Beading Contest: The Jewels of January! 10 Finalists

A BIG thank you to everyone who entered Beadaholique's The Jewels of January beading contest! We had a great response with lots and lots of wonderful entries. Here are our top 10 finalists (in alphabetical order by last name): 

"Parure Tanzanite" by Patrizia Campadello

"The First Snow of the Season" by Dawn Doucette

"Snow Birds" by Julie Gastelum

"Ice Forest" by Ana Luísa Remelgado Gomes

"Cascading Falls" by Jessica Klaaren

"Winter Diva" by Cheryl Marsenich

"Snowy Moonlight Magic" by Karen Raisley

"Frost Princess" by Kim Stewart

"Pearls and Pretties" by Noelle Zambetti

"Snow Queen Snowflake" by Laura Zupko

To vote for your favorite design, please go to Beadaholique's Facebook page and "like" the design you like best. You will need to "like" the actual photo in the gallery and not the entire gallery itself for your vote to count. Public voting ends Tuesday January 31st at 4pm PST. 

Best of luck to all!

BTW: Beading Table Wednesday 1/25/12

Julie's Table

On my table this week is the Lazee Daizee Viking Knit Wire Weaving Tool Kit.  I have been wanting to try out this tool kit for awhile now and finally got the chance. So far, I love how easy the tools are to use and am happy with my results. The silver colored 26 gauge craft wire that I am using is really easy to work with too - wooohooo!

Megan's Table

My Inspiration Monday post from this week on Erté still has visions of lovely ladies with dramatic style dancing around in my head.  I've starting working on beaded tassels to make into elegant art deco style jewelry.  I think these gunmetal Miyuki Delica seed beads will provide the perfect dark, sparkling touch!  I can't wait to finish the tassels so that I can decide what to pair them with and what creations I can turn them into!

Inspiration Monday - Erté

When I studied costume design in college, my professor introduced me to the work of Erté.  I can't thank her enough!  Over the years I have been endlessly inspired by his amazing art and designs.

Romain de Tirtoff lived from 1892 - 1990 and worked under the pseudonym Erté during his illustrious career in art, fashion, and costume design.  He is very well known for designing over 200 covers for Harper's Bazaar and for his costume work in films such as Ben Hur and The Mystic.

Erté's art most commonly depicts women in lavish, outlandish, and extraordinarily creative ensembles.  Many of the garments in his art are not actually possible to produce, and others are like a puzzle to figure out.  But we don't have to be able to pattern and sew an Erté gown to be inspired by his style!

Looking through these images makes me want to play with strands of beads, tassels, knot work, vintage style metal stampings, rhinestones, and chains.  That's quite a list, but trust me, it doesn't stop there!  Art deco is one of my favorite styles, and Erté did it best!  How do these images inspire you?

-Megan

Beading Contest Update: The Jewels of January

Have you checked out our current beading contest, The Jewels of January?  We want to see your most dazzling interpretation of "The Jewels of January" and we want all of our other readers to see it too!

Our 10 selected finalists will have their entries published here on our Beader's Blog and on the Beadaholique Facebook page for public voting, and the winner will receive a $100 Beadaholique gift certificate!

We have received some great entries so far, but there is still time to enter if you have not yet sent us your sparkling best!  The deadline for submission is Tuesday, January 24th @ 4PM PDT, so get beading!

Other important dates:
Thursday, January 26: Top 10 will be posted on our Facebook and notified via email. Public voting starts.
Tuesday, January 31 @ 4 PM PDT: Public voting closes
Thursday, February 2: Winner is announced in the next issue of The Beading Wire and notified via email.

Be sure to read through the original post for complete rules and submission guidelines!

BTW: Beading Table Wednesday 01/18/12

I've been all about shoe clips the last couple of days!  Shoe clips are decorations that clip onto the front of any plain pair of pumps or flats to give them a bit more flair.

I keep seeing beautiful vintage shoe clips, and even new shoes that come with clips to match.  I figured we could use some large clip on earring findings to make shoe clips out of just about anything!

On my beading table this morning are some great metal stampings, filigrees, various cabochons and crystals, and a special bit of bead embroidery that I'm working on to make a pair of gorgeous bridal shoe clips.  I can't wait to see what else I can dig up to add that perfect vintage touch to my plain old shoes!

