Congratulations to Carole D., Jennifer I. and Dale D. for winning Metal Complex Presents The Princess and the Bead Giveaway! They have each won an amazing metal working prize package worth over $350. Have fun with your new components!

We’d also like to congratulate Yvette F. for having the best happy ending for Princess Beadella. For her fun story she has won a $50 Artbeads gift certificate. You can read her story below.

Thank you all for participating in our contest. Stay tuned for our next contest that we’re sure you will love.

Don’t’ forget, you may still win the Artbeads goody jar! The winner will be announced tomorrow so stay tuned…

Yvette F // Jan 26, 2012 at 2:53 pm

She said, “Easy…a dragon’s shadow.” And she passed through the Seed Bead Forest, found the Swarovski Crystal of Yesteryear, and brought it back to Caspia. When she got there, they immediately treated King Steampunk with the Crystal and he returned to health. Queen Metallite and King Steampunk threw a huge party for her and they lived happily ever after.

Happy Chocolate Cake Day to every lover of all things cocoa. Today we should all take time out our schedule to sit, relax, and indulge in some instant and yummy gratification. Pure chocolate cake should be on the menu today—no white, yellow or carrot! Pitch in at the office or whip one up at home and share in the joy of chocolate cake with friends and family.

You can even give your looks a tasty treat with our collection of chocolate jewelry supplies, including chocolate glaze Beadelle beads! These dazzling pavé style rounds feature a dark brown surface that’s then drizzled with sparkling crystals across its shape. Happy Chocolate Cake Day to all and happy Friday!

This contest is now closed.

Did you miss out on taking a trip to the 2012 Gem and Mineral Show in Tucson this year? Don’t worry! You may still get your hands on some of the coolest beads, findings and other goodies available at one of the world’s biggest shows. Follow the Artbeads crew on our Facebook event page and the blog as they discover fun new items by browsing through thousands of tables, booths, rooms, nooks and crannies, cherry picking a few items to place into a goody jar as they go. Over one crazy, exhausting and exhilarating week, you will see the jar gradually fill with an eclectic mix of beads and other fun stuff.

Now that we’re back, take a look at the full jar above and guess at the number of items we’ve stuffed into the jar. If your guess comes closest to the actual number, you win the jar! Guess it exactly and you will also win a $100 Artbeads.com gift certificate! You can see the progress of the growing jar below, but be sure to look above for the final fill.

To enter the contest, just fill out the short survey below! One entry per person, please. Make sure to scroll to the bottom of the survey and click the “done” button.

This contest runs until today, February 5, 2012 and ends Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at Noon PST. Winners will be announced Thursday, February 9. Must be 18 or older to enter. This contest is void where prohibited by law and open to US and Canada residents only excluding Quebec. No purchase necessary. In the event of a tie, one winner will be randomly selected. Winner will be notified by e-mail.

Good luck to everyone!

We’re super excited to introduce to you our latest addition of headpins! These lovely lampwork floral headpins from Grace Lampwork feature an extra long stem to allow for multiple jewelry making uses, and are each finished with a beautiful handmade flower fixture for the head. With their whimsical imagery offered in a variety of bright colors and styles, these were the perfect way to come up with warm new ideas during the cold, winter season. Their sprouting shapes clustered together under a jewelry cone make these earrings look like tiny bouquets you can wear any time.

Calla Lilly Cuties

The calla lily has been historically known as the flower of magnificent beauty, and now you can capture it in your jewelry! All you’ll need for this idea are two earwires, your favorite 3mm crystal beads, two cones and six floral headpins. We used niobium earwires because they are hypoallergenic. Play with your favorite color schemes to make these earrings your own!

Step One:
Thread three headpins with three to four crystal beads, and then string all three through one cone. Finish the open ends by creating a wrapped loop with them and attaching the wrapped loop to one earwire.

Repeat this step for the other earring and you’re done!

