Time Capsule: March 2010

Three years ago this month, I tried a new necklace design that is a definite favorite to this day. There is so much trial and error when it comes to trying out new beading techniques; so when something sticks, it’s a big moment. I was pretty impressed with how the design turned out at the time, but I had no idea how often it would come up again.

The simple solution of stitching a front-drilled tagua slice to some St. Petersburg chain has become a go-to technique for all kinds of pendants. I love the way that the V-shaped beadwork provides just enough space for a pendant, and makes it easy to complement a focal with little fuss. Layering more than one pendant makes for even more possibilities.

Often when I’m faced with a beading challenge that involves finding metal-free ways to use common materials, it doesn’t turn out as nice as I would like, but this necklace was a total success, that lead to many more design ideas.

Do you have a favorite eureka moment in beading?

Copyright 2013 Inspirational Beading
Subscribe to Inspirational Beading
Get inspired on Facebook and Google+

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Tiny baby Dolls

Hello dear readers,

Shopping before the holidays, can be a very hectic time. As was looking for small gifts for the young members of my family,  I found these tiny Moses in a Crib dolls at the one-shekel-store.  I bought the entire stock of 7 pieces for about two US dollars.  They are too cute to be given to children where they won't last long.  I'll keep them for myself. With a little makeover they can be upgraded. The cribs are onlyCarmen good for protection of the delicate dolls but too crude to be used.

Passover is when we read, again each year, the story of the Israelites exodus from Egypt and the story of little Moses in his crib left to float on the Nile and picked up by Pharoh's daughter who adopted  the baby who grew up as a royal prince.  Baby in a crib dolls are part of of Passover tradition.

 A warm welcome to Britta.  A visit to Britta's relatively new blog is highly recommended. You'll find there a beautiful flower tutorial and lovely miniature displays.

I also want to thank http://sognatriceabordo.blogspot.co.il/  and Carmen for giving me this great award.
Thank you so much!

I wish you a wonderful week with my blessings

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

King Me

I guess I could have called this post "Checkmate" instead of "King Me", but I never really learned chess, checkers was more my game. I found this little table last year at a garage sale for $2.00. I mean who can pass that up! It had one broken leg, but nothing my hubby couldn't fix. It was also missing the inserted top piece, someone had thrown a peel and stick vinyl square in there, thank goodness not stuck yet. Originally I wanted to paint this yellow and transfer The Graphic Fairy French Bee in the center. I still think that would have been cute, but I decided to go natural instead.

Read more »

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Keelin's Prize

I won this beautiful giveaway prize from Keelin. It arrived today.  Dear followers you have one day left if you want a chance to win an identical giveaway.  All you have to do, is click Keelin's link, enter her relatively new blog and make a comment on her giveaway post. The giveaway is gorgeous!

My little treasures were exquisitely packed.  

Dear Keelin, I am simply delirious with pleasure.  THANK YOU!!!

A warm welcome to Melli .  Melli has a wonderful giveaway going on  in her blog.  Don't miss it.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Wear It Twice: Ombre

I’ve been working on a little side project using a blue-green ombre palette, and it has me craving more blends. Ombre is by far one of my favorite trends of late, because it works with any color, shape, or material you can think of. If you’re not familiar with it, ombre is the gradual blending of two colors. Think polymer clay Skinner blends, or dip-dyed silk. It can be one color blending into black or white, or a neighboring hue on the color wheel. No matter which combinations are used, it’s always gorgeous.

Fly Me Away by mortira featuring suede shoes

I started with a fun statement necklace using several shades of sea green, then added a dash of orange. A little lime to dance with the orange, and some browns to balance it all out, equals the perfect backdrop for colorful ombre jewelry.

If you want to give ombre palettes a try, here are some fun projects and tutorials.

Pearl and Mesh Ombre Necklace Project by lemmemakeit

Ombre Drop Necklace Tutorial by Miss Lovie

DIY Ombre Fringe Necklace by Syl and Sam

Ombre - which comes from a romance word meaning "shaded" - is a big trend with DIY and fashion bloggers, but here are a few more ombre jewelry inspirations from fantastic jewelry artists. These pieces are great examples of how you can blend colors using your favorite materials, from seed beads to wire. Three or more colors is all you need - the more hues, the smoother the blend.

