Inside Jewelry Stringing Magazine : Beaded Beads

Snappy Sandals and Other Sunny Accessories

Dblair — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 08:00:00 GMT

I'm pretty sure I've been in love with these sandals since last summer. I honestly don't recall when or where I came across this photo, but I've had it saved on my computer ever since. Made by Etsy artist, Gabriela Pomplova, the beaded portion is actually a pair of "barefoot sandals" that are worn between the toes (see inset). Slip them on under your favorite pair of sandals, and the great thing is, anyone call pull off this fun look!

Beaded embellishments are a playful way to jazz up your summer wardrobe. Following are a few more beaded summer fashion finds:

Don't you just love the beaded fringe and rhinestone focal piece on this clutch from Anthropologie?

This breezy tunic from Sundance features tiny brass beads across the front for just a touch of class.

The jeweltone floral motif on this headband from Anthropologie would freshen up any outfit!

I adore the muted color palette in this vintage beaded ring from Ruche.

What can be easier than adding an embellished belt to your summer dresses? (Belt by Anthropologie)

And I couldn't resist throwing in a photo of this adorable beaded dog collar from Sundance!

Whatever your summer brings, have fun accessorizing your whole wardrobe with beads!

Good Bead Reads

DanielleF@9 — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 10:00:00 GMT

What reading materials--besides Jewelry Stringing magazine--do you have on your bedside table? Did you know that there are a number of novels out there about beading? It's true. I was browsing Amazon today, and discovered some great-sounding books that somehow or another take up the theme of beads or beaded jewelry. Here are a few:

	BEADED HOPE by Cathy Liggett Here's the description from the author's website: When three American women embark on a mission trip to Mamelodi, South Africa, they all have their own selfish reasons for going. One is running from a devastating loss; one is trying desperately to save her career; another is hoping this will be an opportunity to bridge the gap that has separated her from her stepdaughter. What none of them expect is how profoundly their lives will be changed by the women they meet, women who combat disease and poverty daily yet demonstrate great joy and faith. Each American woman is touched and transformed in a different way, yet they all come together when they discover an opportunity to help the South African women support their families by selling the amazing bead work that has been taught to generations of women in the community. A story about the power of faith and hope to overcome even the most tragic circumstances, Beaded Hope was inspired by the nonprofit organization of the same name. A portion of the author’s proceeds from the sale of this novel will go to support Beaded Hope.
	CARPE BEAD'EM by Tonya Kappes Here's the description from Amazon: Orphaned at a young age, Hallie Mediate was raised by her (slightly) crazy Great Aunt Grace on the wrong side of the tracks in Cincinnati. Hallie dreamed of escaping her hometown and never looking back. After putting herself through college, landing her dream job in Chicago, and starting a romance with her handsome running partner Bo Pompillio, life is finally exactly as she wants it. That is, until she’s transferred back to the hometown. Not wanting her past to cross paths with her future, Hallie puts her relationship with Bo on hold. When she arrives in town, Hallie finds crazy Aunt Grace rummaging through a dumpster looking for the “perfect” welcome home gift for her niece. That’s just the beginning. After that, Aunt Grace stays busy by dying her stolen poodle’s hair pink and leaving the dog on her apartment roof to pee, throwing bricks out the window at passing neighbors, and climbing every flag pole to kiss the ornamental eagle. Hallie finds some sanity at a local jewelry-making class where she uncovers a hidden talent for beading. When her talent is discovered by a major department store jewelry buyer, Hallie realizes that what she had in Chicago might not have been her dream life after all. When faced with the choice of moving back to Chicago and Bo or taking a leap of faith to start her own jewelry company (with Aunt Grace in tow), Hallie has to make a decision. Will she let her past and her future collide, or will she or keep searching for the happiness she may already have found?
	BEAD ON TROUBLE by Barbara Burnett Smith Here's the description from Amazon: Meet Kitzi Camden, former stateswoman. When she retired, Kitzi dreamed of doing what she loves best--beading. She certainly didn't plan to try her hand at amateur sleuthing. But lately, trouble seems to find her wherever she goes--even deep into the woods. When a young beader is killed at a beading retreat, Kitzi is faced with almost as many suspects as there are beads in her bag.
	STRING OF LIES by Mary Ellen Hughes Here's the description from the author's website: Jo's Craft Corner is finally starting to show signs of success. But then she hears of a local developer's plans that could put her out of business. When she tries to get the real story, she finds the developer dead - the victim of a murderous trap - and Jo's good friend Dan under suspicion. Can Jo and her fellow crafters follow the chain of lies to unknot this crime - before the murderer pulls any more deadly strings? Craft tips and a beading project included!

