Featured Designer: Glenda of Dax Designs

As I was looking through blogs and etsy sites this week, there was one particular design that stood out among the rest. I'm not sure if it was The colors, the name of the piece or the dangles that roped me in!!

This week's featured designer is Glenda of Dax Designs. As her profile states, she makes award-winning beadweaving jewellery on the Bellarine Peninsula in Australia. She uses beads and other objects collected as she travels throughout Australia and overseas.

A description of this fabulous "Sunset Sea Choker" reads: handwoven choker is a Bloodstone cabachon of deep sea green with red highlights.

The cabochon appears to float on a handwoven collar of shimmering sea green, jade and red seed beads, featuring green freshwater pearls and a jade bead closure. WOW, how cool is this!?

I've included a couple other pieces of Glenda's that I just think are perfect and want to thank her for allowing me to feature her work here today.

THANK YOU!

CRYSTALLIIIIIIZED!!! Swarovski Flower Pendant

Today's bead is an adorable flower pendant that is at least 14 mm of sparkly cut crystal! Nice!

There are so many cool ways to use this bead. I think it would go with just about anything! I'm thinking that I'd take this in one of two directions. Use it as a single pendant with a beaded necklace using tiny crystal rounds.

OR, I'd use every other color, size and type of crystal on several strands of a focal neck piece to be connected to a neck cord. I'd like to see the flower pendant dangling just slightly below a jumble of interesting colors and shapes of crystals.

WHAT DO YOU THINK? :)

Sharing the Bead Love!

Hello! As I mentioned recently I wanted to share the bead love and give away this gorgeous 24mm Swarovski Vitrail Light Teardrop Pendant from Artbeads.com to a fellow bead lover.

There will, of course, be a few other surprises thrown in too!! I promise you will not be disappointed. If you are interested in receiving this ULTRA FABULOUS crystal pendant, just leave a comment. Similar to a silent auction, the winner will be the individual making the last comment at the end of the day Sunday, 8/2/09. The winner will be contacted on Monday.

I hope you are all having a great week!!

One More Crystal Volcano!

I just love this crystal volcano color and the shapes are so fun that I didn't want to pass up the chance to feature this bead on its very own day!

I'm working on a project with this circular crystal and the very large square crystal. I'd have to say this color is perfectly named. I mentioned the "crystal volcano" color to a non-beader/crafter and she said, "that must be dark reds, orange and yellow tints". Yep, perfectly named!

I would love to hear your ideas on linking these beads together if you have a minute!! Thank you!!

I Won Beads!

I won, I won!! I recently entered a bead giveaway on the blog of Nicole, also known as the Beadwright, and I WON!! Yay!!

It was very exciting to receive the email letting me know I won, especially from the "Beadwright" who is a well known author and talented bead weaving artist. I received the beads over the weekend and wanted to share them with all of you and formally thank Nicole for her generosity!! These beads are great!

I had a brainstorming session with another beader yesterday and the thoughts we had are to use the blue and gold leaves on one side of a necklace, have the remaining blue leaf hang very low as a single dangle and balance out the necklace with a variety of silver beads of some sort. I haven't worked it all out yet, but I think it will be fabulous and I will keep you posted!!

As always, PLEASE share your ideas!! :)

Peace, Love & Bead Bloggers!

I wanted to share this photo with you that I took when I excitedly opened a package of crystals from Artbeads.com last week. I have had so much fun playing with all these crystals, they can truly increase my happiness quotient!

I have a couple of beads that I am still working with and will keep you posted. I also want to share the crystal bead love a little bit and would like to send a few of these beads your way, so stay tuned for a mini-giveaway in the near future.

For now, please join me in taking a peek at what our fellow bead-bloggers have been up to over the last few days. Have a great week!!

About.com Jewelry Making
Rock clubs rock, literally, when you are looking for inexpensive, local jwelry making classes.

Jean Campbell
Jean visited Chicago and discovered a new beading technique using pleather and Conso.

Katie's Beading Blog Take a sneak peek at Katie's newest beading book!

Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio Lorelei makes a fun Owl swap with a blog friend.

