Beading

My friend Ekaterina at The Best Beads has done it again! She is an expert in Czech glass, and has graciously provided a very special treasure for a lucky winner...four bags of seed beads at 50 grams each! Three bags of seed beads are from Preciosa Ornela, and are 2mm silver lined rocailles. The last bag of seed beads is a rare find made Jablonex, which hasn't even existed for almost three years. Ekaterina was lucky to find remainders of their stock in Jablonec! In addition, Ekaterina has a very special surprise gift for the winner, but I'm not allowed to tell you what it is. You'll like it though! ;-) GIVEAWAY ALERT!!! Would you like to win these seed beads? Here's what you need to do...please read this carefully. Leave me a comment here telling me your favorite seed bead technique, and include your email address. If I don't see your email address, I won't be able to contact you. No contact, no win, and I simply have to go on to the next person. You are welcome to spell it out if you'd prefer, for example, cyndi at mazeltovjewelry dot com. If you tweet or post on Facebook or other social spots about the contest, you can leave a second comment and be entered twice! Deadline: June 26, 2013 Technorati Tags: bead embroidery,handmade beaded jewelry,wearable art,beads,jewelry,necklace,mixed media,beading © copyright 2012 – All rights reserved Beading Arts

We were fortunate enough to have Pittsburgh-based writer and blogger, Melissa Firman to join us for the June installment of Words in Process. I enjoyed this event immensely. Amy Yanity has done such a great job of organizing a roster of interesting and diverse writers to feature. It is nice to see this little project developing and witness the intimate and encouraging atmosphere it creates. We are truly lucky to live in an area with so many creative people! Here's a picture of Amy introducing Melissa. Melissa read some excerpts from her forthcoming "new adult" novel and talked about the synergy between her blog and her writing process. What she read gave me shivers. Melissa also offered advice on promoting one's book with the internet and blogging. The second half of Words in Process is an open mic. The audience is encouraged to share their work and their process. It was interesting to see that all of the readers have a blog. Amy opened the floor with two poems, one silly and one sad. CLICK HERE to check out her blog. Up next was Tom Beck. He shared a funny story about a detective on vacation. CLICK HERE to view his blog. After Tom went, Joe Stierheim shared a piece from a forthcoming novel set in the Appalachia about a girl with blue eyes. CLICK HERE to take a look at his blog. Suzannah Paul shared a piece from her blog called, "The Mother of Exiles". CLICK HERE to see more of her work on her blog, The Smitten Word. One of the highlights of the evening were the fabulous cupcakes made by Keith. He brought red velvet cupcakes flavored with chocolate liquor. The beautiful arrangement reminded me of a bouquet of hydrangea flowers. The next Words in Process is on Tuesday, July 16th from 7PM to 9PM. Our next featured writer is Christina Springer. She is a poet and performance artist from Pittsburgh. Hope you can join us!

When I was growing up in Florida, there weren't as many opportunities to see art. (At least it seemed that way at the time. Coming from a working class family, there wasn't exactly a rush to see the latest exhibit.) One of the pieces that I did see at the local museum was by Georgia O'Keeffe and it was burnt in my subconscious. I painted dozens of big flowers floating over imaginary horizons. I wallpapered by grade school teacher's refrigerator with my imitations. It wasn't until much later that I discovered that Georgia O'Keeffe painted more than just flowers... and it revolutionized how I viewed art. For this week's prompt, I decided to pick one of her skull paintings. To find out more about Georgia O'Keeffe's work, CLICK HERE. To find out more about this particular painting, CLICK HERE. "From the Faraway, Nearby" by Georgia O'Keeffe, 1938, 36 X 40.125 inches. If you're interested in participating, all you have to do is make something inspired by this painting. You can create whatever you like. Just leave a comment to this post with a link to your creation or you can email me a picture at: ardenttie@yahoo.com You have until the next Flash Fire Challenge prompt goes up on Monday, June 24th to complete your piece.

I made this piece for the Flash Fire Challenge AND as a commission for a customer. She saw me working with the Frida Kahlo component (I had it laid out with some other beads) and said that she wanted it! Two birds with one stone! I used the Now That's a Jig! to create the organic armature of the bib-style necklace. I then wired the beads she selected in tones of yellow and green into the open tracery. It fits her personality. She likes big and bold jewelry.

