A Handmade Holiday Giveaway and Two Limited Time Sales

Taking today and maybe Friday, too, off from my usual post about a design or two and showing some pictures of the work. I'll be back on Saturday with my usual Supplier Sales post. Before I go, there are a few things I wanted to mention, though.

1st is the giveaway at Create for Less - "Handmade Holidays Drawing"

Send us your best handmade holiday creation, from Christmas cards and ornaments to holiday gifts and home décor. We can't wait to see your holiday creativity! Simply pick out your favorite holiday project, enter below and you could win a $100 CreateForLess shopping spree!

Entry form link

The second is Rings & Things 5-day sale is going on now through Sunday, and it's a 15% off price on Swarovsky round beads. If you're thinking of making really special holiday jewelry as gifts or to dress up your holiday party outfits, this is a good deal to take advantage of!

Lastly, The Beadin' Path is having a sale special through this Saturday only on their Lucite items. If you're not subscribed to their newsletter mailing list (the sign-up box is on the home page), you're missing out not only on deals like today's, but also on great information. For example, the current email is all about the what, where, when and how of The Beadin' Path's fabulous collection of vintage Lucite - the story of how they found their vintage Lucite flowers is really interesting!

Oh, and the sale? Spend $50 on Lucite and get $5 off. Order $50 or more Lucite using coupon code LUCLRN at checkout and get $5 off. Valid to both retail & wholesale customers, for one time use. Discount will be applied to Lucite items purchased "online only" at BeadinPath.com. Offer expires Saturday, November 14, 2009, at midnight EST.

Normally I do sales info on Saturday, but since both of these sales are ending over the weekend, I didn't want you to miss out.

Thursday Feature - Supplier Site Review + Extras

This is the first of my 'official' supplier site reviews - they'll pop up on Thursdays now and then, when I find a cool feature or think something's not so good, either, on a supplier's site. I've done some incidental reviews in past, like posts where I mentioned finding the Fresh Pick on LimaBeads.com Today, however I was directed to a feature at Rings & Things via Twitter that I found very helpful and thought I'd feature it.

When you go to this link on Rings & Things it takes you their page of Pantone Fashion Trend Report Colors for several seasons. When you click on one of the links below the color, for example, here's where clicking on "crystals" under Tomato Puree, Spring 2010 takes you, you can see what products Rings & Things has in that category for that color. If that's not a huge time saver and fabulous feature, I don't know one.

Screen capture of Rings & Things Search by Trend Color Page used by permission

I so appreciate how the Rings & Things site continues to add helpful things to their site.

Speaking of Fashion Trends - I see there's a Pantone iPhone/iPod Touch App available for $9.99. Also, do you have Margie Deeb's Fall/Winter Color Report, a $9.95 download (pdf)? Did you know that Jesse James Beads sells color trend bead mixes?

And Tish - did you know that your blog comes up on the first page of search on Google when you type in 'color trends beads'? (at least it did for me!)

And that's it for today. See you tomorrow!









PS: I do occasionally get compensated by Rings & Things to blog about products. I get compensated by other suppliers, too. There are also those I talk about that don't offer me anything at all beyond the occasional coupons or discounts anyone could get, as I do, by subscribing to their newsletter or reading their blog.

The only compensation I receive from any supplier, by the way, is the product I review, and nothing more. I am not paid by the post or paid to post for any supplier. I am also always free to say whatever I want, be it good or bad. Every post that isn't about a specifically indicated promotional product is my uncompensated opinion. Like this post was.

Friday Pick - Gunmetal & Swarovski

The picture above shows items from recent on-line purchases from (top) Fusion Beads, (left) Dry Gulch and (right) Rings & Things. The "chain" stretching diagonally between the Dry Gulch and Rings & Things items is an experiment I'm working on, made with gunmetal hooks and split rings from Rings & Things. I think it's going to go well with some of my Steampunk style ideas.

I really love to design with gunmetal. I've been building up a stash of stuff so I'll have what I need when the inspiration hits to make something. When I was writing last Saturday's Supplier Sales post, I came across some really great deals at Dry Gulch using their (now expired) 30% off coupon and was able to get a lot more of the great gunmetal findings they stock than I would have otherwise.

I'm particularly happy with the eyeglass holders, the cone ends and the twisted flat bar links. The big double chain circle pendant piece has me thinking of a number of designs. One which will feature it in a Steampunk type necklace, should show up here on my blog soon. The other pieces shown are cord ends, crimps, crimp covers in two sizes and wire guardians - I'm so happy to have wire guardians that don't detract from the look of a gunmetal piece like silver ones do.

Also shown are some gunmetal purchases made recently from Rings & Things. I'm restocking some items and trying out a few new ones. I got a few magnetic clasps to try out, a number of folding clasps, some hammered links and a couple three to one hole connectors to play with, too, in addition to more hook & figure 8 loop clasps, since I use both of those pieces for other purposes as well.

