WELL, I didn't win but I definitely had LOTS of fun!!! making this design with Jeannie's polymer heart! I was so surprised when I received it from her: for one thing, it was blue! I expected it to be red, or pink. Or red and pink! This was where I started my design then: with the colors...I got this Beadalon cable link made of fiber in black. That was good! Then I got this metallic silver edged blue silk ribbon--oooooooooooooooooooo. I ran that through the cable chain. I took a clasp--the larger half, and used it to hold the heart on the necklace.
Finally, I ordered a couple of keys (this is a wild heart and therefore required TWO keys!), and a couple of aqua and gold Murano rounds (wish that had been silver in there, not gold, but they didn't have that available), attached that with jump rings to the ends of the cable chain and I was done! I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks Jeannie! Everyone, stop by her site and check out her other contests through the months to come! She is very inventive, fun, and smart. Here is her site blog: that is where I had the pleasure of appearing! http://site.jkdjewelry.com/blog/
I made a necklace from one of Jeannie's hearts--these beautiful, larger ones will be on the cover of Polymer Cafe Magazine!!!: the Jan/Feb issue! We are having a competition--vote for me, if you like --I am number 6--scroll waaaaay down to the red rectangle at the bottom of the blog page, and hit the white button that says 6! that is me. This is the Last Day! Here is the Link: http://site.jkdjewelry.com/blog/ Yay and thanks!
BEADBLOGGERS' SUNDAY:
About.com JewelrymakingIt's is so easy to get into the holiday spirit when you have the perfect lampwork beads to get you there. Just think of all the jewelry possibilities.
Art Bead Scene Are you a Twilight Fan? If yes, then check out the Twilight inspired jewelry on the Art Bead Scene!
Cindy Gimbrone aka Lampwork DivaIt's Double Dippin' Week - a week full of ideas for the Double Dips. Try a necklace and become "Entwined."
Earthenwood Studio ChroniclesMelanie gives her review of Enchanted Adornments, and gives a reminder to enter teh Art Bead Scene monthly challenge for your chance to win a copy of it and some other great beads, including new Earthenwood beads!
Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!Ah, Etsy! So many of our problems solved by visiting Etsy for gifts for our dearest friends at this time of year. Take a look at this premade pendant, which also comes in a kit so you can teach yourself if you prefer. It's all jump rings and it's all beautiful. The Alchemist's Star!
Strands of BeadsMelissa is thankful for generous friends - who share their beading supplies!
PS: The Editors of Art Bead Scene are having a Sale! If you haven't been shopping already, don't forget to visit as you check out this week's beady news!http://artbeadscene.blogspot.com/
A Bead A DayDo pearls go with everything? Lisa pairs glass pearls with chain and interesting findings. What do you thnk? About.com JewelrymakingWhat do you do with a weird piece of chain made from wood? How about making a fabulous necklace out of it. Art Bead Scene Art Bead Scene gives you the scoop on findings worth finding - check it out! Barbe Saint JohnI've been a bad blogger! Carmi's Art/Life WorldCarmi makes a brooch with a cameo and other odds and ends. Cindy Gimbrone aka Lampwork DivaCindy has a new shop on Etsy - the bleeding heart. Check it out! Earthenwood Studio ChroniclesMelanie shows the piece she made for the new book Chain Style, and talks about her struggles with letting go of her published jewelry pieces. Jewelry & BeadingGather up some little beaded flowers and turn them into a very special necklace! Lorelei's Blog: Inside the StudioLorelei's annual craft fair adventure is over and she shares some photos of the Aftermath. Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!Artbeads teamed up with Nintendo DS to create a fantastic virtual learning game for jewelry lovers! Style Lab! Jean shows it off in a youtube clip! FUN for the HOLIDAYS! Strands of BeadsMelissa discusses the virtue of buttons in jewelry-making
how pretty and charming are these wrapped hearts by Jeannie? They will be on the cover of the January/February Issue of Polymer Cafe magazine! That is a wonderful honor! Jeannie's website is calledJewelry by Jeannie.
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Hi! I haven't been able to work on my contest piece for Jeannie, but I have my components as of Fri. evening at 8:30!
Here is the story:
I am in a fun competition this week, with a week of voting for YOU ALL to decide which jewelry piece you like best. Today was BIG day I was supposed to encourage you to go to my pal Jeannie's blog, Jeannie's Jewelry Box (I like the positive sound of that site name !) which is here: http://site.jkdjewelry.com/blog and vote for the piece which "called to you the most", out of six necklaces, created by six designers (one of whom would be me!), each using a focal piece: one of Jeannie's polymer clay hearts. Jeannie makes really lovely focal pendants among other things. Her slightly larger hearts, such as the ones above -- are such fantastic showpieces! --You can view them and admire them on her site. They are very well known! Jean Campbell just used one--a steampunk variation of one.
