A Few of My Favorite Beads!

Since the holiday season is here, I was thinking about giving beads as gifts and remembering some of my faves that have been posted here on A Bead A Day.

I didn't want to do a "re-run" episode blog post, but thought it would be fun to pick a handful of beads as though I was shopping, but without the crowds!! :)

I don't want you to think I'm hinting around or anything, just thought it would be fun and would get my creativity flowing too!

I hope you enjoy them as much as I do and would love to hear about your favorite beads too if you have a minute!!

Have a great evening!

Peace, Love & Bead Bloggers!

Wow, that weekend just flew right by!! It's time again to get geared up and gather some inspiration for the week.

Checking out these bead bloggers below is always a fun way to wrap up a weekend and feel the love in the beading community! Hope you are all having a great day!

Beading Arts Cyndi shares some simple CopprClay pendants that you can have ready in time for holiday gift-giving!

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! Ah, Etsy! So many of our problems solved by visiting Etsy for gifts for our dearest friends at this time of year. Take a look at this premade pendant, which also comes in a kit so you can teach yourself if you prefer. It's all jump rings and it's all beautiful. The Alchemist's Star!

Strands of Beads Melissa is thankful for generous friends - who share their beading supplies!

About.com Jewelry Making It's is so easy to get into the holiday spirit when you have the perfect lampwork beads to get you there.

Art Bead Scene Are you a Twilight Fan? If yes, then check out the Twilight inspired jewelry on the Art Bead Scene!

Carmi's Art/Life World Carmi uses embossing powder to make a bird pendant...a fun idea!

Cindy Gimbrone aka The Lampwork Diva It's Double Dippin' Week - a week full of ideas for the Double Dips. Try a necklace and become "Entwined."

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Melanie gives her review of Enchanted Adornments, and gives a reminder to enter the Art Bead Scene monthly challenge for your chance to win a copy of it and some other great beads, including new Earthenwood beads!

This Week's Project: Sunny CZ Necklace & Earrings

These Cubic Zirconia Beads from Artbeads.com have been such fun to work with!

This week's project makes use of the yellow Cubic Zirconia teardrop I mentioned on Monday and the 8mm Yellow Cushions that I mentioned on Thursday. I threw in a few miscellaneous beads I had on hand including some 4mm bicone glass beads.

The bicones are not crystals, but I thought they were a nice fit because the color was close and they won't be competing at all with the CZ's. I think what really made this fun and helped the yellow stand out is the Soft Flex "econoflex" beading wire in Autumn Brown which I found at Hobby Lobby.

I hope everyone had a happy holiday and are now enjoying a nice weekend with time for arts and crafts! It's "craft night" for me which means a night full of fun, food and crafts till the wee hours with family and friends. Yay!

The project I am taking is a holiday bracelet that will coordinate well with the one I took last year. I normally do not use elastic in my jewelry pieces, but I think we will give it a try this time just for something different.

It will be full of sparkle and if I can get them done in time, I will be making a fun 12 bead bauble for the focal piece for each one...I better get busy and head over to the craft store!! :)

Have a great day!!

Featured Designer: Wickedly Mod Pendants

I hope you have all had a wonderful holiday and for those of you who shopped today, I hope you had fun and found some great deals!!

Believe it or not, it is time for another Featured Designer Friday post!! Yay!!

This week's designer is Suzanne of Wickedly Mod Pendants. As soon as I saw one of these pendants, I knew I was going to have to share these with all of you!!

Wow, I love these!! They are so creative and adorable, I can't really say enough about them!! Suzanne mentioned in her profile page on Etsy that she has been working online doing web design for over 10 years and was introduced to Etsy by one of her customers.

Looks and sounds like so many of the rest of us, that she was hooked very quickly on the "handmade community"!!

Isn't that so true, it's amazing the amount of support and mentoring you can find within a matter of minutes!!

Suzanne's specialty is making scrabble tile pendants. She mentioned she loves grunge, rock and modern images and I have to tell you, these are fabulous!!

