Weekend Inspiration

What a great way to start the weekend...with bead blogger inspiration! 

Thanks to our friends below for sharing bits of their beading lives with us!

By the way, if you know of any beaders who are posting updates from the Bead & Button show, please let us all know so we can follow along. 

There is absolutely nothing wrong with living vicariously through others! :) 

Have a great weekend!

Beading Arts
Cyndi is working on what to do with all the beaded motifs she's making...

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Giveaway for Kristal Wick's fantastic book, Foxy Epoxy! Sign up on Jean's blog! USA only, thanks!

About.com Jewelry Making
With the crazy cost of metals, now is a good time to look at preciouse versus base metals.

Carmi's Art/Life World
Phoomph. Not just a word, but a new surface to create with! You have to see the new necklace I made with fabric and rhinestones and Phoomph!

Resin Crafts Blog
A little glitter and mica are used to fashion these fabulous resin glazed tags.

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
Want to win a copy of Kristal Wick's new book, "Foxy Epoxy"? Now you can! Three books are up for grabs! Andrew shares where you can win this fun book!

Art Bead Scene
Take our monthly tour of art based upon our challenge piece!

Christmas in June?

How early do you start on holiday jewelry? I'm guessing lots of crafters get busy with projects for gifts and craft shows throughout the summertime.

I wanted to let you know I'll be telling you about a new line of Cousin Corp beads, charms and components that are coming out in a couple weeks...so, get ready for Christmas in June! :)

Reminder & Jewelry Kit Bracelet

I hope your work week is off to a great start!

Just a quick reminder about the Cousin Corporation shout out for 5 new Jewelry Making Ambassadors.

The deadline is June 17. I'm happy to answer questions if you are considering it. Just email me directly. :) blcrone123@sbcglobal.net

I also wanted to take a minute to share this ultra cool bracelet from a kit that a coworker and her young daughter put together.

I can see how easy it could be with simple instructions, but it does look complicated.

What do you think? Have you ever used a jewelry making kit like this to get kids involved in jewelry making?

By the way, I took this pic on my cell phone, but I think you can get the idea.

If you have any other kit suggestions that I can pass along to my friend, please let me know. :)

Peace, Love & Bead Blogger Inspiration!

 I hope you are all having a great holiday weekend so far!!

Here's some fun inspiration to keep things rolling along. We're kicking things off with Leah C's fab bracelet!

So bright and cheerful, thanks Leah!

Art Bead Scene
Check out Leah C's gorgeous bracelet, inspired by this month's challenge piece!

Resin Crafts Blog!
Have you tried the new specialty film Jewelry Attitude? It transformed an old beaded necklace!

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
Have you heard about the Prayers For Richie Fundraiser? Andrew spotlights this very worthwhile cause created by Kathy Van Kleeck.

Snap out of it, Jean! There's Beading to be done!
Jean got a Beading Pal from Ezel Findings and wants you to know how GREAT it is!

About.com Jewelry Making
Load up with three brand spanking new earring tutorials!

Beading Arts
Wire Month continues on Beading Arts, which features a simple project to wire up some button earrings for yourself! 

Special Project Update - Bead & Button Show

Have you ever become attached to a special jewelry project?

The Cousin Creative Circle Ambassadors were given an ultra fabulous assignment earlier this year.

We haven't shared our projects with you because they are going to be on display in the PrimaBead booth at the Bead and Button show that starts next week in Milwaukee, yay!

Prima Bead is the sister company to Cousin that is specifically a retail catalog outlet. You can find Cousin products at LOTS of craft stores as well as Walmart, Meijer and many others. But, if you want to order from Cousin directly, you must have a wholesale account.

Prima takes care of the rest of us who may not currently be in a business situation. :) They will be in booths 733 and 735 if you happen to be checking out the expo vendors at the Bead & Button show.

