The Beading Gem

It's one thing to be artistic and creative as a child.  It's another to actually grow up and pursue it as a career.  That's exactly what Arni (Arnaz) did.  This Indian artisan is based in Mumbai.  She received her training in Fine Arts but what kickstarted her jewelry making career was a GIA (Gemology Institute of America) course she took in California.

Ethnic Bib Necklace Giveaway : Brass, Swarovski crystal, resin, paua

It's not long now before Easter.  So if you are planning to make some jewelry gifts, consider this beaded Easter Fun bracelet tutorial from Fusion Beads. The pastel color combination is lovely and perfect for Easter.  This is basically a charm style bracelet with coordinating round crystals filling in the spaces.

I don't know about you, but when I sew, I tend to buy extra lace, tape or ribbon....just in case.  If I don't, I invariably run short.  So my extra carefulness means I have bits and pieces leftover which I am loathe to throw away.

Apologies to Tolkien but the Ring by Logbar is a ring to "shortcut everything" in our modern lives.  It is a wearable input device which in essence is the "wand" which will indeed turn the light on without having to chant the "Lumos" spell like Hermione Granger.

Those single use coffee capsules ensure an easy but good cup of java in the morning. However, they aren't very environmentally friendly.  Unless you recycle them!  Here are 3 great tutorials which use the Nespresso coffee capsules which come in a variety of colors.  If you didn't know what they were, you'd think these were designer pieces!

Ah, the joys of getting older. My fingers have gotten larger so much so that I had to have my wedding band resized not too long ago.  Getting it off was a job.  I tried the twisting method while gently pulling but to no avail.  Luckily it did come off with a bit of olive oil.

There are many talented bead artists out there.  But it takes someone innovative like Natalia Skodova to stand out from the crowd.  This Prague, Czech Republic based artisan makes gorgeous beaded jewelry. It is her wonderful and delightful ability to mimic nature that really caught my eye.

Dance of the Peacock Necklace

It's great to see so many Czech bead lovers out there as you came out in droves for this giveaway. I thought super duos would be the most favorited beads. But in truth you love all kinds of Czech beads! Picasso beads though were frequently mentioned.  That's not surprising because the finish is so unique!

Czech Pellet Beads