Blog for Beaders

With intricate patterns and impressive silhouettes, seed bead jewelry designs are more than stylish accessories, they are works of art! Today I’m delighted to share some stunning seed bead creations with you from Artbeads customer, Betty! Betty created these necklaces using TOHO™ 8/0 Seed Beads and Miyuki 11/0 Delicas. For the centerpieces she used a cloisonné butterfly, a fox brooch from the 1960′s and an old metal casting of a tiger with her cubs. Betty writes, “I never draw out the design. I ‘paint’ with beads which, as you know, are very forgiving. If a design doesn’t look right, I cut the threads, take out the beads and re-bead until it makes me happy.”

The fox necklace was inspired by Betty’s surroundings, “I live in the Colorado Rockies and have lots of foxes so that led to the blue Colorado sky, mountains, snow and the Crsytal River below our house.”

“The tiger reminded me of Rudyard Kipling’s, Jungle Book with the phrase, ‘The great grey-green greasy Limpopo River all set about with Fever Trees’ but I just couldn’t make the river grey-green and greasy.”

“The butterfly inspired me to use several shades of green to make a leaf for the butterfly.”

Thanks to Betty for sharing these beautiful designs!

Happy Valentine’s Day!
-Sarah

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Today I’m excited to feature some amazing bracelets from Artbeads customer, Jeff S.! Jeff’s Warrior Bracelets are much more than an accessory; they can be literal life savers. Created from 550 Paracord, these bracelets are made using the “Portuguese Sennit” weave, the same weave that is used for the Army dress shoulder cords. These bracelets are worn by the Troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. The ends of the bracelet unravel to produce around 14 feet of emergency cord to use in the field!

Jeff incorporates TierraCast® Antique Skull Head Beads into his Warrior Bracelet designs. The oxidized finish on the pewter TierraCast® beads contrasts beautifully with the brightly colored Paracord. A retired BNSF conductor from California, Jeff writes, “The idea first came to me from one of our friend’s daughters who is going to college. She is crazy for anything with skulls.”

Thanks to Jeff for sharing this incredible design idea!

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After To Bead True Blue, I made a coffee stop and met up with the rest of the Artbeads team at the Best Bead Show. There were a lot of booths in the building and in tents outside. We stopped by Lillypilly Designs to pick up some Tucson Treasures and more for the website.

We also saw some fun ceramic beads, dichroic glass and other handmade glass beads!

It had already been a long day of walking, shopping and talking but it wasn’t over! We went to the exclusive Swarovski Create Your Style party! It was on the outskirts of town with a gorgeous view at a luxurious hotel restaurant.

Here we are all dressed up and ready to party!

Walking into the party.

There was a DJ playing loud dance music, great food, dessert and drinks. It was nice to be fancy for the night. Even the candles on the tables were resting in Swarovski crystals.

Since a lot of us were going home that weekend, it was nice to say hello to those I missed during the week and meet new people! Everyone was genuinely nice and friendly, we all had a great time.
I met Brenda Schweder and Helen Dahms from the Loose Bead Society of Greater Milwaukee.

Here we are hanging out with Kristal Wick and a cactus!

We were exhausted by the end of the night but made a quick stop at an Ihop near my hotel. We were really dressed up for Ihop!

Luckily, I slept in on Saturday. But we weren’t done yet! We shopped and explored at a huge flea market – I saw of lot of gemstones, fossils, crystals and jewelry. The prices were great and there was so much to look at.

I feel so honored to be able to show everyone the Tucson experience! I met wonderful people and was truly inspired by everything. I’m ready to start creating my own jewelry. I recommend you make the trip someday too!

-Reyna

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I made it home. I have had some time to catch up on sleep and emails. I was only in Tucson for 4 days and I was exhausted. Finally, I am able to write about the last full day. It was so busy that I have to make two entries about it!

The first place I went was back to the Swarovski showroom to crash in on Laura Timmons’ class! It was a surprise for her and her students – I loaded them with Artbeads t-shirts, gift cards, and polishing cloths. They were working on a beautiful wire crochet necklace with SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS! Next time I would love to take a class, it looked like a lot of fun!

I quickly ran off to the To Bead True Blue show to talk to some vendors and friends. The weather was getting better; I didn’t even have to wear my winter coat! I didn’t have a lot of time and there was so much to look at (that seemed to be the trend of the week). I registered for the show and went straight to the Tierracast® showroom.

