Perfect Pairings :: Ann Schroeder + MayaHoney + Leah Kelly

Everyone knows that if you are going to wear a ballgown that you will twirl and twirl in it all night long, reveling in the swishing and sashaying! That is what drew me to this beautiful necklace that Ann Schroeder made. Those sari silks in the artsy handmade tassel have the same effect as those swishy skirts! All the rich colors of their attire is represented in the drops of glass from MayaHoney and Leah Kelly, and the deep dark forest represented in the long strand of black glass beads. I also love the attention to detail in the little bit of rhinestone bling peeking out from the silks, as every princess needs her bling!

Featured Designer :: Ann Schroeder

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Featured Bead Artists :: MayaHoney + Leah Kelly

Stay tuned for information coming soon on our revamped website!

Perfect Pairings :: SJ Designs + Earth Expressions

This month's inspiration is all about COLOR!

The colors are deep and saturated, yet soft around the edges with intriguing textures.

That is what I think these earrings by Sarajo Wentling capture completely.

I love these bright polymer clay charms and the way that Sarajo pulled beads that draw your eye up from them. This fun and flirty design is perfect for these hot summer nights!

Featured Designer :: SJ Designs

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Featured Bead Artists :: Earth Expressions

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

Perfect Pairings :: McEnroe Moments + Pebble Dreams + Scorched Earth

Michelle of McEnroe moments is back at it again with some multi-layered earrings in deep gemstone shades of amethyst, aqua and plum. I like the use of the dark black findings that bring in a depth just like in our painting inspiration by Odilon Redon. These look like earrings that the stately woman in the painting might wear! 

Still lots of time to create for this month's challenge, so let's see what inspires YOU!

Featured Designer :: McEnroe Moments

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Featured Bead Artists :: PebbleDreams + ScorchedEarth

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

Perfect Pairings :: McEnroe Moments + Happy Fish Things + Kiyoi Design

Picasso is famous for his Cubist masterpieces featuring blocky faces of reclining nudes. These awesome clay components perfectly embody that style. The layers and the shapes of beads as well as the varied styles of the dangles punctuated by the tiny blue seeds makes this painting come to life. What fun to wear a masterpiece like these on your ears!

Featured Designer :: McEnroe Moments

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Featured Bead Artists :: Happy Fish Things + Kiyoi Design

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 May 29th to get your pictures posted to the Pinterest boards for the creation of the Monthly Challenge Recap post for May 31st.

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

Perfect Pairings :: LaTouchables + GlassByLeese + SomethingToDoBeads + DonnaPerlinplim

I think I may have said this once or twice before, but I would dearly love to see the stash that Miss Dawn of LaTouchables has access to! Every single bead, from the largest to the smallest, is selected with such care and composed with a masterful eye for placement in every single thing I have seen her make. When I look at the Picasso painting for this month I am struck by the layers, the seemingly disjointed scraps of... paper? I am not sure... that make up the composition. The result is a bit chaotic and random, yet there is a great synchronicity in the placement of each pattern, each color, each line and dot. I think that is much the same with Miss Dawn's necklace. There is a great intention in every choice here, and although there is a variety of art bead artists and materials, there is a harmony all its own. 

Featured Designer :: LaTouchables

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Featured Bead Artists ::
GlassbyLeese + SomethingToDoBeads + DonnaPerlinplim

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 May 29th to get your pictures posted to the Pinterest boards for the creation of the Monthly Challenge Recap post for May 31st.

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

Perfect Pairings :: Michelle McEnroe + Ceramic Beads Art

This is a fun and funky design that features a beautiful ceramic bird pendant that captures my imagination. I like making designs like this because it is a great way to use up all those leftover bits you have lying around, and the colors work with a lot of different parts of any wardrobe. The way the brilliant blue dagger beads undulate reminds me of the way the colors in Gauguin's painting seem to shimmer and move, as they would through the haze of a hot summer day.

Featured Designer :: Michelle McEnroe

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Featured Bead Artist :: Ceramic Beads Art

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 April 26th to get your pictures posted to the Pinterest boards for the creation of the Monthly Challenge Recap post for April 28th.

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

Perfect Pairings :: Ditzy Blue

I love it when a design comes together with things that I have long-forgotten and neglected in my stash. That is exactly the case for Ditsy Blue with this sweet springtime bracelet. She wonders why she ever had yellow seed beads in here stash...perhaps they were waiting for just this inspiration! I love the sweet little tweeter that she fashioned and the striking blue speckled eggs in the nest. The beaded beads perfectly mimic the flower clusters and the wood brings in the tree branches. Such a great combination of colors and textures!

Featured Designer + Bead Artist :: Ditsy Blue

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 March 29th to get your pictures posted to the Pinterest boards for the creation of the Monthly Challenge Recap post for March 31st.

