Jewelry Stringing Magazine Spring 2014

I'm extremely excited to share the cover of the Spring 2014 issue of Jewelry Stringing magazine with you! It's a proud, proud moment for me to see my necklace on the cover of my favorite beading magazine. I'm honored to have my piece featured in this way. So few are chosen for this coveted spot. I feel very fortunate. I can't quite describe how much this means to me. I have dreamed of this. I have visualized my jewelry on the cover many times and thought of what a wonderful feeling it would be. I feel so happy and over-joyed to reach this goal. It just goes to show what you can accomplish when you put your mind to it. Dreams really do come true!

However, I do not think about the cover of the magazine while I make my jewelry for submission. I create what inspires me at the moment. I always create pieces that reflect my own interests and style even when working within the parameters of a magazine's guidelines. Some of you might remember that I wrote an article last September, for the Art Bead Scene about submitting jewelry designs FOR THIS VERY ISSUE! I wrote the article while I was in the process of creating my jewelry pieces for the submission process. Read that post here, if you missed it or for a refresher.

My goal was to offer helpful information for aspiring designers to submit jewelry to the magazine and also encourage participation in contributing designs to publications in general. I took a BIG risk writing and publishing that post before submitting the finished jewelry and again, took another gamble that a piece would even be accepted and then published! I created and submitted 4 pieces for this publication. Two out of those four were accepted for further consideration. I sure am grateful that those two designs were indeed accepted and published in the magazine. I would have felt pretty silly and foolish writing an advice article about successfully creating jewelry for publication and then not getting any pieces accepted to the magazine myself. That would have been slightly embarrassing, but that is the chance I took! I felt inspired to be open and put myself out there. My intention was simply to share my creative process and maybe inspire someone else to give publishing a shot. I hoped I'd get at least one project published in the issue. I never in a million years expected one of my designs to make the cover!

Since I shared a sneak peek at the designs I was working on in my submissions post from last September, I thought it would be fun to reveal all 4 of the necklaces I created and submitted to the magazine for the Spring 2014 issue, even the pieces that were not accepted. So, here it goes.

Necklace submitted to the "Soft Jewelry" theme for Spring 2014:

"World Beat"

Necklace submitted to the "Spring Green" theme for Spring 2014:

"Hemlock Forest"

Necklace submitted to the "Monochromatic" theme for Spring 2014:

"Stormy Winds"

Necklace submitted to the "Bead Soup" theme for Spring 2014:

"Globe-Trotter"

Now, here are my two designs in Jewelry Stringing magazine as published!:

World Beat

Necklace and Bracelet in the "Strike a Cord" section

Jewelry Stringing Magazine Spring 2014

 Sankofa trade beads, Irish waxed linen and Greek leather all supplies from Ornamentea.com.

 

Globe-trotter

Necklace and Bracelet in the "Bead Soup" section

Jewelry Stringing Magazine Spring 2014

Seed beads from ShipWreckBeads.com and a handmade ceramic bead set by artist, Keith O'Connor.

Pick up your copy of this issue on newsstands now or download the digital version. Happy beading to all and if you are so inclined, happy submitting to magazines as well. 

 

Oh, and Happy Valentine's Day!!! I hope you are doing something you love today and spending time with whom you love as well. Much love to you all.

Online Beading Magazines

Bead Chat magazine 

November 2013

I'm honored to contribute to the latest issue of Bead Chat magazine! An online jewelry magazine published by Artisan Whimsy members. Artsian Whimsy is an online community for jewelry artists of every kind. The group is extremely active and with a website and a facebook page. They are doing some exciting things and I'm looking forward to see what the future holds for the beading community. 

Lead editor for Bead Chat magazine, Cynthia Machata asked me a few questions about getting jewelry designs published in nation-wide bead and jewelry magazines. Special thanks to her for extending an invitation to me to contribute content. She was a such a pleasure to work with! In the interview, I share a funny, true story about my first published piece of jewelry. I also share my best tips for getting your work published in top beading and jewelry-making magazines. Plus, there is plenty of other great content for jewelry-makers and of course, gorgeous jewelry designs and eye candy from members. I especially loved the tribute to Bead Trends magazine and the interview with jewelry artist, Jess Italia Lincoln.

