Art Bead Scene Blog

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Show Me Sunday

Adorable Santa Claus pendant by Joan Miller Porcelain

Show Me Winter Holiday Beads!

Tis the season for winter holiday beads! Let's see some of those great beads, charms, and components that celebrate the winter season! Holiday specific beads, pine trees, snowflakes... let's celebrate all of the things that remind of us December. Post your links in the comments here and I will select some of the links you leave on this post to highlight in another Show Me Sunday post.

Here is what some of our beady friends have to show off this week:

A Bead A Day

Easy & Effortless...two great words and when they describe a jewelry making project, EVEN BETTER! Stop by A Bead A Day for an easy & effortless project idea!

About.com Jewelry Making

Time to make the snowmen, as in jewelry and other crafts that is!

Art Bead Scene

Erin shares a fun and festive free project as part of the Art Bead Scene's 12 Days of Christmas blog project series

Beading Arts

The parties aren't over yet! Here's how to put together a festive hair ornament!

Resin Crafts!

It is never to late to try and permanently capture Christmas in a vial with resin!

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!

Jean discusses a project she found while reading her superfun email from Cloth Paper Scissors

Friday, December 21, 2012

On the 10th Day of Christmas-Laugh

Just laugh, its the key!

Hang this in a spot you will see everyday so you are reminded to laugh every day.
No, I'm not promoting Laughing Cow cheese.

If you know me, I tend to laugh a lot. There are days you will cry if you don't laugh.

It helps you and everyone around you. Enough of the serious stuff, LAUGH!

Supplies:

5 Brass disks, jump rings, bead links, key, charm and copper hook.

Tools:

Metal stamps, bench block, hammer, dapping block, metal hole punch, sandpaper and pliers.

Stamp disks using your letter stamps, hammer and bench block.
Punch 2 holes top and bottom, in your disks. Dome disks slightly using the dapping block.
Distress the disks with sandpaper

Attach disks and bead links with 5mm jump rings.
Attach hook and key with anodized aluminum jump rings.
I added a bee fishing fly. Why not? I makes me smile.

Add more charms or fiber what ever makes you happy.

LAUGH!

Thursday, December 20, 2012

On the 9th Day of Christmas - Pretty Packing

I have a very talented friend who makes the most beautiful knitted creations. For the past two years, we have done a Great Christmas Craft Swap - we swap lists in early Autumn, saying what presents we'd like making, and then a few days before Christmas we meet up and swap goody bags. I wanted to find a way to further prettify my packaging, labelling the jewellery but leaving it so it can be opened fairly easily, so that Polly could check out everything I had made for her friends and family. I thought that today I would share with you the sweet and simple way I did this. I think these would look just lovely under any Christmas tree!

Gather these supplies:

Jewellery Boxes

String

Card Stock, punched or cut into tags

Rubber Stamp

Ink Pad

Punch a hole in the corner of one of your cards/tags. Stamp an emblem of your choice in the opposite corner.

Cut a piece of string, and tie in a knot around your jewellery box. Slide on the tag.

Tie the string in a bow to secure the tag. Double knot to make extra secure.

And there you have it, pretty, simple but effective! You could use co-ordinating card stock like I have, or use something contrasting. If you are giving something to a fellow jewellery maker, you could even use some silk cord or ribbon instead of string. The possibilities are endless.....have fun!

Rebecca is a Scottish jewellery designer and singer, currently living in Manchester, England. You can read more about beads and singing at her blog, songbeads.blogspot.com and see more of her jewellery at songbead.etsy.com.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

On the 8th Day of Christmas: J-O-Y To The World

1:: Gather some leaf beads and some red berry beads. Oh, and some 24 gauge wire.

2:: Spell out the word J-O-Y with Simple Truths Simply Charming charms. (Or how about L-O-V-E? or initials of your children?)

3:: Cut the wire into three 3" lengths. Add three red berry beads alternated with two leaf beads on a wire. Twist to close and wrap the wire ends around the beads, tucking in any stray wire with a pliers.

4:: Attach to the letter charms with jump rings. Attach a pretty ribbon for a hanger. Voila!

Erin Prais-Hintz invites you to go on a journey of inspiration at her blog Treasures Found :: Inspiration is Everywhere. You can view a gallery of her work at http://www.tesoritrovati.com/ or purchase her popular line of 'Simple Truths' in her Etsy shop.

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

On the 7th Day of Christmas: Bring Joy Felt Ornament

Monday, December 17, 2012

Featured Designer of the Week: Karin Slaton of Backstory Beads

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 Karin Slaton of Backstory Beads!

Here is what editor Erin Prais-Hintz had to say about the design:

"I am a sucker for designs that do double duty, as this bracelet from Karin does. I never would have known that she put the silver snowflake on the back of the brass one! It is an added bonus to see one of my own charms at work. Thank you for honoring me with this pretty bracelet and for being inspired by our art challenge!"

You can read more about Karin's design on her blog Backstory Beads.

Just a reminder that you have until December 28th to get your image loaded into the Flickr group for inclusion in the final Monthly Challenge Blog Tour. Remember that we have THREE fabulous prizes to give away this month! I am hoping that after Christmas you will have time to sit and be inspired by this gorgeous Erte painting and share your creations with us.