by Barbara | Sep 2, 2017 | An Aside, Art Jewelry, Art to Wear, Bead Embroidery, Beading, Beads and Materials, Components, Embellishments, Jewelry kits, Materials and Supplies, Mixed Media, One-of-a-Kind, Polymer Clay, Seed Beads, Techniques, Tutorials
I am so excited!!! In early March I entered my bead-embroidered neckpiece featuring polymer clay flowers and butterflies in Fire Mountain Gems and Beads “Creative Clays” contest. I’ve been eagerly awaiting results of the contest and winners have...
by Barbara | Aug 25, 2017 | An Aside, Art Jewelry, Art to Wear, Beading, Beads and Materials, Components, Delica beads, Jewelry kits, Materials and Supplies, One-of-a-Kind, Seed Beads, Techniques, Tutorials
Designing and engineering this warped square beading project has taken longer than I imagined, but I’m closing in and can see light at the end of the tunnel. Part of why it has taken so long is that I’m creating the tutorial as I go along. Taking the process photos...
by Barbara | Aug 19, 2017 | Art Jewelry, Art to Wear, Beading, Beads and Materials, Bracelets, Cabochons and Gemstones, Components, Found Objects, Gemstones, Handmade, Inspiration, Materials and Supplies, One-of-a-Kind, Resin, Seed Beads, Techniques, Tutorials
While vacationing in California over the past two weeks, I did find some time to work on a beading project and that was something I hadn’t done in a while. But I also found time to stop in an antique store in Paso Robles and look what I found! These crystals, rocks,...
by Barbara | Aug 16, 2017 | An Aside, Bead Embroidery, Beading, Beads and Materials, Designer Patterns, Embellishments, Handmade, Inspiration, One-of-a-Kind, Seed Beads, Techniques, Tools, Tutorials
Some of the best finds are in antique stores. I am always on the lookout for items I can repurpose and up-cycle! Recently, I came across two small, very flat wooden cigar boxes that I’ve utilized as portable bead cases that I can toss in a bag at a...
by Barbara | Aug 12, 2017 | An Aside, Beading, Beads and Materials, Components, Delica beads, Handmade, Inspiration, Materials and Supplies, One-of-a-Kind, Seed Beads, Techniques
The power of color is amazing! How it is used determines what the eye sees. For example, these three geometric warped squares were woven using the same pattern graph design. Each was woven with the exact same palette of colors. What makes each warped square appear so...
by Barbara | Aug 4, 2017 | Art to Wear, Beading, Beads and Materials, Delica beads, Inspiration, One-of-a-Kind, Resin, Rings, Seed Beads, Techniques, Uncategorized
This order of Delica beads arrived several weeks ago, but I’ve been so busy playing with resin and making rings that I haven’t had gotten around to doing anything with them. The first step always is to remove them from the plastic containers in which they...
by Barbara | Jul 29, 2017 | Art Jewelry, Art to Wear, Cabochons and Gemstones, Classes, Components, Designer Patterns, Embellishments, Fine Silver, Gemstones, Handmade, Inspiration, Materials and Supplies, One-of-a-Kind, Patina, Resin, Rings, Sterling Silver, Techniques, Tools
I took a class taught by Richard Salley (great teacher BTW!!!) and learned to make the “Ketoh Bracelet”…typically a wrist guard worn by Navajo Indian archers to protect their forearms from the snap of their bowstrings when shooting arrows. It was a...
by Barbara | Jul 24, 2017 | Art Jewelry, Art to Wear, Cabochons and Gemstones, Components, Designer Patterns, Embellishments, Gemstones, Handmade, Inspiration, Materials and Supplies, One-of-a-Kind, Resin, Rings, Techniques, Tools, Tutorials
There used to be a TV show back in the 1950’s called “You Asked For It”, but in this case I am referring to the tutorial I promised for making “Resin Faux Crystals and Druzy Cabochon”. I’ve had several requests for a tutorial and...
by Barbara | Jul 21, 2017 | Art Jewelry, Art to Wear, Components, Embellishments, Gemstones, Handmade, Inspiration, Materials and Supplies, One-of-a-Kind, Resin, Rings, Sterling Silver, Techniques
I’ve seen it and even took an early morning bike ride downhill from Haleakala on one of my vacations to Maui. This latest resin ring so reminds me of a volcano glowing with shades of bright fire surrounded by red-hot embers! What gives it this magnificent glow?...
by Barbara | Jul 15, 2017 | Art Jewelry, Art to Wear, At the Bench, Cabochons and Gemstones, Components, Embellishments, Gemstones, Handmade, Inspiration, Materials and Supplies, One-of-a-Kind, Resin, Sterling Silver, Techniques
This ring started with just three pieces of silver…a bezel, backing, and ring shank. Having hammer-textured the silver, the bezel join was soldered and then all three pieces were soldered together in one step. This is the ring fresh out the pickling solution....