-Megan

Choosing A Color Scheme: Tips & Ideas

One of the most challenging aspects of creating a beautiful piece of jewelry is choosing a color scheme that "works."  Whether you are going for a bold look, subtle, romantic, autumn inspired, or modern, it can be difficult to choose colors that convey the feeling you are trying to express and that work well together. We have all seen beautifully handmade jewelry pieces that would have been spectacular if the colors had not been a little "off."

Golem Studios Ceramic Pendant

So how do you go about deciding on a color palette? The easiest way is to take whatever your focal bead is, and coordinate around it. For instance, if you are making a necklace around a gorgeous Golem Studios pendant, then look at what colors are present in the pendant itself and use those colors in your design. You can use red Toho seed beads, blue Czech glass beads, etc. Even if your focal is a solid color, use that solid color as your starting point and build around it. 

Swarovski Color Carousel

If you are a fan of Swarovski Crystal, there is a great tool at your disposal: the Swarovski Color Carousel.  Choose your main color, and this color wheel will automatically generate harmonious colors, contrasting colors, even the appropriate pearl color.  As an example, I chose Siam as my main color and was then told that Ruby, Burgundy, and Garnet are harmonious colors. Erinite and Emerald are contrasting colors to Siam, and the appropriate pearl is Crystal Burgundy. Even if you are not using Swarovski Elements, you can use this tool to generate beautiful color stories. 

Sample Color Palette

Other websites to check out include Kuler.adobe.com and Colourlovers.com. Both of these sites are free and offer thousands of color palettes for you to look through. The palettes have been sorted by theme, popularity, etc. so you can quickly narrow down your selections. There are so many choices in just these two sites alone, you will surely be inspired by a color scheme. 

  

© Design Seeds

A third website to check out is Design Seeds. This site takes a photograph, picks out all the colors from it, and gives you a handy color swatch palette to work off of. Seeing the colors in the photograph is really inspiring and gives you a better idea of how they will work together.  Once you have chosen your colors, you can then purchase beads to match. When picking out the beads, I like to have a separate browser window open with the color palette displayed so that I can easily see if the beads I am considering match my color scheme. 

Another great way of arriving at a color scheme is to take a piece of fabric, scarf, shirt, or dress where you really like the colors and use those colors for your jewelry design. An added bonus is that if it is a piece of clothing you are working off of, and you know you look good in it, then you know your jewelry colors will look good on you too. 

Finally, a tip I learned from a fellow crafter was to go to the paint store and pick up some paint chips. You can then use these to develop your color schemes. You might also find the free booklets offered at paint stores helpful too. These usually have "designer" schemes pre-arranged and you can pick out the one that appeals to you. 

Hopefully these ideas and tips were helpful! We would love to hear how you arrive at a color scheme! 

- Julie 

BTW: Beading Table Wednesday 1/11/12

The year is off to a great start here at Beadaholique and we are very happy to introduce our new designer - Megan Patton! Here is our first Beading Table Wednesday of 2012!
 

Julie's Table 
My obsession with bead embroidery continues on my table this week. At the end of last year I completed a bunch of videos on Bead Embroidery - however, the one subject yet to be tackled was how do you attach all the bead embroidered elements together. I am preparing to tape a video on the "direct attachment method" as well as one on creating a ladder stitch bail. After bead embroidery, I really want to get back to resin jewelry since we just got in a bunch of yummy new collage sheets.
 

Megan's Table 
It's my first Bead Table Wednesday, and I am experimenting with knotted bead bracelets! These bracelets are made of different types of cord that is tied in macrame knots and they feature all kinds of beads tied into the knots. I've been playing around with waxed cotton cord and beautiful Beadelle pave beads, trying to recall how to make the knots, which I haven't done in ages. I love how the simple knotting process turns into such an intricate looking piece, and it works up so quickly! I think I'll try out a few color combinations, and maybe some black cord, and then perfect my sliding knot to finish the bracelet and make it adjustable!

Quick Tip Tuesday: Flattening Wildfire Thread for Easier Threading

Recently I was faced with a challenge: I wanted to use size .008" Wildfire beading thread because of its strength for a project, but I also wanted to use a size 12 beading needle for the same project. The problem: the thread did not go through the eye of needle. This was a big deal since a larger needle would not be able to make the multiple passes through a single bead required for my bead weaving project.

