Sunday with Cindy: Cindy and Heather in Beadwork

One of my customers sent a note after she'd purchased a set of the Ivory Bling Links. She'd seen them in the June/July 2009 issue of Beadwork magazine and "had to have them!" I appreciate comments from my customers and like to know where they've seen my beads. I didn't have a copy of Beadwork at home so I hurried over to the bookstore to see if I could find a copy. Before I bought it, I flipped through the pages and was very happy to find them in Katie's Corner.

I said in my review of Bead and Wire Jewelry Exposed that Katie Hacker is magic with earrings. In Katie's corner, she's made another beautiful set of earrings and this time uses my Ivory Bling links along with fellow editor, Heather Powers gorgeous beads. Lucky us! Make sure you check that out while you're drinking your morning coffee over at the bookstore this morning.

Jean is reading and reviewing books this week. It looks like BeadStyle Magazine has another winner on their hands!

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Easy Beading volume number 5 is out this month and is as great as always--check it out on Jean's blog!

Carmi's has a new focal project on her blog this week.....
Carmi's Art/Life
Carmi's newest pendant is inspired by the forest floor.

....while Tammy's watching a jewelrymaking how-to video.
About.com Jewelry Making
Silver Threads Web Videos - Watch Jeanne Rhodes-Moen make some gorgeous filigree jewelry.

Cyndi Lavin and the Art Bead Scene have tips for your jewelry business this week.

Jewelry & Beading
More spring cleaning tips to get your jewelry business in tip-top shape this season!

Art Bead Scene
Art Bead Scene's The Bead Biz offers up a "less is more" philosophy to selling your work.

Now that we've finished the Bead Blogging news and our coffee, leave a comment and let me know what you liked about this week's news. Did you make Carmi's project? Did you buy a copy of Beadwork? Did the Beady News inspire you to make something of your own?

(written by News and Coffee junkie, Cindy Gimbrone.)

Studio Saturday - From Inspiration to Creation

Welcome to Studio Saturday! Each week one of our contributors gives you a sneak peek into their studio, creative process or inspirations. We ask a related question of our readers and hope you'll leave comments! As an incentive we offer a free prize each week to bribe you to use that keyboard. The following week we choose a random winner.

Last weeks winner is Christie of BeadLuvah Congratulations! You have won a few buttons from Creative Impressions in Clay. Send us an e-mail with your address in the suggestion box and we will get it right out to you.

I've been one busy beadmaker getting beads together for Bead & Button. Pam at Bello Modo will be selling Humblebeads at booth #957, so be sure to stop by and say hello.

Like many of you, jewelry making is my stress-reliever and something I do when my brain needs a break from creating the same bead for the 500th time! I thought it would be fun to share my process from inspiration to creation on one of my latest pieces of jewelry.

It started with the sketch above, which was a color study using my urchins with raspberry keishe pearls. You can read the original post and see the other variations here.

I had large chunky raspberry pearls and decided to string up the design just as I had sketched. Looked great, until I tried it on. It was very Flinestone-y and little too over the top for me. You just never know until the creation is in your hand and around your neck how it will play out in real life. So, out came the wire cutters and the beads fell back on to the table. Time for round two.

One of the problems with the first design was that the urchin just stuck out like a sore thumb. The little bits of amazonite and crystals weren't large enough to balance out the over-powering raspberry pearls. So I pulled out some lentils in glass that mimicked the shape of the urchin, grabbed some wood, a few turquoise daggers to play off the shape of pearls and put together the asymmetrical design like a puzzle, letting the shapes and colors speak to each. I decided to finish the design with chain and a button clasp. The chain and clasp also mirror the shape of the lentil. This is a much more wearable piece to me and still holds the same spirit of the tropical inspiration. If I had small keishe pearls on hand the design would have worked as sketched, sometimes you have to adapt according to what you have on hand!

And speaking of hands, with the left over beads I whipped up a matching bracelet. I mixed in a few of my disk beads.

My question for you this week is what part of jewelry making do you find the most relaxing? Maybe it's pulling out the beads, hammering away at metal or the meditative quality of sewing bead after bead. I will send out an urchin bead to one lucky winner.

Oh, and now that I mentioned winners, don't forgot to go vote for your favorite creations in the Bead Star contest, voting ends May 30th.

Wrap Away

Just a quick wire-wrapping tip for today: if you need uniform sizes for large hoops, clasps or links look around your studio for common objects to use as a guide. I used a bottle of craft paint to create these hoops. Other items I've been known to grab for that perfect shape include sharpie markers, a tube of beads and spool of thread.

Seaworthy Beads!

I don't know about you, but with June just a few days away I'm ready to pack my beads and head to the beach. Unfortunately I will have to wait a bit longer before I'm walking on any sandy shores, in the meantime here are some of my favorite sea-inspired picks from Etsy.

Come on in, the water's fine! Let's jump in with SeaUrchin's Deep Ocean Pool pendant. I have a few of her beads and they are divine!

Tap into that inner mermaid with MamacitaBeadworks' Seaweed Pendant.

Feeling barnacle-y? I love SummerStudio's Sea Things Pendant.

This stoneware pendant from ArtisanClay reminds me dried sea salts, argh matey!

Ocean blue lampwork glass beads from HMB Studios looks like they were plucked straight from the deep blue sea.

Add in a few faux sea glass beads from KelleysBeads.

Who doesn't love a mythic sea creature? This metal Horse Play charm is from Hint.

And finally, my knobby urchin because every time I make one I feel like I'm at the ocean!