The Beading Glass magazine

November 2013

Another online publication that has come to my attention is The Beading Glass published by Leah Curtis of Beady Eyed Bunny. The Beading Glass is another online magazine for the jewelry designer offering inspiration, jewelry and bead artist profiles and interviews. Some very talented artists are featured on the pages of this magazine. You'll find great jewelry design and simply stunning art beads. The thing that brought the magazine to my attention is that my friend and co-author, Lorelei Eurto, has an interview that appears in the November issue. Even though I know her very well, I enjoyed reading her answers, seeing her designs and learning a few bits I didn't know.

Happy online bead reading! 

Submissions for Jewelry Stringing Spring 2014

Hello! It's my Studio Saturday day over at the Art Bead Scene blog. Hop on over there for a chance to win an Irish Waxed Linen Cord Color Mix from the Jewelry Accord shop. Right now, I'm working on magazine submissions. Today, I invite you inside my studio to take a sneak peek at the materials I'm creating with for the Spring 2014 issue of Jewelry Stringing Magazine! It's time to submit jewelry designs for next year's Spring issue, now. And yep, I'm actually sharing with you exactly what I'm working on for the pieces I plan to submit to the magazine. That might seem kinda crazy, but I embrace the idea of freely sharing information that might help someone else find success in getting jewelry published. I thought it'd be fun to do a little show and tell to give you a glimpse inside my process. I hope this information will help other designers feel more confident about creating jewelry for publication. Getting your jewelry published can be a tricky thing. Personally, I find that challenge fun! There's absolutely no guarantee that anything I make will be selected. All I can do is try my best to follow the magazine's guidelines, let the themes and color palettes provided inspire the ideas for my designs and stay true to my own style, esthetic and creative process.  Jewelry Stringing is one of my all-time favorite beading magazines. I'm intrigued and captivated by the themes and color palettes the editors come up with to inspire their contributing designers. Come join me now and get a taste for what I'm working on and my process for creating jewelry pieces for this particular magazine. I hope to inspire you to work on your own creations as well and submit your designs. Jewelry Stringing provides guidelines, themes and color palettes for each one of their upcoming issues. You can find the full details and guidelines for submission here. I've provided some of the information for the Spring 2014 issue here in this post. The first theme and color palette for Spring 2014 is "Soft Jewelry". (The following description is taken from the guidelines on the magazine's website.) Soft Jewelry

Leather, ribbon, cord, thread, embroidery floss, and fabric are most commonly used as stringing materials and structural components in jewelry pieces, but they also lend themselves to creative and compelling focal elements. Submissions in this category will range in style, but they should all include fibers, textiles, or leather as a prominent design feature. Consider highlighting these materials through techniques like knotting, braiding, and wrapping, or incorporating current trends like fringe or tassels into your designs. See their Pinterest inspiration board for this palette at: http://pinterest.com/stringingmag/soft-jewelry-spring-2014/

So, here's what I've chosen to work with for this theme:  Sankofa trade beads, Irish waxed linen and Greek leather from Ornamentea. As you can see, I've matched up pretty well with the first two colors in the palette provided. You do not have to use all the colors in the suggested palette, but at least one color in your design should match up. I chose these African trade beads in "Teal" from Ornamentea.com. For additional color, texture and the fiber elements needed for the theme, I hand-knotted the beads on multiple strands of Irish Waxed linen cord in "Sunflower". Then, I'll pair the knotted beads with some brown Greek leather cord to complete the design. The second theme and color palette for Spring 2014 is "Spring Greens". (The following description is taken from the guidelines on the magazine's website.)

