Blog for Beaders

Don’t forget to enter to be our next Jewelry Design Star! Our second round of Jewelry Design Star entries is happening right now, so be sure to submit your idea before Wednesday, May 23, 2012 at 11:59pm PST. Voting will open the next day and will run until Tuesday, May 29, 2012 at 11:59 pm PST. We’ve got a lot of beautiful designs already but are still searching for more. Do you have a jewelry idea you want to show off with the world? Enter it in our contest! We will select a few honorable mentions to feature in our gallery along with the winner also. So go on and share your creative side!

Enter the Jewelry Design Star Contest or learn more on our site.

-Marissa

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Check out some of these lovely creations designed by fellow Artbeads.com customers! If you have a design that you’d like to share, send a picture to our Artbeads Blog e-mail at artbeadsblog@gmail.com. Happy Friday! Get inspired to create something new this weekend and don’t forget that Daylight Savings happens on Sunday!

This design by Sydney called “Spring Bloom” is made from over 200 stones, pearls and crystals to create its cute cluster shape.

Lisa Wan created these fun feminine earrings with Artbeads products, including the carved wood pendants.

Alice’s cute charm bracelet and earrings have a fun garden feel, complete with copper-plated charms on a lovely rollo chain.

Kristine has been designing handmade jewelry since 2006, and we are delighted to share her stunning sea life piece with you!

This collection of fun jewelry features earrings made by Monalisa, who used Artbeads products like Czech glass beads.

Kathleen created this beautiful kumihimo-style design with beautiful beads with a metallic shine.

Raina made this single strand necklace using freshwater pearls and lavender colored crystals, creating a lovely feminine look.

Karin made this three-strand mother’s bracelet for a friend, using her name and her children’s names with each of their birthstones.

We love to see what you can create with our beads, so keep your designs coming! You next design just might inspire someone to start jewelry making.

-Marissa

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We love hearing from our customers about the success they have had turning their passion for jewelry making into a successful business. I was blown away by the detailed lampwork beads sent to me from Lisette Root, who e-mailed us photos of some lampwork beads she designed. When I asked if she would like to tell her story, she once again amazed me with her incredible story. Here, in her own words, is Lisette’s tale of turning her creative talents into a successful business:

You know, I had an unusual childhood because I was a Navy Brat and traveled a lot. When I was a young child, I lived in Morocco Africa for several years, and I was exposed to the vibrant colors and intricate patterns woven into the architecture and clothing there. I was entranced with repeating patterns and lush colors as a result, which have carried throughout my artistic life. My husband was a radio engineer and flight instructor during the year, and through the summers, we lived remotely [in Alaska] in the bush and mined gold, and aquired lots of interesting memories!

The first bead I made was around 1998, I do believe. I felt like a wizard! I felt magical, and I overcame my fear of bottled gas (which is funny I know)! I have mainly given my beadwork as gifts to my friends and family. I’m the type of person who has to try whatever interests me, but I want it to be really as close to perfect as I can make it. My main motivation for beading and bead making, and the needle works and other art, is basically so I can learn and share as much beauty as possible!

When asked what her favorite piece is that she has made so far, Lisette answered,

My daughter Silver and I were reading the Clan of the Cave Bear series at the time, and I decided to make a Doni bead, which is a faceless female figure with exaggerated body features. I love that bead, and I will never sell it. It has a little piece of me inside it.

To capture Lisette’s style and personality in one line, she put it best when she told me, Life is full of beauty, just waiting to be shared.

We enjoyed browsing Lisette’s pieces and know you will, too! If you want to shop Lisette’s collection of lampwork beads and jewelry designs, check out her Etsy jewelry store and Facebook page.

If you’re just starting out and looking for a way to sell your designs, check out our Seller’s Secrets page where we share helpful ways to develop your jewelry-making business. Also be sure to sign up to be a part of Shop Handmade, a free site dedicated to helping you sell your ideas!

We want to hear your story, too! Send us your jewelry design to our blog for beaders e-mail to be featured as one of our customer success stories. Share your stories and inspire others to get creative! Mail them to artbeadsblog@gmail.com.

