Happy Halloween!

It is my pleasure to introduce Lithia's Creations! Lithia of South Bel Air, MD has created such a great piece it really stopped me in my tracks.

I've been saving it to share with you on this fun and sometimes scary holiday!

I know you will be in awe as I was, LOVE the bat and the contrast of the red. Not overdone, JUST RIGHT!

Thanks to Lithia for allowing me to share her talent with all of you...

Happy Halloween!

Halloween Home Stretch!

It's getting down to the wire if you are creating jewelry or other Halloween craft projects...this is the home stretch!

If you have a party this weekend, then you get a few extra days to create, yay!

I'm happy to share the Cousin project gallery where you can find all 5 of the Ambassador's projects with instructions. Enjoy, and have a Happy Halloween!

Fright Night Spikes!

On a recent trip to Joann, etc. while looking for those elusive plastic spiders, I discovered these great acrylic spike beads by Cousin Corp.

Yes, I was in the bead aisle...did I go for beads, no...

Did I buy beads, yes...

I was in the process of creating a bracelet project in my head using the black lace and orange pony beads, so when I saw those spikes all I could think of was, "I hope those holes are big enough to get the shiny plastic craft lace through!"

I thought the irony was sort of poetic. I was working on a Cousin project and found the perfect bead to finish it and it happened to be a Cousin product. :) Yep, poetic...

This is definitely a craft project that is much easier than it looks to complete. AND, most of all, it is eye catching and perfect for Halloween. It shouldn't take more than an hour to finish once you get going.

Don't worry if you don't make it for Halloween, once you know how to make this bracelet, you can modify it in so many ways using many different kinds of beads. One of my faves is using colorful beading wire with crystals.

You can find instructions on the Cousin website. :)

Frankenstein's Princess Choker

Yay, I get to start sharing my Halloween projects with you this week!

The Cousin Corporation very generously sent me and the other four Jewelry Making Ambassadors a box full of beads, hemp cord, plastic lace and lots more to choose from for a Halloween project assignment.

I knew right away that I would be tempted to make more than one project and started having lots of ideas. Sometimes my ideas really go "crafty"...

I made a quick trip to the craft store to look for some plastic spiders and when I walked by the zipper section, I instantly knew I wanted to try making a choker out of a zipper!

We've been watching a variety of kitschy black and white movies, including Frankenstein's Revenge and I thought it would be fun for the zipper to have that Frankenstein's Monster vibe. :)

After lots of trial and error, I came up with this one. It was very fun and actually quite easy! I hope it makes you smile!

Instructions are posted here.

Quick Halloween Choker: Fun to Make AND Wear!

Hee hee... This was a fun project I made with some work friends yesterday. I had searched Joann Etc. recently for the standard spider rings and couldn't find spiders like this anywhere!

I figured there must have been a rush on plastic spiders! The next day I noticed a friend and coworker had decorated her workstation for Halloween and had some plastic spiders!! :)

I think you can probably guess what happened next...

I sweet talked her out of one, in fact, we started talking about all the ways of using them in craft and jewelry projects. We decided it would be fun to see what we could make one day at lunch.

Here's the result. We took the spiders, wrapped black craft wire around the body, covered them with mod podge and sprinkled black glitter over them.

We then cut some neck memory wire and quickly strung beads on. Once beaded, the black craft wire was wrapped around the memory wire in between beads and voila! A fun, scary choker!

I wore mine to the side, but the spider legs were irritating my neck, so I ended up wearing mine front and center at the neck, SO FUN!

One of my coworkers then wore hers as a head-band! I never thought of neck memory wire as a headband! How fun! The black craft glitter really stands out in real life.

Starting tomorrow I'll be revealing all the Cousin projects for Halloween, some fun, some scary and ALL with instructions! Yay!

On a Roll!

Since I'm on a Prima Bead roll, I might as well let you know they have Halloween beads on clearance! Check it out...

I love the red tips on the huge cross pendant! SO Halloweenish!

Here's a question for you...

How could the cute flower beads below seem menacing just by mentioning these are "Halloween" beads?

Is it power of suggestion?

Relativity?

Hmm...

You do think they look a little scary right? I hope it's not just all in my head. :)

Seedy Pumpkins

Seedy as in Seed Beads that is!

These pumpkins are adorable and they make me want to get out all my seed beads!

I don't always have the patience to work with seed beads, but these look pretty easy.