Finally, I went looking via Google for the gold-filled 3 strand sliding clasps that I need to finish off a couple new bracelets, and found them at what I thought was a very good price at Fusion Beads. They also seemed to have pretty good Swarovski pricing, so I picked out a number of colors I thought I'd use for fall and winter designs. I'm really fond of the Crystal Copper and Pacific Opal colors, but all of them are wonderful.

That's it for the Friday Pick. Tomorrow I'll share another list of the Supplier Sales I've gotten wind of that you might want to get in on before they run out. See you then!

Friday Pick - October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month - "Create for a Cause"

Instead of my usual (when I do one) Friday Pick, I thought I'd share a 'pre-made' pick, instead. Yes, it's a bit lazy of me in a way, but it's for a good cause and, as they say, "why re-invent the wheel"?

So today's pick comes directly from the Rings & Things newsletter which has been coming out in a "news flash" version recently. It's a short, topical email and doesn't come so often that you feel spammed (like some of the almost daily clothing store emails I get in return for having foolishly bought my daughter something trendy on-line, from some not to be named stores *cough delias, urban outfitter, abercrombie cough*).

If you aren't already getting the Rings & Things newsletter, I recommend them - you can see 'back issues' and also subscribe, by clicking here. Anyway, I asked if it would be ok to just copy and paste their newsletter copy here as my Friday Pick and they said ok.

The only edit to their copy that I've added is the link to the official Breast Cancer Awareness Month site. I'm 52 now and just this year had my first mammogram. There's no history of breast cancer in my family (skin cancer, yes) but I still should have had one sooner. With the new digital mammography being used at my provider, the exam was a lot less annoying than I had assumed from what I'd heard about x-ray mammography.

Create For A Cause!

Make designs that look great and send a message of hope and support! Cause ribbon jewelry components honor, commemorate and celebrate loved ones while also raising awareness of cancer, military service, autism and more. Our awareness color chartlists colors associated with over 120 causes, to help you plan your designs. ... And remember, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.


Cause Ribbon Beads, Charms & More

Pink Components For Breast Cancer Awareness Month:

Pink CRYSTALLIZEDTM Beads Pink Glass Beads Pink CRYSTALLIZEDTM Pearls Pink Freshwater Pearls Rose Quartz Gemstones Cherry "Quartz" Gemstones Chokers, Cording & Beading Wire More Pink Jewelry Findings Click here for jewelry inspirations (Rings & Rhings graphics and text used with permission)

Please visit again tomorrow for Supplier Sales Saturday - there are some good ones to share!

Thursday Reviews & Interviews - Not Weally a Wubbers Weview - Yet...

...but I'm getting close and I can share a couple things. I've used them (one bent nose and one flat nose from Rings & Things) a lot over the last week. I have noted a huge improvement in the finish on the wires and findings when using them. The handle cushions could be a bit softer I think and they have an unusual odor. Not offensive, but now and then I notice it and go 'huh?' before I remember it's the tools.

One thing about the ones I bought that gets a less than enthusiastic evaluation is the length of the handles. I have fairly small hands and the handles seem too long. I feel a bit awkward with them. I can say that I'm definitely going to get the round nose ones soon. Maybe I'll get the 'Baby' Wubbers to compare - they're on my Rings & Things wish list.

Woman reading a book (Héloïse et Abélard) by French engraver Gilles Demarteau (1729-1776)
Image in the public domain in the United States of America, from Wikimedia Commons

I've been catching up on my fiction backlog. I have read several new books and short stories, including listening to a wonderful audio collection of speculative fiction stories on a site called Escape Pod. Right now I'm well into the latest Kathy Reichs book: 206 Bones: A Novel (Temperance Brennan Novels). Reichs is the author whose marvelous body of work is the basis for the TV show "Bones". She is also (per Wikipedia):

She is a professor of anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, but is currently on indefinite leave. She divides her time between work for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, State of North Carolina, and for the Laboratoire des Sciences Judiciaires et de Médecine Légale for the province of Quebec. She is one of only seventy-seven forensic anthropologists certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology and is on the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

I've also been working on new jewelry pieces (which I've been doing while listening to Escape Pod) so I don't have a review or interview of anything/any one jewelry or beading related to share today.

I'd love to feature some more interviews soon - anyone you'd like me to reach out to and ask if they'd oblige? By the way, if you didn't catch my interviews of Dave Roberson of Rings & Things, Steve Gronier of Artbeads, John Jacobs of Artfire, Tish of Just a Tish or Lisa of A Bead A Day when I posted them originally, please check out Dawno's Beadosphere where I have them and all my Sunday Wandering's posts archived.

How about a sneak peek at something I'm working on and will post about soon?

Hope that piqued your curiosity! See you tomorrow.

