Bragging or Thanking

To those of you who read our blogs, it should come as no surprise when we say how much we love Vintaj products.   Of course, we carry all their products, and we hope you will always get them from our website.  

HOWEVER, you absolutely must visit the Vintaj site, especially the Vintaj Idea Gallery. They have hundreds and hundreds of designs.   It's almost embarrassing how many times one of their projects can make you mutter to yourself, "I would never have thought of using that piece like *that*!"

So we were pretty excited when we saw a recent bunch of Vintaj Idea projects using some of our beads.  The projects are so beautiful, we just wanted to thank Vintaj, and share them with you.  Yes, okay, we are bragging about it, too.

Floating Floret

Forest Faerie

First up, the Floating Floret necklace (l) mixes Vintaj Brass & Vintaj Arte Metal.  It uses some of our Czech table cut beads, and Czech drop beads, among others.

The lovely Forest Faerie necklace (r) utilizes more table cuts, and some opaque and two-tone fire polish beads.

Gatekeeper Necklace

The stunning Gatekeeper Necklace makes use of our freshwater pearls and more fire polish beads to help evoke the entrance to the Emerald City of Oz.  The intricate layerings of color and pattern in this piece are truly magical.

Anthropology Treasure

I have to confess, the Anthropology Treasure Necklace is my favorite out of this bunch.  It's not just because one of our hand-picked beads forms the centerpiece (okay, that is pretty cool).  It's the clever and wonderful way this bead has been made to look like a mysterious and antique artifact.  Was it part of an ancient jade statue?  A ceremonial weapon?  A symbolic charm of power for some ancient priest or warrior?  I know *I* never thought of anything like this when I purchased these beads.  How wonderful that Rose Noble at Vintaj has!

St. Patty Earrings

Obviously, the Vintaj team has been following a green theme here, and if you haven't realized why, this last project should make it clear.  The St. Patty Earrings design features some Czech leaf beads, and some pretty unique freshwater pearls we had in stock until they sold out.  

Pearls and stone beads often have that issue - it is usually difficult to get identical stock in again of the more unusual colors and shapes.  So if you see pearls or gemstones you like, you should get while you can, whether you are shopping online or at a gem show.  

Pretty neat projects, right?   Check the Vintaj Idea Gallery often, there are always new wonders to be seen.  And you can make lots of them with the help of Vintaj and Beadaholique.

Get The Look

The Oscars have been handed out, the Red Carpet rolled up, the celebrities are recovering from the after parties--the Academy Awards have come and gone.  I have a confession to make:  I was more interested in who everyone was wearing than who won which award.  To put an even finer point on it, I was mostly interested in the jewelry.  Surprise, surprise, right?

There were many gorgeous pieces from all of the grand jewelry houses, including Chopard, Harry Winston, Tiffany, Neil Lane, Fred Leighton, and Cartier.  It seemed as though this year many of the celebs were going for the vintage estate jewelry feel with lots of color and interesting shapes.  I adore that antique costume jewelry look, so as you can imagine, I was in seventh heaven!

I decided it might be fun to pick at least one of the many stunning pieces and try to create the "Beadaholique Look For Less" version.  After mulling over my choices (trust me, this was a tough decision) I finally picked one special item.  And the winner is...  Best Actress Natalie Portman's drool-worthy Rubellite tassel earrings designed by Paloma Picasso for Tiffany and Co.

Ms. Portman was simply glowing, with her baby bump concealed by a sumptuous eggplant colored empire-waisted gown.  The best part of her outfit, in my humble opinion, was that ravishing pair of earrings.  With a few minor adjustments, i.e. omitting the diamonds, using gold plated instead of solid gold, and substituting some deep red Toho seed beads for the pricey burgundy-colored Rubellite gemstones, I believe I came up with a rather fetching homage.

Watch our web site for the forthcoming instructions on how to make these red-carpet-ready earrings!

Pieces for Nieces

You would think, as someone who runs a bead website, that I would be giving the gift of jewelry to everyone I know this holiday season.  Ironically, we're so busy here bringing beautiful beading supplies to other people, that I don't have much time to make jewelry anymore.  Things have changed since the days I worked full time making jewelry to sell at swap meets.  It was so easy to pick out finished pieces from my stock, or make a variation of something I had already designed, to give to people.  

My creative thrills come more vicariously now, through our customers and our design department.  I supervise video, photography, website and graphic design, and, of course our two wonderful jewelry designers, Andrea and Kathleen.  To them, I flatter myself, I am a gently exhortative muse, the Tim Gunn to their creative process.  "Great color palette, but I want more strands!"  "Step back and look at the necklace from 10 feet away before you decide...."   And of course, "Can somebody please make some more bracelets?"   If our designers have a different view of my assistance, they have never said a word to me....

This year, trying to break my 5-year streak of Amazon e-gift certificate giving, I thought of a way to at least give my two young nieces some jewelry, complete with modern interactive features.   

I think almost everyone has now become aware of the Pandora jewelry phenomenon.   This is a hugely popular jewelry line that uses as its basis the concept of large-hole 'charm' beads made of precious materials, that can be chosen and switched out by the owner, to customize their bracelet, necklace or earrings.

Genuine Pandora beads can cost hundreds of dollars each, putting them out of the reach of most of us.   So it is no wonder that dozens of competing brands of interchangeable beads have sprung up.   It is now quite easy to find attractive and original large-hole beads that cost under three dollars each. 

I decided to take advantage of our large-hole bead inventory to make some 'Pandora-style' bracelets for my young nieces.   I browsed our website, channeling my inner little girl.   Shopping for those beads was FUN!  Themes of pink, flowers, bling, butterflies, hearts, peace signs and smiley faces seemed right to me.  Fat beads, spacer beads, dangling charms, they all had to be there.    It was a little too easy to get a big selection in my cart, and I had to do a little editing before I was done.

Once my order was in my hands, I put together my own pandora-style charms by attaching cute silver-plated charms to charm-hanger beads with the included jump rings.    Each niece is getting a charm with her initial on it, so their bracelets will be even more personal.   Each girl is also getting some extra beads - so the younger girl will have fun choosing her favorites and the older girl can choose beads to match her outfits.  I chose high-quality black rubber bracelets over solid Sterling for the practicality and price point.   The clasp assembly is Sterling, and if the screw-off end should get lost, well, we have extras in stock.

I think these are fun gifts for young girls.   While I wouldn't give something like this to anyone younger than six, I can tell you that a lot of grown-ups in the offices loved these bracelets too.   For the more elegant among us, there are many beads and bracelets available that are more sophisticated.

-Sarah

PS:  To my sisters-in-law--please do not show this blog to your daughters if the packages haven't arrived yet!

Let's Wrap

I was just perusing the January 2011 issue of BeadStyle Magazine, when I came across something that made me exclaim out loud (which did not faze any of my coworkers in the slightest---apparently they are used to my sudden outbursts).  There, on pages 54 and 55, was a favorite type of design that I had been obsessing over for the past six or so months: the leather wrap bracelet.

I first became aware of this particular design through my daily Etsy browsing.  Many different people have many different takes on the bracelet.  Some feature gemstones and silver, others pair crystals and brass.  They may wrap around the wrist one time, a few times, or many.   Eventually, I noticed one of these lovely pieces adorning the wrist of a very stylish friend of mine.  I naively asked her if she got it on Etsy.  She replied, "No... It's a Chan Luu!"  For those in the know, Chan Luu is credited as the originator of this now-ubiquitous design.  Her gorgeous wrap bracelets have been coveted by celebs and fashionistas for some time now, and run upwards of $300.... Sadly, I was not "in the know".

Whether it is a pricey Chan Luu original, or a slightly more affordable Etsy version, the consistent material used in all is leather cord.  When I thought about that, the proverbial light bulb went on above my head.  Why not use high quality, waxed cotton cord or P'leather instead?  The resulting design is cruelty-free and considerably less expensive!  You can get instructions for my first version of the wrap bracelet (above) on our free bracelet projects page.

Above is another, longer version which uses approximately five feet of waxed cotton cord.  The finished length of the bracelet is just over twenty eight inches.  It wraps around the wrist four times.

Listed below are the products I used to create this piece.  Please note that this version is not strictly Vegan, as it uses silk thread.  You can substitute polyester beading thread or doubled-up nylon thread, such as K.O. brand, for the silk thread.

Beadaholique Item Numbers & Quantities:
BCP-3434, 1 lot
BCP-34146, 1 lot
BCP-34156, 1 lot
BCP-34150, 1 lot
XCR-4152, 1 lot
PND-1054, 1 lot
XCR-9217, 2 lots

TIP: Use different colors and types of thick cord for the sides (2mm hemp, perhaps?). Try other beads -- just make sure the beads that you choose have holes that are at least 1mm in diameter.  Try using Czech glass, Swarovski crystal, or incorporating mixed metal beads.  Be creative!  As always, we encourage you to send us pictures of your creations!

