New Pink Project

I got a little side-tracked after visiting Jo-Ann, Etc. today...

I'll have a couple of finished project pics for you in Sunday's post, but until then, here are a couple of products that whammied me! :)

In a good way!

How cute are these light pink ring blanks from plaid? I used the green ones to glue red bells on last month.

I walked around the store looking at beads, buttons and scrapbooking supplies to find something to glue on them.

Here is what I settled on. These really sweet fabric covered button brads from Martha Stewart Crafts.

They are called "doily lace" fabric brads. CUTE!!

I also pulled out some extra swarovski rhinestones....sparkly!


By the way, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Great Charms for the New Year!

How great are these charms?I  have to admit I LOVE this 24k gold charm for only $5.99 on Amazon! 

I wish I had it now so I could work it into a great piece of jewelry! :) 

These others are great too! How about this very crystally charm from NewBeadz. 

Looks like a great deal, marked down to $9.99.

I really like the combination of the 5 charms together, they would make a great gift bracelet!

Keep us posted on the new pieces you are working on, it's getting close to the big day! :)

Impressive Beading!

Do you know a good thing when you see it?

For me, I would have to say I probably know a good thing 90% of the time, but it's the acting on it or sharing it or taking whatever action immediately comes to mind when you do see it! My track record on that is probably not 90%, but hopefully I am improving with age!!

Well, I happened upon a really good thing today that is actually more than one good thing and guess what? I'm taking action by sharing it with all of you!!

I receive the "beading daily" emails and noticed recently that Mortira of Inspirational Beading was mentioned and commended for her "bracelet a week" challenge!  Wow, that is so impressive!!

I finally made my way over to her blog a little while ago and noticed her post was about GLITTERY geodes AND a very cool website called "theglitterguide.com". YI-YI-YI, life is good!

The bracelet pictured here is one of my favorite of Mortira's called, "Time Piece".

Yay, thanks Mortira!! :)

New Year's Wish Come True

You will never guess what I found today at the dollar store!!

I went in to find some knit gloves and crafty things to embellish them with for a crafting session with my Mom, niece and aunt.

No need to keep you in suspense...I found the New Year's horn noise makers on a necklace chain I mentioned in yesterday's post! WOW!! Who knew?!

It was so unexpected, I bought one for all of us who were crafting, it was so much fun! We ended up embellishing our gloves slightly over the top, but we had lots of fun! I made two pairs of earrings, but ended up giving them away so I don't have anything to share here except the gloves!! :)

We also made party hats using poster board, glue guns, glitter and the covers of some recently received holiday cards! And, we used large rubber bands to put under our chin!

LOTS of fun was had by all!

New Year's Eve Favors & Plans

Since I am still working on my New Year's Eve project, I thought it would be fun to share a couple of fun tidbits I discovered while googling today.

First of all, how much do you love the Happy New Year party horn on a neck chain?! Too fun!! I wish I had one of those!

There are all kinds of fun party favors designed for the occasion. I sincerely recommend googling them, you will not be disappointed!!

The other tidbit I wanted to share was the fact there will be a New Year's Eve worldwide webcast from Times Square in New York City. Here's the link!

Please feel free to share your plans, your jewelry designs or your wishes for the new year! It's getting close!

New Year, New Jewelry!

The time has come to put away the red and green! It was lots of fun while it lasted.

No need to get sad or depressed, the next celebratory event is just around the corner, yay!

So, I cleared out a bead box and started pulling clear, black, white, clear crackle and a few white glass pearls to fill it.

It's looking pretty fun and sparkly so far and I haven't even gotten through half of my stash!

I have two potential ideas going, but I haven't decided which way to go yet. I thoroughly enjoyed wearing this red and green bracelet. It would be fabulous for 2012 using black wire and a variety of Swarovski crystals in jet black, clear crystal and black diamond.

OR, something inspired by this top drilled crystal bracelet I made and gave away to a friend this time last year. I have 8 of the top drilled bicones left, so it could be sort of a combination of both designs. Stay tuned!

In the mean time, I'd love to hear about your new jewelry for 2012!

Having a Holiday Moment

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays everyone!

It's going to be a crafty week since I'm off work, so stay tuned for New Year's jewelry ramblings beginning with Monday's post. :)

Until then, here's a fabulous bracelet I just found on Beadaholique!! (SO CREATIVE!)

