The Beading Gem

Nothing declares the house owner as a jewelry maker or crafter than a bead wreath! Perfect for any of the holidays or seasons - just use the appropriate colors!

Brittany of the Sew in Love blog has a spectacular bead wreath tutorial made out of Mardi Gras beads! The beads were leftover from Mardi Gras parades in Louisiana. Shown here are some of the common colors for these really inexpensive beads.

Seattle based Sarah Hood is a sculptural artist whose one of a kind jewelry pieces speak volumes about her "exploration of the natural world, both its forms and its materials."

Her keen eye for profiles enables her to translate visions of bare trees in winter, foliage and shapes of leaves into her distinctive design style.  That she is a gardening and botany enthusiast is also evident.

Ruth24's comment on last week's giveaway and feature on colored FireLine pretty much summed up most people's sentiments - "Where have you been all my beading life?"

Kelley of Sparkle Spot's innovative adaptation of plain FireLine for beaders certainly set  Parudy's heart a-fluttering with excitement!

Don't you just love it when you come across a diehard beader who has transformed her hobby into a viable business?  Well, meet Jen Runnion who is the  founder and CEO of BeadSphere.com who has been beading and designing original jewelry for 25 years.

Crystal Ndebele Necklace

Some time ago, I wrote about how to tie scarf necklaces.  Well, here are more ways to keep your neck warm and still not miss out on adornment!


This cleverly produced video shows 25 ways to wear a scarf in 4.5 minutes by WendysLookbook!  True, some of the versions look suspiciously similar but let's not get too picky.

Have you noticed QR (Quick Response) scan codes lately?  These are now increasingly visible as more people  have smartphones which can scan these codes.  This is part of  the coming augmented reality wave where you use your mobile device to access incredible amounts of information wherever you are. Bar codes are so yesterday!

Some silk flowers are just so pretty. They look great for bouquets and for flower head bands. However, I`ve always thought many were just too big for jewelry. Until now.

Kirsten over at Studs and Pearls did a wonderful  DIY Watercolor Petal necklace tutorial inspired by an incredibly expensive designer version. I much prefer her take on it as she used sparkly crystals for accents.

It doesn't have to be Christmas to use the fabulous Gemstone Tape  from Culture Label (no longer available) to wrap gifts! I call it bling for plain wrapping paper.

The tape is designed by Marie-Hélène de Taillac whose Parisian jewelry store is located in Saint-Germain-des-Prés.

The gemstone images are all based on real rings and are in the most luscious colors ranging from blues and greens to pinks and reds.

Do you have nail polishes you bought because the colors were so pretty but they aren't your favorites any more? Well, instead of throwing them away, make beautiful nail polish glass pendants!

This brilliant tutorial  is the brainchild of Susan over at the Sweeter Lemon blog. It's clever for several reasons.

Image by minieco.co.uk

Next time you run out of clasps, run to the hardware store instead of the craft or jewelry one. These alternative closures are fun and make the pieces unique.

I'll never look at a wing nut the same way after I saw Kate's clever macrame bracelet tutorial over at Minieco.co.uk.

Desiree Bigard who is based in Michigan, makes distinctive Gothic, Victorian and fantasy styled jewelry for her Etsy store, Peacock Tres Chic.

The Tudors inspired - A Cardinal's Ransom

Her eye-catching one of a kind pieces feature angels, wings, skulls, mythical beasts and ornate silver plated brass filigree stampings.

Many of the entrants for last week's giveaway were already fans of B'Sue Boutique and Brenda Sue's blog.  For those of you who are new to my blog, I bid you welcome!

Some too adored her videos.  No wonder, they are full of helpful tips and tricks to expand  your jewelry making skills!  So let us see who is the lucky winner of the $25 gift certificate who will get to try out some new things.

I prefer to use Fireline for bead work projects. I like the strength and firmness it gives to the pieces.  The bad news is, there are only two choices of colors - grey or "crystal", an off-white color.

Then I found out about colored Fireline.  Sally, a blog reader mentioned in her post about Sparkle Spot's range of Fireline in beautiful colors.

There is nothing like getting jewelry for Christmas is there? Next to chocolate that is. But earrings are definitely calorie-free!

So if you have several people on your list, why not make them earrings?  There is no such thing as too many earrings. 

Yet this quiet, outwardly unassuming woman earned Henry's undying love simply because she was the only one to bear him a male heir.  

Just when her position became secure, she tragically died due to complications following childbirth.  

I hanker for a proper kiln because making fused dichroic glass pieces not only looks relatively easy but the results are simply stunning.  There are some other tools like glass cutters, fusing paper and so on but the kiln is most expensive item needed.

Consider renting time in a facility - some shops which sell stained glass and such art glass supplies often have workshops and equipment which they do make available for a fee. For those of you who live in Halifax, Canada, Cranberry Studios in Bayers Lake Industrial Park has this service.

The upcoming Victoria's Secret Fashion show on CBS always manages to make the news. Some of the past promotional stunts featured really expensive gemstone decorated underwear few women could afford let alone wear.

A vital rule for any budding jewelry book author is to produce a publication with truly innovative designs. Only then will it stand out among thousands of such books.

Kalmbach Publishing just sent me Nealay Patel's first book, Jewelry for the New Romantic: Unexpected Techniques with Crystals and Beading Wire for review. This inspiring book is definitely a standout!

