You asked for it - here's the first pic of my work . Stay tuned for more to come...

Pink Bracelet and Earring set

This was made for my DS who is also my BFF.

How to Make a Fern Using Seed Beads

Ever want to add a seed bead fern to your jewelry or wearable art? Here's how:

Seed Bead Fern

Abbreviations:

     PT – Pass through in the same direction you were going.

     PBT – Pass through in the opposite direction from the way you were going. 

Note: blue lines in the diagram are going North (PT) and red lines are going South (PBT)


Directions:

1.    Using a stop bead and leaving about 6" of thread, string about 22 beads, then PBT the next to the last one strung. (This will be your main stem.)

2.    String 3 beads and PBT the first 2 strung (first branch made).

3.    PBT the next bead on the main stem.

4.    String 3 beads and PBT the first 2 strung.

5.    PBT the next 2 beads on the main stem.

6.    String 4 beads and PBT the first 3 strung.

7.    PBT the next bead on the main stem.

8.    String 4 beads and PBT the first 3 strung.

9.    PBT the next 2 beads on the main stem.

10. String 5 beads and PBT the first 4 strung.

11. PBT the next bead on the main stem.

12. String 5 beads and PBT the first 4 strung.

13. PBT the next 3 beads on the main stem.

14. String 6 beads and PBT the first 5 strung.     

15. PBT the next bead on the main stem.

16. String 6 beads and PBT the first 5 strung.

17. PBT the next 3beads on the main stem.

18. String 7 beads and PBT the first 6 strung.

19. PBT the next bead on the main stem.

20. String 7 beads and PBT the first 6 strung.

21. PBT the remaining beads on the main stem.

22. Remove stop bead and tie the beginning and ending threads together using a surgeon’s knot.

Voila! You have a fern!

Etsy

If you're an Etsy patron, you might want to go back into your records and remove any information you want to remain private. It appears that their new People Search roll out makes it possible for someone to access a user's personal information just by running a search for either their full name or user name, even when that user is just a buyer, not a vendor.

You can read about it here:
http://arstechnica.com/web/news/2011/03/etsy-users-irked-after-buyers-purchases-exposed-to-the-world.ars

Etsy claims to be concerned with privacy issues but I'm not putting any money on it and, in any case, for many the damage is already done. You can read about their response here:
http://arstechnica.com/web/news/2011/03/etsy-reacts-to-user-outrage-makes-changes-to-feedback-system.ars 

I'm so glad I chose to use ArtFire and not Etsy!
OK, my steam is blown off and now I'm back to beading...

The Year Of Jewelry Project

I began participating in the YOJP just this past January. We've agreed to make and post pics of a new piece of jewelry every week for a year. So far I've been keeping up and have produced some good, some not so good, pieces.

This is my year to expand my jewelry making skills by learning different kinds of wire work and I'm enjoying the learning experience even though it's frustrating at times. Wire work is very different from the off loom beading I've been doing up until now, but it does have the advantage of saving money by making a lot of your own findings.

So far my favorite wire work is wrapping. Dale "Cougar" Armstrong has written a book, Wirework An Illustrated Guide To The Art Of Wire Wrapping. The jewelry in this book just takes my breath away and I think that wrapping will eventually become my forte.

Finally

I've been trying to put this blog together for so long I thought it would never happen. I intend to share my jewelry making experiences so stay tuned for some good links, tutorials, and other jewelry related info. For now, just enjoy the photos.