It's the Holly Wreath Bracelet and you can find complete instructions on their site as well, HOW GENEROUS!!

See you soon!

Santa

Here are a couple of cuties! Happy Holidays! :)

Peace, Love & Bead Bloggers

YAY! We made it not only to the weekend, but to a total of 10 days off work!

Please join me in the next cheer, YAY!

Time to create, have fun and enjoy the moment!!

Here are some interesting and fun links for inspiration! Enjoy!

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton 
Embrace the holiday spirit of giving and bid on one of the fantastic "Artists Helping Artists" auctions going on to help Penny of SparrowSalvage! 


Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! 
Jean discovered a wonderful way to boost your inspiration! It's called DOTS--and you must get some! :) 


Carmi's Art/Life World 
Carmi has a post about Natural Touch resin beads and making them your own. 


Beading Arts 
It can be a bit hard to find nice ornament cover patterns that are free, so Cyndi has rounded up a few goodies for you! 


Art Bead Scene 
On the 6th Day of Christmas, Gaea posted a fun beaded holiday card hanger project! Check out all 12 Days of Christmas projects on the Art Bead Scene blog! 


About.com Jewelry Making 
Don't get hung up on hang tags. Learn some easy options for creating earring cards and hang tags. 

Bonnie's Kreative Korner Giveaway

Our friend Bonnie of B-Lee Kreations is marking a blogging milestone by giving away a very cool necklace with her favorite cat pendant.

Head over to her blog post if you get a chance and leave a comment by the end of next week.

Here is her description of the piece: The polymer clay pendant is covered in resin and is attached to four pieces of heavy gold chain. The chains are attached to matching green cords with a gold lobster claw and heart.

My favorite part of the pendant design are the dots that make me think of bubbles around the mystical little cat. :)

Bright Holiday Colors

As the work week is winding down the next two days, my thoughts have finally turned to HOLIDAY fun! To me, that means, BEADS and/or any kind of crafting!

I just made a pair of earrings for a co-worker and was wondering what I was doing this time last year.

I took a trip down memory lane which is pretty easy to do on a blog and discovered I was talking about a bracelet from the year before.

I don't know where this one is any more, sometimes they just seem to fade out to make room for new things.

I still love it and thought I would share!

Happy Holidays everyone! I hope you will keep sharing the projects you are working on, it's fun to see what people are up to.

Glittery Project from About.com

Oh my goodness, talk about cute! Look at these adorable snowmen!!

I must say that during the holidays I thoroughly enjoy the chance to mix good old fashioned crafting with jewelry making.

This project from Tammy Powley at About.com's Jewelry Making site totally captured that feeling with these snowmen earrings.

Guess what...?  She used GLITTER! I am a huge fan of glitter in any project!

Take a look if you have a chance. Tammy always details out all of her projects along with photos. Enjoy!

3D Jewelry Design

As a continuation of yesterday's featured designer post, I wanted to share some additional information from Alia of ArchetypeZ.

First of all, prepare to have your mind expanded just a little bit! :)

I was intrigued by Alia's geometric designs in her Etsy shop and wondered how she created them.

She just happened to share a link to the printing service she uses and recommended taking a look at the short videos on this site to learn more about 3d printing.

As Alia put it, "It's an interesting technology that will one day probably be in all our homes the same way inkjet printers are.

I'd love to get your thoughts on this amazing technology! I can't wait till it IS in all our homes! Thanks Alia!

Featured Designer: Archetype Z Studio

Wow, wow, wow! I LOVE coming across things I haven't seen before and this felt bracelet definitely falls into that category!

How cool and fun and artistic....I really know I love something when I get the feeling, "I wish I had thought of that!"

Creating pieces like this out of felt has got to be rewarding because it is an unusual material to use for a bracelet cuff. It's a lot of fun to surprise people with the unexpected! LOVE it!

From the Archetype Z Etsy profile, I discovered the artist behind the designs is Alia. She has degrees in architecture, but says she always had an interest in smaller scale design work like jewelry design.

I can feel the architect in her work. Wait till you see the other structural pieces using both interesting materials as well as traditional materials.

Alia also has a facebook page for special discounts.

Thanks Alia!!

Holiday Light Earrings

After driving through a "festival of lights" display tonight, I was wondering if there were any holiday light beads out there. I didn't find any light up beads, but...