Mid-Week Flutterings, I Mean, Mutterings - Jacaranda Blooms Lima Beads "Fresh Pick" Necklace

I'm pretty pleased with today's necklace. Back in June I blogged about doing a "Fresh Pick" which is one of the features of the Lima Beads site. I named the pick "Jacaranda Blooms" because of the purple dogtooth amethyst and purple freshwater cultured pearls that caught my eye and recalled to me the lovely colors of the jacaranda tree.

I ended up buying the picks from Lima Beads soon after, but didn't get around to making a necklace with them until this weekend (almost 3 months!). I tried a number of things, and ended up not using several of the pieces. This is what I've got so far.

I wrapped the larger piece of dogtooth amethyst in 20 gauge oxidized brass colored beading wire from Accessories Susan and added a Vintaj brass butterfly charm from Lima Beads, as well, also used the same wire to make the bead links. Accessories Susan antiqued brass fluted 5mm bead caps decorate the dark brown jasper (called antique jasper at the Lima Beads site) which reminded me of bark.

This was the first time my first try at doing this sort of wrapping actually seems to have worked out and look good. Have to also give huge kudos to Wubbers pliers for letting me make the bends in the wire without marring the finish.

Then I strung the beads on Soft Flex Metallics 21 strand .014 inch Antique Brass flex wire, because of the tiny hole size of the tsavorite and pearls I was going to use, which I got from DryGulch.com. I did one side's strand at a time, finishing both ends with wire guardians and Scrimps from Rings & Things.

While the design is repetitive, and sort of symmetrical, I decided to make it a little bit different by having one side feature a line of pearls then a grouping of "wild orchid" potato freshwater cultured pearls, antique jasper and tiny (2.5 - 3.5 mm) tsavorite faceted rondelles (which add the bright green, to give just an impression of leaves on a jacaranda branch) and the other side featuring the antique jasper in place of the pearls. The little groupings have two lovely oxidized brass filigree bead caps at each end of them, also from Accessories Susan. Lastly, I added an antique gold plated curb chain, which I think I picked up from Michael's, long ago, because the necklace just seemed to need it.

I've still got some bits of the pick left over and am deciding whether or not I want to try and add them or use them in other pieces. I do think this one is finished - I kind of like it as it is. And that means I've got plenty of left over pearl, jasper and dogtooth amethyst to make bracelets and earrings and maybe another pendant necklace, too.

So, this is another design full of little departures from my comfy zone. It's also one where the beads seemed to lead me where I should go rather than me having a fully conceived design idea before I started. Does that ever happen to you? I'd love to hear about it.

Supplier Sales Saturday - Hurry Before They End!

Vintage image courtesy of The Graphics Fairy

I received an email the other day from the lovely Duchess at Artbeads (she's their community manager and provides info to the Blogging for Beads team) about their sale this weekend:

... Artbeads is launching its biggest sale ever! This is the largest discount I have ever seen on our entire inventory of beautiful and amazing products. You can even save 20% off by signing up for our newsletter.*

Make sure to take advantage of this sale and pick up something special for yourself, that special gift you’ve been planning for Christmas or just stock up on essentials.

Thank you for again for being a part of our Artbeads blogging community and have a Great Labor Day Weekend!

*Sign up for Artbeads.com newsletter by clicking *here*

Sale ends Tuesday the 8th at 9am Pacific. Don't miss out.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/miranda310/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Other Great Sales:

• Alpha Stamps if you're doing mixed media you *must* visit this site.


• Consumer Crafts is having a scrapbooking sale, ends Sept 15th. Use the promocode RA8B6LQ and receive 15% off from their entire Scrapbooking category.


• Rings & Things has CRYSTALLIZED™ – Swarovski Elements in their close-outs section, lots of great buys at clearance prices of 25 to 75% off


• Tons of cool sale beads at The Beadin' Path - including vintage Lucite and cast pewter.

What are your favorite on line shops? Comment with a link and I'll check them for next week's post!

Hope you'll return for tomorrow's Weekly Wandering Around the Beadosphere, too.

Friday Pick - Rings & Things Heart of Gold Necklace

I wanted to do a mosaic, like I did last time, but the graphics wouldn't work with the mosaic maker tool. Instead, I made the sketch above (I've got a ways to go in my drawing re-education, so no laughing!) and I'll list the products (with links) at the end of the post.

Rings & Thing's 5-Day sale through July 12th (Sunday) has beading thread, stringing wire, chokers and all-purpose cording at 15-25% off wholesale prices. So I matched up a gold pendant cord choker with some charms and a Swarovski Heliotrope colored 18mm heart crystal pendant.

The design idea I have in my head (and tried to show in the sketch) is to take the hanging cord (the two strands that are dangling from the center front of the choker) and tie the charms to them with a simple knot that I'll re-enforce with glue and cover with a crimp cover.

