Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Last-Minute Beaded Earrings

Earrings are the perfect last-minute gift giving solution. You can whip up a cute pair, slip them into an organza bag, and head out the door in under 10 minutes. Even better, make a whole bunch of earrings while watching a movie and then you have a cache on-hand for those impromptu occasions!
The trick for these types of earrings is to keep it simple. For a trendy, modern look, string a large, eye-catching bead onto a decorative head pin and make a wrapped loop to attach it to an unusual ear wire. (In this case, the ear wire is an extra long kidney shape.) Ta-da! Easy. Make them in the recipient's favorite color or birthstone color for an sweet, personalized touch.
If you want to get really crazy, use a piece of chain to connect a charm or dangle to the lower loop on a beaded eye pin. This dresses up the earrings without adding much time or expense.

I recently treated some of my girlfriends to an earring buffet. I laid out my earring stash and invited each person to choose a pair. It was fun to see which ones they picked and I loved sharing my jewery with them. Think about earrings as party favors, book club gifties or invite your girls over for an earring making party!

Monday, April 27, 2009

More Ideas for Patera Pendants

I've been getting lots of emails about polymer clay pendants that I designed for BeadStyle magazine, so thank you! It's really nice to hear from readers who have been inspired to make their own versions. My friend LeNae Gerig used the same type of pendant bezel for a completely different look:

Isn't it cool? I love the leaf hanger and the layered image inside the pendant. Plus, it's really easy to make! LeNae's instructions are free on the PaperWishes site. They also have Patera pendants in various shapes and sizes.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Linky Love

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! There's a great giveaway prize to be had if you check out Soft Flex Company's Big Prize Giveaway! Jean has the low down on how to get in on it!

Jewelry & Beading Cyndi's written a tutorial on making a necklace with one of the new Swarovski discs from Artbeads!

Jennifer Jangles Blog Jennifer gives a great source for getting your designs made into rubber stamps.

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Mixing different kinds of mud with bug images, Melanie has fun in the dirt with new brown Lava Stone beads from Rings & Things.

Bead&Button magazine Leslie's keeping up the creativity--see what she's up to!

Barbe Saint John - New Jewelry from Forgotten Artifacts Barbe makes a necklace with supplies from Alpha Stamps.

Art Bead Scene Is time for your 15 minutes of fame? There's still time to be the next Bead Star and 'bead famous!'

About.com Jewelry Making Be chic and make jewelry with some help from a new book: Chic Metal: Modern Metal Jewelry to Make at Home by Victoria Tillotson.

Strands of Beads Melissa reviews Margot Potter's new book, Beyond the Bead.

Friday, April 24, 2009

Help Save the Bead Museum

Yesterday's Beading Daily included a call to help save The Bead Museum in Glendale, Arizona, and I thought I'd share it with you here, too. The museum is in danger of closing after 23 years.

The Bead Museum's mission is to foster the appreciation and understanding of the global, historical, cultural and artistic significance of beads and beaded artifacts from around the world. It houses a collection of over 100,000 beads and related objects and offers education and outreach programs, lectures, tours and classes.

Interweave Press is making it easy and quick for you to make a $5 donation to help keep doors open. I just made my donation - let's work together to make a difference!

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Happy Earth Day!

Save the Earth Charm from CharmFactory.com

Celebrate Earth Day by greening your bead supplies! Here are a few tips. Have a great idea of your own? Please leave it in the comments!
  • Look for beads and pendants made from tagua nut, coconut and other sustainable materials.
  • Incorporate hemp cord, cotton cord and other natural stringing materials into your jewelry designs.
  • Use stainless steel components and beading wire because stainless steel is typically made from at least 60% recycled content and is completely recyclable.
  • Shop for sterling silver from pre-produced sources, such as Earth Silver, to minimize mining and protect the earth's resources.
  • Re-use packaging whenever possible. Store your custom bead mixes in used seed bead tubes or plan a fun recycled bracelet project for kiddos using beading wire spool clips (cover with ribbon or tacky tape and beads!)
  • Recycle beading wire spools and other packaging.
My first book, It's Knot Hard: Hemp Jewelry is still one of my most popular titles. Check it out for an introduction to earth-friendly macramé techniques and lots of hemp jewelry ideas.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Beaded Bridal Necklace Pattern: SilveRose Mystery


