Beads by Laura

Beads by Laura of the UK is having a bead give-a-way for visiting and commenting on her blog.  You will receive an extra entry if you write  about it on your blog.  Visit her here Beads by Laura

These are what she calls here "Lonelies" that is the prize!  I want to win these, how about you?

Andrew Thornton Giveaway

Pop on over to the blog of Andrew Thornton (click here) to see what he is giving away just for commenting on his blog and mentioning his contest on your blog.   A nice chance to win some beautiful Czech beads courtesy of Raven's Journey.

Designing

One of my many favorite things to do is design a beautiful piece of jewelry for someone to wear.  But my very favorite is oohing and aahing over a new baby in the family.  Meet my Great-Granddaughter, Taryn, from Anchorage, Alaska. She is 6 weeks old and was here for a visit this month.

Bead Soup Mix Reveal Time

Yeah! I received my bead stash from Katie Nelson.  Here is a picture of what she sent which includes a silver magnetic clasp and lots of pretty ceramic beads.  Can't wait to get busy using them.  She also sent an "extra" stash of fun beads.  See the picture below.

The Extra bead soup stash

Giraffe print polymer clay earrings

These earrings are made from the animal print Polymer Clay cane I showed earlier.  Cindy Lietz provided a video on how to make a Leopard print.  Mine looked more like a giraffe skin, so....here are my giraffe skin earrings.

Bead Soup sent to Katie Nelson

Here is my bead soup mix that I sent to Katie Nelson. 

It contains a copper butterfly pendant, copper beadcaps and a copper toggle.  The beads are yellow turquoise, amazonite and goldstone, and I added a piece of copper silk ribbon just for fun.

I can't wait to see what she is sending me.

Lori Anderson Bead Soup Party

Here is a small teaser for my bead soup partner, Katie Nelson.  I have some other pretties to go with this.  I'll be putting the whole package in the mail tomorrow.

Lori Anderson Bead Soup Party

May 18th is fast approaching for the Lori Anderson Bead Soup Party, and I am excited to send my bead soup partner, Katie Nelson , my selection of beads that I chose for her.  Take a look at her blog (by clicking on her name above) to see the beautiful jewelry she has created.  I can't wait to see what she does with the stash that is coming to her.  I will post a picture as soon as I have them in the mail.

  

Cindy Lietz Leopard Cane of polymer clay

Here is my take on the lesson Cindy Lietz presented this morning on Leopard Canes.  I think mine looks more like a giraffe, but I will keep trying.

Batik Cotton Knitted Shag Purse

Today I finished my Knitted Shag Purse  using Batik cotton.  The purse is knitted and then I tie on the shag pieces.  Handles are of bamboo

Cindy Lietz Ivy Leaf Charm of Polymer Clay

Cindy Lietz never fails to come through for her loyal Polymer Clay Artists.  This week her video tutorial was on making Ivy Leaf Charms that you can use as a pendant or on a bracelet.



Those of you wanting to learn the Polymer Clay craft can check out her blog at this link Beads and Beading Blog and sign up for her weekly video tutorials.  You will not be disappointed.

Cinco De Mayo and Polymer Clay

Today is Cinco De Mayo and I was surfing the net to see what "Pretties" I could find in polymer clay that celebrated this Mexican Holiday.  Here is a link to the blog of Anita Brandon at Melody O'Beau Designs and here is a picture of her "Fiesta Necklace".  I thought she did a great job of capturing the look of the Mexican pottery.

Animal Prints with Polymer Clay

One of the Trends this year is the "animal print".  You will see it in clothing and furniture and beautiful jewelry.  I love black and white, so I am drawn to the beautiful Zebra patterns.

  Iris Mishly has a wonderful tutorial on "How to create animal skin millefiori canes" on her website.  There are 7 amazing animal canes and I'm sure you will have fun creating all of them.  Here is my take on a few of them.  I haven't decided exactly what I will design with them, but my creative juices are flowing.