Please go to Andrew Thornton's entry to really see this beautiful necklace properly--I just took this one triptych photo from his blog.
Andrew I hope you don't mind I posted this photo set! Sometimes photos ARE worth a thousand words, and as we can see, this necklace is equisite.

I received the following email from my good pal Andrew Thornton yesterday, concerning a necklace he collaborated upon with the also extremely talented Lorelei Eurto. What a cool pairing of amazing and unique artists to create such a special jewelry piece for a very important cause.

Major disasters which affect our fellow humans do not go away just because a few weeks pass.

Bidding on this necklace will help some extremely needy people who continue to struggle in Haiti. My neighbor's son, a Marine, is over there now.

We all do what we do best to help. Thank you to Andrew and Lorelei, SO much, for reminding us that love and vigilant world consciousness are imperative in these times.

Please do what you can to the best of your ability to spread the goodness around.

Here is part of Andrew's email:

Hi there!
It's Andrew Thornton. I would greatly appreciate it if you could spread the word about a project that I'm working on with Lorelei Eurto. We created and collaborated on a really lovely necklace that we're auctioning off to raise money for the Red Cross's Haitian Relief Fund. To learn more and see an image of the necklace, you can visit my blog:
http://andrew-thornton.blogspot.com/2010/03/collaboration-for-good-cause.html
Any help would be appreciated. Bids are totally welcome, but you can also help by getting the word out on your blog, passing this email along, Tweeting about it, posting on Facebook, Myspace, and any other social media outlets. Like I said... any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks so much in advance! Bidding on the necklace will be from today (Monday, March 29th) to midnight Monday, April 5th.
Thanks again!
Simplicity Always,
Andrew

Sorry so late for this important blogging date--my stunt double here was busy falling though a hole into W land...

About.com Jewelry MakingTammy has been showing off some of her favorite jewelry pieces on her blog this week like this pretty earring and necklace set.

The Writing and Art of Andrew ThorntonAndrew recaps a recent trip to Detroit for the Great Lakes Bead Guild's Bead Bonanza.

A Bead A DayAhh..spring green!! Otherwise known as peridot, Lisa uses some swarovski components to create a bright, spring bracelet.

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!Jean's sharp eye spots the first announcement of a BeadStyle Magazine special issue she will be appearing in!

Art Bead SceneIt's the Art Bead Scene Monthly Carnival Blog. This month's theme is "passion."

Lorelei's Blog: Inside the StudioLorelei is playing around with the idea of collections and series in her jewelry line.

Beading ArtsDoes the beginning of spring lift your spirits? Cyndi has made a spring bracelet sponsored by Artbeads to celebrate this most wonderful of all seasons.

Carmi's Art/Life WorldA vintage TUMs container becomes a necklace centerpiece in Carmi's project this week.

Earthenwood Studio ChroniclesWhoo- whoo! New porcelain owl pendants inspired by internet sensation Molly the Owl

Cindy Gimbrone aka The Lampwork Diva Rewind: Is your bronze metal clay warping? Then Cindy's got the tool for you - Rawhide!

This is part of why we love them.

PS: Apr. 2 is Autism Awareness Day. If you want to show your support, wear BLUE. The Empire State Building will be lit up BLUE on April 2.

"For 48 games plus a play-in, Alex Herrmann was perfect. The autistic teenager from Chicago became a national story when he picked every winner in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. He was right about Northern Iowa over Kansas, and Ohio over Georgetown -- two upsets virtually nobody outside of Cedar Falls or Athens predicted -- and now, after Thursday's four Sweet 16 games, Herrmann's perfect bracket is no more.
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The 17-year-old had Syracuse beating Butler but the No. 1 seeded Orange lost 63-59 after trailing by as much as 12 points in the first half. (To his credit, he had West Virginia, Kansas St. and Kentucky winning.)Herrmann earlier told NBC Chicago that "I'm good at math ... "I'm kind of good at math and at stats I see on TV during the game," as part of the reason for his success. Yet there were accusations that maybe he had faked his bracket, although you'd have to wonder why he'd do it after the first weekend, and not wait until the tournament was decided. Either way, Herrmann has Purdue winning it all (not because of stats but because his brother is a graduate), and there's still a chance that happens."