Art Bead Scene
Tired of your liver of sulfur going bad? Check out this - Patina Gel!

Beading Arts
The second part of Cyndi's tutorial on using CopprClay to create a necklace.

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi introduces a vintage walnut to rhinestsones.

Cindy Gimbrone aka The Lampwork Diva
Cindy takes on heavy metal in the studio. No, you won't need to cover your ears - just your hands!

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
Melanie takes some time to show off a few new resin and brass collage pendants!

Snap out of it , Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean is wowed by Denise Peck's recent earring book, 101 Step by Step Wire Earrings! Get it and make some for YOURSELF!

Strands of Beads
Melissa curls up with a few good books from Rings & Things

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
After cleaning the studio, Andrew finds (and finishes) a long-lost PMC Floral Link Bracelet.

This Week's Project: Crystal Volcano Necklace

This crystal volcano pendant from Artbeads.com is so gorgeous, I am not sure I am doing it justice here. All the colors are gorgeous!! There are so many Swarovski crystal beads to choose from, but this 24mm x12mm pendant really stands out!

I wanted to make something special, but it was important for me to also make something that is wearable!!

This is my favorite necklace design because it is simple, but when you have a great focal bead, the black beading wire sets it off beautifully. These crystal volcano rivoli's are so much fun and add amazing sparkle to this design!!

I hope you are all having a great and crafty weekend!

Featured Designer: Made By Katarina

Happy Friday!!

I truly enjoy being able to share designers here every Friday who I have come across and had one of those WOW moments!

The designs on the "MadeByKatarina" etsy site certainly caught my attention. The first item I saw was this black and white woven piece. Come on!! This is just too much! Too good! I LOVE IT!

So, I moved on through all the pages on this etsy site and immediately asked Katarina if I could show her work here. I just know you will agree it is special and fabulous!!

This red and black bracelet is just so perfect, I am in awe. I made a bracelet like this 4 or so years ago and it had snags and knots and, even though I put my heart into it, just was not what I had hoped it would be. I had hoped it would be like Katarina's! Actually, I don't even think my hopes were that high!!

This is great stuff!!

Have a crafty weekend everyone!!

Thanks a bunch Katarina for allowing me to share your work!! I just love it!

Happy Day Ring & Necklace

As I mentioned yesterday, I had completed my ring project with the Swarovski faceted button as a base and wanted to finish up the necklace before posting it.

I like the way this pendant looks on a silver chain, so I am going to live with it for a couple days before deciding whether I want to make a beaded necklace for it or not.

I have to admit I love this little ring! Both projects have made me smile which is when I know I have succeeded to some degree. :) Overall, a happy day!

I posted the 6mm air blue pendants on Monday and am happy to say this was sort of what I had in mind when I selected these Swarovski crystal beads from Artbeads.com. As usual, designs have a tendency to evolve as you go, but hopefully it is for the better.

I experimented with more and less of the air blue pendants for the ring before settling on this formation with a 6mm top drilled crystal ab in the center. I had a top drilled jonquil in the center at first and while that looked very sun-shiny, I liked the combination of silver and crystal ab with the air blue beads.

I hope these pieces make you smile! I had a lot of fun making them!

Fun with Swarovski Buttons

Until this week, I had only used the Swarovski rivoli button and the square button.

I now have two 3014 12mm Crystal AB Faceted Buttons that I recently selected from the Swarovski crystal beads inventory at Artbeads.com.

Something that I have discovered in the last couple of months is that Swarovski buttons make the perfect base for a sparkly crystal ring using Crystallized Swarovski components.

A recently discovered idol of mine, Lillian Chen, is an amazing wire and Swarovski crystal bead artist. I have learned so much about creating with crystals from studying her work. I felt my first attempt at making a piece inspired by her was a success and wanted to try again using this 12mm round crystal AB faceted button as a ring base this time around.

I finished my ring project today and was very tempted to post it now, but I wanted to wait until I have the coordinating necklace completed as well.

I am having a great time as I continue with my Swarovski crystal extravaganza week! Hope you are all having a great week too!!

CRYSTAL VOLCANO!!