The solution: hold the wildfire thread between the fingernail of your thumb and the pad of your index finger about 2 inches from the tail and pull the thread while applying pressure with your fingers. This technique will actually flatten the tail of the thread. Now the Wildfire thread is much thinner and can easily be threaded through the eye of a size 12 needle. Once it is through, you can pull the thicker (non-flattened) sections of  thread through the needle.

- Julie 

Beading Contest: The Jewels of January!

Let’s brighten up those winter blues with some sparkle and shine! Show us your brilliant interpretation of “The Jewels of January” and you could win big! We’re looking for sparkling pieces fit for a Winter Fairy or a lovely Snow Queen. Whether it’s brilliant blues, glittering clear crystals, fiery garnets or any other hues, make sure to show us some sparkle and shine! Check out our free beading projects and tutorials for some inspiration.

We will select 10 finalists from the contest entries, all of whom will have their work published here on our Beader’s Blog and on the Beadaholique Facebook page, for public voting. The winner will receive a $100 Beadaholique gift certificate and further exposure on our blog and Facebook page!

Rules/How to Enter:

Email us a clear, in focus, well-lit photo of a beading project which fits our theme and uses one or more products from Beadaholique. Email one photo, at least 500 px in width or height but no bigger than 1600 px wide and 1600 px tall, to challenge@thebeadingwire.com (do not use this for questions; contact us here) with the following included in your email:

Subject line: Name of Piece tags: jan2012 (Example: Dark Princess tags: jan2012)

Body: Very important! Include your full name and email address within the body of your email. Optionally, you may also include a brief description of your piece.

Important Dates:

• Tuesday, January 24 @ 4PM PDT: Last day to submit
• Thursday, January 26: Top 10 will be posted on our Facebook and notified via email. Public voting starts.
• Tuesday, January 31 @ 4 PM PDT: Public voting closes
• Thursday, February 2: Winner is announced in the next issue of The Beading Wire and notified via email.

Other Rules:

One entry per person. If you send more than one entry, you may be disqualified. If your entry does not meet the “Rules/How to Enter” stated above, you may be disqualified. Winner must respond to our email notification within 2 weeks to claim gift certificate. No one person may win more than once every 3 months. By entering, you retain the rights to your original jewelry design but are giving Beadaholique, Inc permission to use your submitted photo(s) on our websites, newsletter, Facebook, blog and other properties. The terms and conditions that apply to all Beadaholique contests and giveaways also apply here.

Tips:

Send in a large, clear, and well-lit photo.

Try to use natural light to illuminate your photo

Double check to make sure that your full name and email address are included in the body of your email. We continue to receive submissions with no contact information.

The Tucson Gem and Mineral Shows

There's a group of Beadaholique employees that are starting to get pretty excited - we just booked our flights to Tucson at the end of January.  

A lot of you have probably heard about the "Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. "  If you've never been, you could be forgiven for thinking it's just one really big gem and beading show.   But that is rather short of the truth.   The annual Tucson shows (plural), which all happen more or less during the same 2-week period, now number at about 45.  Yes, that's right, forty-five gem, mineral, bead and jewelry shows happening almost simultaneously all over one medium-sized city.  And those are just the officially recognized shows!  More than 50,000 people will come from all over the world to buy and sell jewelry, beads, gems, minerals, fossils and more.  This is THE jewelry event of the year, and it is as fun as it sounds. 

The shows really do sprawl all over the city.  Some of them are small and low-tech, consisting of people selling outside from picnic tables or bags on the ground in parking lots.  Many of the shows are large, professionally produced affairs, occupying community halls, hotel ballrooms and football-field-sized air-conditioned tents.    

We at Beadaholique will be going to see old friends, and make new ones.  We are also going to be presenting a jewelry how-to demo at the Swarovski Elements Event (more on that in a later blog), and, of course, we will be turning over giant tables of gemstone beads, pearls and hand crafted elements to find beautiful things to bring to our customers.  We will be wearing our comfiest shoes and collapsing with groans onto our hotel beds every night.   Sure, all that bead shopping is exhausting, but somebody has to do it!

