Exciting Textiles Inspire Studio Saturday!

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.

This week's winner is Emma Todd! Congratulations, Emma! You're the winner of Tari's mystery bead! Please send your postal address to the ABS Suggestion Box and Tari will send your mystery bead!

Today's Studio Tour is with Cindy Gimbrone, glass beadmaker. Let's see what's going on in her studio....



Good morning! If you're a regular reader of Studio Saturdays, you'll know lately I'm looking to textiles for inspiration. I often find inspirational textiles but then am frustrated by the glass color palate I have to work with - often, I don't have the glass color available to me. So sometimes, I work backwards from the glass. Here's a good example of a color I love - a deep raspberry sherbet color.




The raspberry glass is "well behaved" and isn't too runny or fussy when I work it in the flame. It's yummy to work with! I couldn't wait to create a necklace with them but wanted more. So I went on the hunt for a textile. Wow, did I ever find it and then some!



Excited, I bought the pink and brown fat quarters - I KNEW the colors perfectly match the glass rods I have. Look how perfect they are! Cool! This is going to lead to another bead series and how to incorporate beads and textiles but you'll have to read my blog to see what I'll create as well ashere on Studio Saturday.

Here's a close up of the raspberry glass links in a necklace I created for next week'sBeading on a Budget. I'm excited to get to work!





Today's question is: What gets you excited about work?

It can be any work you do from creative work to simply doing the laundry. For me, it was finding a set of textiles that perfectly matched the glass colors I have. I'm excited to get to work now! What about you - what gets you excited about work?

Comment-ers will be entered to win a set of the Raspberry Links. I look forward to reading your comments!

Jewelry Trends for Summer 2008

So what's the "in" for jewelry this summer? I'm certainly not a slave to trends, but those clever fashion designers are a great source for inspiration and well, a girl does need baubles to match those cute little summer outfits.

Necklace designed by Jess Italia, pendant from Earthenwood Studio.

Look for pendants and beads with nature as the theme. If it has wings, it's go for summer!

Canaries from Humblebeads

Flowers and leaves aren't just garden perennials. They are a summer staple. Think tropical rain forest in leafy greens with splashes of bright colors.

Necklace by Goddessjoy, lampwork leaves by Ingrid Hein.

Iridescent Flat Spirals by Cindy Gimbrone


And what colors are sizzling? Bright hues borrowed from nature.

Necklace by Lorelei, pendant from Gaea



Flower button from Creative Impression in Clay

Yellow, pink, purple and blue are favorites with designers.

Color Forecast Guide from Firemountian Gems.

Gold is the metal de jour. But you know what? I'm not a gold person, so brass is pushing my creative buttons for summer inspired designs.

Necklace by Heather Powers, art bead from Humblebeads

And one last tip: long and layered chains, pair them with your favorite pendant for instant art bead style.

More trend resources:

Trends from the Bead Jewelry Blog

Summer Jewelry from Accessories.about.com

Color Report for Bead Artists Spring/Summer 08

Color Inspiration from Fusion Beads

Fashion Trends from Artbeads.com

Fashion Forecast from BeadStyle Magazine

Findings Worth Finding: A/D Adornments

I've been interested in minerals and semi-precious stones since I was about six years old (I have very distinct childhood memories of dragging my parents through the Hall of Gems in the Field Museum of Chicago, each time we visited the city). It's therefore not surprising that I use a lot of stone in my jewelry designs. One of the things I'm always on the lookout for when I visit shows, new bead stores and/or new websites (it's amazing how many ways we can indulge our addiction for beads and findings these days, isn't it?) are nice stone clasps. To my mind, a beautiful clasp adds a tremendous amount to a design, but it can be a little challenging to find just the right one.

I was first attracted to Chicago-based A/D Adornments at a show a few years ago not by the high quality of clasps, semiprecious beads or lovely assortment of chain that the company carries, but by the fact that there were excited shoppers six deep around the booth. After waiting patiently (okay, there might have been a little tactical use of elbows involved, but I was polite about it), I finally was able to wade close enough to the booth to actually see, and drool over, its contents. Kathy Domokos, proprietor of A/D Adornments, takes stunning pieces of druzy quartz, turquoise, agate, fossilized ammonite and other stone, as well as a lovely assortment of vintage buttons not pictured here, and turns them into box clasps for a beautiful finishing statement in any piece of jewelry. They range in size from modest single strand clasps all the way to big, showcase triple-strand clasps.