Silk Embroidery Ombre Pendant by bstudio

African Violet Earrings by Design by JSG

Teal Crochet Ombre Necklace by boorashka

Waterfall Ombre Earrings by Intealect

Ombre Pleated Collar by tropicalkaren

Do you have a favorite variation of ombre? What types of beads do you use to create it?

Copyright 2013 Inspirational Beading and Friends
Subscribe to Inspirational Beading
Get inspired on Facebook and Google+

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Falcon Feather Amulet

For the latest piece in my Egyptian Gods series, I took some inspiration from Horus the falcon. Although I do love the look of the Wedjat Eye, I didn’t want to go with something quite so obvious, and instead looked to the falcon itself for ideas on how to capture this deity in jewelry.

The legends say that Horus’ eyes were the sun and the moon - the one that was plucked out by the usurper Set being the weaker moon. I decided I would try to recreate the look of real falcon eyes - shiny black orbs - each with colors representing those celestial bodies. Some druks and brick stitch would do the trick, but I didn’t want more than a pair of eyes. For the bulk of the necklace, I tried to recreate the look of falcon feathers, but with an Egyptian flair.

I chose a palette of turquoise, red, and gold, along with some light beige and black for stripes. The falcon eyes made the perfect connectors between a fringed amulet and straps of matching St. Petersburg chain. Rather than use a striped pattern for the whole necklace, I left the ends entirely black, which brings a little balance to everything.

This necklace turned out even better than I had hoped, with the exception of the druks, which didn’t quite translate into natural looking bird eyes. I do love the way their shape stands out against the amulet and chains, and I may keep the idea in mind for future constructions.

Copyright 2013 Inspirational Beading
Subscribe to Inspirational Beading
Get inspired on Facebook and Google+

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

All Time Favorite Beading Blogs

As many of you may already know, Google Reader is being put out to pasture. Although I don’t technically make much use of the reader itself, I do have a long, long list of blogs that I’ve followed over the years, and I took a little time this weekend to comb through them and decide which ones I wanted to rescue. About once a year, I check out the 2 or 3 hundred feeds I’ve collected and remove any dead blogs or those that aren’t of interest anymore. During every cull, there are always a handful of blogs that stand out - the ones that are always up to date, on topic, and full of inspiration. These are some my favorites:

Beads for Brains: 365 is a great example of creative determination.
The best way to learn new beadwork stitches and styles is to try them!
This blog explores the amazing variety of projects and tutorials available through
books, magazines, and more.





Beverly Ash Gilbert never fails to provide simple, straightforward,
and often breathtaking inspirations for beading and photography.





If you like to learn about beads, where they come from, who makes them, and how then you need to check out
the Happy Mango Beads Blog. Regular posts about bead origins of every kind are mixed in with
project ideas and gorgeous bead market pics.





Laura Bracken makes some gorgeous jewelry, but she also has a knack for teaching.
Every time she learns something new, she passes that information on through her blog.
If you’re always craving tips and tricks for marketing your work,
Laura Bracken Designs is a blog to follow.





Smart, sassy, hilarious, and full of ideas, Margot Potter The Impatient Crafter loves to make stuff,
and she wants you to want to make stuff, too!





Art Bead Scene is always filled with gorgeous, delightful, and to die for beads -
all handmade by talented designers.





Bead Origami is updated regularly with innovative beadwork and beaded beads, in amazing color palettes.





Jewelry, crafts, photography, marketing, business…it’s all there with daily posts on Randomcreative.
Rose has a great community and pool of resources that she shares to keep you entertained and inspired.

Google Reader is still available until July 1st of this year, but now is as good a time as any to find a replacement for you favorite blog list. Blog Lovin’ is an excellent option if you like creative blogs. You can upload your entire Google Reader list, sort your blogs into groups, and set up email updates for those blogs you want to check in on instantly. What service are you moving to?

Copyright 2013 Inspirational Beading and Friends
Subscribe to Inspirational Beading
Get inspired on Facebook and Google+

reade more... Résuméabuiyad