Need a Little Cheer?

Just in case you were feeling down...

These are just the funniest little character charms ever! I don't think it's possible to look at these TierraCast® dancing señor and señorita charms without smiling!

I have been really laughing out loud at these AND there are more for tomorrow along these lines that are just so fun!

THANKS RINGS & THINGS for the little bag of laughter and fun!

These come at a time when I have been in a groove of wanting to make dangly charm bracelets so I can't wait to work them into a project.

I can tell you one thing, it will definitely get some double takes!!

I'd love to get your reaction to these too! Catch you all tomorrow! :)

FTC compliance disclosure, notice of material connections: the items in this post from Rings&Things were 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

Welcome to the Pepper Patch!

Are these too darn cute or what?! These were in my package from Rings & Things recently and really made me smile!!

I immediately decided I needed to use all of these bright red handmade lampwork glass chilli peppers in one design. I would LOVE to use them all in in a bracelet, but they are probably best suited for a necklace!

The question now is HOW to design it!? I'm thinking 2 strands would be fun, mixed in with either crystals or some bare, colorful softflex wire. OR, some colorful rubber tubing in either red or green or both!

Then you might ask, "where would you wear a necklace like this?" I say, anywhere and everywhere. Definitely to the grocery store! :)

I can't wait to give this a try!

FTC compliance disclosure, notice of material connections: the items in this post from Rings&Things were 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

New Glueables!! Let's Get Crafty!

I was so excited and surprised to receive some very interesting findings from Rings & Things. I do have a tendency to want to turn my jewelry projects into craft projects, so these will be lots of fun to play with!

There are three different pieces, including one that I had never even see before! I LOVE the bobby pin glueables and can't wait to add something very sparkly and interesting to these. How fun to slide this into your hair and have a little surprise of color or sparkle.

Next is the cuff link! I have bought blouses before because of the little extra jewels, buttons and even cuff links with sparkles built into them. I'm excited to see how I can use these and would be very interested in hearing some cool ideas! (hint, hint!)

Last is the finding that I had never seen in its un-embellished form...it's a Shoe Clip!

I wear heels every work day and think it would be fun and surprising to find something clipped to them, especially something SPARKLY! I am even thinking you could clip this to a lapel or even a notebook or journal.

I can't wait to hear what you think about these crafty glueables! All I can think of is, come on weekend!!

FTC compliance disclosure, notice of material connections: the items in this post from Rings&Things were 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 and Bead Bloggers!

Sunday seems like a great day for gathering up lots of inspiration for the coming week.

I recently came across an extensive listing of show/contest opportunities on the blog of Casey Sharpe, Jewelry Artist & Metalsmith. In her blog post she gave lots of encouragement and guidance for going through the application process.

Casey kindly agreed to allow me to share the link to all of this information here. Best of luck to all of you who choose to put yourself out there!! If you were just thinking about things you could do to step out of your comfort zone, one of these might be it!

And, now for the grand finale..... Just in case you need a little extra boost, check out what our fellow bead bloggers have been up to this week!

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! Jean's sharp eye spots the first announcement of a BeadStyle Magazine special issue she will be appearing in!
The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton Andrew recaps a recent trip to Detroit for the Great Lakes Bead Guild's Bead Bonanza.
About.com Jewelry Making Tammy has been showing off some of her favorite jewelry pieces on her blog this week like this pretty earring and necklace set.
Art Bead Scene It's the Art Bead Scene Monthly Carnival Blog. This month's theme is "passion."
Beading Arts Does the beginning of spring lift your spirits? Cyndi has made a spring bracelet sponsored by Artbeads to celebrate this most wonderful of all seasons.
Carmi's Art/Life World A vintage TUMs container becomes a necklace centerpiece in Carmi's project this week.
Cindy Gimbrone aka The Lampwork Diva Rewind: Is your bronze metal clay warping? Then Cindy's got the tool for you - Rawhide!
Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Whoo- whoo! New porcelain owl pendants inspired by internet sensation Molly the Owl
Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio Lorelei is playing around with the idea of collections and series in her jewelry line.

BOOK GIVEAWAY WINNERS and This Week's Project

It's time to announce the two winners of the "A Bead in Time" book giveaway, yay!

This is very exciting for me! It's like sharing a piece of myself with others.

Thank you all so much for all the wonderful comments, they mean so much to me! Stay tuned for the next giveaway in April!