Here's a necklace I designed using Beadalon's new metallic beading wire, SilveRose™. This new color is a warm, blended shade that complements all skin tones and is perfect for gals who don't want to choose between silver and gold. This design uses Crystallized™ bronze pearls, vintage rose crystals and crystal golden shadow beads. Get the complete, animated Bead Master instructions here.

Of course, this design doesn't necessarily have to be worn as a bridal necklace. It would be perfectly lovely on anyone this spring. Change up the colors for an entirely different look!

(If you don't know about Bead Master, it's a revolutionary technology for learning how to bead. It makes difficult designs a lot easier to understand because you can see the thread pathways inside the beads. Check out the demo instructions above or order the DVD and/or kits at GreatCraftworks.com.)

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Still Hunting for Easter Eggs

Here are my beaded eggs, as promised last week. I don't know why they were so difficult to photograph! Follow the link for complete instructions.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Button Bracelets

From my book, Hip to Bead (Interweave Press 2006)

Button bracelets are fun because they're easy to make and they can be so different, depending on the materials you use. Here's a funky one that uses vintage buttons from my stash along with new craft store finds. First, you use wire nippers to cut off any shanks on the back of the buttons. Then, you adhere the buttons to the blank bracelet using epoxy. After the buttons dry, cover any button holes with a flatback crystal or a smaller button.

gluable bracelet from Rings 'n Things

You can also glue other items to this type of bracelet, of course. I had some Jangles discs and on-hand, so I whipped up this colorful little number...


Each disc has a hole in the center, so I cut the backs off of some travel-themed brads and used them to cover holes. For larger pieces like these disks, it helps to use a blank bracelet that has larger spaces between the pads.

gluable bracelet from Rings 'n Things

Scrabble tiles or other game pieces would make fun additions, as would filigree or other flat objects. Melanie from Earthenwood Studio made a bracelet featuring her adorable baby moon faces, and then she transformed a similar bracelet into a necklace for a completely different look. Candie Cooper dug out her button stash and created a fun twist on this perennial favorite.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Beads, Baubles & Jewels DVD

Did you miss the 800 season of Beads, Baubles & Jewels? Or, just want to watch it again and again? Order the DVD from my website this week to get free shipping* and a free spool of satin silver Beadalon beading wire.

*Offer ends at midnight on Monday, April 2oth. Free shipping to US addresses only. International shipping is discounted by the equivalent amount of US shipping cost.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Linky Love

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton A new double-sided sugar skull pendant from Anne Choi, inspires Andrew to create this new bracelet.

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! April is Austism Awareness Month. Express yourself creatively!

Jewelry & Beading Think that shell jewelry is just for kids? Take a look at Karen Sugarman's designs, and I guarantee you'll change your mind!

Jacket Corsage Carmi sews a few hooked flowers and beads to create a jacket corsage.

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles A splendid night out at the Smart Shop metalsmithing studio's gallery crawl inspires Melanie.

Bead&Button magazine Julia Gerlach talks about bead patterns and gifts.

Barbe Saint John - New Jewelry from Forgotten Artifacts Barbe talks about riveting & finding the right size drill bits .

Art Bead Scene This month's challenge is Botticelli's Birth of Venus.

About.com Jewelry Making Oy, may aching back! Tammy is de-stashing her jewelry and other craft supplies while on spring break. Here are de-stashing tips and places that need your jewelry supply orphans.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Beaded Easter Eggs

Just a quick note to say hello and wish you a rejuvenating Easter, Passover or other Springtime celebration! I've been busy making beaded eggs this week and they are easier than they look (but not so easy to photograph - pix coming next week, I promise!).