So, back to the project...We were given a pretty good sized budget to create a fabulous attention getting necklace for display. It was really hard not to share it with you, but local friends put up with me showing them pictures on my Kindle Fire. Yeah, I've become one of those people.

I missed the project so much that I decided to use a few of the leftover pieces and parts to make a reminder of it in a ready to wear necklace and bracelet.

These pieces are about as minimal as the B&B project is extreme, but they are perfect for my everyday wear and remind me of the excitement AND fear of having the opportunity to make something special to represent the company as an ambassador for all to see (choke/swallow/breathe into a paper bag).

I hope you will let me know if you happen upon it at the show. Please give it a little "hello" from me if you get a chance. :)

What's Everybody Working On?

Just checking in to see what everyone is working on.

I've got a bee in my bonnet right now about using some awesome colorful chain in blue, pink and purple.

AND, these awesome connectors in the same colors. This is capri...yum! These are from Primabead.com.

For some reason I keep getting distracted with new ideas.

Everything seems to look good together, so what I need to do is commit already!

So, back to what YOU are working on.

Please jump in here and let us know what is happening on your beading table, even if it's actually your lap or your coffee table. :)

Feel free to leave details and/or a link...Especially if you have a messy work table, it would sure make me feel better. :)

Bead Blogger Inspiration

I so enjoy catching up with what other beaders are doing by checking out blogs and websites.

I love that everyone is so eager to share what they are up to and what they are learning along the way!

Here's some inspiration to end the weekend on a fun and creative note!

We're kicking things off with Carmi's rubber stamped clay pendants...nice! :)

Resin Crafts Blog!
Making textured, colored and rubber stamped pendants is a breeze with Jewelry Clay! 

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! 
It it National Children's Book week! Jean has a giveaway on her blog for a children's book written by a famous author, Elizabeth King Gerlach, which Jean herself illustrated! Come over and sign up! It is adorable!

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
Using the Now That's a Jig!, Andrew made some fun earrings for a local musician!

About.com Jewelry Making
A new "frame" necklace tutorial up that incorporate some amazing mirror crytal beads.

Art Bead Scene-Color Cord Mixes and a Free Bracelet Project
Are you looking for a place to start on a jewelry design to enter into our Art Bead Scene Monthly Challenges? Lorelei has been creating color cord combinations inspired by the art piece chosen by the Art Bead Scene team.

Beading Arts
Cyndi has worked out an easy way to hang odd-shaped pieces from wire! 

The Beauty of Blogging

So, the beauty of having a blog of your very own is that you can do or not do, say or not say and share or not share anything you like!

In other words, the beauty is FREEDOM!

I'm getting back on track after being on vacation last week. Just to catch things up a little bit, we visited the fabulous Niagara Falls, Canada last week.

It was such a wonderful trip, great weather, gorgeous view, great hotel, truly perfection! The only mentionable downfall was the excess of junk food. :)

If you have never been to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, check this out...www.fallscam.com.

The best time is early morning, but really any time will do. :)

Yes, it's live streaming feed of both the Canadian and American falls...NICE, eh?!

So, getting back to beads...

Guess what I found at Walmart in Niagara Falls. Really cool Cousin Corporation beads and components...how cool is that? I didn't realize they were across the border so of course, I got a quick pic to share of a few faves. :)

Speaking of Cousin Corporation, I can't urge you enough to apply for their Jewelry Making Ambassador program if you are looking for a way to expand your jewelry making skills and network.

Here are the details from last week's blog post. Any questions? Just holler :)

Bead Blogger Inspiration

Just in time to kick off a new week, here's some inspiration and info from our blogger friends. Enjoy!

Bead addicts, Jewelry Making Machines & Connoisseurs of Handmade
"Vase With Flowers in Window" by Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder, 1620 is a vibrant inspiration for May's Art Bead Scene Monthly Challenge.

Here are some handmade art beads and components to inspire your designs for May! 

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! 

