Sunday, November 6, 2011

THE BEADING GEM'S JOURNAL

THE BEADING GEM'S JOURNAL

Link to The Beading Gem's Journal

Spotlight on Romanian Jewelry Designers

Posted: 06 Nov 2011 04:00 AM PST

There are some awesome beaders all over the world. One such corner of creativity is Romania. Thanks to Stephanie, a blog reader, who suggested this hand picked list of inspiring designers.



The above Pride of the Peacock is a design by Bijoux de mon ange. The inspiration for it comes from a quotation by William Blake "The pride of the peacock is the glory of God."

Ruxypixy's sea, sand and seashells necklace really evokes a day at the beach.  The beaded design seems to suggest the tumbling sand in the surf.


Zuri Jewelry's delightful polymer clay cherry necklace also stays true to the nature theme with a twine like look and shiny cherries.



LuMa's gorgeous beaded chandelier earrings are all about sparkling glamor!


To round off this eclectic selection is Stephanie's copper, turquoise and jasper wire work bracelet. She also makes whimsical polymer clay designs.




Thanks Stephanie for helping me put together this post!  Hope you will help me let the featured designers know they now have many admirers because I do not know any Romanian!

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What to Do with Weak Chains?

Posted: 05 Nov 2011 03:00 PM PDT

linked chain, snake, ball styles
Reader Question
Marsha : Pearl,  I have a question for you.  I have problems finding quality chain for the silverware pendants that I make. 

I have been buying silver chains on a spool or card from places like Blue Moon or Fire Mountain and the small links come apart.  I don't want my chains to break, that makes me look bad even though I didn't make the chain.  People want the smaller links too, not the larger ones.  


Do you have any suggestions? I don't know if I should be buying from a certain place at higher price??  I am really confused about this  Does anyone else have this problem?  

I agree with Marsha. Quality is certainly an issue but there are also limitations to fine chains. The wire gauge used has to be fine and therefore won't be as strong.  Consider slightly bigger links which use thicker wire.

My solution to this perennial problem though is to offer other chain alternatives which still look dainty but are more robust.  The snake chain as well as the ball chain shown above are my two favorites.  If you're up to the work, try making viking knit necklaces with 28-30G wire (see link below).

What's your solution?


Before You Go :
Subscribers : To comment, click on the post title to return to the blog. At the bottom of the post, click on "Comments". If you do not have a Google account, website or online store, use Name/URL - and leave the URL blank.
For more tutorials check out my Jewelry Making Tips
Liked what you read? Don't miss a post!  
Subscribe via RSS OR Via Email* It's FREE!
*Click on the link in the confirmation email to activate subscription

Be a Fan!


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