Free Pattern & End of Year Sale

End of year 2012, I can't believe how fast time flies! So many things on my to-do list remained undone...One of them is this Bollywood Belly Dance peyote bracelet pattern I created and wanted to bead (and challenge) myself. I guess that this too will have to wait...

Before 2013 starts, I want to thank all my customers and readers for making the past year a great one, so I am posting the free pattern as a Thank You gift from me to you! I hope you like it!


Also, for today,  December 31 only, I am having a 50% sale off all my beading tutorials and patterns, for both Personal and Commercial use, in my Etsy and Artfire shops. Use coupon code: 50end2012 on checkout.

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year 2013!!!

May all your wished come true in the coming year!

New "Amulet" Necklace & Giving Thanks Sale

This is a new bead embroidered amulet-like necklace I created. It looks like amulet bag, but actually it has one layer only. I used non-uniform seed beads in antique silver and bronze in order to give it an antique look, and some metallic bugles and drops,  fire polished and pearl beads for a contemporary hint...  While working on this necklace, I was finally convinced that my next addition to my beading tools will be a Bead Spinner, because stringing of the same beads again and again can be very boring and tiring... ;)

Last week I received my contributor's copy of Mabeline Gidez new book "I Can - Right Angle Weave" published by Lark Crafts books. My Bollywood Glamour necklace is featured in the gallery section of this wonderful book, which includes Mabeline's beautiful projects in RAW stitch, showing the wonderful possibilities this stitch has to offer. I think it's a great book for everyone who wishes to learn RAW stitch in all its variations and levels.  

Thanksgiving is not a Jewish holiday, but I like the universal idea behind it, of being thankful for all the blessings and good things in life. So I figured it would be a good reason to have a sale... I am having a Thanksgiving sale - 25% off on all items - beading tutorials & patterns and jewelry -  in my Artfire shop. The sale ends on Sunday, November 25 at midnight IST.

Tendril Necklace

It's been quite a while since I last blogged... This is my newly finished project - Tendril Necklace, which is beadwoven with seed beads, fire polished beads and druk beads. I enjoyed designing this project, mainly because my muse cooperated excellently all way long  and offered me ideas for another two versions for the necklace... I love how soft the necklace turned out and how beautifully it sits around the neckline. A tutorial is already available in my Artfire and Etsy shops, in case you want to try it for yourself...

The winner of the Battle of the Beadsmith 2012 was announced today, and it is Alla Maslennikova from Russia. Congrats to Alla on winning the first BOTB! And thanks to Steven Weiss for arranging such  a great happening for the beading community! 
I was one of the judges in this years competition (I plan to participate as a contestant next year, and I hope my muse won't get intimidated by all those gorgeous works presented this year!... ), and I have to say that from the very first rounds, it was really, really hard to pick one work to move forward to the next round. But in the final round was almost impossible for me to decide who is the winner - Alla with her absolutely gorgeous Baroque necklace, or Ann Braginsky from Israel, with her stunning, artful and interesting New Age Valkyrie neck piece. I love both of the pieces and even though I had to pick just one (I voted for Ann's work), still - both Alla's and Ann's works are winners in my eyes! The two works are so different from each other, but each one is amazingly and beautifully designed and beaded!

Baroque by Alla Maslennikova, Russia

New Age Valkyrie by Ann Braginski, Israel

50% Tutorials Sale, a New Free Pattern & Publication

I'm having a 50% sale on all beading tutorials and patterns, no minimum order required! The sale is valid on Personal Use Only editions; package deal tutorials are not included in the sale. Use coupon code  50AUG2012  (copy&paste) when you checkout, either through my Artfire or my Etsy shop. Sale ends in two days (Aug 18), so hurry up and buy my tutorials at this big discount!

UPDATE: I am extending the sale in one day, so it will end on Sunday, Aug. 19 at midnight.


And there's a free pattern, too!...

