Silly Saturday and Sensational Links

see more Lolcats and funny pictures


A Bead A Day
A surprise package of beads arrives and provides a week of fun on abeadaday!

About.com Jewelrymaking
Tammy has another installment of Make It Merry this week.

Art Bead Scene
November is full of fairies at the Art Bead Scene. Come check out the inspiration painting for the monthly challenge!

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi has a give-away offer on "the ugly necklace."

Cindy Gimbrone aka Lampwork Diva
Cindy reflects on how to live life at a slower pace. Her reflections inspire a pair of earrings.

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
Melanie starts a new project, an upcycled film themed jewelry line called Now Showing! Read the story behind this fun new idea.

Jean Campbell
Jean finds her first piece of beadwork in a junk drawer and discusses how important it is to reinforce your work

Jewelry & Beading
Gorgeous jewelry designs by artist Paula Huckabay!

Katie's Beading Blog
Katie's combining resin, chain, and tubular peyote stitch in a project for Beadwork magazine - download the pdf for free!

Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio
Setting up a table at a craft can be daunting, but Lorelei put together a perfectly Vintage Chic display that will hopefully lure people in.

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
In the spirit of the season, whereby "you can get nything you want" as in the famous Alice's Restaurant song by Arlo, you can get some fascinating things at Andrew Thornton's store. Great for holidays to come!

Strands of Beads
Melissa shows off a necklace she made...for herself!

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
Using a hand-painted Russian pendant from Artbeads.com, Andrew creates an enchanting response to Art Bead Scene's November prompt: Dadd's The Fairy Fellers' Master-Stroke.

Wednesday Winner.....

mairedodd!....

Congratulations! Send me your postal address and I'll send you the silver ivory double dip!

the bleeding heart

I mentioned a few weeks ago how I was going to a black and white theme and wanted to re-vamp my Etsy. Well, because I wanted a different name, I had to open another shop. I'm calling it the bleeding heart - a play on my political views and the style of jewelry and beads in the shop.

I described my concept to The Teen who came up with the banner.



I like it. Now that the bleeding heart had a shop, she needed a new picture.



I'm going for the edge, have I achieved it?

Monday Giveaway! Double Dip

In the spirit of more giveaways on my blog, today I'm going to giveaway a Silver Ivory Double Dip. I used these in the Meandering earrings.



Tell me what you'd make with a Silver Ivory Double Dip and I'll choose the idea I like the most as the winner! You have until midnight tonight (November 9, 2009) EST. Winner will be posted Wednesday - don't forget to come back!

Don't forget - Wednesday winner is announced!

Sunday Photo

Funny Friday and Fabulous Links

moar funny pictures


Art Bead Scene
An Art Bead Scene first - the December sponsors collaborate on a special set of art beads for the December monthly challenge prize!

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi uses a leather button to make a wearable collage.

Cindy Gimbrone aka Lampwork Diva
Cindy has developed a new line of jewelry to remind us all to live life slowly and enjoy what we have. First in the series is "Grounded."

Jean Campbell
Jean describes what it's like to edit someone's book and shares her thoughts on Marcia DeCoster's latest, Beaded Opulence.

Jewelry & Beading
Cyndi is giving away a copy of Ronna Sarvas Weltman’s unique polymer clay book called "Ancient Modern". Come and get in on this contest!

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
jean is amazed by the treasures you find in Cynthia Thornton's spectacular wonder of a book, Enchanted Adornments!

Strands of Beads
Melissa trys out Friendly Plastic (and likes the results).

Double Color in Double Dip

I'm collaborating with clay beadmaker, Mary Harding on the Art Bead Scene monthly challenge sponsor art beads. We've worked out a color palette so the beads will coordinate for the winner. I find, though, I can't put the colors away, I keep playing with them and so some of the colors have found their way into the Double Dips.

I'm particularly enamoured of the violets, purple and pinks we've been working with. My favorite is what glass beadmakers know as dark silver plum. I get a slight iridescence that reminds me of the Tahitian black pearls. So I've named it Tahitian Plum - isn't it yummy?



I started thinking how cool it would be to have two coordinating colors in the Double Dips. So I pulled out a coordinating pinky-purple and wrapped the hot glass onto one end and a violet or plum on the other. Purple/pink glass is notoriously finicky so I just got it hot and let it do it's own thing. You don't mess with the purple/pink diva glass - she'll be what she wants! I like the different shades of pink and purple in each teardrop.


So, are your creativity wheels turning? What might you make with the Double Color Double Dips?

Live a Slow Life: Meandering

I love the Ivory Bling Links so I made the Silver Ivory Double Dips to coordinate with them. You can mix and match as you please!

