Amuse the Muse - birds and butterflies - with Rebecca of Songbead

Hello lovely ABS-ers! I don't know about you, but Spring has truly sprung these past few days here in Edinburgh. Yesterday I had a perfectly gorgeous spring-y day - a walk on Portobello beach with a friend's doggie, splashing about in the waves and drinking lots of cups of tea. All that was missing was beads and it would have been perfect! 

So here are a few perfectly gorgeous Spring-y beads for you this week - more beautiful birds and butterflies to inspire you:

Glass Daft 

ABS's newest team member - Anne of Gardanne Beads!

Shy Gar Shop

Areto Beads 

I've got a whole new bounty of beads in at The Curious Bead Shop, including this beautiful glass peacock button. 

Lori Lochner

Glass Magic

Jewelry Beads by Katie

Lindsay Drake Beads

Scorched Earth on Etsy

Have a great week everyone! I hope you're able to get out and enjoy yourselves - and have some fun with art beads too!

Rebecca is a Scottish jewellery designer; currently living in the capital city of Edinburgh. 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.

Inside the Studio with Rebecca of Songbead - Au Revoir but not Good-Bye

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!

Congratulations to Nan Smith!  You have won of a $20 gift certificate to Humblebeads. Please email Heather Powers to claim your prize.

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Well, well - here we are; a day I knew would come at some point but it's sort of taken even me by surprise! About a month ago, I came to the realisation that my days weren't looking quite how I wanted them to - not just my schedule but my priorities needed to shift. Or in fact, that they had started to shift already and I needed to keep up with them - and to make some changes to allow me to do so. And that very sadly means signing off from the Art Bead Scene team, which I've been an enthusiastic member of since back in 2011 - almost 4 and a half years now, can you believe?!

My first Art Bead Scene post - a tutorial for this cute bangle, featuring a lampwork tab from Helen Chalmers - still one of my favourite bead artists. 

When I started writing for Art Bead Scene, things were pretty different for me on a day-to-day basis. I was living down in England, and heavily involved in teaching - both of jewellery-making and music, primarily singing. My time was split about 60:40 music:beading, and I did a few craft fairs here and there - but my focus was mainly on the education side of things, which I loved. I often taught three jewellery classes a week, and published frequently for magazines - not least for the now sadly-missed Beads and Beyond (gone but not forgotten!). 

The beautiful classroom in Manchester where I was lucky enough to teach from. 

Over the next couple of years that balance switched - I started doing a lot more jewellery teaching and less music teaching, until we moved unexpectedly in 2013 to Belfast due to my partner's work. Which basically meant I had to give up ALL my teaching and go full-time with jewellery - bead selling at The Curious Bead Shop which I'd launched the previous year, jewellery making for fairs (which I was now doing a lot more of) and my online shop, and designing for magazines. 

March 2013 - cover girl at Beads and Beyond!

2014 saw a move back to Edinburgh, my home city (again, following my partner for work!) which brought me closer to a lot of the craft fairs and art markets I'd previously travelled to take part in, and I've gradually become more and more involved in the designer-maker scene here in Scotland, picking up stockists across the country and taking classes in new skills (my own little jewellery bench actually arrived in the post today!). I'm still selling beads too, including my own handwoven {song}beads, and I *love* seeing what other people do with my carefully curated selections, but I've become less involved in the education side of things. This is of course, not least because of the silly amount of moves we've done, along with the closing of several UK magazines over the past few years (which is incredibly sad), but I now find myself after 10 years of focussing on what other people are creating, needing to carve a little more time and mental space to focus on what I'M creating. 

My stand at the West End Fair this past summer. 

I wouldn't describe how I'm feeling as burnt out exactly, but give me a year or two and I think I'd be there. Time to pare things down, sharpen my focus and simplify. I'm sure you can all relate - if not in your jewellery making then perhaps in other parts of your life. The need for simplicity; the need for honed-in intention - and yes, perhaps to allow myself to focus on my own artistry, for a little while at least. I hope that doesn't sound selfish. Sometimes we need to take the time to fill our own well before we can begin to let others draw from it again.