Congratulations to the two winners below:
- Pattie of Structured Chaos
- Larissa Wardrip

Please send your mailing address to: abeadaday@sbcglobal.net

On to this week's project... I had no idea what I was going to make until a couple hours ago. I pulled out a BUNCH of beads...yes, messy marvin strikes again!

I was really taken by the silver and blue mod shapes that I mentioned earlier this week and, as usual, headed for the softflex colors.

I decided to use 2 strands of the "steel blue" softflex wire with lots of little silver plated rounds. It was SO fun to make, sort of like a little puzzle.

The blue mod beads are just very simply dangled in a straight line that will be fun to wear with many colors, but I always like to imagine a crisp white blouse when I make dangly necklaces. I think it will stand out nicely with white.

I had one more blue mod bead left and thought it would be adorable as a focal bead in a bracelet. I love how the silver rounds seem like bubbles, very fun and festive!!

I hope you are all having fun creating this weekend! Take care and see you tomorrow :)

Featured Designer: Cyndi of Mazeltov Jewelry Treasures

It's time to celebrate! Another weekend has rolled back around which means a little extra time for creating! To me, that means "freedom"!

I am always so excited to share a wide variety of jewelry and bead artists here on Fridays and today is no exception. This week's featured designer is Cyndi of Mazeltov Jewelry Treasures.

Cyndi is truly a seasoned professional and I don't think there is a technique that she hasn't mastered. I had lots of fun searching through her website to pick out a few pieces to show you today.

There is something for everyone in her designs. From wedding jewelry to extensively detailed beaded necklaces. Incredible work!

I was so happy that Cyndi agreed to allow me to share her work with you here considering she has been published in numerous magazines, books and websites.

On her blog, "Beading Arts", Cyndi shares not only her own work, but other jewelry designers as well. I was very intrigued by a recent tutorial using resin and a variety of interesting materials such as lace mixed with springy wire! So cool!

Mixed media art is another of Cyndi's interests, in fact, she has ANOTHER blog entitled, "Mixed Media Artist". WOW!! It is clear that she is driven by the urge to create! Very inspiring!

Thanks a million Cyndi for allowing me to post your work here!! Have a great weekend everyone! :)

Colorful Charms

These charms might not be magically delicious to taste, but I think they are delicious to look at! :)

More beads from Joann, etc...

These will be incorporated into a project in the near future. I would like to combine these light turquoise colored epoxy charms with yesterday's orange charms in a bracelet.

However, I have recently made a couple of "charm" bracelets and would like to use a different technique.

I will do my best to brainstorm for a new idea and love hearing from everyone else too!

Initial thoughts are: wire crochet, right angle weave and I think this might be my favorite, hemp cord knotting! :)

I better get busy!! Have a great evening! We're in the home stretch for the weekend! YAY!!

Metal & Epoxy Charms

Today's bead is from the Blue Moon Bead collection that I've been posting about all week. The front of the package describes these as, " Metal & Epoxy Charms" and the back as, "CHRM/MTL/EPX/RND ORG #1".

I believe that means they are calling these orange! They look orange in a bright light, but in a little darker room and on this post they look a little like sienna. Either way, they are shiny and FUN!

I would love to have an entire charm bracelet made from all different colors of these charms. I have one more color to show you tomorrow, so that might be a fun weekend project!

I'd be interested in hearing some non-traditional ideas for using these charms if you have a second. I think they'd be pretty cute worked into a crochet jewelry piece with all the dangles everywhere!

"Polished Urban Chic"

Isn't that a great name for this line of Blue Moon Beads?..."Polished Urban Chic"

These beads are from the same line as the "mod" beads from yesterday's post which, by the way, were not wood, but PLASTIC! I didn't realize it myself until I actually looked at the package this evening.

I love the earthiness of real wood beads, but am also intrigued by things with a faux wood grain. They always seem to make me smile.

Today's beads are labeled as, "Metal & Epoxy Connectors". There is definitely a retro vibe to these, but for some reason they feel like a 1980's version of 1960's mod. It must be the bright cobalt blue.

These beads are going to be very fun to use because, as connectors, they have a hole on either end. I keep thinking of using all 4 of them as one long necklace dangle for some reason. The color is very attention getting!

What do you think?

Super "Mod" Beads

These beads look like they might have come from the set of the 1960's show, "That Girl"!