"Our July issue is filled with projects from some of our favorite designers. We asked them to create jewelry that was inspired by the places they call home. We'll have great designs from locales including California, New York, North Carolina, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, Maryland, Texas, Wisconsin, and India (!). Plus, we'll have a special section of the coolest things editor, Cathy Jakicic, found at the Tucson bead shows this year."

I was so thrilled to be asked to participate in this issue I actually flipped up into the air, backwards, did a handstand and landed on my feet with my arms thrown out and my back arched like a gymnast. A ten!

I am sooo sorry no one got a video of that! Darn it, I would have been on the front of Youtube! I love publicity!

I will be representing New York. I have lived here all my life except when my family tortured me by sending me off to various schools.

I spent a lot of thought on New York. It is hard to explain what the pull is, unless you have lived in a place forever.

Did I want to do a piece of jewelry representing Manhattan, with which I am very familiar? Or possibly the town in Long Island, a foot from the Atlantic Ocean in which I grew up, and of which you all are incredibly bored?

I finally settled on an area in New York which means a lot to me, and has for thirty plus years. You will learn more when this lovely issue is published. Thank you, BeadStyle, for this great opportunity.

Friends,

The Ruse (http://www.rusemusic.com/) released another record today called

Love Sex Confusion.

If you would like to pick it up you can find it on iTunes, Amazon and CD Baby.

We are also starting a national tour next week.

Please check out www.rusemusic.com and www.myspace.com/theruse for all of the upcoming venues and times.

You can invite your friends to see a show on our events page at www.facebook.com/rusemusic

Thank you for your continued support. Have a great week!-J, J, M & J

'Love Sex Confusion' Spring Tour 2010!

Tickets on sale now!!

3/20 The Thirsty Nickel Austin, TX

4/01 The Elbo Room Chicago, IL

4/03 Cicero's St. Louis, MO

4/05 Pirates Cove Cleveland, OH

4/07 Rebel Sound Records Pittsfield, MA

4/08 StageOne Fairfield, CT

4/09 Mercury Lounge New York, NY

4/10 IOTA Arlington, VA (2 shows!)

4/11 The Rox Box Philadelphia, PA

4/12 The Jewish Mother Virginia Beach, VA

4/13 The Milestone Charlotte, NC

4/14 The Pour House Raleigh, NC

4/16 University Of Miami Miami, FL

4/17 Will's Pub Orlando, FL

4/20 Hard Rock Cafe Biloxi, MS

4/21 The Nick Birmingham, AL

4/22 Caledonia Lounge Athens, GA

4/23 Vinyl Atlanta, GA

4/24 TBA Nashville, TN

5/07 Studio Seven Seattle, WA

5/08 Tonic Lounge Portland, OR

5/11 Muddy Waters Cafe Santa Barbara, CA

5/12 The Shore Hermosa Beach, CA

5/13 The Casbah San Diego, CA

5/14 The Roxy Los Angeles, CA

5/15 Hotel Utah San Francisco, CA

Follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/theruse

A Bead A DayAfter a treasure hunting trip through a bucket of fun spirited plastic beads, Lisa creates a "charm" bracelet to remind her of the experience!

About.com Jewelry MakingCarpel Tunnel Sydrome is not a new issue for jewelry designers, but here are some resources that may help.

Art Bead Scene Art Bead Scene Editor Heather Powers shows how she organized her studio for $45!

Beading ArtsCyndi worked out a pattern for a simple but pretty floral seed bead chain!

Carmi's Art/Life World A few word charms by the cash register are the inspiration for a new brooch.

Cindy Gimbrone aka Lampwork DivaA seed catalog keeps Cindy's inspiration alive. The result is a Victorian Garden Bee Skep bead.

