Giveaway!

Wouldn't you love a bit of Spring? I felt like making a wirework piece, so I dug through my stash and made a little practice pendant. And it could be yours!

I used a beautiful little cabochon by Laney Mead and wrapped it in swirls of pure brass wire. The cab has a warm, burgundy background with lime leaves and a pretty little blue and yellow blossom. There's a sweet little bubble at the center of the flower that sparkles just right in the sunshine.

And I'm giving it away! all you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post.

International entries welcomed!

You can enter until January 31st.

There's no need to share this on your blog, Facebook, etc., but if you want to spread the word and a little bit of Spring, then thank you!

Tribal Steampunk ~ Cold Connections

I was reading the Love My Art Jewelry blog and found their post on "cold connections". That sparked my interest because I hadn't heard the term before. Lo and behold it's something I do almost all the time!

Cold connections, so I read, are a number of different techniques varying from using rivets, to screws, wire wrapping, and prongs/tabs. The idea is that you don't have to use heat, torches, etc. to secure your metalwork.

I immediately started to look for something I've made that fit Love My Art Jewelry's challenge.

Tribal Steampunk is a mixed media necklace I made. It has a bit of a "cyber" feel with the electric blue lampwork, and an enchanting vintage feel. The focal piece is what made me choose it for this challenge.




The focal is a tiny copper book that I made with copper sheet and bound by sewing the pieces together with copper wire. I drilled a hole into a vintage Irish coin and used wire to attach a vintage Swarovski crystal and a tiny LED light to the front. The coin is secured in place by fastening it with the same wire to the cover of the book.

The book is also sewn to a scrap of vintage velvet and more copper wire work in the background.

The cold connection techniques I used all revolved around wire wrapping. I used simple wire wrapping, weaving or sewing to bind the book, and wire to secure the layers of metal to the coin.

You can check out the Love My Art Jewelry blog for links to the Flickr group with photos of what other artists have created.

Christmas Sale!

Hello there! Christmas is almost here, and I've decided to have a special sale. It'll be the last one of the year and expires on December 26th.

You can use the coupon code SALE25 to get 25% off in my Etsy shop from now until December 26th. There's no minimum purchase on orders either! 

International orders (outside the UK) might not arrive before Christmas, but it's a great chance to stock up. Enjoy!

Christmas Special: The Beading Glass

I'm very happy to announce the latest issue of The Beading Glass. It's an extra special Christmas edition for December, and it's packed! If you enjoy the usual issues, you'll love the extra interviews with artists and the extended Bead and Jewelry Galleries filled with Winter and Christmas inspiration.

You can view The Beading Glass on the embed below, or in your browser.

Enjoy!

Click to view The Beading Glass on GLOSSI.COM

What's new?

I'm trying really, really, really hard to blog more. It's not that I don't have anything to share here, but that things have been so busy. And hey, one thing leads to another, and you just don't have the time.

But here I am! Want to see what I've been up to?

It's getting a wee bit Wintry here with even a sighting or two of the first snow flurries. I made some of my favourite birds with an extra light dusting of snowy white...

And a large Cardinal focal bead - my home State's bird back in NC.

Finally,  some fun beads I like to call coral caps. They were inspired by coral, barnacles, and deep sea tube worms. The colours seem just right for Winter designs.

And in other news, you can now find one of my newest tutorials in Old Bicycle Shop. The kit comes with everything you need (minus the tools!) and my tutorial. The tutorial has step by step instructions and detailed pictures throughout.

It's a very elegant bracelet, and you can even get the kit in a silver colour option! As with all my work, if you do buy the tutorial, my personal contact details are provided, in case you need a little extra advice or help.

Finally, I'm working on a special Christmas edition of The Beading Glass. If you haven't found out about it yet, it's a monthly inspirational e-magazine that I write. It showcases a variety of talented artists in one of a kind jewelry and bead making. Here's the November issue. Enjoy!

Click to view The Beading Glass on GLOSSI.COM

New beads

It seems like ages since I've had a shop update. It seems even longer since I made some cute birds and animal beads. I've had a rustic phase (you probably noticed!) recently, but I squeezed in a few of the old favorites in this time.

Cute and colorful guinea pigs

Bird pairs for earrings

 And something new - leaf headpins.

And finally, these cute little beads. I made a few bunny charms and single bird beads for people who like to use them in bracelets.

I hope you like them! There are a lot more in my shop and more to come next week, plus a few pieces of jewelry I'll show you later.

Anniversary Giveaway: Winner Announced!

It's here! I can hardly believe it. One year ago today I opened my shop on Etsy. It started with jewelry and has become a home for my handmade beads, too. And what a year it's been!

This giveaway was to say thank you to all my customers over the past year who have made my experience on Etsy so great. So, thank you! But I'm sure you want to know who the winner is now...

Here's a reminder of the prize.

I used a random number generator to pick the winner.

Mr. Random chose number 15...which is...

Rebecca Anderson!

Congrats, Rebecca! And thanks again to everyone who's been a part of my first year. Here's to many more!