Some of my own handwoven {song}beads.

I cannot tell you how much I will miss being a part of this incredible group of women. So much talent here - Julie did a wonderful post here which if you missed, I thoroughly recommend taking a stroll through it - that really captured some of the incredible art and spirit that these ladies have within themselves. Thank you especially to Heather for inviting me to be a part of this team - I do hope that you will have me back for guest posts sooner rather than later! And you'll definitely see me around as a reader - and oh, maybe I'll find the time to actually take part in our challenges more often! That's a thought I certainly relish. 

Things to come...?

Along with hopefully posting more over on my own personal blog - something I sorely neglected last year, and have resolved to do better with this year. Not least, because I love it! To take the time to write about making and designing, and contemplate the nature of creativity - well, that serves me very well. I've been a creative soul since I arrived on this planet in one way or another, and songbead blog readers may have noticed more wordy posts from me this year, as I try and turn intention into action over there. Please don't be a stranger - I love to hear from readers over there, and I certainly won't be a stranger over here on Art Bead Scene! It's definitely au revoir, not good-bye. 

I still have a few more posts scheduled to write for you - I wanted to eke out my departure! - so I won't be fully signing off until the end of the month. But this is my last Inside the Studio, and I wanted to take the opportunity to not only say au revoir, but also to say a huge THANK YOU to you the readers, for being such an important - vital! - part of this journey, and being a part of our Art Bead Scene family. Readers, commenters, challenge-enterers - you're all wonderful, and I thank you for making being part of this fantastic team such a huge pleasure! 

I had to finish with a piece of jewellery, didn't I?! A few art beads in this recent one...! Me, Claire Lockwood, Helen Chalmers and Lorelei Eurto. 

Time for one last giveaway from me - and I'm offering a £15 voucher for either Songbead or The Curious Bead Shop - your choice. Tell me; what is one thing you feel shifting in your life right now? 

Au revoir, you wonderful lot. Thank you for being amazing!

Rebecca is a Scottish jewellery designer; currently living in the capital city of Edinburgh. 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.

Inside the Studio with Rebecca of Songbead

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!

This week's winner is Lynda of Fresh Baked Designs. Congratulations! You have won a $25 gift certificate to Humblebeads! Please contact Heather to claim your prize!

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This week, it's my turn here on Inside the Studio - and I'm posting this super late, so sorry about that! 2016 hasn't got off to a very healthy start here in chilly Edinburgh - I'm getting over the flu, and today my partner finally succumbed to it too and has been off sick, so I've been nurse maid for both of us! However, I thought I'd share 2 weeks of 2016 in pictures with you this week. 

One thing I have managed to do is make quite a bit of jewellery. Things are usually quieter in The Curious Bead Shop at this time of year, so I have been using my time to make my own jewellery and try and stock up my shop, which inevitably gets a bit empty whilst I'm doing craft fairs in the run up to Christmas. Here are a few of my new pieces: 

Looking Out

 - Handmade beads from Helen Chalmers, Green Girl Studios, myself and Soul Silver

Wild

- Handmade beads from Swoondimples and myself

First off, a couple of necklaces. I love making necklaces, but I always have to steel myself to do so - somehow, they don't come as easy to me as bracelets or earrings. I can't tell you how many times I took Wild apart and put it back together again! And yet it's so deceptively simple now it's finished. 

- Handmade beads from Soul Silver, Helen Chalmers, Humblebeads, Kylie Parry, Joanne Tinley Jewellery, Jubilee, Jo Lucksted, Green Girl Studios, Bo Hulley Beads and myself.

I made a whole bundle of bracelets earlier this week, a couple of which have flown away to their new homes already I'm very happy to say. 