So, if you like fine clasps the way I do, I highly recommend A/D Adornments. You can find the company at various bead shows throughout the Midwest (including the Bead & Button Show in Milwaukee, this week) or by visiting their website.

Written by guest blogger, Melissa Lee. Read her blog at Strands or visit her etsy shop to see more of her work.

Fit to Print Book Review: Ceramic Bead Jewelry by Jennifer Heynen

Ceramic Bead Jewelry (30 Fired &Inspired Projects)
by Jennifer Heynen

Two Books ... in One Fantastic Volume!

review by Jean Yates, guest editor for June 2008

This totally lovely hardback book, Ceramic Bead Jewelry, by one of our own beloved bead makers, the super nice and very cool Jennifer Heynen, is the first book of its kind to really get right to the heart of ceramic bead making. Additionally, it offers fabulous jewelry designs, all created by Jennifer herself. So, in one sentence: What a GREAT book! You are actually getting two books in one! A beading making instructional book, and a jewelry design book!

I was blown away by the projects, the glorious colors which Jennifer employs when creating her ebullient ceramic beads, and also her fantastically fun and innovative ideas, all of which are clearly explained.

In case you don't know, Jennifer owns the online bead business called Jangles (http://www.jangles.net/ ). If you go to her site, you will see right from the start, by looking at her photograph on the home page, that this person is a happy soul, doing what she loves... and she is doing a great job!

In her book, she teaches us to create the beads in the manner in which she does, and then to design with them. This is a first for ceramic bead making. What a great help to everyone looking for lessons in this beautiful and creative art process. Ceramic has not been a medium which has been covered sufficiently in print, although there are many fabulous artists out there who are extremely popular right now. The author is one of the leaders in this great group, and sharing her manner of working is a very wonderful gift which she has given to the reader.

The projects are myriad in variety, too. If you don't want to make your boyfriend a cool necklace (I personally love that "Boyfriend Necklace"!), move on, and try her "Cupid Ring"! If that doesn't suit you, prepare yourself to flip out over her "Cute as a Button" earrings or her neat, wrist-fitting "Polka Dot Fun" bracelet. Interesting to me as well are her "Flowery Cuff", where she has studded her flower shaped beads on a wide, soft, tan velveteen band, like something I have never seen anywhere before (Wow! Very impressive to me! In all honesty this is high praise from me--I am the original research geek who spends days online just looking around at all sorts of "stuff"!), and then, there is her "Fabulous Fiber Belt ", which shows off her superb sense of color. That sense of color is always on target, whether she is working with brights or muted tones.

Even if you don't plan to make your own ceramic beads, this book stands as a success simply as a jewelry design book. The author's website (mentioned above) is also cited right in the book. Her fantastic, gorgeous beads can be purchased there, which makes it easy to start at Step two, if you like. She has lots of kits, too! I hope she continues make her kits available and adds even more after Bead and Button is over!

To sum up, "Step one", which would be creating beads like Jennifer's, before designing, looks like lots of fun. "Step two"--buying her beads outright and simply enjoying her book, of course is a great alternative as well!

The photographs are wonderful (it is a Lark book), with very vivid and exciting colors.

I think that this book, with its many bracelets, pendants, earrings, rings, and even a cute pineapple pin, is a total winner! I am delighted to own this lively, high quality, clearly explained, well written, beautiful piece of work: Ceramic Bead Jewelry by Jennifer Heynen.

You can read more of Jean's writing on her blog.

June Monthly Challenge - Pearls of Wisdom

This month's theme is Pearls of Wisdom. So pull out the pearls and your art beads to create something wonderful to share with us! You can also interpret the theme with sage advice in the form of pendants and beads that share a pearl of wisdom.

The Prize & Sponsor:

Along with our Featured Designer of the Week we are returning with prizes this month! Our sponsor is the extremely talented beadmaker and author Lisa Kan. Lisa will be awarding a signed copy of her book, Bead Romantique and a few strands of pearls to one lucky winner. Winners are chosen at random from the all qualifying entries during the month.