I would encourage every bead lover to try to go to the Tucson Gem Shows at least once.   If you can, book yourself in a hotel for at least 5 days--you may even want to stay the full two weeks.  Lucky you, if you do!  There is a lot of ground to cover in Tucson, and you never know what you will find, from fossils and geodes, to handcrafted ceramic beads, to imported jewelry, to ten thousand dollar cut diamonds ready for the right jeweller's touch.  One thing you can be sure of, though, is that you will never, ever be able to see it all. 

Lark Crafts Interview with Rachel Nelson-Smith

At Beadaholique we love learning about artists, how they found their way to jewelry making, and what continues to inspire them. Lark Crafts just posted an in-depth interview with designer Rachel Nelson-Smith.

Here is the start of the interview: 

"Rachel Nelson-Smith is one of the most popular and talented beadwork designers and teachers in the world. Rachel is the author of the new book Rachel Nelson-Smith’s Bead Riffs, as well as an earlier release Seed Bead Fusion, and also a contributor to numerous magazines and books, including the gallery book Masters: Beadweaving. Visit her online at www.rachelnelsonsmith.com." 

This is a quote from later in the interview "Every moment of life is an improvisation. Every stitch is an opportunity to travel in a new direction." (love this!)

Click HERE to read more! 

Interview was conducted by Ray Hemachandra

Artist Profile Of November Nights Winner Susana Kunzli

Susana Kunzli and her beautiful wire knitted and beaded necklace set has won Beadaholique's November Nights beading contest. Congratulation Susana! Here is the winning entry "Black Cameo": 

We wanted to find out more about Susana so we asked her to share with us a little about herself: 

I am a retired hair stylist now so I have lots of time to pursue my hobbies which are oil painting, knitting, and now, jewelry making. I became interested in jewelry making about 3 years ago after I was making a beaded purse and wanted to add some beads to it and didn't know how. That was when I discovered this great beading site on the internet and I started to make necklaces from their tutorials. The necklace that I entered in your contest is my own creation made from materials that I bought at Beadaholique, that's why I was so excited when I was picked as one of the finalists. 

                                    

Thank you to everyone who entered and voted in our November Nights beading contest. Instead of having a beading contest for December, we are hosting The 12 Giveaways of Christmas. This is a great opportunity to win one of twelve great giveaways worth at least $50 each. We will have more beading contests in the new year!

BTW: Beading Table Wednesday 12/28/11

This is my last Beading Table Wednesday of 2011! Wow, what a year it has been and what a lot of projects have been made. Today I am tackling a challenge - do something unique and creative with Tila Beads. I have just started this project and have actually taken some Tila beads that I had on my table and am working on ways of connecting them in a net-like fashion. Now that I have an idea of my pattern, I am going to go and get some of the new colors of Tila Beads just available and work up the actual bracelet. I am thinking mustard yellow with turquoise accents. Wish me luck!

- Julie 

Thank You and Happy Holidays

Around this time of year, we get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of the holiday that we don't stop to think about all of the people who got us here.  So we at Beadaholique want to  pause for a moment, and say thank you to all our blog followers, Facebook fans, customers, and friends. Thank you for sharing your projects and stories throughout the year and thank you for inspiring us to keep doing what we love doing.

This holiday season was the first time we hosted The 12 Giveaways of Christmas, and it was so much fun for us. We loved reading the comments and seeing your genuine enthusiasm for jewelry making. It feels good to be part of such an amazing group of individuals who share a common passion. Thank you for writing those comments and sharing your excitement with others. If you happen to be one of the lucky winners, we hope you will send us photos of what you make and then we can share those with others to help feed their creativity too.

As 2011 quickly comes to a close, we are so thankful for all of you for making this a wonderful year of friendship, laughter, and inspiration. We can't wait to see what 2012 brings!

Happy Holidays from our family to yours,

The Beadaholique Team

Congratulations To All Our Winners!

Thank you to everyone who commented and entered into our 12 Giveaways of Christmas!

