Vitamin C... A Daily Dose of Creativity

My German Bead Soup

by Kim

I did not get into the current bead soup party over at Lori Anderson's Pretty Things blog. So, I threw it out there that I would love to exchange beads with someone, unofficially. That is how I met my new friend Doris. She is a lampworker who lives in Germany. Check out her blog, she makes great beads. I definitely got the best part of this deal. She blogged about our exchange in German and in English. Impressive!

I received a selection of beads from her. She had asked me what my fav colors are and I declined to tell, because I wanted her not to have limitations. Even so, she sent me my favorite colors!

I made two bracelets from the beads she sent. I used the fabulous donut bead as a focal piece for the first bracelet. I used an asymmetrical design.

Here is the donut focal and the cute charm Doris sent.

On one side, I used her big hole beads (that remind me of Cheerios, I love them), as sliders. They move back and forth over a section of seed beads.

And on the other side, I used the cheerios in a different way. I also added a bead dangle at the clasp to balance out the weight of the focal when worn.

For the second bracelet, I braided three strands of crystal beads, adding in three spacer beads from Doris.

It is very sparkly!

Three of her beads became a focal piece. I like that it is a totally different kind of focal than in the first bracelet.

And, a bonus! Doris sent me this cute birdie charm!

What a cool bead exchange we had. Interesting that we sent the same color palette and a bird to each other. Guess we were thinking spring. On her blog, you can see what I sent her and the beautiful piece she made from them.

Thank you Doris!

Put yourself out there and use your Vitamin C, you never know what great people and things will come your way.

Bead Avenue for All

by Kim

I found this jewelry making line at Michaels called Bead Avenue. It is a line designed to teach kids to make jewelry. The beads are plastic. The colors are bright and the shapes are great! I made a couple bracelets with no more tools than a pair of scissors. Anyone who can tie a knot, kid or adult, can make some lighthearted jewelry pieces quickly and easily. Also, because it is designed for kids, the price is right!

There is cord, elastic, and chain in the line. Everything works together to make easy-to-assemble jewelry....without jump rings, wire, crimping, and the other things you normally need for jewelry-making.

I used this technique: cut a 5" length of cotton cord. Tie a knot in one end. String a bead on the cord. The cotton cord holds a knot well. If you are nervous, add a dot of white glue to your knot.

Knot the bead to a bangle, or a link in a chain, or a fatter cord. This is a thin wire bangle. Just one bead charm makes a cute piece....

but lots of bead charms are awesome! Doesn't look like a kid's bracelet!

I used the same technique to make this charm bracelet. The charms are attached to a chain.
All daisies. Cute summer bracelet, right?

Same technique with butterflies on a chain.

There is a great selection of bead colors and designs. Go to Michaels and check it out.

And then use your Vitamin C to whip up some cute jewelry!

ThriftyThursdayModernButton1 Thrifty Thursday Week 65

The Newest Lampworkers

by Kim

Last week, my two young friends came to spend the day. It is always their choice about what they will do when they are here, and this time they wanted to learn some lampworking.

I had them dip their own mandrels and they did it assembly line fashion. One dipped, one set the mandrel in the holder. Speedy.

I gave them a few basics and all of the safety rules and after a few tries, I let them go for it.

They had lots of ideas. Technique was not fabulous, but their interest and excitement was huge. It was fun to watch them plan out what they would make. They worked for hours and would have kept going but they ran out of mandrels.

The next day when I emptied the kiln, I found flora and fauna.

Fun day. They used their Vitamin C!

7000 Bracelets Blog Hop

by Kim

A little bit about this project:

7000 Bracelets of Hope is run through the Global Genes Project, a rare disease group for children. The bracelets are donated to the mothers and caretakers of these children, as a way to give them a little support and lift their spirits.

The rules:

use blue as the main color
bracelet should be casual
it should fit anyone from 7" to 9"

This is my finished bracelet. I purposely went simple with this bracelet. From my experience, most non-beaders prefer simplicity in jewelry, and simple is easier to wear.

I made the glass beads using a medium blue, clear transparent, and blue/lavender glass. The silver beads are bali silver.

I really like this purse charm, and hope the woman who receives this likes it too. Since this is supposed to fit a wrist anywhere from 7" to 9" (that is a pretty big range), I used this three circle clasp. The bar can be hooked into any of the circles to fit it to the wrist. If the woman who gets it has a smaller wrist, she can remove the last one or two circles.

Now, I mail my bracelet in and they will give it to someone who needs a boost.

Several other jewelry makers have participated in this project. Check all of the blogs below to see more bracelets.

Use your Vitamin C to encourage someone else!

Elysian Studios and One Kiss Creations

The Studio Sublime

Crafty Hope

The Gossiping Goddess

SilverRose Designs

Firefly Visions

Pink Chapeau Vintage Jewelry

Michelle Mach

Pine Ridge Treasures

Backstory Beads

Adventures in Creativity with Lorillijean

Carefree Jewelry by Lisa