Review: Kalmbach's Easy Crystal Stitching by Nikia Angel

I had the pleasure (and I DO mean PLEASURE!) of reading Nikia Angel's new book, "Easy Crystal Stitching" published by Kalmbach. I'm all about bling and this book is chock full of it. It's hard to imagine, but all the projects are based on Nikia's Sparkly Wheel or a derivative there of. It's amazing that a single component can have so many different looks. It really encourages people to think outside the box.

And here's my version. I added a peyote bail so it can be work as a pendant. Pretty pleased. :-)

Review: Sabine Lippert's Beaded Fantasies

I had the pleasure of reading and drooling over all the lovely creations in Sabine Lippert's Beaded Fantasies, another in Lark Books' Beadweaving Master Class series. I'm a huge admirer of Sabine's work and have several of her patterns so was anxious to read this book. As an added bonus, Lark is offering 50% off on their books through 12/11 through Barnes and Noble, so don't delay! Get your copy NOW!

The photographs are beautifully done and the illustrations are easy to follow. I really appreciate that she adds dimensions for the finished size on all the projects, both in inches and centimeters. This is a wonderful thing to do, especially since it's often hard to grasp the size of a bracelet, pendant, etc. when there are no sizes posted. Really helps in the planning process in case adjustments have to be made.

One of my favorite designs of Sabine's is covered in this book, her Granada Brooch. It's chock full of blingy goodness! Here's my interpretation...don't look too closely or you'll see some of my threads showing. Oh well, better luck next time because there WILL be a next time. I just love how these come out & am already dreaming up my next color combo.  

Holiday Trunk Show Is Underway!

Mea culpa! I completely forgot to blog about my Holiday Trunk Show on Facebook, but have no fear....It doesn't end until tonight, Thursday, December 6th at 9PM EST. Lots of beads & jewelry of all price ranges available, with low starting prices. Step right in!

Artisan Whimsy Giveaway Winner!!

WOW! What a week it's been! Or should I say month?!?? It culminated with my daughter-in-law having emergency appendectomy surgery yesterday morning...poor thing! Wishing her a speedy recovery! 

Back to the topic at hand. It's been so crazy here lately that I honestly couldn't tell you for sure if I got more traffic to my sites or not, but I thoroughly enjoyed checking in on teammates' blogs and seeing their work. What beautiful eye candy! 

I had 10 visitors to my blog, possibly more, but 10 that were kind enough to leave comments. I used random.org to select a winner to my giveaway, a $25 gift certificate to either of my shops. And the winner is................................#5, Tammie Tusher Everly. I will be contacting you later today with details. 

Wishing you all Happy Holidays!