newest bead and button goodies

I have acquired a number of new bead and button goodies the couple weeks and thought that you would enjoy seeing many of them.  I am frequently inspired by crafting supplies and hope that you will be, too.  Enjoy!

The downtown Vogue Fabrics store in Chicago has a random button bin.  You can fill one of these bags for $2.  The selection changes frequently, but I've never been disappointed with the given lot.  Check out all of the flower buttons, wooden buttons, and metal buttons!

I have two favorite bead stores in the Chicago suburbs.  My parents live one block away from one of them so it's where I usually go when I'm back that way.  I almost always stock up on seed beads, Czech leaf beads, and other Czech glass.  I go through 6/0 and 11/0 seed beads more than any other beads so I always like to get a few colors.  The Czech glass selection varies but I almost always find some great leaves and other unique shapes.  Check out all of the leaf colors and the great dice beads.

My mom ordered a set of these tiny glass bottles and corks for me for my birthday.  I enjoyed using the sea glass bottle charm for my tropical destination challenge piece and would like to use bottles again for future charms.  Why not make some of my own charms?

I picked up some screws for the corks so I'm all ready to go as soon as I get inspired.  There are so many possibilities out there.  Check out these great Etsy listings as well as this bottle tutorial.

What would you put in your bottle?

Finally, I cashed in all of my Bead Trends gift certificates for Fire Mountain Gems and got this box of goodies.  Yep, I had to get all of it organized by bead type.

Thank you Bead Trends!  The hard work that I put into my submissions was well worth it.

Have you picked up any new craft goodies lately?  What are you going to make with them?

Where I Linked Up Today:

a new garden for spring 2011

I'm not the best about making and listing pieces in the right season, but I had to list this piece while it's still spring.

It's available here.  This is the third flower embellished cuff that I've made now.  The second one is still available in my shop here.  This new one is more like that second one than like my first one.  It would be fun to do another bright cuff like that.  But I love all of the red in this new cuff, too.  And I have not gotten tired of the dark green base.  I would make another flower cuff just for that.  The disc beads are from Art Beads mixes.  I've been collecting the flowers over the past year, mostly from local bead shops.  And the button clasp is another Lisa Peters creations (LisaPetersArt).  She's been listing lots of new goodies lately so go check out her shop if you haven't been over there in a while.

As I've mentioned recently, I'm slowing down on the peyote cuffs for a while.  But I still have a decent number of flower beads left so there will probably be another one of these cuffs at some point.

working with periwinkle again

Thank you much for all of the birthday wishes yesterday!  I had a bad cold all weekend but otherwise it was a very nice birthday.

I listed a new periwinkle and black piece last night.  It's available here.

 

I bought the periwinkle/black lamp worked beads from Jen (blueseraphim) back in 2009 simply because they were awesome.  I had no idea what I was going to make with them.  I got the ceramic button from Kristie (artisanclay) as part of a giveaway and bought the leaves (mostly from Shannon of beadsandbabble) back in June.  Then I had to find periwinkle seed beads and figure out what else I wanted to use in the piece.  I'd been holding onto some of the other glass components that I included for quite a while, too.  It was way past time to use them!  And I finally put it all together this winter.  I know that this is a very winter-y piece.  I WILL list some of my lovely new green spring pieces soon.  But the colors in this piece can work for other seasons as well.

I actually made two versions.  As you can see, this second slightly shorter version is nearly identical to the one above.

I'm not planning to make any more like this, but it was neat using the leaf beads in a slightly different way than I usually do my leafy and rock garden series.

bead organization finale

As you know, I've been organizing my beads, buttons, and findings the last few weeks.  You can read about the first couple steps of this project here and here.  This is the final installment.

This is most of my Czech glass as well as my small collection of Swarovski beads and buttons.  I know that this just looks like an ad for Art Beads.  A lot of my Czech glass is from Art Beads, but I've purchased some locally as well.  I have components that I have a lot of grouped together like leaves, daggers, and hearts.  I sorted the rest by color (except for the Swarovskis which all fit into one compartment).

I've been using these containers for a while.  I pretty much left what was already in them where it was, so there is some other Czech glass in here.  I grouped my shell beads and filled in the other spaces with random components like lamp worked beads and handmade ceramic beads and buttons.  I'm keeping the plastic letter beads but de-stashing the rest of my plastic beads.  I haven't worked with them in years.  I'm de-stashing on eBay.  If anyone's interested, let me know.