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

Perfect Pairings :: Sarajo Wentling + Humblebeads

This flowering tree pendant looks like it was plucked right out of our painting this month. While I love birds and nests, I also love that this tree is in full radiant bloom and is the focal in this pretty necklace. Those soft milky blue beads feel like fluffy clouds on a breezy spring day. Ahhh....Spring! Come quick! Just three more days!

Featured Designer :: Sarajo Wentling

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Featured Bead Artist :: Humblebeads

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 March 29th to get your pictures posted to the Pinterest boards for the creation of the Monthly Challenge Recap post for March 31st.

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

Perfect Pairings :: Alison Adorns + Humblebeads + Diane Hawkey

I have to be honest....I am totally smitten with all things bird-y! So I was really delighted to see this pretty necklace that brings together all the images that I see in this month's painting inspiration: yellow flowers, birds, nests, branches, blue skies. I adore Diane Hawkey's word beads. I have quite a dragon's hoard of them in my own stash. They always strike just the right note in any design. And this one is chirpy sweet! Hurry up,Spring!

Featured Designer :: Alison Adorns

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Featured Bead Artist :: Humblebeads + 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 March 29th to get your pictures posted to the Pinterest boards for the creation of the Monthly Challenge Recap post for March 31st.

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

Perfect Pairings :: Jewels of Sayuri + Lori Schneider

Upon first glance, the painting inspiration for February is layers of tapestries and bling with rose petals raining down from adoring maidens lining the street for this triumphant knight. And while all that is truly in this painting, there is a lot more. When you really start to look, you notice the more subtle imagery and the meaning of the title becomes more apparent. I am glad that Divya went back and really looked at the painting beyond what her first reaction was. For she discovered the message and translated that into her jewelry admirably. I think the contrast with the hard and thorny barbed wire frame holding in the softer pink and gold cabochon and the touches of crystals and the central rose make this necklace that much more intense and meaningful. In order to truly see the light you need the dark. In order to appreciate the beauty of the rose you need to respect the thorn.

Featured Designer :: Jewels of Sayuri

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Featured Bead Artist :: Lori Schneider

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 February 26th to get your pictures posted to the Pinterest boards for the creation of the Monthly Challenge Recap post for February 28th

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

Perfect Pairings :: Bay Moon Designs + Brooke Bock + Beady Eyed Bunny

Despite not being a big heart fan, that beautiful bauble drew me right in. There is something so cheery about its shape and color. And then I had to take a closer look at those gorgeous rose beads, which I recognized immediately as belonging to Leah Curtis. The unexpected soft blue gives this a more ethereal look. It is simply wonderful and evokes the love that the maidens are showering on the knight in shining armor with their rose petals. 

Featured Designer :: Bay Moon Designs

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Featured Bead Artist :: Brooke Bock + Beady Eyed Bunny

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 February 26th to get your pictures posted to the Pinterest boards for the creation of the Monthly Challenge Recap post for February 28th

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

Perfect Pairings :: SJDesigns Jewelry + Tesori Trovati

As an art bead maker, you never know where your creations will end up. You birth them, put them out there where they are accepted into the loving homes of jewelry designers the world over. I often wonder what happens to them. So it was a delightful surprise to find that Sarajo Wentling created a lovely necklace with one of my classic Simple Truths pendants that is perfect for the this month's lush painting inspiration. I am bursting like a proud mama over here to see it all grown up! I like the fact that the colors in the bead strands play upon the the variations in the rosebuds. And perfect for the season of love that we are in! 

Featured Designer :: SJDesignsJewelry

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Featured Bead Artist :: 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 February 26th to get your pictures posted to the Pinterest boards for the creation of the Monthly Challenge Recap post for February 28th

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

Perfect Pairings :: Jewels of Sayuri + Lampwork by Jyothi

This easy-breezy lariat-style necklace is perfectly in tune with the hot summer climate where designer Divya lives. I found her process very interesting as she is teaching a class in color theory and used this to explain the analogous palette for this month's inspiration. The variation of the hues that Divya chose and the pointy-petal shape of the star-flower beads capture the dense field of wildflowers perfectly. She used some lampwork beads by Jyothi, and although I couldn't find a website for this artist, I thought they were so very intriguing and maybe we can encourage one to be created if she doesn't have a website yet! ;-)

Featured Designer :: Jewels of Sayuri

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Featured Bead Artist :: Lampwork by Jyothi

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 January 29th to get your pictures posted to the Pinterest boards for the creation of the Monthly Challenge Recap post for January 31st

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

Perfect Pairings :: Beads for Busy Gals

This is such a happy necklace! The balance of the different elements and the blend of citrus colors is so well designed as to feel effortless. That is the hallmark of a great design, when it comes together so well. I am equally impressed that Miss Elisabeth made many of the beads in this necklace. Miss Elisabeth is like me in that a deadline is what makes her get in the studio to get the creative juices flowing. I look forward to having her join in the ABS challenges more this year!

Featured Designer + Bead Artist :: Beads for Busy Gals

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 January 29th to get your pictures posted to the Pinterest boards for the creation of the Monthly Challenge Recap post for January 31st

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