-Marissa

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Jean Yates is one of our amazing design partners, and always delivers us incredible pieces. Her charisma and upbeat personality flow through into her designs, bringing to life rich color combinations and twists on classic beauty. This is not a customer success story. It’s a Design Partner story. It’s an explanation into why we work with some of the most talented designers out there. In an interview she did with me, Jean explained where her inspiration comes from, how she became interested in designing and the various routes in which she expresses her creativity. Even in writing it is easy to spot her charismatic spirit between every keyboard stroke and blinking cursor.

So what first got you interested in jewelry making?

I have five sons. Three with my husband Jim! My two eldest boys are grown and have families of their own. My family with Jim consists of our twenty year old and our two youngest boys, who have severe autism and epilepsy. I have been occupied raising my children and participating in the Special Education arena of our school district for years. As a side interest, when the kids were young, I began watching the jewelry home shopping shows on cable TV. I am nothing if not a classy dame! I actually learned a LOT from the cable shows, specifically about types of gems, exotic gemstones, and what they measured on the Mohs scale of hardness. It was a good education on design, color and placement, while I stayed at home and cared for my children. Then I joined the Yahoo group run by fantastic teacher Tammy Powley online. I was fascinated by the diverse methods of jewelry making she was teaching, and also interested in the group’s forum conversations. I began participating online and at the same time learning how to make chain maille. When I learned how to wire wrap I was off to the races!

What happened the first time you tried to make something?

When I first tried to make something I would occasionally misstep. In chain maille, you really want it to be perfect. You don’t really have a choice. It is just a pile of bent-up jump rings if you don’t. Therefore, while learning the basics of that particular jewelry art, I would have to repeat my steps over and over until I got something right. We are talking things that other people learn in a flash! On the other hand, I had a good eye for color and a great desire to make my pieces unique, so I would persevere and get that base bracelet or necklace right, and then add absolutely knockout focals and dangling charms and all sorts of fanciful things to my creations. That was my reward for all the hard work I had put in to begin with!

I found this to be great fun as I stayed at home, looking for beautiful beads and components (at places like Artbeads!), and taking care of our kids. I started submitting to countless beading magazines. I even ended up writing my own jewelry design book, Links, by Jean Yates. There are so many beads from your store in my book, and for good reason. You offer some of the most unique and lovely beads I have ever seen.

Is there anything in particular that inspires your creations?

Music always inspires me! I love classic rock and roll and R&B. I also love my son’s band, The Ruse. It’s right up there with my favorites. My next submission to a magazine (Jan. 2012) is inspired by music.

Additionally, really beautiful focal beads inspire me…it is as if, at times, I can get inside the bead’s artist and see his or her intentions when the bead was created. I have been told by a few bead artists that I made the designer piece they have always hoped would be made with their beads. This makes me so proud I can hardly express it!

Other inspirations are words (really long weird words–don’t ask why), colors (I love to dive into color, especially its subtle tonal permutations), crystals, and pearls! I just go my own way when I make jewelry. I am incredibly curious and love to research any and everything. I am, to be honest, a complete nerd.

Photo by Rose Mottl

I love your Blythe doll fashion. When did you first start incorporating them into your designs and why?

Thank you so much for liking my Blythes! I write a regular column, “Our Beading World,” for a super glossy beading magazine located in Australia. It is Australia’s number one favorite jewelry design magazine. It’s called, not surprisingly, Australian Beading magazine. My editor and I have grown to be dear friends. We exchange photos as well as chatty emails. Of course I have sent her photos of my Blythes. It was her idea to use them in my column, wearing jewelry. I LOVE doing this, and it gives me one other way to display my dolls, practice my photography, and design fun jewelry! The pieces I made with your components will be showcased in the December issue (That is Australian Beading‘s biggest issue of the year) on a different Blythe of mine, in a special story about friendship. My editor said when she read the story it made her cry. I dedicated it to her.

I wish to add that I have made lots of earrings for Blythes which ended up being worn by people–they often convert easily to the same size which people like wearing. Also, I have made period jewelry for my dolls. Once I made a whole Egyptian set which came out really well. Another Blythe lover made the costume for my doll, [then] I took the photos, and presto: we had “Nefertiti”!

