Tammy Jones is my bead buddy and the Online Editor for Jewelry Making Daily. I asked her to tell me about her favorite new beading or jewelry making product from the pages of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine. Tammy found these gorgeous new Glinter silver beads and had this to say about them:
My job puts me in the metal, wire, and mixed-media areas of
jewelry making, and I love all of that, but my first love was beads and
beading. I can't do the fancy stitches--I don't have the patience for it, so
peyote stitch is as far as I got into that type of beading. The beading
category of "stringing" is more my thing, and while some ladies get
swoony over Delicas and the new size 15s (squint!), I'm usually more drawn to
metal beads or bigger gemstone beads.
So while flipping through the August 2011 issue of Lapidary
Journal Jewelry Artist, I got really excited when I saw Glinter Silver
Substitute from Elephant Eye Beads. They're metal beads (they also have clasps,
charms, chain, wire, and other findings), but it's the metal itself that's the
cool thing. It's an alloy of zinc, copper, and silver that looks like but costs
less than silver, and apparently behaves like silver, too. In their studio
tests, the folks at Elephant Eye created a rainbow of patina on it using liver
of sulfur. The results they achieved are some of the prettiest, most colorful
patinas I've ever seen! Some of the colors in the patina remind me of gemstones, and it makes these beads look like a combination of metal and gems!
After seeing Tammy's recommendation, I went to visit the Elephant Eye Beads website and I totally fell in love with these Glinter silver beads, too. I even ordered a set of bead caps and a clasp to use as the findings for my project in our ongoing Bead Along here on Beading Daily! The Glinter silver beads are a great low-cost alternative to sterling silver, and I love the wide range of shapes that are available from Elephant Eye Beads.
If you want to keep up with the latest jewelry-making trends (including innovative new beads), you'll want to check out Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine. It's packed full of gorgeous jewelry making projects and product reviews for the latest in handmade art jewelry. Subscribe to Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine and find new inspiration for your jewelry making projects!
Have you found a new bead or a new jewelry making trend that you absolutely love? Share it here on the blog!
Bead Happy,
Jennifer
Filed under: Gemstones, Peyote stitch, Bead Making, Stringing, How To Bead, Bead-weaving, Lapidary, Mixed Media Jewelry, Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist Magazine, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily