Holiday activity with a twist!

This month has busily flown right by! I hope everyone is well and gearing up for a brand new year.

As I reflect over the last month or so I am truly amazed at all of the activities, events and accomplishments! Craftnight, holiday show, holiday party, super secret elf visits, family gift giving and 5 Cousin Corp jewelry projects due the week before Christmas, not to mention a sinus infection and relapse! Phew!

Most people I talk to have a similarly heroic list, it just happens to be a hectic time for many, but hopefully upon reflection, like me, you'll find evidence of fun too! :)

Before heading into the new year, I wanted to share my excitement in finding out on Christmas Eve that one of my Cousin Corporation projects from last spring made it onto the Joann.com project page.

It's the Holiday Twist Necklace project. Yay, that made me very happy and interestingly content and inspired for what the new year might bring.

I have some fabulously sparkly Cousin connector pieces I picked out to make New Year's Eve jewelry...so, I best get busy!

Happy Holidays!

Making Holiday Jewelry?

Are you making holiday jewelry for friends and family to wear during the upcoming holidays?

I just had to share my latest bead haul, hope you don't mind!! Definitely need to rephotograph when I have more time, so here's a link:

These are some of the latest pieces from Cousin's Tis the Season line...love them! 

I just opened the box and am going to have to force myself to get ready for work without picking up tools!

If you're making holiday jewelry, please share your stories and links in the comments!!

Happy Holidays! :)

Preparing for Holiday Craft Night

Time really flies!!! Tomorrow is our traditional HOLIDAY craft night, yay! It's also a time for gift exchanging with fellow crafters, YAY to that too!

Sure to be a very long night full of fun and frivolity, hopefully we'll also see some fabulous finished crafts. Last time we made fall themed crafts and only went until 3a.m. The ending time usually depends on the number of crafts and the level of difficulty. Since there's a bit of eating, drinking and being merry involved, we like to get the most difficult crafts done first. ;)

I don't have all the pieces and parts put together yet, but pictured above is the idea for my craft. We're making SPARKLY BRACELETS for ourselves and friends. It's an easy one, so this can be done toward the end of the night.

These are made using the new Cousin Corporation elastic cord that I found at Walmart last weekend. LOVE it! I don't know why I didn't get the other colors when I was there, so guess who's going to Walmart tomorrow? Yep! :) Here are a few other colors available. They come 4 colors to a pack for $2.50. The length of each color is 1.7 ft. SO AWESOME!

Using ribbon clasps and a variety of beads or sparkly chain, I'm sure we'll create lots of original designs full of sparkle!!

If you're doing a holiday craft event with your friends or family, please share the details or a link to your blog post about it. We're always looking for new ideas!!

It's a Cornucopia!

This project seems timely considering Thanksgiving is right around the corner.

When I made this bracelet several years ago, I had intentions of adding dangles and glitter. In hindsight, I gotta love that desire for  extra sparkle! :)

However, seeing it now without the sparkle, I kind of love how it evolved into what looks (in my mind) a lot like a horn of plenty or horn o'plenty (much more fun to say!)

Here's a picture that accompanies the standard definition of cornucopia: a.k.a. horn of plenty, a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers or nuts

It seems to be getting me in the spirit of this upcoming holiday, yay!

Swarovski Sampler Bracelet

You've heard of sampler quilts, here's a sampler bracelet!

One of the "strands" I received from the Cousin Corporation in celebration of their new designation as the DIY distributor for Swarovski, was a pearl knotted strand of a variety of their glass pearls.

Since it already had a lobster clasp on one end, I just added on some jump rings on the other end and am wearing my sampler as a doubled up bracelet. It's so awesome, goes with everything AND gets attention.

People have even wanted to touch it! :) I think it's the variety that's attracting attention.

Either way, I'm loving it and have to remember not to stare, I have other things to do. I could really get lost staring at beads! How about you?

Living a Sparkly Dream!

