Praise for Designers

by D'Arsie Manzella


I thought I'd give a big "You're fantastic" to all the talented designers who create art jewelry! Besides constantly producing new and innovative arrangements, you are skilled in multiple techniques and are able to form a style all your own with your creations. I am in awe of your patience and devotion to making the world a more beautiful and meaningful place through personal adornment. When you use handmade beads and components - well that is just the cherry on top!

All this appreciation for jewelry designers has been brought about as I sit at my shipping table (notice I didn't say beading table) and struggle with color, wire, and placement to exercise my skill at jewelry design. My muscles are aching! I am a bead designer by trade but in joining this group I have been inspired~

Here are some of my resulting efforts...


Antique copper findings, beads and crazy cool dyed agate found at Michael's. I know there are no art beads here, but wait! There's more...



Here I start incorporating my art beads! A variation on the same theme featuring beautiful enameled rounds from GardanneBeads and rings filled with antique glass seed beads that I found long ago in an excellent thrift store score.

I'm so excited to be able to use some ceramic sparklers made by our very own MaryAnn Carroll!
I love the way they look like small pools of ocean with a drop of sunshine underneath. The white wire was an experiment, I'm totally in love with it! So fresh...


And something earthy made for myself. I cut out the leather, scratched the lines in with my triangular file and rubbed it all with olive oil which darkened all the exposed leather underneath.
I completely winged these, as I've not done a lot with leather before.
A trip to the local fabric shop had me digging in a giant bin like an overeager prairie dog to find all the pretty leather scraps. I was thinking of the Call to Create challenge for this month when I worked on these. The song inspiration is the Shaker hymn "Simple Gifts".

Since it is such a thought provoking challenge, I think I will be making more than one piece within the theme.


Have a fantastic spring day!

hOw dO yOu dO it?

by MaryAnn Carroll

You guessed it!  Very good!  Those BIG O's are just like the little balls that you will start out with when you make ceramic beads using this little tutorial.

Creative, huh?

Thank-you ;o)

Okay, joking aside, periodically, I will do my posts about what goes into making my handmade ceramic beads, pendants, components, etc.  If you are beadmaker using whatever medium that you love and you have a tutorial that you would like to share on our blog, please contact me at artsanbeadsplus@gmail.com.  I think the more we share about the process, the more there will be a greater understanding about what goes into creating handmade.  This also goes for those of you who have completed jewelry made with all handmade components.... The more the merrier, I've always heard!

This tutorial is one that I actually made for Kelli Pope quite some time ago.  It seemed like the right time to take it back out and share it on our blog.  Some of the information that I have in this [no longer sanding because of dust] really deserves more attention than just dust.  Clay has particles in it called silica.  If inhaled for long periods of time it will create serious health risks.  If you are interested in making ceramic beads, please check out the Beads of Clay website to learn more about safety.

Here is the basic method that I used when I create beads.

Visit Ceramic Bead Artists to see some more fun tutorials.

I will work on another tutorial about what comes next... 

Hey, if I dig far enough into my computer,

I might already have one!!

~Thank-you for being someone who supports creating handmade with handmade~

"Wow!! That is Expensive!!!"

by MaryAnn Carroll

For any of us who make beads and/or jewelry, I would guess that this is a reaction that you have probably heard, whether mumbled to their friend or made directly to you at some time.

Well.... I say...

"You get what you pay for!"

After my most recent glaze firing, I was once again faced with the dilema of pricing.  I try to be fair, but also, I put a lot of time into my work to make a high quality product, so I'm not going to give them away.  What I do is this... I base my prices on the amount of time that I put into each bead.  Beads that are basic rounds with one glaze take the least amount of time so they are the least expensive.  If a round bead, however, is large, then it takes up more room in the kiln which means fewer beads in that firing (beads cannot touch each other during a glaze firing).  In that case, that bead would be priced higher do to that fact.

Then, we have the beads above which were created from porcelain clay at the same time.  They are basically the same size (I don't measure while making beads) and both glazed.  The beads on the right cost more than the beads on the left.  Although you might think that the beads on the left look like they have two glazes, they don't.  They have one glaze that "breaks" on the edge of a ceramic piece.  This simply means that while the glaze is melting in the kiln, certain areas will puddle in greater amounts and edges, bumps, etc. will not.  Both very cool.....  but the time invested was different.

And then we have these expensive little babies that you see above.  Well....I LOVE the look (picture doesn't do them justice, but the time invested far exceeds that of some of my other beads.... 

And they all came out of this little kiln shown above.  This is a doll kiln, which is perfect for the amount that I am able to create at one time.