Deadline is June 30th.

Featured Designer of the Week!

From all the entries during the month, an editor is going to pick their favorite design to be featured every Monday here on the ABS. We want to give our participants more time in the spotlight! Our Featured Designer will be this Monday, so get those entries in soon.

How to enter the Monthly Challenge:

1. Create something using an art bead that fits within our monthly theme.

This challenge is open to jewelry-makers, fiber artists, collage artist, etc. The art bead can be created by you or someone else. The challenge is to inspire those who use art beads and to see all the different ways art beads can be incorporated into your handiwork.

Beads by themselves and beads simply strung on a chain or cord will not be accepted.

2. Upload your photo to our flickr group.

Detailed instructions can be found here and click here for a tutorial for sending your picture to the group. If you can't upload to Flickr, send your entry and information to Heather.

Please add the tag or title JuneABS to your photos.

Include a short description, who created the art beads and a link to your blog, if you have one.

Photos are approved by our moderators, if a photo hasn't followed the guidelines it will not be approved. You may upload 2 photos a day.

***What is an Art Bead? An art bead is a bead, charm, button or finding made by an independent artist. Art beads are the vision and handiwork of an individual artist. You can read more about art beads here.

*** A bead that is handmade is not necessarily an art bead. Hill Tribe Silver, Kazuri ceramic beads or lampwork beads made in factories are examples of handmade beads that are not considered art beads.

p.s. If you have a blog, post your entry and a link to the ABS challenge to spread the beady goodness.

Photo: The bead crochet lariat with pearl fringe and humblebeads by Beverly Herman.

May ABS - Earth Goddess - Crazy Leaf Necklace

May ABS - Earth Goddess - Crazy Leaf Necklace
Originally uploaded by sotelosally

Each Monday we feature the Designer of the Week. One of our editors pick their favorite from the Monthly Challenge entries.

Our last pick for Mother Earth was chosen by Tari Sasser. She choose Sotelosally's Earth Goddess - Crazy Leaf Necklace. Tari noted, "I love the colors in this pendant. The varying lines take you around and through the pendant. The bead fringes are a great addition!"

You can view more work from Sotelosally by visiting her flickr albums.

Join us tomorrow for our new theme for June. Prizes return this month with a great new sponsor!

Desperately Quiet in the ABS Neighborhood...

Hmmmm....it's desperately quiet in the ABS Neighborhood today. Have the neighbors packed up and left for Bead and Button? Or are they soundly sleeping in their beds? Or are they locked in their studios making art beads? Let's stroll around the neighborhood and see what art beads we can see and then it's off to visit the Bead Bloggers!

First, there's Tari of Clay Buttons.....


Then Melanie of Earthenwood....




The suspected Desperate Editor herself, Cindy Gimbrone....




And then Art Bead Scene founder, Heather of Humblebeads...



About.com Jewelry Making
Chandelier earrings are still super popular, but sometimes they are just a little too much for every day wear, unless you scale them down like Tammy did in this chandelier earring project.

Art Bead Scene
Guest Editor Lynn Davis had a happy accident in clay one day - yummy bon bon beads to whet your beading appetite!

Jewelry & Beading
An easy way to create a base for building an assemblage-style necklace!

Katie's Beading Blog
It's Ornament Thursday again and this month's theme is Insectica. Check out Katie's sweet little beaded dragonfly and butterfly.

Linda at BeadStyle Magazine
Check out the necklace that inspired Stacy to get creative

Naughty Secretary Club
No need to wear a necklace when your T-shirt already has one built in!

Savvy Crafter
Candie puts her jewelry making skills to work, raising money for Earthquake relief in Sichuan. Read all about it on her blog.

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean has a cute pair of earrings in BeadStyle magazine for July, and she promptly sent them off to Kim Miles, fab beadmaker!

Did you know the Desperate ABS Neighbors open up their studios on Saturdays? Stop by and read Studio Saturdays to find out more about the Desperate Neighbors of the Art Bead Scene!

Did you read or write any good dirt on a bead blog this week?
Leave us a comment and a link and tell us the latest scoop!