November 2007 Etsy BeadWeavers Challenge - Caught in a Net

November 2007 Etsy BeadWeavers Challenge - Caught in a Net Originally uploaded by time2cre8

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http://www.etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com

Pledge to Buy Handmade This Holiday Season

I did it! I was the 6670th person who took the pledge to buy handmade for the holiday season. You can do the same. With gas prices on the rise, I won't be one of those people rushing to the store at 6:00 am the day after Thanksgiving to start my Christmas shopping. I have to admit I have never participated in Black Friday (this website lists all the sales online and in the stores). I avoid stores as much as possible. I am not a shopper! The only exception to that is a bead store. I could and have spent right down to my last nickel. What's New and on Sale in my etsy store. I can't stay away from the sparkle of these crystals. I wanted to make a series that would be affordable to my etsy customers looking for a handmade gift this holiday season. The Fiesta Flamingo color combination is one of my favorite. Fiesta Flamingo Earrings Fiesta Flamingo Pendant Below is a list of items on Sale. These sale items include Free Shipping to Anywhere in the USA. They will be packaged in gift box ready for gift giving. Watch for new items to be added in the next week with holiday sale prices. Happy Holiday. Thanks for stopping by.

EBWC Challenge Complete

Tonight I finished my entry for the Etsy Beadweavers Challenge. The cabochon is an agate. For the netting I used opaque one cut seed beads with pearl accents. A vintage button brings closure to the square stitched clasp. In many traditions agate is believed to cure the stings of scorpions and the bites of snakes, soothe the mind, prevent contagion, still thunder and lightning, promote eloquence, secure the favour of the powerful, and bring victory over enemies. Persian magi are also known to have prized agate rings in their work and beliefs. Information obtained from wikipedia. This stone was purchased from my local hardware store. It makes me chuckle to say that. The store is Baldwin Taylor Hardware. They carry an assortment of supplies for Lapidary, along with findings and other supplies for jewelry making. Today we had our bead society meeting. We have a great group of womem attending the meetings regularly now. Aleta taught how to make a bracelet with a ladder and brick stitch. What a great job she did with the presentation and instructions. This was her first time for teaching and she was a natural! The colors I chose to work with are really colorful. Light Bronze, Matte metallic purple, matte metallic yellow-green and matte opaque old rose. It reminds me of Carnival and cotton candy. I always spend to much time visiting with everyone to get much done.

Time For A Change

I have been restless and in need of a change. It must be my gypsy spirit in need of a road trip. That isn't possible until I get new tires on my vehicle. With the price of gas I won't be going to far to soon. I have been looking at my website feeling it is also in need of a change. The black background just isn't working anymore. I want a fresh clean look. A couple of years ago Art bought me a program called Web Studio 4.0 by Back To The Beach Software. Today I spent time designing a new look for No Easy Beads. Once I got started there was no stopping me. The blog has a new look. My Etsy shop has a new banner and I managed not to get any beading done today! I like the changes. What do you think? Go with the new look or keep the old?

Beadwork by Iris Guidry

I really enjoy when someone who has taken a class send a picture of their finished project. Capturing The Stone by Iris Guidry. Thank you for sharing your beadwork Iris. It is beautiful!

Do You Get Your Bead Daily?

Bead Daily is a blog hosted Interweave Press. It features projects, book reviews and a range of beading techniques. One of the my favorite post is an interview with Diane Fitzgerald and her new book ZULU Inspired Beadwork. Mink Beads From another country carved from a nut, this is one of my favorite beads. I found them at the first bead store that started my bead addiction. Being one of my favorite beads I used them all. My sister recently gave me the ones she had in her collection. In all my travels I have yet to find this bead again. The bead is hard like wood. It looks like mink and shimmers in the light. Platinum and Mink Bracelet Zulu Flowerettes accented with platinum seed bead. Nestled between each flowerette is a mink bead. A marcasite button elegantly brings closure to the design.

Capturing the Stone

This weekend I taught a class called "Capturing the Stone". I believe a successful class is due to the detail and preparation of the instructions. As I bead a design I am visualizing how I will reconstruct it in the software program I use. This is an example of a graph I used in my instructions. Each bead in the diagram is drawn one at a time and the design is reconstructed. I brought along an example of a netted bracelet with a cabochon center. Once completed the Captured Stone can be used as a focal point on a necklace or on a bracelet design or as brooch. The pattern for the netted bracelet can be found at Bead-Patterns.com Netted Bracelet Pattern #8383 Dress up a netted bracelet with a picot edging. Finish off with a square stitch closure and a fancy button. I was in a beading frenzy this afernoon. The cabochon was captured and the netted started for the bracelet. I see gray pearls as accent embellishments completing this design. My daughter humblebeads has me singing Christmas songs as she prepares for her Holiday open house on etsy starting Monday. Other patterns on sale this week at Bead-Patterns.com Angel Pin Item #3320 Regular price $8.00 on sale price $6.00 Christmas Tree Pin Item #3217 Regular pricee $5.00 on sale price for $4.00 That is it for tonight. I am not trying to start mass panic but Christmas is only 7 or so weeks away!