A Bead A Day Ever have a Reese's Cup moment when designing a piece of jewelry? Lisa is sharing her latest. About.com Jewelry Making A pretty pattern on a bag prompted the design for a new necklace. Art Bead Scene ABS editor, Tari, selects Susan McClelland's quirky, art bead-filled design for her Designer of the Week piece. Check out Susan's gorgeous necklace! Beading Arts Aren't found objects fun? Join Cyndi to see what she does with ceramic insulators! Carmi's Art/Life World Don't you love when a new tool does your job for you? I cut all my felt necklace parts with one pass in the eBosser. Resin Crafts Blog You can replicate the look of kiln fired clay with air drying resin clay and brass stencils! Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! Jean previews an exciting blog hop and reveal hosted by Carmi Cimicata, using Dazzle-it's great new Chinese Knotting book by Fernando DaSilva! Come see the excitement! The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton Andrew created a pair of summery earrings for a customer. Check them out!

Today, I thought I would introduce you to a great British bead maker and jewellery designer, and someone that I am lucky enough to call a friend Claire Lockwood of Something to do and Something to do beads. Like me, she is from the UK and not only makes the most incredible and inspiring art jewellery, full of texture, colour and of course, art beads, but also makes her own polymer beads. She is one of those people who I know that when I tune into her blog, on her facebook feed, I will find something unexpected and lovely to inspire me.The wonderful thing about polymer clay is just how different it can become, depending upon the hands in which it is in. Claire has her own unique style within her art beads, and last year began selling them on etsy, so that we can all enjoy working with them. I asked her a few questions about her creative process. Normal.dotm 0 0 1 976 5565 Rebecca Anderson 46 11 6834 12.0 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;} Q1.How long have you been creating, and what led you to begin?A1. As a child and into my teens and early twenties I was very creative. I was always drawing as a kid and this continued and I actually did two years of a Fine Art degree at Chelsea. I’ve had health problems throughout my adult life and they first reached a head when I was at art college. I took a year out and couldn’t face returning, so I took up studying Literature instead. I’ve always felt a bit of a loss when I remembered all I got out of drawing and painting – and creating, in general. I spent a long time avoiding thinking about what I’d given up. Then, some years ago now, I developed an interest in vintage jewellery - all jewellery, really - and I eventually decided to try making jewellery myself. So, I am now, finally, getting some chance to pick up the kind of interests I gave up.Fox on the LawnQ2.What do you find inspiring?A2. Sometimes I can just be thinking about something and it will occur to me that it might be translated into jewellery or beads. Other times, I’ll see some neat thing and I think, ‘Ah! I could make a bead along those lines’. I often work around a particular bead or material and take guidance from that. I also love trawling the internet, and Pinterest in particular – it’s a wonderful source of ideas and inspiration. StonewashQ3. Describe your workspace – are you lucky enough to have a studio set up, or are you like me and work in odd corners of your house?A3. My workspace - if you can call it that - is one third(-ish) of my living room. I have a large, cluttered table on which I make jewellery and beads and do whatever else requires a table (including eating, etc.). Basically my workspace works around my living space and my living space works around my workspace. I’d love to have a studio. There are so many things I really want to do (have a kiln, do lampwork and metalwork - it’s a long list!) that just can’t be done in the space I have. Claire's creative spaceQ5.What are your favourite materials to work with and why?A5. Well, I make polymer clay beads and I’ve just starting using a new system that allows you to give beads a metal coat on which you can develop a patina that you can also dye, so I’m loving that at the moment. I can see so much potential in it. When, it comes to making jewellery, I do like using art beads, in all sorts of media, and also vintage beads and components - I think they’d be top of my deser