What would you do if you found out a box of Swarovski products arrived at your door, but you still had to get through the rush-hour commute before you could see what was in it?

That's right, ask your husband to open it!

Here's how it went: "It's really big and heavy! There's a card on top from Cousin that says, enjoy your Swarovski swag!"

When I asked what he saw inside the box, the response was "bubble wrap, books and boxes". That's when I realized I wouldn't really know what was in there until I got home, :)

The Cousin Ambassadors were given some exciting news last week. Here's the exact phrasing:

“We are now the authorized distributor for Swarovski Create Your Style (CYS) for the DIY market. We took it over from EK Success effective July 1. This means Cousin will supply CYS to the craft chains like Michaels, Jo-Ann, AC Moore, Hobby Lobby, and Walmart US.”

NICE! Congratulations to Cousin Corporation AND a giant thank you for the fabulous, fun and sparkly box of Swarovski awesomeness!

When I actually had a chance to get settled in with my Swarovski box, I had to keep pinching myself and remember to revel in the moment. Here are just a few of the treasures.

I think it's safe to say I'll be sharing more as I make my way through everything. Yay!

It's okay to go crazy with sparkle!

Ooh! I am loving this sparkly pave/rhinestone connector!!

It's so easy to picture this connector in a mega dangly necklace. When jewelry pieces create themselves in my head, it must be my responsibility to bring them to life.

I did a quick search on the word "pave" on the Primabead.com website and voila...there it was. Sitting there waiting for me to find it.

Have you ever had beads and components speak to you like that? I often wish they would when I am feeling uninspired, so it's wonderful when it happens.

If you are willing, I'd love to hear your story about beads talking to YOU. Not just to reassure myself I'm not crazy, but because I know it happens to us all at some point.

True inspiration, ahhhh, a wonderful thing!

What can you make in 10 minutes?

For some reason I'm having deep thoughts about jewelry this morning. :) It's not the first time I asked myself if I tend to wear sparkly jewelry when I'm happy or when I'm in need of a little extra happiness.

Since the answer was a little bit of both, I've decided to do a better job of making fun, happy and sparkly jewelry easy to reach every day. Extra insurance or ensurance of either bringing the happy or adding to it!!

My bead order arrived the night before last and inspiration didn't hit until early yesterday morning. Why inspiration? Why do you come when I am supposed to be getting ready for work?

I took a couple things that could be easily connected thinking I could make something at lunch. I'm so glad I did!!! Since I gave away the necklace I made with this sweet little owl, I'd been wanting to make a new one for myself.

I thought I brought necklace chain, but it was actually a silvery bracelet chain. No worries, I stuck the little owl on the chain and LOVE it!!! It took no more than 10 minutes to figure out how to connect the owl with jump rings, size the chain and add a tiny toggle.

Wishing you all a fun, sparkly and creative weekend. If you have a 10 minute project to share, please leave a link in the comments! :)

Bead and Craft Blogger Inspiration!

OMG, I am loving Carmi's cuff bracelet! Wow, not only do I love this, I truly admire her vision! Carmi, you're my idol!!

It's so great when you are struck with an awesome vision that's strong enough to set a goal of creating a dozen cuff bracelets! I just had to share!!

Read more about Carmi's cuffs below and join me as I check in with our other crafty blogger pals to see what they're up to TOO! :)

Carmi's Art/Life World
The summer goal of hand sewing twelve crazy cuffs was met with this salute to the fleur de lis!

Teddy's Scarf
The teddy bear scarf is done!

Artist Profile: Photographer Taerie Kelly
Taerie is a good example of how people can find their way from being crafters to accomplished artists. She has her first solo show starting this Friday!

Mini Canvas Making
Cherie's working on some mini canvases to decorate her office.

Beading Arts
The final chapter of "Bored by Back Stitch" is now ready and available for download! The topic is "Textured Surfaces", and features ways to include shibori silk ribbon, metal mesh ribbon, soutache braid, and candy bags in your bead embroidery work!