This is an economical project that you can use as a decoration year after year. It's also another one of those beady things that's easy to do in front of a movie, as long as it doesn't have subtitles!

If you want to try your hand at making some beaded eggs, I recommend starting with:
  • a blank Styrofoam egg
  • pre-strung seed beads
  • thick craft adhesive such as The Ultimate glue
  • hard beading needle or thin sewing needle
  • popsicle stick
Use a popsicle stick to smear glue over one end of the egg and press the end of a seed bead strand into the glue. Shape the beaded strand into a coil. Don't worry if the beads don't completely cover the end of the egg. You can fill it in with single beads later.

Wind the beaded strand around the egg, adding more glue sections as you go along. When you reach the end of the strand, just add the beginning of the next strand. If the knotted thread ends show, you can trim them off after the glue dries and glue a single seed bead there to fill the spot. Alternatively, you can use a needle to press the knotted end into the Styrofoam.

Continue smearing glue and wrapping the beaded strands around the egg until you reach the other end of the egg. Coil the end of the strand as tightly as possible and then cut off any extra thread. If necessary, go back and glue a few beads inside the coils on the top and bottom of the egg.

Wednesday, April 08, 2009

Improving Bead & Jewelry Sales

Are you a retailer looking for ways to improve your bead and jewelry sales? Last week, the editor of Creative Leisure News (CLN) moderated a webinar, "Schmooze 'Em or Lose 'Em: 12 Essential Tips for Growing Your Bead + Jewelry Business," sponsored by Interweave Press and CGM, a bead/jewelry product distributor (photo credit).

Approximately 100 retailers participated, listening to and asking questions of the speakers: Sally Roesler from The Bead Goes On and Beadniks; Stephen Koenig, VP of Sales/Marketing and Book Publisher for Interweave; and Rich Kizer and Georganne Bender, well known retail consultants, speakers/authors, and CLN columnists.
The webinar is 90 minutes long and will be available online for the next 11 weeks. To register and access it, click HERE.

Interweave is planning a second webinar for retailers, "Bricks + Mortar + Online = Profits: How independent retailers can achieve online success," which will be Tues., June 16. Stay tuned for details...

Monday, April 06, 2009

Spring Inspiration

It's snowing here today! While I poured myself another cup of coffee this morning, I scrolled back through Jennifer Jangles' Creative Collaboration blog posts for a dose of springtime inspiration. Lots of people sent in their ideas for fun, colorful jewelry and the pictures are all right there on the blog.

This is the Loves Me necklace & earring set that I entered in the collaboration. You can get the materials list and instructions here. I thought it would be fun to combine big Crystallized™ pearls with Jangles ceramic beads and components for a playful look. And, once I put my winter coat away for good, I'll be wearing this with my dark pink corduroy jacket!

Wednesday, April 01, 2009

Polymer Clay & Beading in BeadStyle!

Remember that polymer clay project I mentioned a few months ago? Well, now I can finally share the results! My handmade pendants appear in this month's issue of BeadStyle. Check the magazine for complete instructions and a step-by-step guide to making your own rubber-stamped, polymer clay pendants.

It was fun coming up with different versions of the pendant/necklace combo. I like the way you can use the same technique and get three very different looks depending on how you bead them! I can't decide which one is my favorite.

Sources: Most of the supplies should be available at any rockin' craft store or rubber stamp shop, or you can find them online...
  • I used Patera bezels for all of the pendants. Available online from PaperWishes.com or Alphastamps.com.
  • Any rubber stamp with deep impressions will work for creating the patterned surface. I like these texture stamps from Lisa Pavelka.
  • Polymer clay tools, Pearl Ex powder and ink pads from Joanns.com.
  • All jewelry findings, stringing materials, etc. from your local bead shop or a Beadalon reseller.