This tutorial uses strass crystal lace leather from Endless Leather as shown in the recent giveaway. However the basic principles outlined in this tutorial apply whether you use leather strips or other feature decorations. If you've never done any metal smith techniques before, this will get you started. Begin with pre-cut metal blanks. Not only does this mean you don't have to learn to saw just yet, getting them ready made also saves time. You can get them in all sorts of dimensions and shapes. The blanks I used are made from 20G aluminum sheets. The edges of the blanks were already smooth but if they were not, get rid of the burs and also blunt the corners with either a metal file, grit paper or sanding block as I did. Eurotool Power Punch There are different metal punching tools to use to make holes in metal. My least favorite is using a drill mainly because the cut edges need a lot of filing down after. I often use the small Hole Punch Pliers (1.8mm) if the metal is thinner but punching thicker metal like these blanks was made a lot easier - almost effortless - with the Eurotool EuroPower Punch Round Hole Punch Pliers I bought (If you'd like a tutorial on how to use it, please say so in the comments) Check the holes for any burs and use a round needle file to get rid of them. Small files like these come as a set and are relatively inexpensive from the hardware store. I like to texture metal with the peen side of my chasing hammer. As the aluminum is a relatively soft metal, only gentle taps are sufficient to leave small dents in the metal. Chasing hammers are like regular ones except that the flat side has a larger surface area to work with. The blanks got a little wonky after being textured so I had to flip them over a couple of times and hammered them flat. Be careful with this step as you don't want to add hammer marks to the metal. Maybe use a pad made from some old cloths or towels? After cutting the strass leather into suitable strips, you may need to color the lighter colored cut edges as I had to. Wonderful things, marker pens! I recommend the Super New Glue as it does a great job especially for applications where the hold must be strong. I was suitably impressed when I first used it for the Regaliz leather bracelets I made before. Apply and press down for several seconds and then leave to cure. It doesn't take very long with this glue but I like to leave things well alone overnight. Then attach to ear wires (additional jump rings are optional) and you are done! This item is for sale in my Etsy store. 100 % of net proceeds goes to cancer research. Disclosure Before You Go: What To Do If Your Tools Mark Your Jewelry Wire Hammers and Steel Blocks for Jewelry Making How to Debur Ear Wires ______________________________ Original Post by THE BEADING GEM Jewelry Making Tips - Jewelry Business Tips

By Suzann Sladcik Wilson Lucky Coin bracelet by Suzann Sladcik Wilson Recently, I received a message from my friend and fellow designer Carmi Cimicata asking if I would be interested in trying Fernando DaSilva’s new book on Chinese knotting called Dazzle-its Lovely Knots. Since I am always willing to learn something new, I was more than happy to give it a shot. The book has lots of different knots for you to choose from and a large inspiration section in the back of the book. One of the knots and one of the inspiration projects really stood out for me; The Double Coin knot and a skull bracelet using double connection knots. Double Coin Knot from Fernando DaSilva’s book Dazzle-it Lovely Knots Skull bracelet from Dazzle-its Lovely Knots book. Lovely Knots Materials Next, I gathered all my materials together. The folks from John Bead were generous in giving us a roll of cord, an instruction book, and a clasp. While I was at the Bead and Button Show, I picked up an extra roll in the Chocolate color. I also used a cork board from my paper quilling set and a some straight pins to be able to create the knot that I had chosen. I decided to combine the two techniques to create my bracelet. Lucky Coin Bracelet by Suzann Sladcik Wilson When I was done, I was pretty pleased with the results. The knotting does take a little getting used to, so allow yourself some time to play with the different techniques. Is knotting something that you have done before or would like to try? Let me know in the comments!