Chain People Love!

This is actually listed as "connectors" on PrimaBead.com, but to me, it looks like chain.

People LOVE this chain! It's very attention-getting!! There's something so cool about it, I am wondering if it's the different textures.

You don't even need to use beads inside or in between or dangling from it. It's got a coolness about it. Hmm, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Even though you don't need to use beads with it, I can't help wanting to.

I'm thinking some dangles on the links in between...How about you?

Yikes, It's Craft Night!

The "Yikes" means I don't have my craft ready!

If anyone has ideas for fun and easy jewelry projects, please leave a comment!!

I'm getting ready to start digging through bead containers to find inspiration to make a project prototype and put kits together. This is one of my favorite parts of preparing for craft night, but I'm usually a little more ahead of the game.

It's also my b-day weekend and I got distracted by my gift, a Pebble smartwatch (above). :) I'm so lucky!!

There's no app for making a project for craft night, however, it HAS inspired me to make a bracelet that brightens up my rather large new Pebble!!

Any ideas on what would bring the sparkle to either the wrist WITH the Pebble or the opposite wrist that would sort of balance things out? No rush on those ideas, anytime you have them, I'll gladly accept them! :)

I'm not usually a watch-wearer, so this is going to be a real flashback! I became sort of taken with the Pebble because when I was a kid in the 70's, I was privileged to have received a giant white wrist-radio from radio shack. AM radio only, but it didn't matter! I wore it to ride circles around the driveway turn-around on my bike and thought I was pretty cool! :)

Okay, back to the jewelry project! Using shamballas on the same wrist would be too much, but maybe some black and white crystals or maybe just some clear crystals. Turquoise or aqua crystals would be nice too!

On the opposite wrist, shamballas could work! Please don't hesitate to share ideas!!! I could really use them!! Have a great weekend!

Sparkle, Sparkle, Sparkle!

I have to admit when I wrote the title of this post after completing a mantra meditation, it seemed like a mantra in itself. I wonder what could happen if I use this as a mantra throughout the day.

Sparkle, sparkle, sparkle! I'm going to give it a try! Please join me if you like! :)

What I was actually referring to with the title was shamballa beads! Yay! I really love their sparkle and their character. I think it's that combination that attracts me to them. Not quite as elegant as swarovski, it's that over-the-top quality that makes them so fun!

As I was looking for something else, I came across these beads that I ordered a few months ago and had completely forgotten about!

Now that I'm supposed to be getting ready for work, they are all I can think about. LOVE the colorful wire too!

How can I take my last 15 minutes of "free" time this morning to make something to wear today??? It will certainly remind me of my mantra...sparkle, sparkle, sparkle.

Here I go...grabbing my pliers and cutters!! Wishing you all a happy, fun Friday!

Crafty Fall Necklace

Do you ever get a little lost hopping around online from one site to the next? I just realized I "lost" about 20 minutes this morning doing just that!

However, I'm feeling much more inspired than I was before. I think it's all the pretty beads and fun projects I stumbled upon!

I found this fun project on the PrimaBead.com site, it's called "On the Fringe" necklace. Too cute! When I see jewelry projects that incorporate crafty materials, I get so excited!

This would be perfect for fall, don't you think?

Learning something new!

Kumihimo! It's fun to say and if you like to craft, it's fun to create.

Well, I might be getting ahead of myself.

While on vacation in July, I cut all the cording and knotted it to the board, added the weights and then had to come home.

It's been wrapped up and put away for over a month. Now we're taking a mini-trip for the holiday weekend and it seems like the perfect thing to take along.

It's all wrapped up and ready to be packed!

I can't wait to see if I can master this cool weaving method.

The instructions seem pretty simple and I know LOTS of people do this, so I'm not going to be afraid!

If you're not familiar with kumihimo, here's a link to wikipedia.