Then I'd put the prong bail over that and pinch it through the Swarovski heart with the pendant cap. The two cords would dangle out either side of the prong bail that is now covering the hanging cord knot on the choker.

Seems like a simple and fairly fast way to make a very nice, adjustable length necklace. Not too expensive, either - I estimate total cost of materials for one necklace at under $10. To purchase the materials costs more - for example the chokers and charms are not sold separately but in lots of 10 and the crimp covers are sold in a package of 20. I put all the items in a cart and it came to just under $44 less the 15% discount (on the chokers, but that's only good 'til Sunday the 12th) that comes up if you complete the order process, plus the shipping and small order fee if your order is less than $50.

For other tips on how to use pendant cords and tie things on them with knots, see the Rings & Things Tip Sheet.

Product list:

Double Cord with Contrast in Antique Gold
Swarovski Heliotrope 18mm Heart Pendant
Prong bail
Pendant Cap
Beadalon Assorted Crimp Covers

Update! July 15th: the product order came in today and I made the necklace:

I really like this, even if I say so myself! (click picture to enlarge)

I got my Rings & Things goodies for July in the mail today - I'll write about them tomorrow, so do come back!

Tuesday Tidbits - Two Dressy Necklaces with Copper and Gemstones

While the temps soared in the upper 90s this weekend I worked on some jewelry and avoided heavier work around the house that still desperately needs to get done before my kids and dad arrive for the holiday weekend. I guess I'll be busy on the 2nd and 3rd!

First, I finished the necklace I showed in progress a while back since I got the rest of the Mocca Swarovski briolettes I needed when I was in LA. I think this would work with any number of outfits, especially in the fall and it's a nice length for lower necklines or open collars at 22".

Next is something completely new I did on Saturday morning. It was made with 14mm peach toned pink aventurine coin beads I've had in my stash for awhile and natural peach jade puffed squares (which I got from my first Lima Beads Fresh Pick) which I didn't realize were a perfect match until I saw them together.

In between the larger peach stone beads, I put a 5mm White Opal Swarovski bicone (from the great stash of Swarovski I picked up at the Rings & Things bead tour) and two "American purple shell" roundells also from the same Lima Beads pick as the jade. I used Tierra Cast Raja bead caps in copper with the squares - had to adjust them a bit to fit - and Tierra Cast 4mm copper scallop bead caps with the bicones.

I originally thought I'd make a lanyard necklace, but those just aren't selling all that well and I liked it so much as a necklace, I stopped a bit shorter than the usual lanyard length, 26"1/2 inches and finished it with a Frilly Oval Copper Toggle Clasp I got from Dry Gulch. (Thanks, Tish!). I think this turned out beautifully.

Tomorrow I'll share the blue pieces I made with kyanite and some blue glass beads that look like blue lace agate that I bought down in L.A., and vintage Swarovski Sunshine beads from The Beadin' Path.

Meanwhile, my Jacaranda Blooms Fresh Pick beads arrived today and I need to start tinkering with the design idea for those. Need to go buy colored pencils, an artist's sketchbook, and while I'm there I want to get some of the inks and pens Margot Potter has talked about in various posts on her blog, to experiment with. I'm glad I cut out a nice 15% off coupon for Michael's from one of the bead magazines I get.

Midweek Mutterings - Challenges and Contests!

New monthly challenge is up at Art Bead Scene - Farbstudie Quadrate (Color Study of Squares) by Wassily Kandinsky. This is an abstract work, with so many colors to work from, it should be a fun challenge. I hope you'll participate. (UPDATE: here are the prizes)

The May Rings & Things raffle was won by commenters joia & Beadsophy. There will be a June contest announced today (they say it will be "a very exciting contest").

Speaking of contests, I got an email from Artbeads today about the Use the Muse II beading design contest which they asked me to share it with you, as they are sponsoring it.

I wanted to drop you a quick note to let you know that Artbeads is sponsoring the Use the Muse II beading design contest. We think this is a fabulously fun competition that you and your blog readers would enjoy.

What makes this so much fun is that every entrant receives the same assortment of components including beads, crystals, pearls, silk and seed beads plus a mystery muse component that they must keep secret until the “BIG REVEAL.” At that time, everyone gets to see what the muse is and photos of what the entrants designed with it.

The contest was created by Scarlett Lanson who has a regular column in Beadwork magazine and has won some prestigious contests herself. She placed first in the 2009 KGI Wordwide Design Contest and fourth place in the 2007 Swarovski “Create Your Style” competition. Scarlett’s goal was to create a competition for all types of beaders; stringers, bead weavers, and embroiderers, that had a shortened timeline and a big payoff. There are some very nice prizes including prizes for first through third place and ten category prizes. The cost for the entry kit is a very reasonable $30 plus $5 for shipping in the US and $10 for international entrants.