I really want them ALL!! There is truly something for everyone here!!

As usual, I wanted to share a few of my favorites here, but don't hesitate to check out the rest of the etsy site for many, many more themes and coolness! LOVE the holiday collection!!

Have a great weekend everyone!! AND, thanks so much Suzanne for allowing me to share your work!! :)

Suzanne can also be found on Twitter and Facebook!

$20 Giftcard Winner & Yellow CZ's

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I wanted to make a quick bead post, but most importantly, announce the winner of the $20 Artbeads.com gift card!!

Thanks the random number generator at Random.org, we have a winner....

KRISTIN of NW Ohio....she mentioned she would like to have the giftcard to give her Mom who is a beader. Aw, that is so nice and a perfect sentiment for a family holiday.

Thanks to EVERYONE who participated!! I will be having at least one giveaway next month and certainly a book giveaway (or two) in January, so STAY TUNED!!

So, on to the beads!! Today's bead is the 8mm Yellow Cushion CZ. Very sweet and cheerful! Not sure if these will be part of a bracelet or a choker yet...Hmm, what do you think??

The final cubic zirconia bead project will be posted on Saturday with tomorrow's post being the next featured designer, fun, fun and more fun! :) Have a great evening!

CZ Extravaganza Continues...

Hello! The week of Cubic Zirconias from Artbeads.com continues with these pretty 8x10mm Burnt Orange CZ Rectangles.

I was just wondering if I should use these as anchors in a focal piece for a bracelet when I looked up at the TV and there was a holiday movie playing and a gift was given with earrings made with what looked EXACTLY like these beads!! They were in a rectangular sterling silver setting that was intented to look a bit aged.

I was trying to think of something I already own that could be used to frame these beads so I can make earrings with a little more pizzazz.

I know everyone is REALLY busy this week, but I'd love to hear your thoughts on this!

Sterling Silver Cognac CZ Link

What a nice way to brighten up your day... sterling silver cognac cz links!!

These are so pretty with the bright sterling bezel. The actual description is: 6mm Sterling Silver Cognac CZ Bezel Link.

If you click on the product link above from Artbeads.com you can see the back side which comes to a point. This explains the sparkle and depth that you see from the front side! Very cool!....Oh how fun it would be to design pieces and parts for beaders!!

This color is perfect for fall and will be great through the holidays too! I originally selected these to use in earrings, but haven't decided what to hang from them yet. The possiblities seem endless! A crystal, a stone, a bright silver dangle? If you have any ideas or inspiration, please send them my way!!

More Cubic Zirconia Beads to come tomorrow!! Yay!! This is so exciting! What a wonderful sparkly week!

Pretty Fabulous CZ's

I mentioned yesterday that I recently selected some Cubic Zirconia Beads from Artbeads.com and I have to say, they are so gorgeous!! I am anxious to get started on a project with them!!!

The top left is a 9x36mm Yellow CZ Faceted Flat Teardrop Pendant. Wow, this is tall and impressive! The hole on this CZ is horizontal just below the top point which will be perfect for using it in a necklace, especially as a focal piece.

I am considering using a colored softflex beading wire and using tiny gold tone crimps to position some small crystals along the wire with this teardrop as the focal. It will be understated WOW!

The oval CZ is: 20x30mm CZ Faceted Oval Drop - Champagne. This substantial CZ really brings to mind a royal gem or something from an old movie. For this pendant drop bead, I'd like to hang it from a choker or a beaded memory choker wire.

I also wanted to mention the adorable packaging these beads came in. How cute is this perfect little purple package?

Tucked inside the package was this little card with one of their design gallery projects on it, the popcorn & cranberries necklace.

Those little white puffballs on the necklace are so darn adorable!!

I hope you have enjoyed these pieces as much as I have so far.

Stay tuned for tomorrow, MORE CZ's!!

Peace, Love & Bead Bloggers!

It's time to gather a little inspiration for the week and a good place to start is with the crafty group of bloggers below. HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!

Okay, hang on a sec, I just had to share a bead, I couldn't help myself. More details will come tomorrow, but this is something fun to think about...CUBIC ZIRCONIA!! :)

Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio Lorelei's annual craft fair adventure is over and she share's some photos of the Aftermath.

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! Artbeads teamed up with Nintendo DS to create a fantastic virtual learning game for jewelry lovers! Style Lab! Jean shows it off in a youtube clip! FUN for the HOLIDAYS! :)

Strands of Beads Melissa discusses the virtue of buttons in jewelry-making

Barbe Saint John I've been a bad blogger!

Carmi's Art/Life World Carmi makes a brooch with a cameo and other odds and ends.

Cindy Gimbrone aka The Lampwork Diva Cindy has a new shop on Etsy - the bleeding heart. Check it out!

About.com Jewelry Making What do you do with a weird piece of chain made from wood? How about making a fabulous necklace out of it.

Art Bead Scene Art Bead Scene gives you the scoop on findings worth finding - check it out!

Jean Campbell Jean kicks off a new era of self-indulgence with a funky Steampunk necklace.

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Melanie shows the piece she made for the new book Chain Style, and talks about her struggles with letting go of her published jewelry pieces.

Jewelry & Beading Gather up some little beaded flowers and turn them into a very special necklace!

$20 Giftcard Giveaway!

What would you buy from Artbeads.com if you had an extra $20 to spend? Hmm...the possibilities are endless!

Just leave a comment of any kind on this post and I will pick a random winner next Thursday (Thanksgiving Day)!

I wanted to use this holiday to give thanks to all of you who stop by and offer encouraging words and cool ideas!! I AM SO THANKFUL to have "met" you!!

When I first began blogging, I was very surprised at the amazing world-wide community of beaders who blog! I am still in awe of all the wonderfully giving individuals I have met over the last couple of years and am happy to be a part of things!

In addition to the $20 gift card for the winner, below is a 10% off promotional code for any and all customers good through 12/31/09. Shipping is free in the US and $1.00 to Canada! Nice....

Code: SCF10P-ARTBEADS-0424

Now, if you need ideas for what to buy with $20 from Artbeads, how about some gorgeous Cubic Zirconias?!!

I'll be sharing some that I selected over the next few days, but the decision is yours! :)

"A Bead in Time" is coming in January 2010!

Hello!! I have some exciting news today!! I am thrilled to be able to share my BOOK COVER with you!!

Oh my gosh, I have waited so long and the time has finally arrived, YAY!! "A Bead in Time" will be available around approximately January 21st and is now on Amazon.com for pre-orders.

This has been such a wild ride over the last two years. I had no idea all of the steps that went into something like this.

I have had the privilege to work with a wonderful publishing company, F&W Media (North Light Craft Books). Every single person I worked with was fun, kind, compassionate and extremely helpful!!

I will be bringing you additional information as well as some bits and pieces from inside the book over the next couple of months.

For now, here is a partial picture of the back cover.

Thanks so much for dropping by!! I hope you will stop over tomorrow when I will be announcing a gift card giveaway for BEADS!!!!!

Runaway Penguin!

Oh my gosh, I almost missed posting this sweet little guy! I just lifted up the camera and saw a tiny ziplock bag with this sweet baby penguin in it. I have no idea how he got away from the group I posted on Tuesday!!

The good news is that he survived all by himself and is getting ready to join the others.

There are so many ways to use these beads such as zipper pulls, cell phone charms, bracelets and earrings.

Dave from Rings & Things had an interesting suggestion, "How about one each on gift tags? Maybe with a promise to start a charm bracelet with 'em :)"

That is such a cute idea, I wish I had thought of it!!

Have a great evening!

Lovely Lucite!

What wonderful lucite leaves! Wow, they are like works of art! Am I just having a moment of bead love or do these look like they were painted onto a canvas?

