New Tutorial - Mystic Stars Bracelet

This new bracelet is designed to be created in one continuous stitch. I love jewelry that consist of a few repetitive elements, but I don't like so much that part of work of sewing them to one piece, and hiding too many threads is always a pain... ;) A tutorial for this bracelet is available and also includes instructions for a matching clasp and a few other ideas of using the basic design for other jewelry items.

I have also created another variation of this bracelet with much more crystals in it, but I'm waiting for the sun to come out so I will be able to take photos of it. I will update this blog when I have them, hopefully soon... and 

*** HAPPY and CREATIVE 2011 to ALL! ***

Colorful Club Pendant - BAO Art Inspired Challenge

This necklace was created especially for the Bead Art Original group's December challenge. We had to create a work inspired by famous works of art. I chose Teo Alfonso's Healing Heart abstract painting as my inspiration . This painting became famous and was printed on T-shirts, postcards, bags and other accessories.
I love this painting for its colorfulness and the "texture" created by the brush strokes. It is part of the artist's poker series, and it inspired me to create this colorful cabochons pendant and arrange them in another poker shape - clubs.

Check out the BAO blog and see the beautiful entries created by other members of the BAO team. To vote for your favorite, leave a comment on the blog.

New Pendant "Esmeralda"

Textured, sparkling pendant with gold pearls, drop beads and lots of Swarovski crystals.

Asian Geometric Bracelet

About a quarter of this bracelet was beadwoven by my son. I think he did a great job! He is younger than I, and can concentrate in following a pattern much better than I do... ;D).
I thought I'd offer my kids something else to do during their Hannukah vacation from school, instead of the TV/PC routine... My daughter still didn't finish her bracelet (a different one, which we designed together), and I hope that now that the vacation is over, she will soon find the time to finish it. I don't have high hopes, though. Both my kids love to bead and find it relaxing, but they don't commit to finish anything they start... I guess Japanese Manga and Anime are much more attractive for them than playing with Japanese seed beads... ;)

So I had to finish this bracelet myself and can mark this one done!. A tutorial for it (including a few other design ideas) is also available now. Yay for a productive weekend!

Songs of Inspiration

Come vote on the EBW December challenge "Simon and Garfunkel songs of inspiration"! Visit the EBW blog from now until the 15th and vote for your favorite.

There are 34 entries in this challenge - all of them are beautiful! But my favorite entry is #12 - Hazy Shade of Winter by Triz Designs. This unique, GORGEOUS piece of wearable art took my breath away! And it's also a collaboration between Triz and Lisa Peters Art - another talented fellow member of the Bead Art Originals team, who created the beautiful hexagonal ceramic cabochon in the center of this wonderful bag. Check out the links above, and your heart will start singing.... ;)

Haze Shade of Winter - 

Bead Embroidered Bag by Triz Designs

Holidays Treasure Challenge

Come and see all 36 entries to the EBW November challenge - Holiday Treasures.
There are some really festive pieces in this challenge. My favorite is #23 by gypsyeyesjewelry. Such a beautiful composition in this necklace!
Voting for your favorite is only until the 15th, so don't miss this out!

"Champagne Under Starry Skies" by gypsyeyesjewelry

Mixed Media Necklace

This simple necklace is the only work I have managed to create in the last couple of days. I have this terrible back ache again, which also badly influence my arm functioning and makes it feel numb. Despite all the pain, I enjoyed playing with the different materials and techniques, and I like the simple look of it. The beautiful large disc beads are made from nut tree nutshell. "Nuts" is pretty much how I go now...;) I have a lot of work to do, and this backache is ruining all my plans! ;(

A New Pendant Design and Some Good News

I have finished working on Sparkling Wreath tutorial - a cabochon pendant with crystals and Miyuki long Magatama beads. Playing with the design, I came up with three versions of the pendant (two of them are included in the tutorial available).