Foxy Business

- Handmade beads from Jubilee, Jo Lucksted, Green Girl Studios and unknown lampwork artist

Really sweet story about this particular bracelet - last weekend, I was whisked away for a late christmas present (and a bit of convalescing as I was just turning a positive corner in my nasty flu virus!) for a night at the gorgeous Mhor 84. UK folks, or folks visiting the UK, if you want somewhere magical to stay in the wilds of Scotland that's only an hour or so's drive from central belt, and doesn't break the bank, then LOOK NO FURTHER. Twinkling fairy lights, handmade Scottish berry meringues as big as my head and veggie haggis burgers for tea - I was in heaven. (There were other food options for tea of course - but if you've tried MacSween's Veggie Haggis before, you will know why I absolutely plumped for this option and no other!) It's dog-friendly too, and although we are a house bunny family rather than a dog family, I love a well-behaved pup as much as anyone, so that was an added bonus to the weekend. 

Anyway, so mellowing and relaxing was our wee trip that I managed to kickstart 2016's jewellery-making after dinner. I cannot help but take beads away with me when I go away (honestly, it's like some kind of sickness. An addiction. Anyone want to sign up to bead addicts anonymous with me?!) and so after dinner, we retreated to our room and I got to work on a few pieces, beginning with this little foxy number in my favourite red and turquoise. When I got back home, photographed and shared it on Facebook, I tagged Mhor 84 in the picture - and who should get in touch, asking to buy the piece? Why, Mhor 84 of course! I was so excited and touched to think of this little bracelet going back to where it started, a real highpoint of the year so far for me. Thank you, Mhor 84!

Star Stuff

- Handmade beads and findings from myself

I also got round to editing a bunch of photos which I took just before Christmas - I always make a whole heap of earrings for my craft fairs, because it does seem that they are always my biggest sellers, and of course in determinedly always keeping my stand FULL, it means I end up with lots left at the end! Perfect as gifts, to fill the shop up and also, to satisfy my own earring thirst, which is strong! I truly believe that you cannot own enough earrings. At my last craft fair, I overheard one potential customer talk herself out of buying a pair of mine because, in her own words, she 'already had a pair of turquoise earrings'. Lady, you and I see the world in VERY different ways!

Crocus

Another thing I was up to before Christmas was creating custom colour mixes for my handwoven beads, something I absolutely loved doing. It's lovely to be able to complement larger art beads with these wonderfully textural little handmade beads in just the right colours. This custom mix, Crocus, was made to match Heather's pendant:

 for a necklace of mine which was bought before I had the chance to photograph it properly (must try to do better with that!). I picked out the magenta and spring green and threw in a little turquoise to go with some of the other beads I used within the necklace and pull everything together. Of course, I had to turn them into stud earrings too! I've also done a couple of custom listings of these as loose beads for people on request - if you need some Crocus beads in your life, or another of my custom mixes which you may have seen in my jewellery, then just give me a shout!

Between the Sea and the Sky

- Handmade beads from myself and Green Girl Studios

One last new design I've been working on is this new handwoven rondelle. I made the switch to working a lot more with 1mm (size 15) seed beads from 2mm (size 11) in the run up to Christmas, and although it EATS into the work time, I simply adore the results. I don't think I could afford to sell these loose unfortunately- they are rather time-consuming! - but I'm just loving including them in my own designs. Such a satisfying shape to create and work with! 

Last but not least, I got a bunch of new faceted beads arrive for The Curious Bead Shop. I'm SO excited about the gorgeous saturated hues which these velvety matte beads come in! They only arrived a few days ago, but I can't wait to whip up a few designs in them - yum. You can find them here if you'd like to join in with the fun! 

This week, I'm offering a Curious Bead Shop goody bag worth at least $25 to a lucky winner. All you have to do to be in with a chance to win is leave a comment below answering my question - what's been the highlight of 2016 for you so far? 

Good luck!

Rebecca is a Scottish jewellery designer; currently living in the capital city of Edinburgh. 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.

Inside the Studio with Rebecca of Songbead

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 bribe you to use that keyboard and tell us what you think. The following week a winner is chosen at random from all eligible entries.

Congratulations to Terri del Signore!

You have won a 'Seek Beautiful Moments' bracelet kit from Erin:

in your choice of SPICY (reds/pinks) or BREEZY (blues/greens) color palette. WooP! Email Erin to claim your lovely prize.

