Mark Your Calendar

Mark your calender for May 4th and 5th. I'll be having a trunk show at Ornamentea in Raleigh, NC. One of my favorite pieces that I plan to have plenty of is my Tangle shown here finished with a complimentary cone set:

I'll see you there! - Elaine

Monthly challenge at ABS

Have you seen the first of the Art Bead Scene Challenge!?! Each month we will pick a theme, and then you create finished jewelry or other lovelies such as personal adornments, home decor items or other crafty stuff using art beads. Individual beads do not qualify...they need to be made into something else. We'll pick a winner randomly from the qualifying entries. This month's theme is Taking Flight so let your imagination fly!
Read all the details here: ABS Challenge.

To celebrate this first challenge we are giving away all these beauties. As you can see, my donations are in the upper left corner.

I'll be looking for your entries!

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.