The Beading Gem

Gorgeous Machine Embroidered Cork Fabric Keychains by FromDuskTwillDawn

Canadian artisan of FromDustTwillDawn had an epiphany when she had to upgrade her old sewing machine. She went with a sewing and embroidery combination. She now makes gorgeous machine embroidered cork fabric key chains and coasters. I have only shown one of her coasters at the end - a clever dinosaur skull one.

Shown here are some of my favourites. The killer bee and goose carrying knives are delightful. She hand draws her designs which is then converted into pixels using an embroidery machine program.

Like many Canadian artisans, she is able to ship to US customers without any tariffs through the USMCA (or CUSMA) program.

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Tips on Rose Petal Bead Making | Skhab Beaded Jewelry | How Traditional Osmanthus Beads are Made

April is still a little too early for roses but soon these fragrant blooms will abound in gardens. But rose enthusiasts in warmer climates will definitely have access to them now!

This rose petal making tutorial from @motherearthnewsmag - a great channel on all things rural and naturally sustainable living - is full of tips on how to collect and crush up real rose petals to make beads.

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Fun Beadwork Tiny People and Doll Tutorials

Ukrainian artisan, Miroslava

The wonderful linked people beaded choker tutorial shown above by Ukrainian artisan, Miroslava of KeychainbyMirami888 was what inspired this feature. She also has a kit available.

Over the years, I have collected various people or doll tutorials - see the links at the end for more wire and metal work people inspirations.

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Animal and Flower Ceramic and Porcelain Charms | How Ancient Egyptians Made Faience Amulets

Ceramic and porcelain are both made from clay. However, porcelain is made from finer clay and is fired at higher temperatures. You know what? I adore them both as charms in jewelry making. Every artisan has a distinct style in how they make their charms. Here are some of my favourites.

The gorgeous ceramic fox pendant above is by a wonderful artisan, Majoyoal, whose work I have featured before.

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Pretty Flower Petal Cluster Earrings by CaitlynJewelryArt

I've said it many times before. I'll say it again. It's not what you use but how you use it that counts. CaitlynJewelryArt has a collection of pretty flower petal cluster earrings. Each petal is not flat but has undulating curves.

What caught my eye was the different ways which these petals are grouped together with a diverse range of findings. That makes each design unique. The designs could be long and dangly or the petals arrayed around hoop findings.

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8 Fruit Inspired Beadwork Tutorials | How to Make a Bergamot Trinket Box from a Real Orange

Fruit themed designs are always popular. There are some who even make jewelry from real fruit - see this past post which also covers the difference between freeze drying and dehydrating.

However, this collection celebrates the beaded kind! Use these tutorials not just for jewelry like earrings and pendants, but as charms for bags and keychains. Or even as ornaments as you can see from the beaded citrus fruit slices shown above by Anna of BeadedFlowersDesign.

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8 Colorful Photo Glass Cabochons for Jewelry Making

Many jewelry makers love working with cabochons. You could bezel them with beads or wire wrap them. Or glue them onto metal bezels if the sizes fit.

There are some gorgeous gemstone ones as well as those made from clay. But have you considered photo glass cabochons? The designs can be very colourful indeed.

They are made by punching out photo images and gluing them to the backs of glass cabochons. Not much of an artist or photographer? You can purchase pre-designed circle images from various artists.

Do check out my links at the end for past posts for resin tutorials. Clear resin has the look of glass but is much lighter.

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Vintage Fountain Pen Nib Jewelry by Classically Romantic | Words and Phrases from Shakespeare

First, we had a huge shift to all things digital. Indeed, many writers like me compose entirely on the computer. But there is growing revival of using real writing implements on real paper. My old fountain pens from decades ago are long gone but I've bought a couple of fountain pens in recent years to enjoy the writing process once again.

It's our human nature to want do something more tangible than tap keys, to create and form words and to feel things in our hands. It's much the same with people who prefer to read actual books which you can hold and even smell!