Beadbloggers Sunday

Just back from Milwaukee. I don't teach at the Bead & Button show, I visit. Visit all those wonderful people I talk with on the phone and via email all year long, but don't get to actually see. It turns into a big whirlwind love fest that feeds my heart until we all see each other again in Tucson in February.

This year I made the car ride with my childhood buddy, Heidi. We stopped in Madison to visit another sandbox buddy, Disey. There's really nothing better than having longtime girlfriends who remember your Dorothy Hamill haircut, buck teeth, and big comb. Even though years have passed, sometimes with long stretches between where we haven't been in contact, these are the people who know me down to my core.

I have dozens of photos from the show, which I'll share in another post. For now I need to pack! I'm heading to Denver in the morning to teach lots of classes for the Rocky Mountain Bead Society.

In the meantime, check out all the wonderful happenings my beading buddies have been involved with:

A Bead A Day
Do you have crafting or beading get togethers with friends and family? Lisa shares the anticipation of "Craft Night"!

About.com Jewelry Making
Tammy is proud to announce some of her jewelry designs were recently published in BeadStyle magazine.

Art Bead Scene
Join the Art Bead Scene Carnival Bloggers as they pay tribute to Bead and Button by creating a statement necklace.

Barbe Saint John - New Jewelry from Forgotten Artifacts
Look at all the fun I have have playing with fire.

Beading Arts
Shhh...don't tell Cyndi's Mom! Cyndi made her a necklace from some wonderful lampwork beads from Artbeads.com!

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi recycles a beautiful tea box to create this necklace..

Cindy Gimbrone, the Lampwork Diva
The Empress models a statement.

Jean Campbell
Check out Black Crow's Gothic Contest winners...fantastic!

Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio
Lorelei started up a new website, and would love to hear your input on it!

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Lydia Muell's mesmerizing art beads and her free giveaway this week!

Strands of Beads
Melissa shows off her entry that won the Grand Prize Gold Medal in the 2010 Fire Mountain Gems and Beads' Metal Clay, Metal Beads, Wirework and Chain Jewelry-Making Contest

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
Andrew hosts the BIGGEST prize in Thursday Giveaway history ever! Find out how you can win a set of beautiful lampwork glass beads by Barbara "Basha"!

Gothic Contest

A while back Netherlander Black Crow asked if I'd contribute a book for her upcoming contest. I was happy to help out. What I didn't know was how wonderful the entries to her contest would be! Click here to see all kinds of great Gothic-themed jewelry. Here are a couple of my favorites:

It's always a challenge to make good-looking jewelry, but when your natural palette is black, it's an extra challenge.

Throw an edgy Goth theme on top and you've got a pretty big mountain to climb. Nice work, contestants!

Beadblogger Sunday

Getting ready for my big trip to Denver, where I'll be teaching 5 classes AND giving a lecture on Steampunk for the Rocky Mountain Bead Society. My son and I are driving to Colorado for the trip...I'm very excited!

I'll be teaching Uncle Julie's Cuff on Sunday, June 20 for the Rocky Mountain Bead Society. Classes will be held at TACtile in Denver, Colorado.

I've been preparing for the trip by putting together kits. Lots and lots of kits. Hundreds, in fact. It's a funny business, kit-making. It takes a long time, lots of patience, and there's always something you've missed....the printer goes dead mid-stream....you realize you've just filled 20 bags with 2 grams of gold seed beads instead of the necessary 5 grams....things like that. There can be lots of cussing for such a sedentary activity.

Movies always help. This weekend I watched Zombieland (gross, but quite funny) and Paris, Texas (moody and sad, but riveting right down to the core). Terminator 2 (seen it so many times I didn't even have to look up) and Monster-in-Law (JLo and Jane Fonda--horrible) were on the boob tube. You know, kit-making is truly the only time I sit on the couch and watch television. Maybe it's good for me?

And here's what's good for you: A list of what my beading pals have been up to this week.

About.com Jewelry Making
Tammy is getting back to the basics, starting with jewelry making tools. What is your must have tool?

Art Bead Scene
Gearing up for that big bead show coming up? ABS has the top ten tips for your bead buying trip!

Barbe Saint John - New Jewelry from Forgotten Artifacts
Barbe is having a "City of Love" giveaway!!!

Beading Arts
Chapter two of Cyndi's e-book is available for download! "Altered Surfaces" begins the exploration of the exchange between mixed media and bead embroidery!

Carmi's Art/Life World
A handmade bezel results in a new necklace for Carmi called FAITHFUL.

Cindy Gimbrone aka Lampwork Diva
A set of smokey quartz beads inspires a new necklace.

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
Melanie celebrates her 1000th blog post with Ten Days of Giveaways!

Jean Campbell
Jean reviews Nathalie Mornu's Leather Jewelry, a bang-up book.

Katie's Beading Blog
Get the 411 about BeadStyle's gorgeous All Star Issue!

Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio
Lorelei has been answer some of her reader's questions from a previous giveaway post. Read up on what everyone wants to know!

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean is thrilled to be in BeadStyle magazine's July All Star issue, with pals Tammy Powley, Heather Powers, and Katie Hacker who made the cover so beautiful! Come and see!

Strands of Beads
It's Melissa's turn to review Kate McKinnon's fabulous Sculptural Metal Clay

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
The prize for this week's Thursday Giveaway comes courtesy of Green Girl Studios! Find out how you can get one of these fine pewter beauties!

missficklemedia.com
The Staples of Jewelry Making

Wikio June Rankings

I thought this was kind of interesting. The folks at Wikio (a news-search engine) approached me about giving my readers a sneak peek of their June rankings in the Jewelry Making category.

And whaddaya know? I made the list! (Twice, kinda, if you count my involvement in Beading Daily....)

1	Art Bead Scene Blog
2	Andrew Thornton
3	Lampwork Diva aka Cindy Gimbrone
4	Margot Potter The Impatient Crafter
5	Earthenwood Studio Bead Blog
6	Lorelei's Blog
7	Carmi's Art/Life World
8	Rings & Things Hot New Items
9	Melissa J. Lee
10	About.com Jewelry Making
11	A Bead A Day
12	Jean Campbell
13	Humblebeads Blog
14	LLYYNN
15	Jennifer Jangles Blog
16	Beading Daily
17	hint
18	Pretty Things
19	Beads of Clay Blog
20	MadDesigns

Ranking made by Wikio

I never know if these things are just stacked popularity contests or what, but I'll go with it for now until someone tells me otherwise.

Leather Jewelry

Look what I received in the mail the other day, complete with a big chunk of leather to play with!

Leather Jewelry is a great book put together by my lovely colleague, Nathalie Mornu. It features 16 different designers who've contributed 30 different projects. The photography is chic, showing beautiful models wearing the projects...You know, I realize that I really appreciate seeing some skin in jewelry books. It's nice to be able to see what pieces look like ON, and for the projects in this book, which are more on the avant garde side, it's especially important.

Leather, like metal, has enjoyed a resurgence these days....at least it has in my studio. Steampunk has been the impetus for me to get to working with leather again, but the projects in this book are beyond such thematic genres. These projects are most definitely contemporary, pushing the notions of modern jewelry design to new levels, mixing leather with other media like chain, feathers, gems, wire, and inks. It's quite exciting, actually!

The book is rounded out by a great Basics section where we learn how to set all kinds of different snaps, eyelets, and rivets, as well as a good how-to on punching and pounding leather. The project instructions are clear throughout, and the delicious gallery will inspire you to cut up your old purses and get to work. Highly recommended!