This is one of those times I'd like to have a little button that would open a curtain with a nice, "Ta Da!". What a fun bead in such a bold design! The color is CRYSTAL VOLCANO!

Seriously!! When you look closely and especially when you hold it up to like colors, you will see red, pink, blue, burgundy, tanzanite, gold.... It's amazing!! If you haven't had a chance to look through all the swarovski crystal beads available these days, you won't be sorry putting aside a few minutes to peruse through the current catalog. I dare you not to say, WOW!

I have a cool idea for this stunning CRYSTALLIZED™ 4439 20mm Square Ring from Artbeads.com. As always, having an idea and making it come together in real life are sometimes two different things!!!

I have a good feeling about this and am not afraid to mention how I'm going to use it. The plan is to use it as a focal piece in an interesting and modern looking 2 strand bracelet. Now, off to the drawing board!! Have a good one!!

Air Blue = Heavenly Swarovski Crystallized Elements

Air Blue Opal...ahhh.....! I just love the name of these beads. I truly judged a "book by its cover" or bead by its name on this one. What a great job it would be to name new "crystallized Swarovski elements"!!

I know Swarovski is making some changes, but I hadn't really paid enough attention to some of the existing facts about their products. Did you know that "Crystallized" is the brand name for all loose crystal elements you think of when you think Swarovski Crystal Beads?

I had an opportunity to order some Swarovski crystallized elements from Artbeads.com. YAY, that's very exciting!! When you have the chance to select ANY pieces from the collection, it's the perfect time to take a peek at some new or unique pieces from Swarovski. (I can't wait to show you the other items I selected...:)

These are so cool and so sweet all at the same time!! Now, getting back to the name of these fabulous crystallized Swarovski elements. I love the name, "air blue opal". They could also be named heavenly blue or heavenly cloud blue. They are so dreamy!!

The beads in the photo are the 5301 8mm faceted bicone and the 6mm Rivoli Pendant, both in the Air Blue Opal color.

I have some ideas for these, so I'm getting out all my tools!! I hope you are having a nice week so far!!

Peace, Love & Bead Bloggers!

In yesterday's post, I mentioned I would be fine tuning the design I was working on and show that here today. Well.......the thing is.....I got a little sidetracked!!

I realized I kept wanting to work with one of the other little gold connectors from my recent surprise Rings & Things package so I decided to put the other project aside. Any time you get a real idea, you just have to allow yourself to go with it!! This was so much fun to play with because the possibilities seem so endless. This piece has one connecting loop on one side and two connecting loops on the other for a nice asymetrical design.

Similar to last week's star connector, I wanted to see if I could make this into a bracelet focal piece. For some reason hemp cord came to mind so I started playing with that. Luckily my husband was driving us around on errands today because I brought it in the car taped to the inside of a box lid because I couldn't put it down! :)

I didn't plan this out in advance, I just sort of went with it. It certainly does have an eclectic/odd vibe, but that's what makes me like it so much and I've had it on ever since I finished it. In this case, "finishing" meant brushing the hemp strands with a doggie slicker brush!

I hope this makes you smile or chuckle like it does for me and gives you a happy feeling!! That seems to be my goal when I allow myself to incorporate arts & crafts in jewelry making.

Now, it's time again to visit our fellow bead bloggers to see what they have been up to!! Have a great week!

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
Lights, Camera, Action! Melanie tells a tale of her Beads, Baubles, and Jewels television taping experience.

Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio
Lorelei is giving away a necklace and a copy of Creative Jewelry!

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean discusses finishing up the challenge "Use the Muse II" which was thought up by Scarlett Lanson, Rainbows of Light.com and Artbeads.com. She enjoyed it very much, particularly because it made her think!

Strands of Beads
Melissa shows off a new variation of her lunar phases toggle.

About.com Jewelry Making
How has your web store experience been? Are there too many 3rd partry sites to sell or buy jewelry these days? Take the poll as a sell or buyer.

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
Busier than a bee, Andrew shares fifteen new jewelry designs.

Jean Campbell
Jean asks her friends about what drawing programs they use for beading illustrations.

