Long Time No See...

It's been a long long time since I updated my blog. I wonder, does anyone still read blogs??.....If you do, would you mind leaving a comment so I'll know?

Anyway, I updated the Beading Tutorials and Patterns section with the latest tutorials (4 tutorials) and the Beading Kit section with a photo of another color for the Winding Path Bracelet kit.

I closed my Artfire shop a few months ago, so now I have my Etsy as my only online shop. You can find all of my beading tutorials, patterns and kits there  https://www.etsy.com/shop/SmadarsTreasure

If you'd like to see my posts more often, you can see them on my Facebook  or Facebook Page.

Keep in touch!


In the photo: my latest bracelet (no tutorial) made with Czech druk beads in beautiful seafoam green and fuchsia Swarovski crystals.

Beading Kits Sale

I'm having a 30% off sale on my two beading kits: Gazing Stars & Winding Path bracelets!

From now through Oct. 21, enter coupon code: 30OFFKITS to receive the discount

Happy Beading to all!

Bling It On Bracelet Beading Tutorial

New beading pattern is available for a bracelet made with bugle beads, crystal rose montees and Japanese seed beads. This bracelet is fun to make and can easily be resized, both in length and width!

Triangles Trim Bracelet Pattern with Kheops Beads

Triangles Trim - new beading tutorial for a bracelet made with Kheops 2 hole triangle beads, fire polished beads, crystals and Japanese seed beads. Beadweaving of this bracelet uses a few beading techniques and it is fast and fun to make!

The tutorial is available on my Etsy and Artfire shops.

An Important Note הבהרה חשובה

Team in Action, Illustration by Frits Ahlefeldt, HikingArtist.com

I was recently notified, by a kind and caring person, that my tutorials are being sold on sites that I don't have any connections with.

I want to make it clear, that the only sites my tutorials can be purchased from, legally, are my two online shops: SmadarsTreasure on Etsy and SmadarsTreasure on Artfire . So if you come across a site that offers you a tutorial or pattern of mine, know that it is not permitted and if you purchase from them you are actually taking part in something illegal. 

The same goes for teaching my beading projects in classes - please read about it at the end of this post. 

הבהרה: 

ללקוחות מישראל התרשימים שלי מוצעים למכירה באינטרנט ואך ורק דרך החנות שלי באטסי 

.כל אתר אינטרנט אחר המציע את התרשימים למכירה או מפרסם אותם בחינם, עושה זאת ללא רשות ובניגוד לחוק.

בנוסף, בישראל, לאף חנות, גילדה, פורום, קומונה או מדריך/כה עצמאי/ת אין הרשאה ממני ללמד את הדגמים שלי  בסדנאות או בכל אמצעי אחר, ללא קשר אם בחינם או תמורת תשלום. 

כמו מעצבים רבים אחרים, גם אני מייצרת ומוכרת תרשימי חריזה לפרנסתי, וכל שימוש לא מורשה בדגמים או בתרשימים  פוגע בעבודתי ובהכנסתי מעבודה זו.

I have many wonderful returning customers, that appreciate the value of a designer's work, and I am so very grateful for their business, thank you, you are wonderful!. This post is not meant for them.

This post is meant for those who don't seem to care about nothing but the final product. I want to ask you this --

In most cases the pattern or tutorial will not be given to you for free, and you will have to pay someone in order to get it.

So why would you prefer to support a thief?  Why pay to those who are only interested in making money from you in quick, effortless and illegal ways ?

Why won't you support the original designer who invested a lot of time and hard work to create a design, make it work, take photos, illustrate and write clear instructions for you?....

We all need to make a living. So why not support the ones who is offering you their fruit of love and labor?.... 

And as for teaching -- teachers and/or stores who wish to teach classes of any of my designs need to purchase a license and get a written permission from me before teaching any classes. 

Any teacher or bead store who offers to teach my projects without a license (I provide a signed teaching certificate for that specific license), are hurting me and my income from my work. 

