I’m back in the classroom today. I won’t be teaching jewelry. Instead, it will be English. Oh, so much fun – we’ll be covering punctuation tonight. Don’t you wish you could be there? (he he)
It’s been about a year since I’ve taught because I took the last year off to work on my dissertation. So, I’m really looking forward to getting back in the classroom.
I’m writing about this on my jewelry and beading blog here because teaching can be a very rewarding way to earn a living, and that of course, includes teaching others how to bead and make jewelry. …read more

If you’ve been thinking about the whole Luxe Jewels thing, maybe even becoming a consultant, then you may be interested in their latest sweet deal. For $189 they have what they call a “party in box starter kit.”
You can read the complete list of supplies you receive at this .pdf link, and find more details on their site.

I am working on an article about Luxe Jewels and was interested in the pros and cons of this company, so to get some feedback from my fellow jewelry makers, I posted about it on the About.com Jewelry Making Forum.
Boy! I knew I would get some opinions, which is why I posted, but that thread is now 103 posts long! Let’s just say I’ve got a lot of information now to work with. Hopefully, I’ll get this article posted by the weekend.

I recenlty got a chance to make this Washed Ashore Necklace from a Luxe Jewels. In come in a kit ($49), so except for the tools, everything else (including instructions of course) are included. The chain and wire are gold-filled. The beads are shell – look like Mother of Pearl to moi – and the clasp is vermeil. I set a few beads aside and had enough wire left to make a pair of matching earrings.
For beginners, kits really can’t be beat. This is one of Luxe Jewel’s advanced kits, but they have them available in 3 skill levels: beginner, intermediate …read more

We have been having an interesting discussion over at the Jewelry Making Forum about the company, Luxe Jewels. I asked members what they thought the pros and cons were of this company.
I’ve already written a few articles about them. One was just a general article about who they were and what they did and the other article was an interview with the CEO Jessica Herrin.
But, recently, Jessica sent me a few kits to review as well as their consultant intro DVD to watch, and it got me thinking more about why or why not this company might appeal to people …read more