Jean, along with all of our design partners, has that special eye for style and sparks inspiration in all of us to explore new routes in jewelry making. Every idea she comes up with is a true reflection of her, in one way or another. We’re happy to support Jean in her creations, and glad to have her on the Artbeads team. You can check out her blog to view more cool looks and fun stories at Snap out of it, Jean! There’s beading to be done!

All photos were courtesy of Jean Yates.

-Marissa

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We love hearing from our customers about the success they have had turning their passion for jewelry making into a successful business. Kirsten Ann Ryan e-mailed us a photo of a necklace she designed, and was pleased to share her story about getting into beading, and how she’s turned her passion into profit. This passion has been a lifelong hobby for Kirsten, sparking from her creative imagination as a child. Here’s her story:

From a young age I had always been creative and interested in making things with my hands. I loved anything that was pretty and caught my eye! I grew up near the beach and I loved collecting shells and admiring all their beautiful colours and patterns. I studied all the arty subjects at school –studio arts, fashion, visual design etc and also business management. I had always wanted to run my own business.

When I was about 14 I started experimenting with jewellery making, using little tiny seed beads to make small earrings and then progressed to tigertail necklaces. I just continued through trial and error over the years and developed my own personal style.

Over the years, Kirsten had created many glamorous designs that kept her collection growing. She soon made the decision to begin selling her jewelry so that others could take advantage of her talent. In 2009 Kirsten starting selling online, and has since sold to customers all over the world. In describing her style, Kirsten writes:

My designs are mostly statement pieces with a modern, vintage style—they are feminine and dramatic but also have a softness and strength about them. Most of my designs are one-off pieces, [but] I also do custom designs. I have an interest in fashion and design so I love to use fabrics in my designs such as laces, ribbons and tulle. I love working with pearls as I think they are timeless and elegant but can also be very modern when put with layers of chains.

We love Kirsten’s pieces and know you will, too! If you want to shop Kristy’s collection, check out her Etsy jewelry store and her label, Kirsten Ann Design. If you’re just starting out and looking for a way to sell your designs, check out our Seller’s Secrets page where we share helpful ways to develop your jewelry-making business.

We want to hear your story, too! Send us your jewelry design to our blog for beaders e-mail to be featured as one of our customer success stories. Share your stories and inspire others to get creative! Mail them to artbeadsblog@gmail.com.

-Marissa

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Check out some of these lovely creations designed by fellow Artbeads.com customers! If you have a design that you’d like to share, send a picture to our Artbeads Blog e-mail at artbeadsblog@gmail.com. Happy Friday! Get inspired to create something new this weekend!

Helen made this lovely purple necklace and earring set using several beadweaving stitches with glass beads, Lucite and resin beads. Just gorgeous! Artbeads would like to wish Helen a happy birthday, too!

After Lynn purchased her peacock Russian artist pendant, it inspired her to create this incredible necklace. Surrounding the hand-painted focal are peach moonstone beads, potato pearls and glass tube beads, as well as some gold links. Lynn made this for her sister’s birthday, so hopefully she makes another one for herself!

Artbeads customer Melissa made this stunning necklace she calls “Butterfly Wishes.” Designed with 4mm and 6mm Swarovski crystal bicone beads, the top strand of her necklace can also be worn as a bracelet. What awesome versatility!

We love to see what you can create with our beads, so keep your designs coming! You next design just might inspire someone to start jewelry making.

-Marissa

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We love hearing from our customers about the success they have had turning their passion for jewelry making into a successful business. Antoinette frequently visits our Facebook page with elaborate creations from her online store, so we reached out to her and asked if she would like to tell the story of how she created a successful jewelry making business. Her heritage and her love for beading is what sparked the inspiration for her desire to turn it into success.

It started in Spring 2009 in her basement as a hobby. Antoinette says “I have always pursued activities where I could use my artistic talent. I love color and designing and my journey led me to creating my own jewelry line.” This passion for art soon turned into her starting her own business. It’s her love of both fashion trends and the desire to make every women feel beautiful that drives her to keep creating new additions for her line.