I also own these ceramic beads above.  I believe that they are manufactured in China.  While there is nothing wrong with them and some do have some of the same effects as my handmade, they were most likely produced in a factory, which is why the price is considerably lower than handmade ceramic beads.

Those, most likely, came from a kiln such as the one above.

So.... I hope that you learned a little more about why those of us who create handmade might need to charge more......

Like they sometimes say, "Wow!!  That is expensive!!"

I say.......

"Yup! You get what you pay for."

To see a funny little video about pricing at shows, click HERE for one of Patty's posts.

celebrate... think spring...

by MaryAnn Carroll



happy thoughts.... good times... sunny days... warm winds...  stay current...  all DONE!

Those are just a few of the thoughts that passed through my brain while I was fighting against the elements to get the finishing touches on our website completed before today. 

I know...you're asking, "elements?" 

Why, I just have an answer to explain that....  or, perhaps, I will share some of those thoughts too....

blasted snow!  darn satellite internet connection!  ughhh!  I'll try again later!  ughhh!  who predicted a snowstorm? will it ever be warm again?  ughhh! 

You get the picture.  Although I do love living in Central, New York and could never really understand why others who were raised around this area would leave; I was ready to pack it up yesterday and head for some warmer winds, sunshine and any pretty much any place where the internet would stay connected!

Today, however, everything is calm, light falling snow, travel is back to normal, driveway needs to be plowed...  thank-you, Bill :O)

And....  our already new website has received a MAKEOVER!  That is one word, right?

To help us with our 5 month, 6 day, 2 hour anniversary....

You could WIN....  yes WIN.... these, might I say, very cool ceramic, spring themed, (they're actually all-season beads... but today, we are thinking Spring) by just heading on over to our website and signing the guestbook.  I'm even going to make this very easy for you.....

Click HERE.  Then, when you get there, please and I am saying, "please," sign our guestbook.  And this time, just let us know whatever comes to mind after cruising through and checking out the various artwork displayed. 

Also....

for those of you who love to conversate (that is a new word that I learned on Judge Judy yesterday),  feel free to throw your two cents in on the blog too!  We LOVE all you conversators!

But, I'm refusing ~ harsh, I know :O(

to bounce back and forth and figure out who has signed where.  The winner will be chosen from the guestbook on the website.

The winner (chosen at random next Sunday) will win these....

  So, if you like them....  and, please keep your conversating to yourself if you don't ;o)

head on over to the website and start yackin'!

Love,

MaryAnn

Past, Present and Future

by MaryAnn Carroll

I thought I would share my Saturday adventures.  I am fortunate enough to have 3 beautiful grandchildren.  My oldest grandchild Lacey had her first sleep over with us on Friday.  She and I had a big day planned for Saturday.  First, on the agenda was making jewelry!  Encouraging creativity while they're young, hopefully, will carry over into adult life.  Since we were headed to the bead store, we took along the latest beads that she and her cousin Kim glazed the last time they were over...

...Since I'm all about 'creating handmade with handmade' I encouraged her to bring her own glazed beads along in hopes that she might be able to combine them with the lady bugs that she wanted to find at the bead store....

We arrived at our destination Beads and Beyond in Cortland, NY.  Carol, the owner, is always so pleasant, friendly and also.... helpful!  Soon after Carol purchased a small bead shop, she packed up and moved into the old factory along with other small businesses.

I live in an area that is close to many large craft supply stores, but I prefer to support our local small businesses.....

 And Carol carries a tremendous variety of beads.  One of the many things I like about her shop is that there are soooo many beads that you can purchase individually rather than having to purchase entire strands....

Then, there is the cozy spot in the back where all customers are welcome to sit and create.  Carol offers assistance to newbies......

And here is one newbie.... A FUTURE designer :O)

...who was once on a mission for a ladybug, but is now having a hard time deciding once faced with so many choices....  I think we can all relate to that!

Choice made.... interest redirected to the tables of beads and...

Nonnie (that's me ;o) makes the charm bracelet!

Now, it is off to visit the PAST....

That is the PAST, alright!

It is the Museum of the Earth in Ithaca, NY.

This is AMAZING!!!

Look at all of these!  Trying to find the right fossil is like trying to find the right bead....

Got it!!!  Let me investigate a little further!

Hmmm.....  I think those might be some sort of shell imprint....

It was then time to say good-bye to one of the many dogs that were in the museum visiting from the dog rescue organization in Tompkins County.

Now...  I'm going to quickly move on to the PRESENT... since I'm losing steam ;o)

 Well... this was Lacey after yesterday's trip. 

I'm sure she has quickly recovered and is up and running around today.

Me, however....  I'm still looking similiar to the picture above.  I think I'll have a low key day and glaze some more beads!

