I always try to check out who my followers are and to have a peek at their work. I was delighted when I got fellow Canadian Casey's tweet (via @cassandrabeads) telling me she was my new follower. Casey's blog, Cassandra Elizabeth Beadwork  does show off her bead weaving talent. She also produces a few tutorials on sale on her Etsy store.

One outstanding post was the bead woven jewelry she made for Barbie dolls! What little (or big) girl wouldn't want bling for her dolls?

She came up with four different designs, each distinctly different and oh so glamorous.  Casey said, "When I was growing up, I spent hours making furniture and food for my Barbies. It was my sister who brought home the Barbie Basics dolls that are modeling the necklaces. Since they only come with a black dress and shoes, I thought they needed some accessories."


She also added, "Barbie is all about fantasy, so I let myself go overboard on designing the type of jewelry I'd never get to wear in real life. I based some of the jewelry on Indian bridal jewelry, which you see a lot of in Vancouver. I also took inspiration from powerful and glamorous women, like Cleopatra, Grace Jones, and Liz Taylor." I couldn't agree more, Casey. I occasionally feature luxury jewelry on this blog, not because any of us can really afford such items, but for the design inspirations. Ethnic jewelry also fascinates me.

If you are inspired, you might also like to check out my past posts on Beads and jewelry findings as dollhouse accessories and a book review on Nobuyo Chiba's The Beaded Dollhouse - small scale furniture using beads.


Casey got into beading after a failed attempt at knitting. Besides it's just too warm in Vancouver for knitted garments. Her mother was the one who suggested beading because Casey had a bead loom when she was young.  She now finds bead work rewarding and even meditative.

I hope Casey will continue to read this blog because she shares many of my interests.  In her email, she wrote, "I am very interested in visual arts and art history. I work at a university, so I have access to a lot of art and archaeology books that inspire me. I love the jewelry and art of past eras. My inspiration especially comes from the Victorian era, which I find really romantic and visually appealing. I especially love the Pre-Raphealite Brotherhood. Their work draws heavily on the past but is also quite revolutionary for its time. I'm also interested in the Arts and Crafts movement because of the value they placed on traditional craftsmanship. 

To me, beadwork is very traditional work that needs to be kept alive." Yes, indeed.

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Original Post by THE BEADING GEM
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