Spring Issue of Stringing!

It seems like it's harder to get jewelry designs published in the magazines these days! So many great designers submitting work, so I feel very fortunate that I have 2 jewelry designs in the upcoming issue of Stringing Magazine! A necklace and a bracelet. I can't wait to see the issue! It's on newsstands Tuesday, February, 22nd.

 

stringingmagazine.com

Earthenwood Design for February

Valentine's Day is just days away now, so it's time for more hearts! This cool heart lock pendant arrived in the mail just a few days ago from Melanie of Earthenwood Studio. I love this pendant! It looks like an antique locket to me. I started working with it as soon as I opened Melanie's package. I just couldn't resist! She sent heart pendants and a few other link pieces to all the design team members this month. I'm sorry I didn't take a picture of the things she sent, but you can see all the beads on her blog!

I made a simple, delicate necklace this time around. Romantic, but a little dark. Actually, as I was working out the design, I thought of that girl from the vampire movies! It does feel a little Twilight inspired, don't you think? I call it Lovers Locket. Three strands of red waxed linen cord braided together with faceted black onyx beads. Drops of pear-shaped faceted garnets and tiny hemite beads dangle from one side and with the heart pendant as well. Finished off with a Vintaj brass hook clasp and a gunmetal chain extender with a garnet drop.

Lovers Locket

I'm looking forward to seeing what the other design team members do with the beads this month! Here's the list:

Andrew ThorntonGaea Cannaday Denise Yezbak MooreErin Prais-Hintz Erin Siegel Heather PowersLorelei Eurto Lori AndersonJean Yates Marie Dodd 

Bead Soup Received!

Here's my soup I received from my party partner, Dee Gordon! She wrote the cutest poem on her blog as she mailed out my package! Check that out here. When I opened Dee's package, I was whisk away on a tropical vacation! The tropical fish and colors of the seed beads and glass crystals make me think of azure waters and warm golden sun! So nice to think about in the middle of this snowy Winter! I love the wood bead and these beautiful silver pieces she sent, too. This whimsical tropical fish...well, he is just so adorable! I can't wait to start creating with him, I have some ideas already about what I will do. The jewelry reveal for the Bead Soup Blog Party begins February 26th! See you there!

Don't Miss This Giveaway!

I'm giving away a sample pack of Irish Waxed Linen Cord over on A Jewelry Accord! The giveaway package includes 3 yards each in 12 different colors! If you've ever wanted to give this material a try, this is a great opportunity to take advantage of. It's great stuff and once you give it a try, you'll be hooked!

Bead Soup Sent!

I'm participating in the Bead Soup Blog Party hosted by Lori Anderson. You can find out about the party and how it works on Lori's Bead Soup Party page. Here's the Bead Soup mix I shipped on over to my partner, Dee Gordon of Runako Designs! Dee makes gorgeous jewelry! Check out her blog and website. I had a fun time choosing just the right ingredients from my stash! I hope Dee finds this soup mix yummy enough to cook with! I think she does and I'm really looking forward to seeing what she dishes out! I will show you what she sent me as soon as I get around to taking a photo of it! So, stay tuned!

Plum Passion Bracelet

I created this piece for the latest Artbeads.com design challenge. The theme this time around is 'Winter Enchantment'. Since Valentine's Day is a favorite Winter holiday that's right around the corner, I decided to go with a hearts theme! I love heart motifs, especially in jewelry! I picked out a few favorite Hill Tribe Silver heart charms from the charms section at Artbeads. I added in the Green Girl Studios heart button for the perfect closure.

I've been attracted to plums and purples lately and I do love this color palette for Winter. It does seem quite enchanting! I love the different finishes on these seed beads! I chose a variety of them in shades of purple and plum from the seed bead section at Artbeads and strung them up on my plum color waxed linen cord. I hope you've enjoyed my design! I love how this turned out. I'm looking forward to wearing this to a possible Valentine's Day Brunch with the hubby. LOVE! 

Happy Valentine's Day and Happy Beading!


