Creativity and you

I just read this fabulous post on comparing yourself to others, on tinybuddha.com. Well worth the read.

Quick projects and a gratuitous cat picture

I took a break from organizing my jewelry making supplies and made a quick bracelet today that I saw in a very expensive catalog a few years back. Of course, it is not the SAME bracelet, but the idea is the same: use a simple stringing material and a simple focal element to make a very delicate bracelet.

To make this bracelet, I used some 1 mm brown waxed cotton thread. You could use 1mm leather, or even crochet some thread into a thicker cord, but I think it is important for this bracelet to have a very lightweight, ethereal quality. SO, cut two equal lengths, planning that you will double each if you use the 1 mm cord. I'm gonna be my Grandma Ruthie here and when you ask, "But how much cord do I cut, Tara" and I'll say, "Enough." Just give yourself a good amount.
I chose the goldtone pewter rings from my show inventory- here is the silvertone version online on dollarbeads.net:

But you could easily use any of these other focal rings- in fact, many of them will hold up to a thicker cord if you have it.

You could use this:

or this

or I really like this:

or even more on our website.
Ok, take each of the two pieces of cord, double them and then make a knot by placing the loop end of the cord through the center of the ring, then put the loose ends through the loop end and pull tight. Do this on each side. Then, you can use any kind of clasp. You could tie on jump rings and add toggles or lobster clasps, or hooks. I had a goldtone button which was very light, and so I placed one end of the bracelet through the shank and tied it. Then I made a simple loop on the other end by making two knots, with enough space in between for the button to pass through. Cut off the excess tails. Your bracelet is now ready to wear! UNLESS, like me, you made the hole between the two knots too large. Not to worry- slip a large hole pewtie over the knot. When you then place the button through the opening, the pewtie naturally falls close to the button and holds it closed.

Close up of the clasp with the pewter bead "slide" to hold it closed:

The bracelet is not as tight as it looks in the photo. Balancing my wrist on the edge of the couch while not showing the mess in my living room is virtually impossible Using my expert camera skills, I cleverly tightened the bracelet so the focal bead stayed centered during the shot.
And now, the aforementioned cat picture, which shows a quickie ring I made using a magnesite flower bead. Just cut a length of dead soft wire (mine was plastic coated) and thread it through the holes drilled in the bead from inside to out, on each side, and do a simple wrap around the wire.

I hope you enjoyed these quick projects.

Promises Promises

Ah, the weekend. Big plans are made during the week, with a hopeful optimism for accomplishing those things that, by simply being "weekendly", are highly valued. I did accomplish quite a bit this weekend, including buying new bead organization containers. But when I sat down at my coffee table beading table, all I could do was sort, sort, sort! But, which is the best way to sort? One tray of metal, one of stone, one of glass/resin? Or, all stringing materials together, all beads, and all findings? And all this kept me from creating. So, in lieu of a project, I'll present you with what I bought for organization.
At Joann Fabrics, these are on clearance:

They are also selling divider trays that go inside. I cannot find a picture, but they are clear plastic trays, with three medium sized compartments on each side, and a long compartment in the middle, suitable for chain, or for strands of stone or pearl.
At Big Lots, I purchased four bins similar to these:

What I like about these are the grooved lids and the fixed dividers. I have upteen million clear plastic containers with the moveable dividers and the beads always end up all over the place. The boxes from Big Lots have handles as well.
I purchased an old type tray as well. That is for my dream studio which, knock on wood, should materialize in the next year. It is a beautiful wood with many different sized containers. It is similar to this, although mine is smaller.

What did you do to pass the holiday weekend? And how do you store/organize your beads?

Hi!

Sorry I am late posting this week, I took a detour on the way home from the Mansfield, MA show and am now just catching up. I met some fine folks there- some I met at Marlboro. And I met one of my blog followers (*waves madly!*) which was awesome as always.
For those of you down Maryland way, we'll be at the Northeast Bead Extravaganza in Severna Park this weekend. Come on out and see us!

This weekend I'll be posting another project tutorial. We're working on a giveaway and some other neat things so stay tuned!

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Time is running out- stock up on pretty pearls before the month is out!

Shows coming up this weekend!

Luann will be at the Bead Mercantile on Saturday and Sunday in Williamsburgh, VA. Click here for details.

Yours truly will be in Mansfield, MA on Sunday at the Divine Bead Festival click here for details.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Leather Bracelet with pandora-style beads Project

It's a little cold and grey here in the Northeast today so I thought I'd warm things up with this pretty little bracelet project. For those of you at the Marlboro, MA bead show, this is the bracelet I was wearing.

Leather Pandora Bracelet

Pandora-style beads are all the rage and you are certainly not limited to stringing yours on the pandora-style bracelets. Here is a project using simple leather cord to make a rustic, yet stylish bracelet using our beautiful line of Pandora-style large hole beads, and our pewter clasps and findings.

This project is not about perfection, but expression. Use these instructions as a guideline, but express yourself!

