Jewelry-Making Blogs

Long time, no blog.

Honestly, I was discouraged that I couldn't generate any interest.

I kept beading and building jewelry and reading other people's blogs.  Can I tell you that they can't keep me busy enough.  I can devour posts and they can't keep up.  Almost no one blogs daily.  I have fifteen blogs bookmarked because I love their art and enjoy their writing.  If there are two new posts on a given day, I feel lucky.

Something I have been noticing about the bloggers/artists is that they deal in higher-end and/or art jewelry.  While this makes for great reading and learning for me, I can't help but wonder if any of my friends would wear any of their creations.  I think most everyone would appreciate the artistry, but I run with a pretty common crowd and we're looking for jewelry that looks good with our t-shirts and jeans or something really special for church on Sunday!  I make jewelry and I don't even wear it all the time.  The other issue I can't dismiss is the high cost of all this cool stuff.  I was used to buying my fancy stuff at Kohl's...at a discount.  I don't fault the artists for their pricing--the price for raw materials of semi-precious stones and sterling silver are sky-high and the labor involved in seed bead work is immense.  So, I'm grappling with designing for...well, for me.

Look for my thoughts on the subject over the next few posts.  I'd love it if any of you would weigh in with your comments.

Bridal Challenge Week Six

Sixth and final week! I thought I would do something that I haven't tried before to end my series of challenges.  I purchased these findings for earrings and made one set right away.  Looking at them recently, I wondered if they might work to make a multi-strand necklace.  There's my challenge...a multi-strand bridal necklace from earring findings.  Hmmmmm.

New Technique for Me! Bead Embroidery

As mentioned in my last post, I was working on a matching pendant for the peridot rope necklace.  It is my bead embroidery debut.  Bead embroidery is different from beadweaving in that the beads are sewn onto a backing.  In this case, I used an interface called "Lacy's Stuff Stuff" and then finished it off with a piece of faux suede.  I used a basic back-stitch for the bezeling, brick-stitch for the finished edge and herringbone stitch to make the links to attach the pendant.  I wish I could say for certain what type of stone the cabochon (flat-back stone) is, but I purchased a "lot" of unlabeled semi-precious cabs and am not sure.  I suspect it is a kind of jade.

Busy, busy

 Does this look familiar?  It is a variation on an earlier design.  This pendant features a "Sphinx" Swarovski rivoli, green, blue and silver seed beads and crystal bicones.

A beaded rope in a new color (peridot bronze-lined and rainbow) with a fun little flower clasp.  A pendant that can be added is in the works.  I'll be excited to share when it is complete.

Giveaway!

Thanks for coming out to my blog!  To show my thanks, I will be holding a drawing on Saturday morning at 9:00 for a free pair of earrings of your choice from my Signature Colors Collection pictured below.   To enter, comment here or on the Facebook post with your answer to this question:  If you only wear one piece of jewelry (other than a wedding ring,) what do you choose?

Whatcha Doin' ?

OK, there's been a lot of Phinneas and Ferb playing at my house lately.  But to answer the neighbor-girl's question...this is what I've  been doin':

I'm settling into a "usual" groove of beadweaving when the jewelry-making muse visits.  Most of the time.  But I love metal and wire-working is the easiest way to incorporate it with beads.  There are very few special tools required and nothing molten is needed!  (Not that there's anything wrong with that!)

These beads were purchased at Beadnik's at the Mall of America.  I do not have the foggiest idea of what they are made! I believe they are painted or inked and they feel like stone. I loved them so much, I bought these and three others in purple tones.  I wire-wrapped the beads onto wrapped circles of 18-gauge aluminum and combined those with 12-gauge jump rings.  The necklace is finished with a bit of pre-made base metal chain and a hand-made S-clasp in aluminum.

This is a variation on the netted pattern I learned for the bridal challenge.  It uses a couple shades of purple 11/o beads, combines with accent beads in a metallic copper finish.  The big addition, though, are the 6mm fire-polished Czech glass beads (from The Bead Monkey in Edina, MN.)  I bought several sizes and colors, so there will be more of these in my future!

Bridal Challenge Week Five: Bead Chips (Alternate Post Title: Better Late than Never)

Pretty, isn't it?  Anyone who has seen my beadwork has probably seen a version of this bracelet.  It has a peyote stitched base and a beaded toggle clasp.  Normally, I make the base about 12 beads wide, but I thought a bride would merit something a bit daintier.  This one is woven on an 8 bead wide base.  I used the left-over seed beads from the netted necklace in week two and some crystal-lined clear 11/o beads to raise the chips up.

I am what you would call a reflective beader.  When I finish a project, I decide if I like how it looks.  Was the process satisfying or tedious?  Was it "worth" the time it took?  In the case of these challenges, I also wonder, "Would a bride actually wear this?  What kind of bride would wear it?  What type of wedding and or dress would make this jewelry appropriate?"

This piece strikes me as a bit clunky for anything other than a very casual wedding, perhaps a beach wedding.  WeddingMountain.Com carries a whole "destination wedding" line, including these two dresses:

As I consider the dresses, I like the bracelet best with the short number (which is actually a bridesmaid dress.)  So, my reflection is this: use this bracelet as your bridesmaid thank-you gift!