Here are our lucky winners:

Giveaway #1 Beginners Tool Kit: Deb H. of Oregon
Giveaway #2 Tierracast Toggles, Pendants, and More : Karin V. H. of Germany
Giveaway #3 An Abundance of Czech Glass Beads: Julie B. of New Mexico
Giveaway #4 Complete Kumihimo Starter Kit: Jackie S. of Washington State
Giveaway #5 Mixed Media Extravaganza: Kimberly S. of Illinois
Giveaway #6 Nunn Design Giveaway: Kathy D. of Arizona
Giveaway #7 Sensational Bead Embroidery Book and Supplies: Maria M. of Greece
Giveaway #8 Gorgeous Gemstones: Deb L. of Oklahoma
Giveaway #9 Inspiring Ice Resin: Beth C. of Texas
Giveaway #10 Beautiful Vintaj Brass: Susan C. of North Carolina
Giveaway #11 Deluxe Jewelry Making Tool Kit: Diane G. of California
Giveaway #12 The Ultimate Swarovski Giveaway: Grace L. of Maine

Congratulations to everyone!  We will be bringing more contests and giveaways to you in the New Year.

Have a wonderful holiday season.

- Julie, Sarah and everybody at Beadaholique

Giveaway #12: ENDED! The Ultimate Swarovski Giveaway!

This is the big one! You knew we had to do something grand to wrap up our 12 Giveaways of Christmas, and what is more spectacular then beautiful Swarovski Crystals? These precision cut crystal elements are of the highest quality and their brilliance and clarity is unmatched. Use these crystal beads, pendants, rivolis and crystal pearls to make timelessly elegant pieces of jewelry and treasured keepsakes.

There are over 40 different kinds of Swarovski crystal pieces here - ranging from the amazing crystal helix pendant (complete with sterling silver bail) to cosmic rings, rivolis, pearls, bicones, rounds, cubes, margaritas, navette, pear, baroque and snowflake pendants, wild hearts and more! You get everything you see in the photo, plus some extras, if you win this giveaway (except we're keeping the dishes)!

Estimated retail prize value: Over $250 worth of Swarovski Crystals Elements!

To enter, post a comment to this blog post NOW! Giveaway ends on Wednesday Dec. 21st at 4pm PDT. Winner will be chosen at random. 

Remember, only one comment per person per giveaway, and please do not comment anonymously if you want to win! You can comment on as many giveaways as you like, but you can only win 1 Beadaholique giveaway every 2 months. Visit Beadaholique's official 12 Giveaways of Christmas page for even more details. For a complete list of terms and conditions, please click here. 

Giveaway #11: ENDED! Deluxe Jewelry Making Tool Kit by Beadsmith

If you win this giveaway, say goodbye to your worn out or cheapy beginner tools!  You will be using an all new Deluxe kit containing high quality precision jewelry-making pliers, cutters, and more. Having the right tools is a must for creating beautiful pieces of jewelry. Thanks to Ronnie at Beadsmith for providing this beautiful set!

 

Included in a lovely zippered carrying case are:  

1   Pair of Chain Nose Pliers - Tips are 1mm wide

1 Pair of Round Nose Pliers - Tips are 1mm wide

1 Pair of Side Cutters (not suitable for memory wire)

1 Nylon Jaw Flat Nose Plier - Tips are 7mm wide

1 Crimping Plier (regular size, ideal for 1x2 and 2x2 crimp beads)

1 Knot Cutter - thread and string cutter

1 Knotting Tweezer 

1 Split Ring Tweezer

1 ScoopEEZ, a handy tool for scooping up beads and pouring them into small bags and containers 

To enter, post a comment to this blog post NOW! Giveaway ends on Monday Dec. 19th at 4pm PDT. Winner will be chosen at random.

Remember, only one comment per person per giveaway and please do not comment anonymously if you want to win!  You can comment on as many giveaways as you like, but you can only win 1 Beadaholique giveaway every 2 months. Visit Beadaholique's official 12 Giveaways of Christmas page for even more details. For a complete list of terms and conditions, please click here. 

Giveaway #10: ENDED! Beautiful Vintaj Brass

THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED!  THE WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED AFTER VERIFICATION.

Who doesn't love the beautiful natural brass from Vintaj? For this giveaway, Jess at Vintaj Natural Brass Co. has provided a sensational assortment of filigrees, charms, stampings, clasps, and more. Each element could easily be a focal point for a jewelry design. What would you make if you won this wonderful assortment?

