Dawno's Weekly Wanderings Around the Beadosphere

Welcome back! It's been a busy week out there in the beadosphere, and without further ado - read all about it:

Tish of Just a Tish explains the artist exchange she's launching at her blog & gives a tutorial on the earrings she's made for the Beading Daily earring exchange.

A two for one deal over on Lisa's Friday Bead a Day post about Melissa Lee's designs for Soft Flex Trios over on Strands

I'm not the only one wandering the beadosphere! Wendy T. Gibson at Craft Dinner does too, on Wendy's Wednesday Web.

A gorgeous Alice in Wonderland necklace from a fellow Artbeads Blogging for Beads partner Blanche at Sha-sha Handcrafted Jewelry Blog.

Janeen from Janeen's 365 grabbed a picture of this gorgeous plate with patterns and colors that could inspire all sorts of creative ideas for beadweaving, stringing or polymer clay designs.

Zoya Gutina has a blog called Gem and Beaded Jewelry where she's shared how the Artbeads picasso painted onyx pendant necklace inspired her.

Silver Parrot's fabulous bead haul - it's all wonderful, but those polymer clay beads are just *wow* -

Don't miss Lampwork Diva Cindy Gimbrone's gorgeous Art Nouveau bronze metal clay pendant either. If I had more free time I would so love to start working with the different metal clays.

Melanie Brooks at Earthenwood Studios did a Rings & Things 'product playtime' post featuring the R&T copper blanks and had Russ Troll standing by to check out the results.

Now and then I sneak in a blog that has nothing to do with beading but another artistic endeavor, like this picture posted by Nikon Sniper - what an inspiring palette of colors - I imagined this inspiring a design in Swarovski colors of padparadscha, golden shadow, chrysolite, olivine, light sapphire, light peach...

Magazine posts

Katie Hacker shares about her Beading Daily featured download necklace pattern

Great article from Bead and Button on using dyed beads

Lori Anderson talks about her Beadstyle Magazine 52 Bracelets feautred bracelet which she's now got on sale (as well as a version in coral and turquoise)

Suppliers & Manufacturers

Want to know more about the Swarovski Create Your Style Ambassadors?

Great pictures and story about the Rings & Things Alabaster Anniversary.

The Beadin' Path's Dara talks about how to buy vintage beads in this week's Weekly Beadditudes.

Sara the Soft Flex Girl with a great new Soft Flex online feature & a post featuring one of my recent re-work designs with Soft Flex Trios Romance colors. Thanks, Sara!

Dawno's Weekly Wanderings Around the Beadosphere

Well, are we ready to wander? Another fun week to share:

• Tish from Just A Tish has had some great ideas this week - a grassroots artist's exchange and another on an Artist's Challenge. Plus beautiful pendants.


• Lisa from A Bead A Day has been sharing her great buys this week from ConsumerCrafts.com. I'm still waiting for my package to come, I responded later to their invitation. However, you can take advantage of the free shipping code they sent me right now if you like - enter XPV3CCQ at checkout, it's good until 09/02/09.


• Jessica of SmuTopia! shows off her lovely Etsy treasury.


• I know I mentioned this the other day, but it's worth repeating - see Blanche's Use the Muse II design on her Sha-sha's Handcrafted Jewelry Blog.


• Janeen entered one, too - she hasn't posted it on her blog yet but you can see it here.


• Wonderful designs, and a fun, conversational style of writing on Selepharia's blog


• I love these ideas for finding unusual findings in re-use stores on Art Bead Scene from Jennifer Heynen of Jangles

Supplier Blogs/Blog Partners

• Dara at The Beadin' Path shares her finished Ugly Bug.


• Rings & Things is having their Anniversary sale at their Spokane warehouse this weekend but last week they blogged about some useful business tips and their contest to get to be a guest helper at one of their Northeast bead tour shows.
  


• However, Sara "The Soft Flex Girl" was there - here's her post about the day (with great pictures!) and she also points us to the August articles at the Soft Flex site and an article by Margie Deeb on color + more.


• And speaking of Margie Deeb, are you following (or subscribed to the feed for) her Color for Beader Artists blog? Well, why not!?


• I followed some links to Cindy Lavin's Beading Arts blog where she gives a lovely step by step tutorial on making a beautiful Swarovski necklace for the Artbeads Blogging for Beads program.
• Margot Potter also has also created a lovely necklace for Artbeads with Swarovski crystals, called Black Forest. The darker colors with gunmetal are a great combination for fall and winter.

