Memories and Thanks Reveal

So here’s the necklace I made with the beads I had been holding onto for such a long time. I prefer to keep the name of the recipient private, but I will make my gratitude public.  You’re the best!   I hope you  wear this necklace in good health and for a long time.

Necklace

Previous Memories and Thanks Blog Hop posts

Beads: Place Keepers in the Book of Memory

Every Bead Has a Story

Memories and Thanks Blog Hop Participants.

Hostess, Lori Anderson       Pretty Things

Adlinah Kamsir                   Dream Struck Designs
Aimee Biondolillo               Aimee’s Jewelry Treasures
 Alicia Marinache                 All the Pretty Things
Andra Marasteanu               Handmade by Indra Marasteanu
Andrea Trank                      Heaven Lane Creations
April Grinaway                   Brooklyn Bead Goddess
Barb Solem                         Vivi Magoo Presents
Becky Pancake                    Becky Pancake Bead Designs
Beth Emery                         Stories by Indigo Heart
Birgit Klughardt                  Gites Beads
Bonnie Coursolle                Jasper’s Gems
Cassi Paslick                       Beads: Rolling Downhill
Catherine King                    Catherine’s Musings
Cece Cormier                      The Beading Yogini
Chandra Leitz                     Juniper Goods
Charissa Nesler                   FireStorm Designs
Charlie Jacka                       Clay Space
Christina Hickman              Vintage Treasures Jewelry
Christine Murrow               Charis Designs Jewelry
Christine Stonefield            Sweet Girl Design
Chrizette Bayman               Bead Soup Mix
Cindy Wilson                      It’s My Sea of Dreams
CJ Bauschka                       4 His Glory Creations by CJ
Crystal Thain                      Here Bead Dragons
Cyndi Lavin                        Beading Arts
Debbie Rasmussen             A little of this, a little of that
Denielle Hagerman             Some Beads… and other things I like
Diana Gonzalez                  Arte y Poemas
Diane Hawkey                    diane hawkey
Dita Basu                            ankarshilpa
Donetta Farrington             Simply Gorgeous
Dyanne Everett-Cantrell     Deeliteful Jewelry Creations
Elena Adams                      ~~TBA~~
Emma Todd                        A Polymer Penchant
Erin Kenny                         beadiful therapy
Erin Prais-Hintz                  Treasures Found
Gina Hockett                      Freestyle Elements
Gloria Allen                        Innovative Dreams Jewelry
Heather Marston                 CSW Designs
Inge von Roos                    Inge’s Blog
Iveth Caruso                       Creative Atelier
Jacqueline Marchant          Fiddledeedee Jewelry
Jami Shipp                         Celebrating Life!
Jean Yates                          Snap Out of it Jean, There’s Beading to Do!
Jennifer Reno                     Musings of a Crafty Jenny
Jenny Robledo                   Peppa’s Dream
Jennifer VanBenschoten    Jewelry, Art and Life
Jessica Klaaren                  Cellar Door Jewelry
Jessica Murray                   Whimsical Monkey
Joan Williams                     lilruby jewelry
Jo-Ann Woolverton            It’s a Beadiful Creation
Joanne Browne                   josjewels1
Jodie Marshall                    Jodie Marshall Lampwork Beads Wearable Art
Johanna Rhodes                 Fire Phoenix Creations
John Rasmussen                 Rasumussen Gems and Jewelry LLC
JuLee Wolfe                       The Polymer Penguin
Julie Bean                           Blue Pig Blog
Karen Mitchell                   Over the Moon Designs
Karin King                         The Sparklie Things Blog
Karin Slaton                       Backstory Beads
Kat Douglas                       Washoe Kat’s
Kay Bolton                        Toodles and Binks
Kayla Potega                     The Eclectic Element
Kelly Hosford Patterson     The Traveling SideShow
Kim Ballor                          Vitamin C … A Daily Does of Creativity
Kim Dworak                       CianciBlue
Kim Houston                       The Pink Martini
Kym Hunter                         Kym Hunter Designs
Laren Dee Barton                Laren Dee Designs
Lea Avroch                          LA Jewelry Designs
Leanne Loftus                      First Impression Design
Liddy McLaughlin               Liddy McLaughlin Art
Linda Florian                       Lily’s of the Valley Jewelry & Creative Creations
Linda Inhelder                     Must-Haves Jewelry
Lisa Hamilton                      Simply Irresistable Jewelry
Lisa Suver                            Fancee That
Lori Bowring Michaud        Artfully Ornamental
Lori Poppe                           Adventures in Creativity with Lorillijean
LouAnn Elwell                    Southpass Beads
Mallory Hoffman                 For the Love of Beads
Mandi Effron                       Craft-o-licious
Marcia DeCoster                 MadDesigns
Marcia Dunne                     The Alternative Foundry
Marcy Lamberson              ~Studio Marcy~
Marie Covert                      Creating Interest
Marjorie Savill Linthwaite     bennubirdrising
Marlene Cupo                        Amazing Designs by Marlene
Martha Aleo                           Ornamento
Marti Conrad                          Marti’s Buttons -n- Beads
Mary Ellen Parker                  BeeTree by m.e.
Mary Govaars                        MLH Jewelry Designs
Mary Lindell                          Mary Lindell Artisan Jewelry
Maureen Connolly                 Mrs Beadsley’s Workshop
Maybeline Tay                       The Jewelry Larder
Melissa Elgin                         The Addicted Beader
Melissa Mesara                      one-eared pig beads
Menka Gupta                         Menka’s Jewelry
Michaela Pabeschitz              la mar de bonita
Mischelle Fanucchi               Micheladas Musings
Mona Rae Baroody               Who Does She Bead She Is?
Nan Emmett                          Spirit Rattles — Spirited Earth
Nancy Pedersen                    Something Heartfelt by Nancy
Natalie Davidson                  NorthShore Days
Nikki Douglas                      Bead It and Weep
Pam Farren                           re-maker
Pam, the Crazier Sister        The Crazy Creative Corner
Pam Traub                            Klassy Joolz
Priya Krish                           Hellopalz
Rebecca Anderson               Song Beads
Rebecca Sirevaag                 Becca’s Place
Robin Kae Reed                   Artistry HCBD
Rochelle Brisson                  a creative chelle
Rosa Maria Cuevas              Helena de Troya
Sabine Dittrich                     perlendschungel
Sandi Volpe                          Sandi Volpe
Sandra McGriff                    Creative Chaos
Sarah Goode                         Pookledo
Sarah Singer                         String a Song of Sixpence
Serena Trent                         All Things Made Jewelry
Shai Williams                       Shaiha’s Ramblings
Sharon Palac                        Sharon’s Jewelry Garden
Sharyl McMillian-Nelson    Sharyl’s Jewelry & Reflections
Sheila Davis                         Stone Designs
Shelley Graham Turner        Fabric of My Life
Sherri Stokey                       Knot Just Macrame
Sherry Baun                         Unicorns Jewels
Skylar Bre’z                         Brising Beads
Stephanie Haussler              Pixybug Designs
Tania Spivey                        Moobie Grace Designs
Terri G.                                Blooming Ideas
Terry Carter                         Tapping Flamingo
Terry Matuszyk                    Pink Chapeau Vintage Jewelry
Toltec Jewels                       Jewel School Friends
Tracy Kruse                         Goldkisses Art
Tracy Martin                        Nutkitten’s Jewelry
Zia Parks                              Anzi~Panzi’s Work Shoppe
Zoe Marcin                          Beads, Tea and Sweets

