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.

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.

 

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Show Me Sunday



Limited edition Ceramic snowflake pendants by Elaine Ray, available at Ornamentea

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: 



Two more jewelry making "Class in a Box" giveaways at A Bead A Day before the end of the year.
Just leave a comment for a chance to win! 


With a few simple crochet stitches and some Czech beads, you can make a sparkling necklace with the help of this new tutorial. 

Brandi Hussey shares a tutorial on making gemmy jewelry clusters 

Cyndi has three bead kits to give away, thanks to The Bead Shop! 

Now and again you need to push the envelope and make a really spectacular resin sample. 

Can you "tat" yet? Curious and want to give it a try? Jean gives you the lowdown on this wonderful and historical craft!





Saturday, December 15, 2012

Studio Saturday with Erin Prais-Hintz

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 our winner is Becky Pancake, Congratulations!
You have won
you very own Snowflake Button.
Send Tari an e-mail with your address for shipping and she will get it right out to you.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This week we visit the studio of Erin Prais-Hintz at Tesori Trovati Jewelry.

Every year I make ornaments to give as gifts. Ornament gifting has become a special tradition in our home. My children each get a new ornament every year in their stockings from *Santa* so that one day when they leave the nest they will have a good start on their own holiday decorations. My husband and I gift each other with an ornament instead of lavishing presents on one another. We buy what we want anyway, and this has always been a more meaningful gift that started when we had little money and a whole lot of love. But we keep it going because it is a fine tradition.

I love the idea of having something special and hand made to give to those that I cherish. I don't always make the ornaments that I give, but I do like to support handmade if at all possible. Last year my ornament to my husband was a limited edition ornament from Kylie Parry with these sweet little initials carved in a ceramic tree.

{Check out the other offerings from Kylie Parry}
When I started making my Simple Truths line a few years ago, I knew that these adornments for your self would translate to adornments for your tree just as well! These pendants-turned-ornaments or ornaments-turned-pendants are limited edition each year, so you have to get them while you can!

In 2011, I had three Nutcrackers that were made to order, and snowflakes in soft pastel colors because they are my favorite winter theme.
{2011 - Snowflakes}
I also made snowmen. I have a collection of snowmen that I bring out every now and then. I like things that can make it through more than one month on the calendar and snow seems to fit the bill.

{2011 - Let It Snow}

The beauty of making your own ornaments is that you can tailor them to the recipient and you know that there will be nothing else like it in world. You can focus on their likes and interests or commemorate something special that happened in the past year. Although I do have several new limited edition holiday pendants/charms/ornaments in my Etsy shop, you don't need to stick to holiday themes to make them festive. All you need are a few embellishments and some pretty ribbon and you can turn any pendant into a pretty - and meaningful - tree bauble. Here are some suggestions...

For the newlyweds...

{Get the last three of this pendant in my shop!
I see this with a small brass circle stamped with the wedding date and dangling from that a large purple faceted crystal briolette.
Finish with a regal burgundy ribbon for a sweet remembrance of a happy day.}
For the beach bum...

{My sea-themed pendants can be customized with your message or dates on the back. Maybe a reminder of a special trip, or just the year. I would take a small glass bottle and fill it with sand.
Cork it up and wire wrap some shells and pearls and create a wire hanger for this pendant to swing from, topped with a little burlap ribbon for a hanger.}


For the nature lover...

{A Woodsy Owl (or a Motley) would look great hanging from a branch made from hammered copper wire and wrapped with little czech glass leaves and an acorn of course!}

For your favorite teacher...

{This small pendant with a quote from The Lorax is perfect for you favorite teacher. I would do a cascade of silvery leaf chain and add a few bright colored wire spirals in honor of Dr. Seuss.}

Of course, I have some new limited edition holiday pendants that have been popular this year, and I am still making them for Christmas delivery (hint, hint ;-).
Holiday Botanical Birds, available in Pine, Poinsettia, Holly & Mistletoe
Reindeer Won't You Guide My Sleigh Tonight?Frosted Flakes in both Ginger and Steel
J-O-Y To the World
Snowfolk, available in three styles: It's Snow, Man;  Hooray for Snow ; Snow Much Fun
If you want some more ornament inspiration, come over to my blog Treasures Found as I am participating in a Holiday Ornament Swap Hop today hosted by Miss Sally Russick of The Studio Sublime and you can see a view of my brand new winter mantelscape as well! Whee! Let it snow!


The elves are working overtime in the Tesori Trovati workshop. But the Head Elf assures me that there are a lot of pendants and charms that are ready to ship, all with FREE gift wrap. Made to Order items (like these ornaments above) do take a little time, but if you hurry, there might still be time to get them to you by Christmas! If you order by Monday, December 17th, I think they will reach you with enough time for your gifting. To treat you this holiday season, I would like to extend a special discount in my Etsy shop:

LASTMINUTE for FREE Shipping (domestic only)
OR
HOHOHO for 15% off your order (Simple Truths Samplers excluded)

So, what about you? Do you like to buy ornaments for gifts? Do you have any ornament traditions? What is your favorite ornament? Share something about ornaments in the comments and you can win this one of a kind snowflake pendant that you can turn into your own ornament!

{Leave a comment to win!}
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.