I saw this beautiful table runner online and was inspired by it to design African Motifs peyote bracelet, and I am giving it away as a free pattern here on my blog. I don't know if I ever told you, but I like designing peyote patterns more than I like working by ones...so I create one every now and then, when  my Muse calls for it...

I hope you like the bracelet pattern! You can use size 11/0 Delica or Rocaille beads to make it and, of course, you can replace the colors suggested with ones to your liking.

The above image is from: 

http://homeinteriordesignthemes.com

African Motifs Bracelet

a Free Peyote Pattern 

Also, I was pleased to receive a contributor copy of Kalmbach Publishing book Creative Beading Vol.7, where two of my designs - Cube Delight Bracelet and Star Pendant - are appearing in. 

Lacy Clover Ribbon Jewelry Set

This is my newest project - Lacy Clover Ribbon - a design of a bracelet, 2 options for a necklace and matching earrings. I love the delicate clover shape that the drop beads create, and the whole design reminds me of lace ribbons. The jewelry are made with Twin beads (or Superduo beads), fire polished beads (or Swarovski crystal rounds, as in the silver set) and with Japanese drop and seed beads. A tutorial for this beading project is available in my shops.

I love working with those two-hole beads, but once again I experienced the downside of them - if you miss catching a bead with a blocked hole - you're in trouble! Luckily, in this project, it was easy to unpick the work instead of having to break the blocked bead, as I was forced to do in my previous Twin beads project. I wanted to start beading the design idea right away and I didn't want to select from a pile of beads before starting to bead, so the solution I found was to get myself used to stinging the needle in both holes of the bead to check if they're open before stringing it, and this somewhat-strange method seemed to have saved me a lot of time and and frustration... Try it! :)

Also, I am happy to tell that my Layered Loops Bracelet is included (and appears on the cover!)in the recently published Stitch Workshop: Herringbone Stitch by Kalmbach Publishing (click on the link to go to Amazon and preview the book). This reminds me that it has been quite a while since I beaded something in herringbone stitch... maybe it's time again... I love this stitch!

Beaded, Big and Black

I created these three black necklaces upon a request for "beaded, big and black" necklaces. Notice the increase in the size of the pendants -- the first image shows my idea of 'big' (approx. 60x40mm center part and the fringe adds about 100mm of length), but that was not large enough, and so the last one I created was in size (approx. 130x150mm center part) that is more likely to meet the customer's idea of "the bigger - the better".
I hope my customer likes the larger pendant...It's huge in my eyes, and I had to challenge and stretch my designing abilities beyond my personal taste, which is a good thing...I think...I'm not sure... Maybe the need to "listen to my own voice" while designing is the reason I don't usually do commissioned work. Need to think about it more.

After working continuously on these three black necklaces, I needed a break from black, so I played with wire for a while and created this wire wrapped pendant. I had a few tough, discouraging moments while I constructed the part that holds the large carnelian bead, but the rest was very pleasing to do. I like how the design came out (although I still need more practice!). What do you think?...

Mother's Day Sale

My kids forgot about Mother's Day, but I completely forgot, too... ;-)  But there's still time to celebrate!

I am having a special sale on both my Etsy and Artfire shops - receive 15% discount on any item you purchase (jewelry and/or beading tutorials & patterns; not including items already on sale). Simply enter coupon code: MOTHER15 when you checkout. Sale ends on Friday, May 18 at midnight (GMT+2).

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there!

Visit SmadarsTreasure's Studio

SAVE 15% Off All Items

Use Coupon Code:

MOTHER15

during checkout.

2012 Battle of the Beadsmith

The Battle of the Beadsmith is about to begin...

It's going to be a real hot summer in the bead land! 

Join this Facebook group to read all about it and
to stay updated with all the happenings!

Out of the Frame Cuff Bracelet

I felt like working on something that I usually don't do much - design a peyote pattern and bead from it, so I came up with this two-drop, odd count pattern of rectangle "frames" in bright colors. 

