The Savvy Crafter

Links and such...

Wooo, I love a man in beads!  What is it with me and these random mannequin pictures?!?  We made it to Hong Kong yesterday.  After our errands, we spent the day goofing off.  We shopped for clothes, went to the book store, and had time to spare before catching the 6 o'clock ferry so we headed for Hollywood Rd, an excellent little street that has fine art galleries and antiques.  I ended up with some great kitsch---mahjong tile bracelets, coins and old postcards for my Ch!na photo album cover.  It was such a fun day, I didn't want to come home...except to see Rocker. Here's some faboo Linkoos from the bead bloggers.  Enjoy! About.com Jewelry Making  Learn to "make it yours" from this latest issue of Make It Mine magazine. You'll find lots of crafty goodness including some fun jewelry articles, one even from our very own bead buddy, Candie Cooper!
Art Bead Scene  Is it time to get organized? Art Bead Scene has storage ideas to help you get organized.
Jennifer Jangles Blog  Jennifer shows two bright and fabulous projects featured in Simply Beads this month.
Jewelry & Beading  Glass bead curtains?? Come and see Denise Perreault's sun-catching masterpieces!
Katie's Beading Blog  Bead embroidery doesn't have to be hard! Check out Katie's embellished felt flower. It's just right for spring!
Naughty Secretary Club  Win a free copy of the spring issue of Make It Mine Magazine that includes painting projects by Jen’s younger sister Hope Perkins!
Savvy Crafter  It's a plane! No! It' a Felty Bird just in time to hang out on your spring jacket.
Snap out of it , Jean! There's beading to be done!  I had such a good time with Naomi Fujimoto that I wanted to repost our story of our trip to NYC!
The Impatient Blogger  Ornament Thursday returns with the theme of Sprout. Madge dips into her new stash of vintage French postcards to make a charming little collaged pendant with metal mesh accents. Art is sprouting all over blogland with the wonderful creations of the OT Gang.

Hi-dee Ho Neighbors!

Sister Diane, my favorite podcaster in the whole universe gave me the You Make My Day Award.  It made my day, actually more than that.  Gee whiz, that was so nice.  And then on her Make It Mine review, she gave the wine charm project a shout out.  Thank you, Sister!  I'm passing the You Make My Day Award onto Melanie, Katie, Cynthia D, and Jennifer.  Thank you for being so nice.  P.S.  If you haven't subscribed to Sister Diane's podcast, "CraftyPod"---go now.  You don't have to have an ipod (I used to think you did to listen to podcasts).  Check out her site for more "crafty goodness"....

I'm off to the international school to do "Career Day" and then later tonight the "College Fair". I can't help it, I just keep thinking of Talladega Nights where the dad comes in for "career day" and says he's a "volunteer fireman and an amateur tattoo artist. "  And "you don't need to listen to your know it all teacher over here...."  I won't finish, but if you know the movie, you know what I'm talking about.  Cracking up here.  Since when did I become old enough to talk to kids about a career in the arts?!?!?  Apparently there will be a panel of us. Lord help us.  I remember being that age thinking, "yes, I get to get out of class for this"....and that's about it. Talk soon... Ornament Thursday is this week with a theme of SPROUT! 

++Edit:::If any of you read this post earlier I actually flaked out renamed this award somewhere in the middle of when I got it and typed the post.  How does it happen?!?!  I don't know.

Birthday Beading...

Last night we went to a surprise birthday dinner for our friend Meg.  Meg took one of my beading classes last spring and has been hooked on jewelry making ever since.  As an extra surprise, I and another friend brought a handful of beads and charms from our stash to the party.

Earlier in the day I connected one end of a toggle clasp to a bracelet length wire so it would be ready for some birthday beading.  That night at dinner, while we were waiting for our food to come, this festive bowl o' beads was presented to Meg along with the wire.  The idea was for each person to string one bead or charm onto the wire and pass the bowl on to the next person, creating a special bracelet made by all of us.  We started with the birthday-girl and went from there.

Another crafty pal, Nancy carefully selecting her bead.  Of course you know how hard it is for women to pick just one bead.  "Can I put one spacer bead AND a bead on?  How about a charm AND a bead?"  So sneaky!

 

Who doesn't love to watch men pick through a bowl of beads?  Really searching, searching, and searching for just the right bead.  It was very amusing to see who added what to the bracelet.

Here's Meg with her finished bracelet.  There were ten of us and the beads and wire went around the table two times which was just about perfect.  I brought along a crimp bead and crimping pliers so I could finish the bracelet on the spot.  Meg was thrilled when we gave her the leftover beads and charms for her future creations.  If you are celebrating a friend's birthday, this was definitely a fun activity.  We had some great laughs while assembling and the birthday-girl got to take home a special keepsake from the party.

Check out my Savvy Crafter column in this month's Simply Beads magazine for more fun like this.

The latest...

from the Girls with a Need to BEad!

Art Bead Scene 
Shocking statistics from the Art Bead Scene archives! Melanie offers up advice on how to stand out from the crowd when it seems everyone is making jewelry.
http://artbeadscene.blogspot.com/2007/05/bead-biz-shocking-statistics.html

Bead Arts 
Cyndi posts a reminder about a courageous little girl who is also a jewelry maker.
http://www.bead-arts.com/baylie-for-brains/

Jewelry and Beading 
Is lampworking right for you? Can you rub your tummy and chew gum at the same time? Then maybe so.
http://www.jewelryandbeading.com/2007/08/21/to-make-lampwork-beads-or-not/#comment-41040

Naughty Secretary Club 
When Adorn Magazine called and asked Jen if she was up for a necklace making challenge she responded “I was born ready”. Read all about the necklace, how it was made and how it almost didn’t make it to NYC in time for the photo shoot.
http://naughtysecretaryclub.blogspot.com/2007/08/naughty-secretary-club-in-fall-issue-of.html

Savvy Crafter 
Hong Kong or Bust!!! This week Candie tells about her mini field trip to Hong Kong for a day of crafty supply shopping.
http://candiecooper.typepad.com/savvycrafter/2007/08/doin-the-diy-sh.html

Snap out of it Jean! There's beading to be done! 
Jean's been linked to a cool goth site, http://www.deadlounge.com/index6.html for a while. It's fun to mix it up. Check out the new bracelet she made for the red and black corset crowd! While your'e at it, try the poetry generator! http://www.deadlounge.com/poetry/index.html
http://prettykittydogmoonjewelry.blogspot.com/2007/08/jean-goes-goth.html

The Impatient Blogger 
Got some crafty mishaps lurking around your archives? Margot shares two not so fabulous designs from her earlier beading efforts. Check out her photos from her recent infomercial shoot while you're there!
http://margotpotter.blogspot.com/2007/08/then-and-now-and-later.html