This is a beautiful pendant to give to that lucky little girl, or big girl, in your life. It only takes a couple of easy steps to create this little blue angel. All you really need are a few beads, a chain and some angel wings.
You will have lots of fun making your own angel. The pattern is for a blue angel, but you can use any color beads you desire. I have made about five of them and they look great in any color.
Here is what you will need to get started:

A 1 ½ to 2 inch head …read more

I’ve discovered that browsers at my yard sales frequently are looking for beads and other craft supplies. My granddaughter had several containers of beads she no longer needed, so placed them in the yard sale this weekend.
My curiosity often gets the better of me, and I ask what the customer plans to do with them. This leads to interesting and informative conversations.
Various uses for beads acquired at yard sales:

Enlarge an art supply stash
An art teacher planned several beading projects and found these perfect for what she had in mind.
A homeschooling mom thought the colorful beads would be great for teaching …read more

Recently my daughter Beth tried her hand at felting, an interesting fiber art.  She had watched the latest season of Quilting Arts TV and became fascinated by Beryl Taylor’s machine felting.
Beth doesn’t have a felting machine, so she did hers by using hand felters.  Then she added beading and decorative stitching.
For more details about her felting ventures and more photos, including close-ups, visit her Meandering Threads blog.
What have been your experiences with felting?

I always enjoy having my readers share their ideas about various craft topics, including what projects they’re working on and providing tips that might help others.
Shawnery commented on my post, Organizing Beads and Embellishments, and shared her inexpensive methods of storing these items:
When I first started, we didn’t have a lot of spare money so buying a lot of new containers was out of the question. We were on [a] diet at the time so we ate a lot of eggs. I had a ton of the two dozen egg containers laying around and it turns out to be the perfect containers. …read more

 QuiltingAndPatchwork.com
  More quilters are discovering the fascination of art quilts, those you hang on the wall and use for decorative effect.  You might place them on a bed but generally use only for adornment.  Perhaps you’ll use fabric art pieces in clothing, too.
To embellish their art quilts, quilters and fabric artists often choose beads and buttons, some of which they may make themselves.  I ran a poll to determine whether my readers are into this type of embellishment.
Question – Do You Use Beads and Buttons to Embellish Your Quilts?
10%  – Yes, frequently
70% – Yes, occasionally
20% – No, never
It would seem …read more

Responses I’ve received to my post, Beading Retreats – Do Quilters Attend These? inspired me to set up a poll at Quilting & Patchwork.
Check it out and let me know your thoughts.  Also, share in the comments, your experiences with using beads and/or buttons in your quilting and quilting art.
I’ve asked:  Do you use beads and buttons to embellish your quilts? 
You can choose the following answers:
Yes, frequently
Yes, occasionally
No, never

Cyndi at Layers Upon Layers announced, “I’m going on a beading retreat.“ 
Now I’ve heard of many types of retreats, but never one for beaders before.  I’m looking forward to Cyndi’s report about her trip to this event about halfway across the USA from where she lives.
Quilters have begun to find beads important as embellishments in their work.  My daughter collects beads and even makes them to add interest to her quilt hangings and fabric art.
                                                         
What have you been doing with beads?  Have you ever attended a “beading retreat?”

   You won’t want to miss the Arts and Design Channel’s Showcase.  The theme this month is Christmas in July, and it’s hosted by Tammy Powley at her Jewelry and Beading blog.
Here you’ll find many arts and crafty ideas for starting your holiday shopping and creating during Christmas in July season, thus getting a head start to avoid the last minute rush in December.
At Quilting and Patchwork, I’ve given a number of sites where you can find quilting patterns, supplies and ideas, along with books to read and help you create.  You’ll find these here at Quilters Think Christmas Thoughts in …read more

One of the attractive innovations in the quilting and fabric art world consists of adding beads, buttons, and other adornment or embellishment to your project. 
Some of these involve using only a few beads (of different types, colors, and sizes) for highlights.  With other projects, the quilt artist may almost cover entirely the fabric surface. 
How about expanding your creativity with beads and buttons interwoven into your art?  I’d enjoy hearing what you’re doing.

As I looked at Tammy’s  post and the colorful beads, Looking 4 Easter Jewelry,  at Jewelry & Beading, I wondered how many quilters and fabric artists were incorporating beads into their Easter projects.  I’ve discovered, as I’ve watched my daughter with her art work, that beads have begun to play a large roll as embellishments. 
Now I’m on the lookout for beads when browsing second hand shops and yard sales.  I was thrilled not long ago to find a whole box of these little gems.  And the box was separated into little compartments for the various size and shape beads. 
            How are you …read more