Ases Style Mandala Pendant

 I've still been playing with Miguel Ases style bead weaving.  Here's a mandala style pendant I made last week.

Since I often have trouble deciding on colors, I found my inspiration from the weekly color palette at the

Making Herringbone Weave Beaded Hoops

It's no secret that herringbone weave is one of my all time favorites.  I'm always looking for new ways to incorporate it into my wire wrap jewelry.  This time, I decided to try using herringbone style wire wrapping to surround some glass beads and embellish simple copper hoops.  This is the first time I've tried wrapping

Making Miguel Ases Style Earrings: Part 2

This weekend, I practiced my brick stitch around a component - still working towards making earrings.  I have been using 11/0 seed beads - and they seem pretty small to me.  I like the way the finished rounds are

Making Miguel Ases Style beaded earrings: Part I

After admiring drooling over Miguel Ases earring styles yesterday, I decided to get busy learning to make something similar.  My plan is to deconstruct some of the earring styles to their basic forms to understand how they are made and how to create my own.

I think the simplest design is the one on the left.  I love mandalas, so I naturally like this style.  I think earrings like this are perfect to wear 'everyday' - to work or with jeans.


I found a really good free tutorial for this beading technique on the

Beading Inspiration: Miguel Ases Jewelry

          
The beaded jewelry of Miguel Ases is nothing short of astounding.  I have admired his work for quite a while and even tried

Moonstone Wire Wrap Necklace

The necklace project I was working on the other day is all done!  OK, it still needs a clasp and an extender chain, but I'll get that done tonight.  I decided to make it 16.5 inches long and I'll add a 1.5 inch extender chain. I'm very happy with it, although I'm not so happy with the pictures.  The moonstones have so much

Planning Your Jewelry Design

Immediate gratification.  That's what my jewelry is often about.  I love to create.  I find the process meditative and relaxing BUT I also love the results.  There are two things that really drive me; one is having something fabulous to wear, give away or sell at the end; the other is the knowledge: a new technique, a combination of color or shapes that I've never tried before.

The reality is that my attempts are often hit or miss - and I think most people would say that.  But, one thing that I'm just learning - and lord knows it's taken me a long time to get here - is that planning my design

Macrame Bracelets with Herringbone Charms

Boy - did making these macrame bracelets take me back in time!  I used to make them in high school out of waxed linen or hemp.  I've noticed they have become very popular again - and certainly much more upscale. How about this Shamballa Style bracelet with diamond beads for only $29,000?!!

Bead and Jewelry Supply Stores in North Los Angeles

Just because you might want to know, here is a list of some bead and jewelry supply stores I like in the North Los Angeles area.

CGM Findings, 19611 Ventura Blvd. Suite 211, Tarzana CA 800-426-5246

One of my favorite vendors at jewelry shows and online.  I've never been to their store location, but I imagine it has to be fabulous.  They have a huge selection of wire, findings, chain, gemstones, beads and even some finished jewelry. Tools too.  Their bead selection ranges from simple round beads to fine high end faceted gemstone beads.  They also have a huge selection of findings beads in a gold, gold filled, sterling silver, sterling silver filled, etc.  Monthly specials on their website.  Wholesale only.

The Beadiak, 28853 Agoura Road, Agoura Hills, CA (in the Whizin Market Square) 818-597-8020

The Beadiak has a great selection of seed beads, C-Lon macrame cord, glass beads and some pearls and gemstones.  They also have wire and findings, but overall, I think they are a bit expensive for most of those things.  They carry some specialty items such as glass focals and tribal beads.  Offers a variety of classes from lampworking to metal clay to bead stitching.  I mainly go there for seed beads and macrame cord.

Creative Castle, 2321 Michael Drive, Newbury Park, CA 805-499-1377

I hate the name of this store since it sounds a bit cheesy to me, but it is a great store.  They do trunk shows fairly frequently with some great bead makers.  They have a large selection of seed beads and swarovksi crystal, findings, specialty beads (lampwork) and gemstones.  Their prices are comparable to most other bead stores, but they have coupons on their website and they used to take competitors coupons (like Michael's 40% off).  Sterling Silver wire is available by the foot.  Offers a variety of bead stitching and wire working classes.  This is a good sized store with a wide variety of beads - so I think there is something here for everyone.

Silver Sky International, 13451 Ventura Blvd. Sherman Oaks, CA 818-980-6038

This is my 'go to' place.  Great friendly service, huge selection of gemstone beads, pearls, wire and findings.  Some seed beads and chinese crystals - as well as pendants, spacers, and other jewelry making items.  Most items are from India.  The more you buy, the more they will discount. Prices are negotiable from what is on the tag.  The gems in the case are fabulous - and you'll find plenty of other great things on the walls and tables.  Basic round beads are available for as little as $3 per strand or you can buy ruby, sapphire and diamond beads - many of which are also reasonably priced.  Semi-precious wire is sold by the half ounce, sterling and gold filled by the gram.  Large selection of copper wire, beading thread, chain and tools too.

Well, that's a start.  I'll add some more as I remember them!  Enjoy!

Focus on Wire Jewelry Making

Greetings!  I'm back!!

It's been a little while since I've posted, but I've been very productive over the past month.  It was good time for me to clear the cobwebs, decide on what I'd like to concentrate on in the coming months and make a path to move forward.  One of the things that is clear to me is that I need to add more focus to what I'm working on - both personally and in a business sense.

Focus was one of the words that I considered for the Wellness Words Jewelry Challenge but the need for kindness seemed to be affecting me more at the time, so I chose that instead.  That challenge was one of