Show Me Sunday - Flower Beads with Rebecca of Songbead

Happy Easter everyone! I hope you've all had a lovely, chocolate-filled weekend. I'm afraid that, due to internet problems, this Show Me Sunday will reach some of you a little late. I'm staying away from home and my Mum's internet hasn't been so happy.....But here I am, better late than never, to show you our last few flower beads. (Yes, I know I got very excited about our new April theme, but Sunday is technically still March! Save the water beads for next week....) 

Here are a few of my flower art bead finds from this week:

Wildflower leaf by Beads by Earth Tones

Quatrefoil flowers by Slate Studios Supply

Sunset Hibiscus by Suburban Girl

Next Sunday really will be April, so I'm thinking of April Showers....Show Me Water-themed beads. Rain, clouds, the ocean, rivers, teardrops......think outside the box for this one! My favourite colours are within the blue-green spectrum so I am really looking forward to seeing what you come up with for this coming month. Leave your links in the comments here! Enjoy today, wherever you are spending the extended weekend.

And now for the Bead Blogger links:

A Bead A Day 
Do beads and jewelry making components ever take you on a trip down memory lane? Lisa shares a song inspired by sparkle.

About.com Jewelry Making 
Make a cutie patootie little bunny charm bracelet. 

Art Bead Scene 
Erin takes us through this month's inspiring challenge entries! 

Beading Arts 
Cyndi has her March pieces completed for the Bead Journal Project, and they feature an embroidered form of the Cellini spiral! 

Resin Crafts 
Resin Crafts has a week of how-to's featuring Nunn Design and a great give-a-way for the winter Nunn Design collection. 

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! 
Jean discovered a great offer from Jewelry Making Daily and wants to share it with her readers! 

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton 
Using Now That's a Jig!, Andrew creates a fun ring! 

Rebecca is a Scottish jewellery designer, currently living in Manchester, England. You can read more about her and her work at her blog, songbeads.blogspot.com and see more of her jewellery at songbead.etsy.com. She also has a supplies shop at thecuriousbeadshop.etsy.com.

March Monthly Challenge Blog Tour

Deer in the Forest I by Franz Marc is a shot of color in this otherwise drab time of year. If the snow has already melted where you are, it might very well be rainy and drab and the bright palette in this month's challenge painting really wake me up and make me feel alive and exited for the change of seasons. I need a shot of color in my life and this painting sure fits the bill!

Color was obviously high on the list of those that participated with bright colors mingling with the darker hues of the forest floor but there were also beautiful abstract interpretations and wonderful forest fauna as well. On with the party! I am ready for spring!

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Michelle of Concatenation (above) imagined that the darker areas of the painting hinted at the spring that is about to come and so she made a beautiful multi-layered necklace in the first colors of spring.

We are glad to know that Just Beadey (above) pushed past her initial reaction to the cacophony of color in this painting and found some great lampwork that mimics the faces of the deer hidden in the foliage.

You know, I don't know that I saw the infinity symbols present in this painting until Monique of A Half Baked Notion (above) pointed them out! I love the little infinity connectors, color palette and the wonderful handmade natural clasp made by Monique. So glad to see you participating this month!

Miss Tari of Pearl and Pebble (above) brings together an eclectic assortment of art beads in her very earthy necklace. I love that the focal has a triangular shape that echoes the shapes in the focal painting.

I love the earthy feel of the necklace that Angela Lund-Logan (above) made with a sweet birdie pendant. The rich yellows and browns remind me of the forest floor and I love anything with a positive message!

Miss Malin (above) shares two different pieces inspired by this month's painting. The bracelet features a sweet little fox (which, for the record, I thought was a deer, too!) and some earthy colors. And her earrings are a very clever use of an abstract design focusing on the wind in the trees. Check it out!

So glad to see your creativity shine Miss Molly! Molly (above) of Beautiful Broken Me shares a necklace that she made with her own enamel work in geometric shapes and rustic soldered chain that give this such a great flair. I love the soft colors that she chose and the way the chain she made reminds me of the swirls in the painting and look at that ribbon! So pretty! We hope that you will be back to share with us again real soon!

Miss Marcie of La Bella Joya (above) can certainly do it all, but she is realizing that there is a value in seeking out others to help with your creative vision! She found these amazing art beads that work perfectly with the bright palette. And I just love the fun treatment she gave these beads to make them the highlight of the design.

Bringing the rich rainbow of colors alive, Miss Sara Jo of SJ Designs (above) found this amazing copper enameled focal that really echoes the strong feel of the challenge painting. The strong colors are repeated in the beads and the asymmetric design works perfectly with the abstract painting.

Miss Lynda Moseley of SC Diva (above) captured the frenetic energy of the intersecting lines in the challenge painting in her richly hued leaf shape earrings. I am always impressed with those that push the envelope of their art and Miss Lynda has been coming up some new coloring techniques. So much promise with these new ideas! I hope to see more!

Using the shapes and the bright colors, Miss Mary Ellen of bee tree by m.e. (above) created these chalkboard charms that allowed her to add details of the visible lines in the painting. What a clever idea! The swirls and shapes of the drawings add such a great detail.