I received these from the ultra talented Mikki Ferrugiaro of the Beaded Carpet. I'm telling you, beading people are so thoughtful and giving.

The hole on this bead is horizontal above the stem. Because of the location of the hole, I think these would look great on a necklace. It would be fun to use one as a focal pendant with crystals sparkling along the necklace. I was also thinking that a second strand in the necklace could be just above the primary strand which could be "dripping" with crystals.

I'm seeing it in my mind and wish you could too!

Festive and Cute!

These festive and cute beads are just screaming, "HAPPY HOLIDAYS!"

Awwww!! Rings & Things sent these adorable beads in their recent surprise package.

I Just love them all, but there is one special bead that stands out...the little red gingerbread person!! If that isn't the cutest darn thing ever!

I haven't decided how to use these and might just make them each into a cell phone charm.

Together they would make great bracelet dangles! OR...I might just give them away to another beader...I am not sure yet :)

Let me know what you think!

"Use That Finding!"

These 3 pieces were included in my recent surprise package from Rings & Things. These are all Tim Holtz products and could be used in scrapbooking, bookmaking, cardmaking, miscellaneous crafts or even jewelry!!

The pieces are listed as "corners", "ornate plates" and "game spinners".

I was having a brainstorming session with myself and thought it would be fun to get some additional brainpower involved. An interesting challenge shout-out for ideas that can be used to incorporate these pieces into jewelry. For some reason it brought to mind the old television game show, "Name that Tune".

The concept of the game show was two people listening to musical notes played to see who could recognize the song with the least number of notes played. It typically went like this, contestant 1: I can name that tune in 5 notes....contestant 2: "I can name that tune in 2 notes"....contestant 1: "name that tune!"

So, instead of "name that tune", we have "use that finding!". This is definitely going to be a bit of a challenge. I can easily see how to use the Ornate Plate in a necklace, but the other pieces I'm not sure...

What do you think? Want to take the challenge? Okay, "Use That Finding!".... :)

Glass Bottle Charm & Bead Blogger Updates

I thought it would be fun to share this glass bottle charm from Rings & Things today so we can all ponder the interesting ways of using something like this.

The online catalog reads: Bottle, Glass, Octagon (Clear). Approx. 25x10x10mm octagon-shaped glass perfume bottle charms, 1.4-1.6mm hole. Screw-on cap style varies. Can hold perfumes, oils, or other liquids. Reservoir is the perfect size to display a single grain of rice.

Wow, isn't that CRAZY!? (Yes, I'm still watching the Patty Duke Show and can't help but pick up on the teen lingo of the 1960's). I mean crazy in a wow, what a mind blower, kind of way!

In the Rings & Things hard copy catalog, there is a picture of a grain of rice with a word WRITTEN on it sitting inside the reservoir of this little bottle. Maybe I need to write the word, "Crazy!" on mine! :)

I'd love to hear all your thoughts on this if you have a minute!!

By the way, if you are looking for creative inspiration, check out all the cool things our fellow bead bloggers have been up to this week!

Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio Setting up a table at a craft can be daunting, but Lorelei put together a perfectly Vintage Chic display that will hopefully lure people in.

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! In the spirit of the season, whereby "you can get nything you want" as in the famous Alice's Restaurant song by Arlo, you can get some fascinating things at Andrew Thornton's store. Great for holidays to come!

About.com Jewelry Making Tammy has another installment of Make It Merry this week.

Art Bead Scene November is full of fairies at the Art Bead Scene. Come check out the inspiration painting for the monthly challenge!

Carmi's Art/Life World Carmi has a give-away offer on "the ugly necklace."

Cindy Gimbrone aka The Lampwork Diva Cindy reflects on how to live life at a slower pace. Her reflections inspire a pair of earrings.

Strands of Beads Melissa shows off a necklace she made...for herself!

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton Using a hand-painted Russian pendant from Artbeads.com, Andrew creates an enchanting response to Art Bead Scene's November prompt: Dadd's The Fairy Fellers' Master-Stroke.

