Beaded Beads

I've been on a kick lately, trying out different beaded beads. 

These are from the book The Art of Beaded Beads by Jean Campbell.

I think they were called pumpkin beads - which is definitely what they look like.  I like the pink one better - the contrast on the top and bottom definitely makes the bead look more dynamic, although I don't know how important it would be in the long run.  I imagine that these beads would look great as a focal on a necklace or bracelet (they are kind of big - about 3/4 inch tall and 1 inch wide) and they will probably have some other larger beads squished on either side of them so the contrast edging would not be as noticeable. 

jewelry Stringing, Winter 2017 edition

Sadly, this is the last Stringing magazine. 
Happily, I was published in it again.  Two bracelets:

The first was actually a  birthday gift for a friend that she was nice enough to give back temporarily so it could be shipped off to the magazine for photos, but has now since been returned.  If you can't tell my friend has a thing for bees.  The centerpiece is an Italian bee coin that I buffed and waxed and added the chain and embellishments.  Even the clasp has a bee on it!  The clasp is from Green Girl Studios.   The bee charms are Tierracast. 

The second was inspired from the gold rush segment in the magazine and the handmade focal bead (from TreeWingStudio).   Everything just fits so perfectly together in this bracelet.  One of my favorites. 
All the handmade beads:  purple lampwork flower: Thornburg Bead Studio, green/brown ceramic bead:  gaea,  Blue/white ceramic bead:  blueberri beads.  The rest of the beads are pyrite and gold-plated spacers.     This one is now listed on etsy!

Other Hobbies

Like most other jewelry makers, I have other crafty hobbies (several other crafty hobbies).  Over the holidays, knitting was my thing.

My niece is very much into Harry Potter, so I made her a Harry Pottery scarf.  Unfortunately, it took me until a month after Christmas to finish it. 

The lighting is not very good because I was trying to package it up quickly after finishing it or I was afraid it would never go out in the mail. 

With this scarf, I liked that there was no front and back.  It is a great thick scarf for the cold winter.  But if you are making it for a kid, I would suggest casting on less stitches.  Here's the pattern:  http://www.sumoftheirstories.com/2013/10/harry-potter-scarf-pattern.html

In the fall, I also filled the request of my youngest kid, for a minecraft hat: 

The pattern is a purchased download in Ravelry:  http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/minecraft-inspired-steve-hat

And how many times has it been worn?  Not very often, because it soon got replaced with a Target-purchased Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle hat.  And that is why I have a love/hate relationship with knitting anything for my kids. I love that they want something their mom made, but hate that they don't have any appreciation for the time it takes.  I guess that sums up most of motherhood.  😖😜

Handmade Polymer Clay Beads

Those titles - I have no original ideas for them so they all seem come out a little boring.

With a little extra time last week, I finally delved into the fun world of polymer clay bead-making.  I've had Erin Prais-Hintz's Fabulous Facets tutorial for well over a year and was able to take the time to use it.

First, it's a great tutorial.  She's very thorough and for someone who has never worked with polymer clay before, it was all useful knowledge.   And even more important than working with the polymer clay, I thought the painting tutorials were very helpful.  I've had the alcohol inks and patinas for awhile but never used them with such great results. 

The end results were very 'fabulous'.  The beads have a lot of depth.  And some look like rough cut stones.  I used different size metal space to make different sized beads, since I'm more partial to smaller beads. 

Some learnings: - first, my hands must have been pretty warm when working with the clay and kept softening the faceted cuts.  And they are so hard to see until after you bake and paint them.  And some of the cuts were a bit wonky, so I had to sand some of the edges down after they baked (which I also learned is better to do before painting them or it creates a lot of rework. =} =}

All in all, more beautiful and unique beads to make jewelry with.  Can't wait to include them in some designs! 

Bead Hoarder's Blog Party Partner

Introducing Annita Wilson - she's my Bead Soup Blog Party partner for this Bead Hoarder's Edition.  Here's her blog:  http://awjewelryandbeadwork.blogspot.com/

I received all of her awesome beads last week. 

Look at that awesome slab of green/yellow/black stone and beautiful purple and blue stones - love the colors. 

The heart was the main hoarded pendant.  It is a lovely mossy sea green ceramic pendant. 

And the detailed butterfly pendant - so many choices.

I have so many ideas percolating - just hope I can pull them off.

Thank you for these beads!!!  Come back on March 25th for the reveal.

Bead Hoarder's Blog Hop

It's time for the Bead Hoarder's Blog Hop.  I'm so thankful that Lori Anderson has started another blog hop.  The ones in the past were always fun and I've met some other beaders that way.


My partner this time around is Annita Wilson.  (www.awjewelryandbeadwork.com)
I sent out her beads yesterday - here's the preview:

I hope she likes them and makes something awesome with them!   And I can't wait to see what she sends. 

jewelry Stringing, Fall 2016

Once again, I am very fortunate to have more items published in the jewelry Stringing  Fall 2016 edition.  And this time, there is a link to purchase these on my Etsy store at the end of the post. 
Jewelry Stringing has themes and both the bracelets were made with the Southwest Inspiration in mind. 

The first is a bracelet with thick turquoise leather cording and lots of charms.  The charms are ceramic and hand-painted metal, along with some vintage rhinestones.  I really like this leather, but find it is very difficult to cut to size.  I found that nursing (or medical) bandage scissors work really well for cutting thick leather. 

The second is a bracelet with lots of southwest inspired beads.  I love these colors and was just looking for a way to make them all go together.  The 3 strands of beads are these cool Picasso Czech glass beads, silver rondels and turquoise-colored howlite.   The strand his complete with a suede button loop and silver and turquoise leather tassel.  I imagine wearing this with jeans on a cool fall day. 

I think these earrings are some of my favorite!  I love the mixed metals look and the way they swing when I'm holding them up.  These are made with vintage brass tubes, jump rings and some special Japanese seed beads that are actually two colors - gold/bronze and navy blue.  There are not too much navy blue, so really they just read more gold/bronze.

And these have been posted on Etsy.  I'm also working on some of my older jewelry Stringing published jewelry. 
Check it out here: Bracelet #1
Bracelet #2
Earrings


On a side note, does it bother anyone else that they don't list who contributed or designed the jewelry for bracelets and earrings?  This is the first time that Stringing magazine has not listed the contributors for these pages and they gave no prior information that it would come out like this. 
Its making me think whether I would like to have my jewelry published in here.  In the past, I was one of those people who be so fascinated with a good design that I would look up the other designers to see what other awesome jewelry they had made.  Now, its not possible.