June Monthly Challenge Recap

For the month of June we were guided by this beautiful art nouveau woman reading in a garden resplendent with rosebuds from a literary magazine cover. The tangles of yellow roses set against the navy blue field and the olive background with the soothing turquoise dress, her ginger hair punctuated by the pops of orange make for a dynamic color palette with a lot of subject matter to enthrall.

Enjoy the beautiful creations inspired by this art!



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Changes coming to Bead and Button 2017

This time change is a good thing for exhibitors, teachers, and customers.

For those of you not familiar with the Bead and Button Show, the show typically runs for 11 days, this year the show ran from June 3-13. According to Bead and Button staff many attendees stay 6-7 days, there are not many of us that have the budget or time to spend 11 days away from home. As an exhibitor I am concerned that the show attendees would be headed home just as the Bead & Jewelry Marketplace begins. Any serious beader who has attended Bead and Button knows that it takes more than a day to walk the show floor.

Several of my customers verbalized their frustration with the show schedule as well. If the Bead & Jewelry Marketplace was important to them, then they had to pick classes scheduled reasonably close to when the Marketplace would be open. However, if there was an important class or master class they had been waiting to take, and it was scheduled when the event began, that customer would be heading home before the Marketplace opened. 

Bead and Button has been listening and Sara Dumford, the Director of Events at Kalmbach Publishing, was kind enough to share some more of her insights into the changes coming in 2017 with me last week.

Next years show will run from Sunday, June 4th to Sunday, June 11th 2017. The shows duration will be going from 11 days to 8 days. Sara said that the schedule is being adjusted to create a more balanced show and give all attendees the opportunity to take part in every aspect of the show. Speaking for myself as an exhibitor this will also give me the opportunity to attend more of the evening events and perhaps classes as well. In previous years some of the events had happened before I had even arrived in Milwaukee.

The schedule for 2017 is as follows: 

Classes will run from Sunday, June 4th to Sunday, June 11th.

Moonlight Madness will be held Tuesday, June 6, 2017 from 9:00-11:00pm.

Meet the Teachers Reception will be held Friday, June 9, 2017 from 8:00pm-10:30pm.

  

The Big Bead and Jewelry Bash will take place on Saturday, June 10, 2017 from 7:30-10:30pm.

Bead & Jewelry Marketplace schedule is as follows:

Preview Shopping for Registered Attendees: 

Thursday, June 8, 2017, 4:00pm-8:00pm

Open to the Public:

Friday, June 9, 2017, 10:00am-7:00pm

Saturday, June 10, 2017, 10:00am-6:00pm

Sunday, June 11, 2017, 10:00am-4:00pm

This is a great photo of Meet the Teachers night 2016, I heard it was an exciting night, and very well attended. Unfortunately I did not go this year, I had finished a class at 4pm, drove back to my AirBNB, and I was down for the night. With next years schedule this event will be an hour after the Bead & Jewelry Marketplace closes on Friday, so it will be much more convenient for me to  stick around and attend.    

Here are some photos of Make and Takes and Demos that were on the show floor this year and will continue to be next year. These are great opportunities for newbies to the world of jewelry making, its like getting a free class. Even if you have jewelry making experience, these events offer a peek at new techniques and materials that will further inspire your creativity.

Speaking of learning, in the months to come there will be more information coming from Bead and Button about workshops, as they gather class proposals from instructors.

This is Heather Trimlett teaching a lampworking class. She is definitely on my bucket list. I have never taken a lampworking class at Bead and Button, but that looks like a great set up for the torches.

I am already signed up to exhibit next year, and looking forward to a successful and fun show. I am very happy with the changes made in the 2017 schedule, I hope you are as well.

Monday Muse & Beady Link Party

Happy Monday Everybody! So I have a color crush and it's been bad lately. Inspired by the desert blooms of cactus and succulents all I want to dusty sage greens, faded turquoise, peach, melon and dull shades of pink. Yep, that's my muses' current happy place.

Inspiration palette from Design Seeds - Cacti Color 9

First up, i'll share my take on the color inpsiration with this new Oblong Cactus Pendant that I created this weekend. You can see more on this theme in my Etsy shop.