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Melanie starts a new project, an upcycled film themed jewelry line called Now Showing! Read the story behind this fun new idea.

Jean Campbell Jean finds her first piece of beadwork in a junk drawer and discusses how important it is to reinforce your work

Jewelry & Beading Gorgeous jewelry designs by artist Paula Huckabay!

Katie's Beading Blog Katie's combining resin, chain, and tubular peyote stitch in a project for Beadwork magazine - download the pdf for free!

FTC compliance disclosure, notice of material connections: the item in the previous post from Rings&Things was provided as a promotional gift as part of the Blog Partner Program for review or design purposes. More info about the Rings & Things Blog Partner Program

This Week's Project: Pearls & Chain

This week's project sort of just came together at the last minute this evening. I knew I wanted to use this ultra cool clasp in a bracelet and I just LOVE this Rings & Things chain (antiqued copper plated rollo).

I typically gravitate toward pearls during this time of year, so it just made sense in my mind!

I added the "forevermore" muse token by Tim Holtz and a couple of beads to hang out with it just in case the clasp finds its way to the top of the wrist, it will still be fun!

Now it's time to step away for a minute, take a look at it and decide if I need to add or subtract anything.

Hope you are having a great weekend!!

FTC compliance disclosure, notice of material connections: the item in the previous post from Rings&Things was provided as a promotional gift as part of the Blog Partner Program for review or design purposes. More info about the Rings & Things Blog Partner Program

Featured Designer: Marjorie's Cracked Plate Jewelry

Oh happy day! It's Friday and time for the Featured designer of the week, Marjorie of Marjorie's Cracked Plate Jewelry.

When I first came across her blog, I remember thinking this was such a unique idea which also showcases her wonderful wire wrapping skills.

Marjorie's profile reads: "I've worked as a paralegal for many years; however, have now started a sideline making broken china jewelry - Marjorie's Cracked Plate Jewelry.

It's such a "green" thing to take a broken or cracked plate and transform it into a lovely piece of jewelry.

I'm enjoying the whole adventure very much - not only making the jewelry but meeting so many wonderful people through my jewelry. I'd love to hear from you so please post a comment. And stop by my website at: http://www.marjoriescracked.com/"

Marjorie found out in August that one of her pieces was going to be showcased in the 2010 wire art jewelry calendar. Wow, what an accomplishment!

Thanks so much to Marjorie for allowing me to post her work here!!

I'm feeling so inspired and looking at the plates in my cupboard in a whole new way! :)

Chain, Chain, Chain

Isn't this a great chain? In the Rings & Things catalog it is described as antiqued copper plated oval curb, 10.5mm.

However, in real life, and hopefully in the picture you can see there is more than one tone of copper here. There is a light copper, dark copper and black.

Wow! What a great feature. As a result, any pieces made with this chain are going to coordinate beautifully with copper and black.

I would like to use this in a bracelet or as pieces in a necklace rather than as a complete necklace all alone. Maybe a few links at a time mixed in with some large, brightly colored glass beads.

Why can't there be more hours in the day? We're almost to the weekend, yay!! Have a good one! :)

FTC compliance disclosure, notice of material connections: the item in the previous post from Rings&Things was provided as a promotional gift as part of the Blog Partner Program for review or design purposes. More info about the Rings & Things Blog Partner Program

Beautiful Ebony Wood Links

Today's bead is actually a chain of wooden links. These are beautifully crafted and described in the Rings & Things catalog as:

Wood Chain, Disk and Loop (Ebony): Flat disk-and-loop wooden chain. Approx. 36x32x4.5mm flat disk links with 23mm round links form chain. 18-20 links per 14-16" strand. Links are solid and must be cut to come apart.

There is something contemporary about these beads and I am thinking, even though they are large, it would make a great impact as a necklace to be worn at a special occassion such as the Thanksgiving holiday meal. It would certainly make great conversation!