This was one of my favorites to visit because it was so interactive! They had this fun vintage dress up photo booth to go along with their new theme of “What was old is new again.” Here I am with the friendly Tierracast folks all dressed up.

They also had their own Make and Take! I made a Beauty and the Beast resin pendant using a heart frame in the black finish. We used images printed out on paper, a heart hole punch, and Magic-Glos™. They had ribbons, findings, and tools for us to finish a piece! Also, when the clock rang on the hour, everyone in the room received a goodie bag!

Then I visited with Nunn Design™ and got to see all of the new items and trends! There were many inspiring designs and creative ways to use their products. I adored it all and I’m looking forward to creating using them! Check out the new Nunn Design items.

After that, I visited with Fernando Dasilva at the Beadalon booth and he showed me his beautiful new book of inspiring new designs called Modern Expressions. His jewelry designs are gorgeous and he is featured in the February issue of Harper’s Bazaar! I enjoyed chatting with him and look out for more from him in the near future on our Facebook page.

I stopped by the Kabela Design booth to check out their new products! All I can say is “Wow!” and I think everyone is going to love it. I have a weakness for antiques and vintage items so these sparked some ideas in me.

We have some of these lovely beads in our Vintage Beads section already. Get them while you can, they are no longer in production so we will not get more.

I also stopped by Grace Lampwork Beads and chatted with other friends before leaving to the next show.

Check back soon for more about the rest of the day!

-Reyna

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Last week, Swarovski hosted the first ever Sparkling Make and Take projects at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. These projects were a major success and Artbeads.com was proud to sponsor this exciting debut! Despite an astonishing cold front (Tucson had its lowest temperatures in over 100 years last week), the class was held in an outside courtyard. Beaders worked on their projects beneath heaters wearing fingerless gloves and had a blast! Since these classes were such a hit, we had to share these designs our customers. Visit the Learning Center to see step-by-step instructions for the Ardennes Bracelet and the Parisian Garden Necklace. You can also see photos of the classes here.

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In addition to heaps of beads and jewelry components, the Artbeads team got to see some amazing finished pieces at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. Here are a few favorites!

This beautiful necklace created by Artbeads Design Partner, Linda Roberts and showcases a handmade Bulgarian Stoneware Pendant. The lovely turquoise leather cuff is from Triz Designs.

This elegant Kumihimo necklace was designed by Marsha Hedrick. I love the subtle color!

Artbeads Design Partner, Lorelie Eurto designed this bold necklace using wood components and Stoneware Clay Beads.

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Yesterday was the first day for me to see BEADS! I wasn’t quite sure what to expect but I had a lot of fun. We went to the Grant Inn to start the cold day where I registered and followed along as the team selected beads and other fun things. We looked for items that are genuinely unique – from brightly colored ceramic beads to cute lampwork beads to copper components to African trade beads! All of you are going to be blown away by our Tucson Treasures and we’ll try to get them on Artbeads as soon as possible.

So Many Beads!

We met Patricia Healey and grabbed a Tucson Treasure – copper bugs!

Here we are selecting our favorite Patricia Healey pieces.

We’re bringing these African Trade beads back too!

There were some beads made of interesting material…these are made of snake vertebrae.

Here we are picking out glass beads and some butterflies!

I was able to chat with Patricia Healey and Libby from Fire Designs. We talked about inspiration and designing. I can’t wait to share this information with you!

We even snuck in some time to do some shopping…we found a booth that had finished jewelry that were so unique (and affordable!), I walked away with 3 necklaces, 2 bracelets, 2 rings, a headband and gifts for friends and family back home.

After Grant Inn, we had a quick lunch and went to the JOGS show. They had some really interesting items there – my favorite was the huge pieces of amethyst!

Amethyst Tree

We visited with Lana May at her jewelry classes and they have a huge display of amazing pieces made from all around the world. Here are a few of my favorites.

Please check out our Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter pages for the latest updates! I’ll be tweeting all day as I explore To Bead True Blue and keep you posted for rest of my stay in Tucson.

-Reyna

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My first full day in Tucson is complete! It was packed full of Swarovski. I can’t complain about that! The Sparkling Make and Takes were wonderful. All of our classes were sold out and we wish we could have let more in. Since everyone loved these designs so much we will be adding them as ideas in our Learning Center soon! There will be a full list of products and instructions on how to make each one.