Earthenwood Studio ChroniclesMelanie reviews a delighful new multi-media book by Sherri Haab

Snap Out of It, Jean! There's Beading to be Done!Spring really arrived here, FINALLY, and Jean was inspired to create some colorful, sparkly CZ jewelry with the beautiful components she found at Artbeads!

The Art and Writing of Andrew ThorntonJust back from a whirlwind adventure in Hawaii, Andrew shares his experience in paradise and spotlights some bead-making talents.

It is a bit hard to capture the unusual shape and delightfully tart, lime-y color of the Peridot faceted cubic zirconia fans, available here Fan Cubic Zirconia Pendants at Artbeads especially with one of my famously mediocre photos (yes, I am getting quite well known for them--geh! It can be awkward!), but if you saw this set, which you can whip up for yourself or a friend or your wedding party, in person, you would want it immediately and you would quite likely wish to wear it every day as your signature jewelry set. The CZ earring tops and links come from Artbeads as well, as does the cool rubber necklace found here:Rubber Necklaces. I used the grape rubber for fun, but if you felt more formal you could use a sterling necklace with this set and have quite a glamorous "evening out" pendant and earrings. Just don't forget you will need jump rings to attach each of the segments together! 4mm is quite good for the faceted fans and the links. I used a 6mm jump ring for the pendant because the grape necklace is slender.

I really enjoyed making this for Artbeads!

Its colors brought up a memory of the time I went to visit Vera Bradley (remember Vera scarves? With her signature and the red ladybug on them?) at her house on the Hudson. I have NO idea why I was there, but I was fifteen...a perfect age to meet an elegant, articulate artist who had an astounding collection of "OP Art" ( I later bought myself an OP Art paper dress and wore it around for ages--it was black and white checks) lining her walls, and was willing take the time to explain what OP Art meant, to me. I listened carefully. Then she took me and my friend who had accompanied me outside, and showed us the most unbelievable collection of Alexander Calder mobiles (I think the mobiles were outside--not sure--just sure she had a bunch of them) and stabiles (for sure they were outside!!! --and they were incredibly fascinating and impressive). What a gracious lady she was. The cool thing about Vera's designs was, and continues on since her death in the 90's to be, that you can be anyone and love them. That is another thing I like about Artbeads, too! It is hard to stay away from such a welcoming store which invariably offers such unique, wondrous beauty.

Thank you, Artbeads.com for giving me these beads in order that I blog about them.

FTC compliance disclosure: the items in this post from Artbeads.com were provided as a promotional gift as part of their bead blogger program for review or design purposes.

I get email, I get email...I even get a newsbulletin concerning "jewelry news", which I actually read frequently. I don't discuss it with you all, because who knows how much tolerance you would have for really hard core JEWELRY NEWS, not jewelry, or jewelry designing ... but this I found interesting, as I love animals, and I am actually curious as to the value of this diamond. I would like a second opinion, although the cut is quite unuuuusal. My spidey sense tells me it is not a Lucida® ring from Tiffany and Co., because the rounded edges are not in evidence (poor dog--he deserves Tiffany's--don't we all) and it also looks oddly flat. What is the deal with that?

Welp. I am glad the dog is OK!!! and now I know how long it takes for diamonds to reappear from, ah, the strangest places.

If you are squeamish do not watch this, although it is tastefully done. I have had five kids--nothing phases me. The jewelry newsbulletin sent me to the youtube site.

my time flies pendant courtesy of Simply Beads

A Bead A DaySimilar to the excuse, "my dog ate my homework", Lisa revises her weekly project due to an incident with a furry friend!


About.com Jewelry MakingJump rings seem like small items when it comes to jewelry making, but they can cause big problems!


Art Bead Scene ABS unveils the March Challenge painting - Van Gogh's Almond Blossoms.


Beading ArtsCyndi has a fabulous Zulugrass bracelet to giveaway this week!

Carmi's Art/Life World Button making turns into jewelry making for Carmi this week!


Cindy Gimbrone aka Lampwork DivaWhen is more, more? When you've got shell pearls and lampwork glass!


