Tag Archives: beads

by

Finally Published

JA Winter 2013I say “finally”, but it was only 8 months ago that I set the goal to become a published artist before the end of 2012.  I emailed Beth Livesay, then Managing Editor of Jewelry Affaire (my favorite jewelry magazine of all time) and included a few photos of pieces I thought might be worthy of publishing.

To my surprise, Beth replied quickly and asked me to send in the pieces.  One day after the deadline I’d set for myself, my unique jewelry creations were included in the Winter 2013 issue of Jewelry Affaire (it hit newsstands on January 1st).  I’ve since sent in several other pieces to the new Managing Editor, Christine Stephens, many of which have been selected to appear in future issues of Jewelry Affaire.

So if you’ve ever dreamed of being published, go for it!  And be sure to check out my shop on Etsy StrandedInTheCity because I’ll most likely sell a few of the published pieces soon.

Advertisement
by

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!

100_3323

by

3rd Annual Challenge of Color Reveal!!!

I was torn between the two palettes selected for me, so I decided to use both!  I should note that I challenged myself a bit more by committing to only use beads that I already had on hand.  So I dug through boxes, jars, and bowls of bead soup to find the combinations I wanted.

To represent the Namib Desert palette I created a statement necklace using leopard print beads, silver pearls, and various other types of beads in shades of brown. For the Meighen Island palette, I used watery blue lamp work and other glass beads combined with vibrant green pearls in a 5-strand bracelet with a slide clasp. Both items are for sale in my Etsy shop StrandedInTheCity. You can see a full list of the participants with links to their blogs below. Enjoy!

Click the image above to visit Erin’s blog for the main post!

Erin Prais-Hintz http://treasures-found.blogspot.com/2012/11/3rd-annual-challenge-of-color-reveal.html
Rebecca Anderson http://songbeads.blogspot.com
Kris Auderer https://strandedinthecity.wordpress.com
Chrizette Bayman http://beadsoupmix.blogspot.com
Lori Bowring Michaud http://artfullyornamental.blogspot.com
Courtney Breul http://beadsbybreul.blogspot.com/
Lynsey Brooks http://yellowunicorncreations.blogspot.co.uk
Stephanie Buss http://maxandlucie.blogspot.com
Iveth Caruso http://www.creativeatelier.net/
Shannon Chomanczuk http://www.formysweetdaughter.blogspot.com
Lisa Cone http://inspiredadornments.blogspot.com/
Cece Cormier http://thebeadingyogini.com
Lori Dorrington http://lorisglassworks.blogspot.com
Dawn Doucette http://designsbydawnmarie.blogspot.com
Jeannie Dukic http://site.jkdjewelry.com/blog/
Kim Dworak http://cianciblue.blogspot.com/
Beth Emery http://storiesbyindigoheart.blogspot.com
Janice Everett http://JLynnJewels.blogspot.com
Pam Farren http://www.re-maker.blogspot.com
Donetta Farrington http://simplygorgeous-donetta.blogspot.com
Gloria Ferrer http://judetaama.blogspot.com.es/
Cherrie Fick http://designsinthelight.co
Therese Frank http://www.theresestreasures59.blogspot.com
Patty Gasparino http://www.mylifeunderthebus.typepad.com
Tanya Goodwin http://pixiloo.blogspot.com/2012/11/3rd-annual-challenge-of-color.html
Ambra Gostoli http://chicandfrog.wordpress.com/2012/11/27/3rd-challenge-of-color
Jess Green http://tabbiekoshka.blogspot.co.uk/
Denielle Hagerman http://somebeadsandotherthings.com
Mary Harding www.maryhardingjewelrybeadblog.blogspot.com
Karla Hartzog http://www.karlakrafts.com
Kim Hora http://www.kimmykats.com
Brandi Hussey http://brandigirlblog.com
Emanda Johnson http://ArtemisiaStudio.blogspot.com
Jennifer Justman http://soulsfiredesigns.blogspot.com/
Sue Kennedy http://suebeads.blogspot.com
Ema Kilroy http://emakaye.blogspot.com
Lee Koopman http://Stregajewellry.wordpress.com
Linda Landig http://www.LindasBeadBlog.com
Kirsi Luostarinen http://kirsiluokorut.blogspot.com
Cynthia Machata http://antiquitytravelers.blogspot.com/
Alicia Marinache http://www.allprettythings.ca
Beth McCord http://www.ebbeadandmetalworks.blogspot.com
Mary K McGraw http://mkaymac.blogspot.com/
Karen Mitchell http://www.overthemoon-design.com
Cheri Mitchell-Reed http://creativedesignsbycheri.blogspot.com/
Aimee Moisa http://threecatsdancing.blogspot.com
Karla Morgan http://www.texaspepperjams.blogspot.com
Penny Neville http://copperpennydesigns.blogspot.com
Becky Pancake http://beckypancakebeaddesigns.blogspot.com
Kashmira Patel http://sadafulee.blogspot.com
Alice Peterson http://alice-dreaming.blogspot.com
Kayla Potega http://www.teejewelry.blogspot.com
Debbie Price http://greenshoot.blogspot.co.uk
Bobbie Rafferty http://beadsong.blogspot.com
Caron Reid http://caronmichelle.blogspot.com.au/
Nicole Rennell http://nicolerennell.com/blog
Cynthia Riggs http://cynthsblog.blogspot.com/2012/11/3rd-annual-challenge-of-color.html
Andrea Ross http://silvermapledesigns.blogspot.com/
Sally Russick http://thestudiosublime.com
Annie Scherz http://www.studioluma.ca
Pam Sears http://crazycreativecorner.blogspot.com/
Renetha Stanziano http://lamplightcrafts.blogspot.com
Sandra Stein http://sannipanni.wordpress.com
Kristen Stevens http://kristen-beadjourney.blogspot.com
Tracy Stillman http://www.tracystillmandesigns.com
Sherri Stokey http://www.knotjustmacrame.com/2012/11/challenge-of-color-reveal.html
Lola Survillo http://www.beadlolabead.blogspot.com
Kay Thomerson http://KayzKreationz.blogspot.com
Jo Tinley http://daisychaindesignsjewellery.blogspot.com
Emma Todd http://www.apolymerpenchant.com
Cory Tompkins http://www.tealwaterdesigns.blogspot.com
Pam Traub http://www.klassyjoolz.blogspot.com
Melissa Trudinger http://beadrecipes.wordpress.com
Michelle Tucker http://michellescreativemusings.blogspot.com/
Shelley Graham Turner http://www.shelleygrahamturner.blogspot.com
Monique Urquhart http://ahalfbakednotion.blogspot.com/
Rachel Van-Walsk http://balancedcrafts.com/blog
Patti Vanderbloemen http://www.myaddictionshandcrafted.blogspot.com
Lesley Watt http://thegossipinggoddess.blogspot.com
Lynn White http://lynnwhitejewelry.com/Lynn_White_Jewelry/Lynns_Jewelry_Blog/Lynns_Jewelry_Blog.html
Joan Williams http://www.lilrubyjewelry.com

