Category Archives: Supplies

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Canton First Monday Trade Days

Texas doesn’t know it’s December yet…which is a good thing.  What I mean is, we’ve had amazing weather in the high 70’s.  Breezy and warm, it doesn’t feel like Christmas could possibly be just a few weeks away, but it is.

At any rate, this warm weather made for the perfect day at Canton yesterday.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with Canton, it is a world famous open air flea market which begins on the Friday before the first Monday of each month.  It consists of 450 acres of stores, booths, tents, and tables of everything you can imagine.

Due to timing and circumstance yesterday I didn’t visit the “junk” section near the Civic Center which is where I love to scour for mixed media jewelry supplies like keys, watch parts, broken jewelry, etc.  However, I did score some beautiful strands of beads for under $15 total.  If you’ve never been to Canton, Texas for First Monday Trade Days, I encourage you to go.  It’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen!

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A Style Altering Moment

Have you ever experienced a moment that changed the way you design?  I had a moment like that in the Spring of 2011 when I discovered Jewelry Affaire magazine.  I hate to really even call it a magazine since it’s much more like a quarterly book.  The photographs overwhelmed me.  The techniques I saw were different from anything I’d ever imagined.  Because of the talented artists featured as well as the efforts of the magazine staff, my mind was opened to a whole new world of jewelry design.

Before picking up this issue (which I’ve probably read dozens of times since) I didn’t realize I was limiting myself by only using new jewelry components.  Once I realized that almost anything could be considered jewelry making media, the possibilities seemed endless.  A large portion of my designs now incorporate vintage jewelry or findings or found objects.  After discovering Jewelry Affaire, I bought both previous back issues (the magazine was new and only published twice a year at that point, but now it’s quarterly) and also bought up the past few years of its sister publication Belle Armoire Jewelry and I’ve bought every issue of both magazine since.

I’m very proud to announce that I will get to join the artists I admire when some of my designs are featured in the next few issues of Jewelry Affaire.  Even if you’ve never made jewelry before, I encourage you to check out the Winter issue on sale January 1st.  Not only will you get to see some of my work, you’re sure to be inspired in your own creative journey.  To see more of my work in the meantime, visit my etsy shop StrandedInTheCity.

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Bonkers Over B’sue

I just wanted to share some of the jewelry I’ve made using swags, ornate plaques, and necklace bases from B’sue’s Boutiques.  Visit her shop here, like her on Facebook here, and you can even join her creative group on Facebook here!

Some of these pieces have already sold, some are in my personal collection, and some are still for sale in my etsy shop StrandedInTheCity.  Enjoy!

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The Possible Dream

This gallery contains 8 photos.

I started making jewelry about 5 years ago per my mom’s suggestion. I’ve always been drawn to the arts, but jewelry design is where I’ve really found my niche (thanks, Mom!). For the first few years I would just carry my supplies around in a plastic container and bead all around the house. For the […]

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Bead Fest Texas!

I went to my first Bead Fest this weekend with my BFF Nikki and had a blast!  I got to meet Sara Lukkonen of C-Koop Beads.  I’ve loved her enameled metal components since I first saw them on the cover of the November 2010 issue of BeadStyle.  I also scored tons of metal flowers from Donna Rasco of Unique Creations.  They will be perfect for the garden style necklaces I’ve been making lately (see my previous post “Inspiration Strikes!” or check out my etsy shop StrandedInTheCity to see what I’ve been up to).  I got an AMAZING bird bezel and tiny vintage style ornament along with a couple of tins of Gilder’s Paste at an awesome price from Beth Botak of Kabela Design.  Be sure to check out what she created with the same bird bezel in the next issue of Bead Design Studio magazine! I visited with and bought from several other vendors.  Here are a few pics of my loot.  Enjoy!

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The Little Red Bead

I have a little, red bead in my possession that I’ve had for as long as I can remember.  I don’t recall how or when I got it and I don’t remember how old I was.  If I had to guess I’d say it was a loose bead that fell off some jewelry my mom had, and I must have been around 5 or 6 years old.

How this bead has stayed with me for 30 years and made it through at least 3 or 4 moves is beyond my comprehension.  Needless to say, although this bead’s monetary worth is probably only a few pennies, because of its persistence to remain with me, its significance to me personally has grown as the years go by.

So what can I do with a bead that means so much more than all the vintage gems and pricey jewels in my studio?  One idea is to encapsulate the bead in a glass bottle and create a necklace from it.  Thoughts?