What are your current creative plans for today or tomorrow or perhaps, some other time in the future?

The Morning After...

by MaryAnn Carroll

can be tough with any kind of addiction...  Well... not ALL addictions!  The morning after a kiln firing when you have a "BEAD addiction" can be quite exciting.  It's the part of the addiction that keeps you wanting more.  It's like this one time, when Bill and I were in Saugatuck, Michigan, and went into this very cool bead store with LOADS of beads on sale!  It is a similiar thrill!  When it comes to beads, my second love next to art beads is turquoise... and that store was loaded with it.....

Okay, I'm heading off course...

Back to the morning after:  For all of you out there who are part of the "Supporting All Bead Addicts" group, you can imagine what it might feel like to open a kiln first thing in the morning and see this....

Lookin' Good!

Next, it is time to get them out and see if any minor collisions took place like 2 beads becoming 1 because they were placed too close in the kiln and the glaze fused them together or..... one dropped from a wire because I balanced it too far to the end.

Out they come....  Beads covering both sides of the bead trees....

Still Lookin' Good....

Time to remove them from the wires.  Here is when the the jury is called in....

Will they be good enough to put through to the next round?

And....we have all, but one survivor...  Not bad!  And that was just a little stray that I found and didn't want to throw out!  You can see it there still hanging on!  I guess that little bead was never really destined to be made into something special.

Now....I sort a little further.  Since I started up my jewelry venture again just a few months ago, I have been finding that I'm having a hard time parting with so many beads.  Instead of looking at them and thinking about what might look good together for sale in my Etsy shop, I've been looking at them and wondering what might look good in a piece of jewelry.  So, with this firing I decided to solve that problem and glaze extras of the beads that I covet the most.

So, there you have it.  The beads that are in a little group in the upper right are the ones that I'm keeping to add to my own collection (well...truthfully, since this picture was taken the other day, I've grabbed a couple of others....  but mostly, what you see here will eventually make it to my shop).

I have to say that clay is so fun to work with.  What you can do with it is endless.  An example of one  difference are the beads shown above.   I used the exact same glaze and applied with the same amount of thickness.  The clay body used on the beads shown on the left  is a stoneware mix and on the right is the porcelain, the clay that I use most often.  I gravitate toward porcelain because I can 'mostly' control the results because of its whiteness and translucence.  Lately, however, I have stepped outside of my little clay box and I'm experimenting with other clay bodies.  I have to say that it has been fun and the results surprising.

And lastly, I'm going to be redundant.....what I love the most are the endless creations.  You can create VERY small pieces of art like these little 5 mm beads (that is as small as I can get) .....

to these cute little guys and gals that my husband Bill has been working on.... 

These will be headed to the next wood-firing.

to very large sculptures created by clay artists around the world. 

Thanks for stopping by to see a little of what goes on in my little part of the world in Homer, NY.

The questions I would like to leave you thinking about today are...

"What art beads are your favorites?"

"Do you make your own art beads, if so, what do you make?" 

"If not, do you perhaps see yourself making art beads in your future?"

We would love to hear from you....  and stay tuned tomorrow for our next

EXCITING giveaway offered by Mary Jane Dodd.

Challenge Yourself....

by MaryAnn Carroll

There is still time left to enter our Call-to-Create Challenge, which you can easily link to by clicking the button on the left side of the blog.  We are offering some fabulous prizes as you can see on the right side of the blog.   In addition to those, you will also have a spot on the side bar of our blog which is reserved for the monthly winner.  The winning piece will be displayed here for 1 month as well as having your piece displayed on our website indefinitely....  Here are the winning pages from the past couple of challenges......

Our December Winner's Page

Our November Winner's Page

The challenge this month is to include something that you made.  A few tutorials have been offered to help you out.  You can find Kelli's clasp tutorial, Barbara's clasp tutorial or my earrings tutorial by clickling....

Kelli

Barbara

or

MaryAnn

See.....isn't that easy?  How about challenging yourself a little this year?  If you are someone who already creates handmade components, we would love to see your finished work as well. 

Now...

How about a little walk through Etsy?  You might like or be inspired by some of these handmade beads and components.  You can read more about each item by clicking the caption under the pictures.

AngelasPaperArt

AnnesGlassJewels

Dferr7666

EBrown2503

MilenaCh

MoreSkyeJewels

NotSoShabbyChic



SigalsArt

And remember....buttons make very unique clasps or focal pieces in your jewelry designs.  An example of a button clasp is seen below in the picture by TocaDora Leather.



LidDesignsSupplies



WoodenButtons



TocadoraLeather



ArtisanClay

So.....don't delay any longer...

Join us...

In our...

Call-to-Create Challenge...