The ones we are working with are very much like like these. See the picture here I took ("lifted") from Jeannie's site? They are like these, only a bit smaller.
I completely gasped with delight when I saw mine ( I was not allowed to choose anything about my art piece from Jeannie, except I knew it would be a heart made of polymer clay. The color, the mood, everything!!! was a big surprise! Really!
I like it SO much, I am happily drawn to designing with it!
Yes. I am very motivated to create a nice necklace with mine. The lovely prize which the winner who gets the highest amount of votes is great, too! Just take a look at it on Jeannie's site! Wow! The voting all takes place anonymously. None of us are allowed to tell our friends or relatives which necklace is ours in advance. That seems fair.
What you, as a reader of this blog, should do...and I encourage you to do it daily until the end of the business day of Nov. 29th, is to go to Jeannie's site, and leave a vote for the photo of the necklace you like best, where she has her comments. The heart necklaces will all be numbered by Jeannie.
I am not going to say anything more about how I am going to design mine because I don't want to give anything away!
Just enjoy looking at them and enjoy voting for one of the six entries. Try to go every day, please, We designers will all be happy and really proud to hear from you!
Thank you so much for supporting the arts. See you there tomorrow! I will try and remind you every day! Thank you!
The Alchemist's Star is an Etsy store with kits elegantly hand designed and produced by a young woman named Virginia. She uses metal jump rings, like, for example, copper (a good, inexpensive way to start, and attractive, as well), 925 sterling, and eventually she will also offer argentium. We all love argentium, an relatively new development in the silver family, as it tarnishes less than sterling but still has the fire of sterling silver when you first see it. Additionally, it keeps its glint and its shiny look far longer without polishing.
This is the "Sharone's Flowers" design, a pendant completely made from the kit. After you have purchased a kit, you may buy refills without instructions and it will cost you less, because you won't need the instructions (unless you are like me and lose them under the bed).
I love chain maille and think this would make a lovely gift for the holidays for a friend, either made by you or in kit form. What do you think?
Hurry to get one now--last time I went there were four--and now there are two for sale!
Cindy Gimbrone aka Lampwork DivaCindy reflects on how to live life at a slower pace. Her reflections inspire a pair of earrings.
Earthenwood Studio ChroniclesMelanie starts a new project, an upcycled film themed jewelry line called Now Showing! Read the story behind this fun new idea.
Jean CampbellJean finds her first piece of beadwork in a junk drawer and discusses how important it is to reinforce your work
Katie's Beading BlogKatie's combining resin, chain, and tubular peyote stitch in a project for Beadwork magazine - download the pdf for free!
Lorelei's Blog: Inside the StudioSetting up a table at a craft can be daunting, but Lorelei put together a perfectly Vintage Chic display that will hopefully lure people in.
Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!In the spirit of the season, whereby "you can get anything you want" as in the famous Alice's Restaurant song by Arlo, you can get some fascinating things at Andrew Thornton's store. Great for holidays to come!
Strands of BeadsMelissa shows off a necklace she made...for herself!
The Writing and Art of Andrew ThorntonUsing a hand-painted Russian pendant from Artbeads.com, Andrew creates an enchanting response to Art Bead Scene's November prompt: Dadd's The Fairy Fellers' Master-Stroke.
Artbeads virtual jewelry design game teamed up with Nintendo
Artbeads.com is happy to introduce Style Lab: Jewelry Design, a brand new Nintendo DS game from Ubisoft®. This entertaining game lets you design beautiful virtual jewelry using over 400 beads, pendants and charms based on products actually sold at Artbeads.com. When you’ve finished your designs, you can choose to make them public for friends and family to see, and you can purchase them. That’s where we come in! The talented jewelry designers at Artbeads.com will bring your creations to life using components similar to those you chose within the game. A perfect gift idea this holiday season, Style Lab: Jewelry Design will help spread the joy of jewelry making to young and old alike!
an artist's postcard by Andrew; a gift with my purchase. I put the border around it--sorry Andrew! It looked 3D without it! It is amazing. And ancient writing on the back.
It is wonderful to get magic in your mailbox.