Scarlett is also holding a weekly giveaway just for bloggers who help promote the contest. To learn more and find out what the prize is for this week visit:
www.thebeadersmuse.com/blogger-rewards/

One important thing to note is that there are a limited number of kits available and they will likely be gone before the order deadline of June 27. So, if this sounds like something you would like to do or blog about please keep this in mind. Plus, the sooner you sign up, the more time you will have to work on your design before the July 18th entry deadline.

To learn more and check out what happened in the first Use the Muse II contest, visit Scarlett’s blog here:www.thebeadersmuse.com/use-the-muse-contest2.

UPDATE: just received this additional info from Artbeads - you can be entered to win a special prize if you blog about the contest:

I am excited to see the Use the Muse II contest kick off and am looking forward to seeing the new designs from all the entrants. Please be aware if you are entering the Blogger Rewards contest on the Use the Muse site you would need to have your blog posted no later than Friday June 5th to be eligible for this weeks prize, you will also need to contact Scarlett by email to inform her that you want her to track your traffic from your blog post. For info on the Blogger Rewards contest please follow the below link:

http://www.thebeadersmuse.com/blogger-rewards/

Good luck to the entrants!

Tomorrow is my Thursday Feature: Reviews and Interviews - please come back!

Thursday Feature: Reviews & Interviews: Dave Robertson from Rings & Things

(Photo courtesy of Dave - this is him wearing a "toupee of iron chastity-belt tradebeads from Africa :)"

Today I am very happy to present Dave 'Optimator' Robertson from Rings & Things - seems like he's *everywhere* on the web, from Facebook to Twitter to our blogs (in the comments where he's always enthusiastic and supportive) to the Rings & Things forum, blog, and even behind the scenes in their online catalog (yep, some of the cool features there are courtesy of Dave and his 'leet' web-skillz).

It's always a pleasure to see his posts and Tweets (with his signature smiley face at the end). Dave has gathered a great group of Blog Partners, encourages you to post your business tips and blog comments at the Rings & Things site, tweets about crafty stuff and shares links via "re-tweets" from crafters everywhere - it's those little touches that mean a lot! I was very happy that Dave graciously accepted my offer to be interviewed! So, without further ado - here's the Q&A:

Dawno: Do you personally craft? If so, what? If not, is there any thing you would like to do, if you could?

Dave: Yes, I do some beading. (Tried knitting but I'm not so coordinated.) We keep a big vat of beads, basic findings, and stringing materials in the house. A lot of times at Rings & Things bead shows, either I or my wife will find some bead that we just have to have! Our stash comes in handy for making gifts, and it's a great activity to do with the kids. Even our two-year-old has started stringing his own necklaces, and he's got a very good eye for it.

Dawno: You've mentioned here and there that your degree is in Linguistics - would you tell us a bit about the path from that to Web Optimizer at Rings & Things?

Dave: It's more like two intertwined paths! I've studied Linguistics off and on for years, and been at Rings & Things for big chunks of the last decade. At the moment I'm lucky enough to finance my PhD program by helping sell beads. This relates to the next question, as you rightly foresaw...

Dawno: What is a Web Optimizer anyway?

Dave: A web optimizer is a person who works to make a website get noticed more. This involves all kinds of work, from getting involved in an online community to figuring out which words to use when we write about our products. That last part has a close connection with my linguistics training, because it involves researching how people talk. It's a fun, surprising way to find college studies paying off. (I'm just the kind of person to really, really enjoy questions like "Does Google care if people search for us as 'Rings and Things',or 'Rings n Things', versus 'Rings & Things'?") :)

Dawno: What do you like best about the R&T blogging experience?

Dave: Blogging is a creative outlet. Ideally it's also a challenge like Twitter: I think you should have a good, clear idea, and say it in a few powerful words. Be done before the reader is bored. It's tremendous fun to engage readers & get them to comment on a blog post. You'll notice, too, that certain kinds of ideas are characteristic of Rings & Things' blog: new uses for jewelry components, simple ways to grow your craft business, and other stuff that we think we'd like to read if we were at someone else's blog. So the job never gets old.

Dawno: What advice or suggestions can you share with independent artisans about getting their work "out there"?

Dave: I've met lots of artisans in person and online, and my conclusion is that they're just like any other small business. (1) Make your creations because they're something you'd love to own, not because they seem like a trendy item. (2) The web optimizer in me says, "just Google it". (3) Think about what "marketing" means to you. Persevere.

Dawno: Do you have a favorite story about Bead Tour?

Dave: My favorite stories are animal-related, for some reason. One of my fondest memories of being on the road for Rings & Things bead shows is of riding in the "bead truck" somewhere near the gigantic fireworks barn in Wyoming, and watching an eagle and a pronghorn antelope race each other. And once, we stopped by the road once in the middle of the Everglades and walked onto a ramp to look at some alligators lazing in the water. We got a good close look before we realized the alligators weren't lazing anymore, and were swimming toward us fast!

