It's Here!! The Bead Soup Blog Party!!!

The big event that we've all been waiting for is here! The Bead Soup Blog Party, heretofore known as BSBP. *smile*

Before I go any further, I MUST say a HUGE thank you to our fearless leader, Lori Anderson. Through all her challenges, she has somehow managed to put together another amazing BSBP! This is the 8th! I've been fortunate to have participated in a few of them over the years. I've made wonderful friendships along the way, including Lori. I'm eternally grateful to her! Please make sure you make her blog a priority! I really don't know how she does what she does with all that's going on. Love you Lori!!

I know I say this about all the BSBP's I've participated in, but this was truly one of the best for me. I got to meet an awesome lady and a huge talent, Kris Lanae Binsfeld of  Cherish Designs by Kris Lanae. We have very different jewelry making styles, but we connected right away. Birds of a feather, as they say. ;) And what a generous soup she sent, all beautifully packaged with a lovely note.

The piece de resistance was this drop dead gorgeous focal that she wire wrapped, incorporating many of the components in the soup. 

My mind was whirling with ideas, but it took some time to formulate the plan, which kept changing every time I picked up the piece to work on. Isn't it always so? I'm a little disappointed in myself that I only made the one piece that I did. I had other ideas in mind for the remaining soup, but life sort of got in the way. To begin with, my daughter-in-law went into labor 4 weeks early and presented us with our 1st grandchild, Alexander Jack. Sorry, proud grandma moment....have to share a pic of my little man at his 2 month birthday.

Been busy helping them with him and also with their move into their new house so not much 'me' time left for the things I enjoy, but he's my top priority right now. (insert heart smiley)

But you came to see beads and what I made with them, right?? Though our techniques are very different, we both share a fondness for recycled materials. I usually work with seedbeads so decided to step outside my comfort zone and do a wee bit of wire work...and I do mean, a WEE bit! ;) Her focal takes center stage of course! I took copper chain that I had in my stash and then intertwined the silk ribbon that was part of the bead soup with some sari ribbon that I've been hoarding and ran it through the links on the chain. I call this piece "Gypsy Treasures" because it's made out of some of Kris' recycled glass components and some of my lampwork and enameled beads, all dangling from the chain and cord in a fun way with her gorgeous focal. The only thing I would've done different is to make it more asymmetrical, but believe it or not, that's harder then it sounds. Ah! We're always second guessing ourselves, right? At least I always am! Still very happy with the outcome and plan to make more pieces out of the rest of the soup when time permits. 

Oh and before I reveal my creation here's a pic of what I sent to Kris. I included some of my lampwork beads. Can't wait to see her creation(s)!

On to my reveal....Kris's focal really makes the whole piece!

One of my enameled beads with a lampwork headpin.

Another fun little lampwork bead with brightly colored dots

A corrugated enameled bead

I just had to add a couple of my bellflowers into this! I absolutely love making these and recently hosted a challenge on my facebook page to see how my customers have used them. They're far more creative then I am, but had to try my hand at it too.

I have a busy weekend for Mothers Day. Tomorrow is my mom's 93rd birthday and then having my family here on Sunday for Mothers Day so may not get to hop much until Sunday night or Monday. Here's the link to all the other blogs. Hope you'll check them all out.

http://www.prettythingsblog.com/2014/05/welcome-to-8th-bead-soup-blog-party.html

Soup's Here!!

Are you in the 8th Annual Bead Soup Blog Hop? I'm sure glad I am! The amazing Lori Anderson, has put together yet another fun-filled hop despite her personal challenges. I'm very fortunate to have been paired up with the super talented, Kris Lanae Binsfeld of Cherish Designs for this year's hop. We hit it off right away and she was very sensitive to my allergies and sent me soup that I could work with. So very much appreciated! AND she sent an amazing assortment to work with. Really has my creative juices flowing!

I tend to work more with seedbeads these, but am excited to see where this challenge will take me. I especially love the hand made wired focal in the lower left. It's made with an assortment of the beads she sent me so I look forward to using it in at least one of my creations.

I also hope that she enjoys the soup that I sent her. I included a lampwork disc bead that I made out of a much sought after glass that's no longer in production. It's one of my favorites! And some matching disc beads as well as an assortment of other beads that I hope will spark her imagination. Can't wait to see what she creates!