Earthenwood Studio ChroniclesAnother favorite song inspires Melanie to make new Heart Window pendants


Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio Thinking of selling on Etsy? Read this post, Lorelei has shared some tips from what she's learned along the way.


Snap Out of It, Jean! There's Beading to be Done!An inveterate wirer, Jean approaches new things which other designers do with ease verrrry cautiously...as if they might be wild animals! Grrrr! Should she run away? Decide for yourself!


Strands of BeadsMelissa is giving away one of her floating box pendants this week in honor of her son.

Newest video from the Ruse's soon to be released album


The Ruse, my son's band, is about to release their newest album:
Love, Sex, Confusion. The song above, "I Can't Stop", is on http://www.rusemusic.com/ as their newest video and this video will soon be on http://www.youtube.com/. You can see Jim rocking out as lead guitar really nicely on it. He is such a total king on the guitar. I love listening to them. AND watching them. They are so good together. John is really hitting some good notes these days--I don't think his voice has ever been better.
They have three free songs on their site and one won't be on the album so go download all three now, while they are sooooooo hot!

necklace I made a while back

You have to hit this photo to enlarge what Cynthia Thornton said to me in Sept. 2008 concerning everyone's favorite play toy, resin...

At the time I was making my first piece which included resin (see it above) and I was really confused as to what on earth I was doing! It was a request from a magazine that I do it, and I really wanted to do a good job. I also wanted to cry. The photo I will print above Cynthia's clear explanation will show you how kind and helpful she was concerning what I ended up with. I may have posted this photo before--the materials come from http://objectsandelements.com/shop/, and the resin I used was Ice Resin, from Susan Lenart Kazmer's shop part of her site. People are quite familiar with this kind of resin now, and I just made a new piece today for Australian Beading Magazine, for my column, "Our Beading World"! I really love trying things which don't frighten me too much, and this, if done properly, is really great for flexing your creative muscles! Love it.

Thanks to Susan for that initial resin and the materials, thanks to Cynthia for the great advice, and thanks to Simply Beads for the gorgeous photo of my very first piece, one of my favorite pieces of jewelry I have ever made. If I had my choice, everything I make would look like I dug it up, brushed of thousands of years of dirt, and discovered it on a site. I think this was even called Digg-it! :)

"Peace Goddess" Chain Maille Necklace from my gallery with GGS sterling charms and Kate McKinnon pod head pin of fine silver, fertility focal by Teresa of Lavendar Creek

A Bead A DayWant to stand out from across a crowded room? These Electric Sparkly Beads ought to do the trick!

About.com Jewelry MakingTurn a little hand-dyed ribbon and shell pendant into a trendy jewelry piece you'll wear with almost everything in your closet. Art Bead Scene Got cabin fever? ABS has some beady suggestions so you can get out of the house.

Barbe Saint John - New Jewelry from Forgotten ArtifactsBarbe is avoiding work by showing some pics of recently made creations.

Beading ArtsCyndi is running a contest on Beading Arts, and the prize is an absolutely free advertisement!

Carmi's Art/Life World A new spring challenge from Artbeads.com means Carmi has a new brooch!

Cindy Gimbrone aka Lampwork DivaSquee! Rings N Things sends shell pearls which Cindy mixes with her single color lampwork beads.

Earthenwood Studio ChroniclesFerris wheels, carnivals, and comedians inspire a new Song Lore Saturday post for Melanie

Katie's Beading BlogSurf on over to Katie's blog for ideas about making your own chain, layering components, and easy earrings.

Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio The answers still hold true in this interview that Lorelei had with herself back in 2008.

Snap Out of It, Jean! There's Beading to be Done!Jean made a necklace for a relative. Of course, it had to be perfect. Therefore she turned to Kazuri Beads!

Necklace of stones with ceramic Kazuri beads for my Aunt, 24 inches long, no clasp, as requested: also GREEN and Graduated

by Jean Yates 2008

I made this beautiful (I think) necklace for my Aunt who requested a green necklace with no clasp, which would be graduated and green.

