August Challenge Recap

The playful artwork of Paul Klee was our muse for August and inspired a lot of textured and whimsical creations. Let's see what you made!

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An InLinkz Link-up

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Fundraising with Art Beads

One thing I am certain of, is the internet has exposed me to wonderful things and terrible things.  I am an avid Facebook user, both for personal and business reasons and spend an hour or more every day reading about family and friends adventures, the latest in beads, jewelry and what's trending.  Every now and then, a story, video or news article will be on my wall and I know I should keep scrolling, but I don't.  I read it or watch it and the horror of abuse sticks in my head and heart for days, weeks and longer.

The abuse I am referring to is with animals - usually dogs and cats that are victims of heartless individuals and abuse as well as the over population shelters are dealing with.  Dogs and cats are discarded like garbage and it hurts me to the core.  Over and over again I was seeing this - until I decided I had to do something about it.  I can't foster because I could never give them up.  I can't volunteer because I would become a foster and we know how that ends.  Plus my free time is very limited due my bead production schedule.  What I can do is make a ceramic paw print pendant with bead, crystal and metal bead accent, wire wrap it all together, put it on a chain and sell 100 of them to benefit animal rescues over the US.  And that's just what I did!

I put my idea on my personal page and I had all 100 claimed within 3 days time.  It's awesome!  I asked my friends to recommend rescues that they know about that are doing good works in local communities.  I narrowed it down to ten and they will each receive $150 after all the funds are collected.  Has this been a lot of work?  Yes.  Will I do it again?  Yes.  If we can all help a little, a lot can be accomplished!

Thanks to everyone that participated!  Michelle McCarthy, Firefly Design Studio

Monday Muse and Beady Link Party

Hmm, last Monday of August. I'm gonna call it. Summer is breathing it's last humid breath and soon those crimp autumn days will be here and I will relishing in all the colors and sights of the season. If you aren't ready to let go of summer, you may want to look away. Autumn inspirations ahead! 

I'll ease you into the season with a few late summer garden finds like this sweet little lampwork butterfly bead by JewelryBeadsbyKate. 

Love this set from Russian lampwork artist Maria Kirillova from GlassMagic. Yeah, let's file these under completely amazing!

These remind me of autumn mums. They are already popping at the farmer's markets in our town. That's my first hint that fall is a pumpkin's throw away! Lampwork flowers from KatrinaTreasures.

Lisa Peters and Mother Nature must have sat down for tea one afternoon because she is channelling the best of autumn in these rustic floral raku pieces. I have a nice collection of leaves in this style. I must go pull them out today! Stop by LisaPetersArt to find them.

A metallic raku finish on mini acorn charms? Yes, please! These lovelies are from Valerie over at ClayForACure. A portion of the sales are donated to finding a cure for cancer. I had to stop writing this post to purchase a pair for myself!

My bead table is filled with autumn beads. These little birch branch beads are one of my latest creations. Find them in my Humblebeads Etsy shop. 

You can find all sorts of autumn goodness created in lampwork glass over at MasqueBeads. Just take a few minutes to visit this shop, I want so many!!! 

I had to sneak in a pumpkin, what's autumn with out a little pumpkin spice! These goregous raku ones are from KiyoiDesgin.

I'm loving this golden mustard color for fall, it's been popping up in my own beads and Carol from TerraRustica has perfectly captured the color with a lacy floral design. Hmm, I may need these too.

Beady Link Party

We invite our readers to share their blog post links with us each week. As long as they feature jewelry or beads, share your favorite post from last week with us. We hope this will inspire you to blog a little more often and bring our community closer together.

1. Please only post blog new links each week. *

2. Visit at least two other blog links and leave a comment. We want to grow our blogging community and encourage you connect with each other.

3. You have until Wednesday each week to share your blog post.

We want to connect more with our readers! Join the party and share you latest beady blog link.

Haven't blogged in a while? It's the perfect time to share what you have been up to, what you find inspiring, your creative process, interview a favorite beadmaker, review a beady book - get creative and get blogging!

The beady link party is open to jewelry designers, beadmakers and group bead blogs.

