Baylie and her bountiful bracelets

Today on Art Beads Scene Cindy Gimbrone had a terrific post about Beading that Benefits. Her post reminded me of Baylie, a young girl diagnosed in Feb. 2000 with Chiari Malformation and in June 2004 with Pseudotumor Cerebri (high intracranial pressure). Inspired by Lance Armstrong's "Live Strong" yellow wrist bands, Baylie began making bracelets to sell to support research for Chiari Malformation. Baylie has since raised and donated over $105,000. You can learn more about this courageous young lady and her Beading that Benefits at: baylieforbrains.com

Hi every one! Just wanted to pass on to you this great new blog some online friends and I have recently published: Art Bead Scene! This daily blog is dedicated to uniting bead makers with the designers who use art beads. We'll be talking about beads of all materials such as ceramic, glass, polymer clay, metal, wood and another other medium we can find. For starters, here is some of the info you can expect to find there: interviews with bead and jewelry artists and the bead shops they love, magazines and book reviews, bead business news, features on tools and techniques and pictures galore! Look for a mass of ideas about these great little works of art we call art beads. We even have Ms. Bead-It-All on staff to answer all your questions.

A suggestion box is there for your ideas - so give us a note! We would love to hear from you!

Lindsay Haedt, Beadstyle - Under 1 hour

A couple of days ago Shelley Nybakke, owner of The Bead Parlor in Bloomington, Illinois, (www.thebeadparlor.com) mentioned that she had seen some of my beads in BeadStyle's June Special Issue, Under 1 Hour. Well as you can guess, I jumped into my car and headed right for the store. This necklace made by Lindsey Haedt is just wonderful. She dressed my beads up to look like a pearl necklace for Mother Earth.

I'll be honest and admit I really only bought the magazine because of Lindsay's necklace, but after I showed the necklace to anyone who would look, I read the rest of the magazine. Lots of quick and easy designs. I'm going to keep it around for those times when I want a new piece of jewelry to wear, have the beads and other components but not the time to think of something new. Also, this is embarrassing to admit, but I had never thought to use the stringing method shown as the "editor's tip". Reminds me of the threaders my kids use to floss around their braces. I have often struggled to thread my own beads onto certain types of cord - never again! Now I'll just run up and get a threader or make one of these handy things.


Thanks Lindsay for making me look so good!

http://www.beadstylemag.com/

Mood Swing Studio

Kristen from Mood Swing Studios gets the credit for making these spunky necklaces. You can see more of her work at: http://www.moodswingstudio.com . For you bird lovers, Kristen even has a whole page labeled "The Aviary".

It was a couple of years ago when I originally found these images on Flicker when randomly "googling" my name. It was one of the first times finding images of my beads or pendants on the web. I still remember the excitement I felt and the speed at which I called my family to come look at the computer screen and called my sister on the phone. In all reality, I still get that excited with I find an image with my beads, I'm not sure it is something I will ever out grow!

Roz Heiko

This great necklace was made by a long time friend Rosalind Heiko, using one of Tangerine Cascade toggles. Roz is one of those multi-talented people. Not only can she make beautiful jewelry, she is also a therapist specializing in working with children and adults who have been traumatized, have emotional adjustment difficulties, or who have experienced medical or chronic pain challenges. Go to the web site: to find out more about Roz. After you enter the site, look for her name along the left hand side. It is a calm and peaceful site to see - just like Roz.

Tracey Thomasson

Take a look at this rockin necklace Tracey Thomasson made with one of my Tangle pieces. Tracey used this piece in a totally upside down way that I originally imagined its use. This highlights the aspect of original art beads that I love the most: So many creative minds out there - the variety of handcrafted jewelry is tremendous - giving us the freedom to adorn our bodies with bits and pieces of wearable art!

First Post

Well here I go. This has been on my "to do" list forever and now a group of us artsy bead makers are getting together to promote and strut our stuff. Time for me to learn this trick and hold up my end of the work. Meeting my first goal (actually admitting I know nothing about blogging and need someone to point me in the right direction so I can take at least a simple step forward), I've set the next for today:
1) post at least 4 pictures on my blog
2) get it all set up and looking OK
3) add at least 4 links or what ever they are called