Please give the whole thing another thought. We are all linked on the same circle and we need to collaborate in order to keep it going...
  
If you have any thoughts or suggestions on the subject, I would love to hear them in the comments below or by emailing me.

Bead Happy!

50% Sale on Select Beading Tutorials

From today until the end of the month, receive a 50% discount on these 4 selected beading tutorials.
To receive the discount, please use coupon code: SPECIALOFFER6 . Sale ends on November 30.

(*To receive the $15 discount on the commercial use editions, please use coupon code: SPECIALCOM15 ).

Lazy Daisy Bracelet

Pearls of Faith Bracelet

Fan Pendant & Matching Earrings 

Sparkling Wreath Beaded Bead

Squares with a Twist Bracelet

Squares with a Twist Bracelet

Just a quick note regarding my Squares with a Twist bracelet project (which is done in one continuous stitch, and that was originally published in the Aug/Sept. 2013 issue of Beadwork magazine):  a few beaders already had contacted me and asked why is it that the strings between the squares do not remain twisted as they should. 

The answer is quite simple - in order to make the strings stay twisted, the strings are designed so that each string consists of a different number of seed beads. So you should please check the instructions (or count the number of beads in the illustration) and see how many beads you should string each time.

Hope that helps.... Happy Beading!

Beading Tutorial of the Week - Oct. 16-22

I am offering another one of my popular beading patterns at a large discount, and this time it will be the Oriental Lace bracelet tutorial . For the next seven days only - Oct.16-22,  you can buy this pattern at 45% discount, so the price will be $8.25 instead of $15. 

To receive the discount, please enter coupon code (copy & paste): ORIENTAL50 on checkout. 

The coupon is applicable in both my Etsy and Artfire shops. 

Commercial Use Tutorials Sale

I'm having a 40% sale that might be of interest for beaders who want to sell the beadwork made from my beading patterns and tutorials (please note that commercial use license does not include permission to teach the design in classes or to make kits for sale).

So for the next month - from now until June 18, receive 40% discount in my Artfire shop (express checkout is available). Please use coupon code (copy&paste):  COMMERCIAL40   when you check out.

*Upgrading is an option! - if you have previously purchased a Personal Use edition and you want to take advantage of the 40% sale to upgrade to Commercial Use license, please contact me through the shop or via email and I will send you an invoice for the difference only. After payment, I will send you the Commercial Use PDF file for your records.

Happy Beading!

Urban Retro Chic Bracelet

Urban Retro Chic bracelets were beadwoven in August 2012. August 2012!? How could I possibly forget about this tutorial project for so long? I had the two bracelets photographed and all the illustrations ready last summer, but for some (wicked) reason, I dropped the project and forgot to complete the instructions and to merge all the materials into one file. Well, I am glad I did some "Passover cleaning work" on my computer and found the unfinished project...

This is a project where I used the so popular and loved Twin beads in a new way...or, so to speak, looked at them from a new different angle!.... ;-)
And as in many of my beading projects, the work is done in one continuous stitch, so it's quite fun and quick to finish.

The tutorial for this bracelet is now completed and listed in my Etsy shop!.

And I just came to think of it -  it's not all bad that I forgot to finish the project last year, because the contrasting colors version of the bracelet in black and silver is fitting to this year's summer color trend!... ;)

                           

Dramatic SuperDuo Bracelet

This is my new bracelet design, made with SuperDuo and seed beads. I had so much fun designing and working on this project, and I love the texture created with just those two types of beads! This is exactly the kind of project I needed in order to make me feel relaxed in beading again - it works up fast and is not too complicated...
A tutorial is available in both my Artfire and Etsy shops. In this design I combine two beading stitches to complete rows of these two-hole beads fast and easy!

If you are wondering if Twin beads will also do for this project - they might work if you pick the uniform ones.. and please consider that there might be some slight differences in measurements when using twin beads.

