Jewelry Making

A family of dragonflies trying to carry home a vintage clock gear .. with dew drops (aka vintage crystals) clinging to it.Sorry this one is fuzzy, this time silver dragonflies capture a cog... Newer watches are not as interesting as old vintage watches, but I do like the copper coils in the new one. I finally had enough of them to make these cascade earrings!Stop by my booth at Valley Junction Art Market Tomorrow ( Sunday 5/19/13) to see these new creations and more... I'm in booth 217, which is in front of Selina's Bridal.

A Bead A Day What does blogging mean to you? Lisa's sharing her thoughts on the beauty of blogging, check it out! Art Bead Scene-Color Cord Mixes and a Free Bracelet Project...Read Full Post

Create Your Style With Red, White And Blue! From Fusionbeads.com: "You have an amazing opportunity to win up to $500 worth of Swarovski Elements Crystal in the My Patriotic Heart Beads… Red, White and Blue Create Your Style Design Contest! All you have to do to enter is send them a photo of the sparkling patriotic design you create using Swarovski Elements Crystal! Head over to create-your-style.com for all of the details on how to enter this fun contest! To sweeten the deal, we’re teaming up with Swarovski to offer you 10% off ALL Swarovski Elements Crystal! Use the coupon code CRYSTAL10 to save 10% on all Swarovski Elements Crystal through July 5, 2013 @ 4 PM PDT! So, purchase your crystal from FusionBeads.com today and get started on your patriotic masterpiece! Contest ends July 4, 2013. They will be selecting winners based on the creative use of Swarovski Elements you use to create the patriotic design! 1st Prize: $500.00 worth of Swarovski Elements 2nd Prize: $250.00 worth of Swarovski Elements 3rd Prize: $150.00 worth of Swarovski Elements happy beading and good luck to those who enter! – Allie" note from Jean: There may be other bead stores running promotions and teaming up with Create Your Style -- when I hear I will let you know! Good luck to all!!! xox jean

Bracelet.. one large excellent dragonfly with crystalsYesterday I played with dragonflies, and I think I will again tonight.That's after I catch up the bills, bond with the kid, update Etsy, clean the kitchen, wash dishes, clean both toilets, fix and eat supper. And probably half a dozen little chores I don't even know about yet.huh.OK, maybe I'll be I'll play with Dragonflies again tomorrow. sign. At least tomorrow is Friday!!!

note from Jean: this looks very useful and well designed. If I had this in gold or silver I would carry it everywhere! Ezel Findings presentsthe latest must-have for beaders, the “Beading Pal”Carry your beading project super-organized and in style. We are very pleased to introduce our new Beading Pal. Please visit our website, www.ezelfindings.com to view our new Beading Pal.The Beading Pal has a high quality faux leather outside, produced in beautiful gold and silver with gold plated zipper pull. Inside, a very soft faux suede cushions the beading area and provides a hand rest. The Beading Pal measures 10¼? x 8¼? x 1??.The inside of the Beading Pal features elastic bands that can hold bead tubes, a thread burner, or scissors. A mesh pocket holds tools and other supplies, such as pliers, a spool of beading thread, beading needles, etc. And, of course, there is room for one or more beading projects, with cushioning to protect them. Shown in Gold and Silver Ezel Findings wil

Wirework contacted me for a tutorial on a pair of earrings I had made. I was really happy about that. But I had just returned from India, after visiting family - my mother crossed over. I was late for the deadline, and was not in the highest spirits. But I must say Wirework magazine people were very very sweet and patient with me, and gave me 2 extra weeks, and the encouragement to do this work. So I am happy to say, the piece is made, the tutorial is written...and it will be published in the Fall issue. This will be my second tutorial in a magazine - the first one was a woven bangle. I will be adding the pictures later.My update comes after almost after a year, so I don't even know if anyone is still watching this blog :-). But here I am. :-)))I have been wanting to work on making a sword and shield pendant - or two different pendants. This is an inspiration I get from the sword and shield of the Archangel Michael. Either I will do it purely through wire, or silversmithing, or a mixture of both.Another piece

The Artists Synchroblog (May) – The Artists Synchroblog is a group of bloggers who post every other month on the same topic, sharing our experience or perspective. On alternate months we undertake a Pinterest Project where we each take inspiration from a pinterest picture, create something (art, a meal, a DIY project, etc) and then post about it. I'm excited to have been accepted into The Artists Synchroblog group! May's Synchroblog topic is "WORDS HAVE MEANING." So we are all posting about words that have meaning to us. Maybe a favorite quote, some words of wisdom, a poem, something that speaks to you. I honestly didn't know what to do on this... and I am a bit late to boot. But I did finally come up with a quote that fit perfectly. "Mistakes is what makes success." I have three young girls. And there is nothing like learning how to have successes after mistakes than by watching my children. Riley (my oldest) is learning to play percussion this year. She gets really frustrated after just a few minutes of p

BOOK GIVEAWAY! ONE LUCKY FLOWER by Elizabeth King Gerlach Illustrated by Jean Yates From Elizabeth, author of this lovely book: "I'm excited to announce the publication of a new children's book! One Lucky Flower is now available for purchase [see here-->] on amazon." For ages 3-9. A brave little flower is rescued by a girl who takes her on many adventures. Even though the flower is scared at first to leave her home in the garden, fun and surprising events unfold. She learns that with a little faith and trust, things can turn out even better than expected. Fanciful and colorfully illustrated, this story is filled with flowers, cupcakes, paint and love! Here is Elizabeth's website and here is Elizabeth! Elizabeth King Gerlach Elizabeth is a writer living in Eugene, Oregon with her husband, Scott, and black Lab, Luna. She is the mother/stepmother of four wonderful young men. I have known Elizabeth for years and years and she is a re

I've been on a bit of a treasure hunting tear, lately, so I thought I'd do a little show-and-tell. First, I visited the gem show... ...And I took my friend, Ronnie, to my local bead shop... ...AND we visited another Houston bead shop called Big Stone. Big Stone is a dangerous place, especially if you like pearls. See those baroques, in the front? They're huge. They were a little costly but you do what you gotta do. I have no idea how I'll use them but they were a must-have. Then, I found a bunch, big bunch, of these amazing little, tiny pocket knives, on etsy...vintage, made in Japan, sweet color of bluish-green. I'll be bringing some of these with me to Art Unraveled, to share on vendor day. I just finished teaching at The Prairie, which Ronnie came to attend. On our way up, we felt compelled to stop at a few antique stores. We had to do it. One of my favorite finds is that teeny weeny bottle. The tag says it was a smelling salts bottle. Swoon. Here I am with my girls at The

THAT is the topic for today’s artists Synchroblog! Please visit these blogs over the next day or two and see what words, quotes, verses, or sayings these artists have to share with us. http://amyestellemetalworks.blogspot.com http://www.islandgirlsinsights.blogspot.ca/ http://www.wrapturewirejewellery.on.ca/blog www.elenorbuffington.blogspot.com http://doxallodesigns.blogspot.com http://lesliervillarreal.blogspot.com http://www.journeyinjewelry.com/blog/My-Journey-in-Jewelry http://simpledesignjewelry.blogspot.com http://designsbylynnea.blogspot.com/ http://marikach.blogspot.com/ www.createrecklessly.com http://design.kcjewelbox.com www.allwiredupjewelrydesigns.blogspot.com http://shaktipajdesigns.com/blog/ http://silversmithblog.com/ http://stonezjewelry.com/blog/ www.beadsbythebay.blogspot.com