Gifts for Yourself

So, Santa left a little cash in your stocking? Surf on over and check out the brand-spankin-new shopping page on my website.

You can order my newest book, Bead & Wire Jewelry Exposed, co-written with Margot Potter and Fernando Dasilva. It's coming soon to bookstores and bead shops near you! If you want to be among the first to receive it, order the book through my site to receive free shipping and a Crystallized™ pendant along with your autographed copy. You're going to love it!

While you're there, check out my other offerings, including: Beads, Baubles & Jewels 800 DVD; Hip to Bead; and several fun book collections.

Post Christmas Post

Whew! Sorry it's been so long since I've posted. I hope you all had a very happy holiday. I ran around like a crazy person. But there were some peaceful, crafty moments, too:

- Making colorful pony bead necklaces with Lily (nearly 3 years old now) to give to friends and family.
- Assembling photo ornaments for the grandmas.
- Hanging ribbons from the banister and attaching Christmas cards to them.
- Stamping "I heart bacon" onto t-shirts for husband and sister.
- Looking back through our scrapbook of photo cards we've received in recent years and planning for this year's pages.
- Making dangly gemstone/sterling earrings for a last-minute gift.

I've also been making some changes to my website! Come back on Wednesday for an exciting announcement...

Dove ornament designed by Katie Hacker, photo and project ©Crafts Magazine.

Holiday Razzle Dazzle

Still looking for that perfect piece of holiday razzle dazzle? The Silver Splendor Necklace adds spirit and style to your holiday wardrobe... and it will give you something to talk about at those awkward office holiday parties ;) Click on the link for a larger photo and full instructions.

(BTW: You may remember this necklace from a few years ago. It took my jewelry designs in a whole new direction. See the results in a new collaborative book with Margot Potter and Fernando Dasilva, Bead & Wire Jewelry Exposed.)

Polymer Clay & Beading

I'm working on some polymer clay projects today and just popped them in the oven. I break out my PC supplies every once in a while and am always reminded how much I enjoy it.

My parents used to own a dollhouse and miniatures company and they were one of the first companies to distribute Fimo in the United States. I grew up making little sculptures, giant clip earrings and various Christmas ornaments. One of my favorite things to do with polymer clay is using rubber stamps to create images and textures, like I did with this dragonfly canister.

It's easy to get started with polymer clay, you just need a few key materials: polymer clay, cutting blade, roller, craft mat, pasta machine or playing cards (to roll the clay evenly), baby wipes (to clean up). It's important to dedicate your tools to polymer clay and not use them for food. Sharilyn Miller wrote a good guideline to safety practices, including using a dedicated toaster oven or wiping down your kitchen oven after baking your projects.

This is a great time of year to break out the clay because it's easy to make really fun cookie cutter ornaments - I have a trove of stripey stars from back in the day. In the beady world, I'm inspired by Linda Peterson's techniques for combining metal with polymer clay to create bezels and bead caps that give the clay a more substantial heft.

Okay, off to check on my creations. Keep your fingers crossed that I've adjusted properly for my wonky oven temperature...I'd hate for my white clay to turn brown after all this work!

Beads Baubles & Jewels

Have you had a chance to check out the new 900 season of Beads Baubles and Jewels? All of the projects from the latest season are posted online for your beading pleasure. Just login to learn about the latest trends and Beading Lessons.

Looking for more beading tips and tricks? You can view beading lessons from past seasons of Beads Baubles & Jewels at Beadalon.com. Check it out!

All About Seed Beads

I used to be really intimidated by seed beads but I've been working with them more lately and it has been really fun. I'm finding that the more I use them, the more I want to experiment with using them in different ways. I can see how people get addicted to them!

In case you don't already know, seed beads are available in a wide variety of colors and styles. They're called seed beads because the original style is tiny and round, like little seeds. There are also cylindrical seed beads and these are often used in peyote stitch and other types of stitches where it's important for the beads to lock together evenly. The most common size is 10/0 or 11/0 but they are also available in smaller (15/0) and smaller (6/0) dimensions.

