Off to Bead Fest!

Bead Fest Philly 2011 

Picture taken by Andrew Thornton.

I'm leaving tomorrow for Bead Fest Spring in Philadelphia this weekend. Are you going??? It will be a much needed getaway girls weekend with some wonderful beady friends. I'm looking forward to seeing some familiar faces I met last year, as well as some new friends, too! I will be promoting my new book with Lorelei, called Bohemian-Inspired Jewelry. Our publisher, Interweave Press, sent us some cute postcards to hand out at the show.

I will also be running a "test class" to help me prepare for my Bohemian Knotted Earrings Workshop coming up at the next Bead Fest in August. I'm so glad that some of the ladies going to the Spring show were willing to participate and voluteer their time. This test class will allow me to practice my teaching skills and gain some more experience teaching these particular techniques. I'm looking forward to the feedback from my volunteer students!

Oh, and there may be some bead shopping thrown in there somewhere, too. ;) It's funny, the beads are certainly secondary to socializing with other bead enthusiasts! For me, the people are definitely the main attraction for the event. How about you? What's your favorite part about attending a bead show? The people? The classes? The beads? Do tell and I hope to see you there!  

Bohemian-Inspired Jewelry e-book!!!

Hello friends, I have some really super-duper EXCITING news! We just received word that our book, Bohemian-Inspired Jewelry: 50 Designs Using Leather, Ribbon and Cords is now available as an e-book version at Interweave.com!!! This was a total surprise! Yes, that's right, you can download it this very instant and be making jewelry projects from it over the weekend. If you just can not wait another month for the print version to become available, click here to download your digital copy now. I hope you can't wait, because I'm so anxious for you all to see it! Please let us know what you think, Lorelei and I are dying for some feedback from the beading community.

If do happen to download the e-book and you have questions about any of the content or techniques presented, please feel free to email me about it. I'm more than happy to help you if you need it now that the book content is readily available. Thank you for all your support for this project and I hope you do enjoy it immensely!

Irish Waxed Linen Cord

I'm honored to be a guest contributor on the Love My Art Jewelry blog, today. Stop on over to read my guest post all about my favorite jewelry-making material, Irish waxed linen cord!

Asymmetry Made Easy

Ah, asymmetrical jewelry. You LOVE the look, but maybe designing this way just doesn't come naturally. You struggle. You feel discombobulated. You are not alone. Many designers feel this way. I used to feel like this, too. My brain automatically goes for symmetry, but guess what? You CAN learn to design asymmetrical jewelry. It just takes practice. The more you do it, the easier it gets. I'm sure you didn't perfect your wire-wrapping skills in a day. It's the same thing with this. The good news is you can train yourself to design asymmetrically!

Enter: Lorelei Eurto. A master at her craft that no one can deny. My dear friend and co-author has just come out with a new e-book. Asymmetry Made Easy. In this design guide, Lorelei covers classic jewelry design concepts such as size, texture, color and designing in threes, but she also talks about never-before-covered topics like transitioning between elements in a design. Lorelei also shares a visual example of how you can lay out a beaded necklace design in a symmetrical pattern and easily change it into an asymmetrical one. This is particularly helpful to those of us that automatically think symmetrically.

But wait! There's more. I haven't even gotten to the best part of this e-book. The best part is Lorelei's innovative design diagrams. I'm very impressed with these diagrams because they are concrete tools that you can apply to your jewelry designs over and over again. No more guess work!

Order your copy of Asymmetry Made Easy today.

With this handy guide, you will be creating successful asymmetrical jewelry designs EVERY time.

Jewelry Display and Storage Finds

I'm always on the hunt for jewelry display and storage ideas. Recently, I was out shopping at Marshall's and I picked up these three items. A rustic, metal column candle holder, a wooden 4-drawer trinket box and a metal jewelry tree. I love looking for display items in the home decor sections at Marshall's and TJ Maxx. You can find chic and stylish pieces that will work double duty as jewelry displays and then as home decor items, when not in use! I have to have pieces that can multi-task in my home because I have got limited storage space. I love that I can scatter these around the house as home decor items, then snatch them up when I'm doing a jewelry show or craft fair.

Here's the tall, pillar candle holder being used as an earring display. The open filigree metalwork makes it just perfect for an earring holder! The antiqued finish and exotic look of it works well with my jewelry style.

Here's the little wooden trinket box. I love the carved symbols on the top and the rustic and weathered finish on it. I could use it for jewelry display or storage, but I'm thinking I will use it in my studio to store jewelry findings and components.

I hope you enjoyed my finds today. Maybe these will inspire you to do some hunting of your own.

If you find something interesting out there, I'd love to know!

Interview at Beading Daily!

 I am just thrilled to pieces that editor, Jennifer VanBenschoten gave me the opportunity to answer a few questions for the Beading Daily community regarding our new book, Bohemian-Inspired Jewelry: 50 Designs Using Leather, Ribbon and Cords. Read the full interview with me over on the Beading Daily blog!

Flap Your Wings - Judy Glende

If you were touched by this lovely lady one way or another, consider joining the blog hop tribute to her. Let's celebrate Judy's life and her design work! 

Please visit: Moobie Grace Designs to sign up to participate.