Pretty Peony Blooms

As a symbol for good fortune and a happy marriage, the peony flower presents a delicate feel through a powerful bloom bursting with color. Reflect this emotion in your jewelry and create these adorable earrings! For this idea you’ll need two earwires, green 8/0 seed beads, Czech glass leaf beads, two cones and six floral headpins. We used niobium earwires because they are hypoallergenic. You can mix and match your favorite colors to create unique designs that fit your personal style.

Step One:
Thread three headpins with an alternating pattern of two seed beads and one leaf bead, beginning and ending with seed beads. String the headpins through one cone. Finish the open ends by creating a wrapped loop with all three and then attaching the loop to one earwire.

Repeat this step for the second earring and you’re ready to show off your new design!

We love these new Lillypilly copper sheets decorated with a lovely patina finish, and we know you will, too! You may be wondering what patina means, so we’re here to explain it!

The patination process for both copper and bronze is a natural progression over time. As copper ages it grows a colored layer to protect it from corrosion called patina. This layer is caused from oxidization and is often blue or green naturally, known as acquired patina. With the help of science, however, manufacturers looking to replicate the process for aesthetic reasons use chemicals to manipulate the colors and produce everything from red to black. This is called applied patina or distressing.

You can discover new dimensions in style with these Lillypilly patina copper sheets. One side shines with its warm copper color, while the other side is exposed to a special patina color pattern. From dark spots to cool blue coloring, browse different colors and patterns for just the right one. Each sheet is coated with a protective wax, and should be coated with another layer of paste wax (like car wax or floor wax) to maintain the colorful appearance. Due to this process, each copper sheet will display its own pattern of coloring, too, so your piece is sure to be one of a kind.

Our designers got to play with some of these new sheets and made a cool pair of earrings, and we want to share their idea with you! To make the earrings, you will need a pair of metal shears, a hole punch, round paper punch, metal files and your choice of copper sheet. Look for some of these components under our jewelry making tools and supplies section. Remember to wax your copper piece before working with it to maintain its color.

Trace your design on the copper sheet and cut it out using the shears.

Use the file to smooth out the sharp edges.

The paper punch helped create the circular pieces. Please note that you should not use a paper punch to cut paper once it has been used to cut metal, and should only be used with the 36 gauge sheets.

The smaller holes at the top were made with a hole punch, and then the earring finding was thread through this small hole.

Check out our collection of patina copper sheets from Lillypilly and find your favorite design to get inspired!

Check out our new collection of Swarovski chatons! These incredible faceted Austrian crystals feature a rich XILION-cut front surface like the Swarovski flatbacks. Their smooth backs, however, meet at a central point to give them an overall look of a traditional diamond cut with a crown and cutlet. Its pointed end makes this crystal ideal for sticking in DeCoRé clay to design unique pieces for jewelry. Most of these colorful chatons are foiled on the back to highlight their beautiful color and eye-catching sparkle. Browse our cool collection of crystal chatons available in different sizes to add the perfect twinkling element to your next idea!

Our designers got to play with some of these new additions and created the adorable jewelry link pictured above with the help of White DeCoRé clay and chatons in the colors Peridot, Aqua and Siam. Our designer also used some metal stamps to imprint the clay and then colored in the letters with a black ink pen. This fun idea took just minutes to make, so imagine what you could do with the right products and tools at home!

Here’s a fun new way to show the world your creative side with one of these fabulous rings! In anticipation of our newest ring toppers made for using with blank rings, our designers decided to create their own cool pieces! With a variety of shapes to choose from there’s no end to the colorful and personalized possibilities. Family photos, magazine clippings, fabric or paper scraps, cool postage stamps, comic book images…you name it, you can seal it in resin and wear on a ring. That’s just the beginning! With a charm and a dab of glue you can add dimension and more interest. We’ll show you how to complete your look in just three easy steps!

But first—and most important—decide which style of topper you like best and choose your image. Keep in mind the image you want to use and pick a shape that will work with it. You can then reduce your size with an image editing program like PhotoShop if needed. Now that you’ve decided which piece to work with, let’s get started…

Step One

After you print your image, lay a generous piece of wide cellophane (Scotch) tape across the back of the image. Smooth out any air bubbles with a popsicle stick or similar tool. Turn it over and repeat with a second piece of tape over the picture. Again, smooth out any bubbles. This will protect the image and keep the ink from running. You should now have an image sandwiched between layers of tape.