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Today it's over to me at Songbead. Well, as usual for this year (and every year - let's be honest, but particularly 2015) this past month has been super-busy. I sometimes feel like I'm pedalling to stand still right now. You know that feeling - a constant whirling dervish but all you seem to manage to achieve is the bare minimum requirements, perhaps because there are so many of them?! Which is all very well, but I have soooo much to prepare for for the end of this month and all of August - I could really do with one of Hermione Granger's time whatsits - you know, that thing that allows you to go back in time and gain extra hours. Yes please, one of them for me over here, thank you kindly. 

Last time I wrote for Inside the Studio, I was about to head off to Holmfirth for their biannual Art Market. 

My stand at this summer's Art Market, Holmfirth.

Well, that's been and gone - blink and you miss it! - and I'm forging ahead with preparations for the rest of the summer, along with, you know, keeping things going with The Curious Bead Shop, Songbead, the flat, family and three cute bunny rabbits. Phew! 

The big things I have ahead are for one, the 3.5 week Craft and Design Fair in Edinburgh, an annual event, which this year is from the 8th - 30th  August. If you're in or around Edinburgh during August, I thoroughly recommend popping along - it's open every day, come rain or shine(!), from 11am to 6pm, and it's free entry for absolutely oodles and oodles of wonderful handmade loveliness. 

A view of my wee hut from last year's West End Fair.

You'll also not only see me, but art bead artist Helen Chalmers too - one of my favourite lampworkers. 

Helen putting her wee own hut together last year!

As you can imagine, everyone preparing for this event, whether they are doing one, two and three and a half weeks like I am, is starting to feel that August really is only just around the corner....eek! And as I discovered at Holmfirth 2 weekends ago, after working until after midnight every night for a week, I *just* had enough stock for a one-day fair. So, quite a lot to do for a 3.5 week event then.....

To make things extra challenging for myself, I'm diving back into the 'Song' part of Songbead and off to London on the 21st July to work on a newly commissioned opera with Re:Sound, which we'll be performing in London, Suffolk and Manchester during August - with the final performance on the 11th August. What's that, I hear you say? But my fair starts on the 8th? Yes - you are quite right - I'm overlapping these two projects. Gah! When I applied for both, I had no certainty of getting either, and so after much discussion with Helen, decided that if the best case scenario happened, she would take time off work and cover the beginning of the fair for me. She is a SUPER-supportive wife, and almost always helps me out at craft fairs, and so she knows the ropes almost as well as I do with these things, so I have no concerns there (and lots of gratitude!). However, it does mean that I have to be extra prepared for the fair, because I will be working flat out throughout England from the 21st July - 11th August at something completely different! And as it's a brand new opera, score only arriving with the cast yesterday, with all of us not just singing and acting, but playing instruments too (eek!), it is going to be A LOT of work. Rewarding, exciting and brilliant - but a LOT of work. Cue hilarious picture of me playing the cello as Cinderella's Mother in Into the Woods 4 years ago. 

FYI, that's my wee sister Catriona on the far right, playing Rapunzel in the same production. The younger and cuter version of me. Or perhaps I am the older, decidedly more worn-out version of her...!

So, as you can imagine, I'm feeling not a little anxious and full of nervous anticipation about the season ahead. In some ways, I'm wishing I had another two months before I head off to London - but in another way, I am itching to get going. However, it's probably best that I do have the ten (TEN!!!) days left before leaving, as I still have oodles of music learning AND jewellery making to achieve before then. Eek! Wish me luck! Here are some of the pieces I've whipped up over the past week or so - a good start but still lots and lots of making to do:

Art Beads - Green Girl Studios

Art Beads - Something to do beads, Humblebeads, Green Girl Studios

Art Beads - Swoondimples, Helen Chalmers

Art Beads - Round Rabbit, Green Girl Studios

Art Beads - Round Rabbit, Joanne Tinley

Art Beads - Soul Silver

Art Beads - Soul Silver 

You can find most of these pieces over in my etsy shop now by the way - I am trying my best to keep on top of photographing and listing as I create, so that my only recently restocked shop doesn't empty again over the summer! 