Other ideas for using these beautiful Magatama beads, with their challenging diagonal hole, came up while working, but I had no time for trying them too, so they went straight into my 'ideas' notebook. I wonder if I will ever have the chance to try any of the ideas written in that notebook. It's either that I am working very slowly, or the time flies faster than before... but ok,....I will spare you the rest of my usual rant about the lack of time... ;P


My Star Pendant is published in the latest December issue of Bead & Button magazine (top right corner on the cover; project on p.48). This project is also available for Registered Users on the Bead & Button website. Thanks to Anna Elizabeth Draeger for editing this project. It was a pleasure working with you, Anna!

More good news about publications came in yesterday - two of my projects are going to be published in the next (Vol. 6) Kalmbach publishing Creative Beading annual book. Also a project for a medallions bracelet - stitched in a new technique, is going to be published in the June/July 2011 issue of Beadwork Magazine. Double Yay!

My friends from Bead Art Originals group also have some Extra! news to tell, so check out our blog to read all about it.

EBW October Challenge and New Design with Tila Beads

EBW October challenge theme was "Autumn Falling of Leaves". Check out the EBW blog to see all 59 entries in beautiful, warm colors. My entry is number 33 on the list.

Also, there is a new tutorial available for a pendant and matching earrings made with Miyuki new Tila beads.

BAO September Challenge

Bead Art Originals September challenge was to create something inspired by Bones show and the jewelry worn by the main actress. I don't watch the show, but the ethnic/tribal style necklaces were sure a great source of inspiration to me.

Check out the BAO blog to see all other entries and cast your vote (comment on post).

Urban Night Bracelet in Beadwork Magazine

My Urban Night bracelet is published in the latest (Oct.-Nov.) issue of Beadwork magazine.The bracelet is worked in a combination of odd-count peyote, square and fringe stitch.

Don't miss out this issue, as there are many beautiful projects in it! Peter Sewell's Sonja necklace (on the cover); a gorgeous set of bracelet and earrings by Lanai Kinsky and a beautiful bracelet with metal beads by Shelley Nybakke are just a few of them.

Also, an article by Marlene Blessing about Copyright and Ethics is published in this issue and is a recommended read for beaders who want to learn about the subject.

The clasps I used in both of the bracelets shown in the magazine are from Claspgarten.com.

BAO Color Challenge

The latest Color Challenge for the Bead Art Originals team was copper, deep red and gold. Thank you, Katie of Texas U.S for your suggestion! I love this warm combination of colors! Check out the BAO blog and see what other members of the group created for this challenge.

Cube Delight Bracelet with Tila Beads

Several beaders contacted me and asked if my Cube Delight bracelet (published in Bead and Button magazine latest issue (#99)) can be also made with Miuyki's new Tila beads.

I haven't had the chance yet to see Tila beads in person, but based on the bead measurements provided by Miyuki (including the one between the two holes, thanks to Mr.Katsuoka of Miyuki), I think it's possible to substitute Tila beads for the cubes, with some modifications as described in this illustration.

I ordered some Tila beads from Beadedimages and I hope I'll receive them soon, so I can test these suggested modifications myself and also try some of other design ideas I have in mind for these new beauties. If you try working by this illustration and succeed, I would love it if you could send me a photo of your bracelet!

Mumbai Masala - Bollywood EBWC

Those of you who read my blog often can probably guess how fun it was for me to create Mumbai Masala bracelet - my entry (#33) for this month EBW Challenge, themed Bollywood.

Not only did I enjoy every minute of designing and working on it, but I also got inspired from it and more ideas and possibilities popped up while I was working. The photo might not show it, but this bracelet has Bling! I used a lot of crystals, and I really like the way it turned out.
I want to continue working on Bollywood inspired designs, as I feel I did not have enough of it yet... :)

Please visit the EBW blog to view all GORGEOUS, colorful entries between now and Sep. 15, and vote for your favorite. Also, if you find this bracelet interesting, a tutorial for it is available.

Shana Tova!

WISHING YOU ALL

HAPPY ROSH HASHANA
AND
A GOOD,
PEACEFUL
AND PROSPEROUS
YEAR AHEAD!

!שנה טובה

BAO Color Inspiration

This is my "Toss the Feathers" bracelet, created especially for the Bead Art Originals Color Inspiration challenge - copper, green and black. I have to admit that at first I didn't like this color combination so much, but after I put some beads together and started to play with them, I found that it is a lovely, sophisticated combination. So thanks to Nancy of NEDbeads, I had the opportunity to work with this color combo I wouldn't have thought of myself.

You are invited to suggest your colors for the next challenge to the team by leaving your comment on this blog post. It's really fun and interesting to see how each member used the colors suggested.

These are another two bracelet of the same design I created in different colors for testing the tutorial I made for this bracelet.

Cube Delight Bracelet in Bead and Button Magazine

My cubes and little flowers bracelet (Cube Delight) project is published in the latest issue of Bead& Button magazine. Just got my contributor's copy in the mail today and I am delighted to see three of them on the cover! :)
Thanks to the B&B editors and assistants, it was a pleasure working with you again, and the editor's bracelets look great! Thank you!

Multi Layered Necklace

I love it when it happens to me, that while working on one design, (as simple as it may be, like in this case, this necklace from the lazy week ago), an idea for a completely different design pops up and then I feel back on track again. The feeling of bursting creativity and being busy with good stuff is so great! :)

So I was enthusiastically working on the third sample of a new bracelet (I'm going to write a tutorial for it and I needed to test various ways of creating the bracelet, otherwise I wouldn't have made 3 of the same in a row... it's boring me...), when I suddenly realized that I completely forgot about the three deadlines of challenges I wanted to create items for!.

I didn't want to stop working on the tutorial (you know the feeling when you are in a "shvoong"?), so I decided to create another sample (the forth!) of the new design for the closest deadline (Aug. 30), in copper, black and dark green - the colors of BAO team Color Inspiration challenge (you can suggest your own colors to the team by posting on the 'color suggestion thread' on the BAO Facebook page). I'm glad I can check this entry 'done!', and the tutorial is almost finished as well. Now I only hope that soon my photographer will not be too tired from his day work to be able to take pics of the bracelet before the dead line... The poor man is working all day outside in this horrible heat+humidity, and I'd hate to nag him about this...(my photographer, if you are reading this...pretty please?... ;))

The other two entries are for the EBW "Bollywood" challenge and the BAO "Bones" themed challenge. I already have ideas for these themes, which fit two of the styles I love to work the most. I just hope I'll be able to finish everything on time... One week you spend doing almost nothing, and the next one is working on the fast lane.. ;)

Happy Beading, everyone!

Vintage Style Pendant

I feel a bit of beading laziness lately. I do want to bead something new, but I don't feel like going through all my stash and start to pick colors and materials, in the hope that some idea will pop up. Usually I enjoy this process and I have a lot of patience for it (and it also gives me the chance to see again forgotten items I have...fun!) but now, maybe because of the heat and humidity we have here, I don't feel like it, it's too much effort when you are almost drowning in sweat, even late at night...
So I thought I'd just pick up a stone from the stone box and bead bezel it - something simple and rather quick, and this vintage style pendant with a cute little rose is the result.

Happy to have finished it, I then realized that I ran out of the chain necklace I wanted to use, so I just hung it on this brass collar. I am not sure about the collar and I think I will change it (what do you think?), but for this I have to go to Tel Aviv to buy some chains, because unfortunately, we don't have a decent bead store in our area. This would have to wait, as I can't even think about going there before the weather is a bit cooler. I don't think I would survive the humidity in Tel Aviv... it's the worst! I survived 40 long horrible summers when I used to live there, up until 5 years ago... but I am now 5 years older!... :)

Gold and Pink, Bollywood Style

New embroidered pink and gold cuff with Swarovski crystals. Inspired by beautiful embroidered dress image I came across on the internet while browsing, once again, gorgeous India designs in fashion and jewelry.

Click on the image to go to this designers' Flickr page