Photo Frame Pendants

Vintage Glass Beads

(Notice my props in these photos? Another part of my big summer DIY project, which I’ll be sharing in bits and pieces until it’s finished…)

Also – are you a creative entrepreneur? Check out my recently updated resource list for crafty businesspeople! (and go ahead and click the share button if you found it useful to help other people find it).

Normally when I think of CZ, I think of the sparkly white version that is often used as immitation diamonds. But it can be made in a rainbow of colors, so I picked some lavender and olive green beads to test.

The colors are gorgeous – the lavender is pale and beautiful, while the olive green is a rich deeper hue. They look great together, so I started by making a pendant combining both colors:

Cubic Zirconia Pendant in Lavender and Olive

The huge lavender beads are 9×36 mm teardrop pendant beads, and the smaller olive green ones are 6×9 mm faceted teardrops, in case you are tempted to nab a few for yourself.

I had to try these lovely flat square cushion beads, so I went with some very simple earrings – I think the shape and facets on them are so pretty they deserve to be the center of a design:

Lavender Square Cubic Zirconia Earrings

The square cushion beads are my favorite of the three styles, not because the others aren’t beautiful (they are) but because I could see these beads as part of so many different designs. They’d be lovely as a simple wire wrapped pendant on a skinny chain, and there are a bunch of colors to choose from.

Disclosure statement: I am not paid by artbeads.com to review their products – I am asked to give my honest opinion on my blog, and in return, I get to keep the samples I receive to review. Apparently I’ll work for free beads

Good news for you – I hoard craft supplies, [especially beads, but I also have a fairly impressive yarn stash]. And I need to destash some of these perfectly lovely items because, well, there’s no more room in my house and I would really like to reclaim some of my space.

so…..let’s have a giveaway! All you have to do for a chance to win some of my crafty supplies is tell me in the comments what supplies you want me to give you. The answer that most closely describes my mystery package wins it!

Here’s a hint: the prize involves BOTH yarn AND beads. So double yay if you like to knit and bead!

Tweet a link to my giveaway & post a copy of your tweet in the comments to be entered in a random drawing for a *second* package of crafty goodness.

I’m gonna be VERY busy for the next week or two, so keep guessing, and I’ll announce the winners (and post pictures of what they won) on July 15th. Be sure to leave me a way to contact you in case you win – I’ll need an address to ship the packages to.

Basically, anyone who wants to participate buys a kit with exactly the same beads, and they design a piece using some or all of the kit contents, plus anything from their stash that they want to add. The only rule is that they have to use “The Muse” which is a mystery component included in the kit that you don’t see until your kit arrives in the mail.

If that sounds like fun to you, here’s a direct link to the contest entry page. And if “fun” isn’t enough of a reason, check out the drool-worthy prizes you could win.

Copper Swarovski Disc

If you are familiar with beads, you probably have seen necklaces made with stone discs (sometimes called donuts) as a centerpiece, maybe with something dangling down, and either chain or a strand of beads going around the neck. Now imagine that same necklace, but with a super-sparkly Swarovski crystal instead of the stone – that would be an attention-getting necklace.

I’m making a very simple necklace with my bead, because it is so pretty on its own that I don’t think it really needs much embellishment. Plus, I think my designs usually work better when I don’t add too many elements to the mix. I believe that one of my strengths as a designer is knowing when to stop.

Anyway – as you can see – I really, really like this bead. It’s one of those things I might not buy sight unseen because it is pricey for a single bead – but I can see why. It’s big, sparkly, and has precise facets – just like my other Swarovski crystal beads, but much bigger.

I’m not paid by Artbeads to review these products – except that I get to keep the sample – in this case, totally worth it. If you want one of your own, they come in several sizes and colors here Here’s a link to all of their Swarovski crystal beads, they have many others besides the discs.

These are all types of beads I’ve used in my jewelry.

1. freshwater pearls
2. seed beads
3. Swarovski crystal bicones
4. gemstone briolettes
5. crimp beads
6. metal spacer beads
7. faceted round gemstone beads
8. smooth round gemstone beads
9. lampwork glass beads
10. gemstone rondelles
11. glass beads from India
12. Czech glass beads
13. chandelier crystals

For an intermediate to advanced wireworker, this book would be useful primarily as a source of inspiration. Don’t expect to learn any advanced techniques, but maybe one of the designers uses materials in a new way that could spark your creativity.

The best thing about this book, in my opinion, is that there are a *lot* of projects – more than most jewelry books – so there’s bound to be something that appeals to most jewelry designers. The weakness is that the projects are mostly beginner-level projects.

Ocean Bracelet

Available in my etsy shop.

Then I saw a beautiful freeform peyote sculpture at a bead store in Weaverville, California, and decided I needed to learn how to make things like that with my beads. So I learned a few simple beadweaving stitches – peyote and netting – and started making cuff bracelets and necklaces using these weaving techniques with my seed beads. Jewelry making started to feel more like an artistic endeavor, and less about fashion.

At some point, however, I discovered wirework and metalwork, and my seed beads have been pretty neglected ever since. It’s been years. But lately, I’ve really been wanting to do some beadwork, only I’m having trouble getting started. I think because it’s been such a long time, it feels like a stretch, something that is no longer in my comfort zone. Most of the jewelry I’ve made in the last year uses only silver wire and the occasional pearl or stone for a centerpiece. I wrap, sculpt, and fuse my silver, and that feels comfortable and natural.

It’s funny in a way – back when I worked primarily with beads, I never could have predicted that someday metalwork would be easier for me than beading. But it appears that’s what’s happened.

I hope to get over my beading block soon, because I have lots of ideas to try.