All of these books received good reviews. Share your favorite bead reads below.

-Danielle

Stunning Soutache

Dblair — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 08:00:00 GMT

Here in the Jewelry Stringing office, we like to keep our eyes and ears open to what's hot in the jewelry and fashion industries as a whole, not just what pertains to the type of jewelry we feature in our magazine.

I first heard the term "soutache" when some of our staff members returned from the big bead shows in Tucson this past February. And now it seems beaded necklaces and cuffs using this technique have been popping up all over!

Soutache is a braided trim most often used in the textile industry for decoration on a piece of fabric. A great example is shown on the skirt of this vintage 1950s embroidered party dress. Now bead artists across the globe are creating stunning pieces of jewelry using soutache embroidery techniques.

These two gorgeous necklaces were created by French bead artist, Anneta Valious:

This soutache embroidered leather cuff is by Csilla Papp, a jewelry designer in the United Kingdom.

Another U.K. artist, Anna Lenkiewicz, made this striking statement necklace.

While scouring the web for more examples, I came across this Rainbow Necklace, which is a collaborative project by 50 jewelry artists in Poland. Each artist made a separate component, then all of the pieces were joined together by Ewelina Rzad. Ewelina came up with the idea as a way to raise money for the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity, one of Poland's biggest non-profit charity organizations which has raised millions of dollars for medical equipment and health care for children.

For more inspiration, pick up a copy of Beadwork magazine's June/July issue, which hits newsstands on May 7^th and features step-by-step instructions and how-to diagrams for creating a beautiful soutache embroidered necklace by Israeli designer, Miriam Shimon.

Happy beading,

DIY Spring Jewelry

cchatenever — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 17:00:00 GMT

Winter isn't always the most creative time for me--it can be tough to feel motivated when I know that any new jewelry I make will just be covered up with scarves and coat sleeves. But now that spring has officially sprung, I am getting really excited to pull out my sundresses and start showing off some new designs! These DIY posts from some of my favorite bloggers have really started getting my creative juices flowing again:

Hammered Copper Pipe Necklace from Obsession Session

Braided Wire Necklace from Everything I Want, And Nothing I Don't

Cut Out Leather Cuff from Melissa Esplin

Fabric Button Earrings from The SITSGirls

Painted Tribal Bracelets from Dismount Creative

Happy spring!

Chloe

Big Savings on 12-12-12!

DanielleF@9 — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 11:00:00 GMT

Today is dozen-dozen-dozen day, and to celebrate Interweave is offering great savings on tons of products. I invite you to check out the Interweave Store to find beading books, ebooks, patterns, DVDs, and more at 30% to 70% off. Buy these bargains for the crafty people on your holiday shopping list, or stock up on product you've always wanted to ensure you have enough crafty inspiration to get you through 2013. Here are some of the items I'm hoping will be on sale today.

