Do You Feel Guilty When You Spend Time Beading?

This is a topic I find myself discussing often with friends.

If you find yourself feeling this way sometimes, please read my other blog today: www.emoforages.blogspot.com. It was inspired by an amazing book, titled, Your Money or Your Life.

Looking for Steampunk Ideas. . .

Howdy, my creative friends!

I'm looking for fresh inspiration for steampunk jewelry ideas. I've got supplies, but I've run out of. . . er. . . steam when it comes to creating steampunk pieces.

If you'll send me pictures of your creation and a brief explanation of how you came up with it or how you made it, plus a link to wherever you're selling or displaying it online, I'll post them here over the next few days.

Looking forward to seeing your work!

California State Fair Deadline for Creative Arts Submission: April 20

Have you ever gone to your state fair, looked with awe, amazement and - admit it - a little jealousy at some of the winning entries in the arts category, and thought, "I could have won something if I'd entered. . ."? Have you told yourself that you'd enter next year's event, only to let the deadline slip by you?

As a college professor of mine used to say, the opportunities and awards aren't just out there for someone else. They're there for YOU, too.

Is this the year you're going to submit some of your work to your county and state fairs? YES??

If you're a Californian, please note: The deadline for submissions for the California Creative Arts category is April 20. That's for ages 18 and up.

For submissions for the Youth Art and Design Expo, the deadline is April 13.

For those outside California, what's the deadline for your state fair? Send me a note and I'll post it here!

Good luck! Get beading!!

One Idea for Blown-Glass Beads

Not long ago, Goody Beads had a sale on several types of blown glass beads. I love these delicate glass bubbles and ordered. . . a lot. :-)

Because they're so pretty, I wanted them to take front and center in a design. After playing around with them for a while, I hit on the idea of making individual dangles of one blown-glass bead and other smaller beads and spacers. What fun it is to sort through my beads and come up with mates for these gorgeous baubles.

Here's one of the dangles I made yesterday. I've strung it on a sterling silver-plated Figaro chain, 18" long, which makes a very dainty necklace. I hope this inspires you in your own beading!

Old Playing Cards: Check. . .

After several days off from jewelry-making, I've been rarin' to get going again. I'd put together some things, but nothing really grabbed me. So, yesterday, on a jaunt to Jo-Ann's, I picked up a copy of Belle Armoire magazine for ideas.

The current issue has some great pieces! One of them incorporates pieces of playing cards in bezels under a crackle resin. That got to me to thinking. . .

. . . and half a day later, I have a new bracelet that actually does grab me. I took some stray playing cards, a length of old wire-wrapped glass pearls (with the pearl finish worn off in places), a bezel bracelet I bought on sale last year, and some loose beads from my stash.

Pieces of the cards went into the bezels and under a layer of resin. Meanwhile, I wire-wrapped glass hearts and black beads. When I checked the resin, I was a bit dismayed to see that bubbles had remained stubbornly intact in one of the bezels, despite my efforts to pop them with a piece of wire. I found a bag of loose rhinestones, new and old, that I'd gotten in a big bag of jewelry odds and ends at a thrift shop; one flat-backed rhinestone became a beauty mark to disguise the air bubbles on the jack's cheek. I added the dangles I'd made, a magnetic clasp, and. . .

"Deal Me In!"

This bracelet measures just over 8". Thinking about listing it on etsy or else taking it to a local shop to see if the owner would like to display it for sale.

Yippee! A Contest Win!

I found out yesterday that my entry in the Happy Mango Beads "Bead My Valentine" contest won the "Second Time Around" (recycled/repurposed) category! Yippee!! After seeing the many amazing entries, I didn't think I'd be bringing home a prize in this contest.

Here's the necklace. I cut strips of sari fabric and anchored them in ribbon ends, then added dangles made of vintage Lucite beads, huge Swarovski glass pearls, metal charms, and one small heart in the center.

You can view all of the winning entries here: Bead My Valentine Contest Winners 2012.

Memory Keepers

Apologies in advance for the Very Bad Picture Quality. . .

A year or so ago, my friend Cilla gave me a big plastic bag filled with jewelry in varying stages of repair and including many different styles of beads. The jewelry had been her mother's, who passed away in the last few years. Cilla's request: Custom-make a piece of jewelry for each of eight women in her family, plus one toddler.

Have you ever been rarin' to go on a project, yet overwhelmed by the choices at the same time? What direction to take?? Which beads to favor over others?? How to accommodate the different ladies' preferences for styles, colors and actual piece of jewelry (necklace vs. bracelet, earrings only, hippy vs. uptown girl, one request for a Gothic Lolita style)? And what to make for a toddler that I would consider safe from swallowing or breaking??

I dug in, starting with the piece of my dreams--a knobbly necklace made of round beads for one of the adult women in her family.

As I finished each piece, I emailed a photo to Cilla to make sure I was on track.

Despite the blurry photos (my ace photographer, aka teenaged son, wasn't available at the drop of a hat), Cilla sent back encouraging replies.

I was still flummoxed over what to make for the little girl. Finally, I took a wire snowflake ornament form and filled it with blue and crystal-clear beads from her grandmother and lots of smaller beads from my supplies, then added a pretty ribbon.

I sent off the finished collection and heard back that the recipients were delighted. After listening carefully to each of Cilla's requests, it seemed that I had nailed this very important commission.