If you had it in mind to learn a new technique or two this summer, but you still haven’t gotten started on that goal, here’s something to consider.  There are lots of sites where you can buy a kit or a pattern, where you will learn in excruciating detail how to perform a certain task.  Sometimes we just need it in excruciating detail, huh?
Earring kit by Laura McCabe available from Beads East
For example, my friend Dulcey Heller creates kits and patterns for a site called simply Buy the Kit.  Despite the name, they also sell “bead-less kits”, a clever way …read more

The forum at Beading Daily has come up with a first-ever forum challenge for beaders: You are hereby challenged to create something out of beads or create beads themselves that are inspired by flowers. Some participants plan to actually create a flower out of seed beads, but the intent isn’t to limit you to any particular medium or technique.
The deadline is July 18, 2009, so hurry!
All the information on entering the contest can be found at the Beading Daily website.  Scroll down to the 3rd message for the official rules.  There are prizes being offered, so get your entry in …read more

Here’s a few close up detail shots of the necklace I finished last week.  I thought some process shots would help:

Artist: Francisca Bastos
Website: Francisca Bastos Design
For almost 25 years, I have worked with stones in every shape and color, originating in different mines in Brazil and coming straight to my hands. As I receive them, they are transformed into jewelry, handmade with 18kt gold. Pearls, corals, mother of pearl, and amber, to name a few, are all organic in themselves. Pearls have their own light, which has fascinated humanity for thousands of years, amber carries energy within itself, corals bring the sea in their soul, as well as mother of pearl. The gold comes directly from …read more

As part of our on-going emphasis on education this year, I want to share some previous posts that may help you fill in some gaps! From creativity to color, from design elements to jewelry school, these resources can point you in the right direction.
Do you want to design for yourself?
This is the conclusion of my series of articles, with links to all the previous articles
Beadwork basics online
Dictionaries, glossaries, and encyclopedias of jewelry making info online
Creativity online
Color training and tools online
Jewelry design tools and articles online
Jewelry class listings by geography
Beading shows with classes
Design school directory

Carmi’s Art/Life World
Carmi makes some felt bundles for rings!
Snap out of it, Jean! There’s beading to be done!
When beadist Kim Miles comes up with some new ideas, they are always fantastic! Check these out!
About.com Jewelry Making
Tammy takes a look in her jewelry box and picks out her top 10 jewelry projects for 2008.
Art Bead Scene
ABS Editor Cindy Gimbrone shares her favorite post from 2008. Junk Envy!

My friend Tammy Powley has written an article on jewelry jobs for About.com’s Job Searching site. She covers quite a few different career paths that you can consider besides the obvious “jewelry designer”… not that there’s anything wrong with that!

Image: Tammy Powley

We’ve discussed it here before. But somehow the anger that we feel when someone copies our work (and then tries to undercut our prices and outsell us, the nerve) never seems to be less of a shock. We want to see a large heavy object fall from the sky and crush them, but it rarely does. When we visited the Island of Murano, Italy last spring, I talked with a glass artist there who told me that he had a list of nationalities that he would not even sell to, because he knew that all they wanted …read more

Fine Silver Link, Pearl, and Crystal Earrings
Artist: Tammy Powley
Location: South Florida
Website & Blog:
About.com Jewelry Making
Crafty Princess Diaries
[Editor's note - As the Jewelry Making guide at About.com, Tammy provides many projects for her readers.  She has graciously chosen images to share with you for which there are instructions!!  The link is below each picture.  Thanks so much, Tammy!]
Tammy, how do you describe your work?
My jewelry designs are usually petite and practical. I like to make jewelry that I find comfortable to wear, and I’m too klutzy to wear anything overly large. While I don’t totally “diss,” trends, I lean more towards …read more

Artist: Linda Kaye-Moses
Linda Kaye-Moses has been creating jewels since 1976 and in 1996 she became a Certified Precious Metal Clay artisan. She has shown her work in galleries and shows across the country including the Smithsonian Craft Show, ACC Craft Fairs, and The Paradise City Arts Festivals. Linda’s art has also been published in Art Jewelry Today and Art Jewelry Today I, Creative Metal Clay Jewelry, Fabulous Jewelry from Found Objects, PMC Decade, and Making Metal Beads. She is currently writing a book on metal clay, tentatively titled: Jewelry Arts Workshop: Making Pure Silver Beads with Metal …read more