I thought of many things I could make and I decided that my Aunt is hip enough so that she might like Kazuri beads. I went to google and chose this place: http://www.kazuriwest.com/I wrote them a note and said: "I want these beads fast please because they are for my Aunt and she wants her necklace fast!" (notice any family resemblance, here)?

Well the packing lady was so nice, and the beads were practically in my LAP a second later, even though it doesn't say you necessarily are going to get them that fast. I guess she understood relatives and how important they are. Then I said, "Hey, I noticed Margot Potterhttp://margotpotter.blogspot.com/ is on your website!" That is right: she is.

Why? because she wrote such a great article about this website in Simply Beads Magazine.

These beads are special, special beads.

Here is some information I took from the website -- I hope they don't mind.

The Kazuri Story

Kazuri Founder - Lady Susan Wood was born (1918) in a mud hut in an African village. Her parents were missionaries from England in the Ituri Forest.

Lady Wood was sent back to England to be educated and married Michael Wood, a surgeon. They came to Kenya in 1947.

They were dedicated to making a difference and Lady Wood started a coffee plantation on the Karen Blixen estate, famous from the award winning movie "Out of Africa" , at the foot of the Ngon'g Hills, about 30 minutes from the bustling Nairobi city center in Kenya.

Lady Wood was a visionary, an unsung hero of her time. She assisted her husband in founding the East African Flying Doctor Service, which expanded into the African Medical Research Foundation (AMREF) of which Michael Wood was Director General for 29 years.

Michael Wood was knighted in 1985.

In 1975, Lady Susan Wood set up a fledging business making beads in a small shed in her back garden. She started by hiring two disadvantaged women, and quickly realized that there were many more women who were in need of jobs and so Kazuri Beads was created and began its long and successful journey as a help center for the needy women especially single mothers who had no other source of income.

In 1988 Kazuri became a factory and expanded hugely with over 120 women and men. Here women are trained and apply their skills to produce these unique and beautiful beads and jewelry. The beads are made with clay from the Mt Kenya area thus giving them authenticity to their craft. The factory acts as a social gathering with the hum of voices continuing throughout the day.

With unemployment so high, one jobholder often ends up providing for an "extended family" of 20 or more. Kazuri is a member of the Fair Trade Act

Today Kazuri, the Swahili word for 'small and beautiful' produces a wide range of hand made, hand painted ceramic jewelry that shines with a kaleidoscope of African colors and Kenyan art that reflects a culture and appeal to a worldwide fashion market. Kazuri's beautifully finished products are made to an international standard and are sold worldwide. These standards are maintained through high training standards and a highly motivated management team.

In 2001 Mark and Regina Newman bought the company and their goal is to further increase the size of the company and to maintain the guiding philosophy ... to provide employment opportunities for disadvantaged members of Kenyan Society.

I am just thrilled I used these beads for my aunt and thrilled that the lady at the site got all excited when I told her I know Margot (this happens a lot!). I am glad Margot is an activist.

As for me: I also bought some beads for myself in pinks and reds and turquoise.

Why oh why?

BECAUSE, THAT'S WHY!

Check out this extravagant reward--$1000 in beads!!!-- for winning at Artbeads! It is in honor of Artbeads' Tenth Anniversary! Congratulations to Artbeads--you do a great job.

What a fantastic prize in celebration!

If you are the lucky winner chosen, you will be sky high in Artbeads' beautiful and unique beads!
I plan to enter, but the thing is, if you want to win there are only a few days left! The last day is Thusday of this week, so get going, it's easy and it's fun!



Here is the Artbeads Sweepstakes Link:
http://apps.facebook.com/sweepstakeshq/contests/16554

The Artbeads 10th Anniversary Sweepstakes for the $1,000 Shopping Spree will be ending at Thursday, March 4, 2010 at 11:59pm (PST).

The contest is open to United States and Canadian residents (excluding Quebec) over the age of 18.

Good luck!

jean