You will need:
Pandora-style beads - in this project I used three
-Beige/brown swirls with raised brown dots
-Red similar to this one : Red
-Carved bone beige rippled
1mm leather cord in your choice of colors. I used a medium brown
One of our gold hook clasps (I only use the hook part in this project, not the included ring. You can use that for another project.)
6 goldtone spacer beads- choose from our wide selection
A focal piece of some kind to use as the "circle" to put the hook through for the clasp. I used a vintage stamping/casting from the dollar bin at one of our shows. You could use just about anything here, including the "circle" from one of our many toggle clasps.
A charm. I used the flower/heart charm
One jump ring for the charm
A small amount of soft wire to wrap one end with Gauge doesn't matter.

*Click on each image to enlarge*

1. Measure approximately 22 inches of 1mm leather cord. You will want a little excess so you can adjust the length of your bracelet. (You can use a thicker cord, but if you do, you may not be able to double it. Check to be sure your chosen spacer bead fits with the cord)

2. Fold the leather exactly in half.


3. Slide one goldtone pewtie large hole spacer bead down the length of the folded leather cord starting at the cut end and stopping about a half inch from the loop it creates.

4. Using a goldtone pewtie large hook, place the loop end of the leather through the loop end of the hook, stopping at the spacer bead. Then thread the loose ends of the leather through the leather loop and pull taut, with the spacer bead at the bottom of the knot as pictured:

It may take a little coaxing, a little warmth from your hands, to get the leather to stay in place. Once you have worn it a bit and worked the knot with your fingers, the leather will soften into place.

5. Next, choose a few of the pandora-style beads. I like to use earth toned beads in this project to complement the goldtone pewties and the warmth of this medium-brown leather. You can use as many of these pandora style beads as you would like. I put the goldtone spacers in between. The spacer I have chosen fits very snugly on the leather, so I can space my pandoras out evenly. You might choose to fill this area of the bracelet with pandoras, or other large holed beads. Stop after approximately 6" (a little more if you have very small wrists) of leather is left over.

Tie a standard overhand knot tight against the last bead.

At this point, you could really do any number of things. Get creative! l like to have a charm dangling on all of my bracelets. I chose the pewtie heart and flower charm and put it on a large jump ring so it can move around but not so large it can get past my knot. I'm not worried about mixing metals.(my jump ring is silver but my charm is gold.)

Last, chose a large focal "circle" for your hook to go through for the clasp. You might choose the circle from a large toggle, or get creative- I picked a puffed heart from our vintage stampings and castings bin at my last show. I highly recommend digging through the stampings and castings bin at the shows. You never know what you will find in there.

Thread the loose ends of the leather through. This is the point where you want to test the length of your bracelet. Hook the gold hook clasp through the focal- if the hook is too tight, as mine was, it can easily be opened using just your fingers.
Keep track of where on the leather you want to attach your focal clasp end. Fold the leather over the clasp end and use some soft wire to wrap the leather tightly.

Check the fit of your bracelet. If all is well, trim any excess leather to about 1mm below your wire wrap. If it is too tight, try having less leather come through the focal, and re-wrap.

Voila! Your new bracelet is ready to wear.

Don't forget, if you are having trouble, feel free to contact me via comments or email (posted on my profile.) I'm here to help. And if you make this project, we'd love to see pictures!

Mother's Day weekend

Just a quick post to say thank you to all of you who came out this weekend to see us at the shows. I personally was so thrilled to meet so many of you in Marlboro, MA. Luann and I had a lovely time chatting with you folks. It was good to be back in my old stomping grounds, and I made a few new friends! I see we have 2 new followers - thanks for following! More later this week.

Lark Books Call for Beaded Jewelry Submissions

Hey friends, Lark Books has a call for beaded jewelry- click here to go to their site for details. Submitting jewelry for publication should not be scary- the worst they can say is no, and that doesn't mean your work isn't good. They get lots and lots of entries and they need to pick a diverse group. They are looking for work that is recent and hasn't been published or widely viewed.
If you are feeling very industrious, on the same page, further down, is a call for "30 minute Bracelets" with a deadline of May 11th.

We love to see your beautiful pieces out in the world. One thing that held me back from submitting in the past was the fear of photographing my jewelry. I thought I needed a fancy set up and a light tent, and expensive contact sheets and developing. Thankfully, almost all publications accept digital photos now. And every piece I have submitted was not photographed, but scanned! Sometimes they need a little adjustment in Photoshop- upping the brightness and contrast. A clean scanner presents a ready-made white background and light source, and a pleasing shadow. My pieces that were featured in 1000 Jewelry Inspirations were accepted based on the scan, and then I mailed them the actual jewelry for them to photograph. Be sure to clearly label each accepted piece with your name, address and phone number/email address and bag each item separately.

If you have any questions on scanning jewelry, or adjusting the results in Photoshop, feel free to contact me through the blog. Happy Beading!

Shows this weekend!

This week, you'll find our fabulous reps in Marlboro, MA for the big Innovative Bead Show - three days of beading madness, Friday through Sunday with yours truly and the wonderful LuAnn! In Maryland, you'll find the lovely DeAren at the 53rd Semi-Annual Bead Bazaar in Gaithersburg. What better way to treat Mom (and yourself) than with new lovely beads to create with? Those links take you to our website where you can find coupons for admission to the show. We can't wait to see you.