I must honestly admit that following the pattern was hard for me and I kept stringing the wrong colors in every few rows. After too many times I had to unpick the work because I hadn't noticed the mistake on time,  I almost lost my patience and I had to push myself real hard to make me finish it...  ;D 

I salute beaders who can bead this kind of bands time after time and even on a daily basis! You are my beading heroes! ;)

This beading pattern is listed for sale on my Etsy and Artfire shops.

Twin Spades Necklace and Bracelet

This is a new set of necklace and bracelet I designed with Twin beads. The pattern created by the arrangement of beads reminded me of the shape of spades, so Twin Spades is the name I gave to this project.
A tutorial for both necklace and bracelet is available in both my Etsy and Artfire shops.

I purchased some Twin beads not long ago, without knowing that actually there are two different brands of this bead with two holes - Twin beads, manufactured by Preciosa-Ornela and Superduo beads, manufactured by Jablonec (both are Czech copmanies). I haven't tried Superduo beads, but thanks to Sabine Lippert posting an image on Facebook, I learned that Twin beads are a bit non-uniformed, compared to the Superduo beads (which are much more expensive than Twins) and that there is a larger selection of colors of  Twins compared to Superduos.

I can tell from my experience working on this new necklace & bracelet project, that in a pile of 50 gr of Twin beads I found a few beads with irregular shape, but there were not too many of them - most of the beads were fine. But what really turned into a nightmare was finding out that I can't continue working and pass the needle through the free hole of one bead, simply because it was blocked! I tried to open the hole, but had not succeeded. So the only thing I could do was to break the bead using pliers and replace it with a new one. Breaking a Twin bead seemed to be a challenging task - I had to use great force and to try different angles before it finally broke. Then I had to re-fill the two spaces the removed bead created (that was the easiest part..).So I know that I will be sorting and selecting my Twin beads before I start the next project, in the hope that I will detect and take out any beads with blocked hole...

But except all of the above, Twin beads are really beautiful and fun to work with I love the texture they add to the beadwork!

It's Passover Eve today, so I wish all who celebrate it Hag Sameach! 

Passover means that spring had officially sprung!... I love the smell of spring and the warming weather is doing wonders to my energy. :) And to those who celebrate Easter - Happy Easter!

Beading Tutorials & Patterns Sale

Beading Tutorials & Patterns Sale

(including Commercial Use editions) 

20% off on orders of $20 or more

 March 15 - 31 

Use coupon code: 20MARCH when you checkout

Applicable on Artfire shop  

Fringed Rosette Earrings

I had everything but illustrations for the tutorial of these Fringes Rosette Earrings ready and waiting for over a month. Because the rosette part of the earrings has a domed profile, making the illustrations of it was a real challenge... But it's finally done and the tutorial is available! The earrings are made with glass pearls, seed beads, bugles and Swarovski crystal beads (the earrings can be made without the fringe, so without the crystal beads).

Another item I had finished in the past couple of weeks is the blue necklace below. I beaded this necklace especially because I didn't include instructions for the pendant in Dainty Filigree Rope & Bracelet tutorial, and many of you had asked for more examples of necklaces made with the same rope pattern (actually, the rope can be sewed or attached to any pendant). I managed to finish it in no time and I love how it turned out! (I didn't realize it till now, but it came out with the American flag colors.. :)

The pendant in this necklace is a flat, drop shaped blue & white gemstone, which I bought a few years ago. I liked the stone so much that I was willing to buy it without knowing what kind of a gemstone it was (the store owner didn't know, either), although I had decided long before not to buy any more unidentified gemstones..*sigh*

I think it is not lapis lasuli, because it doesn't have the typical vivid blue of lapis, but it's more of denim blue mixed with white -- could it be blue Chalcedony?, or is it blue Agate? If any of you can tell what it is, I'd appreciate your help if you comment and let me know... I so hate it when I can't tell my customers what they are buying...I promise myself not to make the same mistake again! ;D