I also noticed that the large "O" could also be used to represent the Ohio State "O" emblem with a little scarlet and gray thrown in. As always, our imagination is our only limitation!

I mentioned the ebony strand of wood hearts in a blog post back in October when I saw them at the R&T's bead show locally. They are fabulous too!

I hope you are having a great day!

FTC compliance disclosure, notice of material connections: the item in the previous post from Rings&Things was provided as a promotional gift as part of the Blog Partner Program for review or design purposes. More info about the Rings & Things Blog Partner Program

What-A-Clasp!

As I mentioned yesterday I received an extremely cool bag of goodies from Rings & Things as part of their Blog Partner Program! How EXCITING!!

There were some very cool pieces in there and this was certainly one of them. This clasp is so much fun, it defiinitely seems like an afternoon was spent antiquing!

LOVE this!! I really want and need to be able to see this in a jewelry piece so it is going to have to be in a bracelet. PLEASE send me your thoughts on this, I'd love to hear them.

This is going to be so much fun to play with!! :) Have a great evening!

FTC compliance disclosure, notice of material connections: the item in the previous post from Rings&Things was provided as a promotional gift as part of the Blog Partner Program for review or design purposes. More info about the Rings & Things Blog Partner Program

FUN STUFF: Idea-ology™ Muse Token

This is going to be a fun week!! I received the coolest package on Saturday from Rings & Things as part of the Blog Partner Program. This was the epitome of surprise grab bags with such a wide variety of pieces, there seemed to be a tad bit of irony to it.

I can't wait to show you everything!! It was not easy selecting the first bead to show you, but it just seemed to find it's way to the top of the list. For Tim Holtz fans out there, you're going to love this!

The description in the catalog reads: Idea-ology™, Muse Tokens (Antiqued Metals), Approx. 1" Tim Holtz® idea-ology muse tokens with various words and letter cut outs. Package of 12 tokens. Copper, pewter and brass antiqued finishes.

I just love this one with the word, Forevermore, and think the cutout of the letter "F" makes it so adorable! You've really got to click on the link above to see the actual package that includes all 12 pieces. My other favorites shown on the package are: Unique, Wonderful & Journey. I love the antique quality and feel like I found this in a flea market or something.

This would work great as a standalone charm on an interesting bracelet chain or a pendant with a bunch of sparkly crystals hanging around it in different lengths. I'm not sure yet, but wish it wasn't so late so I could get my beads out!! :)

Hope your week is off to a nice start!

FTC compliance disclosure, notice of material connections: the item in the previous post from Rings&Things was provided as a promotional gift as part of the Blog Partner Program for review or design purposes. More info about the Rings & Things Blog Partner Program

Peace, Love & Bead Bloggers!

Everyone has been so crafty this weekend and many are preparing for holiday sales. I've seen some holiday craft shows taking place in my neighborhood already this weekend.

I was at JoAnn, Etc. last night and they were playing holiday music!! It does have a tendency to make me smile and feel more friendly toward others.

Even though the temperature here has been unseasonably warm and gorgeous this weekend, I am pretty sure I'm transitioning into the holiday spirit! That's a good thing and even though I try to have it all year long, it seems different around this time of year because so many other people are feeling it at the same time.


So, to round out the weekend, we just finished watching the old classic holiday movie with Cary Grant, the Bishop's Wife. There are so many good things about it that I could go on and on, but the last words go something like this:


"...let us each put in his share..... loving kindness, warm hearts, and the stretched out hand of tolerance, all the shining gifts that make peace on earth"

So nice...

I hope you all have a great week and if you have an extra minute to take a quick run through the fun and crafty blog posts below, you are sure to pick up a little extra inspiration!! :)


About.com Jewelry Making
Make it merry with holiday jewelry and crafting ideas.

Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio
Liver of Sulfur is finally in Lorelei's repertoire of jewelry techniques.

Snap out of it Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean is amazed by the treasures you find in Cynthia Thornton's spectacular wonder of a book, Enchanted Adornments!