If you've experienced kumihimo yourself, please share your stories. I could use the encouragement! :)

Love Those Crafty Bloggers!

I could spend hours jumping around from blog to crafty blog to see what people are up to in their little piece of the world. 

Sunday is the best time to do that, but since I got caught up doing lots of other things yesterday, I'm grabbing a few extra minutes this early Monday morning before getting back in the groove. 

Here are a few links if you want to join me!

Art Bead Scene
Check out Brandi's art bead palette of the month!

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
Andrew shares the Reveal for the latest design challenge, Dark Bloom.

Craft Organizing
Tips for organizing or not organizing depending on how things go!

Resin Crafts Blog
Super easy coasters with resin and glitter!

How to Repair Beaded Fringe
Here's how to DIY bead fringe repair or find a pro. BTW, craft repair is a very nice niche especially as a supplement to selling items you make from scratch.

Beading Arts
Cyndi has a review of Irina Miech's new book, Finding Style. You'll love all the new components that are available now!

Thinking About Sparkle Today

 Wishing I had some sparkly shamballas to wear today!   

Should I give up my exercise time to make something real quick? I know the RIGHT answer, so why am I rebelling against my own good choices?

BECAUSE I NEED SPARKLE!

These projects were made as part of the Cousin Ambassador program. I received the blue necklace back, but gave it away to someone who admired it. If I had the pieces I need to recreate the INSPIRE necklace, I would make it into a bracelet.

Okay, running off to dig up beads. I'll have to do double-time on the treadmill tomorrow!

Have a great Friday! If you have some sparkle to share, please do! :)

Feeling Daintyfied!

                                          

I'm feeling pretty lucky to have all these daintyfied elements to play with! Can I just say...they are so DAINTY! :)

                             

I don't know what it is about tiny little things like this, but they definitely spark that little girl in me.

I remember having a handful of those tiny little glass animals when I was little. I don't know why I was so fascinated with them, but whatever it is gets stirred up when I see things like this.

Of course, I was drawn to this sweet little owl with the big faceted eyes and sweet face! The daintyfied collection is from Cousin Corporation and will be in Michael's stores beginning Aug. 15.

I'll be taking a trip to mine so I can see ALL the pieces and grab a silver toned bangle.

I'm also curious to see if there are any more little animals included in the collection. :)

My fellow Cousin Ambassador, Allison Cooling, a.k.a. Quiet Lion, has a couple of great posts about the pieces SHE received from the daintyfied line. Her posts can be found here and here. 

See you at Michael's! I wish this weekend was the 15th! I feel the need for a craft store trip THIS weekend!

Patience is a virtue...patience is a virtue...patience is a virtue... :)

Magically Delicious Universe Moment

It's not surprising my latest MDU moment involved jewelry! :)

I started a new mantra Thursday morning. The one I selected is intended to clear obstacles and awaken the manifesting energy of the universe. Yay! It's always exciting to start a new routine for the purpose of making life even better. :)

The MDU moment happened that same evening. I had a Cousin Ambassador project on deck that I hadn't had the chance to work on, so I thought it would be the perfect time to look through the pieces and parts I received. FUN!

In an awesome moment, I realized I had received a beautiful gold toned bangle bracelet from the new Cousin Daintyfied collection. It fit my wrist perfectly and because it is very dainty, I thought it would be perfect with a few charms hanging from the top circle.

The gold charms in my package were the OM symbol, Buddha and a sparkly elephant, which happens to be a good representation of the mantra I selected that morning.

Okay universe, message received! Love you too! ;)

Don't you love it when you get pretty instant validation that you are on the right path? Me too!

More on the new Daintyfied collection soon...just wanted to revel in this moment a little bit longer. :)

Planting Creative Seeds

Can you guess which one of these little pots is mine?

A few of us came together early this morning to create a special little pot for planting seeds of desire...ahh, what a nice idea!