You'll see I've an abundance of necklaces in this latest crop, which some of you will know is unlike me. And it's for this very reason that I'm trying to focus on producing more necklaces! For some reason, my brain really resists necklaces - it's desperate to create bracelet after bracelet after earrings after bracelet....but I'm trying to be strict and say NO! Necklaces are needed too! And I'm rather pleased with the ones here, I must say. 

So this leads me onto my question for you, dear readers, and of course the offer of a little bribe prize for answering :-) 

Tell me, what's your go-to piece of jewellery to create? What flows from you naturally and easily - and what challenges you, seemingly every time? 

Leave your answer in the comments below to be in with the chance of winning a £14 (just over $20) voucher for your choice of my shops - Songbead or The Curious Bead Shop, the choice is yours. The winner will be announced in next week's Inside the Studio post. 

Rebecca is a Scottish jewellery designer; currently living in the capital city of Edinburgh. 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.

Amuse the Muse - Jewellery Packaging - with Rebecca of Songbead

Hello all! Another Monday, another week - another Amuse the Muse post. I'll get straight to it today - lots of lovely packaging ideas to share with you. If you come across anything you love, then share the links in the comments below - we'd love to see! 

I'll start off by sharing some of the comments, describing either your own packaging or packaging you've received that has particularly impressed you. Kathy said:

I just received my winning item from Mary Harding and I was very impressed with the wrapping and presentation. She really made it special, I really felt like I got something special, which I did, but it felt more like a gift. 

It's always great to receive a lovely package of beads and feel like you've been given a treasured gift - I absolutely agree with Kathy. 

Blu Moon said:

Before we became Kydo Jewellery we were widely known as The Silver Lodge our packaging was silver boxes in different sizes and for fairs silver jewellery bags in two sizes we used silver tissue paper to wrap our items prior to putting in box or bag and the boxes were always done up with either purple or white ribbon to send out they looked really nice!

Nothing like having really cohesive, coordinating packaging to make a real statement about your brand. 

Our own Erin also agrees with this, saying:

I am a firm believer in packaging and branding. I use kraft pillow boxes with a logo sticker on them with colorful ribbons. For larger items I have a copper box and custom satin ribbon with my key logo and company name. I always tie real ribbon, often matching the contents within. And a tiny copper skeleton key attached. Something they can definitely use again!

For me personally, this recycle/upcycle aspect is very important. I use Kraft boxes and cotton/linen bags for my jewellery - the bags in particular are great for safely storing jewellery, popping a couple of pairs of earrings in to take on holiday etc., and the Kraft boxes can easily be rescued too. With The Curious Bead Shop, whilst I do use little baggies (wish I could find a cheap, green alternative to these but they feel necessary until I do!) but I use recycled tissue paper, washi tape and cardboard boxes for sending - all of which can go straight into your paper/card recycling. I keep all the bubble wrap which I receive (I'm sure I'm not the only one!) and reuse it. Little touches like that can keep your packing smart but also limit the rubbish you're putting out into the world! 

And now to the packaging I've found to share with you this week - I hope it sparks some ideas for 

you!

Time 2 Split

 

Norman's Printery

Cool Links

Beige Gems

Dress Your Gift

Norman's Printery

And now for the BeadBlogger Links. Have a great week!

Art Bead Scene
Check out Heather's beautiful colour palette from our gorgeously vibrant monthly challenge piece!

Guitar String Bracelet Tutorial
Here is a fun idea for recycling old guitar strings. Terry shows how to make a bracelet, and gives other ideas to make out of old instrument strings. 

Much Crafting!
Crafty Princess published another crafting podcast where she shares all the crafting madness, crochet, knitting, and beading!

Father's Day Craft Ideas
Father's Day is June 21st. Here are 18 project ideas to check out.

Beading Arts
Cyndi has posted a tutorial for a quick and easy little bead embroidered pendant for the summer, featuring a beautiful painted button!

Connie Gee's New Pattern
Connie has added a new Welcome Sampler Cross Stitch Pattern to her Etsy shop. It is colorful and suitable for stitching on Aida or Linen. She's also added a new free pattern to the site, so be sure to check out recent blog posts.

Rebecca is a Scottish jewellery designer; currently living in Edinburgh, capital of her native land. 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.