Taking about mistakes, I already told you about the huge mess I created by deleting all the blog photo albums I had synchronized with Picasa & stored on my smartphone. But I didn't know how bigger - much bigger - problem it would be to go back to older posts and to find all the relevant images. Since I didn't always give names to the pieces I beaded (I usually feel reluctant when it comes to naming my works, but I'll leave that subject for another post), and since in my early posts I didn't write much or described the pieces ("my new bracelet" doesn't tell much, does it?), there were posts that I just had to guess which was the piece that belong to it, based on the date. In some other cases I had to leave that ugly exclamation mark that replaces the missing images, simply because I couldn't figure out what images I was looking for. I restored most of the images by now, but I wouldn't be surprised if I find two different posts from totally different dates showing the same "New Work" images. Now see the title name of this post? and how descriptive is this post? Lesson learned! :-)


And on a HAPPIER NOTE -- I have received some exciting news regarding my beading work, but I can't tell you yet about it. I have to wait until they are ready to announce...Yes, I know, I am a bad teaser... ;D And it's almost 4 in the morning. Bed time!

Gold & Crystal Round Pendant Necklace

This is the new necklace I designed using the second clasp I got from The Beadsmith. The clasp - item #CLSP48GP - is 23 karat gold plated and set with Swarovski crystal stones.

Dainty Filigree Rope and Bracelet

I felt honored when I was offered to join a group of more than 25 talented designers and bead artists from all around the world, and to design a few items using clasps from The Beadsmith's Elegant Elements clasp collection. These are very beautiful, nickel-free, high quality electroplated German made clasps. Of course I had to say 'yes' to this offer. Who wouldn't?... ;) The only problem was, that just as I got my clasps in the mail, I entered into a long beading rut, and for more than a month I couldn' find any idea of what to do with them... But all is well, and I'm beading again (this project is actually the first one I finished in 2012...).
A tutorial for Dainty Filigree  is available (rope and bracelet only, pendant is not included).

This is the first item I designed using this beautiful flower clasp. The curly detail of the petals in the clasp inspired me to create the flower pendant, and the design idea for the rope was born directly from it.

Flower Clasp with Swarovski Crystal Stone 

Elegant Elements Item #: CLSP89GP

Welcome 2012 with a Free Pattern

Altogether, 2011 was a good year for me. There were ups and downs, like always, but in many aspects of my life I can say that the general direction is up, which is good of course... The only resolution I am going to make for the coming year is to take better care of my health (what's more important than good health?...). 

Beady-wise, 2011 was good, too.  I am very grateful to each and everyone of you who purchased my jewelry or beading tutorials and supported Smadar's Treasure. I value you and appreciate your interest in my work. I am posting "Ribbead" - a free tutorial, for you all wonderful, supporting beaders.
Thank you!

"Ribbead"  is a self-supporting ribbed beaded bead, which can be made in variable sizes and lengths. This bead can be used as a focal, or used as a spacer bead like in this necklace I made. Its large hole makes it easy to string it directly on thicker cords or chains. It is made with Japanese cube beads, triangle beads and seed beads, and it can be embellished with crystals bicones, fire polished beads etc.

UPDATE: I keep being asked if my tutorials for sale are in the same format (photos only) as this free tutorial -- no, they are not!  This time only and for the purpose of publishing the free tutorial on my blog, I used images only instead of colored illustrations or the combination of images & illustrations...

Please NOTE:
If you wish to let others know about this free beading pattern, please post a link to this blog - do not copy and paste the pages themselves.
If you use Ribbead in your work, a credit for the design is much appreciated. 

This project should not be taught at commercial workshops without my written permission.

Ribbeads Embellished with Swarovski Crystal Bicones

Ribbeads Embellished with Triangle Beads

* Happy New Year 2012 to You and Yours! *