Russian Lace Celtic Cross

I have finished the Celtic Cross necklace beaded in Russian lace stitch and uploaded the pattern to BeadPatternsBoutique.


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Russian lace is always a challenge for me.  I learned three drop netting using a different color for the juncture bead, or a different color for the top half of the mesh and the bottom half.  The designs in Russian lace are created by placing the colors in a pattern which may or may not conform to that formula.  I had finished the necklace, put the clasp on it and took pictures before I noticed a glaring mistake about one third of the way from the end.  And I thought I was checking each design before going on to the next one!

Well it was fun and it was challenging.  The pattern is illustrated with text instructions mesh by mesh, so if you follow the pattern exactly you will be able to complete this necklace even if you've never worked Russian lace.

Brighten up Your Winter With Beaded Jewelry

I was looking through the Artfire Beadweaver's Guild photo gallery checking out new additions this morning.  This Neon Beadwoven Necklace immediately caught my eye.  BeadsnBloom has used glass cabochons that flash with a multitude of colors to construct this asymmetric necklace.  The seed beads and fire polished beads she has used with them bring out the beauty and flash in these cabochons  made by Lisa Allen of L.A. Art.

I'm so envious of those of you who can cruise the local markets and actually see the beauties you're buying before you buy.  I have to rely on the photography skills of those who sell on line, as the selection locally is limited. Oh well, you know beaders. . . we are going to bead with whatever is available.

If you haven't already, check out the fabulous beaderwoven wonders in the Artfire Beadweaver's Guild photo gallery!  Our beadweaving techniques range from peyote to bead embroidery to just about any other stitch you can think of, plus some free form without names, and all are fabulous beaders.

All Occasion Earring Collection

I've finished compiling the first pattern collection of the year. All Occasion Earring Collection features my best selling earrings of the year,Beads in a Gilded Cage, Full Moon, Fleur de Lis, and Red Hat.

All of these projects work up quickly so there's plenty of time to make them for gifts for friends and family.

The Beads in a Gilded Cage is RAW and the pattern contains step by step illustrations and text.

Full Moon earrings is a modified St. Petersburg Chain and also contains step by step illustrations.  These two patterns are written for beginners, so if you don't know these two stitches you can learn while you make the earrings.

Fleur de Lis and Red Hat are free form brick stitch.  You must know how to work brick stitch and how to increase and decrease.

This collection represents more than 15% savings over buying the patterns separately, so come on by BeadPatternsBoutique and get your copy.


On another note: BeadPatternsBoutique blog has published a very indepth look at spam and how to handle it. As we all depend on our computers to stay in touch with the world and buy and sell products, this is some must know information.

Beaded Russian Lace

I’ve been looking through my UFO and salvage boxes lately looking for beads and looking at some of my earlier work.  I found some practice pieces that I’d done in Russian lace. 
Russian lace is three drop netting with “slits” for lack of a better word, in the outer edge that lets it form a natural curve for necklaces.  I found a classic Karmen necklace I’d done in purple, green and amber and an adaptation that formed a heart and had pearl and Swarovski crystal bicone drops.  I also found a doodle I’d done trying to make a Celtic cross.  I’ve spent a couple of days working and ripping out trying to make the design work.  Finally got it right and got a pattern worked up.  Now it’s smooth sailing.  There are two places that I had to take out on nearly every repeat because I’d get the bead sequence wrong.  As soon as I get the necklace finished, the pattern will be available.

Beader Skill Level Guide

What skill level are you when it comes to beading?  Do you know?  BeadPatternsBoutique blog has a great definition for each skill level.  This will help you as a beader to know if a pattern is one you will likely be able to work.  It will also help designers know how to designate the skill level.

All the designers at BeadPatternsBoutique are dedicated to producing tested and proven patterns and presenting them to various skill levels to help beginners learn and to keep skilled beaders challenged.  If you're learning to bead from tutorials and forums without the benefit of a face to face teacher, you never have to feel that you are alone when you purchase a bead pattern from BeadPatternsBoutique.  Designers all have contact information on each pattern so they can be contacted if you need help. 

Come on over the BeadPatternsBoutique and see what we've got.  Join our lively, fun, informative forum.  It's the next best thing to getting together in person to bead and discuss beading.

For the Love of Andrew Thornton Etsy Treasury

I told you about Andrew Thornton, a fellow beader, who has had a bout with cancer resulting in large medical bills.  Andrew has no health insurance, so the Etsy Beadweaver's Team has gotten together and donated items for sale to benefit Andrew. These items are in an Etsy Treasury named "For the Love of Andrew"

All the proceeds from the sale of these items will go directly to Andrew.  We need your help.  I'm not asking you to buy, (but do if you can,) I'm asking you to view the treasury, click on the pictures and comment.  This will help keep the treasury at the top of the list where buyers are more likely to see it.

The treasury went up yesterday and six items have already sold.  Beaders are awesome and have huge hearts.  New items are replacing the sold ones, so check back often.  Thank you for all your help.

Andrew Thornton Medical Fund

Fellow beader/blogger, Andrew Thornton, has recently been diagnosed with cancer and has had surgery. Andrew doesn't have any medical insurance, so several members of the Etsy Beadweavers Team have decided to donate the proceeds from sales of certain items in their shops to the Andrew Thornton Medical Fund. A treasurey will be made in November so all those items can be seen in one place. I'm donating the proceeds of my Autumn Fantasy bracelet and several more beadweavers have committed to this cause also.

Take a moment to get acquainted with Andrew. His blog is really quite interesting and informative.

Featured in a New ArtFire Collection

Beadwoven Autumn ...

Curated By: beadsforever

ArtFire.com

Indie Design

I've been busy trying to clean up a few websites, write a few articles and clear my beading table today.
I was trying to compose a blog post in my head and was coming up blank until checked in at ArtFire to find that my Crystal Apache Leaf bracelet was featured in a collection! Thanks beadsforever!

All the Colors of Autumn

All the Colors of...

Curated By: TheBeadDoodler

ArtFire.com

Unique Gifts



I've spent the afternoon learning my way around ArtFire and in the process, found many artists working with the wonderful colors of fall that I so love.  I created this collection from the most impressive of them.  Take a look.  These artisans are wonderful.

Now I just have to figure out which size "widget" will fit well on my blog. LOL

Etsy Beadweavers October Challenge

The Etsy Beadweavers Challenge "Autumn Falling of Leaves" had 59 entries.  Check out these beautiful, vibrant works of art that so fully depect the lovely colors of fall around the world.
Cast your vote any time from October 9 to October 15.

ArtFire Studio

It's been a busy week. My muse deserted me, so I've been working at the computer all week.

I've opened an ArtFire Studio to showcase my goodies. While ArtFire is easy enough to navigate it's still a new site to me and I'm easily confused. I added a few things the hard way, then found an easier way by browsing around, taking time to read the many, many guides they provide. There are a few tweaks I still need to make, but I've got quite a few items uploaded for sale. The hardest part for me is writing the descriptions for SEO. I finally gave up and just made sure my keywords were somewhere in the description, or vise versa.

I'll keep my Etsy shop for a while. Both sites have pros and cons. I like that Artfire doesn't require listing fees or commissions. I've heard you really need to be a Pro studio and pay a monthly fee to do well there. The monthly fee is reasonable considering I'd probably pay that amount in listing fees and commissions if I kept my Etsy shop stocked the way I'd like.  I'm not great at writing SEO and it takes a while for me to get a site up and running, so I'm going to give it a six months try.

I also joined the ArtFire Beadweavers Guild. Lots of friendly, helpful people in that guild and I think it will be a big boost to my confidence and my studio.

I've had many request for pattern coming from my jewelry galleries at Fotki, so I created a seperate album for jewelry patterns and linked them to BeadPatternsBoutique and The Bead Coop. Now I'm thinking of creating an album for jewelry for sale and linking the pictures to Etsy and ArtFire.

For right now I think I'd better find my beads and patterns I've created for this year and get started beading those two dozen ornaments I'll need for grandkids and great-grandkids

What Inspires You?

Artbeads is proud to announce our first ever ‘What Inspires You?’ jewelry contest! The theme of Artbeads.com’s first beading contest is to let beading artists share their inspiration with others. There are two categories, necklaces and other beaded designs for this contest. Voting will be open to the public to determine the top 3 winners in each category. A picture of the inspiration and design will allow the voters to see how each entry is represented


The Grand Prize Winner in the Necklace and Beading contests will each receive a $500 Artbeads.com Gift Certificate, the 2nd Place winners will each receive a $250 Artbeads.com Gift Certificate and the 3rd Place winners will each receive a $100 Artbeads.com Gift Certificate.

This is a fun event to share with your blog readers, family, friends and fellow beaders. This is a contest of originality, design, and vision. All entries MUST be an original design. At least 50% of the beads and components in a submitted entry must be purchased from Artbeads.com. Participants must upload one picture of their design and one of picture of their inspiration, such as you see below in the banners. This contest is open to beaders worldwide, aged 18 and older.

Click on the first picture to get complete details for the Necklace Beading Contest, and on the Second picture for Everything Else Beading Contest.

Happy beading and good luck in the contest.
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