Dawno: Open question - share whatever you'd like to say to our readers.

I love it! If I could say just one thing, I'd ask everyone who has ever bought from Rings & Things to visit our online store...and review every product we've sold you. Your feedback goes straight to the next customer to look at that product, and helps them decide whether to order it. Other ways you can make your mark on our site are to comment at our blog, submit ideas via our craft business tips page, and ask questions or share tips in our discussion forum. (I guess I'm still answering that question about getting your name out there...!)

Don't forget, if you comment on the Rings & Things blog posts you get in on the chance to win their monthly prize. More comments, more chances!

Monday Miscellany

I think Monday posts are the hardest to do. I guess I'll just take a page from Modern Literature class and do "stream of consciousness" - although I think this is more organized than most of the stream of consciousness writing I read way back when.

Although I have a new goodie bag to work with from Rings & Things, I did just use the Indian Pink Swarovski's I got in the last pack in this necklace - aren't they the perfect color to go with the rhodochrosite heishis I got recently from Lima Beads? This is very petite - just 16", the heishis and eight of the Swarovski's are 4mm, so it's quite delicate looking when on.

Below is a piece I worked on last Saturday night, still have some finishing fiddly work to do on it, but (I think) the design is done. Necklace is around 16", the center detail is around 2" long. Swarovski pearls, Swarovski crystals from Global Beads, gold fill wire, gold vermeil daisy spacers from Artbeads. Took about 4 hours to complete. *whew*

Of course the center bit was the first thing I added to the basic strung necklace, then I decided it needed even more bits, and just like Topsy, it growed. I finally resisted all temptation to do anything else to it Saturday night, which is when I took the picture above.

I have Thursday and Friday off this week (yay!). Thursday I go to the Rings & Things Bead Tour (that psychodelic-y banner has me flashing back to my youth and I never even touched LSD...really!) and get to visit with a new friend of mine while I'm there, since it's about midway between where I live and where she lives.

I met her at the SF convention, Potlatch. She's also someone I know online at Live Journal. She asked me if I still had a pair of earrings I'd shown but she didn't buy there -she called them "those orrery looking earings" and you know, the way they move, it is kind of like an orrery. Anyway, I told her they were still available and we're going to conduct that transaction, see the bead show and have a lovely time. I'm really looking forward to seeing her, as well as the beads.

Friday I'm going to have lunch downtown with another friend who I met through work and lives in the same town I do. She's not at my company any more, so I don't get to see her in person as much although we found each other on Facebook, so we try to keep up there. I am so glad for places like Live Journal, Facebook and Twitter helping me stay in touch. I'm terrible at writing chatty letters/emails or making phone calls so those sites are great for letting folk know I'm thinking of them or for sharing little bits of news.

Then it's work work work on my pieces for Bay Con. Tags, display, new stuff - next weekend will be very busy.

Another Contest!

Each month for the past couple of months, Rings & Things has had a contest on their blog. Yesterday the April winners went up:

Congratulations to the winners of our April contest, “DIY Display Ideas“, who are:

• Mary Berg, who had several great tips (check them out!).
• Lyn, who shared from her 35 years of experience.

And, announcing the May contest on the Rings & Things blog, which is a free-for-all comment raffle:

• You enter by leaving comments — so visit often.
• You find out you won by…? Visiting often! (2 winners to be announced at the end of May.)

May the luckiest person win!

I don't win many contests, raffles, lottos, etc. Although, I've had some runs of very good luck with the Wheel of Fortune slots at the Las Vegas Hilton...anyway, I encourage you to visit the Rings & Things blog and comment often in May. You'll reduce my chances of winning, but it's worth it to get you over there to join the conversation.

Been busy getting new listings up on Etsy and Art Fire. Etsy is where I just list lanyards and the occasional matching piece, Art Fire is for my other jewelry. I've experienced a few minor frustrations with Art Fire - can't delete pictures, things I saved in the new product edits aren't there when I go back to change something, so I have to add them all over again. New site, glitches expected, just hope things improve. The niftiest new feature on Art Fire right now is the button to "tweet this item". If you see something of mine you like, I'd love it if you'd tweet it! Happy to return the favor, too.

Speaking of Art Fire, here's a message from our sponsor:

Dawno

Buy Handmade

"Excuse me, have you seen my mind? I seem to have lost it somewhere along the way."

Before I go into anecdote-mode, thought I'd share my latest attempt at making something with the technique Katie Hacker teaches at the Beadalon site, using loops of beading wire to space the beads instead of crimps, and then attaching dangly things on the loops. I made the end-caps out of some large hole beads and crimp-beads glued into the holes to secure the strands - I'm kind of proud at how those turned out. I'd started out thinking I'd just use the red beads with some pewter butterfly and flower charms added as dangles, but then decided to add one more strand with more pewter butterflies and red bead dangles. Maybe I went overboard just a bit, but I like it.