Review: Create Three Dimensional Jewelry

If you love Miriam Haskell jewelry and want to create your own in that style, then Heather DeSimone's book, Create Three Dimensional Jewelry would be a great resource. She breaks down the mystique behind this eclectic style into easy to understand instructions. I would have liked to see a resource(s) for purchasing some of the unique components in the book

Review: Enameling Made Easy

I can't say enough about Anat Silvera's book, Enameling Made Easy. I've been dabbling in enamels for the past few months and just recently got more into it. Her book, which includes a bonus DVD (YES!), is my new bible! It says it's for beginners & beyond and it sure is! It's so comprehensive that I can't think of a single thing that that might have been missed. A must have for anyone interested in torch fired enameling. 

Soup's In the Mail!

You've heard of, "The checks in the mail"? Well, the soups in the mail. lol! Not the traditional type of soup of course! This is even better! It's BEAD soup! This is one of the most fun blog hops I've been involved in, run by the fabulous Lori Anderson. Through all her many physical ailments, this girl has still managed to put yet another Bead Soup Blog Hop together! She's a truly amazing person who I've had the pleasure of meeting and consider a friend. I won't go into all  her wonderful qualities. Suffice to say that I think the world of her.

So, now on to the soup! I am partnered with Kris Lanae Binsfeld of Cherish Designs. It's been super fun getting to know her. I think it was a great pairing on Lori's part. Our techniques vary greatly so it will be interesting to see what she does with the soup I sent her. Can't wait to see what I get to work with as well. 

So, wanna see what I sent out to Kris? Here you go! 

You didn't expect me to actually show you the soup before she gets it, did you? ;)

Review: Hot & Cold Jewelry Connections

 

 

The author shares her extensive knowledge in great detail, for the tools required and the techniques for the their use in Hot & Cold Jewelry Connections.

She presents her projects two different ways, cold and hot connections, with excellent

photographs and an explanation for each process. And again, explaining each tool and

technique used for each project.

Excellent book for learning as a beginner or intermediate with metal jewelry.

Review: Weaving Freeform Wire Jewelry

I've done a bit of wire work in the past, but was intimidated by the intricate weaving designs of late. And so was very pleased by the in depth instruction in this book. Kaska Firor breaks down the info in  an easy to understand way, going into the various wire gauges, types of wire, tools, techniques, etc. There are several projects that I now feel a bit more comfortable about attempting after having read the book.

2013 Women in Glass

For those not in the glass world, The Flow is one of the premier glass magazine for flameworkers. Once a year they come out with a Women in Glass edition, where they feature the work of many talented female glass workers. I've known for a month or so now that I'd have my work in there, but was asked not to discuss it until the issue hit the stands. Well, I got my copy of The Flow today so can now share. :-) My 2 focals are #5. Proud to be surrounded by the work of some of my friends and other flameworkers whose work I admire. Such a beautiful cover too! That's Diane Sepanski's work on the cover.

Review: Kumihimo Basics & Beyond

I had the pleasure of reviewing Rebecca Ann Combs' "Kumihimo Basics & Beyond" for Kalmbach books. I haven't done any kumihimo for some time so looked forward to this book. It didn't disappoint. It covers basic braiding, more advanced as well as various beaded kumihimo techniques with wonderful photos for those of us visual  learners. I particularly liked the 1 page, String Theory, in which she discusses some possibly problems and what to do about it. Highly recommended!

Beat the Crowds on Black Friday!!! Shop in Your PJ's!

 Is this how you'd like to spend the day after Thanksgiving? Or is this more like it?

You're my kind of girl if you picked #2. *smile!* As luck would have it, I'm running a Post Thanksgiving sale on Facebook for the entire weekend! It starts Friday at 11AM EST and runs thru Sunday at 10PM EST. It will be on my Destash page, so hop on over and check it out. I have over 20 years worth of beads that I'm destashing. The ones I have posted will all be discounted 5-25%, maybe more!

It's the Little Things

 

As artists, artisans, craftspeople, what have you, we often work weird hours. I've been known to work till 3AM oftentimes & I know I'm not alone. So when someone comes into your life who appreciates what you do, well, it's huge!


I consider myself to be very fortunate to have found something that gives me joy and made some wonderful connections along the way. I have gotten some sweet comments from customers. They all put a smile on my face, even just a simple smiley face! Who doesn't love a smiley face??

But every so often someone says something nice about my work that for some reason, just gets me right in the gut and puts a big smile on my face for the whole day....the whole week!!

"you offer beauty for me to build on!"

It's the little things! 

Kalmbach Books' Project Necklaces

I know the title has to do with necklaces, but many of the designs can be used for bracelets as well with some slight adjustments. The book starts out with basic tools, materials and techniques, but also gives an overview of the various necklace styles and lengths. I don't know how many times I've searched for that info and here it is now right at my fingertips.