Art Bead Scene ABS Editor Heather is on the road. Check out her quick project!

Barbe Saint John
Barbe reviews the Simply Gemstones book.

Beading Arts
Cyndi shows you the steps to making a simple but sparkling necklace from CopprClay!

Carmi's Art/Life World
Rub-ons and leather - a cool combination for this cuff sample.

Cindy Gimbrone aka The Lampwork Diva Gets Loopy
Check out Cindy's new project in the summer edition of Step by Step Wire!

An Idea in Progress

Hello! I hope your weekend is shaping up nicely! I am still working on an idea so I am very honestly calling this an "Idea in Progress" rather than a work in progress!

I do not believe this is what the end result will be, but wanted to share this part of the design process where you have something that sort of captures an idea, but is not fine tuned.

I will provide an update and a perfectly completed project tomrrow. "Sleeping on it" actually DOES work!

Have a good one!!

Featured Designer: Handmade Jewelry by Lorelei

What a happy day Friday is!! This week's featured designer is Lorelei. You might know her from her blog, Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio.

Or, if you like to peruse Etsy, you might recognize her unique and eclectic style of jewelry design.

She is very talented at selecting interesting pieces and joining them, sometimes unexpectedly.

The result is always something that is immediately recognized as artsy and fun.

Even though the colors and textures she selects for her pieces are interesting and unique, it's the way they are put together that makes them so special. I think you will understand what I mean once you take a look at some of these.

I hope you have some great, crafty plans for the weekend!! Take care!

Serpentine Jade Possibilities

Today's bead is one that I have had sitting nearby for a couple of months. I think it has a cool, earthy vibe with great colors. Then I catch a glimpse of its reptilian-like nature and it seems a little scary.

Since it has a nice, flat surface, I am thinking about how I can add beads to it as a platform or backdrop to change the look just a bit. I would love to have some knowledge of creating a bezel, but for now, I'd like to figure out how to use wire to add a random twisty effect with some shiny delicas.

As usual, I have a tendency to want to use focal beads like this in bracelets. It would work well wired on to several strands of the faux suede microfiber strands. In that case, adding a variety of matte beads to the front of the bead would work nicely.

So many options, so little time!! Hope everyone is having a great week!!

Bead Recycling

I have a couple bags of garage sale jewelry that I have been meaning to take apart and use in another way, but have been putting it off for some reason.

It might take quite a bit of creativity to see something beautiful in something old or in something manufactured using inexpensive beads, BUT what a great challenge that would be!!

I am challenging myself to begin somewhere, so I looked through all the jumble of garage sale necklaces and found this one with a cool blue bead.

I like this one because it reminds me of the blueberry quartz gemstone. It is very light and I have a suspicion that it is made of some type of plastic.

Does that really matter? Not so much as long as you can balance it out and mix it with something that brings out its positive qualities.

I think this bead would work well mixed with some plain darker blue beads with a nice shine and maybe even a pearl or two.

What do you think? I'd love to see some pieces others have made from recycling used beads. Please make sure to leave a link so we can all see it. Now that I have taken this one apart, I need a plan! Have a good one!

Add-A-Bead Chain

Is this a cool chain or what?!! I've seen these in the craft store before, but have never used them. A very kind fellow-beader gifted me with this last week and I have been anxious to get it out of the package ever since!

This is a Darice product and the package reads, "18in. chain with add-a-bead easy clasp-bright silver". The little photo on the package shows how the clasp pulls apart easily. "Simply pull apart clasp to add beads and charms".

Again, I say, how cool is that?!! This would be a great product to use with new beaders. There is nothing intimidating about adding beads to a chain and would probably rope some new, unsuspecting beadaholics right in!

I don't see a measurement for the diameter of the chain, but I just tried one of yesterday's swarovski cubes and the hole was just a little too small. So, here I go to dig around in some bead containers!! Have a good one!!

Cubes, Glorious Cubes!!!

Cubes, glorious cubes!! There is just something about swarovski cubes that just makes me extra-specially happy!!

They can be beautifully set off when used with squaredelles, but are wonderful no matter how you choose to use them. Today's beads were part of the surprise package I received from Rings & Things recently.