	I love Erin Siegel and Lorelei Eurto's work. They are both frequent contributors to Jewelry Stringing magazine, and I always look forward to seeing their innovative designs. Their book, Bohemian-Inspired Jewelry, is chock full of stylish,easy-to-make, boho-chic designs created with leather, ribbon, and cords.
	I have to plug this holiday-tastic collection of 12 Christmas earring designs. The Jewelry Stringing staff created all the projects, including polymer clay Christmas tree earrings, twisted-wire snowflake earrings, and angel-themed stamped earrings. (For a sneak preview, check out this previous post.) I'm sure there's someone in your life would would LOVE a pair of handmade star or angel or Christmas tree earrings, right?
	I KNOW this video is awesome because I was there when Jean Power filmed it! I'm a novice seed beader, but I'm pretty certain that if I sat in front of this video with seed beads and thread in hand, I would come away with some cool beaded triangles (a luxury I didn't have when I was producing the video). Bead Stitching Triangles with Jean Power is available as a video download (as well as in DVD format), which makes it easy to download right onto your computer.
	I remember when Molly Schaller submitted this necklace to Jewelry Stringing magazine. It immediately became one of my favorites of the issue. If you missed this design and the corresponding instructions in the magazine, don't worry--you can buy the pattern here as well as a bunch of other single beading patterns.
	Have you seen this emag? This version is available for the iPad, but you can purchase it for other devices as well. The Jewelry Stringing staff put this together last year, and we're tremendously proud of it. It's filled with ten great bracelet designs, plus step-by-step photos and written instructions that take you through the whole process of constructing the designs yourself.

Free Quick-and-Easy Necklace Project

Dblair — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 11:05:00 GMT

I've been so excited about the themes for the Summer 2013 issue of Jewelry Stringing, one of which is "Modern Cowgirl," that when I came across a sheet of western-themed clip art in our stash, I just had to whip up a fun cowgirl necklace for myself!

You can, too, in just a few easy steps! You'll need to round up the following:

Materials--a chain, a few beads, an eye pin, beading wire, 2 crimp tubes, a bezel, a photo or clip art, and embellished chain or other ephemera to place inside the pendant. You'll also need some multi-purpose glue, jewelry cement, and decoupage medium.

Tools--scissors, a small paint brush, wire cutters, round-nose pliers, chain- or flat-nose pliers, and some crimping pliers.

1. Trace around the bezel and cut out the image. I found that I needed to trim the edges a hair at a time until the image fit down into the bezel just right.

2. Use multi-purpose glue to attach the image to the inside of the bezel. Paint a coat of decoupage medium on the image to seal it, then let dry.

3. Using jewelry cement, affix beaded chain or other embellishments to the inside edge of the bezel.

4. Attach the eye pin to the top of the bezel. String a glass round and form a simple loop.

5. To assemble the necklace, use 8" of beading wire to string 1 crimp tube and one end of your desired chain; pass back through the tube and crimp. String 24 turquoise 4x3mm rondelles and the simple loop attached to the pendant. String 24 turquoise rondelles, 1 crimp tube, and the other end of your chain; pass back through the tube and crimp.

I made this necklace long enough to slip over my head, but if you choose to make yours shorter, simply attach a clasp to the back of your chain. You can leave the necklace "as is," or fill the pendant with resin for a more finished look and added durability. After trimming the image to fit inside the bezel, you'll want to use decoupage medium to coat the edges of the image as well as the front and back. Once dry, fit the image inside the bezel, add the ephemera, and fill with resin.

Feeling cowboy-inspired? Click here to check out the themes and contributor guidelines for our Summer 2013 issue and send us your designs!

Happy crafting,

Debbie Blair, Managing Editor

Bejeweled Halloween Ideas

Dblair — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 04:00:00 GMT

With Halloween just around the corner, I thought it would be fun to spook up a few appropriately-themed jewelry components, tutorials, and just-plain-fun eye candy!

I love the clever use of chain in this spider web bracelet and necklace set. Find the free tutorial on the Rings & Things web site.

Normally the sight of any spider can give me the heebie jeebies. But not this sparkletastic brooch by ParisXOX on Etsy!

I can't begin to speak of the skill involved in GrimaceAndSqueak's spectacular beaded masks! Visit their Etsy shop to check out close ups of this cat mask, as well as birds, jesters, and more!

I had to throw in this beaded shoe by Teri Greeves (Beadwork Magazine's October/November "Bead Artist") as inspiration for the rest of your costume! Wow!

Ornamentea offers up this free tutorial for their quick-and-easy bat bracelet! Visit their web site for the how-to.

