23 Days of Inspiration: Dogwoods and the Bead Buzz

The inspiration for my dogwood pendants came from an object, rather than an idea.  My aunt Rosanne and I were making bead molds from objects one summer and we raided my grandmother's spoon collection.  I love each one of these as they remind me of that visit home and my grandmother.  And in case you couldn't tell, my grandmother is completely precious to me and I always miss her!  I'm looking forward to visiting her again soon during my summer vacation.

Here is the Bead Buzz - a round up of this week's best bead inspired links:

A Bead A Day
Looking to make some super-sized jewelry just perfect for a princess? Lisa uses large blueberry briolettes and a swarovski mix to create just that!

About.com Jewelry Making
Tammy ask in this quick poll about how you use social networking to promote you and/or your jewelry business.

Art Bead Scene
ABS is here to help you with your business. Check out Zazzle to customize your earring cards for your jewelry business.

Barbe Saint John - New Jewelry from Forgotten Artifacts
Book Review: Wrap, Stitch, Fold and Rivet

Beading Arts
How many people out there are participating in the Bead Journal Project this year?

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi's button maker is the reason for this new vintage image necklace.

Cindy Gimbrone aka Lampwork Diva
This week's Wednesday Wire is a free tutorial, "Matchin' by Wrappin'."

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
Learn about the Raku firing process and see the results of Melanie's new Raku adventures!

Humblebeads
Heather shares some time management tips for creatives.

Jean Campbell
Jean reviews Kate McKinnon's wonderful new addition, Sculptural Metal Clay.

Snap Out of It, Jean! There's Beading to be Done!
Jean is delighted to review Totally Twisted by Kerry Bogert! You will LOVE this book which focuses on wire and art beads!

Strands of Beads
Melissa discusses the process of reworking a weak necklace design - the revised version of which now appears on the cover of The Best of Step by Step Beads.

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
Like Czech glass? Andrew hosts a giveaway courtesy of Raven's Journey. Find out how you can win these luminous beads!

23 Days of Inspiration: Hedgie & the Bead Buzz

 What is the only thing cuter than a baby hedgehog?

(Photo courtesy of Docpi)

A pair of them!

Really, my only inspiration for these guys are the cute factor and my need for quirkiness.

Check out the adorable earrings Lorelei created with them.

(Hedgie & the Bead Buzz - that's that new punk band, right?)

Here is the Bead Buzz - a round up of this week's best bead inspired links:

A Bead A Day

Lisa explains her thoughts behind part 1 of a new bracelet project.

About.com Jewelry Making

Tammy recently took a trip to the Bahamas and discovered some souvenir pennies in her purse. They were so bright and shiny they had to be turned into jewelry.

Art Bead Scene
It's the fifth month anniversary of the ABS Carnival Blog! Come see how we've grown!

Barbe Saint John - New Jewelry from Forgotten Artifacts
Take a jewelry class with me at CREATE!

Beading Arts

The new Rubber Glass silicone has inspired Cyndi to create some beginner projects!

Carmi's Art/Life World

In an effort to use all that she buys, Carmi repairs and recycles vintage metal from Paris.

Cindy Gimbrone aka The Lampwork Diva

Cindy's starting a new feature on her blog - The Wednesday Wire! Come take a look!

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles

A gift from a local potter starts Melanie on a new clay adventure: Raku!

Humblebeads

Heather explores 23 days of inspiration as she gets ready for the Bead & Button Show. See how Van Gogh has inspired her through the years.

Jean Campbell

Jean's just full of travelogues, isn't she? This time she went to a Kansas bead retreat.

Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio

Voting has now opened in the Bead Star competition, come check out my 5 entries!

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!

The best wedding I never went to! My editor's incredibly romantic wedding -- Australian Beading Magazine

Strands of Beads

Like several of her esteemed colleagues, Melissa has a few pieces in the Bead Star competition to show off this week!

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton

Andrew has six finalists pieces in the Bead Star competition. Please take a moment to vote!

Missficklemedia.com

Vote for your Bead Star Favorites!

The Bead Buzz

Starting this week join me each Sunday for a round up of great Bead Blogger links and more from my favorite peeps!

A Bead A Day

Creating jewelry for special vacations can help you look forward to upcoming trips and keep the memories fresh afterwards.

Art Bead Scene

Art Bead Scene has a new look and some new opportunities to get involved. Come see!

Beading Arts

Rubber glass? Rubber glass?!? What the heck is rubber glass?

Carmi's Art/Life World

Carmi uses some amazing digital images to create a new resin filled bezel necklace.

Cindy Gimbrone aka The Lampwork Diva

Check out the new beads on Cindy's site - Turquoise Sky!

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles

Melanie starts production for the Bead & Button Show and has studio pictures to prove it!

Humblebeads

Heather shares some sketches of possible designs.

Katie's Beading Blog

This week, Jean Campbell interviewed Katie for Beading Daily. Read some bonus Q&A on Katie's blog.

Snap out of it, Jean!There's beading to be done!

Jean reviews Kate McKinnon's inspiring new book, Sculptural Metal Clay Jewelry, with DVD included!

Strands of Beads

Melissa shows off new designs using cool skull beads and charms from Rings & Things

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton

Andrew hosts another Thursday Giveaway! This time, the prize comes courtesy of Natural Touch Beads! Find out how you can win some awesome resin jewelry components!

And other juicy links not to miss:

Treasures Found: Inspiration

Check out Erin's new challenge inspired by wedding flowers!

Jangles Blog
Jennifer is having a sweet giveaway with some of her new woodland creatures charms, the deadline is today!

Laura Bray
I just took an awesome ecourse with Laura Bray, she is one smart crafty-biz cookie.  Poke around her blog, she offers classes, a great newsletter and more.  I'm not sure when her next class will be, but I highly recommend signing up!
 