Project Necklaces offers numerous techniques from stringing to wire work to single stitches to combined stitches. It has something for everyone and lots of beautiful designs in a variety of techniques and styles. There are many that I'd like to recreate, but I particularly love Cathy Lampole's "Crystal-caged Pearls". It's an asymmetrical necklace made with beautiful crystal beaded beads. Elegant and simple, with just the right amount of bling.

Drum Roll!!!

I have the winners of my contest.....YEAH! I used a cool random name selector & it came up with Adrienne Evans Cantler and Sonya Ingersoll-Stille. Please message me. You've each won a $25 gift certificate toward anything in either of my shops or on facebook. Will be uploading more next week after my houseguest is gone. You will have 6 months to redeem it. Congrats to you all! And thank you SO much for helping me reach such an important milestone. 2,000 Facebook fans! My mind is blown!

I decided to also add a $10 gift certificate to Eugenie Wu for sharing my post multiple times. Thank you all so much for sharing and for following me through the years. Your continued support allows me to do that which I love to do.

Facebook Giveaway Alert!!!

Are you a facebook fan of mine yet? If not, head on over to my page and check out my giveaway in celebration of gaining over TWO THOUSAND fans! Well, it was in anticipation of 2,000 fans, but in just a few hours that number has grown and I've reached my goal. YAY!!

Much love to all of you who have followed me over the years. This calls for a giveaway for sure!! So, I'm thinking not one, but TWO $25 gift certificates toward anything from either my etsy or artfire shops or from my facebook page.

That said, my shops are on vacation thru the end of the week so nothing to see right now, but the GC's will be good for 6 months. The rules are posted on my facebook page at this link so head on over! Will run this through next Sunday, October 6th. Thanks everyone & good luck!!!

Great Read For All Jewelry Designers!

I've been a member of a wonderful group of jewelry and component artisans for some time, Artisan Whimsy. I've seen the group grow by leaps and bounds since then with Melinda Orr at the helm.

One of the many exciting ventures is a new Ezine magazine, Bead Chat. I'm extremely honored to have my work featured on the cover as well as part of a 2 page spread inside from my fellow Lampwork Glass team members. I hope you'll check it out! And join in on the fun at Artisan Whimsy! Always room for more jewelry and components artisans!

Review: Creative Seed Bead Connections

With so many crossover techniques in jewelry design, Creative Seed Bed Connections is a very useful tool for those wanting to incorporate metals in their seed bead designs. Lots of beautiful patterns! My favorite is "A Piece Of The Past", especially the bracelet, which is on my to do list. But you'll have to get the book to see it. *smile*

Review: Metal Jewelry in Bloom

Let me first say that I am not a metal worker, so I was cautiously optimistic about this book since it included beads....lol! Not only does the book cover metals, alone and in conjunction with beads, but also leather and other fibers. Melissa Cable discusses and demonstrates the cutting of metal, bringing out the beautiful colors of copper and also it's use in jewelry design. And she makes it look so easy that I'm inspired to try it myself.

Review: Kalmbach's Multistrand Jewelry: Secrets for Success

The cover of this book intrigued me. I have been on an asymmetric kick lately so was very much drawn to it. I love the clever use of bails in the design. I never would have thought of doing that! This is just 1 of many beautiful pieces in the book. It's a great resource for the beginning jewelry maker up to more advanced.

Metallic Seed Bead Splendor by Nancy Zellers

For those into metallics, this book will inspire you to no end! Each and every beautiful design is made with metallics. Nancy Zellers also give tips in the beginning on how to test for durability since, as many of you know, some of the older metallic seed beads tend to wear off after awhile. I personally would make use of all the fabulous permanent finish seed beads that have been available for some time now. They're more spendy but well worth it in the end IMO. Who wants to spend all that time creating a beautiful piece of wearable art only to have the finish wear off down the road?

Another plus to this book is that since the designs are virtually monochromatic, you can appreciate the beauty and if you wish, use your imagination and add color if you so choose. This book is available directly through Kalmbach directly, Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Ready for Summer?

I know I am! Well, after spring of course. :-) Winter really takes it's toll on me. I'm for sure more of a warm weather person, which is reflected in a lot of my work. I try not to plaster my designs here on my blog, but this style bead is one of my favorites to create. It reminds me of the ocean and ocean waves. It's available now on Etsy. Grab it up if interested. They don't tend to last long. :-)