It seems that among jewelry-makers and beaders, nothing strikes fear into the heart as quickly as the suggestion of using resin for making mixed media jewelry. I'm a little perplexed by this -- I've seen people who are completely fearless when seated in front of a flaming hot glass torch burning at around 1,900 degrees Fahrenheit, but who shrink away when I suggest that maybe we get some bezels and make a few pieces of resin jewelry. After a few of my own experiments with resin, I've found that resin really isn't scary at all! In fact, I love how easy it is to create heirloom-style mixed media jewelry using resin and copies of old family photographs. And resin-filled bezels make great focal points for both stringing and bead-weaving projects! It's affordable, and most of the resin supplies you need to get started are available at your local craft store. Are you ready to start working with resin? Check out these fifteen fabulous tips from Jewelry Making Daily's Tammy Jones! I have a confession to make: I get nervous when I'm going to make jewelry with resin. My fears are totally unfounded--I was taught by experts, use the best materials, and follow instructions exactly--but I still inexplicably hold my breath when I'm using resin. Yesterday, I realized why. I hate to waste. Waste? What does that have to do with resin, right? When I'm drawn to work with resin, it's because I have something special to encase in it, a prized memento or souvenir . . . which, of course, there's only one of, so if something goes wrong, the bezel is wasted and my treasure is ruined. But not always. In addition to tips that help scaredy-cats like me avoid common resin pitfalls (such as bubbles, cloudiness, and tackiness) and ensure that resin sets properly and clearly, there are ways to fix some resin mishaps, too. Resin Tips1. Work in a dust-free area with good ventilation and turn off fans in the area that could blow dust, etc., into your resin. 2. Wear gloves that fit well and snugly. You don't need saggy glove tips dragging resin around and messing up your work! 3. Mix resins very carefully. If the ratios are off even a little, you risk resin that will not cure and set up properly. 4. Work in good lighting. I've found that good overall, all-around light as well as a small lamp with direct light are best for me. The all-around light helps me make resin jewelry without making sloppy mistakes, of course, and the direct light really highlights tiny bubbles in resin, like inclusions in a gemstone. The lamp's warmth will come in handy for curing, too. 5. Scrape the sides and bottom of the cup when you're mixing resin, mixing for about two minutes, but avoid working it too much--no need to create extra bubbles to deal with. Mix until there are no streaks or cloudiness. 6. Pour resin into your mold or bezel slowly to avoid spillover and prevent trapping air around your encapsulated treasures, which causes those pesky bubbles. 7. For deep bezels or layered designs, work in layers to create the look of floating. Items will likely sink to the bottom and appear all on one layer if you don't work in steps, adding a base layer of resin and putting items in place one layer at a time, allowing layers to almost completely set in between. 8. Cover your resin masterpiece with an overturned cup or similar and place it under your lamp. The warmth from the light will help the resin cure. Resist touching or moving it until morning! Resin Fixes1. Ideally, gravity will work the bubbles to the top and out of your resin. If it needs some help, you have a few options. For deep bubbles (in wet resin), pop with a pin or fine toothpick. (Do this before the resin starts to set or you'll ruin it.) 2. For bubbles closer to the surface, a little hot breath can sometimes give th

It has been a long road getting the Annex ready. It started with a conversation and slowly grew into something real. We still have a lot of work to do to get it just right, but it'll take time to learn the needs of the space and adjust accordingly. Here are some of the pictures of space in process. It basically started out as a storage unit for the building. It became a repository for all the leftover construction materials and random pieces of furniture left by previous tenants. This is what will be the future internet office. Notice the faux wood paneling and stained wallpaper. It's hard to tell from this picture, but we selected this place for the space. It doesn't look like much, but we've poured a lot of energy into transforming it from a dumping ground into a classroom. After we cleared the junk out, we had to remove the wallpaper. It was coming up in sections and it had absorbed 40 years worth of odors and smells. We tried to keep tidy while we were working and ended up clearing the space out periodically. The next step was to prime the wood paneling and the walls. We wanted the space to feel light and bright. Another challenge came in the form of the ceiling. The acoustic tiles that line it also soaked up smells and was a dingy yellow color. We had to paint it. This is a picture of my studio. It was during the wallpaper scraping process. Here is the space after we went over the primer and added the accent color to the wainscoting. I also cleaned the window (which was filthy and covered in duct tape residue) and hung drapes. This image also shows some of our furniture. We still need to soundproof the side wall, change out the lights, get more equipment (like a TV screen and a camera to help blow up and demonstrate smaller projects). Little by little, it has come along and will continue to improve. I still need to move my studio into the space and unpack, but this is a quick snapshot of what the studio looks like after the wallpaper was removed and the walls were painted. I wanted something bright and bold. I liked this saturated blue green and thought that it was very invigorating. Here's Alisa teaching the first class in the space to Connie and Rebecca. She taught a RAW crystal bracelet and did a wonderful job! All of the students finished their pieces and were very happy with the class. It is nice to see that after so much energy has been poured into the project, it is finally spreading wings