We'll be writing down our dreams, intentions or desires and "planting" them in the pots to help them grow.

We had a wonderful time making a little creative chaos out of our crafting table today. The only rules were there were no rules and worrying about perfection was not an option!

My thanks and gratitude go out to Dawn and Michelle...I appreciate you more than you know! :)

By sharing this with all of you here, I encourage you to gather a group of friends or just your friends me, myself and I to let your creativity flow!!! It's well worth making the time...

Please share if you are joining us in planting creative seeds!

Christmas in July!

                                               

      

It's that time of year again...crafters get ready! Time to start thinking about making those holiday gifts or preparing your crafts for the fall/winter craft show circuit!

For me, I enjoy thinking about gifts I can make for people. Usually my thoughts turn to jewelry, but this time around when the Cousin Corp sent out holiday beads to the Ambassadors, all I could think of was a craft project!

The latest 'Tis the Season bead products are now making their way into the JoAnn stores, yay!

Since I just upgraded my Kindle, my thoughts were around making an embellished bag or case for it. The cool thing about JoAnn's is they are pretty much everywhere.

We made a stop while on vacation last week at the JoAnn store in Dearborn, Michigan. We spent a couple days there to visit the Henry Ford Museum, which was AWESOME! I recommend a visit if you ever make it to that area.

When I saw this great bag for only $5.99 I knew my 'Tis the Season beads, especially the sparkly red shamballas, would really pop against the grey. I just used a needle and clear monofilament to sew all these pieces on and just in case the gift is for me, the ten year-old child within made me sew on my initial in clear bicones.

Ya gotta love that "kid"... :)

Fruit & Veggie Smoothie Bracelet

It's not uncommon for things in my life to become represented in pieces of jewelry.

I've been sort of obsessed with my NutriBullet high speed blender/whole food smoothie maker. I continue to learn wonderful things about the health benefits of organic fruits and veggies. Things I never knew.

Why didn't I know that fruits and veggies are medicine? I've done every diet in the book, read my fair share of health and nutrition books and magazines, but for some reason it never sunk in that lemon can help remove toxins from your body, etc. 

Reading about the amazing benefits of apples blew my mind. It never seemed to sink in before.

Here's the scoop: In addition to vitamins B and C, the phytonutrients and antioxidants in apples may help reduce the risk of developing cancer, hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease. 

There is also growing evidence that apples can potentially improve neurological health, prevent dementia, reduce risk of stroke, lower levels of bad cholesterol, ward off breast cancer. Wow! 

Definitely worthy of an obsession!!!!!!!

So, I ordered sparkly beads in color of bicones I thought would represent my nutribullet creations well!!

Do you use a Nutribullet? If so, please take a moment to leave your favorite smoothie recipe! :)

Latest Project & Blogger Inspiration

Friday morning when I was supposed to be on the treadmill I quickly put this little necklace together. I still got a half hour in before work, but not a compromise I need to be making this close to my next vacation. :)

Oh well, spilled milk and all that! 

I love this little owl friend and cheated a little because I had this great purple chain that worked perfectly with the purple/bronze mirror beads. That made for a very quick turnaround. I am guessing it took about 15 minutes and well worth it! Looked pretty cute with a dark purple blouse. 

Coming up at the beginning of July, I'll be sharing a new line of Cousin products, Yay! AND, I would love to get some vacation jewelry done BEFORE our trip, but definitely plan to bring beads with me just in case that doesn't work out. 

We're doing a driving vacation this time around...Henry Ford Museum, a night at a casino and then family vacation at a state park lodge. Can't wait for ARTS & CRAFTS every day! Yay, you gotta love a state park that continues to offer such a cool option for kids and adults. A room full of things to paint, glitter and glue AND all the paint brushes, paint colors, hot glue, Elmers you could possibly need & MORE! :)

And now, just in case you are in need of inspiration as the weekend comes to a close, here's a quick peek into some other crafty blogger worlds. Have a great week! 