Yes, I do have a thing for the show and wish I had all 5 seasons of DVD's, but only have one season so far. The others are carried by our local library, so I get to see it quite a bit!

This is a show that I like to watch for a while in the morning as I prepare for the day. I think the sweet positivity seeps into my being somehow!

Here is a picture of the beads outside the package as well as inside the package so you can see how many of each shape you get per package.

I found these Blue Moon brand beads at my local Joann, Etc. store.

This was a case of, "I just have to have those beads"! I love it when that happens!!

I don't have a design plan together yet, but in true "That Girl" fashion, there will be bright colors involved.

Peace, Love & Bead Bloggers!

If you are looking for inspiration or just a few places to hang out and find some fun things to look at, you have come to the right place today!

It is Sunday and that means time to catch up with some fellow bead bloggers.

I can't seem to resist posting this shrinky-dink "LOVE" bracelet to represent how I feel about the beading and blogging online community.

They all make me feel so encouraged and loved and I am truly grateful for that!!

So, here we go! Have fun and see you tomorrow for more BEADS!!

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton Just back from a whirlwind adventure in Hawaii, Andrew shares his experience in paradise and spotlights some bead-making talents.
Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! Spring really arrived here, FINALLY, and Jean was inspired to create some colorful, sparkly CZ jewelry with the beautiful components she found at Artbeads!
About.com Jewelry Making Carpel Tunnel Sydrome is not a new issue for jewelry designers, but here are some resources that may help.
Art Bead Scene Art Bead Scene Editor Heather Powers shows how she organized her studio for $45!
Beading Arts Cyndi worked out a pattern for a simple but pretty floral seed bead chain!
Carmi's Art/Life World A few word charms by the cash register are the inspiration for a new brooch.
Cindy Gimbrone aka The Lampwork Diva A seed catalog keeps Cindy's inspiration alive. The result is a Victorian Garden Bee Skep bead.
Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Melanie reviews a delighful new multi-media book by Sherri Haab
Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio Take a little virtual shopping trip with Lorelei around the web for inspiration to participate in the Art Bead Scene Almond Blossoms challenge!

This Week's Project & BOOK GIVEAWAY!

In celebration of the first day of spring, I am very excited to offer two copies of my book, A Bead in Time, up for grabs!

Just leave a comment here and next Saturday, I will use a random number generator to select two winners. I can't wait!

Now, on to this week's project... I had a lot of fun working with the gold toned and swarovski crystal beads I selected from Artbeads.com.

I took several different photos of this bracelet so you could get an idea of the look. It was simple, but it is actually quite mesmerizing! :)

The earrings are sort of long which is because my hair is a little longer right now and I wanted to be able to see these adorable little crystal butterflies.

The bracelet dangles are SO fun and make me smile, which is always a good sign after making a piece of jewelry. I hope you are all enjoying some great spring weather this weekend! I'm counting down the days now till the drive-in movie theater opens (on April 2nd), yay!

FTC compliance disclosure: the items in this post from Artbeads.com were provided as a promotional gift as part of their bead blogger program for review or design purposes.

Featured Designer: Denise Peterson - Reinvented Objects

Happy Friday! It was a beautiful sunny day here in my neck of the woods, I hope everyone had a bit of sunshine to enjoy today! It certainly has a way of lifting people's spirits.

It is time once again for the weekly featured designer showcase, yay! This week's featured designer is Denise Peterson of Reinvented Objects.

Denise recently had some of her work published in the March 2010 issue of Belle Armoire Jewelry (page 120) and has kindly allowed me to show one of her pieces here as well.

This necklace at the top/right is so adorable. I have a tendency to be drawn to things like this with birds in them. I think it must represent "peace" or "happiness" in my subconscious mind.

Denise also recently attended the "Art & Soul" event in Las Vegas and took several classes that she has written about on her blog.

I have greatly enjoyed every beading class I have taken and since I haven't figured out how to add more hours to each day, I enjoy reading about others' learning experiences.

Denise has several pieces listed in her etsy shop including some very cool bezels!

The other pieces shown here are a couple of my favorites from the "Reinvented Objects" blog. What happy, fun and whimsical pieces!! They just make me smile! :)

Thanks so much Denise for allowing me to share your work here today!! Have a great weekend!!

Sparkly Swarovski Flower Pendant

Everything's coming up swarovski crystal beads!! How fun would it be to line your flowerbeds with swarovski sparkle!?

