Traveling Light: Beading on the Go

I'm heading back to Knoxville, TN for JTV's Jewel School Event. Fernando Dasilva and I will be on the live show sometime Thursday between 10-2 EST and we're joining about a dozen other instructors for a few days of beading at the JTV headquarters. Look out! It's going to be a wild ride.

The stacked bangle bracelet at the top of this post has been sitting in my to-do pile for a while now, so I grabbed it on the way out the door. I also tucked some 4mm SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS, 24-gauge Artistic Wire and a pair of nail clippers in my bag.  I usually treasure my reading time while flying, but I really want to wear this statement piece later today so I'm going to spend the flight wire-wrapping my little fingers off! I'll post a picture when I'm finished.

I get a lot of questions about beading while traveling. It makes sense because part of the reason I love beading is because it's so portable. My advice to you is: plan your project before you go so you can bring everything you'll need to finish it (or mostly finish it). I almost always end up wishing I'd brought one more thing with me, but it really helps to have a plan. Travel light: beads in resealable baggies or spill-proof containers, stringing materials, minimal tools. I could really use a pair of pliers for this project, but I decided to go without to avoid possible delays at security. Beadwork projects are also excellent for traveling because all you need are seeds, thread and clippers.

Wire Wrapping & Making Chain Tassels

This is one of my latest bead and wire jewelry designs using  Katiedids™ Creative Components. I've been wire-wrapping beads onto the frames a lot lately instead of stringing them and placing them inside the channels. Either way works, but I like the extra texture you get from wire wrapping. I've been using 22-gauge or 24-gauge for the wrapping. The heavier wire (22) gives the piece more structural integrity, while the lighter wire (24) is less obtrusive. 

Tassels are popping up everywhere lately. They're easy to make and are a fun way to kick your designs up a notch. Here's a video clip from Beads, Baubles & Jewels where I show how to make chain bails and tassels. Here are some quick tassel earrings that would make an easy last-minute gift.

Absolutely Charming

If you've been reading my blog for a while, then you know I love charms. This is a quick little necklace I whipped up two wear one day a few weeks ago and it has been in heavy rotation ever since. It's super simple, but it looks cool with my go-to wardrobe staple: the solid color v-neck t-shirt.

The charms are from a few of the places we've traveled as a family: Oregon, Florida, and South Carolina. The girl on the right is a replica of a statue in Charleston, SC - I wish I could remember the name of the company I bought it from inside the market - I'm a sucker for souvenir charms like these.

Click here to see a travel charm bracelet I've been making for my daughter.

Here's a quick last-minute charm necklace that's a variation of the one in the picture above.

You know it's bad when you start planning trips around the charms you can collect while you're there! Of course, you can take a virtual trip anytime and order charms online, but part of the fun is hunting for the treasure on your your adventures.

It's a Beading Frenzy!

 

Yep, there's a beading frenzy going on around here this week! I have a few projects on the burner and I'm adding chain to absolutely everything. I think I draped this turquoisey necklace across my "browns" bead box when I answered the phone yesterday. When I got back to it, I just liked the way it looked laying there so I snapped this pic. It looks like Fall, doesn't it?

Besides the cooler temps and inspiring beauty outdoors, I love looking at all of the new magazines and catalogs that start the march to the holidays. Creative Jewelry arrived in my mailbox last week. Yippee! You'll recognize a lot of the designers in this issue, including yours truly. I don't know if it's actually bigger or if it just seems bigger, but this issue is jam-packed with inspiring designs. Definitely a good excuse to sit down with a yummy coffee drink and flip through the pages.

Check out the Blog Hop

There's another Sizzix blog hop going on! I'm not participating this time around, but my pal Candie Cooper used Katiedids™ Creative Components in her oil cloth flower brooch for today's hop. I love this easy idea for making layered fabric flowers! Click over to her blog to read all about it and get links to the rest of the hoppers. Here's a link to a gift book and necklace I made during last year's Triple Play blog hop, too. Have a great day!

Thinking Pink in October

Five years ago, I made this Survivor Bracelet for a friend who was getting ready to go through chemo. (Read more about the bracelet here.) I'm so happy to say that she is doing great and continually impresses me with her ability to juggle family, entrepreneurship, mad soccer skills and the rest of her life with grace.


There are so many ways to Think Pink this month:
• Make your cause bracelet stand out with this quick peyote project.
• Use awareness ribbon charms and pendants from Rio Grande.
• Visit or support Lonakana, a new beading retreat center for women in treatment and recovery from cancer.