Thanks to jewelry designer, Lorelei Eurto, for tipping us off to these amazing porcelain bats on the Round Rabbit Extra site. These would make such a fun and creepy necklace!

And as long as we're on the topic of bats, check out these lovelies from one of my all-time favorite ceramic artists, Marsha Neal. We found out about these when Marsha sent us a few for inclusion in our product roundup in the Fall issue of Jewelry Stringing.

Alright, one more bat. Beading Daily editor, Jennifer VanBenschoten, did a little bead embroidery on this ceramic bat cabochon by Lisa Peters, and combined it with a few more of Lisa's components. See it on her 2011 Halloween post here.

You won't want to sink your teeth into one of these polymer clay candy corns (made you look twice didn't I?). But they sure would make a fun charm bracelet or set of earrings! Find the how-to over on No Big Dill's blog.

Oh what fun I could have loading a charm bracelet with these little gems from Artbeads.com. Find a whole host of Halloweeny goodies on their web site here.

Ok, so this is not exactly jewelry related, but I couldn't resist. Instructions for making these pumpkin decorations (with stockings!) can be found on the Home Seasons blog. I think I'd bling it up with a few flatback crystals here and there. Cool, huh?

What kind of Halloween jewelry and accessories do you wear? Do you have plans to bead any this year? Share your comments below!

Happy Halloween!

Enter a Beading Contest!

Dblair — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Fall hasn't even officially begun, but here in the office we are busily plugging away on the winter issue of Jewelry Stringing. I'm excited that the winter issue will feature the winning projects from this year's Bead Star competition!

If you like to enter beading contests, here are a few that are going on right now:

		Visit the Rings & Things web site for details on their Pick Your Palette Swarovski Elements Crystal Jams Contest. Entries don't have to be jewelry--they can be anything--but must be made using the Crystal Jams assortment packs. Hurry--contest closes September 12^th!
		Vintaj Natural Brass Company hosts a monthly contest, each with a different theme. Submit your jewelry designs in their October challenge, "Radiant Raven," by using Vintaj's Arte Metal and/or Artisan Copper. Entries will be accepted until noon on September 28^th, and full details can be found here.
		Submit your over-the-top crystal jewelry, accessories, or home décor designs in Fire Mountain Gems and Beads Swarovski Elements Contest! Full details can be found here. Contest ends September 30^th.
		And, finally, Beadwork magazine's Beaded Bead Contest is a celebration of the magazine's 15^th anniversary. During 2012, each issue of Beadwork includes instructions for a different style of beaded bead. Contestants need to create a jewelry design incorporating each of the five beads featured throughout the year. Deadline to enter is October 26^th and details can be found on the web site here.
		Even though Happy Mango Beads's "Trash to Treasure" contest is over, it's fun to view the winning entries on their web site, where contestants got pretty darn creative in turning their trash into some fun and stylish jewelry designs! Take a look here.

Whether you like to craft jewelry, accessories, or home décor with your beads, there seems to be something for everyone if you're in the mood to try your hand at a beading contest!

Good luck!

Debbie Blair, Managing Editor

Wedding Jewelry Trends for Summer

Dblair — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 12:21:00 GMT

Don't you just love summer weddings? One of my office mates has been busily planning her nuptials, which will take place later this month. Getting a glimpse of just some of the things that will make her day special has inspired me to see which accessories brides will be wearing this summer.

1. The summer issue of Martha Stewart magazine shows us a collection of pearls in unusual shapes, shades, and settings.

2. Brides Magazine features this out-of-the-ordinary wedding choker from Neiman Marcus made with pearls,crystals, and--get this--black leather!

3. I can almost hear my grandmother gushing over this gorgeous bracelet on TheKnot.com, featuring cotton and polyester crocheted loops, glass pearls and mother-of-pearl.

4. Look at these non-traditional beauties from Nordstrom. Simply stunning!

5. I love the accent on these gorgeous pearl strands--my favorite pick from Southern Bride magazine.

6. This vintage-style bracelet by Etsy artist, ShesAccessories, is made with white fresh water pearls and rhodium plated leaves with rhinestones.