Outwest captured all those dreamy desert hues in this mixed set of spacer and disk beads. What a fun collection of beads for earrings!

I love the rustic quality of these polymer clay beads by BeatnHeart, aptly named Sedona.

Enamel headpins by Shimmer Beads Design capture the shades of succulent plants. 

Can't have a Southwest theme without a feather, can we? I like this earthy one from SuzieQBeads.

I just discovered Wildlands Artisty and you really need to stop over and see the ceramic pendants and tiny animals. They are all sold as finished jewelry with chains or cords, but you could easily add them to a jewelry design of your own. I'm smitten with this Indian Paintbrush Pendant. 

These, just these. Let's file these amazing charms under NEEDZ from the amazing Scorched Earth.

NaOsGlass created these lampwork beads that fit my theme perfectly, the colors look like there were taken right from the inspiration piece. And silvered lampwork glass, always a fav of mine!

Beady Link Party
New for Mondays! We invite our readers to share their blog post links with us each week. As long as they feature jewelry or beads, share your favorite post from last week with us. We hope this will inspire you to blog a little more often and bring our community closer together.

1. Please only post blog new links each week. *

2. Visit at least two other blog links and leave a comment. We want to grow our blogging community and encourage you connect with each other.

3. You have until Wednesday each week to share your blog post.

We want to connect more with our readers! Join the party and share you latest beady blog link.

Haven't blogged in a while? It's the perfect time to share what you have been up to, what you find inspiring, your creative process, interview a favorite beadmaker, review a beady book - get creative and get blogging!

The beady link party is open to jewelry designers, beadmakers and group bead blogs.

Share you link using the "Add a Link" Inlinkz button below.

*We ask for fresh links, if you have a post that you haven't shared with us yet but it's a few weeks old, that's cool.  

An InLinkz Link-up

Bead and Button 2016 Artisans

Hey everyone, I'm home from the Bead and Button Show in Milwaukee and attempting to get back into the swing of things. My next show is not until August, when I will be exhibiting at Bead Fest in Oaks, PA. So I am looking forward to some time to catch up on inventory, my garden, and still unpacking boxes from last years move.

                                          The Wisconsin Center, home of Bead and Button

I did a little giveaway post on Facebook before I left, I asked my friends to leave a comment about what they would be interested in reading about regarding the Bead and Button Show. Sorry that post did not get a lot of news feed time, I'm still learning all the Facebook tricks. The comments fell into two categories, one was about participating in a show from the perspective of an exhibitor, show preparation, and ways to market and display our work. I was flattered that my Facebook friends wanted to know how it felt from my side of the table. I will answer these questions in a future post about preparing for shows in general. The second most common question which I will address today, was an interest in the Artisans that create handmade beads. This inquiry made me happy since that is what I do, and heck this is what Art Bead Scene is all about.

I am going to introduce you to a small sampling of Artisans that were exhibiting at Bead and Button this year, it does not scratch the surface. But all of these Artisans make what they sell, have a quality product, and each and every one of them are not only multi-talented but truly wonderful people.

So get comfy with your morning beverage, its going to be a long post with lots of pictures.

                                                  This is Marsha of Marsha Neal Studio

This is only a small sampling of her porcelain and stoneware beads. Marsha's booth is a one stop shop, she has everything her customers need to make a piece of jewelry on the spot. I'm taking notes, she is one smart business woman.

But what makes Marsha's exhibit not just a booth but a destination, is the fact that she shares the booth space with Nikki Thornberg-Lanigan of Thornberg Bead Studio.

These ladies smile and laugh all the time,  my customers often tell me about the "fun booth," of course I know they are talking about Nikki and Marsha. These ladies are not only a good match personality wise, but their beads also work well together when customers are designing on the fly.

Nikki makes amazing lampwork beads, I have a background in lampwork, so I truly appreciate her work, here are some of her new bird creations.

Take note of booth #608 in the photo above, Marsha and Nikki will be in the same spot next year at Bead and Button 2017. They will also be sharing a booth at Bead Fest 2016 in Oaks, PA this August. I will be there too, its great being able to touch base with fellow exhibitors and friends throughout the year.