I had "one of those days" today - lots of things just seemed harder to do than usual because I just couldn't focus. For example, have you ever truly believed you've made something, know you haven't sold it, and yet can't find it anywhere? I would have sworn I made a bracelet to match a tiger eye and turquoise nugget necklace. There's the necklace, there's the earrings...where's the bracelet?

Now I'm not so sure that I didn't just imagine having made it - after all, it was way back in October (imagine me rolling my eyes here). I know my memory isn't as sharp as it used to be, but typically it's forgetting where I left something real, not a false memory of having it in the first place. Oh well, guess I'll just have to make one. Once I'm finished, I'm sure the one I thought I'd made will turn up someplace obvious.

Then, as I was changing my calendar to May, I realized that Memorial Day weekend was a week earlier than I'd thought...oops! Yep, the mind is definitely going soft on me. I have a lot to do to get ready for Bay Con, and one less week to do it in.

I'm still playing around with the brown lava stones I got from Rings & Things - here's the latest (unfinished) piece with red coral, red ceramic beads in the necklace, and a lava stone, branch coral, red India glass bead, and brass wire pendant. A few more round stones at the top and a clasp and I'm done :

(Please click picture to enlarge if you'd like to see more detail)

Right at the top of the square where the hole had been drilled there was a very large pit. I wasn't really happy with how that looked and was wondering how to fill it in or cover it up. I eventually took a stone that I had put aside because it was lopsided from the way some of the cuts were along the axis of the holes in the stone (they looked like trenches instead of craters), and took a file to it and gathered the filings. I put a blob of Aleen's glue in the hole and covered it with the filings. Covered it right up - and darn near invisibly, if you ask me.

There have been a couple more posts about lava stone designs around the beadosphere - I really like what Melanie at Earthenwork Studios did with the lava stones and a beautiful "Openwork Escutcheons" piece.

Two others I've seen and not mentioned here before, are:

Margot Potter's wire wrapped earrings

Cindy Gimbrone "The Lampwork Diva" provides some product details and asks "Hmmm what sort of designs would you use these light weight beads for? Do they inspire you to create something "hot?"

I'll leave you to ponder that question (and if you have an answer - please visit Cindy's blog and leave her a comment).

Don't Forget to Check Here Tomorrow for the Just A Tish Interview

Yep, you'll be glad you did if you check in here tomorrow night at 6pm Pacific to read the Q & A with Tish! Hey, if you add my blog to your Blogger Follow list (see your Blogger dashboard for the How To) or RSS reader you won't ever miss anything.

Work in progress - not much so far this week. Been fiddling with lava stone ideas mostly. Made these earrings and a bracelet to go with one of my badge lanyards that features onyx and jade stones (click for larger image):

Still working on my 'project plan' spreadsheet, too.

Found some more links to lava stone creations from the April Rings & Things challenge. Melanie at Earthenwood Studios likes the saucers with her beautiful scarab creation, Lisa at A Bead A Day made a bracelet featuring the large square stone and bright red beads, Margot Potter at The Impatient Crafter (tm) used the same large squares for earrings and Tish at Just A Tish who has crafted a bold and beautiful necklace with squares, saucers and the rounds! Plus, she incorporated those Indian Pink Swarovski's Rings & Things included in the sample package, too! Bonus points, Tish!

Have physical therapy and a busy work day tomorrow, going to get to bed early tonight.

A New Gluable Challenge Review - Plus! Free Project Tutorial

I'm gratefully noticing that I wasn't the last person in the beading blogosphere to post about the Rings & Things Gluable challenge (especially since I've gotten the new items to do, now, as well.)

Art Bead Scene has posted their Gluable Challenge review and a picture of a stunning bracelet, and Heather from Humblebeads has posted a free tutorial for using the gluable disk and loop bracelet on her blog.

I never did post how I finished off my deconstructed bracelet...and I'm still pretty sure it's *still* not finished...so the next step in the tutorial is "Glue mother of pearl disks to bracelet." I used E6000, so I'm going to let it set overnight before I fiddle anymore.

The disks have lengthwise holes drilled in them, which I've positioned to the sides so they're not so visible, but it got me to thinking about adding a small decorative bead on top of the MOP disks, using some thin wire through the holes...or maybe trying some seed beads...or who knows what else will come to mind! I'll post an update on any progress I make.

Is anyone interested in some of the brass gluable pendant frames (see here for squares and here for the rectangles) after seeing all the cool things you can make with them?

I have a bit of an overstock...really wasn't thinking clearly when I ordered 6 dozen of each type...You can email me at beadedbadgelanyards (at) gmail (dot) com to discuss details.