A lot of Antoinette’s inspiration also comes from her Czech roots. Often her relatives still living the Czech Republic would send her mom jewelry made from Czech crystals. Most of the time she received ones with garnet color. Antoinette recalls “I loved to look in my mom’s jewelry box and admire the unique jewelry. Some of it looked like it was fit for a queen. I guess my mom and dad named me right when they named me Antoinette.”

She likes to use high-quality silver, semi-precious stones and Swarovski crystals in her designs to ensure that her customers receive special creations. Her focus on more one-of-a-kind pieces rather than mass-produced items is what will make her looks stand above the rest. She hopes to inspire people to celebrate their uniqueness and let their beauty shine with her jewelry. We could not be more proud to help support this dream.

Browse her shop on Etsy or her personal online jewelry store. We’re happy that Antoinette was able to turn a passion into success. If you’re just starting out and looking for a way to sell your designs, check out our Seller’s Secrets page where we share helpful ways to develop your jewelry-making business.

We want to hear your story, too! Send us your jewelry design to our blog for beaders e-mail to be featured as one of our customer success stories. Share your stories and inspire others to get creative! Mail them to artbeadsblog@gmail.com.

-Marissa

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We love hearing from our customers about the success they have had turning their passion for jewelry making into a successful business. Smadar e-mailed us a photo of a necklace she designed, and was pleased to share her story about getting into beading and how she’s taken it to the next level. It’s a treasured hobby she discovered while on vacation.

On the annual summer vacation she takes with her friends, Smadar joined a stringing and knotting workshop after seeing a group of women smiling as they left, each wearing a beautiful necklace. She thought that there must be some pleasure found in making jewelry—and she was right. During the workshop, Smadar realized how relaxing beading was. It was almost meditative, like her own “peaceful island” where she could escape the daily stresses of the real world.

Jewelry making quickly became Smadar’s favorite hobby. After a few months of stringing new ideas, Smadar decided to expand her hobby. She taught herself beadweaving techniques by browsing the Internet and learned about all sorts of different beads she could work with. In fact, she’s still learning new things and experimenting with new designs. One of her greatest joys is shopping for new beads—this is also when she gets new sparks of inspiration.

Creating her own jewelry designs is what she loves the most, though. She gets to breathe light into something brand new. Smadar said it’s like giving birth—”but without the diapers/feeding part that comes after that.”

It wasn’t until a couple of years ago that she decided to create her own online store to sell her designs. She opened an Etsy shop and an Artfire store just to see if her things would sell. Her jewelry was selling well. Sadly, she was fired from her day job shortly after starting to sell her jewelry. However, this new freedom allowed Smadar to focus more on her jewelry making business and creating new designs. Her hard work and dedication has certainly paid off. She has had several of her designs published in Bead&Button and Beadwork magazine, and has even joined two online beading groups. Smadar now sells patterns and beading tutorials in her shop as well. She feels blessed every day that she gets to do what she loves for a living and would like to thank all of her wonderful customers for making it possible for her to do this.

You can browse her jewelry website on Etsy or the jewelry designs at her shop in Artfire. We’re happy that Smadar was able to turn a passion into success. If you’re just starting out and looking for a way to sell your designs, check out our Seller’s Secrets page where we share helpful ways to develop your jewelry-making business.

We want to hear your story, too! Send us your jewelry design to our blog for beaders e-mail to be featured as one of our customer success stories. Share your stories and inspire others to get creative! Mail them to artbeadsblog@gmail.com.

-Marissa

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We were so excited to receive such lovely entries from our design partners that we want to share more! You can view our previous post featuring more pictures from the “What’s Old is New Again!” challenge to discover fun ideas and the link to our Facebook gallery. Below are highlights from some of our incredible entries.

“Dialed Up” by Kristen of My Bead Journey

Kristen used an old coin used in Brazil for making telephone calls as her unique focal piece in her design. Her husband helped pick out the colors of seed beads to match the copper chain she used.

Ammonite Fossil Necklace by Kelley of Kell’s Creative Musings

Kelley’s “Ammonite Fossil Necklace” definitely features something old! Her combination of pearls and ancient fossils creates a unique, elegant fashion.

Created by Tish of JustATish Designs

Design Partner Tish made this fun bracelet out of some old beads from her mother’s necklace and a daisy earring drop. Very flirty and stylish!