Instructions are located on the Prima Bead site, have fun!

Witchy Earrings

Are these too cute or what? I've never seen these before!

Instructions for these cool witch earrings are on the Prima Bead site!

Check it out if you haven't made your Halloween pieces yet! :)

If you have projects you would like to share, just let me know!

Pumpkins & Candy Corn!

Let's talk Halloween jewelry! These great earrings combine pumpkins AND candy corn, NICE!

They were created by our friend Suzette of Ellie's Bijoux. What a creative way to combine two Halloween icons into one design. You can find more of her designs on the E.B. Blog.

How fun!

I just finished several Halloween projects for the Cousin Corp, but can't share until next week. They are all a little fun and a little scary!

For now, I'd love to share your Halloween designs leading up to the 31st. Send me an email if you'd like your Halloween designs featured. :)

Memorialized in Plastic

Who is more fitting to be memorialized in one of my most favorite crafting mediums than Freddie Mercury?! I might have mentioned previously that I've been riding out a current obsession with the band Queen AND the officially sanctioned band, The Queen Extravaganza...

It's beginning to wane slightly, but I just received the platinum 3 CD set of their greatest hits, probably not the best way to back off from an obsession. :)

At this point in life, I am very familiar with how I go through these phases, so I try to enjoy it as much as possible as I ride it out. I used to resist and not really embrace my obsessions. However, whether it's a performer, a band, a bead, a beading technique, a color, a song, a movie, whatever it might be, nowadays, I just enjoy it. I realize now that is what makes me ME! :)

So, back to Freddie! I made some of these pieces just prior to seeing the big screen version of a 1986 concert at the movie theater about a month ago. It reminds me to embrace the unique and special personality of every person I meet. We ALL have something perfect to offer the world.

Looking for inspiration?

Looking for inspiration? I have two words for you SHRINK...PLASTIC!

If you haven't tried it yet, now is the perfect time. Be advised, it's addictive!

About.com Jewelry Making 
Shrink plastic is back, and Tammy takes a look at a new book all about it.

Art Bead Scene 
Pantone has its Autumn color reoprt out for 2012 and Heather shows some great inspiration for using those colors with a selection of her art beads

Beading Arts 
Cyndi is celebrating Metal Month! Come meet an amazing metal jewelry artist, Judy Grum.

Carmi's Art/Life World 
Carmi starts to teach tarn ring making and learns something from a child instead.


Resin Crafts! 
Lucky vintage coins are transformed into lucky resin bezels!

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! 
Jean has some exciting whoops and yells for the brand new magazine, Australian Digital Magazine, which she will be working for with her beloved editor Kelly with whom she formerly worked for four years at Au Beading. This fab new mag. could not be more exciting. Jean gives just a few of the the reasons why!

Speaking of Blood-red Beads...

It wasn't until I was at Joann's over the weekend looking for "blood red" beads for my Halloween project and I saw these Cousin beads on the wall that I remembered I already had them in my stash!

They are perfect for my SCARY necklace!

I had a chance to experiment with them last night and it seems to be taking shape. I can't wait to share it with you later this month!

It will be a one of a kind piece meant to just be worn on Halloween.

Pony Beads...not just for kid projects!

I used to think pony beads could really just be used in projects for kids or ultra "crafty" projects.

That is limiting thinking...shame on me for typecasting such a fun bead!

While kids projects are still lots of fun to make, it's also fun to find ways to use them in more mainstream projects or very unique adult jewelry or craft projects.

Can you say CHALLENGE?!

If you have examples, please share. I'm working on a project now that seems like it would be a kids project, but I hope it turns out as fun and adult-friendly as I think it will!

Let's Get Creative!

Wow, another week has passed....sometimes it just flies by so quickly! I have to make sure to hang on to a few extra minutes on the weekend to revel in.

So, let's get creative! Here's some ultra fun shiny craft lace from Cousin Corp! I just LOVE it and can't wait to use it in my Halloween project, yay!

Lots of ideas are swirling so stay tuned!

Scary Eggplant

I thought these Cousin Corp. beads were pretty when I opened up my goodie bag of beads to use in a Halloween project. However...

It's funny when you are designing a "scary" craft or jewelry project, perfectly happy eggplanty beads seem to take on a menacing, dark vibe!

Another lesson in perspective :)

Speaking of Cousin, I've been talking about them quite a bit since they have so generously supplied me with plenty of fab products to play with.