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!

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!

New Beaded Beads Necklace

I decided to design something new with sharp triangle beads. At first, I was trying to make a flat design (without much success), but somehow it evolved into these textured, self-supporting beaded beads...

I made one version of the beads with Swarovski crystals and combined them in this bold plum necklace. The other version, is a longer bead embellished with smaller triangles and used as a focal in the blue/pink necklace.

Summer 2011 - Heat, Health and Hope...

My Muse is gone.... It's probably the combination of July/August heat, my eyes getting tired too quickly and the excitement I feel about people's protest over the huge social-economic gaps that is taking place here in Israel in the last couple of weeks. Daily life worries and health problems can be a real turn off to any creativity sparkle... 

Last Saturday night, I joined the largest ever protest parade in Israel that took place in Tel Aviv, as well as in many cities throughout the country and in my town. I came back home all sweaty and tired, but my spirit was filled with fresh energy and hope. It was amazing to see (and be part of) a large group of good people making an effort in trying to make our life and our children's future better... It was a great reminder of how beautiful, united, supportive and strong Israeli people still are, even though this time the issue was not our complicated security situation, but about fighting social injustice and corruption - the main reasons for our domestic social problems ... I am looking forward to a real change, even if I know it would take more time and effort before we can feel it!... 

Okay, back to beady subjects... This necklace is the ONLY thing I created since my last post (I still haven't finished the bracelet I wanted to make to complete the set of necklace & earrings I created...). My inspiration for this necklace was one of Lisa Peter's Art beads, used for a wire wrapped pendant. The colorful beads in the necklace are Indonesian "trade" glass beads - beautiful, irregular shaped handcrafted & hand-painted striped large "seed beads", strung on orange cotton cord. 

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! ***

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!

Creative Beading Book

I am so happy! Today I received a heavy small package in the mail. A nice 'Thank You' letter was attached to a copy of Creative Beading Vol. 5 book, which is published annually by Kalmbach. TWO of my designs - Diagonal View bracelet and Hojas pendant - are included in it. I'm honored and excited! It's a really nice book with a large variety of beautiful beadwork and wire work projects.

I promised myself to try creating at least one wire project from the book. I fell in love with Lilian Chen's Modest Exhibition necklace project and it looks pretty easy to create...I think... Another project is Sharilyn Miller's Rosy Posy pendant, which will give me the chance to use the round WigJig tool I bought a while ago for the first time. I have all the materials needed for these projects, so there's no excuse for me really, except for the time...

Beadweaving Tutorials

Lazy Daisy - New Tutorial Now Available

Tutorials (click image)

In the past two months I haven't been beading as much as I wanted, since I spent most of my free time in preparing beadweaving tutorials. I have completed writing three tutorials so far and already listed them for sale. A new tutorial for a bracelet design (with a new method) is in the works and will be available in a few days.
Creating the instruction and illustrations files is hard work, but the feedback I get from satisfied buyers is worth all the time and efforts put in it, plus it also allows me to connect with new beaders from around the world, which is really fun! So I do enjoy preparing tutorials, but I wish it would have not taken so much time to finish them.. I have ideas in my head for some new designs that I can't wait to start checking, so I decided to take a little break from tutorials after I finish the one I am currently working on ... ;)

Thank you everyone who answered and commented on the poll about tutorial preferences! The preference ratio of 70% for illustrations and 30% for photos was kept all along the time the poll was open.

Urban Nights Bracelet

This is a new bracelet called Urban Nights, made with Swarovski crystals and Delica beads and with a gorgeous, sparkling clasp from Claspgarten.

In this bracelet design I use a combination of stitches (square stitch and fringe stitch) to do odd-count flat peyote stitch. The pattern for this bracelet is available in my shop.

The photo does not do justice to the Delica # 251 beads I used for this bracelet. They have beautiful metallic finish in different hues of gold that really shine. Beautiful color!