I know that some people would have a heart attack or, at the very least, would scream if they saw my seed bead organization.  But this is really all that I need at this point.  I've only been doing beadweaving and button jewelry work for three years.  My collection of beads isn't that big.  If I need delicas for a new flower garden cuff, I don't have to sort through 40 different greens to find the shades that I want.  I can simply sort through the 40 or so total shades that I have.  I have my Tohos and delicas on the left, my cube beads on the top, and my size 6/0 Czech seed beads on the right.

I have more size 11/0 Czech seed beads than anything else for seed beads.  Not all of them fit into the container so I left the ones that are in the little screw top plastic containers as is in that storage box.  As I use up other beads that I've stored in the screw tops, I'll continue to sort more 11/0's into them.

We just got a new bookcase over the weekend.  All of the boxes, along with a bunch of books, now have a new home.  I'll have at a picture up of that at some point in the near future.

Etsy resources for beaders

Thanks to Etsy's new circles feature, I'm sure that some of you are more familiar than ever with some of my favorite fellow Etsy sellers.  I'm sure that many of you are familiar with some of them from my blog already.  But I thought I'd make a little resources guide here for any fellow beaders who are interested.  I believe in buying locally when I can, but as a seller on Etsy, I also believe in buying on Etsy and supporting my fellow sellers.  I know that many of you feel the same way so go check out some of these awesome ladies' shops.

SandFibers - Carol Dean is one of the first beadweavers that I ever admired on Etsy.  I know that many of you know who she is.  I don't have to say a lot about how awesome her work is because it speaks for itself.  She also offers a lot of patterns for her peyote cuffs.  I have a couple of them.  They're excellent, particularly the bargello ribbon cuff pattern pictured above.  If you haven't done a lot of beadweaving, peyote cuffs are a pretty easy place to start, especially if you use delicas because they're so uniformly cut.  If you are a more experienced beadweaver, her patterns range from easy to advanced.  There's plenty to keep you challenged.

blueseraphim - There are LOTS of talented lampwork artists on Etsy.  I could do a whole feature just on Etsy lampwork.  But I've always been particularly drawn to Jen's work.  I'm always a sucker for interesting color combinations.  As you can see from the above example, Jen's sets combine amazing textures, patterns, and shades.  I probably heart one of her items every week.  I don't know how many times I've featured her work on her.  I've bought a few sets from her, and just about every piece I've made with them has sold within a few months.  Even if you aren't a jewelry artist, you should check out her shop.  She offers a handful of pendants and bracelets.  You can get lots of inspiration for your own work from her colors, too.

LisaPetersArt - I know that many of you know who Lisa is already.  She doesn't list to often on Etsy so her items tend to go quickly when she does (though the adorable set above is still available here).  But her work is great.  I've used a handful of her ceramic buttons for clasps.  She's very active on Facebook.  She interacts with her fans pretty frequently even she's not listing.  Lisa has a destash shop, too.

akkricket - I honestly don't remember how I first came across Kristina's shop.  I've always been a bit of a sucker for sea glass.  I've only bought a couple sets of drilled glass from her, but I admire her glass and jewelry pieces frequently.  If you're looking for some different components for your jewelry making, I definitely recommend checking her shop out.  Unfortunately, she's on vacation right now (hence I can't link that picture to anything), but favorite her and check it out later.

TessaAnn - I have to confess that Tessa's shop is one that I've stalked for the better part of a year now, but have never purchased anything from.  I fully intend to at some point, though.  Her work is fun and unique.  She is a huge fan of the turquoise/red combination (see this cute example), which of course is awesome.  Lots of people post adorable crocheted or knitted items with her buttons on her Facebook fan page, which is really fun to see.  I think the buttons would be awesome for jewelry projects, too.

beadsandbabble - This is a shop that I found out about through other beaders.  Thanks to everyone I know on Etsy who helps feed my addiction. :) Shannon is really nice and has an amazing range of Czech glass as well as other goodies in her shop.  As you may remember, she sent me some freebies for blogging about her last year.  I've ordered seed beads and Czech glass leaves from her, too, all of which are great.  (I love her dagger collection, too.)  I plan to make more purchases in the feature.  If you do any jewelry work, please consider her shop.  You won't be disappointed.

artisanclay - Kristie is another artist I was referred to through others.  I've been very fortune to have won two of her blog giveaways.  I also purchased a set of her ceramic buttons a while back.  Kristie's work is not like anything I've ever seen before.  I'm really blown away by what she is able to do with glass (see the above example).  It's probably good that most of her pieces are not cheaper because I would buy a lot them.  They are well worth the money, though.