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean got some fun news about a great book ! It is all about Jewelry Making Daily and Wire + Metal this week! See her blog!

Resin Craft Blog
This week in a two part post, I took a tray that was recycled into charms for jewelry making...and upcycled it back to a tray with resin!

Knitting Circles
Looking for a way to store your circular knitting needles? Here is a different solution.

Piecing Lazertran Inkjet Decals on Wood
You can piece Lazertran Inkjet Decals to create a larger image te 8 1/2 x 11. If you've ever made long printed posters where you have to overlap and make seams match or have ever matched seams to hang wallpaper, you know the basic technique.

Beading Arts
Cyndi finished up her project that combines shibori silk ribbon and bead embroidery, and has posted the rest of the tutorial!

Mixed Media Artist
It's been a long time since Cyndi worked with image transfers...here's a new variation that she worked out!

Carmi's Art/Life World
I have given up trying to bead in a traditional manner - hence the crazy cuff.

On the Beading Table Today

Here's what I just let loose on my beading table (a.k.a. the coffee table). :) These are fabulously sparkly mirror beads in purple/bronze.


Even though the sweet owl pendant has dark blue eyes, I am really feeling drawn to incorporate the purple/bronze!

I'll take that as inspiration! Hopefully I'll be struck with more inspiration on which technique to use to make this into a necklace.

I'd LOVE to wear it tomorrow.

Stay tuned! As always, don't hesitate to share if you have ideas!! :)

What's on your beading table?

Sweet Shiny Owl Pendant

OMG, this owl is so adorable, I couldn't resist!! I stopped in a Meijer store recently and, of course, had to scan the bead aisle to see what was going on with their Cousin products. 

I love looking at beads online because of the convenience, but there's nothing like seeing things in real life!

This owl pendant is very bright silver and very fluid. All the little danglies move so elegantly, I LOVE it! In fact, I bought two!

The eyes are dark blue gems and I just happen to have some sparkly blue/purple mirror beads that will go perfectly with it. I am torn though when it comes to how to string it up. 

I'd like to be quick about it because I seem to only have limited time to work on things in the evenings. But, a more detailed technique with lots of sparkle appeals to me right now.

Guess I will wait till the weekend to play with this one. In the mean time, I took it off the package and put it in a little pocket in my purse so I can sneak little peeks at it occasionally. Yeah, I have issues! :)

Hope you're having a great week!

Starting the Week out Right...with Smiley Faces!

Yay, these little smiley faces are SO happy to be the superstars of this bracelet! 

These were plain yellow enamel charms that I mentioned in a post last month. I ordered them because I could instantly "see" the smiley faces.

After about 5 minutes with a sharpie my new friends had arrived! :)

They all seem to have their own personalities. That was not intentional, it just happened that way. 

I'm looking forward to sharing the happiness with whoever I might happen to cross paths with this week. It will be interesting to see if people smile when they see it.

Would it be possible not to? Hmm... Can't wait to find out!

I wish you all a great week with lots of smiles!

Hooked on Foxes

After posting last week about my fun Friday fox necklace and bracelet, I remembered one of my other favorite fox head charms.

I looked it up on the PrimaBead.com site to see if they still had it and found this little guy.

Is it me or is this fox just the cutest thing? Is it the sweet face or the fact it has a little tail?

Most likely it's because it has sparkle!!

What do you think?

Fun Friday Jewelry!

Think this is the perfect jewelry to make a work Friday fun? I do too!

I just love this little fox! He's so sweet! I actually ordered these from Cousin Corporation as a pre-made kid's necklace and took them apart.

The original necklace has one fox as the focal on a faux suede cord. Very cute on it's own, but I wanted to use multiple foxes. :)

I had no plan until I started laying them out and since I happened to have the black chain and star chain out at the same time, something struck me and I couldn't stop until this was put together.