Every Bead Has a Story

  Beads hold  memories and  and every bead has a story, partially known and partially buried in the past.  When I finish the piece for the Blog Hop,  story of the beads I’ve used will become longer and might be told later on-or not.

Most of the beads here are very old and I don’t know anything about the people who wore them.   I am only the latest owner-no, I prefer to think of myself as a caretaker.  I hope there will be other caretakers.

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I will use some of the beads you see below in my piece for the Memories and Thanks Blog Hop, so I thought it fitting that I should share some bead history with you.

The red disks (above) are African Vulcanite Heishi beads made from old phonograph records. The brass comes from vintage jewelry that has seen a lot of use. The glass beads (above) are African sand cast beads,  millefiore (actually Venetian but traded widely in Africa) and interlocking “snake” beads (above) called African for the same reason even though they are of Czech origin.

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Millefiore Beads

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Phenolic Resin Amber

Seed beads, Krobo glass beads from Ghana, (right) brass and bone beads.  Note that the Phenolic Amber is not genuine amber.  It’s a simulation and some of it is highly collectable.  I bought the  Phenolic Amber above in Cape Town, S.A

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  These brass findings-to-be aren’t African but I followed an African tradition:  recycling!  I cut the wires off  a brass wire picture holder,  cleaned them and made jump rings .  Then I soldered a few of the rings to straight pieces of the wire.

olibeads

More Krobo Beads from Ghana.

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I am thinking earrings here, maybe without the beads because I don’t want them too heavy.

Brass

Baoulé Brass, Ivory Coast, Ghana

Interested in learning more?  See

Bedazzled Dictionary of Beads

But wait-there’s more–

Kashmiri
Kashmiri

Maruti International Beads sent me some  lovely  handcrafted beads to give away to lucky readers.    Interested in winning some?   Details coming soon, so keep checking here and my Facebook page.

The Best of Step By Step Beads

I got a nice surprise this week when I learned that  my Tokyo Rows beaded bracelet project made it into Interweave’s  collector’s edition of  The Best of Step By Step Beads.


