Celebration Time!

Carol Dean Sharpe, aka SandFibers, who is a very talented bead artist, is celebrating her 3rd Etsy-versary. Congratulations, Carol Dean!, here's to many more successful years! :)
Check out Sandfibers' blog and her Etsy shop to see how she's decided to celebrate this exciting event with you!

Publication in Bead & Button Magazine

I got my April issue of Bead & Button magazine two days ago and was happy to see my project published there! :) Once again, it was a pleasure working with editor Lynne Soto on this project, and I thank her for the great communication!.




Right after my first publication in Bead&Button February issue - the Hojas pendant, I got several nice e-mails from readers and I want to thank again everyone who did so. Two of them have also sent me photos of their beautiful pendants. I was so happy to see their work and I would love to see more! ;D

It's Almost Spring

First I want to say Thanks! to everyone who voted for my EBW challenge entry "Tropical Nights", which came in fifth place. The AMAZING winning piece is called Tropical Treasures, created by Mariya of BeadCatcher. If you haven't had the chance to check the last EBW challenge entries, you better do so, because there are some other tropical eye candies… really worth the click… I especially like Cielo Design's entry, Tropical Paridise – an amazing work, so beautiful!

I am delighted to have received a word from Beadwork magazine – they will publish a project of one of my bracelets in the Oct-Nov. 2009 issue. Yay! :) I just wish that writing instructions (in general and particular in English (not my spoken language)), would be easier… It's much easier to just bead…
My Diagonal View floral bracelet is going to be published in the next issue of Bead&Button magazine.

Between spending much time at the computer and more time at the computer… ;), I managed to bead two new items. Clicking the computer mouse became to be like a body reflex … there are so many beautiful sites to check, so many amazing, inspiring artists to enjoy their work… I have been thinking about sharing and featuring here some of the works I have stumbled upon, I just need to find the … you know, t-i-m-e to write the posts… Hope I'll be able to start with it in the next few weeks..
So, the two new items are a necklace and a bracelet. I named them Almost Spring, as I was inspired by the rapidly changing weather in the end of the (Israeli dry) winter and the beginning of spring.




The last photo is of an embroidered pendant I am now working on. I immediately fell in love with this beautiful ornamented cabochon I bought from Bogal, especially because it reminds me of the Yemenite silversmith work of my grandfather. I am not sure yet how to finish it and what kind of necklace to create to hang it from, but I am really enjoying the process… I'll post photos of the pendant and necklace once they're finished. Hopefully in a short time…

Tropical Nights Necklace and Earrings - EBW Challenge

It's time to vote for your favorite entry in the Etsy BeadWeavers monthly challenge again!
Triz, who won the November challenge, have chosen the Jan-Feb challenge theme - "Tropical Holiday". It was a great theme and I think it's the first time that there are so many entries - 47 wonderful creations!.
Please visit the EBW blog, pick your favorite and vote for it. Your comment is also appreciated. Voting lasts until the 15th , so don't postpone your voting!

My entry, #26, is the Tropical Nights necklace.
I used gorgeous, sparkling Czech vintage crystal stones I bought a while ago and I thought they would be perfect for this project, as they sparkle in iridescent shades of tropical green, fuchsia and yellow. I also used 24k gold plated Delicas, Swarovski crystal bicone beads and vibrant fuchsia Swarovski chatons.
I had to unpick the necklace a few times before I found the best connecting points of the components to allow the necklace to sit nicely around the neckline. I almost gave up after the forth time… :/ I hate that part of beadweaving, which I guess many, if not all beaders do… But, I was able to finish it on time, and I like the way it came out so much that I even created a pair of beadwoven earrings (I'm beginning to like creating those.. :)) with the beautiful fuchsia chatons.

Photographing this necklace was a challenge in itself.. and these are the best photos I could post. The necklace is much more sparkling and colorful in person. I am lucky to have a very patient photographer… Thanks, Ardjan! :)