by Barbara | Oct 31, 2013 | An Aside, Art to Wear, Beading, Handmade, Inspiration, Jewelry kits, One-of-a-Kind, Seed Beads, Tutorials
My Beauties have just arrived home! I dare say my wrist has missed them dreadfully! I shipped them off to Tucson in early August where Kate McKinnon photographed them for inclusion in the upcoming Contemporary Geometric Beadwork – Volume II. I know that my...
by Barbara | Oct 29, 2013 | Art to Wear, Beads and Materials, Delica beads, Designer Patterns, Embellishments, Handmade, Inspiration, Jewelry kits, Materials and Supplies, One-of-a-Kind, Seed Beads, Techniques, Tutorials
Many of you have been waiting very patiently for this design to be offered as a tutorial and beading kit. Well, the wait is over. Both the kit and tutorial are now listed in my Etsy shop. It’s so interesting how color contributes to a design. The original...
by Barbara | Oct 25, 2013 | An Aside, Art to Wear, Handmade, Inspiration, Materials and Supplies, One-of-a-Kind, Polymer Clay
I’ve been a fan of polymer clay for quite some time and have enjoyed using it in many of my mixed media pieces. It is a wonderfully versatile material that is capable of taking on endless forms in every color imaginable. I have quite a few books that showcase...
by Barbara | Oct 23, 2013 | An Aside, One-of-a-Kind
Several nights ago, I dreamed that we lived in a house high on a hill overlooking a sea of homes built on tiny lots in a new subdivision in Somewhere, USA. Our view consisted of a patchwork of hundreds of roofs for as far as the eye could see and there wasn’t a...
by Barbara | Oct 21, 2013 | An Aside, Beading, Handmade, One-of-a-Kind
I’ve been incommunicado these past few days. I didn’t realize how much I missed the internet until we had exceeded several gigabytes beyond our monthly plan courtesy of a huge chunk of data that was eaten up by updating our devices to ios7. That meant...
by Barbara | Oct 14, 2013 | An Aside, Art to Wear, Beading, Delica beads, Designer Patterns, Handmade, Inspiration, Materials and Supplies, One-of-a-Kind, Tutorials
I haven’t had more than a few hours to bead in the past ten days. Between cooking for company, readying the herb garden and prairie for winter, yoga sessions, annual doctor appointments, and running too many errands, I have had little free time for anything else....
by Barbara | Oct 12, 2013 | An Aside, Beading, One-of-a-Kind
It’s time for the final harvest of basil, oregano, thyme, and sage from my herb garden. They will be used in soups, stews, sauces. In fact, they will be used in almost every appetizer and main course I cook! In anticipation, I’ve been rearranging the...
by Barbara | Oct 10, 2013 | Art to Wear, Materials and Supplies, Metal Clay, One-of-a-Kind, Resin
Here are several photos of mixed media pieces, which I made during the past few years that incorporate resin. Titled “Twig n’ Text”, the pendant shown at left is suspended from a fine silver cast twig. A quartz druzy wrapped with sterling wire...
by Barbara | Oct 7, 2013 | An Aside, Found Objects, One-of-a-Kind, Polymer Clay
Susan Lenart Kazmer’s latest book, “Resin Alchemy” just arrived in my mailbox. Having taken classes from Susan and knowing what a generous teacher she is, I knew the book would be filled with great ideas. It did not disappoint. Several years ago she...
by Barbara | Oct 4, 2013 | Art to Wear, Beading, Beads and Materials, Delica beads, Designer Patterns, Inspiration, One-of-a-Kind, Tutorials
My second Empress Ming Cuff is now a work in progress. I’ve designed the chart based on the original cuff and I’m writing the tutorial and taking process photos as I go along. I think the project is developing nicely and the end result will be worthy of...