Right now Tucson is going through the coldest weather in over 100 years! Guess what? Our Make & Take classes were OUTSIDE! Everyone braved the cold and created their own necklaces and bracelets in 45 minutes with Kristal. Luckily we had heat lamps so we could feel our hands through the wind and cold. Big thanks to Kristal Wick, she was amazing!

While I was there I also met Debbi Simon, she was giving a demo and showed us how to use two-part epoxy clay/putty that can be used with Swarovski ELEMENTS to create original pieces! We loved it!

Lilian Chen had a demo right after and she showed us some of her latest designs – WOW! Check out this headband and hair comb she made.

There were gorgeous Swarovski designs by artists from around the world. I thought this rain poncho was interesting…can you imagine someone wearing that walking down the street?

Another favorite of mine was this seahorse – I love seahorses!

Check out the Artbeads 2011 Tucson Gem and Mineral Show Facebook album to see more pictures.

We saw the new Spring/Summer 2012 Swarovski ELEMENTS Innovations in person later that night. We can’t wait for you to try them out! The new color, Chrysolite Opal, is stunning and my favorite.

Today will be my first day going to shows. I’m looking forward to getting to the beads!

-Reyna

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I finally made it to Tucson after the delay! I arrived slightly behind schedule but was able to meet some wonderful artists and designers on my first night. Last night I went to a party with a couple others from Artbeads at the Tucson Museum of Art. It was beautiful! I had never been to a party like that and I got a little overwhelmed with trying to get there and meet everyone.

First, I met Margot Potter (she looked stunning!) and Kristal Wick. We talked about how excited we were for the Sparkling Make & Takes!

We also ran into Lana May and Irina Wilson, she was wearing her 2nd place necklace design from the What Inspires You? Contest! I LOVED IT!

Irina Wilson, Reyna (Artbeads Marketing Coordinator), Lana May and Cheri (Artbeads Designer)

Time was running out but I was able to meet the wonderful Laura Timmons, a SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS Ambassador and one of my favorite people to work with! Look at her jewelry!

Laura Timmons and Reyna

Right before we left, we also met Andrew Thornton, one of our Design Partners. I’ve always been a fan of his work and blog.

I have to say it’s a weird feeling to meet these wonderful people in person after talking through email for over a year! Everyone is so friendly and outgoing – it makes my job even more enjoyable. They have a passion for what they do and that is something I admire.

Today is Sparkling Make & Takes with Kristal Wick! I’ll be at the Swarovski Showroom all day catching demos and helping out. I’m really excited to share everything from today!

By the way, today the high is supposed to be 40 degrees. I think the weather is nicer back home! Good thing I brought my coat. Don’t forget to follow along on the Road to Tucson Virtual Road Trip for the latest news and updates!

-Reyna

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Reyna, Artbeads Marketing Coordinator

Hello! My name is Reyna and I’ll be your guide during the Road to Tucson Virtual Road trip. I’m really excited for my first trip to the Gem and Mineral Show and I have packed my schedule so I’ll be able to show you as much as I can! I’ll be checking out all of the hottest new beads and products as well as interesting fossils and minerals

To start off my trip, I woke up at 4am this morning to catch an 8:30am flight from Seattle to Phoenix. I received a phone call 10 minutes later informing me that my flight has been delayed 3 hours and I’ll be arriving in Tucson at 5pm. I had been planning on going to the flea market first thing to catch all of the fun beads and other interesting pieces but I’ll have to try to fit in later on because I do think you would love to see these products. The good news is that the rest of the Artbeads team is already there so no matter what I’ll still have some great pictures to share with you!

Artbeads T-Shirt

On Thursday and Friday I’ll be running around to different shows wearing a purple Artbeads t-shirt! I’ll have some great giveaways and prizes to give to you so if you see me please say hi! I want to give away all the prizes I’ve brought to clear room in my suitcase for all of the beads I’m planning on bringing back! Also, if you’re wearing purple when I see you, you’ll be eligible to win an extra prize! So be sure to wear purple and also keep an eye out for my purple shirt!

For the Virtual Road trip, I’ll be updating Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, and the Artbeads blog so it will seem like you’re right here with me the entire time! We’ve made it easy for you to follow along by combining all of these social media outlets in our Virtual Road Trip page!

Next stop – Tucson!

-Reyna
Marketing Coordinator

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