I'm very excited about the jewelry I am working on with all of this week's beads from Artbeads.com. I've got some serious bling here! :)

Today's bead is a swarovski 14mm peridot flower pendant.

One of the many thoughts I had today involved using the bright gold chain in a bracelet cuff as the outer rows and weaving gold wire through the links with the filigree flowers and butterflies "floating" in between.

I have also seen some great ideas in the comments this week such as creating a multi strand necklace with dangles and filigree earrings.

As I mentioned earlier in the week, photos just don't do these beads justice. The clarity and sparkle are AMAZING! The green is so springy (not to mention St. Patricky). I think it's time to CREATE!

FTC compliance disclosure: the item in this post from Artbeads.com was provided as a promotional gift as part of their bead blogger program for review or design purposes.

Dreaming of Butterflies

It is going to be so great to see real, live butterflies when spring and summer finally arive! I am getting very excited for warmer weather. It was a gorgeous day today in the high 60's. WOW!

For anyone celebrating today....Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

I am in the process of sketching out how to use these peridot swarovski butterflies in my daisy and gold chain project....stay tuned!!

Let me know what you think about the Artbeads.com beads shown here this week, I am trying to figure out how to make these butterflies fly! :)

I just don't think there is a swarovski crystal bead I can't find a place in my heart for!

FTC compliance disclosure: the item in this post from Artbeads.com was provided as a promotional gift as part of their bead blogger program for review or design purposes.

Bright, Shiny Chain

This chain is so bright and shiny! It is a perfect match for yesterday's swarovski filigree daisies! It really has a fun vibe!

There were so many different types of wire and chain to choose from and I am so glad I picked this shiny/happy one for a spring project!

The catalog description reads, "Gold-Plated Big, medium, and Small Oval Link Chain". I wanted to put a link so you could see it up close on the Artbeads.com site.

My chain is 12 inches long and will be perfect for either a bracelet cuff or adorable necklace. The jury is still out on that part, but I can't wait to get busy putting something together.

I always find that when I am selecting beads, I start "drafting" ideas, but it never fails when I actually have the pieces, other ideas start to creep in. That makes things much more exciting!

I'd love to hear some of your ideas too! Please don't ever hesitate to share! That's what makes this so much fun!

By the way, here is a photo of the back of yesterday's swarovski filigree component. It is even pretty from THIS side! This is the perfect component for using wire or even jump rings to connect to other pieces.

FTC compliance disclosure: the item in this post from Artbeads.com was provided as a promotional gift as part of their bead blogger program for review or design purposes.

It's Time for Daisies!

I am so excited to share a new batch of beads with you this week from Artbeads.com. Today's bead is the Gold Plated Peridot Filigree Daisy.

If you were wondering about the size, it is a substantial 19.5mm, I mean, WOW!!

The gold with the peridot is such a beautiful color combination and seeing the swarovski sparkle just holding it in my hand is like therapy in itself. That's some seriously sweet bling!

I love flower shapes and the fact that the first day of spring is less than a week away also makes me so happy!

I don't want to give away my design plan too much because, yes, I'm going to stretch this out all week. It is just too much fun this way!

I'd love to hear your reaction to these fabulous blingy flowers if you have a second.

It is one thing to see these in the online catalog, but another thing altogether to have them right here with such clarity and sparkle...yum!

It is quite possible that I have a swarovski crystal beads obsession, but I'm okay with that!


FTC compliance disclosure: the item in this post from Artbeads.com was provided as a promotional gift as part of their bead blogger program for review or design purposes.

Upcoming Giveaway & Bead Blogger Love

Sunday has rolled around and it's time to get ready for a brand new week. Before I leave you with some great bead blogger links to check out, I wanted to mention an upcoming book giveaway to celebrate the first day of spring.

Next Saturday I will be offering two copies of my book, A Bead in Time, along with a new project photo from the book. I'm so excited!! It has been great fun sharing this with all of you, thanks for coming along for the ride!! :) Stop by next weekend for all the details!

I also wanted to mention that Dagi of the Kokopelli blog has made an adorable and whimsical sun catcher from some of the sea glass I sent her just for fun when she won the ceramic heart bead from A Bead A Day in February. I just loved the wire swirls she made in between the colorful pieces of glass.

And now, to get your creativity geared up for a new week, here is a bunch of inspiration...Have a great evening!