Design by Michi Rhymes with Peachy

Michi made an intricate charm necklace that displays old family photos to turn heirlooms into jewelry. She used some silver-plated pewter pendants to protect her vintage photos.

“Autumn Colors” by Pearl of The Beading Gem’s Journal

Using an old family brooch as the pendant, this “Autumn Colors” necklace consists of colorful crocheted wires braided together.

Paper Flower Rings by Leah of Michon

These fun cocktail rings are made from rolled up paper glued onto a blank ring. Fast and simple, but full of fashion!

Created by Lynn of Beading Heart Art

Lynn used some old buttons from her personal collection to create this cool bracelet. The mixing of fiber and metal elements is a lovely homage to vintage style.

“Something Blue” by Tracey of A Beadiful Mess

Digging through an old tin given to her by her grandmother, Design Partner Tracey was inspired to make this focal piece out of a vintage pin and decorate it with Swarovski pearls and crystals.

Created by Sharla of A Beaded Tail

The cute kitty focal in this necklace is a pendant Design Partner Sharla has held onto since high school. She got a bit of inspiration from her pets on designing a delicate necklace around her pendant.

“Salma Trutta” by Chris of BeadJewelry.net

The vintage piece in this necklace is actually an old fishing license from 1960. It’s held safely inside a Nunn Design tag link and protected from damage using Magic-Glos™ resin. This necklace is a cool way to remember the past and honor a cherished family pastime.

Thank you again to all of our wonderful design partners for their ingenious talent and lovely designs. We love coming up with new challenges to see what you’ll come up with next! Check out our Facebook page to view the entire Design Partner photo gallery I and photo gallery II and view all of the lovely creations!

-Marissa

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Artbeads would like to give a big thanks to all of the design partners who participated in our latest design challenge. We asked them to create jewelry with the theme “What’s Old is New Again!” Each had to incorporate looks with vintage components and give them new life. The results were nothing short of incredible. Here are a few pictures from our participants that we think are absolutely stunning. Check out our Facebook page to view the entire Design Partner photo gallery I and photo gallery II and view all of the lovely creations!

“Somewhere Between 7pm and 8pm” by LaBella Joya

“Dragonfly Hidden in Blue and Green Pearls” by Krafty Max Originals

Design by ErtheFae’s Meandering Thoughts

Created by Amy of Sprite Creations

“All That Jazz” by Maryanne of Zingala’s Workshop

“And Evinrude Flies Again” from Zerenity Design by Inca

“Anna” created by Jeannie’s Blog

“Artsy Copper Oak Leaf Necklace Set” by Brenda of Salzano’s

“Blast from the Past” by Brenda of Salzano’s

“Aunt Win” by Amy Beads

Necklace design from Beadwork by Amanda

“Bees and Blossoms” from Erin Siegel Jewelry

“Vintage Grace” by Sally from Wireworked

“Brazz Matazz” by Gems by Jerri

“Jessie’s Butterfly necklace” from Brenda’s Jewelry Box

“Copper Chain and Crystals” by Tiffany from My Life in Snippets

“Good for One Fare” from Judith B Designs

“Brittany’s Choice” by Christine’s Beadworks

“Cameo Necklace” by Diane of Divella Delights

Created by Dot of Speedie Beadie

“Lovey Dovey Earrings” by Jacquie of Bead Gypsy

Created by Elizabeth of Yellow Finch Designs

“Eternity Spirals” by Olga of Foxan’s Beading Blog

“Flapper Necklace” created by Cyndi of Beading Arts

Created by Carmen of Dentedhalo

Created by Carrie of Hammi Jammi Jewelry

Created by Cat of Boo Beads Blog

Created by Cheryl Straight

“Chocolate Tea Necklace” Created by Michelle of Beads and Books

Created by Cynthia of Bead Origami

“Coco d’Or” from Designs by Cassandra

Necklace created by Designs by Victoria

“Horn of Ammon” by Nancy of NEDbeads

Don’t forget to check out our Facebook page and view both Design Partner photo gallery I and photo gallery II to view all of the lovely creations!

-Marissa

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