The Japanese Flower motif is not original with me but I love it because it lends itself to so many variations.   It’s easy to take one flower and make a simple pendant, and that’s just one example.

Here are some brooches based on the same motif

I once thought that  Japanese bead work made the most interesting use of the beaded flower until  I saw some stunning Brazilian pieces using this motif when I visited Rio De Janeiro a few years ago.  Here is one of the bracelets I bought there, that’s a variation of the design.

With forty projects, there’s plenty of material in The Best of Step By Step Beads to keep you busy for awhile.  The best part of developing a design, however, is when someone takes it in a new direction.   Triche Osborne ‘s  Candy Wheels Necklace is just one example of how you can take a beading concept and make it your own.

Thank you Interweave!

I’m a Fool for Faux

I love to make faux beads from polymer clay and have been obsessed with it lately. Here are four of my favorite books. They contain plenty of recipes for making every kind of faux substance you can imagine.

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I use a vibratory rock tumbler instead of sanding and I’ve gotten great results. I promise I’ll do a post on it soon.

Beading From Budapest

I bought these necklaces and lariats in Budapest. I had never seen netting around beads, tubular netting, or so many variations on flat netting. I wanted to try some of the stitches myself, but I couldn’t find good netting instructions anywhere.

When Diane Fitzgerald’s wonderful book Netted Beadwork came out, the mysteries of the netting stitch were revealed along with the tale of its rich history. I recommend the book for anyone interested in learning this versatile stitch.nb

Here’s a picture of the beautiful blue Danube. Go to Budapest if you have the chance. It’s a charming city.

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Make Your Own Clasps!

wire

It took a long time for this necklace to come together.  My friend Jeanne gave me the amber after her husband died.  I got the coral, turquoise and Balinese beads at an outside art show in Portland, Oregon.  I bought the red disc beads-actually made in Africa from old phonograph records-at a bead show.

The beads spoke to me one day and I put together the necklace below. I couldn’t find the right clasp to save my life, so, with some basic wire skills I learned in a glass from my Beading Yoda Jeri Schatz, I made a clasp.  And then I made more clasps.  And then I wrote an article on how to make clasps which is in the latest edition of Step By Step Wire Jewelry.     n

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martha-aleo-clasps

Goddess!

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How are people inspired by history, landscape,  myth and memory?   On a cold night in November, some lucky people got to peek into the mind of fashion designer  Mary McFadden and find out. After the  Moore College of Art tapped  McFadden for its 2008 Visionary Woman award and presented an exhibition of her designs and selections from her personal textile and jewelry collection, McFadden reciprocated,   delivering  a slide show and lecture on the creative process behind her ethereal, feminine fashion collections.

“I travel,” she said, “take thousands of pictures, buy sixty books and then go back home and read them all. Then I design the collection in a half hour.” The audience gasped. “But it takes a long time to get to that point!” she exclaimed.42

Her inspiration came from everywhere: The Elgin Marbles, Pre Colombian pottery, Japanese, African and Middle Eastern textiles. She pointed out that while the pleating found in many of her clothes resembles  ancient Greek robes, they are also reminiscent of a a dessert terrain’s wind blown sands.   The motifs she painted on her clothes came from looking at ocean waves, the sky, and bird’s wings. One look at her clothes and you understand.  But she did a lot of looking and thinking before she put pencil to paper. That was the most important concept I came away with.

Here are some more pictures from the exhibit.

DVD’s from Kato, Miller and a Calder Article


 

Donna Kato Presents: Tips, Tricks & Techniques for Polymer Clay  is three and a half hours of Donna Kato demonstrating caning, transfers, mica shift, finishing techniques and more. The gals at video night (you know who you are) gave it a five (out of five) pasta machine rating. A bargain at $34.95. To order, press here.

I love everything Sharilyn Miller. (To see my review of her Tribal Treasures video, press here.) I just got finished watching her Ethnic Style Jewelry Workshop video, and all I can say is “Wow!” Another three and one half hours of valuable information on wire working, and instructions for making four bracelets and two necklaces. A steal at $39.95. To order it, Press here.

I wrote about the Alexander Calder Jewelry Exhibit at the Philadelpha Museum of Art in an earlier post. The latest issue of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist has an article on Calder’s jewelry well worth reading: “Calder’s Mobile Jewelry” by Cathleen McCarthy.

Some Web Sites I Like

For interesting takes on Metalsmithing and Metal Jewelry,  check out the work of David Paul Bacharach, Barbara Briggs and Connie Fox’s wonderful site, Jatayu

To learn to make just about anything, check out Instructables and the Ready Made Magazine web site.

No matter what kind of art you’re into, you’re sure to find something that interests you on Wet Canvas.

Happy Surfing!

Early Bracelets

I love to make bracelets and I look everywhere for inspiration. Here are some bracelet experiments from a few years ago I made after plowing through The Splendor of Ethnic Jewelry.