by

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.

by

My New Assistant

I signed up for Erin Prais-Hintz’s Challenge of Color and while I can’t reveal my results yet, I wanted to share this photo of my cat, Sprinkles, contemplating which beads should be used.  Since she has gotten brave enough to run past the CatScram upstairs in order to access my jewelry studio, Sprinkles has become quite the little helper.  She loves to trot upstairs to partake in some of her favorite activities:

  1. Stare and meow at me for no apparent reason
  2. Roll around like a wiggle worm
  3. Bat at any loose beads laying around
  4. Lay directly on jewelry projects in progress
  5. Take a bath
  6. Settle in for a nap
  7. Look up at the tiny dormer windows anytime a dog or other animal outside makes a noise
  8. Dart out of the room suddenly (again no apparent reason)
  9. Rub her scent on any and everything to ensure the studio is marked as her territory
  10. Continue to be absolutely adorable

20121110-224432.jpg

by

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!

by

Tassel Necklace Project 2

In my previous post Tassel Necklace Project, I explained how I created my own gold-tone version of a Stella & Dot necklace that I love, and already own, in silver-tone. I also worked on a different Stella & Dot inspired collaboration recently with my BFF Nikki.

We are both head over heels for Stella & Dot’s Windsor Tassel necklace so we decided to make our own version. We started by taking a gold colord eye pin and snipped it to the length we wanted, then cut several pieces of goldtone chain in various lengths and “strung” them on the eye pin. After creating a loop in the cut end, we attached one end of long gunmetal chain to each loop. For the next step, it helps to place the necklace on a dressmaker form (clip it in the back if you have to). We draped a few additional pieces of gold chain over the eye pin and then wrapped Industrial Chic rhinestone trim around the chain a few times (below the eye pin) to create a tassel shape. If you are not familiar with Industrial Chic by Susan Lenart Kazmer, you can check it out here and purchase it at Michael’s. The trim can be secured with wire or glue in the back. Very easy and chic, and a great DIY version of an amazing design by Stella & Dot.

Gallery by

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 […]

by

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!

by

Tassel Necklace Project

So I’m not ashamed to admit that I cannot figure out how to add a photo to a comment I made on Agness Rae’s awesome post Trendy Tassels.  If anyone knows, please share 🙂  Anyway, here’s my comment and the photos of a necklace I made that was inspired by the Stella & Dot Gitane Tassel necklace that I own:

One pic shows my gold-tone version compared to the real thing in silver-tone. The other 2 show me wearing the necklace doubled with the tassel, and then long with the tassel removed (just like the way the Stella necklace works). Basically I just rosary wrapped a TON of 4mm czech beads in various metallic colors on 26g wire (I believe the Stella necklace has mostly 3mm beads but I had to work with what I could get quickly!). About halfway I added a jump ring on each side, then gave up on the rosary wrapping and just added dangles and spaced them out a little bit more (this is where mine really starts to differ from the Stella necklace). For the tassel, I just cut up some old chain, put it on a jump ring, added a larger glass bead and a lobster claw clasp, and voila!  Enjoy 🙂

ImageImageImage