Bead on, Andrea

Jewelry Trends

by Andrea Morici
Senior Designer, Beadaholique

Well, it's September already and fall is rapidly approaching.  This is my favorite time of year, fashion and otherwise.  For me, one of the most exciting parts about this month is my annual trek down to the local bookstore to pick up the monstrously thick fall issues of the leading fashion magazines.  "978 Pages of Glorious Fall Fashion!", or something to that effect is usually plastered across the front page in tantalizing bold print.   

As a jewelry designer, I'm sure everyone can guess what I'm looking for: jewelry trends.  I am never happier than when the high fashion jewelry designs that I spot on the glossy pages of Bazaar or Vogue are easily replicable by the likes of me, a humble beader.  This year, after wading through page after page of outlandish accessories such as humongous metal chokers that resemble torture devices and thick blinged-out bangles piled halfway up the arm, I started to recognize a simpler, more subtle jewelry trend: the pendant on a chain. 

I know it sounds utterly basic, but just think about the options we have as beaders!  We now have so many different styles of chain available in bright and antiqued metal finishes.  We can make the chain long, we can wear it short.

We can layer!  And as for the pendants, the sky is the limit.  You can create your own pendant using wire-wrapping techniques and gemstones.  You can add multiple pendants and charms to one chain.  You can mix metals.

This trend is very doable, and oh-so-versatile. 

I myself can't wait to don a turtleneck sweater, a chic jacket, a pair of tailored wool pants, some ultra-cool wedge ankle booties, and most importantly, a long chain with a super awesome pendant (or two, or three) suspended from it.  I'm especially thrilled about the prospect of experimenting with resin in my pendants.  Stay tuned for the results of that adventure.  What about you, dear beader-reader?  Have you seen any jewelry trends lately that have knocked your proverbial socks off?  If so, I would very much love to hear about them!

Happy beading, and happy fall to one and all.

P.S. Here are a few pendant-friendly projects (with free instructions!) designed by Andrea - Ed.

Lover's Embrace Necklace

Buttercup Necklace

Frog Pad Necklace

Iridescent Ice Necklace

Exciting Ezel Color Filigree

We get a lot of beautiful and original beads and findings on our website.  My fiscally responsible business partner is always telling me to be careful, and to not buy too much of anything at any one time.  "Try to gauge the market, guess what people will want to buy.  Don’t fall too much in love with anything," he says.

I try to be good, I really really do.  But sometimes something comes along that’s just so pretty and so unique, that I have to have it ALL.   That was the case when I saw the gorgeous colored filigree stampings from Ezel.

I went crazy and got a huge variety of the most gorgeous filigree!!  The great thing about the color on this filigree is that it is a type of epoxy, not enamel, so the filigrees can be gently bent, which is great for adding dimensionality and layering.

Seriously, how could you resist this black paisley filigree stamping?   

Or these leaves?

And then there are the filigree circles

the fancy chandelier shapes,

and the butterflies!











That’s all very well, you may be saying, but what do you do with this stuff?   Well here are just a few projects that our designers have made with these colored stampings.  Click on the photos to get free instructions.   These filigrees are so much fun!

	The Flutterby Necklace
	Verdigris Earrings
	Shadow Chandelier Earrings
	Floating Leaves Necklace
	Floating Leaves Earrings
	Buttercup Chain Earrings

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

         If you’ve seen pink popping up on billboards, ads and store windows you’ll know October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. A startling one in eight women will be diagnosed with the disease at some point in their life, so it’s no surprise the ubiquitous pink ribbon campaign enjoys such widespread support.
The idea of tying ribbons to causes has roots in American folklore, but the modern association of “the medium as the message” began in the 1970s. Penne Laingen, the wife of a hostage in Iran, tied yellow ribbons around trees to illustrate her desire to have her husband returned. Ribbons hit the big time in 1991 when actor Jeremy Irons was photographed wearing a red AIDS awareness ribbon at the Tony Awards. The photo unleashed a swell of popular support for the cause. Pink breast cancer ribbons became widespread the following year when used by Estee Lauder Cosmetics and Self Magazine to promote Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The popularity of the AIDS and breast cancer ribbons energized other groups; today it’s possible to show your support for almost any cause. Here’s a list of many of the awareness ribbon colors and their meanings.
         While we focus on Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October, it’s important to remember the sense of community and camaraderie we show with ribbons and charms need not end on the 31^st. Because the struggles of survivors will continue, so will our support. See our project gallery for inspiring awareness earrings, bracelets and necklaces.