Welcome to Inside the Studio!
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.
Congratulations Kathy Lindemer! You have won a pendant of The King, aka Elvis from Tari Sasser of Creative Impressions In Clay.
Please send Tari an email with your information.
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Phew! I am at the end of a looooong fortnight and am ready for the weekend. Extremely ready! I had a full-on working weekend last weekend which you can read about over on my own blog if you are interested (the 'song' bit of Songbead had some action), and so I feel like I've been dashing around in the hamster wheel of life relentlessly for quite a while, what with one thing and another. You know that feeling when you complete one task, only to have another one loom its ugly head up almost immediately? That's what this past month has been like - satisfyingly (bordering on overwhelmingly!) busy.
One of the things that has kept me busy over the past two weeks has been these rather marvellous czech glass beads which I am currently stocking over at The Curious Bead Shop.
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| My work table today. |
They are pretty hard to get hold of, and so I was thrilled when my supplier restocked in colours I had bought previously, and then last week had an offering new colours! Yuuuuuummmm. These are *such* beautiful beads - I cannot enthuse enough about them. The perfect addition to your art bead-laden jewellery! Just look at the scrummy colours I have in stock ~
I am so happy to have such a lovely range of colours - they are perfect for my rustic, whimsical narrative jewellery and I am snaffling quite a few of these away for my own Songbead designs. It seems like Spring has only just begun, but before I know it, it will be the summer and craft fair madness will set in again! My first fair of the season is in June, which is really not that far off....
Along with Czech glass, I've also been stocking up on Art Beads. I mean, as if I need to....I have enough art beads to last me until the end of the century, I'm pretty sure! Here are some lovelies that have arrived recently or will be arriving with me soon. Try not to be too jealous....;-)
I am a colour-a-holic, as you can see from the above! I think these colours will go perfectly with my new pansy beads too. Vibrant, cheerful and fun!
So, my question to you is - what art beads have you bought - or made! - recently? What's on your wish list if you haven't bought recently - what beads are you dreaming of for your summer designs? Share your favourites in the comments below! My prize for you is a selection of the pansy blooms from The Curious Bead Shop :-)
Have a fabulous weekend!
Rebecca is a Scottish jewellery designer, currently living in Belfast, Northern Ireland. 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.
31 comments:
I've recently started making my own art beads from paperclay. I'm loving every minute of it! Not enough hours in the day now though.
Thanks for the feature, Rebecca! I've got a heap of blooms in my Etsy cart!
Love these blooms, just ordered some! Well, I'm quite a color lover too, and when I came back home there was a parcel from Round Rabbit with some really colorful mushroom pendants and other beads, and right now I'm filling my cart at her update!
My wish list is ever growing... ^^ I would love finally to start incorporating resin in my polymer clay beads and am sooo tempted to get some art glass beads with rustic surfaces. Just if the shipping costs exceeds the price for the beads itself... mh... I reconsider :/
Love those bloomin' beads, Rebecca! I've been focusing on etching small copper discs to use as links, pendants, and two holed buttons.
Addiction Alert!
Lynda
Recently I bought beads to go with some blue, white, and copper lampwork beads I've had for ages. It just so happens that the whole group matches a goldstone pendant I picked up somewhere along the way. Gotta love bead serendipity.
I also want to try my hand at fiber beads. I have a zillion and one ribbons, some fabric, and little yarn remnants for this project.
I have got a sleeping fox from Tree Wings studio that needs my attention and also a super pretty heap of Bo Hulley beads of course :-) xx
I just bought a sugar skull pendant made from silver copper clay by Andrew Thornton. I have a bit of a sugar skull fetish--I already have several others, but none in silver, so I'm running to the mailbox every day to see if it's arrived.
Love all the colours! Being colour mad myself, those beads have loads of appeal! What's in my stash? A couple of lovely Moogin beads in springy colours that need my attention, and, as of later this evening (once I've been to a local bead show) one or two gorgeous art beads from Stephanie Dieleman - a lampwork artist from my neck of the woods =) You can see some of her gorgeous beads here - https://www.etsy.com/shop/stephaniebeads
Her beads work well for next month's water theme, too!
Oh i love those new beads...have been inspirationless for a while and these I am sure would have me creating. I love art focals by Bo Hulley and I have quite a few!