I don't think I would have sketched this out as the design, but you can't argue when you see things together and feel the inspiration!

Since I had another fox left over, I couldn't resist making a matching bracelet.

Now, I better start getting ready for work. Need to find the right color blouse to set off these sweet foxes. :)

Have a great FUN FRIDAY!! I'd love to hear about your FUN jewelry that gives you a little extra boost to ensure a little extra happiness! :)

Featured designer: Frederica Dixon

It's been a while, but spring seems like the perfect time to bring back the "Featured designer" series.

So, let's get right to it!

Today's featured designer is Frederica Dixon of London, England! In her own words,

"I am absolutely addicted to beads and my love of jewellery making started from a simple need to do something with the vast quantities that were stacking up. Actually selling this jewellery in turn stemmed from the amount of pieces that were stacking up and I haven't looked back!"

See more of Frederica's creations on her Etsy site, Handmade Jewellery by Frederica Dixon.

I've posted a couple of my faves here.

Frederica's Etsy profile states, She "sells handmade jewellery made from a wide variety of beads and encompasses a wide array of styles but everything is designed for day to day wear and nothing should leave you spending hours hunting for just the right clothing to match.

Frederica Dixon Jewellery is based in London and sells a range of simple pendant necklaces, delicate charm bracelets, glass bead bracelets, gemstone or semi precious stone jewelry, and pretty elasticated bracelets.

The jewellery is made from an array of different materials including shell, glass, ceramic, wooden, gemstone, semi precious, acrylic, and silver and gold plated beads.

Look no further for an easy gift for a great friend." 

You can also connect with Frederica on her Facebook page or read her blog. 

Want to be featured on A Bead A Day? Just email me at abeadaday@sbcglobal.net. 

Inspired! Quick & Easy Bracelet

Don't you love taking a Saturday to yourself to stay in jammies and play with beads?

I gifted myself with one of those days last weekend and it was GREAT!

I dug back through all the amazing pieces I picked out from the Cousin Corp warehouse earlier this year. So much fun!

I felt inspired and made several new pieces of jewelry.

This bracelet was really easy, but is still very dramatic (my favorite kind)!

I just cut the chain to fit my wrist, added a package of graduated pendant drops, made sparkly dangles and that was it!

As always, the bracelet is made to fit tightly on my wrist so the dangles all stay in place.

So easy and reminds me why I love to make jewelry so much...it allows me to express creativity AND provides instant gratification!! :)

The Urge to Alter

Do you have the urge to alter? When I see beads and components, my first thought is often - how can I alter this to use in a non-traditional way?

I don't know why that is, but I figured many others probably have the same kind of thoughts, so I wanted to get your input.

Can you see dot-eyes and a sweet little smile on this enamel charm? I sure can.

One of the many fabulous perks of being a Cousin Corporation Ambassador is the ability to choose beads from the catalog each month.

When I saw these yellow enamel charms online, I instantly saw smiley faces!

I received an awesome box of beads yesterday and had a great time opening all the packages and touching everything, allowing the creative process to evolve.

These yellow charms are yellow on both sides.

I'm not sure if they need smiles on both sides or not, but I can't wait to get my sharpie out. :)

Midweek Inspiration

Just a quick midweek creative refresh! I know I needed it, how about you? I just saw this smiley bracelet I made a couple years ago during a power outage and realized I needed a little creative inspiration without the power outage!

When I feel my creativity waning, the best medicine is reading craft and jewelry blogs! Thanks to our blogger friends, here's a little inspiration to get you through to the weekend. :)

Carmi’s Art/Life World
I imagine that miniature vials will always appeal to those of us who like unique and unusual beads. This week I featured them in a necklace.

Art Bead Scene
Visit Mary Harding in her studio and be in with the chance to win one of her handmade copper clasps.

Mother’s Day Craft Tutorials
Mother’s Day is coming up May 11th. Now’s the time to start thinking about what you’ll create for Mom or Grandma to show her your love.