Spring Greens

If there is one color that ubiquitously represents springtime, it has to be green. Fresh leaves sprout from the trees, grass peeks out from beneath snowdrifts, and budding shoots speckle our garden beds. From subdued mossy shades to high-energy lime tones, each piece in this category will celebrate spring in all its green glory. See their Pinterest inspiration board for this palette at: http://pinterest.com/stringingmag/spring-greens-spring-2014/ Here are some materials I've chosen to use for this palette and theme:  Shimmer Floss Ribbon, Czech glass beads, Irish waxed linen and a gold button. I've got some hand-painted Shimmer Floss ribbon in "Grandma Moses" from Ornamentea.com, green, faceted Czech glass beads, Irish Waxed Linen in "Dark Forest Green" from Jewelry Accord and a matte gold button from the fabric store. For this palette, I did want to match up with as many of the green colors as I could. The hand-painted shimmer floss helps me pull quite a few of the green tones in the palette with just that one element. I'll pull in the darkest green color with the waxed linen cord. Then, I'll pair the fibers with the contrasting finish of the faceted Czech glass beads and the button for balance and interest in the piece. The third theme for Spring 2014 is "Monochromatic".  (The following description is taken from the guidelines on the magazine's website.) Monochromatic In honor of our annual color issue, we are inviting our contributors to create monochromatic pieces in the color of their choice. While creating a piece in a single color simplifies the process of selecting color-coordinated materials, it makes the other design elements of the piece more visible. Balance, proportion, and symmetry are often accomplished through clever color combinations. Without the aid of a varied palette, designers must rely on their other skills to create well-executed, interesting, and attractive jewelry. We know that you are up to the challenge, so pick a color and show us what you've got! See their Pinterest inspiration board for this section at: http://pinterest.com/stringingmag/monochromatic-spring-2014/ Below is the color I've decided to go with for monochromatic: Gray Opaque Matte size 8 seed beads from ShipWreck Beads. Yep, Gray. Might not seem too exciting. Why in the world would I choose grey out of all the beautiful colors of the rainbow? Well, the design I want to make for this category will be elegant, sophisticated  and a little bit moody. That description could not be farther from how I would describe my usual style. I've decided to go in this direction because the color and look I have in mind is a total deviation from the esthetic I would normally create. It's fun to try different styles and show some range in my work. That is very exciting to me! :) I'm going to incorporate these opaque, matte grey seed beads from ShipwreckBeads.com into my jewelry piece by stringing them on multiple strands of gray waxed linen cord. The multiple strands of these seed beads will provide texture and visual interest to a monochromatic design. Last, but not least, the fourth theme for Spring 2014 is "Bead Soup". (The following description is taken from the guidelines on the magazine's website.) Bead Soup In contrast to the previous theme, the pieces in this section will be packed with colors-the more the better! We are challenging you to use as many different colors as possible in your submissions for this category, but be careful that you aren't sacrificing cohesion or wear-ability for variety. Tip: Successful "bead soup" pieces often have a unifying characteristic that runs throughout each design (ie: consistent bead size, shape, finish or material; a repeated technique; a specific theme or motif; etc.).  See our Pinterest inspiration board for this section at: http://pinterest.com/stringingmag/bead-soup-spring-2014/ Here are some beads I pulled from my stash for this category: Seed beads from ShipWreckBeads.com and a handmade ceramic bead set by Keith O'Connor. One hank of "All Mixed Up" size 8 Czech seed beads from Shipwreck Beads and a graduated ceramic bead set from ceramic artist, Keith O'Connor. I can't think of a better way to get more colors in than these fantastic seed bead mixes! They remind me a lot of the African "Christmas" or "Love" trade beads, which would also be a great choice for this theme. If you take a look at the Pinterest board for this category above, there are images of African beadwork. So, obviously those would be an ideal selection! I hope you've enjoyed following along with me on my journey to creating jewelry for the Spring 2014 issue of Jewelry Stringing magazine. I want to inspire you with ideas that you can use in your own jewelry. If you'd like to try submitting your designs, here is the deadline information and submission guidelines you'll need to know: E-mailed pre-submissions are due September 26th, 2013; physical submissions are due October 10th, 2013. For the rest of the submissions instructions and specifics, please read through the Contributor Guidelines in their entirety here. Don't forget to leave a comment on my Art Bead Scene blog post to be entered to win the cord color mix giveaway. Thanks you! Happy Beading!