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! An inveterate wirer, Jean approaches new things which other designers do with ease verrrry cautiously...as if they might be wild animals! Grrrr! Should she run away? Decide for yourself!
Strands of Beads Melissa is giving away one of her floating box pendants this week in honor of her son.

About.com Jewelry Making Jump rings seem like small items when it comes to jewelry making, but they can cause big problems!

Art Bead Scene ABS unveils the March Challenge painting - Van Gogh's Almond Blossoms.

Beading Arts Cyndi has a fabulous Zulugrass bracelet to giveaway this week!

Carmi's Art/Life World Button making turns into jewelry making for Carmi this week!

Cindy Gimbrone aka The Lampwork Diva When is more, more? When you've got shell pearls and lampwork glass!

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Another favorite song inspires Melanie to make new Heart Window pendants

Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio Thinking of selling on Etsy? Read this post, Lorelei has shared some tips from what she's learned along the way.

This Week's Project: Treasure Hunting Memory

I mentioned last week that a friend and I went digging for treasure at a local shop through a container of plastic beads to put together a baggie for $1.99 that we ended up splitting.

I have been wanting to make something with these little treasures ever since. The feeling was similar to having money "burning a hole in my pocket".

I had a chance to work on some ideas and after a few unsuccessful attempts, I decided to wire them all onto a silver plated chain. I thought it might be a little bit tedious, but I thoroughly enjoyed taking my time playing with all of these fun beads.

Now that I had a chance to look at them again, I have a few favorites. There is one bead in the shape of a folk-art heart that has the words "ok" and "ok" on it. It makes me think of a great book called, "I'm ok, you're ok". There is also a little deer, an intricate yellow flower and a black smiley face with sparkly eyes that makes me laugh!

I'm so glad I took the time to put this together so I can carry that memory around and return to it as needed.

I hope you are having a great weekend!

Featured Designer: Madison Reece Designs

Oh happy day, Friday is here, YAY! And, the perfect way to celebrate that is by featuring someone new!

I recently stumbled upon The Bright Side Project and signed up for their daily emails. A new product, designer, website or company is featured daily for a dose of good cheer! One of last week's features was Madison Reece Designs.

When I visited her blog, I knew immediately from the pictures in the header that she made adorable, happy pieces and I wanted to share them with you here. Luckily, she agreed!! :)

Madison Reece Designs, features "fresh rustic modern unique" handmade fine silver jewelry. She states on her etsy site that "All of my Rustic Silver jewelry is freshly made when you purchase it."

By the way, there is one more day left to win the most adorable piece from Madison Reece Designs on The Bright Side Project!

I just love the cheerfulness that comes through in her work.

Thanks so much to Madison Reece Designs for allowing me to feature her here today!

The Magical World of Beading!

I could not resist buying a handful of these adorable "magic" wands at a local shop. I will be giving these out to friends (whether they like it or not). :)

As I mentioned yesterday, I was also able to find some adorable charms. I wanted to share the silver ones here because I already used the gold ones!!

The 4 leaf clover, heart and "diamond" ring charms are just great AND they feel very lucky!!

I can't wait to use them! I will share the other bracelet chains I bought in the near future so I can get your opinion!

Have a great evening!!

Digging for Treasure

I mentioned over the weekend that I had recently gathered up "treasure" that included some gold "coins" or medallions and had drilled a hole in one of them to include in my project of the week.

I've had such fun wearing it this week because the shell pearls and sparkly beads are so pretty, but also because that coin and the little charms make it very fun.

A friend and I went into a local shop to pick up the bracelet chains and just couldn't help but dig through a large container of plastic beads with a little shovel.

We probably spent an hour just scooping up beads and looking closely at them to pick out a baggie full for $1.99. It was seriously good and inexpensive therapy! You will need to click on this photo to get a close-up view of the little smiley faces, dice and all around silly beads. :)

I can't wait to get these worked into a piece of jewelry so I can be reminded of the day we were digging for treasure!

Beach Vacation Memories

These are the last couple of memory items provided by Rings & Things for this month's blog partner program. WOW!!

After reading comments over the last week or so from others on what they would like to carry around as a memory, the beach/sand/shell theme seemed to stand out.

I think that is a great way to use either these bottles, the picture frame, the shadow box or hinged glass pendant that have been showcased here recently.

They are all basically just a blank slate for you to fill as you see fit.