To show them off, though, I made a set of earrings with just the Silver Ivory Double Dips. Another in my Live a Slow Life Series, this one is called, "Meandering." Remininscent of a seed pod you'd find while on a slow hike through the woods, I've named it "Meandering" to remind me to hike slowly so I can see everything around me and enjoy the journey.


Have you done any "meandering" lately?

More Is Less

I always have several projects in progress on my workbench. Projects can go half finished for months as I decide exactly how I want to put a piece together. Today, I wanted to show how I used the happy little balloon like Double Dips.

Poor Double Dips, they were created last year and then I did nothing with them. I guess that's a project half finished, huh? Well, I combined a half finished project with a half finished project. I had cut and stamped a couple of pieces of copper with the phrase "More is Less" - a play on the phrase "Less is More." Wasn't sure at the time where I was going but now with the new "Live a Slow Life" series, it fits right in.

More can make us miserable, it can make our life less than what it is. So I combined the happiness of the balloon like Double Dips with the reminder that having more isn't the answer to happiness. Being present in our life right now and enjoying it is what will bring us happiness.



More IS less, don't you think?

Dropped the Double Dip ball and then picked it back up!

Sometimes I get on a creative roll and create findings to go along with the beads I make. Last year, I rolled out "Double Dips" - 18 gauge copper wire with a glass headpin at each end. I "dipped" each end of the wire in molten glass and made a bead at each end. You could cut them in two and make charms, use as a headpin for that special bead or whatever your imagination led you. I sent them into Wire Jewelry and they appeared in the new products section.

And then nothin'.

Yep, Ladies and Gentlemen, I let the proverbial ball drop. I didn't promote them, I didn't make anything with them, I didn't send them out to designers or even keep them up on my website!

Neglected, these periwinkle Double Dips stayed in my bead storage. What a sorry circumstance for these cute little guys that remind me of balloons!



I've been re-thinking the Double Dips and have re-worked them. Since I love the balloon look of the periwinkle double dips, I've made new ones with a teardrop shape. I've used color combinations that match the Ivory Bling and Frost links so you can mix and match as you please.



This week is dedicated to the Double Dip - I'll show what I've created with them to get your creative wheels turning. In the meantime, what would you make with a Double Dip?

Sunday Photo

Silly Saturday and Sensational Links

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

A Bead A Day
Looking for a great way to commemorate a special moment or gift? Design a piece of jewelry!

About.com Jewelrymaking
It's like Wal-Mart, only you want to be there in this virutal tour of Shipwreck Beads.

Art Bead Scene
Art Bead Scene is having a book fair. Read up on your favorites!

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi has finally discovered how great polymer clay is.

Cindy Gimbrone aka Lampwork Diva
Not thinking about your holiday gift list yet? Cindy helps get you started with a Knot Ready for Prime Time Lucky Knots and Friends Projects so you can get started now!

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
Melanie shares her final Crystal Week necklace... a piece she calls Woodland Mermaid

Jean Campbell
Jean celebrates her favorite holiday by showing off her costume and some very cool baubles

Jewelry & Beading
Krystal Backer, beading artist, shares her creative inspirations with Cyndi.

Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio
Have you been following Lorelei's Necklace Round Robin? Come take a look at the finished pieces!

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean reviews a delightful book by the editor of BeadStyle: Cathy Jakicic

Strands of Beads
Melissa shows off her favorite necklace created for Cynthia Thornton's Enchanted Adornments and winner in the metal clay category of the British Bead Awards

Grounded

Mediation and slowing down in general is good for all of us. Inspired to live a slower life, I'm creating a line of reminder jewelry that has style yet serves as a reminder to live life slowly. Each piece will be named after a slow life goal like this one - to stay grounded.


I put this up on my Flickr a couple weeks ago but decided to re-work it slightly and take another picture of it. It's available in my studio at ArtFire.

Share Your Stash - Beads of Clay Open House

I love clay but I can't make any beads from it that have grace and style - unlike the talented artists who belong to Beads of Clay - they can make the clay sing! I'm collaborating with Mary Harding, a clay artist, for the ABS December sponsor beads and when I went to her blog, I happened upon the Open House announcement.

Whee! I was there with bells on! (Who cares I was working at the time? Did I say that out loud?) Here's the stash I bought:

A dill pendant by Mary Harding...


A Passion Heart from Erin at EveryHeartCrafts - Don'tcha just love it?


Check out this great Lasso Wire Wrap Ring tutorial from Chinook Designs. Awesome isn't it?


That's my stash from the Open House - have you added to your stash recently?

Ornamentea Unveil - Sew Together

I was a blogging dud last week, Dear Readers. The flu season arrived at my house by first hitting my son, then my husband. I luckily escaped the flu but was hit with a bad case of bronchitis. So last week is a blur of illness.

