Beading Books I'm Reading

I already mentioned one of the books I've been reading lately when I shared the earrings I made from Sharilyn Miller's book, pictured above. But I've also been devouring the images in The Jewelry Architect: Techniques and Projects for Mixed-Media Jewelry.Felt inspired by Weave, Wrap, Coil: Creating Artisan Wire Jewelry.And finally got my hands on my own copy of Sherry Serafini's Sensational Bead Embroidery: 25 Inspiring Jewelry Projects (Beadweaving Master Class Series). Another more practical book, which has finally pushed me to begin stocking the etsy.com store I made ages ago now, The Artisans, is The Handmade Marketplace: How to Sell Your Crafts Locally, Globally, and On-Line. I fully recommend these books as great resources and loaded with information and eye candy for any beader or wire worker. The Artisans so far only has a painting by my husband, but look for more shortly.

Heather

Bead Soup Blog Party

So, it's been pretty crazy around here. I had my mother visiting, which was wonderful, but nothing much got done as far as beading goes. But, my part in the Bead Soup Blog Party was completed today in a bit of a rush. The wind is high outside, but I braved it for the 30 minute walk to the post office. My car is the workshop today.  The little sprinkle of rain didn't bother me, but the wind pushed me along and made my trip much quicker I think.

I've packaged up my little offering and have sent it off to Germany. I sure hope my swap partner is happy and inspired by her little package of beads. I'm eager to see what is heading my way, too. My partner, Doris, has a cool blog Doralila Beads that I had to use the translate option to read. But even if you can't translate her blog the pictures tell you enough. Doris creates gorgeous lampwork beads, definitely worth drooling over. So make sure you check out what she's up to over there. I'll post a teaser later of the beads & pieces I've sent to Doris.

Heather
Photo used with permission from http://www.sxc.hu/

Another Competition Entry

I love to enter contests, in particular beading contests. This piece was my entry into the Australian Beaders Bushranger's Bounty contest. The kit supplied the bird, some of the seed beads, the green cubes and the crystals. I supplied everything else. The idea came to me from laying all the pieces out and thinking about it for a few days. I hope you like it, too.

Bead Embroidery ebook

The other day I downloaded the second chapter of an ebook on bead embroidery, Altered Surfaces, by Cyndi Lavin. You can find it on her beading arts website, along with the first chapter which is a free download. I found the first book a comprehensive cover of all you need to know about bead embroidery.

The second chapter is exciting in that you will find her suggestions for surface treatments of other fabrics, on which you can then bead embroider, nothing short of inspiring. For an incredibly low $3(US) you can be inspired to create unique bead embroidery, too. I recommend this ebook, especially if you're looking for ways to make your work stand out from others, or simply as a way to help express your unique voice in your jewellery design.

Here's a photo of some of my own bead embroidery, but I'm definitely looking at including some fabrics I've altered to my own designs soon.