Shaiha of Shaiha's Ramblings (above) focused on her favorite of the palette - green - and made a beautiful pair of earrings. The lines of the copper tubes and the radiating shapes of the caps highlight the intersecting lines in the painting in a very wearable piece of jewelry.

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Thank you for submitting your designs to our Flickr gallery for this month's lively challenge painting. There were so many more beautiful interpretations that I didn't find blog posts attached to. Please be sure to share your blog post in your description if you want to be included in the end of the month Blog Tour. Stay tuned for the reveal of the April Challenge!

Rain Bough Dream: A Necklace Tutorial

Featured Designer of the Week: Malin de Koning

Each week the Art Bead Scene features a Designer of the Week. One of our editors picks her favorite from the Monthly Challenge entries. This week's winner is Malin de Koning of Beading by Malin de Koning. You can read about Malin's earrings (and her other ABS Challenge-inspired design) here.

Here's what ABS Editor Rebecca Anderson had to say about Sue's piece:

"I absolutely adore these earrings! I love the vibrant yet rustic shades that Malin has picked out from this month's beautiful challenge piece, I love the painterly texture that the verdigris patina gives MissFickleMedia's swirls, I love their simple elegance and the embellished earwires.....and last (but certainly not least) I love how Malin has set them for this photograph. The thin branch is the perfect place to display these earrings. These are eminently wearable earrings! Fantastic work Malin."

Show Me Sunday - Flower Beads - with Rebecca of Songbead and The Curious Bead Shop

Happy Sunday everyone! It's been a busy week in the travelling Songbead Studio - hop over to my Studio Saturday from yesterday to see why (and for the chance to win a Curious Inspiration Kit to co-odrinate with next month's Art Bead Scene challenge....). 

I decided this week to do an Art Bead Scene Team Treasury - at least for those of us that are on Etsy. Of course, I got to the end and realised I'd missed myself off.....but never mind! You saw enough of my work yesterday, I'm sure ;-) Am I not extremely lucky to be part of such an incredibly talented bunch of ladies? 

This is the last March Show Me Sunday so as we're pushing onto April, I'm thinking of April Showers....Show Me Water-themed beads! Rain, clouds, the ocean, rivers, teardrops......think outside the box for this one! My favourite colours are within the blue-green spectrum so I am really looking forward to seeing what you come up with for this coming month.

'Flower Art Beads' by thecuriousbeadshop

Art Bead Flower finds from the Art Bead Scene Team on Etsy!

Poppy Pendant 1X2 NEW Custom... Moreskyejewels $8	Serenity Lotus Earrings Yoga... ErinSiegelJewe... $35	Blue Poppy Pendant humblebeads $18	Pink Tulip / Framed Tulip Pe... gaea $27.5
Tied to Love / Ceramic Bow a... gaea $29.5	Protea Flower Pendant humblebeads $18	simply blooming - personaliz... TesoriTrovati $10	Rose Pendant 1X3 NEW Custom ... Moreskyejewels $8.5
Willow House Bead humblebeads $12	Calla Lily Pendant 1X3 NEW C... Moreskyejewels $8.5	TUTORIAL Macrame Flower Brac... ErinSiegelJewe... $15	sakura - bloom where you are... TesoriTrovati $18
spring sakura botanical bird... TesoriTrovati $25	RESERVED for the fantastic m... gaea $35.5	Rose Pendant 1X3 NEW Custom ... Moreskyejewels $8.5	Night Dandelion Focal Bead humblebeads $15

Treasury tool supported by the dog house

And now for the Bead Blogger Links. Have a lovely Sunday!

A Bead A Day 
Do you get excited over a particular bead or pendant? You are not alone! Stop by A Bead A Day to help Lisa with a design for her pendant. 

About.com Jewelry Making 
Tammy takes another look at Jewelry Stringing magazine. 

Art Bead Scene 
Brandi pulls out some delicious colour palettes from some of ChelleV2's beautiful handmade ceramic beads. 

Beading Arts 
Cyndi has some process shots from a bead embroidered necklace that she made looooooong ago, and never got around to sharing before! 

Resin Crafts! 
Making a mold and then working with the duplicated item can create stunning new wearable art! 

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! 
Tammy Powley has a super giveaway going on on her blog! Read all about it on Jean's! 

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton 
Andrew started a book club... with a twist! "Inspired by Reading Book Club" is a fun, interactive way to explore literature and create! 

Rebecca is a Scottish jewellery designer, currently living in Manchester, England. You can read more about her and her work at her blog, songbeads.blogspot.com and see more of her jewellery at songbead.etsy.com. She also has a supplies shop at thecuriousbeadshop.etsy.com.

Studio Saturday with Rebecca of Songbead and The Curious Bead Shop

Welcome to Studio Saturday! Each week one of our contributors gives you a sneak peek into their studio, creative process or inspirations. We ask a related question of our readers and hope you'll leave comments! As an incentive we offer a free prize each week to bribe you to use that keyboard. The following week we choose a random winner.

