Since it’s the beginning of a brand new year, I thought we should think about the past for a moment. After all, if we’re going to set new year’s resolutions (yeah, yeah, I know it’s corny, but I do it!), shouldn’t we think back and reflect on what has actually worked for us in the past?
As far as my art and jewelry career goes, the best advice I ever got was to enter contests and calls for entries, especially those that cost me nothing but time. Why the heck not? Not winning doesn’t really hurt that much, …read more

Guest author: James L Fraser, Jr
Finding the person you want to settle down with for the rest of your life is one of the most important things you will ever have to do. People find all sorts of ways to ask “Will You Marry Me” and it doesn’t always include diamond engagement rings. You can come up with some really creative and original ideas when it comes to proposing and save yourself a handsome sum on the cost of diamond jewelry. Here are some of the unique ways people have popped the question.
1) This one is pretty interesting. Most of …read more

Sample bracelets by Tammy
Back a couple of years ago, Tammy Powley wrote about a bad experience she had in sharing information with a “friend”. We can probably all relate to the feeling that someone else has used you…it stinks.
My personal feelings on sharing and copycats have always been mixed. On the one hand, I do write about making jewelry for a living, so when I’ve put a tutorial out there, I expect to answer questions about it, including sources, and I obviously want people to feel free to follow my instructions and make a piece for themselves. On the …read more

Make Art Monday!

Those of us who are true collectors of beads and baubles are never at a loss when we travel to a new place. We just instinctively know that we must take something home with us to help us remember…and if it already has a hole through it, so much the better! These places we travel to may be exotic ports of call or our very own local hardware store. True collectors find treasures wherever we go. And we are certainly not above drilling a hole ourselves if necessary!
So let’s get started on this beautiful Make Art Monday! Dig …read more

Tammy Powley has a poll and a question thread running right now about your goals for 2008!  It’s not too late to get in on the discussion and to vote.  She’s interested in hearing about what you plan to learn or concentrate on in 2008 as far as your jewelry making goes.   It’s really interesting to read through the responses too…it might give you some new ideas if you’re running short of your own inspiration 

I just wanted to let you in on a little non-secret: I keep on track much better and work much more efficiently when I’ve got a plan. I very rarely just start throwing beads around and “see what happens”. Sometimes, but rarely. I almost never just sit down and start writing with no idea where I’m going. Sometimes it doesn’t turn out exactly like I expected, but I’ve almost always got a plan.
So, for 2008, I wanted to let you in on another non-secret: I’m going to be following a loosely devised plan for my posts on Jewelry and Beading. …read more

My Dear Bead Readers, 
This isn’t necessarily good-bye to the blogosphere because I still have my About.com Jewelry Making site as well as Fat and 40, but unfortunately, I have to say good-bye to blogging over here at b5media’s Jewelry and Beading blog.
This was my very first blog, started over 2 years ago when I was blogging with About Weblogs, which eventually merged with b5media, so this was not an easy decision to make at all. I’ve been stressing over it for a good long time.
However, I have so many other exciting opportunities as far as my writing and teaching career …read more

Grab your beads, wire, metal, and more and get ready for inspiration to hit – zing! – this November at the Jewelry and Beading Blog.
About this time of year is when we seriously start getting into some jewelry making. The holidays are near, but we still have some time to experiment and be creative before those presents are due or those special customer orders are rolling in. If you are looking for inspiration or even if you’re not you’ll find it here this month….starting with….
My More is Better Necklace! This is a great way to use a mixture …read more

Halloween is one of my all time favorite holidays, so I think it’s worth dedicating my blog posts here for the month of October. As someone who as a child used to dress up all the time – whether I was a cowgirl or show-girl – Halloween was extra special because everyone was dressing up and pretending to be someone else for a change, not just me. Plus, since I live in Florida, it’s the time of the year when it finally gets a tad on the cooler side, as in not 90 degrees.
I’ve got a lot of great Halloween …read more

 The Schmooze Award was the original creation of Mike at Gummy the Lovesick Alien:
Schmoozing as defined by Dictonary.com is the ability “to converse casually, especially in order to gain an advantage or make a social connection.” When it comes to blogging, schmoozing is your ticket to making new friends, getting yourself noticed and building a reputation. Some bloggers are gifted with the ability to effectively schmooze and others not so much. My new friend Danielle and I would like to recognize those bloggers who exhibit strong schmoozing skills. In order to do so we’ve created the new Power of Schmooze …read more