Exciting Newsflash!

I have an exciting newsflash from the "A Bead in Time" homefront...

A crafty friend of mine sent me a text message on Tuesday from Michael's Craft Store that went something like this: "I'm standing in Michael's admiring your book Lisa!"

Wow! My heart made a pretty huge leap when I read that!! I have been hoping it would make it to the craft stores at some point and was SO EXCITED to find out it did!! YAY!

Being a craft store "regular", many of the beads, pieces and parts in the book came from a craft store! One of last projects I did for the book was created during the last two weeks before the photo shoot.

I had decided to walk through town with the camera looking for interesting architectural details that I could use as inspiration for a piece of jewelry.

This is one of the photos I decided on, so I downloaded it and sent it over to Walgreens to print in an hour, picked up the pics and headed to Michael's. Within just a few minutes, I found these beads.... It was like the planets aligned! :)

Thanks so much for sharing this with me!!!

Multi-purpose Springy Star

I used this star shaped "bead" in some holiday designs last year in a variety of ways.

First of all, this "star" is actually tightly twisted wire which gives it quite a bit of flexibility.

For use in a pair of earrings, I stretched out a couple of stars, made loops on either end and suspended a crystal ab-2x bicone from one loop and attached an ear wire to the other.

VERY simple, but so much fun!!

I can't tell you how many comments I received when I wore them. I wish I knew where they were....


In the other design, which was since gifted to my Mom, I used a star on either side of the focal piece in a bracelet, how fun!

I just had to make a very tiny loop at each end of the wire so they didn't slip off.

I found these springy beads at the Rings&Things traveling bead show last year when it passed through our city.

GREAT find!

Holiday-worthy Bling!

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, it's time to start searching through my bead collection to find some fabulousness to use in holiday gifts!

These triple decker swarovski sparklers are even prettier in real life! I bought a BUNCH of them in clear, black and pink at least a year ago from Artbeads.com because they had them in one of their seriously major practically liquidation sales!

Of course, I LOVE when I click on a bead site's clearance section and there are actually GREAT beads on clearance!! It's one of those times that some temporary OCD clicks in and I can't buy just one!

By the way, some of these triple deckers have one connector above the small crystal, but some have one on both ends. I'll have to dig up one of the designs I made using the black ones.

If I recall correctly, I made a bracelet in the car before walking into work because, for some reason, I just couldn't go jewelry-less that day! I can't explain it and probably shouldn't share it, but I know I can't possibly be alone!!

Are We Ready for Holiday Jewelry Designs?

I think it's time to gear up and gather all the gorgeous gems, pearls and sparkle in my bead box AND get a list of people together I would like to make gifts for this holiday season!

I sure hope I have some of these gorgeous Cubic Zirconias left! I'm thinking I might have one or two, HOWEVER, I also think I used them in last year's holiday gift designs...yikes!

Time to jog my memory! I am the kind of person who is capable of having the same idea a year later and think it's fresh and new.

Hopefully if I made jewelry for people, I photographed and captured that info here on A Bead A Day! Ahh, the memory is cranking now!!

I'd love to hear your ideas for new or updated holiday designs if you are interested in sharing!! :)

Blog Love, Winner Announced & Special Event!

Thank you all SO MUCH for your comments on last Monday's post!!! The winner of this month's book giveaway is our friend Susan of "Watercolors by Susan Roper". YAY!!!

I've enjoyed getting to know Susan through our blog interactions and comments. She also has an artisan jewelry blog for her creative jewelry designs.

While I LOVE book giveaways, weekends are also a good time for reflecting on what our fellow bead bloggers have been up to to over the last week!

I did want to mention a HUGE craft event that is going on in Boston, Massachusetts from November 5th-7th, so take a peek at the end of this blog post for more information!

About.com Jewelry Making Tammy has a few new projects incorporating pewter, a perfect substitute for silver.

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Rotting veggies and over ripe fruit makes for bead inspiration and a delicious muffin recipe!

Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio A little antiquing adventure, and Lorelei's got some cool new props for an upcoming craft show!


Art Bead Scene Art Bead Scene gets down to business and talks about loss leaders.


Beading Arts Cyndi just finished a 45 hour project that reused antique steel cut seed beads...and some steel buttons!

Carmi's Art/Life World Carmi takes classes with Swarovski Elements Ambassadors and finally learns how to crochet

Cindy Gimbrone, The Lampwork Diva It's fall and along with it comes a gray sky in the form of jewelry.


Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! Jean reviewed a unique and very beautiful book: Metal Clay Origami Jewelry, by Sarah Jayne Cole. Please come and see the review on Jean's blog!

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton Beadaholique has generously donated a leafy assortment of autumn-inspired beads and components. Find out how you can win this Thursday Giveaway!



11/5 - 11/7/10:

Seaport World Trade Center, Boston, November 5, 6 & 7, 2010
Featuring Gingerbread House Competition to Benefit Share Our Strength

A holiday shopper’s haven for unique and affordable gifts, the 24th Annual Christmas Festival featuring the popular Gingerbread House competition will kick off the holiday season on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, November 5, 6 and 7, at Boston’s Seaport World Trade Center.

A creative alternative to traditional mall shopping, this blockbuster event offers something for everyone, with many holiday gifts under $20 to be found at over 300 exhibitor booths. Shoppers on a modest budget as well as those with the most discriminating tastes will be delighted to find designer fashions, fine jewelry, gourmet foods, holiday ornaments, home accessories and one-of-a-kind gifts.

This Week's Project: Fall Pendant

This week's project is a work in process. I thought I wanted a necklace in orange similar to the sunny CZ necklace I made last fall.

I think this is a good example of, "for everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven...(turn, turn, turn)"

The time has gone for this necklace design, but I wouldn't have known if I hadn't made it. So, the good news is, it's time to design something NEW!

I'd love to have a very large glass circle in a fallish color to somehow dangle this pendant inside. Hmm, I bet I have something similar, maybe in black... That might be a little Halloweenish though.

Well guys, stay tuned! After posting yesterday's fall cornucopia, maybe I need something similar with a bauble of those fall colors hanging above the pendant on a simple gold toned chain. Sounds simple, but fun!

I just need to go digging through my beading supplies to see what I have on hand to make this work.

I hope you are having a GREAT weekend!! I'd love to hear what you made today!

Fall Gallery of Designs

Are we lucky or what?! Another weekend has been presented to us which makes me so happy and grateful! I love free time to create and have fun or just sit and think! Ahhhh!

I wanted to share the recently updated Artbeads.com fall gallery of designs just in case you haven't had a chance to check it out yet. What a wonderful array of gorgeous and creative designs (and designers!)

It's fun to see these displayed in this way so you can really pick up on the fall cornucopia of colors!

Speaking of cornucopia of colors, I wanted to let you know that I revised my fall jewelry piece.

I ended up removing the glitter-glued hemp cord band and replaced it with a plain brown hemp cord knotted band to represent the "basket" for the cornucopia. Here's the best feature of the bracelet, the SPARKLE! :)

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!