I'm wondering now if I can fit some tiny, sparkly seed beads and maybe even just a little bit of diamond dust glitter into one of these containers. Mmm...glitter does sound like fun!! :)

What do you think? Here are the catalog links just in case! :)

Jar, glass 32x15mm

Jar, glass, heart

Have a great evening!! :)

FTC compliance disclosure, notice of material connections: the items in this post from Rings&Things were 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

Colorful Glass "Jars"

Are these colorful bottles from Rings & Things adorable or what? I was actually wishing I had a couple handfulls of them in a variety of colors. I just checked the online catalog and discovered these are in many other colors.

After finishing the gold chain bracelet yesterday, I was thinking a nice silver chain covered in these mini bottles, a few pastel shell pearls and a few swarovski crystals here and there would be GREAT! What do you think?

Now, the question is....what to put inside these little bottles...! I believe I read in the catalog that a piece of rice fits inside and there is a trend right now to write a word or message on the grain of rice and then secure it inside.

Each of the little bottle toppers are actually screw-on lids with a nice loop for hanging from a chain! Nice!! Any ideas you want to share?

FTC compliance disclosure, notice of material connections: the item in this 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

Blogger Udpates & This Week's Revised Project

This week's project was returned to the drawing board this afternoon after one of my furry kids stepped into an open bead box which also had my sort-of-dry bezels on the lid.

It's a very good thing he is adorable or I might have been upset. BUT, it is impossible to get mad at someone so cute and angelic looking! :)

This week's project no longer has bezel's attached, but you can't miss all of the great shell pearls and electric sparkly beads that I mentioned early last week!!

It is possible that I got slightly carried away with this... This is usually an issue I face when using a glue gun, but today it was having so many great beads to put on head pins!

I love it and was glad to find a great use for this gold toned chain bracelet and heart/clover charms.

The "coin" charm is actually a plastic piece from a "pirate's treasure" that I will tell you about another time... :) I drilled a hole and the next thing I knew, it was hanging from my bracelet!!

I hope you all had a great week! Below are updates from our fellow friendly bloggers so we can see what they have been up to as well!

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!

Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio The answers still hold true in this interview that Lorelei had with herself back in 2008.

Katie's Beading Blog Surf on over to Katie's blog for ideas about making your own chain, layering components, and easy earrings.

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! Jean made a necklace for a relative. Of course, it had to be perfect. Therefore she turned to Kazuri Beads!

About.com Jewelry Making Turn a little hand-dyed ribbon and shell pendant into a trendy jewelry piece you'll wear with almost everything in your closet.

Art Bead Scene Got cabin fever? ABS has some beady suggestions so you can get out of the house.

Barbe Saint John - New Jewelry from Forgotten Artifacts Barbe is avoiding work by showing some pics of recently made creations.

Beading Arts Cyndi is running a contest on Beading Arts, and the prize is an absolutely free advertisement!

Carmi's Art/Life World A new spring challenge from Artbeads.com means Carmi has a new Brooch!

Cindy Gimbrone aka The Lampwork Diva Squee! Rings N Things sends shell pearls which Cindy mixes with her single color lampwork beads.

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Ferris wheels, carnivals, and comedians inspire a new Song Lore Saturday post for Melanie.

Wearable Glass Display Case!

This week's project is still "under construction" at the moment as a couple of things are still drying. I'm using gold toned bezels received from Rings & Things along with the butterscotchy shell pearls and more electric sparkly beads to create a fun, lucky bracelet.

I'll mention more tomorrow, but in the mean time, here is another great item received from Rings & Things.

As you might have guessed this month's theme for the Rings & Things Blog Partners is memory jewelry. As with the items below, the pieces I've shown this week are for showing off saved or treasured items.

This square glass picture frame is so cool because it has a nice little sliding hinge type door so you can add your photos or even pressed items. This would be the perfect way to show your mixed media art.

The great part about it is there are two sides that can be displayed. You could actually go very different on either side for wearing with very different outfits. OR, you could determine which side to wear based on your mood.

A friend and I were just talking about a "good" vs. "evil" bracelet. Smiley faces and crystals on the top side and a little bit darker colors with an ornery vibe on the other. You could slide it around based on your mood. Yes, we were sort of joking, but now it sounds like a fun idea!

I hope you are all having fun crafting and HOPEFULLY enjoying a bit of sunshine today!!

FTC compliance disclosure, notice of material connections: the item in this 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