I was so excited to see these in my package and really want to come up with the perfect design for using them!!
(If you have any ideas you don't mind sharing, please let me know!!)

The dark navy blue type cube is named, Montana 8mm aurora borealis cube. The lighter colored crystal is the 8mm Lime cube.

I just happen to have some 4mm lime cubes on hand and think I'd like to try working the cubes into some kind of right angle weave pattern. I've never tried that before, but it sounds like it could be interesting! I wonder if I could find all the colors of the Rubik's cube in swarovski crystal cubes and re-create it as a focal piece?!! Is that over the top or a cute idea? I'm not sure!! :) Have a great evening!

FUN, New "Challenge" & Bead Blogger Happenings

What's the word for a situation where one person or entity selects a bead or group of beads for another to use for making a jewelry project? Is it a challenge, a competition, a contest or even a throwdown? :)

I'm not sure it is any of the above. It is certainly a situation that calls for creativity and imagination. During the design process, there is an element of excitement as well as one of wanting to please the other individual by creating something interesting or unique.

As part of the Rings & Things blog partners team, I have enjoyed this experience on several occassions. During a recent online conversation with R&T's Web Optimizer, Dave Robertson, he agreed to allow the blog partners team to turn the table a bit. So, here we go..... I am passing along an invitation to all other blog partners as well as those interested in becoming blog partners to make a suggestion for a bead or beads you would like to see used in a piece of jewelry designed by the Rings & Things staff.

We'll leave the details up to Dave once he and his team have compiled the list of suggestions received over the next week. If you are interested in making a suggestion from the Rings & Things catalog, send it to Dave by next Sunday (7/19/09) via Twitter. You can visit Dave's page or just enter a tweet using @Rings_Things in the text.

If you are not on Twitter, send me an email and I'll get it to Dave.

My suggestion has to do with sweet sounding gemstones from the fruit family: cherry quartz (above), pineapple quartz & blueberry quartz. Yummy!!
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Now, I hope you will join me in checking out what some of our fellow beaders have been up to over the last few days!! Have a GREAT week!

About.com Jewelry Making School's out for summer, but is it really? Nope, not when you can take one of these free jewelry making e-courses.

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! Jean reviews a different, colorful, and inspiring book called Glass, by Marlene Blessing and Jamie Hogsett.

Strands of Beads Melissa talks about where to find reliable information on copyrights - the U.S. Copyright Office, of course!

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton Challenging himself with a smaller scale, Andrew tackles doll jewelry. Check out five new designs with dolls in mind!

Cindy Gimbrone aka The Lampwork Diva Cindy shows off some new chain and realizes one should never shop for jeans on her lunch hour.

Humblebeads Check out the 2009 Bead Cruise design contest winners!

Jean Campbell Jean Campbell finished off her new LeTemps Necklace design which marries bling to grunge. Hurray!

Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio Lorelei has busted out of the studio and into the Museum of Art for a trunk show.

Beading Arts Wonderful wonderful wonderful new CopprClay! Cyndi is so excited about this new material that she can't stop playing with it!

Carmi's Art/Life World Carmi attempts to create a necklace after a resin pouring disaster.

Art Bead Scene Art Bead Scene's monthly challenge painting for July is the Lascaux Cave Paintings. Get your stash of beads out in ivory, red and brown to match the color palette of these ancient drawings.

This Week's Project: Starry New Jade Bracelet

This week's project incorporates a beading component that I received as a very pleasant surprise from Rings & Things this week. I opened the package and the first item that caught my eye was this gold filled star connector.

My first thought was, "so totally cute"!! Yes, once again I have been watching too much of the TV show from the 80's, Square Pegs! I can't help myself!!

I knew right away, this was the first item I wanted to work into a piece of jewelry. I had several different ideas, but the one that stuck after a bit of trial and error was this very subtle 2 strand stretchy bracelet using new jade stones and light citrine bicones (not crystals).

I contemplated using bursts of bicone groupings in the connector loops, but decided that the understated version was making me feel happy and calm.

I then proceeded to remove the extra connector loops for a cleaner look.