TheDespinaCollection - This shop I just discovered last month and am promoting because she has amazing daggers, which have helped feed my latest bead obsession.  She mostly sells metal findings, but she has a very nice stash of Czech dagger beads in her store, too.  You'll see some of these showing up in my work in my near future.

daydreaming about daggers

Even though I haven't been doing a lot of bead work the last week, that doesn't mean that I'm not still thinking about beads!  I've been searching for good Czech glass dagger bead deals on Etsy this week.  Here are a few that I may need to purchase in the future.

CZECH GLASS DAGGER BEADS PINK SATIN 16 X 5MM from Beads4sale

10x3 Dagger Opaque TURQUOISE Czech Glass Beads 50 from simplypie

16mm Dagger SATIN LAVENDER Czech Glass Beads 25x from simplypie

50 - Pink Czech Pressed Glass 10x3mm Dagger Beads from BeadYourHeartOut

5X16MM DAGGER 50 PC from reba31969

Czech Glass 3 x 10mm Dagger Spear Siam Red (50) - BCP-0875 from Beadaholique

And of course Shannon has some amazing dagger beads.
16x5mm Multicolored Rainforest Mix Picasso Czech Glass Dagger Beads from beadsandbabble

Art Beads fall piece

For the fall Art Beads design partner program, we were asked to create a piece of jewelry that utilized colors from the Fall 2010 Pantone Fashion Color Report.  I'd been wanting to make a new version of my Natural Sparkle design for a while.  Some of the more neutral shades from the report fit into this design perfectly.

I used two different kinds of Swarovski beads and gorgeous tiger's eye beads from the Art Beads Gemstone section.  I normally don't spring for larger/more expensive items when it comes to beads, even when it's through the blog program because I still like to make my money go as far as possible, but I decided that it would be worth it with the tiger's eye.  It definitely was.  I have a handful left, which I'm sure will go to good use at some point.

I also used some of my free sample beads from Shannon (beadsandbabble) including a few from this lovely Czech mix and this other neat Czech mix that she offers as well as some of her seed bead strands (if you want specific information for those, let me know).  Thanks Shannon!

The drilled sea glass pieces are from Kristina (akkricket).  I'm a little embarrassed that it's taken me this long to use them, but I'm so glad that I finally did.  I have some single drilled pieces, too, that I'm planning to use for another Natural Sparkle bracelet.

I'm sure that some of you know this by now, but the ceramic button is from Lisa (LisaPetersArt).  This is the fifth bracelet that I've made with one of Lisa's buttons.  I've sold three with her buttons.  The only one that's left besides this is my Fall Autumn Explosion piece.  I'm planning to use another Lisa button for my next Natural Sparkle bracelet.  I have a few other buttons in my stash, too (not that that will stop me from buying more in the future, too, of course).

This piece is available in my Etsy shop.  You can view it by clicking here.  As always, if you're interested in something similar but in a different size or with slightly different colors, etc. please let me know.

Disclosure - I received my ArtBead's products free of charge through their blogging program. I am honestly reviewing their products and have not been paid for my endorsement as it pertains to the products I received.

new goodies

I finally broke down and started selling on Ebay tonight.  I am not a huge fan of Ebay, largely because I got hacked through it a few years ago, but hopefully it will be worthwhile.  My username there is randomcreative if anyone would like to look me up.  I'll post the link at some point when I have more items listed.  I was planning to post here earlier tonight, but I got wrapped up in the Ebay thing instead.

Here I am now, though.  As promised, I've been working on rock garden and leafy designs this weekend.  There are some of the new leaf beads that I'm including in my new pieces.

I also got the daggers that I ordered from The Beadin' Path this week.  They don't have a huge selection of items, but they have a nice collection of daggers.  Ever since I completed my blue dagger design, I've been thinking about lots of other possible dagger designs.

I can't believe how nicely the purple shade shows here.  Aren't these gorgeous beads?