Famous Jewelry Collections: THE BEADING GEM'S JOURNAL

Thursday, May 19, 2011

THE BEADING GEM'S JOURNAL

Posted: 19 May 2011 04:26 AM PDT

Bead Style magazines are a wonderful source of inspirational designs which are not only attractive and different but relatively easy.

So it was a delight to receive Kalmbach Publishing's Easy Beading Vol. 7 for review. It's a compilation of the best projects from their 7th year.

The projects have been gathered under these categories :

Gemstones
Crystals
Metal and Chain
Glass,Ceramic and Pearls
Mixed Media

More advanced beaders will definitely find many of the projects too simple. But there are sprinklings of wire work, resin, photo charm, mixed media projects to tempt even the most jaded palate.

Shown here are some of my favorite designs from the book. For a preview of the book, zoom over here.

The clever asymmetrical necklace by Mary Champion uses not one but 3 bails!

This resin design by Steven James uses real life saver candy to make the molds.

Wire lace may not be on some people's radar but it really gives a different look to jewelry designs such as the foliage like necklace by Linda Hartung :

A couple of the chain projects were really fun to make like this elastic cord and chain bracelet by Elizabeth O'Hara :

Some of the stunning components featured include Katie Hacker's Katiedids double circle pendant shown on the cover. Another is a real butterfly wing pendant . Don't fret, these are eco components. The wings fall to the Amazon forest floor at the end of the butterflies' life cycle where they are collected.

Website sources were cited for the above components but not others. I really wished they did include where to buy the magnetic v clasp in Cathy Jackicic's fabulous beadwoven necklace below. Aside from the lack of a resource page, the book did inspire me in many places!

Disclosure

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Upcycled Zipper Jewelry Inspiration and Tutorials

Posted: 18 May 2011 03:48 PM PDT

Zipper jewelry has been really popular in the last few years. If you think you've seen just about all the permutations a zipper can be made into jewelry, then here is another wonderful designer to change your mind.

New York based eco fashion designer, Tara St. James upcycles old zippers so they don't end up in the landfill. Her rolled zipper beads remind me of the paper versions.

Her zipper accessories can seen on Not Just A Label/Study_NY and her Etsy store, DailyJumpsuit.

Tutorials
Tara has generously shared the tutorial on how to make this zipper cuff over at Ecouterre.