New Piece Finished Tonight

I finished a piece this evening that I worked on during breaks in my reorganization efforts this weekend. It's just under 18" long, made from blue-gray coin pearls, "liquid silver" sterling silver tubes and seamless sterling silver (3mm) beads, all from Rings & Things.

The clasp has been in my stash for quite some time and I didn't save the packaging (something I do now) so I have to trust my memory - I'm sure it's sterling (has a 925 stamp) but I don't recall the supplier. It's a hook and eye type clasp with a little bit of decorative etching.

I secured the clasp on the Beadalon 49 strand silver tone bright .38mm beading wire with silver plated wire guardians (Rings & Things, again) and silver plated smooth oval Scrimps from Michael's.

I love the baroque look of the pearls, the texture provides some interesting reflections on the pearls. By using three smaller tubes the choker is more flexible than if one long tube had been used, although, to be very honest about it, that's just because I didn't look carefully at the length of the tubes I was purchasing, rather than a deliberate choice. Nevertheless, serendipity worked for this piece I believe.

I'm watching Cosmos on Hulu (see my other blog for details and a clip of the first episode if you'd like to check it out) as I putter around in the workroom. Some of the beautiful natural photography and imaginative animations of outer space may just provide some inspiration! In fact, the blue-gray pearls are rather celestial looking - like little moons floating in a silvery ring...

Well, lookie here - you can buy this right off the page if you like it!

Dawno

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I'm Exhausted - But My Workroom Is Set Up!

Major spring cleaning happened to my office/workroom. Filled up the paper recycle bin with boxes. Went to Target and got a 6'x3' folding banquet' table, put it up and started moving stuff over to it. Now I'm going to little by little organize and re-arrange things, but I am so happy with the new set up! Exhausted, but happy.

So, as far as getting other things done today - that was it. Well, except for one custom order you can see lying there in my "DIY Beading Lap Desk" in the picture above. I'm so very glad I took tomorrow off, I'll need it to recover!

Saw another gluable challenge post today - Lisa at A Bead A Day shares a lovely creation using Swarovski pearls and a gluable bracelet blank with pre-drilled holes for embellishment. I didn't see that on the listing - nor the bubbly texture that appears in the pictures, so I'm wondering if it is a new product that's not listed yet.

I really have to get going on mine and get them posted!

I Bought Stuff Today

Before I start into my ramble, go take a look at the lovely pieces Lisa at A Bead A Day did with the frames from the Rings & Things Gluable Challenge.

Speaking of the challenge, today I went out and got polyclay and some tools for same and a 'how to' book, some ribbons, a bunch of beads I shouldn't have but couldn't resist (this is why I have to stay away from bead stores for as long as I can hold out), some cool metal letter "charms" - made for scrapbooking, so there are no holes or loops on them and they're perfect for gluing.

I may actually have more Gluable Challenge work to post soon. The ribbon is to finish my last choker form - it's almost done, just a couple finishing touches and I'll post a picture - maybe tomorrow.

The polyclay book I bought is:



Currently out of stock at Amazon, but they note that you can order and they'll notify you when available and not charge you until it ships. If you want to get this book and buy it through that link, Dawno gets a few pennies from Amazon.

I really like Dotty's book. Clear, easy to understand examples and step by step how-to's, lovely photography and fun projects. She shares some clever ideas for creating interesting effects with simple techniques and easy to find materials (like dyed eggshell mosaic - with Easter coming up, there should be plenty of dyed eggshell around to save up!)

I know this is going to be frustrating, making beads and focals with polyclay. I have so many ideas I want to try and the proper execution of those ideas won't happen right away because I have to learn something new. I will have to keep telling myself to be patient - which isn't my best attribute.

TGIF!

Tish from Just A Tish gave me a nudge today in a comment to the post below (Thanks, Tish!) - I have been caught up in "real life" stuff this week and haven't paused to post since Tuesday. So to recap the week, bead-wise...

I got some wonderful sunflower beads with a sky above them inspired by Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night, the other day, from Patti Stoll (I got an oval for a focal - she's still got round ones listed). Her work is really exquisite, I promise to post a picture of the finished work.

I *think* I heard about her through a tweet from Dave at Rings & Things - if you're on Twitter and haven't added him to your follow list, do! He has great tweets - not just "buy our stuff" but conversations with other Twitter-ers, links to great crafters and websites, and just plain good or fun information. If you check his follow list, you can follow other bead-y Tweeters he's found (like I did). I'm *days* behind on Twitter, too, so if you sent me a tweet, I'm sorry I haven't gotten back to you yet.

Speaking of Rings & Things, I also put in an order for a book Dave recommended on their blog, and some "liquid silver" sterling silver tubes and beads for a necklace idea with coin pearls that I want to work on.

I hope to be back to my usual regular (almost daily) posting schedule now. Thanks for hanging around.