7. The subtle details make these earrings in MadeByMore's Etsy shop oh-so-sweet.

8. If you're interested in making your own jewelry for that special day, download the Best of Stringing Wedding eBook, or check out Jean Campbell's Beaded Weddings, both available in the Interweave Store.

Happy crafting!

Chain Roundup!

Dblair — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 04:00:00 GMT

After my mom saw the summer anklet I whipped up for my blog a couple of weeks ago, she requested one for her birthday. So I've been doing some digging around for unique chains, trying to get an idea of something that would be suitable for an anklet and loved by my mom.

Some fun possibilities:

This beaded chain from Ornamentea sure looks like summertime to me:

Elegant and airy copper marquise chain from Shipwreck Beads:

AD Adornments is my go-to place for vintage chains such as these:

Love this seashell chain from Artbeads.com:

OhioBeads.com has this cool sterling silver scalloped chain:

This rhinestone chain from Rings and Things would add a feminine sparkle to any piece of jewelry:

One more selection from Ornamentea rounds out my picks. Love the texture on this:

Next week I'll show you what I came up with, and how much of a thumbs up I got from the recipient!

Happy creating!

Debbie Blair, Managing Editor

Trend: Chic Chevron Jewelry

DanielleF@9 — Wed, 09 May 2012 08:00:00 GMT

I just returned from a much-needed mini-vacation in coastal Oregon. It's so gorgeous and peaceful there--my mind and body always come back relaxed and refreshed. It just so happens I come back inspired, too. Inspired by jewelry.

While driving through Portland on our way to the coast, I made my travel companions stop at some shops. At one I saw a cool, chevron-shaped metal necklace by a local jewelry designer (see below, top left). I've seen some other great chevron pieces recently, too, and thought I'd do a little round-up of some of my favorites. Enjoy!


Gold and silver necklace by Favor.	Pink dyed-jade necklace by Native.

Sterling silver necklace by Lumafina.	Leather bracelet by Son of a Sailor.

Free Jewelry Designs for Mother's Day

cchatenever — Fri, 04 May 2012 10:00:00 GMT

Are you ready for mother's day? With just under two weeks left until the big day, you still have plenty of time to make up a special custom beaded necklace, bracelet, or pair of earrings, just for mom! Heck, if she liked the glitter macaroni necklace that you made for her in pre-school, she'll love any of these stylish (and free!) jewelry designs:

		In "Very Varasite", varasite rondells, peridot, and silver come together wonderfully to make the perfect gift for a simple-but-stylish mom.

		Danielle Fox combined pyrite nuggets and off-round chain in her "Fools Gold Forever" necklace.

		For all those pink-lovin' mom's out there, look no further than this "Crazy for Lacy Agate" necklace in your search for the perfect gift!

		I love the combination of chalcedony and rose quartz in "A Stroll in the Garden".

		For a quick and easy bracelet, grab some turquoise chips and Swarovski pearls and make this lovely piece.

Browse through Beading Daily's wide selection of free projects for more inspiration!

Chloe

Treasures from Tucson!

DanielleF@9 — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 04:00:00 GMT

The Tucson bead shows are always a blast. And this year was no exception. I attended the To Bead True Blue show, the Best Bead show, and the Whole Bead show--a mere sampling of the dozens of bead, gem, and fossil shows that occur every year at this time. I go to the Tucson shows for two main reasons: to talk face-to-face with bead vendors and magazine contributors and to scout for new beads and beading materials. Though I told myself I had to be good this year (I have WAY too many beads at home that I haven't done anything with yet), I did come back with a bag full of eye candy. Let me tell you about my goodies (starting from the rabbit pendants at left and working clockwise):

The bunny-themed shibuichi and pewter pendants and clasps are from Green Girl Studios. I don't see the items on their website yet, but similar items can be found in Cynthia Thornton's Etsy store. So cute!

The pink glass beads are from Bead Biz. I plan to use some of these beads in a necklace for 101 Bracelets, Necklaces, and Earrings, a special issue we're working on right now (stay tuned--it will be available on newsstands mid-July). This year we're arranging all the jewelry in 101 BNE by color, which I am very excited about.