(Update: As requested, a photo of this bracelet "in action" has been added to this post. Thanks guys!)

I also received several other pieces that I will be using in the near future and keeping you posted. By the way, if you are interested in becoming a blogging partner with Rings & Things, be sure to visit their blog page.

I also wanted to pass along some information that was shared with me earlier today by Swarovski Ambassador, Lillian Chen. Now, get ready to start dreaming about a trip to the gorgeous Cortona, Italy...in the heart of Tucsany! Lillian is teaching these fabulous wire jewelry pieces that become dazzling with the addition of swarovski elements. Enjoy!!

Featured Designer: M. Sturman Jewellery

My favorite day has arrived, yay!! In addition to being happy for the freedom each weekend brings (for crafting), Friday is my favorite blogging day because I get to share the work of another inspiring designer.

This week's featured designer is M. Sturman Jewellery. As stated on her website, Peggy Sturman calls upon her background in art history and floral design to create the lush organic forms and interplay of color and light found in her M. Sturman Jewellery collection.

I want to forewarn you that this collection might have your eyes popping and your jaw dropping! It happened to me!!

I am in awe of Peggy's work and all of her accomplishments. On her new blog you can find links to her Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn pages.

Please make sure you check out the Press section of the M. Sturman Jewellery website to view Peggy's gorgeous designs that have been published in many books and magazines.

It's great to find such accomplished designers who are also so open to sharing. Thanks a million Peggy for allowing me to share your work!!

Pick-a-Side Pendant

Today's bead is a 52mm Darice "snail" pendant. I like the spiral quality of this piece, but when I turned it over, I ended up liking the back side even better than the front!

It does not appear intentionally reversible, but the bright silver back-side makes me want to embellish it.

I was thinking about hanging a couple of tiny loose silver chains with bright sparkly crystals from the bail. Sort of like jewelry for your jewelry! :)

I also think it would make a great back-drop for some twisted wire sculptures in several different colors such as copper and bronze.

Either some free-hand abstract wire designs or some spirally wig-jiggy pieces.

What do you think???

Sleek Silver Cuff

I hope you don't mind another bead canvas for the 2nd day in a row. This is quite different than the dainty black buckle bracelet yesterday. This silver plated cuff is approximately 1.5 inches wide (top to bottom) with approximately 59 holes for adding beads, buttons or just miscellaneous "stuff"!!

I think it would be great to wire or sew on a bunch of fun little trinkets or baubles that you find at a flea market for an extremely eclectic and original look. Unique one of a kind beads and buttons added to create an abstract collage would be fun too!

I'd love to hear your ideas or your experiences with these silver cuffs.

Update: I found this cuff and another smaller one on the Fire Mountain Gems website.

A "Canvas" for Beads

A product of Blue Moon Beads, this package of two 8-inch PVC Bracelets was in the bargain bin at the craft store. These bracelets are so dainty and cute! The best part is, THERE ARE TWO OF THEM!!

I say that because I love the dainty-ness of the bracelet and at first envisioned either sewing or wiring on a fabulous swarovski crystal for a focal bead with lots of tiny crystals trailing off on either side. What a perfect canvas this little band would make for bright sparkly crystals!! The PVC bracelet is very sleek and shiny black.

Then my rebel side kicked in and I thought it would be fun to sort of "punk" this up. Not necessarily to old school safety pins, but maybe some cool chrome-like pieces and parts with a few shots of bright red 1950's type kitschy beads or buttons.

OR, an even more interesting idea might be to make a double decker band by using beads in between as columns of some sort. What do you think?

Heavenly Blue

Today's bead is from a package titled, "Bead Heaven", manufactured by Halcraft USA. There are 40 pieces in the package and the back reads: Medium blue oval faceted fire polished Czech glass beads. These special beads are each combining two molten glass colors and then hand faceted on eight sides only, leaving the finish intact on the sides where the holes are drilled. This makes a wonderful rondell effect in brilliant glass!

You don't usually see such lengthy descriptions on the back of small bead packages. These beads are very pretty and sparkly. They are the perfect shade of summery blue!!

I'd love to hear some ideas for using them. I have 3 packages and am wondering if these can be used similar to toho cube beads in a peyote stitch or some type of stringing project that resembles a peyote type stitch.

Hmm... If you have any ideas you would be willing to share, please let me know!!

Peace, Love & Bead Bloggers!

Hello! I hope everyone had a happy holiday weekend and maybe even got in a little bit of crafting!!

Please join me in taking a peek at what our fellow bead bloggers were up to last week:

About.com Jewelry Making
Heard about copper clay or coppr clay? Find out more about this great new metal clay product and check out some new metal clay projects too.

Beading Arts
Cyndi reports on her experiences with firing and finishing CopprClay pieces. This stuff rocks!

Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio
Instead of continuing on with the tried and true techniques of jewelry design, Lorelei is finally ready to take the leap and try something new.

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean gets her cool stash from Use the Muse II, and muses about it.

Cindy Gimbrone aka Lampwork Diva
Cindy learns to make murrini and deals with mud.

Barbe Saint John - New Jewelry from Forgotten Artifacts
Sometimes you need to have a jewelry makeover.

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi tries Ice Resin and upcycles a greeting card into a necklace.

Jean Campbell
Jean gives a sneak peek of her next Beadwork magazine piece.

Katie's Beading Blog
Check out Katie's wire-wrapped dragonfly!

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
Even without a lot of time on her hands, Melanie finishes a clockwork themed bracelet using Swarovski faceted rings from ArtBeads.com.

Strands of Beads
Melissa wants to know what outrageous materials are in your beading stash?

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
Stop by and say hello to Andrew in Charlotte, NC this weekend. Check out his new designs and some delicious new metal clay coins!

Humblebeads
Bead & Button stash and Heather's inspired creations are highlighted today.

Art Bead Scene
Art Bead Scene gets creative with the "Best of ABS."

This Week's Project: Watermelon in the Sun

Happy 4th of July to those of you in the US! I hope everyone is enjoying a nice day of sunshine and watermelon!!

I must first admit this week's project is not entirely complete, but I've gotten a good start on it. The only missing pieces are the tiny fuschia butterflies that I have been attempting to attach in a way so they appear to be flying around it.

I've had fun playing with it and expect to finish it in the near future! By then, I also hope to have a better photo. The ab finish on the sun is giving it a yellow tint, when in real life, it is more clearish pink. :)

I used the entire gross (or 144) of the 6mm bicones from the Rings & Things mix entitled, "the watermelon crawl". The pendant is the glorious 40 mm swarovski Sun prism.

Wowwee, wow, wow! I can't seem to come up with any more words than that. What has happened to my vocabulary? :)

I hope you don't mind staying tuned for the final piece soon to come, but this has quite a bit of sparkly sparkle to enjoy as is.

I also wanted to take a minute today to mention an extremely cool jewelry designer featured on the Beading Gem's website. I am signed up on her site to receive her blog entries via email because she consistently amazes me that she finds some often obsure, but FABULOUS and interesting jewelry designs and designers.

You are going to love this, I assure you!! The jewelry she featured yesterday is Real Ice Cube Jewelry!! I don't want to give it away because you just won't believe how COOL this is!! Enjoy!

Featured Designer: The Lone Beader

Oh Happy Day!! It is still Friday and the weekend is yet to come, that might just be enough time to relax!! As I mentioned yesterday, today's featured designer is The Lone Beader.

I came across her blog through Twitter or someone else's blog, sometimes you lose track! It just so happened I saw this photo of her beaded pin named "Rudy".

While I am a dog lover, I also have a little bichon named Rudy. As I worked my way through many stories and photos, I just had such a wonderful time and found myself in awe over and over again!!

In The Lone Beader's etsy shop you will find dogs, cats, birds, "paintings", rings, etc. Wonderful, meticulous work!

She is currently working on the White House and beginning to build this wonderful groupings of trees. If you have ever worked with seed beads, you will appreciate her current article about the 27 shades of green! Wait till you see all her little piles of seed beads on her work surface, wow!!

Thanks a bunch to the Lone Beader for allowing me to share her work with you!! Have a wonderful evening!!