Estimated retail prize value: over $80.00

To enter, post a comment to this blog post NOW! Giveaway ends on Monday Dec. 19th at 4pm PDT. Winner will be chosen at random. 

Remember, one comment per person per giveaway, and please do not comment anonymously if you would like to win! You can comment on as many giveaways as you like, but you can only win 1 Beadaholique giveaway every 2 months. Visit Beadaholique's official 12 Giveaways of Christmas page for even more details. For a complete list of terms and conditions, please click here. 

Giveaway #9: ENDED! Inspiring Ice Resin

If you are looking for a new direction in which to take your art, or if you have been wanting to try resin but are unsure where to start, this is the giveaway for you! You will find a wealth of inspiration and instruction in the book Explore, Create, Resinate by Jen Cushman. To help start you on your resin making path, we have also included an Ice Resin kit and some beautiful bezel settings to play with.

Included in this giveaway:

Explore, Create, Resinate book by Jen Cushman

Ice Resin 8oz kit complete with resin, mixing cups, and stir sticks

1 round brass bezel ring setting

1 round silver toned bezel ring setting

1 Ice Resin bronze bezel setting

Estimated retail prize value: over $65.00

To enter, post a comment to this blog post NOW! Giveaway ends on Friday Dec. 16th at 4pm PDT. Winner will be chosen at random.

Remember, only one comment per person per giveaway and please do not comment anonymously if you want to win! You can comment on as many giveaways as you like, but you can only win 1 Beadaholique giveaway every 2 months. Visit Beadaholique's official 12 Giveaways of Christmas page for even more details. For a complete list of terms and conditions, please click here.

Giveaway #8: ENDED! Gorgeous Gemstones

If you love working with the richness and depth gemstones provide, you are going to be thrilled with this giveaway. We have amassed a grand assortment of gemstones ranging from amethyst and serpentine, to peridot and pyrite, to carnelian and pearls for your creative enjoyment. There are also gemstone briolettes and pendants to use as focal points. Some of these stones are from the collection of our founder, Sarah.

All the gemstones (and the stick pearls too) featured above are included in this giveaway.  Tree display is not included.


Estimated retail prize value: over $150.00

To enter, post a comment to this blog post NOW! Giveaway ends on Thursday Dec. 15th at 4pm PDT. Winner will be chosen at random. 

Remember, only one comment per person per giveaway and pleasedo not comment anonymously if you want to win. You can comment on as many giveaways as you like, but can only win 1 Beadaholique giveaway every 2 months. Visit Beadaholique's official 12 Giveaways of Christmas page for even more details. For a complete list of terms and conditions, please click here. 

Giveaway #7: ENDED! Sensational Bead Embroidery Book and Supplies!

Our designer Julie’s new obsession and favorite book is the feature of this giveaway.   A special thanks to Ray at Lark Books for supplying a SIGNED copy of Sherry Serafini’s Sensational Bead Embroidery for some lucky winner.   We are also giving away some of the essential supplies you will need to get started on the techniques in this book.   

Bead embroidery is an old art form and one with endless design possibilities. The opulence and beauty of the jewelry pieces you can create is awe-inspiring.  Once you get started on bead embroidery, you will find it hard to put down your needle and thread!

Included in this giveaway:

SIGNED copy of Sherry Serafini’s Sensational Bead Embroidery

3 colors of Nymo thread

Assorted beading needles pack

4 colors of Toho seed beads

1 8.5” x 8.5” sheet of Ultra-Suede

1 8.5” x 11” sheet of Lacy’s Stiff Stuff beading foundation

1 4.25” x 5.5” sheet of Lacy’s Stiff Stuff beading foundation

Estimated retail prize value: over $50.00

To enter, post a comment to this blog post NOW! Giveaway ends on Wednesday Dec. 14th at 4pm PDT. Winner will be chosen at random. 

Remember, only one comment per person per giveaway and please do not comment anonymously if you want to win! You can comment on as many giveaways as you like, but you can only win 1 Beadaholique giveaway every 2 months. Visit Beadaholique's official 12 Giveaways of Christmas page for even more details. For a complete list of terms and conditions, please click here.