If you like Raku you will love Amy Mealey of Xaz Beads. Amy is one of my neighbors at The To Bead True Blue Show in Tucson. I love her textures and organic shapes, my favorites are her nugget beads. 

Check out the photos, the colors and metallic luster speaks for itself. 

Please visit Xaz Beads to see all the pendant and bead choices Amy has to offer. Amy will be exhibiting at the new Bead Fest in Tacoma, Washington in October of this year, I will be there too. 

Here are photos of those Xaz Raku Nugget beads that I love.

This Artisan is also a fellow contributor on Art Bead Scene, Michelle Ann McCarthy of Firefly Design Studio.

Michelle had so many new things to offer this year, which is what our customers want to see at every show. My favorites are these headpin sets. Michelle's pieces all coordinate so well together, if you need a beach themed focal for a necklace to match these headpins, she has it. More notes I need to take, my customers are always looking for matched jewelry sets.

Michelle has been my neighbor the past two years at Bead Fest in August, so it is a regular thing now.  Michelle will be in booth #550A and Gardanne Beads, that me, will be right next door in booth #552. Please stop by and say hello.

I think I like ceramic beads, because I am seeing a trend here. Even though the materials are the same, the variety is endless, that is the beauty of handmade. 

My next Artisan is Diane Hawkey please click the link to see the variety of artwork Diane creates, because a couple photos just does not begin to cover it.  When I first started exhibiting at bead shows I noticed that Diane not only offered beads, but also other pieces of ceramic art for the home. A smart move that I am starting to see other artists do at bead shows.

These were some new mini works of art Diane had this year at Bead and Button. I believe Diane will also be at Bead Fest this August.

The last two Artisans are also my neighbors at the To Bead True Blue Show in Tucson. I met Vlad of Golem Studio for the first time at my first Bead and Button show three years ago. Vlad is from Bulgaria, and we are so lucky that he travels to shows in the US to share his beads, pendants, and cabs. 

Here are a couple of new pendant styles that Vlad had to offer this year at Bead and Button. I just noticed the tulips in that tulip pendant look just like my enameled tulip bud caps, I hope I was as observant while making my purchases at Bead and Button.

I know I keep mentioning Bead Fest this August, but this will be the first time that Golem Studio will be exhibiting at Bead Fest on the East Coast. So now you really have to attend the show.

Last and certainly not least is another international Artisan from Russia. Anna of Anna Bronze, Anna carves each design and her husband Slava casts the designs into brass and bronze findings.

I first met Anna and Slava at the To Bead True Blue Show in Tucson, Vlad from Golem Studio was our translator. My jaw dropped when I saw Anna's work for the first time. the variety and the detail in her work was unreal. That's Anna and her beautiful daughter Alice at their Bead and Button display this year.  Look at that display, every single little square on those boards represents a different choice of finding and design, see for yourself visit Anna Bronze. 

 I  am drawn to designs that look like they belong in my garden, just like Anna's pod-like creations in the photo above. One of the most clever features of Anna's findings, especially her pendants and connectors, is that she has multiple hidden loops built into the design of the piece. So when creating jewelry there are so many design options.

These skull designs are brand new, I see a lot of bead embroidery applications for so many of her pieces. 

If that was not enough, if you see some lampwork glass with her findings on her Facebook page, she has most likely made the lampwork glass too.  Anna and Slava will be at Bead Fest in August, in Oaks, PA.

Remember all you need is one handmade bead in your jewelry designs, and you will have a unique piece of jewelry that no one else has. 

If all goes as planned I will be writing a post next week about changes coming to the Bead and Button Show for 2017, so stay tuned.

Win a Signed Copy of the Bead-Making Lab

I'm so excited about the release of my 3rd book, the Bead-Making Lab. I had such a blast creating projects using everything from polymer clay to paper mache, from rope to wire, to shrink plastic, felt, resin, stones and wood and so much more! 

I created 52 projects - you could do one a week if you felt ambitious! The projects are geared toward beginners and all with materials found in your local craft store.

Along with the projects there are interviews sprinkled throughout the book with professional beadmakers.