Disclaimer: Artbeads.com has sent me the above mentioned beads, pendants, materials and/or findings to create with as part of their design partner blog program. I have not been paid by Artbeads.com to participate. Thank you.

NYC Weekend Bead Trip

I had a beadiful time in the city this past weekend with friends Lorelei, Nancy and Kelley! These ladies are the BEST friends a girl could ask for and so much fun to hang out with! We all met up in New York City on a serious mission for BEADS! (This is a looong post with lots of pictures, so grab a cup of something yummy and join me!)

 Lorelei and Kelley in the middle of Times Square! 

Nancy flippin' in Times Square!

Nancy took a few Flip videos during the trip. I can't wait to see how those turned out!

 Kelley in Times Square.
Kelley is an excellent photographer! She took a lot of great photos during the weekend. You can see her pics from the trip in Kelley's Album on Flickr!

 Kelley, Nancy and Me in Times Square!
I absolutely ADORE this photo that Lorelei took of the three of us! I want to frame this one and keep it on my desk. The only thing keeping it from being perfect is that Lori isn't in it!

I'm sorry to say that my picture-taking for the trip was sad, sad, sad, I'm afraid. Most of my pictures are all from the very beginning of our trip when we first arrived. After about 5 minutes of those fridged New York temperatures, the enthusiasm for pictures was quickly lost! Check out Lori, Kelley and Nancy on their blogs for more details on our trip and PICTURES! When we were in the bead shops, I was pretty focused on the BEADS, what I was going to get and how much I was spending, so sorry, no pictures of the bead shops either, but at least I can show you what I came home with and that's all that really matters anyway, right? Right!

So, without further ado, here's the tour of the NY bead stash!

Our first stop was Tinsel Trading Company! This shop was beautiful! It was filled with many vintage treasures and stocked from floor to ceiling with a vast array of trims and ribbons! It seems very strange that I didn't get any ribbon there, but I think I was just overwhelmed with the selection!

 Lorelei shopping at Tinsel Trading Company.

 Here's what I did get there. Some vintage metal sequins and a vintage metal button.

Next stop, Phoenix Stone & Beads Imports, Inc. Probably the best deals on stones at this bead store! Very nice people. It's wholesale, but if you pay cash they will let anyone shop. 

 Strands of metallic pearls, dyed agate, florite, turquoise, blue crazy lace agate and not sure what stone the purple teardrops are.

Next, was City Beads! This store had an amazing selection of Czech glass beads and seed beads! Very nice and helpful staff.

Some great quality wood beads and a selection of Czech glass.
 
Next, Toho Shoji! A Japanese bead shop! I love experiencing foreign ideas and concepts. It's especially exciting to see what's going on in the jewelry world outside the US. I really enjoyed this store. They had all kinds of different beads.

I ended up buying this book on wire mesh ribbon lace. It's all in Japanese! I can't read a word, lol! It's full of pictures of jewelry, though and that's enough! I've been wanting to try the wire mesh ribbon lace for quite a while now. It's on my list of materials to try and this book will help provide some inspiration!

Last stop on Saturday was M&J Trimmings! It was at the end of the day by the time we made it to this shop. We were pretty tired, so we didn't do much shopping. We barely made it through half the store! It was HUGE! Floor to ceiling, buttons, findings, leather, cords, ribbons and trims of all kinds!

I picked up these cool metal findings! I thought they'd make great earring components!

On Sunday, we went back to M&J Trimmings for another spin since we really didn't get through the whole shop the day before.

I'm sooo excited about these! I got these awesome faux leather flowers! I love the colors and finish they came in. I'm sure they are supposed to be appliques for embellishing a bag or hat, but I'm going to make them into pendants! L.O.V.E!

And last but certainly not least, Bead City New York Bead Center! This was a great, well-stocked shop! We spent a while in here. They had just about everything and a nice selection of EVERYTHING!

 Wood beads, silk beading cord, copper beads, copper flower pendant, turquoise donut and Japanese seed beads.

And there you have it! I hope you enjoyed the pics and the tour of the bead stash! Thanks for joining me! :) I had a great time with my beady friends. Couldn't have asked for a better trip and I can't wait for the next adventure!