My bead soup package arrived yesterday. Yeah!! My partner is Anitra Gordy of  http://leelucreations.blogspot.com
Isn't the owl pendant charming ? I really like the seed bead mix. The first pieces that I put together were the owl & the light green rectangles. There are wood beads in blue, green, & natural. The pic doesn't show it well but the beads at the very top are jasper. I told Anitra the yellow & orange are the colors that I have least of in my stash so she included some in my soup. The beads to the left of the owl have very  intricate carving on them, yum. Toggles are my favorite clasps so that part will be easy. The small copper hand is stamped handmade. What a nice finishing touch. I have several ideas already cooking in my head. This is my first blog hop & I am very excited to participate. My reveal date is August 25. Please stop back to see what I make.  I want to thank the amazing Lori Anderson of www.prettythingsblog.com for hosting this wonderful party. There is a link on her blog so you can check out all the participants. Have fun.

As promised "Triangular Resistance." I used electrical resistors in threes connected to pewter rings to form triangles & make this necklace. I added a few seed beads to make the resistors fit the spaces better. I used larger resistors to make links & joined everything together with jump rings, The back has a short piece of chain & a toggle clasp. This is the second necklace I have done with resistors. They are a ceramic center on wire & come is lots of sizes & colors. The wire that they are attached to makes them perfect for wire wrapping. I think this is a fun piece.

FREE BEAD GIVEAWAY ALERT!!!  Cyndi at www.beading-arts.com  is giving away free tagua nut beads. I signed up & you should check it out too. This is something I have not worked with  & I would like to try them.

I preparation for my upcoming bead challenge I have been challenging myself to work with things that are not normally thought of as jewelry making materials. Last night I made this necklace with a rubber o-ring center. I used black & turquoise o-rings in decreasing sizes joined by 6mm silver jumprings. The o-rings came in a multi- pack from an unclaimed freight store.  The center focal is attached to the chain with 9mm jumprings.I added black chain & a black o-ring on each side for interest then attached a silver toggle clasp to the other ends of the chain. Simple to make & different from anything else I have seen. It only took a few minutes to make but I like it. Today I am making a necklace with electrical resistors. I will post it tomorrow. The bead challenge that I entered is the amazing Lori Anderson's (prettythings.blogspot.com) Bead Soup Blog Party. You should check it out if you haven't already.

A mother of pearl donut bracelet is what I am showing today. This is the third time around for this bracelet. The first time I just linked the mother of pearl donuts together with gold jumprings. I liked it simple & it looked great on my arm. The creamy white made me look very tan.. I wore it to the grocery store & when I got home the jumprings had opened & the bracelet came apart. So I tried again. I used black waxed linen cord & macramed some knots. I put turquoise rubber O rings over the macrame knots then strung size 8 turquoise seed beads on the tails. In theory it would have been pretty but after a couple of joins I didn't like how it looked so I took it apart. This time I like it.  I used gold craft wire to join the donuts together for stability. I wire wrapped the top of the wires  then strung  two 6mm round hemalyke beads on each wire. The bottom of the wires I spiraled sort of wonky to enhance the handmade look. I used a gold plated pewter toggle clasp for the closure. I also made earrings to go with the bracelet.

Good Morning. Today I can finally show you the necklace & earrings I  made for my sister's 70th birthday.  Her party was yesterday. I have had it done for more than a month. It is hard not to show something when it is done, but I didn't want her to see it here so I waited. At my first wholesale show I found the yellow pearls. I could see them from several tables away. It was like they were glowing. They are larger than what I normally use& are yellow which I almost never use, but with at least a dozen colors of pearls  I could see these shine from several tables away & I had to have them. The next day I was emailing with my other sister & she said Rita's favorite color was yellow followed by blue. I knew then why I had bought the yellow pearls. The necklace & earrings are made with yellow calcite, yellow pearls, yellow bicones, yellowAB stars & light blue Czech pressed glass. I was great to see her face when she opened it. She just lit up & then she hugged me. I hope you like it too.  This pic was taken before I attached the clasp & earwires.

 Do you want to be in a beading book? Here's your chance. This is a copy of an email that I received from my bead group calling for entries for a new Lark book.

Dear UMBS Member,  Diane Fitzgerald just received this email from Lark Publishing and wanted each one of you to have it, so I am sending it on. Please enter and good luck! Laura

 

 

Dear Diane,

 

I'm pleased to announce a two-month call for entries for a new 500 Series gallery book of handmade contemporary jewelry from Lark Books: Showcase 500 Necklaces. The opportunity closes on August 1, 2012. That is a short window of time, so I ask you please to share the call for entries promptly with your entire jewelry-making community, including peers, associations, schools, students, and all online forums as well as social media like Twitter and Facebook, and to respond to it yourself in a timely way. As always, we hope to receive a wide array of entries from around the world.

 

I'm also pleased to report Lark has converted to using an online entry system; entries are now online only, through a portal provided by Juried Art Services. Here is the link for the informational prospectus and to enter:

 

http://bit.ly/NmsmQm

 

You'll find all the information you need at that link, so please follow the instructions carefully, but here are some key points:

 

We'll accept jewelry in all materials with all techniques and design styles, including both wearable and conceptual but biasing toward the wearable, simply because most readers prefer seeing wearable jewelry in these books.

Jurying will favor more recent work, and so we ask you to submit very recent or current work from no earlier than 2010. The submission limit is two pieces (one photo of each, with an option of one or two alternate or detail photos per piece). 'Necklaces' can include neckpieces, chokers, torques, collars, operas, ropes, chains, bibs, etc. There is no charge for entry for this book; Lark is covering the Juried Art Services cost. We strongly prefer work that has not been previously published in book form.

 

The JAS form will walk you through the process, but a few notes:

1. No need to complete the Artist Statement section.

2. Please read and follow Lark's Digital Image Submission Guidelines.

3. We encourage early entries, especially to avoid having any last-minute difficulties with the new entry process: Complete the process ahead of the deadline so you're assured of having time to resolve any technical issues you might encounter.

 

For questions about registering with Juried Art Services or uploading your material to the site, contact support@jurying.net. For other questions about the book, please direct them to Hannah Doyle at  hannah@larkbooks.com. And please be sure to join Lark Jewelry & Beading on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/LarkJewelryBeading for updates and future calls for entries.

 

We invite you to copy the web ad for the book at http://www.larkcrafts.com/submit/calls-for-submissions/ for your own website or blog, or to share it on your Facebook page, linking either to that link or to the JAS page at http://bit.ly/NmsmQm, whichever you prefer.

 

We are very excited about this book, the third jewelry book since the 500 series evolved into 'Showcase 500'. Showcase 500 Rings (http://amzn.to/yEERZm ) just published in May, and Showcase 500 Beaded Jewelry (http://amzn.to/z6tZH2) will publish in August. We know Showcase 500 Necklaces will be a book devoted to work of creative excellence and innovation, and we invite and welcome your contribution to the book.

 

Thank you very much.

 

Sincerely,

Ray

 

Join us on Facebook: facebook.com/LarkJewelryBeading Follow us on Pinterest: pinterest.com/larkjewelry

 

Ray Hemachandra

Team Lead and Business Manager

Lark Jewelry & Beading

 

67 Broadway

Asheville, North Carolina 28801

(828) 253-0467 ext. 762

ray@larkbooks.com

http://www.larkcrafts.com/jewelry-beading