Jean reviews a great book by Anna Elizabeth Draeger: Crystal Play: Fun & Fabulous Designs for Stitched Jewelry 

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
Trying to help out those who want sell their work in stores and galleries, Andrew sheds a little light on the process from the other side of the counter.

Beading Arts
Cyndi has kicked off "Wire Month" on Beading Arts by sharing a quick and easy earring project!

Resin Crafts Blog!
It is amazing what a little acrylic paint can do on resin clay pendants. Carmi focused on creating the look of a ceramic pendant without the kiln!

Winner Announced!

It's time to announce the winner of the fabulously sparkly mirror beads! First, a quick thank you to the Cousin Corporation for their generosity in supplying the sparkle! :)

And now, congrats to Kay of KayzKreationz! Yay! You can find her creations on her Etsy site and follow her journey on her blog, KayzKreationz.

Thanks so much to all of you for stopping by, don't worry, there will be more giveaways to come! :)

Since Cousin Corporation just announced they are looking for the next 5 Jewelry Making Ambassadors to join the Cousin Creative Circle, I'll be sharing some of my own journey as one of the inaugural members throughout the week. It's an exciting time!!

Big News & Opportunity!

The official announcement was just released from the Cousin Corporation this morning!

They are looking for 5 new Jewelry Making Ambassadors to join the inaugural five as part of the Cousin Creative Circle!

Yay! This news was just released today, so if you are interested, don't delay in submitting your application! This is the perfect time for me to share my experiences as one of the inaugural 5 ambassadors. I'll post more info and pictures over the next couple of days.

For now, here's an excerpt from the Cousin Corporation webpage where the application process is explained in detail:

What is the Cousin Creative Circle™? 

Cousin’s Creative Circle™ is a group of our elite supporters and rock star jewelry makers who choose to use Cousin products in their designs because they are the best in the industry. We support them with supplies and tools, provide plenty of inspiration, send them sneak peeks of new programs, and just about anything they request from us. Oh, and we give lots of motivation, encouragement and support. We value their feedback and opinions to help us with product development. They are an extension of the Cousin family.

Do you dream about jewelry? Are you crazy for components? Is a bead show your ultimate vacation?

Then you could be part of our Cousin Creative Circle™. We are now accepting applications for five U.S. based Cousin ambassadors for a one-year renewable term, beginning in August 2013 through July 2014. 

Application Process

1.    Fill out the online application.

2.    Provide us with 3 images of your best or most accomplished finished pieces.

Applications will be accepted thru Monday, June 17, 2013 at 11:59 PM EST. Both components of the application must be turned in to be considered.Cousin will not use or share information or images without your permission.

It's Giveaway Time!

Yay! What a great way to kick off the weekend!!

This giveaway is all about the sparkle...it's MIRROR BEADS!

Thanks to the Cousin Corporation's continued generosity, I have some great sparkly beads to share.

Here's a pic of the stash and I'm also going to throw in a couple of pendants just for fun! :)

If you are interested in winning these pieces, just leave a comment on this post by next Saturday, May 11, and make sure your profile leads back to an email address or leave it in the comment.

Have a fabulously creative and sparkly weekend!

More, More, Mirror, Mirror..Beads That is!

Okay guys, check out these fab mirror beads!!

My brain is in overdrive with ideas.

When I picked up the milky white and gold mirror beads yesterday, I thought it would be fun to create the 12-bead giant bauble with these and use it as a focal in a necklace using white chain.

Sounds fun and I've never used white chain before. So, guess what, I ordered some! :)

The silver and gold beads are so sparkly and honestly, the best way to use these is to just string them up. For me, I'm pretty sure I'll create several memory wire bracelets to give to friends.

It's such a GREAT way to add sparkle to someone's day!

I had on the 3 strand memory wire mirror bead bracelet today in a meeting and the person I was talking to was following my wrist with her eyes. It was very cool, and yes, I have a tendency to move my hands when I talk. :)

Stay tuned for Friday's post because it will include a mirror bead giveaway! Yay!