Trim your image to fit the ring topper frame. You may find it helpful to trace the frame border with a pencil, and then lay a separate sheet of blank paper over it and rub with the popsicle stick. This will trace the outline of your frame onto the blank paper that you can in turn cut and then place atop your image, making it easier to trim your picture to fit. Cut around the pattern, lay it over your taped image and then trim it to fit.

Extra Special Step

While you could use the topper as it is, we can’t leave anything plain! We used some Tulip Red Gilders Paste on our heart-shaped frame to give it a special touch. Do this step before you go any further, and be sure to allow twenty-four hours to dry completely. You can read our Handy Tip on how to use Gilders Paste if you need more help.

Step Two

Now the messy part! We used Gel de Soleil and a UV lamp to cure it. Another product you could use would be ICE Resin®. The Gel du Soleil was chosen because there is no mixing or waste, and the UV lamp cures the resin in fifteen minutes so there’s no time to wait.

With your trimmed background image in place in its frame, pour the Gel du Soleil slowly and carefully over the picture. You can watch a Handy Tip video about using resin available in the Learning Center if you need more help with this process. Allow this to dry or “cure”.

Extra Special Step

Add rhinestones or charms to embellish your piece and make it your own! These extra touches can also come in handy should a bubble spoil your resin—just glue a flatback on it! Some E6000 glue or two-part epoxy would be perfect for attaching components.

Step Three

The final step is gluing your ring topper to the desired ring. We recommend using sand paper to scuff the shiny surface of the blank ring prior to gluing. Apply two-part epoxy or E6000 on the topper back and carefully place it onto the ring base.

Now you’re ready to sport your new style! Play with your favorite colors and themes to create cool ideas for every occasion. You can even make personalized gifts for loved ones, too! Get your hands on our new ring top embellishments and blank rings and get inspired to design.

Check out our cool new Découpage beads! These lovely beads are each made by the designer using a crafting technique called décopuage. Never heard of it? Well, we’re here to explain to you how it’s made!

To create these beads, the designer uses a wood casing as a base for each piece. Then, the designer glues layers of different colored paper over the wood base to give it more depth. The result is often a vintage feel, depending on the types of paper used. To give the beads a smooth, shiny surface, they are finished with a glaze. This keeps the paper safe from the elements and allows the beads to rest nicely against skin in a jewelry design.

This designer also creates beads using resin and recycled wood particles, more specifically sawdust. The process for these beads is pretty cool, too! Once the designer has a look and pattern in mind, the bead is decorated with silver wire that is shaped into patterns to create separate stations. Each station is then filled with colored sawdust or resin, making the beads dramatic yet lightweight. These beads are finished by laminating the design to keep everything in place.

You truly have to see these beads in person to appreciate them, so go explore our new collection of découpage beads and get your favorites today!

Now you can create cool jewelry designs that have a professional polish with 925/10 silver-filled jewelry wire! You may be wondering what 925/10 silver-filled is, and why it’s so special. Let’s take a look.

Much like gold-filled, 925/10 silver-filled is sterling silver that is mechanically bonded to a base metal like brass or copper. This is a physical bonding, rather than an electroplating bond, which is much weaker. In order for a product to be considered silver-filled, it must have at least 1/20 of its weight in silver. This equals out to 5% silver. So, when you read that a material is .925/20 or 925/20, this means the material meets the minimum standards for being silver-filled by containing 5% silver.

Our new line of silver-filled wire is 925/10, meaning ours contains 10% sterling silver or double the amount of many other silver-filled wires. This means you get a higher quality product to create with, giving you jewelry that is sturdy and yet has the delicate look and feel of sterling silver. Start designing professional looking jewelry with just the right amount of shine with our incredible new line! Check it out by shopping for 925/10 silver-filled wire available now!