The green and blue sea glass beads are from ZNetShows. They are available in a ton of different shapes, sizes, and colors--all are gorgeous. These beads mimic the appearance of glass that has been worn by sand and water.

The decorative silver chain is from Primitive Earth Beads and Chain--a vendor that has about every kind of chain you could ever want. My favorite artist in The Sundance Catalog, Naomi Herndon, uses handmade chain like this in some of her designs, and I wanted to give it try.

The floral polymer clay beads are from Cherry Tree Beads--aren't they fun? I've already used them straight off the strand in a very simple necklace, which I'll share with you in another post.

The seed beads are from Beyond Beadery. I saw a pair of earrings with this color palette in a catalog and the wonderful Betcey Ventrella helped me find these matches. It makes me happy just looking at them! And the metal-clay birds are by Diane Sepanski. I have a thing for bird beads and thought these were darling.

The beautiful purple/green set of hollow lampwork glass beads is by Tennessa McLean of A Beaded Gift. I bought a similar set of beads last year--my favorite purchase from Tucson 2011. The bag of polyester cord is from NatureBeads--I'm getting more and more into using silk, leather, and other cords in my jewelry designs lately.

You might recognize the colorful enamel beads from Cathy Collison of Glass Garden Beads. I mentioned them in last week's post because I made a necklace with them for the Spring 2012 issue of Jewelry Stringing. I plan to recreate the necklace for a friend, so I was glad Cathy was back with more.

Finally, the gemstones! Carter Seibels Singh, a frequent contributor to Jewelry Stringing and co-owner of the BeadTrust.com, helped me pick out this collection from her booth. The pale blue stones are amazonite, the orange ones are carnelian with a diamond finish (already starting a wrap bracelet with these babies!), and the coral teardrops are plastic (maybe?) and fabulous (for certain!).

Did you go to Tucson or have you been to Tucson? I'd love to hear about the treasures you picked up.

Until next post...

Sites for Sore Eyes

Stringing Editorial — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:00:00 GMT

Everyone has their own creative process. Whether you are making a necklace or writing a novel, you probably have your quirky habits that help to put you in the right mindset to create.

Maybe taking a run around the block or fixing your favorite snack helps you to focus. I find that harvesting beads and findings to repurpose from beaded objects like napkin rings and headbands really gets my creative juices flowing. (You can see some of these re-imagined projects in Creative Jewelry 2011.)

But no matter what your methods are, there are times when they just don't work.

I am sure that you know as well as I do how frustrating this can be. Just last week, I sat down to try and design a few new pieces for our upcoming issue of 101 Bracelets, Necklaces, and Earrings, only to find myself up against a serious creative roadblock. After sitting in the middle of my living room surrounded by bags of beading materials (seriously, it looked like the Fire Mountain catalogue threw up all over my floor!), I was ready to give up. My initial impulse was to devour an entire sleeve of Oreos and turn on Friends re-runs. Instead, I opened my laptop and went in search of some inspiration.

The crafting community has become a growing presence on the web, and with the development of creative collectives like BeadingDaily.com and handmade marketplaces like Etsy, the internet has become a space in which anyone can publish, share, and discuss his or her creations.

I have found that just browsing through some of my favorite crafty sites and blogs is almost always enough to kick start my creative engines. It's never long before I find a new technique I want to try, or a color scheme that would be perfect for a new necklace or bracelet.

One thing I have discovered, however, is that the sheer volume of sites that have amazing and inspiring ideas can be daunting. There are so many to choose from that it is difficult to know where to start! But since you have to start somewhere, I have assembled a list of a few of my favorites below.

Etsy is an online handmade marketplace, where you can buy or sell handmade and vintage items.

What I like:

-Their homepage always features curated galleries of items from different shops on their site, and these galleries change frequently throughout the day, which means that you are constantly exposed to new and interesting items.

-You can mark your favorite stores and individual listings, so you can easily keep track of pieces or materials that you like. You can also organize items into cohesive collections called "treasuries."