I wanted to share a little inside info from the latest Craft & Hobby Association magazine. This is an excerpt from a story on family businesses in the crafting industry. You know I just LOVE a great success story, especially one that centers around crafts! Enjoy!

Halloween Mardi Gras!

These bead strands are so great, they remind me of Halloween Mardis Gras! Now wouldn't that be a fun event!

These are going to be part of my Halloween project for the Cousin Corp!

It's beginning to come to life on the drawing board in my mind at this point, so it's only a matter of time before it takes shape in real life!

If you have a Halloween project to share, just leave a comment with a link so we can stop by and check it out!

Scary (cool) Chain

Well, it turned out to be more of a doggie 3 day weekend than a crafting 3 day weekend.

The good news is, there are a few more solid weeks of crafting left this month, yay!

For now, doggie is resting, so its time to think about beads and crafting again!

Here's another Cousin Corp. product I received for the Halloween crafting challenge...the package reads, "50 in purp/gold sm ovl chn."

I wouldn't have normally thought this chain was scary, but when I think of using it in a Halloween project, it feels like it could be scary! Interesting...I guess that is a good example of perspective! LOVE the purpli-ness of it!

Could end up in a very scary project...only time will tell and I can't wait to get started! :)

Peace, Love & Bead Bloggers!

How is everyone's weekend going? I sure hope there is a lot of creating going on!

Here are some inspiring bloggers just in case you haven't found your inspiration!

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
Anne Lichtenstein of Gardanne Beads gifted this amazing goodie bag of enamel and lampwork components to Andrew during a recent workshop!

About.com Jewelry Making
Have you been to the Jewelry Making Forum lately? It may be time to catch up.

Art Bead Scene
Brandi shows some color palette options for this month's Art Bead Scene inspiration artwork: Revolving by Kurt Schwitters

Beading Arts
Cyndi gets busy with some tools and materials from ImpressArt, the metal stamping company!

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi is continuing to experiment with kumihimo and t-shirt yarn!

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
The spooky season is upon us and Melanie is getting ready for Halloween with a free Skeleton Key Necklace project

Resin Crafts!
If you wonder what a fish skeleton looks like in hot red, pop on over to the blog this week to see the funniest necklace I have ever made!

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading going on!
A review by Jean of the remarkable PUSH Jewelry, edited by Marthe Levan and curated by Arthur Hash--it's a modern museum collection in a book!

Fun Filigree

These black metal filigree spacers came on a strand that includes 10 filigree and 8 of the long black beads capped with little bicones.

While contemplating my Halloween project, I'm thinking these will work great with the lacey 2-hole beads featured in Tuesday's post.

Once again, a dark red comes to mind as a perfect complement to these victorian-ish beads.

Stay tuned for more Cousin beads, I've only scratched the surface of the goody bag I received this week. :)

Pumpkin-y Goodness!

Did I mention the October Halloween jewelry project for Cousin requires the use of 15 products!? Oh my!

This is going to be FUN!

The next beads up on the show & tell block are these great pumpkin-y beads!!! Yay, I get so excited just looking at them!

Hmm... I keep thinking, "The great pumpkin!"

Sophisticated with an Edge

I just tore into the bag of beads from Cousin Corp, yay! I can't wait to get started on my Halloween project.

These particular beads really attracted my attention.

There is something slightly sophisticated, yet slightly scary about them. Maybe it's the lace...kind of victorian haunted house or something. :)

The package description is 3 piece metal black lace spacer. They have two holes for stringing which  is going to be even more fun to work with. I'm not necessary picturing orange with these, more along the lines of blood red...thoughts? :)

Sweetness without Sugar!

Well, golly, goodness, gracious!

Either I had a little too much sugar today or I received a box of beads and craft supplies from Cousin Corp!

Considering I'm on day 8 of a strict 10 day back to eating basics program, I promise I didn't have too much sugar! :)

Yay Cousin, thank you so much for the most awesome crafty box of goodness! Oh, I should say Halloween-y goodness...love it!

I hope you'll ride along on this crafty, possibly s.c.a.r.y. adventure while I sort out all the pieces and parts and come up with a fun project inspired by HALLOWEEN!

Here are a couple of the most surprising pieces so far...throw your ideas out there as they all materialize, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Giant hemp cord and styrofoam balls...hmm...

Don't worry, tomorrow it's back to beads!