Strands of Beads Melissa tries out Friendly Plastic (and likes the results).

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
Andrew adds new pieces from Hawaiian artist, Candice Wakumoto, to his shop.

Art Bead Scene
An Art Bead Scene first - the December sponsors collaborate on a special set of art beads for the December monthly challenge prize!

Barbe Saint John - New Treasures from Forgotten Artifacts
Barbe is the last link in a Necklace Round Robin, Check out the finished pieces!

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi uses a leather button to make a wearable collage.

Cindy Gimbrone aka The Lampwork Diva
Cindy has developed a new line of jewelry to remind us all to live life slowly and enjoy what we have. First in the series is "Grounded."

Jean Campbell
Jean describes what it's like to edit someone's book and shares her thoughts on Marcia DeCoster's latest, Beaded Opulence.

Jewelry & Beading
Cyndi is giving away a copy of Ronna Sarvas Weltman’s unique polymer clay book called "Ancient Modern". Come and get in on this contest!

This Week's Project: First Draft Patchwork Bracelet

I mentioned in Thursday's post that I was hoping to revisit the idea of a patchwork type of crafty bracelet using pieces and parts trimmed from iron on appliques.

Well....I haven't had the chance yet to do that, so I thought I'd go ahead and bravely share the first draft here for all to see :)

I'd like to hear your comments and suggestions for making this work in the future.

I used purple patching material as the base, ironed on all the tiny bits and pieces that I attempted to cut into tiny little squares and rectangles. I then framed the purple with green patching material. My coolest find at the time were these long strips of iron on silver dots. Similar to those stickers to embellishing cell phones, all the dots are aligned on a strip of plastic which is the iron on material and keeps them nicely in order when applying them.

Hopefully you can get an idea of what I was thinking and with fresh ideas I'm sure I can pull off my vision in the future! :)

Thanks, as always, for stopping by and sharing your wonderful ideas and enthusiasm!

Featured Designer: Gaialai Glass Artist

Are you as ready as I am to see these glass art pieces? WOW! I was hopping around in Etsy when I discovered these beads in Gaialai's Shop.

The header reads: Gaialai glass artist - the full life combination between glass colors and shapes.

I don't know that I have ever seen beads like this and then to see how the artist used them in jewelry pieces was exciting!

I also loved the honesty in Sari's welcome statement: "Welcome to my shop!!!I'm a Glass Artist - I'm totally addicted to it!!!"

That is so cool and I think it is very clear Sari's passion comes through in these beautifully unique pieces.

The colors and shapes are amazing and to put them into necklaces in such bold statements seriously catches your attention.

Sari is also a member of the Israel artists Etsy team.

Thanks so much to Sari for allowing me to showcase these pieces!!

Have a great weekend!

Arts & Crafts Week: Dreaming of a Patchwork Quilt

Once you start thinking about it, you can probably come up with some great ideas for using a variety of iron-on appliques in jewelry making.

There seem to be lots more to choose from at the craft store this year, in fact, than last year. I'm not sure why that is, but I always enjoy looking at the fun, unusual, unique and cheerful iron-ons!

Of course, I often gravitate toward the smiley faces and poodles, but when I bought these last year it was for their colors and, in some cases, the tiny little flowers.

I had an idea that I thought was a real winner! Wouldn't it be cool to cut up a bunch of iron on appliques into tiny little pieces and iron them all back together sort of like a crazy patchwork quilt?

See, it sounds very cool, doesn't it?! :)

Well, that was about a year ago and when all was said and done, it wasn't exactly a major failure, but it would certainly be considered a first draft! For some reason it didn't occur to me to keep revising the plan, but I just set it aside.

Now that I have brought this subject up, I really want to try again. I'm still not sure about showing the good old first draft here, but if I can get it a little more like the vision in my head, I might do a "before" and "after" shot down the road.

I'd love to hear your ideas about this if you have a sec!!