Looking for Drama? Look at These Red Mirror Beads!

Wow, these are so impressive. I don't know if I can do them justice in a photo here, but I'm giving it a shot.

These beads are so fabulous! Being in Ohio and knowing the love of OSU fans for scarlet and gray, I think these beads totally say Go Bucks! :)

I'd love to hear your thoughts on two tone mirror beads. Thanks!

Celebrating Mirror Beads All Week!

We're celebrating mirror beads this week, yay! I am so glad because it was the motivation I needed to take a leap!

I'd been creating in my head for a month so it felt really good to sit down and actually put this together.

The total time was somewhere between 3 and 4 episodes of I Love Lucy yesterday. It was a great time, I must admit. Once I realized it was coming together and would work as I imagined, it was easy!

I used ribbon clasps on the end with a toggle and wore it today with a purple blouse under a black suit...turned out to be the perfect combo. Don't you just love when that happens?

I made a 3 or 4 strand memory wire bracelet and earrings, but need to get a better pic before sharing.

Stay tuned for more mirror beads tomorrow! :)

Spring has Sprung Necklace

The spring necklace project was finally completed today, yay! Can't wait to wear it.

It's very springy and spring-y... :)

I just realized when I design something, unless it's drawn out in advance, I am still designing until the last bead is added.

Maybe that's a given, but I just had the realization.

So, wire crochet is similar to an impressionist painting...keep your distance from it in order to appreciate it.

As always, art is in the eye of the beholder!

Have a great week! We'll be celebrating Cousin Corp's new mirror bead line this week.

Could be a giveaway, you just never know. :)

Weekend Inspiration Begins with Glow in the Dark Clay!

Congratulations, we all made it to the weekend! :) Here's some fun inspiration to get things rolling.

Wait till you hear about this glow in the dark clay...Thanks for the info Andrew!

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
Using glow-in-the-dark polymer clay, Andrew creates some unique floral-themed pendants!

About.com Jewelry Making
Innovation and beads go together, and this new book reviews gives you the 411 all about it.

Art Bead Scene
Rebecca shares some handmade bead artists from her native shores of Britain with Art Bead Scene readers!

Beading Arts
Here's something that goes especially well with beads...chocolate whiskey fudge!

Carmi's Art/Life World
Incorporating t-shirt yarn (tarn) with other fibers will result in some gorgeous necklaces if you use a kumihimo disk to braid them.

Resin Crafts!
Rubberstamps will get a new life in the jewelry studio if you work with Jewelry Clay!

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! 
Jean uses DIY videos (see a cool example of one) to help her learn jewelry techniques, but long ago the best way to learn was from an expert teacher like Eni Oken. See jean's Wabi Sabi ring inspired by Eni!

Time to Make VACATION Jewelry!

Yay! And, if you didn't catch that....

...YAY!!!!!...

I am so grateful the planets have aligned and a vacation is on the horizon. It's been a long time coming, which is also what makes it bittersweet.

For the last 5 or so years, we've had our little senior doggies that we didn't want to leave behind, even for a vacation.

That's the bittersweet part...This is week 7 after saying goodbye to our sweet baby bichon, Rudy, who was going to be 19 in July.

He really stuck it out and did great up until the last few months. He had mostly good days, but the not so good ones were hard for all of us. It's been two years already since we said goodbye to our other sweet boy.

I'm not ready to make memory jewelry yet, maybe when summer gets here. For now, though, we're going to do our best to embrace a much needed vacation together. :)

So, I'm thinking colorful, sparkly, fun and smiley vacation jewelry. Ooh, the word "smiley" totally got the wheels turning. I am envisioning any remaining sadness being zapped by a ridiculously sunny smiley bracelet.

Thoughts, suggestions, ideas? I'll take them!

Tossing Ideas Around

While working on the yellow wire crochet necklace, I glanced over and saw these cool metal charms and now I can't get them out of my head.

I think they might end up in the yellow/blue/green crochet necklace.

In my vision I see them hanging vertically with baubles hanging from them and curly wire is in the mix too.

Hmm...not sure if I can get that vision to reality, but it seems to be worth a try.

Stay tuned! :)

Bright Spring Project...in process

I actually spent time this morning with a giant plastic crochet hook and some 24 gauge yellow craft wire.

It's been quite a while since I crocheted with beads and wire, so a good hour or so was spent just getting the hang of it again.

I went through all my beads and when I came across a bunch of Crystazzi beads in aqua, green, and capri blue. I knew right away it seemed like the right combination. The bright yellow really sets off the other colors.

The prototype is finished, but I want to add a couple other strands so it's back to the drawing board.

I hope to have it done this week so I can share.

In the mean time, I'd love to hear from anyone who is working on a fun springy project, especially wire crochet. Please share your project and tips!