An Ancient Art - Double Sided Suzhou Silk Thread Embroidery | Venice of the East
Suzhou silk thread embroidery from the ancient city of Suzhou in China is a traditional art form which dates back thousands of years, as old...
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Pearl Blay
embroidery
feature designer
historical
Suzhou silk thread embroidery from the ancient city of Suzhou in China is a traditional art form which dates back thousands of years, as old as sericulture (silk farming). It's renowned because some of the art embroidery is double sided - the stitching is on both sides of a very thin translucent silk fabric. All the knots and loose threads are skillfully hidden.
An Ancient Art - Double Sided Suzhou Silk Thread Embroidery | Venice of the East
Pearl Blay
beadinggem designs
Etsy
Pearl's Designs
I enjoy making decoupage laser cut wood jewelry using origami paper so much so I shared the tutorials on how to make them. One tutorial is for using laser cut wood blanks. The other makes use of a laser cutter to speed up this process.
I had put some of those designs for sale on my CraftaGems shop and sold some. Then came along, Kari who asked if I could do a custom order for her book club members. What a fantastic memento! So I naturally said yes.
Show and Tell : Custom Book Club Decoupage Earrings!
I enjoy making decoupage laser cut wood jewelry using origami paper so much so I shared the tutorials on how to make them. One tutorial is for using laser cut wood blanks. The other makes use of a laser cutter to speed up this process.
I had put some of those designs for sale on my CraftaGems shop and sold some. Then came along, Kari who asked if I could do a custom order for her book club members. What a fantastic memento! So I naturally said yes.
Pearl Blay
beadwork
feature designer
giveaway
tutorial
It's been 3 years since bead artist Patricia Parker of RoseBluBeads published her wonderful book for beading 3D flowers. I certainly raved about it in my review on her From the Flower Fields! Her book is such a rarity as craft books are no longer published to the extent they once were.
Fortunately for beaders, Patricia hasn't been idle. She has since published two more volumes on 3D flower tutorials. Two very fortunate readers will be able to win a physical book each of their choice for this equally rare giveaway.
Book Giveaways : Two New 3D Beaded Flower Books by RoseBluBeads
Fortunately for beaders, Patricia hasn't been idle. She has since published two more volumes on 3D flower tutorials. Two very fortunate readers will be able to win a physical book each of their choice for this equally rare giveaway.
Pearl Blay
beadwork
feature designer
tutorial
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Beaded fringe earrings are consistently popular. Designers such as Ukrainian bead artist, Olga of LilibeadPatterns, also consistently come up with lovely designs. She covers many themes - floral, landscape, seasonal ones such as Halloween and even patriotic designs. I do love her maple leaf one, shown below.
Her patterns include clear diagrams,word charts, and bead legends showing an ideal list of colours and types of beads to use.
Lovely Beaded Fringe Earrings Patterns by LilibeadPatterns
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Beaded fringe earrings are consistently popular. Designers such as Ukrainian bead artist, Olga of LilibeadPatterns, also consistently come up with lovely designs. She covers many themes - floral, landscape, seasonal ones such as Halloween and even patriotic designs. I do love her maple leaf one, shown below.
Her patterns include clear diagrams,word charts, and bead legends showing an ideal list of colours and types of beads to use.
Pearl Blay
business tips
Etsy
What are Tariffs ?
Tariffs are protectionist trade policies to deter people from buying imported goods. It is, in other words, an import sales tax. Any tariffs imposed by the US on other countries will be paid by US companies and consumers.
What You Need to Know about Tariffs and the De Minimis for Selling, Buying and Shipping on Etsy
I know many of you read my blog because you enjoy reading and learning about jewelry making and other crafts. But sometimes some of you find it a refuge from what's going on in the world right now. But this post is necessary as some of us are producers, or work for one, and all of us are consumers. Tariffs affect us all.
What are Tariffs ?
Tariffs are protectionist trade policies to deter people from buying imported goods. It is, in other words, an import sales tax. Any tariffs imposed by the US on other countries will be paid by US companies and consumers.