If you aren't ready to dive into intricate beadwork, try adding seed beads as spacers between larger beads in your next project. It's an easy (and inexpensive) way to add a touch of color. Or, you could try adding a strand of seed beads to your next multiple strand design. Mix 6/0 and 11/0 beads or round seeds with triangles for more texture.

Of course, once your seed bead collection starts growing, you're going to have to find a way to organize them. I have several different types of storage for my seed beads. I use stacking containers like the ones in this picture and I also have a clear, over-the-door shoe organizer that works well for beads in tubes. I have to be able to see the colors!

Linky Love

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton The mythic riddler-of-old prompts Andrew to find Sphinx Inspired jewelry components.

Strands of Beads Melissa makes very simple Christmas tree earrings to kick off the holiday season.

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! Jean, an "Amazon top 1000 reviewer" pens her thoughts concerning Melinda Barta's new custom jewelry making book!

Naughty Secretary Club Jen is in the midst of a 4 day jewelry display extravaganza with this post that gives you a glimpse into the jewelry boxes of the ladies behind Felt Club, Crafty Chica, Handmade Detroit, 31 Corn Lane and More!

Jewelry & Beading Cyndi is hosting a Beadmaker's Blitz this month!

Carter Seibels for Divali Glass Jewelry Carter ponders her love of color and the meanings behind the colors we love.

Carmi's Chinese Silk Button Covers The simple button form is used to create these stunning asian inspired fabric pendants.

Brilliant Crystal Jewelry 2 Get the scoop on this special issue from Bead&Button Magazine.

Barbe Saint John - New Jewelry from Forgotten Artifacts Barbe reviews Tammy Powleys Making Designer Mixed Media and Memory Jewelry with 2 big thumbs up!

Art Bead Scene has a deal for you! Got $10? Then you can make lovely home decor with art buttons and beads!

About.com Jewelry Making Thinking of ways to sign your jewelry art? How about a metal stamp? Even better, how about a cool sale Tammy found out about on metal stamps and jewelry tags?

More Beading Ideas

In a Beading Daily post this week, Jean Campbell gave some fun beading ideas for last-minute holiday gifts. She included my Lovely Links necklace (shown here), along with lots of other great tips and ideas. Thanks, Jean!

Lovely Links was originally published in Easy Wire 2007, a special issue from Interweave Press, but you can download the pdf with complete instructions from the Beading Daily online store.

The Beading Daily online store is nice because there's a wide variety of projects at your fingertips and designers receive a royalty on pdfs that are sold through the store. Have fun browsing!

Books of Note - Fabulous Fabric Beads

This is my pal Kristal Wick on the set of Beads, Baubles & Jewels. Kristal is a creative powerhouse and, in her new book, Fabulous Fabric Beads, she shares the secrets to making her popular Sassy Silkies and other fabric beads.

Fabulous Fabric Beads covers everything from supplies, materials and tools, suggestions for ideal fabrics, creating surface designs on fabric, step-by-steps for making fabric beads, using fabric to embellish beads and combining your new beads with wire wrapping, metal, fiber and embellishments.

One of my favorite parts of the book is toward the end, where Kristal shares collections of beads in beautiful color palettes with suggestions for combining colors in unexpected ways.

Kristal is teaching tons of classes to support her new book, so check out her calendar and sign up for a workshop in your town!

Beaded Holiday Gifts

Make your own jewelry sets in minutes with these projects that are perfect for gifting. Just click on the links for larger pix and complete instructions. For faster assembly, get all of your supplies together and make multiples. Several bracelets or several earring pairs at a time, for example. These projects require minimal tools, so it would be easy to get teens or beginner friends in on the act. Invite your gal pals over and give them the gift of learning something new!

Chunky Stretchy Bracelet & Earrings
©Katie Hacker

Nightlife Bracelet & Earrings
©Katie Hacker

Grape Sorbet Bracelet & Earrings
©Katie Hacker

When you make jewelry gifts for friends or family, be sure to attach a tag that tells them about the materials you used, ie. mixed furnace glass and Czech glass beads. It's guaranteed to make your gift even more meaningful!