If you have ever wanted to try your hand at making your own beads, this book is filled with inspiration and ideas! 

You can win a sign copy in two places:

My Blog

My Instagram 

Perfect Pairings :: Terris Blooming Ideas + Tesori Trovati

I love the softness of the falling leaves/petals in this design. They are punctuated by the pops of the buttery yellow and the texture of the tiny silver flower beads, which I especially love. The pendant works well with these elements and reinforces the garden palette. Such a pretty melange of colors and textures! 

Featured Designer :: Terris Blooming Ideas

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Featured Bead Artists :: Tesori Trovati

We are now using Pinterest! 

You can find more details in this post about the exciting new changes,
including a board devoted to art beads inspired by the monthly challenge!
(Ooh! Look! More pretty beads to lust after!)

Pretty please make sure that you post a link in your Pinterest description
so that I have someplace to attribute the picture! 

And don't forget to tell us about those art beads - providing links to bead makers is appreciated!

Deadline June 28th to get your pictures posted to the Pinterest boards for the creation of the Monthly Challenge Recap post for June 30th.

TIP: If you upload your photo rather than pin it from your blog or shop, edit the pin (the little pencil button) and add your link as the source. Save your edits. This will allow us to click directly on your photo and go to your blog or shop to read more about your entry. If you don't, I might not be able to access the photo to share it.

Jewelry Monthly Challenge Entries

Beads Monthly Challenge Entries

Summer Fun Mermaid Necklace by Michelle McCarthy

This was my 5th year exhibiting at the Bead and Button Show in Milwaukee, WI.  Since I man my booth on my own, I don't get a lot of shopping time.  So that means I usually pick up artist goodies that are my booth neighbors and that's a great thing!  I love all things nautical and sea life, so I had to have this cute little mermaid made by fellow ceramic bead artist, Diane Hawkey.  I paired up the green in her tail to a green scallop shell and 10mm bead that I made.  This necklace combines many of my favorite techniques: wire wrapping, knotting with waxed linen and a sea theme.  Here are my supplies gathered up:

I assembled the pendant first.  I like 20g wire the best.  It doesn't hurt my fingers when working with it and it holds it shape pretty well.  Leave the tails long after wrapping your loops.  To cover the wire loop in the scallop shell, I curved the wire into a spiral and pressed it over the wire loop to hide it.  To get the look of the wire wrap around the spacer and gemstone bead, just loosely wrap the wire around them in a downward motion and secure the wire wrap around the bottom wrap.  I think this adds a bit of pizzazz.

Next I cut a 24" piece of beige waxed linen.  At the middle point, I over hand knotted it to the mermaids top loop.  Then lay out your gemstone beads in a pattern you like.  Now you simply string and overhand knot between each bead.  I did 2 knots between each bead because the bead holes were a bit larger.  I finished off the design with a piece of chain.  I think it is comfortable to have chain around the neck area and it is a good "fill in" when you only have a partial bead strand to work with like I did here.  I decided to put the toggle on the side for fun and added a pop of the green there with a ceramic spacer bead.

Instead of cutting the wax linen close to the knot, I left the tails long and tied a feminine little bow there.  Since waxed linen is lightly coated with wax, you don't need to glue the knots.  The wax seals the knot securely.  I love that!  Here's a close up of the toggle area:

Anne will be highlighting some wonderful artists and other recap news from this year's Bead and Button Show in the next few days, so be sure to watch for that!

Monday Muse & Beady Link Party

Hello and happy summer solstice to you all! Today's inspirations just happen to make my muse happy. We can grasp at straws for a theme but I just wanted to share things that made me smile when I saw them this week.

First up, I'm a bit obsessed with ferns lately and love this bracelet connector from Summer Wind Art.

This sweet little artistic collection of porcleian beads from Jera Luna Designs makes my muse want run to the bead table to play!

Dreamy. This color is perfection and just feels like everything good about summer wrapped up in a ceramic bead. Beads from Terra Rustica Studio.

This fun and playful bead from Gaea - reminds me of a summertime treat.

I spent quite a bit of my Bead & Button budget at Anna Bronze, but I still see more I want - like this tree toggle. Love it!

