The Birds and the Beads

I have the samples in hand, and am working on updating the site for the beautiful new TierraCast line for Autumn, 2008 - “Textures”. This line has new links, toggles and rings, similar to the Hammertone line from last year, but with different patterns. It also includes several new picture frame charms/pendants. And at last, a piece I’ve been asking TierraCast to make for three years - a specialized heishi daisy/bali spacer with an attached loop - you can string them into a bracelet or necklace like you would any bali spacer, while easily adding charms and drops securely with the cast loop. These items will be available for preorder late next week, and we’ll start shipping them on Wednesday, September 10th.

I’ve been slacking on my “Beastblogging” responsibilities.  So here are more Hobie Cat photos than you can shake a stick at.

These earrings have a lovely mixture of textures - hammertone links, diamond bead frames, and the beaded diamond earring posts. I hope you like the result as much as I do! I liked them so much I made them in silver, gold and copper - two for me and one for my mom.

These earrings are super easy to make - wire wrap the beaded drop at the bottom, and connect the pieces with jumprings.

• Diamond Drop Earrings - Project & Kit

A few weeks ago, a customer requested that I add TierraCast’s Dharma Bead Caps to the product line. I’m so glad she did (Thank you, Ruth) because they’re gorgeous and dramatic, and they work perfectly with my new 10mm round Cats Eye beads. This fabulous bracelet almost seemed to design itself.

This bracelet is easy to make, and with the beautiful Dharma bead caps, the large, velvety cats eye beads, and the sparkle of Swarovski crystal, the design is stunning. You’ll only need basic stringing skills to put this bracelet together, and it only takes a few minutes to make.

• Dharma Bead Bracelet Project & Kit

I’ve never tried any chain maille techniques before, but out of the blue I had this idea to try making a bracelet a few weeks ago. I found a nice, online tutorial for the Jens Pind Weave, and I had some colorful wire for making my own rings, but the gauge of my wire wasn’t thick enough, and it was a flop.

Fortunately - I had some nice, heavy gauge rings here in the shop, and I picked up a couple of bags to play with. The first bracelet I made was a disaster, and that was with taking the whole thing apart at least twice. By the end of it, though, I was getting the hang of it, and I went on to make the silver bracelet pictured. I took a lot of it apart, too, trying to get it right. Nice thing about working with jump rings - easy to take apart and put back together. Finally I got a perfect bracelet in silver. I went on to make a silver and gold one for my mother (didn’t get a picture before it went to Maryland), and eventually went on to make the copper bracelet for my husband, which he wears every single day.

The last two bracelets went much more smoothly than the first two bracelets, but I still had to take rings off and re-weave them frequently. However, I was able to spot mistakes much more quickly by that point, and spent a lot less time backtracking. I’m very pleased with my new skill, and must go in search now for colorful rings.

I couldn’t have done it without these websites:

• Jens Pind’s Linkage
• Maille Artisans International League - Tutorial

And these jumprings have the perfect aspect ratio for a not too loose, not too tight Jens Pind chain:

• Lytha Studios - Basemetal Findings (scroll down to heavy gauge round jumprings

I have a blog??? I know it looks like I have forgotten, but I haven’t…. It is only that the siren call of the pool on a hot Virginia day is hard to ignore. With nights in the 60’s this past week, the pool is kind of chilly, and there are lots of new items on the website as a consequence!

• Two New Styles of Plated Earhooks
• Two New Styles of Solid Copper Earhooks
• Two New Styles of TierraCast Toggles (Gorgeous!!)
• Three New Styles of TierraCast BeadCaps
• New TierraCast copper Flower Beads, Flower Charms and Buttons
• New TierraCast Autumn Leaves Charm Mixes

All of our TierraCast® Bead Frames are currently listed at 15% off. Prices good through September 4, 2008.

• TierraCast® Bead Frames
• Spirit Bead Bracelet Project
• Bead Frames Bracelet Project
• Bubble Bead Frames Bracelet Project

Although we do not live or work on the waterfront, with the Corrotoman and Rappahannock rivers both within a mile or so of us, our family is literally surrounded by water. This week I’ve been taking the kayak out at dusk and staying out until after the moon and Jupiter are high in the sky. It is difficult not to be inspired by a trip through a world flooded with the deep blue hues of night, pursued by glowing trails of bioluminescence that flow behind my paddle and boat.

There has been a lot of sea and water at 123Bead this month as well (ok, not literally) — from our “Summer by the Sea Sale”, to Erin’s By-the-Sea Charm Bracelet project.

Whether you find inspiration in the mountains, the sea, or somewhere in-between, we wish you a luminous and creative summer — Eric & Erin

http://www.123bead.com

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Our Summer Sale includes all of our beautiful TierraCast Sea Shell and Sea Creatures Beads & Charms with a 15% discount through August 7, 2008.

For other discounted beads, check out our clearance and seconds on our new Sales & Specials page.

If you only buy one book on making jewelry with wire, this is it. While there are over twenty complete projects in Bead on a Wire to inspire you, the real power of this book is the first 60 pages devoted to step by step instructions for making jewelry components. Understanding the creation and use of wire working building block components (jump rings, eye pins, various hooks, and wire wrapped beads) will help you move on to putting together beautiful designs.

The beautiful, full color photography and level of detail in the step by step instructions in this text are phenomenal.

Paperback, 8 1/2″ x 11″. 128 Pages. 350 color photos.

Bead on a Wire By Sharilyn Miller

This gorgeous summer time charm bracelet is easy to make, and quick to assemble. It uses TierraCast’s beautiful Sealife Beads & Charms, gorgeous TierraCast Panten beads, plus Swarovski bicones and pearls. For complete instructions and a parts list, click By-the-Sea Charm Bracelet Project.

Actually - it was a rather fast air plane that brought beads in this week from China - about 400 pounds of them, including some new goodies! I’ve had requests for 10mm round cats eye beads to fill in the gap between the 8mm and 12mm lines we sell.  Most of the colors that I ordered came in this week, and can be found on the website here - 10mm round cats eye beads. I also received some new colors in the 16mm round cats eye line, and a small selection of a brand new line of 10mm faceted glass rounds - with more colors on order.

In addition to these new beads, I received a much needed restock of our 10mm cats eye coin collection - our most popular colors were out, which also meant that our most popular mixes were out of stock, too. I’ve received all colors except for black, and the mixes are available again now, too. I also received in our long awaited “hot pink” flower beads in both the 8mm x 9mm size and the 10mm x 12mm size. There were a couple of other goodies in this shipment that I’ll put on the website in the next week, including some new faceted glass cubes (for Ruth!), and cream colored cats eye in various shapes and sizes.

Since borrowing a friend’s catamaran last year, I’ve been wanting a Hobie Cat (never mind that we already have two small sailboats, one of which is a “project”).

Since, well, pretty much as long as I can remember, Erin has been wanting a kitten (never mind that we already have two cats, both of which are “projects”).

Owen agrees with us both.

So, let me introduce to you, our newest family member, someone who ensures that we all get what we want: a kitten named “Hobie Cat”!

Just a quick note to let you know about one of our favorite blogs - The Colour Lovers Blog. This fantastic blog takes a series of images (for example - different species of frogs), and breaks them down into their constituent colors and palattes. My favorite is the Butterfly Collection. This is just a fantastic resource for color ideas and inspiration.

You can follow us on Twitter now at: twitter.com/lythastudios!