I also received my order, lampwork beads I plan to use to make doll earrings for my beading magazine--she uses a Blythe in every issue. I am spoiled! When i make them, I shall show you all! I also received Herkimer diamonds--I have never had any! How I love them! And...a heart.
when you go there, be prepared to immerse yourself in a different world. The storefront appears to be an abandoned, fogged in, dark gate. Could it be alive? Pass through it and see where it leads you. Beauty impossible and different. Little odds and ends, and then larger items as well. Most by artists Andrew likes. Some of Andrew's own things were there, the last time I looked. I would gather all those up if I could--they will be collector's items. The best part of all is -- they are also just pieces which show the viewer what the meaning of loveliness is.
Scientists from Florida Atlantic University's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute have announced the development of the first-ever technique to produce beaded (nucleated) and non-beaded cultured pearls from the queen conch.
Cindy Gimbrone aka Lampwork DivaCindy has developed a new line of jewelry to remind us all to live life slowly and enjoy what we have. First in the series is "Grounded."
Jean CampbellJean describes what it's like to edit someone's book and shares her thoughts on Marcia DeCoster's latest, Beaded Opulence.
Jewelry & BeadingCyndi is giving away a copy of Ronna Sarvas Weltman’s unique polymer clay book called "Ancient Modern". Come and get in on this contest!
Enchanted Adornments, by the remarkable bead artist and illustrator Cynthia Thornton, not only teaches how to create all sorts of beautiful projects anyone will love, it relates a delightful story as it teaches, with "calendar-dated" diary chapters for each project, and charming magical persona inhabiting each chapter. If you pored over fairy tales as a child, you will curl up with this book, a pot of tea and a fire going in the fireplace, and read it in a day, I bet. If you never read a single fairy tale in your younger days, grab a mug of cocoa and get ready to learn what it is to be entranced by words, mystery, passion, love, sorrow, joy and secrets unveiled. Cynthia, I knew you made the most glorious beads of all sorts, and I knew you made beautiful jewelry, because I have followed your career since I first came upon your internet store, [...] However, I never knew you were a tale teller. How better to teach readers the way to make spectacular and unique beads and terrific jewelry than by engrossing them in fascinating tales of all sorts of creatures and by having the mysterious author's diary, complete with stunning illustrations, explain bit by bit why the mystic creatures in each chapter love and are pefectly suited by the kinds of jewelry that they choose? I admit I feel compelled not to discuss the tales. They are filled with love and emotion, and it is genuine. They unfold in a wonderfully natural manner. I can say this: only a person who has truly loved another person could have written this book. Even if you have never made a polymer bead in your life, you get the urge to learn at this author's feet. She is a very encouraging and thorough teacher. In fact, the beginning of the book is packed with excellent advice on how to carve, how to work with wire, how to set stones, how to make polymer correctly (prepping a master mold, etc.), how to make resin properly, including finishing and curing it in a bezel, and how to properly create a piece out of precious metal clay. It is quite amazing--a book in itself. When you do get to the projects, you are quite eager to see them. The photos are beautiful,breathtaking! Each project is different and so lovely, and the underlying story is one of enchantment...just as the adornments are enchanted. The illustrations are amazing, as well. I don't want to be the one who gives anything away concerning this wonderful book. I just think you should buy it and be prepared to fall in love with every page. What a love story this book is. A love story between a woman who creates jewelry, a love story between an imaginary couple who remind me of some people I know and a love story between a woman who reached for the stars glittering throughout each page of Enchanted Adornments. They came rushing to her, because they knew she "understood".
November 2009 starts off with a Bountiful Beadblogger Bang
OOOOO! love this song!
A Bead A DayLooking for a great way to commemorate a special moment or gift? Design a piece of jewelry!
About.com JewelrymakingIt's like Wal-Mart, only you want to be there in this virutal tour of Shipwreck Beads.
Art Bead Scene Art Bead Scene is having a book fair. Read up on your favorites!
Carmi's Art/Life WorldCarmi has finally discovered how great polymer clay is. Cindy Gimbrone aka Lampwork DivaNot thinking about your holiday gift list yet? Cindy helps get you started with a Knot Ready for Prime Time Lucky Knots and Friends Projects so you can get started now! Earthenwood Studio ChroniclesMelanie shares her final Crystal Week necklace... a piece she calls Woodland Mermaid
Jean CampbellJean celebrates her favorite holiday by showing off her costume and some very cool baubles
Jewelry & BeadingKrystal Backer, beading artist, shares her creative inspirations with Cyndi. Lorelei's Blog: Inside the StudioHave you been following Lorelei's Necklace Round Robin? Come take a look at the finished pieces!
Strands of Beads Melissa shows off her favorite necklace created for Cynthia Thornton's Enchanted Adornments and winner in the metal clay category of the British Bead Awards (WTG!<--Jeann)
Arts & Crafts Shows Directory
Jeannie,