Take a look at these!! They are so fun! I found this kit on the Goody Beads site. They are called Garnet Swarovski Holiday Light bulb earring kit.

They sparkle instead of glow, but it's just as nice!

What do you think? If you have any other ideas for holiday jewelry, please share them!

Peace, Love and Bead Bloggers!

Yay, it's the weekend! I know lots of people are finishing up all of their holiday preparations, planning trips, sharing recipes AND CRAFTING!

It's a great time of year and the perfect time to practice living in the moment! Enjoy the warm and happy moments as they are happening!

Our blogger friends are always sharing some of their fun moments and this week is no different!! In the links below you will find colorful bead garland, ornament tutorials, fabulous magazine features and MORE! Enjoy!

Art Bead Scene 
Jennifer decks the halls with a super colorful, Jangles styled bead garland, and her free tutorial will show you how to make one too! 


The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton 
Andrew shares a couple of magazines that he was recently published in. 


About.com Jewelry Making 
No time to make beaded ornaments? This is so not true when you have this super fast and inexpensive tutorial to help you. 


Beading Arts 
Every new year should bring a new challenge. How about getting inspired by the Ring A Day challenge...and maybe win a copy of the book? 


Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! 
Jean has fun being a new designer blogger for Nina Designs! Come and see what she made! 


Carmi's Art/Life World 
This week I made a beautiful component even better! 

Funky Beads for the Holidays

How much do you love these lampwork beads by Patty Miller of Cabari Beads?

She calls them Funky Lampwork bead disks. It looks like they are on sale too!

They are so GREAT! I love the colors and you would think this close to the holidays, I wouldn't think it was so festive, but it is!

The bright colors really work, it makes me want to decorate the house in bright, festive colors.

I can see it now, but I'm getting a vision of a steel drum Christmas...ahh, it's a nice vision! :)

A Different Kind of Sparkle

Would you call these beads sparkly? I think I would, they are quite festive!

I found these for sale on Etsy.

In fact, I used a bead similar in a project for my beading book. I used green crinkly beading wire and crimped a handful of these beads along the wire to keep them in place. The end result was very fun and retro-ish.

This is such a busy time of year, I hope everyone at least has a chance to look at their beads this season! :)

Happy Green Holiday Beads

If you are looking for holiday themed glass beads, I found a couple you might like!

Beadaholique has quite a few czech glass beads in stock.

I really love the ones with a retro-kitsch vibe!!

They make me happy and remind me of that feeling of being a kid at Christmas.

The trees are listed as: Czech glass beads opaque green and gold christmas tree 16mmx12mm.

The bells are listed as: Czech glass beads, 9mm bell beadcaps emerald green.

While you are over at their website, make sure to check out their free beading projects and inspiration!

I'd love to hear your ideas about how to use these in projects too!

Handmade Glass Beads: A Love Story!

Before going into all the fab glass bead-making details, I have a story to tell you. It really is a love story.

A couple by the names of Tim & Lily were living in Seattle when they discovered each other and their love for all things Italy.

They eventually took a brave step and left the U.S. to start a new bead-making life in Florence, Italy.

Wow! I think they might be my new idols! It always seems clear to me when people find the courage to make a change like this, love is involved in some way.

Either between people, places or things! In this case, it might be all three! You can read more of their great story on their website, BeadedLily.com.

I had such a great time looking through their website. You can get an idea about their classes, their beads and the love involved!

Here are a couple of my favorite designs. The turquoise got my attention immediately, so great! A yummy color that feeds the soul (or at least mine). :)

I absolutely love their collection of "mood swing" beads! These are from their "manic" collection, how fun is that?! What a great idea and a great story, thanks to Tim & Lily for allowing me to share a little bit of their life and their work with you! Enjoy!

THANK YOU! & More Giveaways to Check Out

Thank you all so much for stopping by to say "Hi" and to share your thoughts, encouragement and great

ideas!!

I know how busy everyone is, but I have to tell you that sharing with and visiting all of you during this time of year adds so much to my little world. :)

I just love to see what everyone is working on whether it is jewelry making, decorating or shopping! Here are a few who visited in the last week or so...

