by Barbara | Feb 1, 2018 | Art Jewelry, Art to Wear, Beaded Beads, Beading, Beads and Materials, Components, Designer Patterns, Earrings, Embellishments, Handmade, Inspiration, Jewelry kits, Materials and Supplies, One-of-a-Kind, Seed Beads, Tutorials
The “Color Play” Geometric Drop Earrings tutorial is finished and beading kits for both the “Color Play” Vibrant Brights and “Color Play” Subtle Brights design are assembled. You’ll find these items and other goodies in my...
by Barbara | Jan 31, 2018 | Art Jewelry, Art to Wear, Beaded Beads, Beading, Beads and Materials, Components, Delica beads, Designer Patterns, Earrings, Embellishments, Handmade, Inspiration, Jewelry kits, Materials and Supplies, One-of-a-Kind, Sterling Silver, Tutorials
I’m busy building a new earring wardrobe… here’s the latest addition. I’ve kicked the geometric triangles up a notch with a few shades that are borderline neon! I can’t help but feel happy when I’m wearing these “Color Play” –...
by Barbara | Jan 24, 2018 | Art Jewelry, Art to Wear, Beaded Beads, Beading, Components, Delica beads, Designer Patterns, Earrings, Handmade, Inspiration, Sterling Silver, Techniques
I’m easing into designing with bright colors and wanted a simple project that would work up quickly. The result? Immediate gratification and a new pair of earrings to wear! I opted for bead-woven triangles as a fun way to combine subtle shades of blue, orange,...
by Barbara | Jan 19, 2018 | An Aside, Art Jewelry, Beading, Beads and Materials, Components, Delica beads, Jewelry kits, Materials and Supplies, One-of-a-Kind, Seed Beads
When I first learned to bead a decade or so ago I preferred to work with beads that were muted in color…transparent or silver-lined or accented with rainbow or metallic finishes. I am still fond of those, but suddenly I find I am attracted to opaque...
by Barbara | Jan 13, 2018 | An Aside, Art Jewelry, Beads and Materials, Components, Mixed Media, One-of-a-Kind, Seed Beads
I love giving objects a second life and having just finished with the holidays, I found that many of the gifts we received were packaged in wonderfully sturdy, reusable boxes! This particular box housed teabags in four individual compartments (each measuring 3.25...
by Barbara | Jan 5, 2018 | An Aside, Art Jewelry, Art to Wear, Beading, Beads and Materials, Bracelets, Bronze, Components, Handmade, Inspiration, Jewelry kits, Materials and Supplies, Metal Clay, One-of-a-Kind, Patina, Polymer Clay, Techniques
I haven’t worked with bronze metal clay in some time…I just haven’t been “into” it! But I recently ran out of the flower-shaped disks that I include in my “Bollywood Bling” Beaded Ruffle Cuff design. Then I had an idea…why not use Polymer clay...
by Barbara | Dec 28, 2017 | An Aside, Beading, Beads and Materials, Components, Designer Patterns, Handmade, Inspiration, Materials and Supplies, One-of-a-Kind, Polymer Clay, Techniques, Tools
If you’ve been following my blog, you know that I’ve been working with paper most recently. Well, Santa brought me a lot of new dies from which to create more tiny boxes, envelopes, bags, and if you look in the center of the photo, you’ll see a garland of tiny...
by Barbara | Nov 10, 2017 | An Aside, Beading, Components, Delica beads, Handmade, Inspiration, Materials and Supplies, One-of-a-Kind
Many gift-giving dates are fixed…birthdays and Christmas, to name a few. Preparing for these occasions is stressful enough without the task of running out at the last minute to buy gifts. When I see an item that I know someone would love, I buy it even if it’s months...
by Barbara | Oct 29, 2017 | An Aside, Art Jewelry, Art to Wear, Cabochons and Gemstones, Components, Designer Patterns, Embellishments, Gemstones, Handmade, Inspiration, Materials and Supplies, One-of-a-Kind, Resin, Rings
Last August while on vacation in California, I purchased some wonderful natural crystals from which I created molds. This collection of blue and teal faux crystals were created from those molds. I have a theory as to why some of the faux crystals come out crystal...
by Barbara | Oct 13, 2017 | An Aside, Art Jewelry, Art to Wear, Beads and Materials, Cabochons and Gemstones, Components, Designer Patterns, Embellishments, Gemstones, Handmade, Inspiration, Materials and Supplies, Mixed Media, One-of-a-Kind, Uncategorized
The deadline for latest Fire Mountain Gems contest featuring Swarovski Crystals was October 8 and I finished this neckpiece just in time to enter! I had been so busy finishing up my latest geometric beadwoven bracelet that I’d forgotten the contest was closing....