I'm pretty sure I faved a few of your awesome blooms last time, Rebecca (and I am not even a "flower person", I just think they are some of the most beautiful Czech glass available). I have a serious addiction for earthy porcelain and stoneware beads, especially Szilvia's little houses (Elukka) and the organic beads made by Ingrid (Potterygirl1).
I've been waiting for some beads to arrive from Blueberribeads and I just ordered a couple of things from Jade Scott. And last month I got some Humblebeads, which I love! I keep being tempted by the lovely new Czech beads -- these blooms for one! Wish I had an unlimited budget, don't we all??!!
I've never made art beads and I've banned myself from Etsy after a particularly dangerous splurge on art beads so I haven't even bought any recently. But you, Rebecca, are the reason I started buying art beads :)
All those pansies are lovely! It appears to me I am most addicted to Jade Scott and Round Rabbit. I have orders from them on the way and am also hoarding a good deal of their work. One fun thing recently is that I got a polymer clay pendant by Linda Landig that she has just started offering on Facebook. I love her use of color. I also recently got my first beads from Moogin beads. I've wanted those for a long time!
I tend to get a lot of art beads. The last ones I got were from Blueberry Beads, some from Studio Jewels and L.A Jewelry.
Ooooh those blooms are so pretty, that blue so up my alley. There is some lampwork on the way to me from the US and the UK at the moment and I should really get to listing some of all the polymer I've made to help offset that incoming :)
Hi Rebecca, you have been so busy ! But not too busy to order some of these beautiful beads for yourself and us. I too am looking forward to using mine asap.
I have "projects" put together with Thea, Bo Hulley and Scorched Earth art beads, just waiting to be strung. Loads more favourited and waiting to be purchased on Etsy..... Addictive, the beautiful art beads....
Yesterday I made my first polymer clay flattish beads and hope to paint/use them later today.
I recently purchased some really cool art beads from HappyFishThings on Etsy. They are great. I haven't made anything with them yet. Sometimes it takes time to find the right components that feel right with special beads.
Today I am making some earbobs from some metal buttons that I hammered and riveted.
I created some fun pendants using resin glitter, sequins and bugle beads -all glittery and fun
awww!!! such cute beads!! I cannot help but be very jealous of you ;) these are lovely beads!!
-Berina
Moxie Craftie
Love love love the new pansy beads! I am a huge Tree Wings Studios and Humblebeads fan! I love the creativity and versatility of all their lovelies! In all honesty...I do not discriminate against any Art Beads! I love them all!!!!!
Angi Mullis dj2isme@aol.com
I'm so jealous of your recent purchases. My little budget would not allow all these goodies. But I did purchase a pair of leather feathers made by Tree Wings Studio. I have a habit of letting my new purchases sit for a while and as time goes by they usually tell me what they want to become.
I love your colorful czech flower beads!
Making my tangled web beads with copper and steel wire is always fun along with hammering old metal buttons. As far as those I purchase - well I don't think there's enough room to list all my favorite bead and lampwork artisans!!
The flower beads are so pretty I want to put them on a stem and bunch them in a vase!
Oh! Rebecca I am so jealous! I love your new flower beads and can't wait to make an order with you! But for now I am going to have to dream about them as we just made a big move to a new state and are just getting settled. So loved your article and all the beads are just beautiful!
Take Care of yourself! Cheer's
I recently bought some lamp worked disc beads from Redside Designs which I love and she also has cold worked spike beads. I don't know how they are made but she is amazing! I have lots of new enameled beads in saturated colors in my Etsy shop, www.beadswedesupplies.etsy.com.
I love Tree Wings critter beads and have several of them. Plus I just got a Whimsy bracelet bead/connector from Melonda Orr on Artisan Whimsy. There's so many others I love, but have to save up for. I can't wait to start creating with the ones I have for right now.
Love those flowers! So pretty.
My wish list is always growing... I want all the pretty art beads! LOL. I just received a lovely luna moth set from Kerri Fuhr (I've been lusting after her beads forever) and while I was on the Bead Cruise I bought a ton of yummy beads from Heather Powers.
Turquoise and orange are always my go to with summer beading, but this year I am adding a load of white beads. Maybe I will be wearing a lot of white this summer. I hope it is a hot one!
I have just bought some of these gorgeous blooms and am loving mixing them with some upcycled vintage glass beads too!
I recently went to a local bead show. I only bought art beads this time. I got some polymer clay beads from Turtle Soup Beads, a beautiful lampwork focal from Whitney Lassiter, a house bead and word bead from Diane Hawkey. And I always have a wish list. :)
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