Image by Charm Designs

I know it's only November, but I'll bet many of you are now scrambling to make some Christmas gifts.  So here are a couple to start you on your way.

The beaded holly necklace by Charm Designs is just the ticket if you love to work with smaller beads. This easy tutorial uses right angle weave and fringe stitch.

Paper, like plastic, is not the sort of material most artisans would choose to work with. Yet, many do and some like Li-Chu Wu create utterly amazing paper jewelry.

Grassland Brooch

"How pretty!" was the first thing I thought when I saw Hannah's tutorial over at her blog, Rubies and Pearls.   

She used a rose trim, the likes of which I have not seen before.

Remember Brenda Sue from B' Sue Boutiques? Well, she's back to sponsor this new $25 gift certificate giveaway!  

Brenda Sue's store sells a range of components but her big specialty is brass stampings.  The previous giveaway also featured Gilder's Paste (see my past post on how to use Gilder's Paste to colorize metal jewelry).  The resulting jewelry will surely please vintage and collage style fans.

It really pays to learn new techniques. That way you can combine them to create unique designs.  One shining example is Maryland-based Trish Brooks whose designs are truly original.

What Trish does is marry two forms of wire work. She makes beautiful free form wire work pendants which go with her wire crochet necklaces.

Finger knitting was fun back when we were kids. It's still fun even for grown-ups. For one thing, it's a quick way to make jewelry components.

Some time ago, I had a ball making the cord for a necklace which was inspired by a tutorial by Erica of PS I Made This.

Keeping it simple is the way to go when you haven't the time to bead. Shown here is my friend and co-instructor's beaded necklace - a simple but lovely design with glass pearls and seed beads.

Quite a while ago I wrote about Swarovski embellished contact lenses for that extra twinkle.  But there are also real diamond versions for those with a spare $15,000.

Plastic Bottle Flowers

New readers might be aghast at the thought of using plastic in jewelry let alone recycled water or pop bottles.

But some artisans do make incredible jewelry out of the most mundane items. Don't believe me?  Just check out some of the past posts below.

Image by LoveMaegan

Chain is popular this year. Lots of it. Sometimes deliberately messy masses too - check out the link below.

 A number of bloggers have oohed and aahed over Chanel's 2011 jewelry collection. It is a must see for some fabulous chained statement designs. Here are some tutorials to get you chained up like rock stars!

Admit it. Many of you are beadaholics.  The lure of extra beads and lust for some of the delicious beads featured in last week's BeadCrafty's $85 (£50) gift certificate giveaway were just too much for some of you!

Many thanks for all your interest and kind comments for this new start-up. Their no and low-cost shipping approach was a big hit and bodes well for their future success.

Steampunk has certainly not lost its steam although old watch parts must be harder to come by these days. One outstanding artisan is the highly popular London Particulars on Etsy.

London Particulars may be based in Seattle but the "Neo-Victorian" designs are the sort you can easily imagine seeing if you were browsing in a shop where the equally imaginary Sherlock Holmes likes to browse!

I enjoy looking at all the clever polymer clay tutorials I come across.  I am hoping this enjoyment will rub off some day when I might just buy some to try.

Part of the charm of polymer clay work is the incredible range of colors and effects possible with this medium. The tutorials featured here are notable for their unique approaches.

There are some awesome beaders all over the world. One such corner of creativity is Romania. Thanks to Stephanie, a blog reader, who suggested this hand picked list of inspiring designers.

linked chain, snake, ball styles

Reader Question
Marsha : Pearl,  I have a question for you.  I have problems finding quality chain for the silverware pendants that I make. 

I have been buying silver chains on a spool or card from places like Blue Moon or Fire Mountain and the small links come apart.  I don't want my chains to break, that makes me look bad even though I didn't make the chain.  People want the smaller links too, not the larger ones.  

I have a collection of unused 8-loop adjustable ring bases  in my findings box just waiting for the right project to come along.

And it has. Just check out the lovely Nicole beaded ring tutorial from Ornamentea.

Words and books occupy a huge part of my life.  Are they yours, too? Here are some tutorials to inspire in celebration of  the books and words which enrich our lives.

Paper jewelry makers take note, a couple of these are right up your street. Use magazines if cutting up old books gives you heart palpitations!

Imagine munching on jewelry or a handbag! The edible photo shoot by Italian photographer, Fulvio Bonavia was created for his fashion photography book, Matter of Taste. He aimed to do the unexpected and surprise people. Below is the pasta belt and the red cabbage and herb (sage) bangles.

Chain mail or chain maille as I prefer to spell it, is definitely becoming really popular. There used to be such a dearth of books on it.  Not any more.

The latest book I received from Kalmbach is Creative Chain Mail Jewelry, a compilation of nearly 30 projects from both Art Jewelry and Bead and Button magazines.

Dutch blogger, Ivania Carpio has been noticing the trend in transparent jewelry with some top designers so she decided to make her own.

Perspex available from hardware stores, is easy to bend once heated up in an oven as described in her tutorial.

Although I've drawn, sketched and done all sorts of crafts since childhood, I never really liked working with plasticine and play dough. I was also a pottery class drop out.

That's why I really admire artisans like Roberta Warshaw on Etsy who creates stunning designs in polymer clay.