-Etsy also publishes interviews with artists that are featured on their site. I always love hearing about what other creative minds have to say about their craft.

Pinterest is essentially a virtual bulletin board that you share with the entire online community. Have you heard of inspiration boards (collages of inspiring photos, magazine clippings, etc.)? Well, on Pinterest, you can create your own themed "boards" and then "pin" items to each of those boards.

What I like:

-I can easily group links that I find useful by general subject area (for example: I have a board just for color schemes that I really like). It seems like I encounter at least a handful of links every day that I want to remember, and file for future use, and instead of emailing them to myself (which really means that they get lost in the black hole of my junkmail box), now I use Pinterest to organize them in one place, with just a click of my mouse.

-The thumbnail-based interface makes browsing really easy, and you can customize the pins that are displayed based on their subject matter or how popular they are.

-Everyone's boards are public, so if I find other users that have interests and tastes that are similar to mine, I can "follow" them, and easily browse through their new pins.

StumbleUpon is more of an online service than a site in itself. You select topics that you are interested in and StumbleUpon will show you sites that you may like based on the preferences you entered. My StumbleUpon interests include "crafts," "handmade jewelry," and "jewelry design."

What I like:

-You can "thumbs up" any site, and StumbleUpon will file the page you are on under your account. (StumbleUpon has essentially digitized the word-of-mouth process. When you give a page a thumbs up, you are notifying their system that you are interested in what is on that page, and you think others might be interested, too.)

-You can install a StumbleBar, a toolbar that will always display at the top of your browser window, so you can give any site you visit a thumbs up and file it away, even if it is one that you didn't discover through stumbling.

-One downside: StumbeUpon only works in certain web browsers (including Firefox and Internet Explorer, but not in Safari).

These are just a few of the sites that I have found helpful in my eternal quest for inspiration, but I would love to hear about any others that you have discovered! Do you have a favorite jewelry blog? What do you do to find your creative muse?

Chloe Chatenever
Assistant Editor, Jewelry Stringing Magazine

Baby Loves Those Beaded Necklaces

DanielleF@9 — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 03:00:00 GMT

Welcome to our new Jewelry Stringing blog. We're excited to start an ongoing conversation with our jewelry-making buddies: you! On our end, you'll be hearing from me, Danielle Fox, editorial director of the bead group at Interweave; Debbie Blair, managing editor of Stringing and beading special issues; and Chloe Chatenever, assistant editor of Stringing and beading special issues. Together, we hope to bring you beading news, jewelry inspiration,behind-the-scenes stories, and much, much more.
Today, I can't help but write about my little niece, Pearl (left). She turned one last weekend. I'm proud to say that this fifteen-pound cutie is already a jewelry fan. And she happens to have great taste, too. In fact, her favorite necklace of mine (right) was just published in the Spring 2012 issue of Stringing.

I know, however, that it's not the craftsmanship or the design or even the beauty of the colorful enameled beads by Cathy Collison of Glass Garden Beads that Pearl admires. Rather, she loves the necklace because it's fun to put in her mouth. For this reason, I always try to wash the beads with a clean, damp cloth before I see her. And, of course, I've looked into whether this habit could be bad for Pearl. The necklace is strung in such a way that she couldn't swallow a bead while I was wearing it, and I haven't been able to find any evidence that the beads are toxic. For the record, I am not promoting feeding beads to babies...or adults, for that matter!

Because Pearl likes this beaded necklace so much, her mom, my sister, Heather, asked me to help her make a similar one (left). Something cute enough for her to want to wear, but safe enough if Pearl wanted to put it in her mouth while Heather was holding her. We decided smooth plastic rounds were the ticket (the yellow beads are from MK Beads and the other plastic beads are from The Beadin' Path), and we agreed that undyed leather was a great stringing material as it was strong, flexible, and natural. I love the chain Heather picked, too. It's from AD Adornments.

Have you ever made a piece of jewelry with a child in mind or have you ever made jewelry with your siblings? If so, I'd love to hear about it. Send me a comment.

Thanks for following our ALL NEW Jewelry Stringing blog.

Danielle Fox