Marlene Blessing is the editorial director of Beadwork

A challenge was put to the editors of Beadwork to choose their favorite sources of inspiration from the entire year of 2007. This is the year presented in Beadwork’s first CD collection, every page of every issue. I didn’t envy Melinda Barta and Marlene Blessing their task, but at the same time, what fun to revisit such a fabulous year for Beadwork! Please welcome Marlene and Melinda as they share what they most enjoyed from Beadwork 2007. -- LR, editor Beading Daily

The Master Classes
The Master Classes in the 2007 issues of Beadwork really helped me take my own work to the next level. One of the juiciest, most helpful of all was artist Marcia DeCoster’s project that taught “the joy of beading components.” After making her Crystal Flowerette Earrings, I understood even better how so much of beadweaving is simply creating a collection of very doable components and then connecting them!

Melinda Barta, editor:

The Seeds department
Of all the 2007 departments Seeds is my favorite—hands down. Written by seed-bead expert Dustin Wedekind, he gifted us each issue with can’t-miss lessons in seed beading. One that I return to again and again is his Peyote-Netted Buttons. Even if my end goal isn’t a button covered in beads, his formula for making smooth peyote increases is invaluable.

Beaded shoes
I’ll take a wild guess that shoes, second only to beading, top the list of what our readers love most. Well, you’ve never seen shoes like those intricately beaded by artist Paula Rasmus DeDe. In Transforming the Ordinary with Beads, author Donna J. Goldsmith highlights Paula’s most whimsical, wild, and irresistible sculptural beadworks that are guaranteed to inspire all crafters. 

Mixed-media box designs
Though I consider myself a lover of all crafts, my heart belongs to mixed media. That’s why I often revisit the projects made by the staff of Beadwork in Keepsake Keepers: Beaded Containers for Your Special Somethings. From the bead-embroidered bags by Danielle Fox and Marlene Blessing to the box I made to hold wedding rings, inspiration abounds.