This 'n That

Artbeads is my favorite bead and findings supplier, and they have just announced a new sweepstakes! The Artbeads ‘Road to Tucson’ Sweepstakes! The grand prize winner will receive a trip for two to Tucson, AZ to attend the 2012 ‘Gem, Mineral and Fossil Showcase’! The prize package includes round-trip airfare for two to Tucson, Arizona and 3 nights accommodation. The winner will also attend classes with well-known beading instructors and have access to the biggest shows. What better way to spend 3 days in Arizona!

To enter, click the banner below.

To shop with Artbeads, click the banner below. You will find a huge variety of Swarovski crystals, sterling silver components, tons of beautiful beads and gemstones, and design ideas. They also have some really amazing weekly specials and closeout deals. Plus, you will receive amazing customer service from friendly people!

Kansas in July…. a time for big yellow sunflowers with bright green leaves, amber waves of grain with the beautiful wheat fields, and fields of green corn (sweet and field corn).   To capture the colors of Kansas in a new piece of jewelry, I created my “sunflower” necklace using items from my favorite bead supplier… Artbeads.

For my inspiration piece, I chose the beautiful Stoneware Rectangle Pendant – Sunflowers.

Stoneware Pendant - Sunflowers

I then needed something for the “petals”.  I found the perfect bead with some Flat Teardrop Pendant beads in amber.  To compliment the amber and yellow, I wanted a pretty green bead for more color for my piece.  I just love the Wasabi beads that Artbeads has, and I found some beautiful Wasabi luster glass brick beads that worked perfectly!

Sunflower Necklace

I couldn’t decide how I wanted to attach the teardrop pendants to the necklace at first, and then I remembered that I had a huge bag of vintage sterling silver bails that my Mom used to sell at her antique shop (she carried native American jewelry in her shop in addition to some silversmith supplies).  They were just what I need to attach the teardrops.  I also wanted to add some brown tones to the necklace, and found some rectangle Tiger Eye beads leftover from a previous project.  They work well with the new Artbeads components that I was using for this Sunflower necklace, and with a few small seed beads for accent, I started my work.

The result is this “Sunflower Necklace”.  I think it reflects the beautiful colors found in Kansas in July… what do you think?

Sunflower Necklace

Disclosure: I have received some of the components used for this design from Artbeads free of charge. I am posting an honest review of said products and have not been paid to endorse said products.

It’s been dreary in western Kansas all week long, and I needed something to brighten it up around here. ..

I just made a new necklace, and I’m calling it “Spring Fling”.  It’s bright, cheery, colorful and fun, don’t you think?

Spring Fling necklace

My inspiration bead for this piece was this big, beautiful Green Plum Blossoms porcelain bead from Artbeads.   Also used in the necklace were some Wasabi Oval beads with a gold abstract design and some fun acrylic rectangle beads, also from Artbeads.  I also picked out some colorful square resin beads in greens, yellow and pinks to add some real fun to this necklace.

Spring Fling Necklace

Spring Fling Necklace

For Christmas last year, I received some fun dice shaped glass beads in different colors, and I had some mother of pearl square and rectangle beads in my bead inventory.   I picked a few that worked well with the other components, and made this asymmetrical necklace.  I also used a couple swirled glass beads in complimentary colors.

To keep with the spring motif, I used a large sterling silver flower shaped toggle clasp, another sterling silver clasp that I got from  Artbeads.

The final piece turned out great, and it is just perfect for this time of year!  The necklace was made so that you can show off the beautiful clasp by wearing it at the side.  The porcelain focal bead is meant to be worn on the opposite side of the clasp.

The beads that I received from Artbeads were just gorgeous, as always!  It’s no wonder they are my favorite supplier of beads and components.  Their items are always shipped immediately, and I can always find the items that I need in the quantities that my custom work requires.

Disclosure: I have received some of the components used for this design from Artbeads free of charge. I am posting an honest review of said products and have not been paid to endorse said products.

This “Moonlight at Midnight” bracelet is one of my newest designs. I just love glass beads, and for this piece I chose an exquisite black with beige free style Kalera Bead for the focal component. I then looked for some glass and silver beads to compliment the focal bead. I found exactly what I needed with some 8mm Matte Glass Roundel Beads from Artbeads. I chose three different colors – Montana, Topaz and Jet. The blue, black and topaz compliment the colors in the Kalera bead beautifully!

Then on to my choice for the silver beads… I wanted something that I hadn’t tried before, so I browsed through Artbeads selection of Hill Tribe silver beads. Hill Tribe Silver beads from Thailand are made by the Karen Hill Tribe in northern Thailand using traditional tribal methods passed down from generation to generation. Purchasing these silver items helps sustain a traditional craft and provides the Karen people with a reliable source of income. The silver content in Hill Tribes silver beads and pendants is typically 95-99%, even higher than sterling (92.5%).

I found some wonderful Striated leaf beads from Hill Tribe that I thought would look great with the other beads that I used – they are unusual and have a very organic style. I also found a really nice Hill Tribe toggle clasp that I chose – Hill Tribe Silver Rounded Square Toggle. Now all I needed was some little sterling silver beads to use as spacers between the glass roundel beads. I found the perfect ones – 3mm Bright Sterling Silver Roundel Beads. I use these beads often, as they are so versatile and work great to add silver accents to pieces.

Here is a photo of my finished bracelet. I think it turned out great, and hope you like it also! I found everything to make it at Artbeads, my favorite beading vendor!

Kalera Glass Bracelet with Hill Tribe Silver

Kalera Glass Bracelet with Hill Tribe Silver

Disclosure: I have received the components used for this design from Artbeads free of charge. I am posting an honest review of said products and have not been paid to endorse said products.

I decided to try something new last week.  I had a few different components that I wanted to use in a jewelry design, but needed something else for the design.  I had recently received some gorgeous sapphire or teal colored copper wire that I wanted to use in a necklace for myself.  I also had a fun Scrabble tile pendant that had a black cat with a moon – I didn’t want to just hang this handmade pendant on a chain, I wanted to make a special necklace for it.  That’s where Swarovski crystals from Artbeads come in…

I decided to order some gorgeous Swarovski crystals from ArtBeads. They had been featuring Swarovski all month, with some great specials offered.  I chose a variety of crystals in various shapes and colors.  I wanted to try some new types of Swarovski components – some that I don’t use every day and some that I had never used before.  I chose crystals in blues, greens, bronze/gold and black.  Here’s a photo of the crystals that I ordered – look at all the luscious colors!

Some of the new shapes that I ordered were the Triangle Ring and the Keystone Bead.

Swarovski Triangle Ring

Swarovski Keystone Bead

I also ordered some Swarovski asymmetrical crystal pearls in Antique Brass and some Polygon crystals in Olivine, plus some round, bicone and helix shapes.

After I received the crystals, I started playing around with the copper wire and crystals – just letting the design take shape as I worked with the wire and crystals.  I ended up with a very free form necklace that works great with the Scrabble tile cat pendant.  It’s completely different than any of my other pieces, but I think I like it.   I still have some of the crystals left, and I’ll probably use those for some earrings!