Pearl Blay
crochet
tutorial
video tutorial
I am pretty sure I am not the only one looking for ways to use up crochet thread! Here are three splendid earrings tutorials by Sri Lankan Hiruni on the HiruHandmade Crochet Youtube channel. They are all uniquely different. She lists the supplies used in the video descriptions.
Note that you will be using hook sizes around 1.0 mm. But expect to adapt the hook size or the crochet thread thickness (#8-10) to get tight and small designs.
3 Easy Crochet Earrings Tutorials by HiruHandmade Crochet
Pearl Blay
feature designer
historical
laser cut
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Beautiful Watercolour Art Jewelry and Decor by WildMountainStyle | The Meeting on the Turret Stairs
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Watercolour art is arguably the most ancient of all painting techniques - the cave paintings of paleolithic Europe are fabulous examples. It is one of my favourite painting styles, one which I am utterly hopeless in but I admire the talent of others who can capture landscape and botanical subjects with great delicacy.
One such watercolour artist is Utah based Marissa Davis of WildMountainStyle. She loves mountain scenery and natural themes and it shows in her artwork. Her jewelry as well as other items such as magnets, prints, cards and so on, feature her own artwork usually as prints although I have spotted at least one original in a necklace.
Pearl Blay
feature designer
unusual jewelry
wire work
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Ohio based wire artisan, Ruby of RubyMoonJewel has a striking and unusual wire jewelry collection. She makes face wire designs. The designs which meander across the face are actually modified extensions of ear cuffs. Most innovative indeed.
Also noteworthy are her faux nose and lip rings. Again, these are adapted from the ear cuff idea. So no piercings are needed. This is a very good thing. Our mouths are normally full of mostly harmless bacteria but some can cause tooth decay and gum disease. That is why lip (and tongue) piercings are more prone to infections.
Unusual Face Wire Jewelry by RubyMoonJewel Requires No Piercings
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Pearl Blay
feature designer
William Congreve, the English Playwright wrote these lines for his 1697 play, The Mourning Bride :
8 Lovely Beaded Music Inspired Jewelry and Other Patterns | BBC's Last Night of the Proms
Music has Charms to soothe the savage Breast, To soften Rocks and Bend a Knotted Oak
Many of us remember the first line which is often misquoted as "Music soothes the savage beast". The poet and playwright meant soothing the heart. Indeed, music is part of our lives and enriches us in many ways.
Celebrate the joy of music with these wonderful music inspired beaded jewelry and other objects! Please also check out the music related wire work tutorial links at the end.
Pearl Blay
feature supplier
Many of you love copper. Others like me prefer brass. Both are wonderful as jewelry supplies. Brass in particular is a good stand-in for gold. Both can take on patinas for beautifully unique results.
Then head on over to UrbanroseSupplies for some of the most gorgeous solid copper and brass supplies I have come across. Shown here is only a small collection. They are excellent for jumpstarting your creativity.
Gorgeous Solid Copper and Brass Jewelry Supplies from urbanrosesupplies
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Pearl Blay
beadwork
feature designer
Stunning Bead Embroidered Insect Jewelry by YatsuraBead
Bead embroidery lends itself to the making of stunning jewelry. Ukrainian bead artist, Maryna of YatsuraBead, turns her talent into making exquisite insects, most notably as brooches out of beads and other materials.
Her attention to detail is noteworthy. She uses crystals such as for the green beetle shown above. Wood and epoxy resin was used to form the "horned" head.
Pearl Blay
polymer clay
tutorial
video tutorial
British polymer clay artist, Fiona Abel-Smith of PolyOriginals, is a fantastic instructor full of ideas. She is also on Youtube. I featured her colorful tutorials before.
This video tutorial of hers shows how to use foil on polymer clay. What's different is her clever technique of applying two layers of foil with one of them being in a pattern. The trick is to use a stencil and some sticky tape.
Double Foil Polymer Clay Jewelry Tutorial by PolyOriginals
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