earrings use lampworked flower beads made by Stephanie Sersich. I love the colors! And this is a fun way to use front-drilled beads. I used Bead Bumpers to hold them in place on the hoops.

BTW, there's only one day left to vote for your favorite thing to bead. So far, the votes are overwhelmingly in favor of jewelry as the big winner. I have to admit, that's my favorite thing to bead, too. But, I do enjoy beading other stuff so it made me realize that I should have worded my poll question differently. If you like making beaded home décor and accessories, I'd love to hear from you! Leave a comment and tell me about your latest creations.

Congrats! to the winners of the Make it Mine magazine giveaway: Melissa, Susan and Donna.

Linky Love

This week's round up from the bead bloggin babes:

The Impatient Blogger
Holy Tannenbaum, Batman, Ornament Thursday is growing! Come see what delights Margot, Candie, Katie and the growing roster of talented artists have whipped up to dazzle their trees this holiday season! Join in the fun, if you dare!

Snap out of it , Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean has named her lovely chain maille necklace Steel Magnolias, as sugested by fellow bead blogger babe Margot Potter. See it here, and see it as well in Jean's special chain maille gallery she is making in honor of her book, Links!

Savvy Crafter
Candie’s beading merry and bright this holiday season! This week’s bling for your Christmas tree celebrates peace, love, and thrifting!

PearlEsq.
Robin has the info on Ranger's 2008 Ranger U Schedule, for teachers, store owners and designers that want to learn all that there is to learn about Ranger products!

Naughty Secretary Club
Jen is the featured guest on Vickie Howell’s new podcast called Craft Rock Listen. Listen to the interview called Bringing Home the Crafty Bacon where Jen chats about tips for running your own business, getting editorial coverage, how to spend your advertising budget and more.

Jewelry & Beading
Champagne bubbles? No, not the drink, but a festive and elegant new necklace that you can make, just in time for holiday parties!

Bead Arts
A new link to a clever holiday gift or decoration idea each and every week day from now until Christmas! As the month progresses, Bead Arts will be making the ideas faster and easier, so that as we come up against the Christmas eve deadline, you can still be squeezing in just one more great gift!

Art Bead Scene
We here are Art Bead Scene are ready to wrap our holiday gifts and wrap up the year, so we chose All Wrapped Up as our monthly challenge theme for December. Enter the challenge with your best pieces that incorporate art beads wrapped up with unusual fibers, beadweaving, or knitting and crochet techniques.

About.com Jewelry Making
Simple but elegant, this green crystal necklace project is a perfect holiday treat.

Ornament Thursday

Here's some sparkle for your tree! This ornament is quick and easy. The round ring is made of bracelet-size memory wire. I used Czech glass beads for this version, but you can use any beads that will fit on the wire. Seed beads make it more delicate looking and wooden beads give it a folksier appearance. Glue the wire ends inside the last bead using Beadfix adhesive or epoxy.

I've been making these ornaments for years. The first one appeared in my book Memory Wire Magic (Beadalon 2002). This year, I finally made one for myself. I used Swarovski pearls and crystals for the ring and a huge crystal pendant in the center. It's going to look rockin' on my tree!

A lot of people have joined our little virtual craft night, so visit these links to check out more ornament ideas. And be sure to stop by next week for more Ornament Thursday ideas! If you want to join in the fun, please post your url in the comments.

Rebecca Peck www.vintagegirlmodernworld.wordpress.com/
Michelle McGee www.fromichelle.blogspot.com/

Melissa Lee www.strandsofbeads.blogspot.com

Melanie Brooks Lukacs www.earthenwood-beads.blogspot.com/

Margot Potter www.margotpotter.blogspot.com/
Lynn Kvigne www.beading.consumerhelpweb.com/blog/

Linda Augsburg www.cs.makeitminemag.com/mimcs/blogs/makeitmine/
Kriss Kramer www.art-interrupted.blogspot.com

Jenny Harada www.pomly.livejournal.com/

Jennifer Heynen www.jenniferjangles.blogspot.com/

Hali Chambers www.labyrinthgal.blogspot.com
Candie Cooper www.candiecooper.typepad.com/savvycrafter/
Art Bead Scene www.artbeadscene.blogspot.com/

Alexa Westerfield from www.swelldesigner.blogspot.com/

Christmas Kitsch

Here's a happy little bit of Christmas kitsch for you today. My parents used to own a dollhouse and miniatures business and this was one of their product samples. Is it awesome or what?

The snow, holly and reindeer harnesses are all made of seed beads. I'll have to post a close-up so you can really appreciate the intense beadwork. I took off the glass dome for this photo.

Don't forget, tomorrow is another thrilling round of Ornament Thursday, complete with my contribution and lots of links to other people's blogs. If you're planning to participate, please send me an email so I can include your hotlink.

Poetry Tuesday

We interrupt the regularly scheduled program to bring you the following bit of breathing room. A poemish thing, written last week...bon appetit.

++++++++++++++++++++
Hawk by Katie Hacker ©2007

There is a hawk watching our house.

It has been out there for several days. It is hard to miss with that white breast that glows in the empty trees. It is probably watching the field for good things to eat. Or maybe it just stops there to rest. Either way, I'm getting attached to it.

We must look so small from up there.

There is something comforting about the hawk's presence out there in the tree. Inside the house, all of our daily dramas unfold. The phone rings, the tea kettle boils, the email makes its demands. But when I look up from my work, the hawk is still there in the tree.

Reminding me.

Linky Love & Giveaway

This week's linkos post is accompanied by a super fun giveaway. Just leave a comment about your favorite link and I'll add your name to a random drawing to be held one week from today.

Three lucky readers will receive a copy of the premier issue of Make it Mine magazine. Be sure to include your email address so I can contact you to find out your contact info.

If you haven't checked out the mag yet, here's your big chance! It includes awesome projects by my pals Jennifer Perkins, Mary Lynn Maloney and more!

About.com Jewelry Making
Looking for a jewelry class or two to take in 2008? Tammy has some ideas for you, including classes in metalwork, wire, metal clay, and beads.

Art Bead Scene
Check out our links to two free projects currently up on Beading Daily that feature Art Bead Scene editors' beads! Melanie's Pixie Parchment project and an interview with Cindy paired with a project featuring her spiral beads are currently available for free download.

Bead Arts
Cyndi's bead embroidered page for November of the Bead Journal Project is finished, and as usual, it's for the prior month!

Jewelry & Beading
Inspired by the completion of another bead-embroidered necklace, Cyndi decided to update her advice on bead embroidery techniques.

Naughty Secretary Club
Notice the picture of Jen in the latest issues of Altered Couture and Adorn Magazines? This week on her blog you can win all the jewelry in the Duncan ad and also get the instructions to make everything yourself using Fabric and Liquid Fusion glue.

PearlEsq.
Robin shares a "crafty" Christmas idea-why shop when you can teach and share as a gift-it keeps on giving!

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean makes some angel earrings with a definite Chanel style to their wings. Also, a call for a PMC book to be authored by our own Tammy Powley!

The Impatient Blogger
Katie Hacker and Candie Cooper have declared every Thursday until Christmas 'Ornament Thursday! ' Margot whips up a sentimental tribute to her grandparents in this weeks offering. Join in the fun!