Share you link using the "Add a Link" Inlinkz button below.

*We ask for fresh links, if you have a post that you haven't shared with us yet but it's a few weeks old, that's cool.   

An InLinkz Link-up

Inside the Studio with Gardanne Beads

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 will leave  comments!  As an incentive, we offer a PRIZE each week to encourage you to use that keyboard and tell us what you think.

At the next Inside the Studio post a WINNER is chosen at random from all eligible entries.
Here are the results from the last Inside the Studio post.

Anvil Artifacts is the winner of a $20 gift certificate at Swoondimples!!!
Congratulations! Please contact Heather to claim your prize.


Hi from Gardanne Beads, since I just returned from Bead Fest this past weekend I thought I would take you on the road with me instead of in my studio.

I can't believe I have been exhibiting at the August Bead Fest for the past five years, along the way I have picked up some show and display tips that work for me. 

First tip is to get one of those gel mats to stand on behind your booth, most of the floors at large venues are concrete. So good shoes are a must, but these gel mats definitely make for more comfortable legs and feet. Those are my feet on the right, can you guess whose pretty feet are on the left?

I would also recommend a 24" folding stool, if you need to sit you will still be at a comfortable eye level with your customers. I forgot mine on this trip and my legs were extra tired from all the standing.

When you run out of space on your table, instead of investing in a larger table go vertical.

I invested in some handmade display racks a couple years ago from a fellow ETSY seller called Moxie Metal, they make a variety wonderful jewelry displays in all shapes and sizes.

My tip is not the metal display rack but the gauze fabric I have draped over the top rail of the display. I drape this fabric on the back of the display to act as a solid back drop for my beads and/or jewelry. By doing this I have eliminated the distraction of what is going on behind my display and the customer can focus on the beads.

If you are not familiar with bead shows, at the end of the show day everyone covers their items in the booths with fabric or plastic. I never did understand this practice, but everyone does it.
I did not plan on this added feature, but the first time I used the gauze fabric on my display racks I discovered that I could just flip the fabric over my items on the vertical display and they were covered for the night.

If you are selling jewelry components it is super important to have jewelry samples containing your beads so your customers have some inspiration on how to use your components. 

I purchased these linen displays from Nile Corp, they are very inexpensive so as they look tired just get new ones. My earrings made with earwires hook into the linen, for an easy display solution.

The linen necklace displays came with some paper stands so they could be used on the table top. I wanted to hang them on my vertical display, so I took off the stands and added the 3M clips, intended for power cords, to clip them to the top of my display.

The last tip of the day is an apron with multiple pockets that was intended for my hips but is more functional tied to the back of my table. I keep all my bills in the separate pockets and it is easy to access when giving change. I never liked the cash boxes they would tip over when opened and I never felt to comfortable walking back to my car carrying a cash box.

Hope you have found these tips helpful. You will find that your display will evolve to meet your needs and also change depending on what type of show you are doing.

In the comment section tell me what your favorite tip was or maybe you have a favorite tip of your own you would like to share.

A winner will be selected at random from the comment section and will receive a $20 gift certificate to spend in my ETSY shop, Gardannebeads.etsy.com

Interview with Bead Artist Melissa Gabelle

Ceramic Beads by Melissa Gabelle

Today I am pleased to bring to you an interview with Melissa Gabelle, a ceramic bead artist from Australia.
 I originally connected with Melissa on the Ceramic Art Bead Market where we both sell out work.  I was so impressed with her creations that I wanted to share them with  you.  Melissa graciously agreed.  Our interview has been done by email as she lives in Verona on the South Coast of Australia.  Melissa graciously sent beautiful photos and answered the questions that follow about her work.
So let's begin!!
Mary:  How long have you been working with clay and how did you first get into it?

Melissa:  My first experience in clay was when I did a course in 1991 – 92 in ceramics. It was an excellent course that taught me all the fundamentals of ceramics, from throwing to glaze technology. From then on I was hooked. I just love making things with clay. I have been working in clay on and off for about 25 years, although I did have a break for a few years and worked as a web publisher in government.