Not beading posts but good reading for beaders anyway:

• Shiny Adornments shares 15 ways of Maintaining Sanity at Work


• What does this blog have to do with beading? Oh, I'm sure you'll see the parallels!

Well, that's it for this Sunday's Beadosphere tour - if you've missed any of these in the past or my Thursday Reviews & Interviews they're all archived at Dawno's Beadosphere.

Thanks for Wandering the Beadosphere with me today!



P.S. I've caught up with my Art Fire listing goals - here's four new pieces:

Dawno

Buy Handmade

Dawno's Weekly Wanderings Around the Beadosphere

Good morning! This Sunday it's a beautiful, sunny and warm day here in Silicon Valley where I live. I've still got a ton of work to do to finish my workroom re-organization and clean up, but I've taken a bit of a break to wander around the Beadosphere and share some great spots to visit!

• Lisa at A Bead A Day answers my question "Do people macrame anymore?" and shares a gorgeous bracelet with a square Swarovski Crystal Volcano bead.
  


• From Tish at Just A Tish - August Peridot and What do the stones say? And check out Tish's booth!


• Melissa over on Strands shares The Tides, a necklace using mosaic turquoise and one of her fine silver Sea Pendants.


• AJ at ErtheFae's Meandering Thoughts: Chthulu gets a beaded makeover
  

• Art Bead Scene - The August Challenge is here. The artwork picked to inspire you for the challenge this month is Kanagawa oki nami ura (Great Wave off of Kanagawa) by Hokusai Katsushiki. This print is one of the series of block prints known as the Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji (circa 1826-33). The prizes.


• Silver Parrot - fabulous bead haul from Pasadena bead show with tons of pictures


• On Thyme2Dream help the Fae Elven Fashionista win the contest
  


• Janeen's 365 - what will these become?


• Karolyn at The Bead Blog beautiful metallic beads and Ekho crystals beads


• SmuTopia has a new camera and provides some suggestions for shopping for a good jewelry photographing camera.


• You'll spend hours admiring the photos from the 2009 Bead Dreams feature.


And from suppliers:


• From The Beadin' Path, Great discussion of Steampunk in Weekly Beadditudes with Dara


• Rings & Things blog: Carnelian and Russ Troll has a Facebook Contest going on (you'll need to scroll down a bit) with the lucky winner getting to be a "GUEST BEAD WORKER" at a genuine Rings & Things "BeadTour" bead show!


• Soft Flex Girl reminds you that your opportunity to enter the Flex Your Creativity contest ends soon!


• The Artbeads Blog for Beaders talks about a visit to the Swarovski concept store and shares a beautiful necklace by Linda Moseley in their gallery of customer designs


• Objects and Elements Challenge: Color deadline: Aug 21

Hope you enjoyed the trip - have a wonderful week, 'til next time!



This week's wandering sponsored by:

Dawno

Buy Handmade

A "Kreativ" Sunday (Thanks, Lisa!)

Been experimenting with that technique I used to make yesterday's black glass bead bracelet. Today I used freshwater cultured pearls in shades of gold, some Crystazzi cube crystals (on half off sale at Michael's) and bronze Soft Flex beading wire.

This one won't go up on Art Fire as I'm not quite satisfied with how it turned out. Was fun to make, though - I really like this technique for its open and organic look.

I read on Lisa's Bead A Day blog that she'd been nominated for a "Kreative Award" by Pearl of The Beading Gem's Journal and that she'd nominated me and 6 other blogs.

Thank you, Lisa, you are a major source of fun, supportive comments and information for me. You are very deserving of the award from Pearl.

So, to keep things rolling, here are the rules of the Kreative award:1. The winner may put this award on their blog.2. Please put a link to the person that presented you for this award.3. Nominate 5 blogs.4. Put links to all their blogs.5. Leave a message for your nominees.

My nominees are:
Just A Tish
Jen Nipps
SmuTopia
WillowWalker Designs
Rock Creek Creations

Five great bloggers who share their thoughts (and often, pictures) about their creative process. I find them supportive, inspirational and fun to "hang out" with here on the blogosphere.

And, breaking news - just got an email that I've made another sale on Art Fire. That's three this weekend and it blows me away!

Giveaway Contest at Chocolate and Steel

Look here for a giveaway contest at Chocolate and Steel

Beautiful ring as prize. Wonderful jewelry at her Etsy shop.

Go, look! Tell her Dawno sent you :-)