Finished jewelry pieces languished on my photography table ready for their close up. Well, today the wait is over. Remember the day I posted about Ornamentea and the 10 Loop Ring in Antique Brass? If you don't, here's a picture of the ring blank...


Without realizing it, I've been developing a group of pieces where I "sew" with wire and metal to create pendants. My need to sew metal and glass comes from learning to sew at age 4, sewing my own clothes through college and reluctantly giving it up when the fabric became more expensive than buying a dress, and reading Mary Hettmansburger and Susan Lenart Kazmer. Sewing seems natural to me - stitching with wire is a natural extension of who I am and the wirework I do.

I strive to put things together in unusual ways - make the unexpected. The 10 loops cry out for a flurry of headpins and beads - which I love love love by the way - but what could I do with the loops in an unexpected way? I held up one of my Pear Frost Links - it framed the loops beautifully. Aha! I would sew the Pear Frost Link to the ring (have I mentioned how glue is not my BFF?)







The title is an obvious play on words and how I'd like to be "together." Instead of being flawless, I'm held together by these strong and even stitches that have a beauty all their own.

Do you find something like sewing appearing as a theme in your creative life?

Sunday Photo

Silly Saturday and Sensational Links

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

A Bead A Day
Does a simple design equal a "Zen" experience? Lisa would love to hear your thoughts on when simple designs are able to make an impact.

About.com Jewelrymaking
After posting a new jewelry book review for a very cool mixed media book, Tammy is looking a head to other reviews coming up very soon.

Art Bead Scene
You've heard of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants? Well, this Sisterhood shares bracelets.

Barbe Saint John - New Jewelry from Forgotten Artifacts
Barbe gets tangled up with Chain Style book review

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi decided to finally use her bead stash from Paris.

Cindy Gimbrone aka Lampwork Diva
Cindy's got some new findings from Ornamentea. What's she going to make with them?

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
The inspiration for Melanie's Machinery of Nature necklace comes from science, steampunk, and nature.

Jean Campbell
Jean struggles through the creative process while bezeling some unusual crystal shapes

Jewelry & Beading
Little beaded flowers are addictive to make, and before you know it, you've got enough for a complete necklace!

Katie's Beading Blog
Check out Katie's ideas on making your old beads new again- and make some affordable gifts along the way!

Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio
Better get on board, Lorelei is having the last of the Enchanted Adornments giveaways. Leave a comment to play!

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean has a little Boo power going on for her in this hand made Halloween bracelet!

Strands of Beads
Melissa shows off metal clay goodies from Rings & Things

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
Andrew revisits a bracelet design and creates six others.

Food Network Junkie - bring on a vegan!

Ok, I'm admitting it. I'm a Food Network junkie. I've picked up lots of tips on how to cook from watching Top Chef, Mario Batali, Bobby Flay, Ina Garten just to name a few of my favorites. I had a brush with working in a kitchen but it's not for me - I don't move fast enough and the high stress is too much for me. But I do like to cook.

I wish Food Network had a vegan cooking show like Post Punk Kitchen. But in the meantime, vegan friendly Rick Bayless (whom I've always loved - must be because he studied linguistics like me) will do.



I'm hungry! Are you cooking or making the margaritas?

Sunday Photo

The Teen playing his original music at one of the local malls.

Silly Saturday and Sensational Links

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Intro - Balloon Boy Is Safe
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Ron Paul Interview

A Bead A Day
Do you have a distinctive style or do you go where the wind blows you? Lisa would love to hear about your design process.

About.com Jewelrymaking
Fall is in the air, at least in some areas of the world, so it is time to think about making fall jewelry.

Art Bead Scene
ABS shares a motherlode of giveaways for October.

Barbe Saint John - New Jewelry from Forgotten Artifacts
Barbe gets a mini artpiece from Artbeads.

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi makes some resin filled embellishments quickly!

Cindy Gimbrone aka Lampwork Diva
There's a new addition to the Heartz n Skullz Family. Come check out the new Skully Bowz!

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
Melanie heats things up with some fire inspired crystal and porcelain beads in her newest necklace from her Art Beads crystal week

Jean Campbell
Jean reviews Wendy Ellsworth's wonderful new book, Beading--The Creative Spirit.

Jewelry & Beading
Cyndi shares the instructions for a special necklace that she made for a friend, called "The Fourth Day of Creation"

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean is swooning over the newest Crystallized Innovations from Artbeads!

Strands of Beads
Melissa is proud to be Soft Flex Company's Spotlight On... Designer for October!

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
See what Andrew whipped up when he sat down in the studio after a dry spell.