New Bead Embroidery Book
Posted by Leah on Jan 23, 2008
The Art of Bead Embroidery: Techniques, Designs & Inspirations
If you’ve never tried bead embroidery, be prepared to spend a LOT of time on this craft. Each tiny little bead has to be stitched on individually, so even small projects can be time consuming. But, like knitting, the repetitive action of stitching each bead onto a piece can be a meditative experience for a lot of people, and there is definitely potential to make some absolutely beautiful things with bead embroidery techniques.
Thing-a-day
Posted by Leah on Jan 17, 2008
This looks like a fun project - I’m tempted to participate, but with a baby due sometime during the month of February, I expect I will be a little bit distracted.
Handmade Holiday Gift Ideas
Posted by Leah on Nov 5, 2007
I’m lucky to be a member of a group of etsy stores called Designing Swanky Moms which is full of talented moms making just about everything imaginable. If you are looking for inspiration for holiday gifts, check out some of the shops listed below. You can also search etsy for “dsm” to find the latest items added to stores run by members of this group. It’s like an online mall filled with handmade products!
For jewelry:
My etsy store (Michon)
Cindy’s Creative Crochet - Jewelry Crocheted from Wire
The Empty Nest - fabulous jewelry & accessories
Hope Renewed - jewelry & paper goods
Michelle’s Jewelry Designs
Morning Sky Jewelry - beadwork and chainmaille
Handbags and accessories:
Just Add Charm - lots of accessories
Carissa Black - great purses
Crafty Bags etc. handbags and accessories
MJD Boutique - a little of everything, purses, jewelry, and other accessories
Domestic Goddess Creations - crocheted accessories and clothing
Bath and Body products:
Fireside Soaps - Handmade soaps, and also quilts
Cozy Moments - bath and body
Vintage Body Spa - bath and body
Ivory Magnolia
Two Rivers Soap Company - made with fair trade shea butter
Home decor, gifts for kids, and much more:
B Inspired Boutique (brag books, photo albums, etc)
CraftMom - paper products, scrapbooking supplies
Valerie’s shop - felted “pottery” - you’ve never seen anything like it
Nikki’s Nacs - home decor, including nursery/children’s room decor
New England Quilter - quilts, hand sewn gifts for kids
Chamberry Cherry - stockings, sewn gifts, and more
Tada Designs - home decor including handpainted signs
Klymyshyn Design - handknit baby & kid apparel
Suzanne’s Special Kids - gifts for kids w/ special needs
Mona’s quilts & gifts - handsewn gifts including baby blankets and bibs
Candyragz - cards, altered art journals, and more
Berry Creek Candles - candles, home accents
Good Crochet Book
Posted by Leah on Jul 17, 2007
Donna Kooler’s Encyclopedia of Crochet
It includes basic instructions, project patterns, stitch patterns, and for jewelry makers, a section on wire crochet which includes a necklace project by Arline Fisch. Since I’ve been learning some new crafts recently & knitting/crocheting some jewelry, garments, and handbags for myself, I started reading craft books that aren’t as jewelry specific. So far, this is the best book on crochet that I’ve read, and I love that it includes information about using crochet techniques in jewelry. There is also information on all kinds of other crochet techniques, and quite a few patterns for things to make using the techniques. The patterns range from very easy to very complex, as do the techniques covered.
Crocheted Purse and a WIP
Posted by Leah on Jun 29, 2007
I know it isn’t jewelry, but I made this cute crocheted purse while following along with the learn to crochet lessons at Crafty Daisies. There was a link to a purse pattern in lesson #4, which I altered slightly, mostly by making it bigger and winging it on the ruffle part since I didn’t write it down (but ruffles are easy enough to crochet without a pattern).
And since this is supposed to be a jewelry blog, here’s a picture of my latest in-progress resin piece, using the top of an altoid tin as a bezel:
Crochet Carnival
Posted by Leah on Jun 18, 2007
The latest edition of the Crochet Carnival is up!
If you aren’t familiar with blog carnivals, they are fun collections of blog articles related to a given topic - in this case, crochet. My bobble cuff is included along with a bunch of articles that I definitely plan on reading as soon as I’m done posting this.
Check out the blog carnival homepage to find carnivals on topics that interest you - a couple I like are Carnival of the Creators and Make it from Scratch.
Pleasanton Craft Mafia Summer Splash
Posted by Leah on Jun 18, 2007
I’m very excited to announce that the Pleasanton Craft Mafia is doing a late summer show in Pleasanton on August 25th. This show is going to be a blast, as all PCM shows are, and will feature art and craft work by many of the very talented craft mafiosas I’ve featured on my blog over the last couple of weeks.
Details are on the Pleasanton Craft Mafia website.
You won’t want to miss it!
Designs by a Hummingbird
Posted by Leah on Jun 14, 2007
Here’s some fun jewelry from another Pleasanton Craft Mafia member, Jeannine of Designs by a Hummingbird:
Jeannine’s work is colorful, fun, and often intricately beaded as you can see in the photo. She also does metalwork combining different metals, such as copper with silver.
Here’s a shot of her booth from the show:
Chel’s mixed media art
Posted by Leah on Jun 13, 2007
This photo shows a sampling of Chel’s mixed media art (and one of her dolls). In addition to creating art, Chel founded the Pleasanton Craft Mafia and a large organization for mixed media artists called ZNE. She is definitely multi-talented! Scroll down a few posts for a link to her doll-blog story about the Southbay Soiree a few weeks ago….
Dreams and Jewelry
Posted by Leah on Jun 12, 2007
Andrea of Dreams and Jewelry made these beautiful earrings with a verdigris patina:
She was selling her beautiful enamel jewelry along with patinated metal creations like these earrings at the Southbay Soiree. I didn’t get a good picture of her enamel work, unfortunately, but you can see some of it on her dreams and jewelry website. Andrea is a metalsmith, so most of her jewelry is completely handmade from sheet metal, with either a patina or enamel adding color to her pieces.