Beady Link Party
New for Mondays! We invite our readers to share their blog post links with us each week. As long as they feature jewelry or beads, share your favorite post from last week with us. We hope this will inspire you to blog a little more often and bring our community closer together.

1. Please only post blog new links each week. *

2. Visit at least two other blog links and leave a comment. We want to grow our blogging community and encourage you connect with each other.

3. You have until Wednesday each week to share your blog post.

We want to connect more with our readers! Join the party and share you latest beady blog link.

Haven't blogged in a while? It's the perfect time to share what you have been up to, what you find inspiring, your creative process, interview a favorite beadmaker, review a beady book - get creative and get blogging!

The beady link party is open to jewelry designers, beadmakers and group bead blogs.

Share you link using the "Add a Link" Inlinkz button below.

*We ask for fresh links, if you have a post that you haven't shared with us yet but it's a few weeks old, that's cool. 

An InLinkz Link-up

Inside the studio with Swoondimples

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 PRIZE each week to encourage you to use that keyboard and tell us what you think. 
The following week a WINNER is chosen at random from all eligible entries. 
And here are the results from last week!!

Terri Del Signore is the winner of a 20$ shop at Humblebeads!!! 
Congratulations! Please contact Heather to claim your prize.

Hello from the Swoondimples studio :) 
I have been inspired by feathers lately, which is a recurring theme/obsession in my life. 
I have an affinity for feathers, always have.

I stumbled across this Donna Kato feather tutorial while poring over Pinterest recently. 
The instructions were super easy to follow (lots of photos) and I started with my favorite color combinations, turquoise blue and rusty burnt umber. 

turquoise feathers

I add wrapped silver wire to each feather for adornment. Some of the wrappings were created to swivel to allow for movement and others were baked directly into the clay to assimilate an actual quill. Just like an actual feather, no two are alike ;) 

You will notice that the feathers below are quite different than those shown above. I started to morph the original tutorial and began experimenting with other techniques to make each feather even more unique. I began etching each piece and adding patina. I am a patina junky and there is no shame. I love to scratch things up and give pieces a worn look. Who doesn't? 

I even stepped outside of my comfort zone and experimented with a color that I tend to shy away from. YELLOW! My beady confidant, Lorelei, encouraged me to explore the color and this was the result. It took me a few days to come around but I totally dig the yellow. I plan to create some pale muted yellow ombre feathers next...

yellow feathers

So my question for you this week - What color feather would you wish to design with?

Leave a comment for a $20 credit to my Etsy shop where you can find a variety of handmade polymer wares.

Thanks you for stepping inside my studio and I hope that you have a fantastic weekend!

SWOONDIMPLES on ETSY | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM

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Perfect Pairings :: Alison Adorns + Diane Hawkey

Aside from the spot-on colors in this piece, I was drawn most to the word bead by Diane Hawkey. I always have about a dozen of them in my stash just waiting for the right time. After the events that have been happening in my life and in the world, and most specifically in Orlando (I just returned from there yesterday), this sentiment really grabbed at my soul. And I think that it is a word that perfectly embodies the spirit of this lovely art image as well. There is a serenity and harmony in the face of that woman swathed in turquoise robes, surrounded by sweet smelling roses, something I think that everyone could use a dose of right about now.

Featured Designer :: Alison Adorns

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Featured Bead Artists :: Diane Hawkey

We are now using Pinterest! 

You can find more details in this post about the exciting new changes,
including a board devoted to art beads inspired by the monthly challenge!
(Ooh! Look! More pretty beads to lust after!)

Pretty please make sure that you post a link in your Pinterest description
so that I have someplace to attribute the picture! 

And don't forget to tell us about those art beads - providing links to bead makers is appreciated!

Deadline June 28th to get your pictures posted to the Pinterest boards for the creation of the Monthly Challenge Recap post for June 30th.

TIP: If you upload your photo rather than pin it from your blog or shop, edit the pin (the little pencil button) and add your link as the source. Save your edits. This will allow us to click directly on your photo and go to your blog or shop to read more about your entry. If you don't, I might not be able to access the photo to share it.

Jewelry Monthly Challenge Entries

Beads Monthly Challenge Entries