A Fanciful Twist

Why is a raven like a writing desk?  I'm not sure, but you can join in the nonsense and creativity at this crafty Mad Hatter Tea Party blog hop later this summer. 

 

Bead-O-Sphere Links

I know, I'm on vacation and yet I still find work to do! I listed these copper disks in my etsy shop along with marking down prices on my beach-inspired jewelry. I've spent the day whipping up some new jewelry designs that I will share tomorrow. In the meantime, enjoy these inspiring links from the bead-o-sphere!

Strands of Beads Melissa wants to know what outrageous materials are in your beading stash?

Beading Arts Cyndi reports on her experiences with firing and finishing CopprClay pieces. This stuff rocks!

About.com Jewelry Making Heard about copper clay or coppr clay? Find out more about this great new metal clay product and check out some new metal clay projects too.

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton Stop by and say hello to Andrew in Charlotte, NC this weekend. Check out his new designs and some delicious new metal clay coins!

Carmi's Art/Life World Carmi tries Ice Resin and upcycles a greeting card into a necklace.

Cindy Gimbrone aka Lampwork Diva Cindy learns to make murrini and deals with mud.

Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio Instead of continuing on with the tried and true techniques of jewelry design, Lorelei is finally ready to take the leap and try something new.

A Bead A Day Do you love Swarovski Crystals? Inspired by talented jewelry designer, Lillian Chen, Lisa creates a Swarovski “sculpture” ring.

Barbe Saint John - New Jewelry from Forgotten Artifacts Sometimes you need to have a jewelry makeover.

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Even without a lot of time on her hands, Melanie finishes a clockwork themed bracelet using Swarovski faceted rings from ArtBeads.com.

Jean Campbell Ink: Eureka! Jean gives a sneak peek of her next Beadwork magazine piece.

Katie's Beading BlogCheck out Katie's wire-wrapped dragonfly!

Humblebeads Bead & Button stash and Heather's inspired creations.

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! Jean gets her cool stash from Use the Muse II, and muses about it.

Art Bead Scene Art Bead Scene gets creative with the "Best of ABS."

Don't forget to enter the Art Bead Scene's challenge this month! 3 great sponsors with a nice little stash of prizes. Here is a peek at one I put together.

Funny Caption Contest & Bead-O-Sphere Links

First things first, the Silver Parrot is the winner of last week's funny caption contest. We had some computer issues for the last few days, so sorry this is a little late. Silver Parrot please email me your mailing address, I have a crazy squirrel who wants to come visit you.

And hey, why not do it again? The Rings & Things Russ Troll bead is back this week. He's made his way to the top of a polymer clay scrap heap in the studio this week. What would he say once he made it to the top? Leave a funny caption in the comments and I have Knobby Urchin bead to send to one lucky winner who will be randomly drawn next Wednesday.

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And for a little mid-week inspiration here are the top picks from the bead-o-sphere:

A Bead A DayLisa shares her selection of summery pink beads and crystals. The "Watermelon Crawl" bead mix is sure to conjure up visions of a family picnic on a warm summer day!

About.com Jewelry MakingTake these quick polls about wearing and making jewelry. Which are your favorite pieces?

Art Bead Scene The Trendy Bead shows off wood filigree pendants.

Barbe Saint John - New Jewelry from Forgotten ArtifactsRead Barbe's interview on the Objects and Elements blog.

Beading Arts Cyndi's initial thoughts on working with the new CopprClay. There'll be lots of projects coming this summer!

Carmi's Art/Life WorldCarmi hand felts a pretty bead from wool roving.

Cindy Gimbrone aka Lampwork DivaA trip to glass city doesn't go as well as planned. Yet Cindy finds inspiration and few new tools!

Earthenwood Studio ChroniclesMelanie mixes up gunmetal chains and components with brass to make a necklace with one of her Toolbox Treasure pendants

Humblebeads Heather sketches out some new designs using this summer's hottest color.

Jean Campbell Ink: Eureka! Beading in the fresh air clears the mind, bringing fresh creativity.

Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio Searching for some new inspiration? Lorelei's got just the place for you to find it!

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! Jean reviews Wirework, a new book by the famous Dale "Cougar" Armstrong

Strands of Beads Melissa shows off her new lunar phases and compass rose designs

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
While traveling in Florida, Andrew shares a new variation on a favorite skull bracelet.

Tiger Lily Haiku

Morning dew sparkles

Tiger lilies greet the day

Summer has arrived

Humblebeads' Tiger Lily, disks from Blue Seraphim, leaf from Every Heart Crafts.

I'm happy to announce I've joined the Bead Bloggers group and will now be sharing a great round-up each week of the best posts from the jewelry making blog-o-sphere!

About.com Jewelry Making

Summer time is affecting Tammy's jewelry designs. How about yours? Check out her summer jewelry plans so far.

Art Bead Scene

Kandinsky inspires this month's challenge. The ABS editors suggest a selection of their handmade art beads for a Kandinsky inspired jewelry piece.

Barbe Saint John - New Jewelry from Forgotten Artifacts

Barbe reviews Ancient Modern Polymer Clay book.

Carmi's Art/Life World

A vintage comic book becomes the inspiration for a necklace.

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles

A new shipment of copper blanks has Melanie plotting for some metal playtime!

Jewelry & Beading

Auntie's Beads provided wonderful copper beads and findings so Cyndi could create this necklace!

Katie's Beading Blog

In need of a speedy bead? Check out this quick and easy jewelry idea!

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!

Pink, gold,and cream! Jean creates a lovely necklace and earring set featuring a beautiful Russian hand painted focal from Artbeads.com

Strands of Beads

Melissa shows off her work in progress - an eerie lock and key design.

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton

Andrew shares a new necklace design. Check it out!