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This weeks winner is...Eclectic Beader

Congratulations! 

You have won a a surprise mystery set of my original handmade lampwork glass beads valued at $25 from Kabs Concepts!

Please send Kerry an email

with your address and she will get it right out to you.

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This week we visit the studio of Rebecca Anderson of Songbead and The Curious Bead Shop

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This week has been a bit of a different one for me - my partner was attending a conference in Milan, Italy and so I went along for the ride. Italy this time of year.....I was expecting sunshine, perhaps not really high temperatures, but certainly not snow and ice, which is what we got! Needless to say, with Helen at the conference and the evil weather which plagued most of our trip, I spent a lot of time indoors at our hotel. Here's the view from our hotel room to prove it. Brrrrr!!

And never one to be unprepared, I always travel with my tools and a selection of beads....so despite the unexpected chilliness, I still managed to have a fun time. Sometimes, that can be the best way to spend a break - tucked up indoors, with nothing you 'should be doing' other than playing with the beads. Here are a few of the pieces I came up with whilst I was away - they couldn't be any more art bead heavy if I tried!

 The Things You Have

{Swoondimples, LyndasLampwork, Golem, SlateStudiosSupply, BoHulleyBeads}

Printer's Drawer Eclectic

{GreenGirlStudios, Golem, EarthShineBeads, SlateStudiosSupply, Jubilee, JeraLunaDesigns}

Spring Scene 

{EarthShineBeads, BoHulleyBeads, BeadyEyedBunny, Golem, CapturedMoments}

Peace 

{KylieParry, MamacitaBeadworks, MissFickleMedia}

See the Stars

{Swoondimples, DianeHawkey, SlateStudiosSupply, Golem, Melanie Brooks}

You can see I managed to stash away PLENTY of art beads in our case to Italy, and the weather meant I really got a chance to use them! A silver lining indeed. 

And here, you can see that in the last day, Milan did redeem itself. Here's the view from the roof of Il Duomo, where you can climb up to and the see the most wonderful views of not only Milan, but the snowy mountains beyond. The weather was lovely - we could even take our jackets off and stretch out at the highest point we were allowed up to. Look at that sky!

So, the other things that have been going on in the Studio are my Curious Inspiration Kits for The Curious Bead Shop. These are specially picked out kits, designed to help you and your muse when it has ground to a bit of a halt. Here are a few, some of which have now completely sold out.

 By the Banks of the Nile

Meadow Sweet 

Bollywood

 I have also started up The Curiosity Club - you might remember from one of my posts last month that I LOVE bead clubs. So I decided to start my own! Each month, members get sent out an exclusive bead kit, sight unseen. I am totally excited by the results that are coming through in our facebook group! If you'd like to join us, I have 6 and 3 month subscriptions available. It's a lovely band of ladies, and we have got members from around the world already! I am going to be offering one lucky reader the chance to win their own Curious Inspiration Kit, worth around £14/$20. This is going to be a special kit that I will make up to co-ordinate with the April Art Bead Scene Challenge! I will be offering these in The Curious Bead Shop as a backdrop on which to set your art beads for the challenge, but the lucky winner this week will get first shot at it.

So my question for you this week is this:

What do you pack up to take with you when you travel? Do you have a set bead kit? What are the bare essentials that you can pare down to? Or do you just leave the beads behind (eek!) and have a break? 

Leave a comment here to be in with the chance to win!

Rebecca is a Scottish jewellery designer, currently living in Manchester, England. You can read more about her and her work at her blog, songbeads.blogspot.com and see more of her jewellery at songbead.etsy.com. She also has a supplies shop at thecuriousbeadshop.etsy.com.

March 2013 Inspiration Art Beads

'Deer In the Forest' by gaea

The March 2013 Art Bead Scene inspiration piece is Deer In The Forest by Marc Franz. Painted in 1911 it has a vibrant energy that jumps off the canvas. Here are some of my choices for equally vibrant art beads that jumped off the screen at me!

Bronze Forest Spirit Pendan... cynthiathornto... $25	Transparent purple lampwork ... Beadwife $18	RED Unique Glass Bead Headp... NadinArtGlass $12	Magpie bird bead, borosilica... elisethomas $24
D11L Glass Art Cabochon Japa... GlassArtCaboch... $8	THANKFUL No.2 Lampwork Glas... FlamingFoolsLa... $16	Rainbow Owl / Ceramic Owl Pe... gaea $24.5	Deer Antler Beads- Your Choi... Furries $14.95
Bronze leaf connector, bronz... THEAtoo $6	1.5" Watercolor Rust Go... JLynnJewels $8.5	Talon in Copper Eagle Dragon... edenartglass $12	Leaf Bead, Handmade Polymer ... somethingtodob... $1.75
Fiber fabric Bead Red cherry... NellsEmbroider... $10.5	Handmade Bird Bead, Hand-pai... somethingtodob... $3.5	Enamel Beads in Purples Torc... edenartglass $13.5	Bronze Woodland Deer Pendan... cynthiathornto... $25

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