Lacey of Creekside Craziness

Designs by Dawn Marie

Hollyhocks, All things handmade in NC

Be-Jeweled by Jana

Cyndi of Beading Arts

Beetique

Saturday Sequins

Skye of Creative Chaos

Crowbirdie Beads

Polymer Clay Tutor

BY THE WAY, If you haven't had a chance to check out "Where Women Create" for their seriously cool giveaways, you still have until Noon on December 16th to leave a comment on the posts that you are interested in winning!

Check out Day 3 if you would like a chance to win a copy of my book and a project kit. :)

Have a great new week everyone!

This Week's Project: New Holiday Bracelet

I just finished up this year's Christmas bracelet. For some reason, I like to use the good old red and green in at least one holiday jewelry piece. This is it.

I love how it wraps around my wrist evenly distributed on a 3 strand clasp.

I also love the sparkle!! I used Green Beadalon wire with green and red swarovski crystals, EASY!

If you have been working on new projects for the holiday season, don't forget to leave a link in your comment if you would like to share or email me and I'll share with everyone!

I hope you are finding time to do some crafting!! :)

Peace, Love and Bead Bloggers!

The weekend is here, YAY!! :)

If you are looking for inspiration, this might just do it! Our bead blogger friends are sharing projects, giveaways and opportunities to help other artists! Enjoy!

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
Andrew creates a piece to be silently auctioned off to help a fellow artist out! Bid on his necklace to win and check out all the other fantastic auctions going on!

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean hosts a very lovely giveaway from the sublime bead and jewelry store in Florence, Italy, Beaded Lily!

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi has a series of bezels filled with last year's Christmas cards to share this week.

Beads & Books
Michelle turns an inexpensive printer's tray from a craft store into a beautiful display for a jewelry show.

Beading Arts
Wanna learn to work with chains in your jewelry designs? Cyndi has a copy of "Chains Chains Chains" up for grabs!

Art Bead Scene
Erin provides an inspiring treasury of architecture inspired jewelry compontents to give us some ideas for the Art Bead Scene December challenge!

About.com Jewelry Making
Time and money are items many of us don't have much of right now, but not to worry. These simple projects are just what you need to inexpensively spread some holiday jewelry love.

Bring on a SPARKLY New Year

Are you feeling festive yet? :)

I just popped over to BumbershootSupplies.com to check out their vintage selection of beads, pieces and parts and thought this vintage swarovski rhinestone chain would be PERFECT for a New Year's Eve jewelry project!

I LOVE black and crystal for ringing in the new year for some reason. To me it feels like a fancy, grown-up party! Some red lipstick and you are good to go!

I've never worked with vintage chain, but I'm thinking a HUGE black faceted crystal as part of a focal or a clasp would work beautifully! Deconstruct some of it or use it "as is" in a 4 strand bracelet... What do you think?

Lampwork Holiday Sugar Beads

WOW! If these beads don't say happy holidays, I don't know what does!

These are now on my wish list! How fun and fabulous! I am not a lampworker so I can't figure out how Kimberly Nicole of BastilleBleu got these so perfectly delicious!

I have such a thing for glitter, these really satisfy that need for sparkle!

On her Etsy site, Kimberly Nicole states that she makes all of her beads at her home studio. She also has a few holiday crystal wire-wrapped rings up for sale on Etsy.

If you get a chance, stop over to take a look at these sugary goodness beads! :)

Quick & Easy Necklace

I've been wanting to share this project since Saturday when I made it (about 5 minutes before heading out the door for a friend's mini-craft-night). I seem to get very crafty ideas in a time crunch when I am supposed to be doing something else!

I had a necklace with a large round pendant wired on it that I've been wearing on and off for the last couple years. I had been thinking it was probably ready for retirement.

When I was at the craft store, I had seen some very cool scrapbooking brads that I thought would be perfect for holding down the collar of a black sweater.

The sweater zips all the way up which stands up the collar. I wanted to wear it half-zipped down with a sparkly tank top under it, but the collar wouldn't lay down nicely.

So, within the same package of brads was a flower shape that surrounded the brad as an option.

I used two plain brads to hold the tips of the collar down by easily poking them through the sweater collar and sweater and separating the ends to hold them open.

I then ran the 3rd brad through the flower shape and, after cutting off the old necklace pendant, used a jump ring to hang the brad. Voila! Fun, quick, cute and unique!!