Resin Crafts Blog
Today’s post features a classic one pour resin project!

Breaking the Yarn Bank

When is it okay to spend a bunch of money on super fancy yarn?

Snap out of it, Jean! There’s beading to be done!
Come and see the lovely online book which Rita Toltec made of the recent Blog Hop she hosted which included fifty designers: THE COLOR OF DREAMS ! It is such a beautiful book! So dreamy!

Mixed Media Artist
Do you enjoy painting your own fabrics for your projects? Cyndi has compiled all of her fabric painting tutorials into one place for you!

Painted Glass Beaded Mushrooms
Cherie makes some glass mushrooms for the garden.

Keeping the Memories Fresh

Now that vacation seems like a bit of a dream, I started wearing the last piece created on the beach.

Memories are starting to fade, but the lingering happy and relaxed feeling is still accessible. :)

This blue metal leaf was actually on a Cousin package as part of a 3-piece dangle that included a tassel and a large faceted drop.

Since the leaf was pretty pliable, I removed it from the dangle and pressed it around my wrist. It didn't take much pressure to get a slightly rounded form.

I added a chain and a cute little beachy charm. So fun to wear and VERY easy to make! Ahh, I can hear the waves...

Summertime Pearls

What do you think about wearing pearls in the summertime?

Normally I think about pearls in the fall or winter, but many of these pearls make me think of spring and summer. Interesting!

Funny how you go along in life thinking one thing and all of a sudden you wake up and your thoughts on a subject have changed.

I've also recently had a thought about making a necklace that's just a longer version of an ankle bracelet. The thought crossed my mind when I was making an ankle bracelet and I thought, gee this would make a cute necklace.

Then the ideas started circulating!

So, now I have two new ideas for my next project which, believe it or not, will be for the SUMMER! Yay! Bring it on...I REALLY want to put my flip flops back on...

Any new ideas circulating in your world? Please share!

Dangly Ankle Bracelet

I can still hear the reggae music playing in the background when I look at this ankle bracelet...











I'm calling this the banana daiquiri ankle bracelet because I made it during the course of enjoying one of these icy drinks by the pool on our recent vacation. :)

It was made with pieces I picked in the Cousin Corp. warehouse. Another very fond memory...

Since I just threw bits and pieces into a bag to bring on vacation, I had to use what I had on hand.

It's fun to make something I might not have made if I had all my beads with me.

SO much fun to wear, I only had one blue crystazzi connector in my traveling stash left, but I like that's it's a surprising contrast to the red and black. They pretty much go with everything!

If you're getting ready for spring/summer with new jewelry, I hope you'll leave a link in the comments so we can come over and visit! :)

What I Made on Spring Vacation!

It's always hard to believe when vacation is over and you've returned back to reality. 

Today was the first day back at work and since people are nice, they asked me about my vacation. :)

I enjoyed being able to share some fun stories, but when I talk about making jewelry on the beach under an umbrella with the beautiful warm breeze coming off the water, I just think pictures are necessary! 

There's nothing like throwing random beads, findings and tools into a bag to take on vacation.

It stretches my creativity a little because I don't plan, I just throw.

I am now calling this the Blue Margarita Necklace and you can probably see why! :)

The necklace is made using a simple chain, a three hole rhinestone connector, a light blue flower connector, clear bicone and large clear teardrop pendant. 

LOVE the simplicity!

All the pieces I took to Florida were from my 30 minute Warehouse "shopping" spree at Cousin Corporation headquarters in February.

Speaking of Cousin, since they are so close to Clearwater, I had a chance to pop in and say Hi to my favorite people and drop off my latest Ambassador jewelry making project.

It was a great week of fun and gratitude! I am so grateful to have had the chance to take such a beautiful vacation with my husband (and my beads!) 

I'll share my banana daiquiri ankle bracelet later this week. :)

Now that spring is here, what are YOU making? Please share in the comments!