Winner Announced & Another Chance to Win!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by over the weekend to check out all the talented artists and crafters during the Holiday Shop Hop!!

Wow, how awesome was that? I just loved the eco handbags, wooden toys, AND THE JEWELRY!! People are SO creative!!

I just popped over to Random.org to select the winner of my book, A Bead in Time. Congratulations to Deci Worland of the Gem Rio Etsy Shop and Blog. YAY!!

If you are looking for another chance to win a copy of "A Bead in Time", I have good news for you! The fabulous crew over at "Where Women Create" are giving away a copy too!

They are on DAY 5 of the 12 Days of Christmas GIVEAWAYS! Would you believe they have 4 different artists/designers per day, which means the winner each day walks away with all 4 items, AMAZING! Get your comments in by Noon on December 13.

Leave a comment on the DAY 3 post for a chance to win my book AND a kit for the project pictured here, Ode to the Dandelion. :)

I noticed one of the featured giveaways today (Day 5) is Bakerella! You have probably seen her book, "Cake Pops". Seriously that book has such a great cover you can't help picking it up! And guess what? She's giving a copy away, yay!

Exciting stuff!! GOOD LUCK!!

Holiday Shop Hop & Giveaway!

Yay! It's hustle and bustle time preparing for holiday fun! This time of year provides a wonderful opportunity to show your gratitude for special

people in your life.

I love making things for people myself, but I also know that time has a way of escaping me. If you are experiencing the same thing, the lovely Shel of MiShel Designs has coordinated this weekend long online shopping experience for you. Thanks Shelly!!

To celebrate the season, I am also giving away a copy of my beading inspiration book, A Bead in Time!

Just leave a comment on this post and a random winner will be selected on Monday, 12/5/11. If you would like to purchase a copy of my book to give to one of your creative friends, Amazon has a number of them listed at a great price. Under $10 including shipping, just click on the link above.

This post will run for 2 days to give everyone a chance to get through the links below. You will find handmade beads, jewelry, wooden toys, eco-friendly handbags and MORE! Enjoy and HAPPY HOLIDAYS! :)

Blackbeary Mountain

Blue Pearls Handcrafted Goods

Chic and Frog

Crafty Hope

Dragonfly Dreamers

Etania Gems

ExPostFacto Jewelry

Fangdangles

GreenBead Designs

Handcrafted Serenity Jewelry Designs

Happy and Healthy Magnetic Jewelry

Holly Westfall / Silver Rose Designs

Just A Tish

Just Mare Pottery

Keefer Style Creations

Kabs Creative Concepts

Klassy Joolz

Kristi Bowman Design

Lilly Rose Jewelry Designs

Little Rocks

MiShel Designs

Melinda Orr Designs

My Life Under the Bus

Olive Branch Organics

Pine Ridge Treasures

Pink Poppy Studio

Rosebud’s Lampwork Beads

Sand & Sea Designs

SCJ Jewelry Design

Sew Stacy

SongBeads

Studio Waterstone

Sundancegems

Suzanne Stevens

Sweet Creek Herbs

Sweet Water Designs

Wire Worked Handcrafted Jewelry

Spinning Butterfly Swarovski Crystal

Oh my goodness! If you aren't feeling nice and sparkly inside at the moment, try clicking on this Firemountaingems.com link.

They have a graphic with a spinning butterfly crystal component that will definitely make you smile! How cool is that?

The butterfly pictured here will give you an idea of what they have posted, but the spinning version is SO MUCH BETTER!

I also wanted to give you a heads up for tomorrow's post.

It will be up early for the Holiday Blog Hop! I will be giving away a copy of my book and providing links to 40 shops that you might want to visit if you are doing some holiday shopping! :) See you then!

Love Crystals?

Get ready to add these to your wishlist!

These are from Artbeads.com. These two would be great used to make a simple tennis bracelet in holiday colors!

Listed as "Swarovski 17704 SS29 Xilion gold plated setting 2-holes Light Siam" and "Peridot".

The other colors are: sunflower, light rose, fuschia, aquamarine, sapphire and blue zircon just to name a few!!

I'm picturing myself stringing up a fabulous holiday bracelet with these!

I love a container full of crystals and knowing I will soon be wearing them!

It would also be fun to make a fabulously sparkly bracelet using the clear crystals and white opals for a sparkly new year's eve party! Yummy!