Inspirational Beading

Greetings, beaders! I have been putting off a return to the blog for quite some time, mainly because I haven’t been certain for many weeks whether or not I would continue to make things or writ...

http://inspirationalbeading.blogspot.com/2017/05/putting-end-to-beaders-block.html

My new ideas and inspirations are on the back burner for the next couple of weeks as I work furiously on some top-secret Christmas presents. I have several projects on the go this year, including...

http://inspirationalbeading.blogspot.com/2016/12/work-in-progress-spiral-on-side.html

Ask anyone who their favorite Egyptian goddess is, and most people would probably say Isis or Hathor. These dieties known for motherhood, healing, love, and protection long outlasted their origin...

http://inspirationalbeading.blogspot.com/2016/12/the-lady-of-house.html

Netting is one of my favorite beading techniques because it is simple, medidative, and creates such beautiful collars. The method of connecting beads together in nets has been around for thousand...

http://inspirationalbeading.blogspot.com/2016/11/tutorial-golden-tapestry-netted-cuff.html

I am happy to say that I have found some new inspiration that will keep me going for a good long while. At the very least, I am excited to start making things again, and to share the ideas behind...

http://inspirationalbeading.blogspot.com/2016/11/work-in-progress-progress-in-work.html

Greetings, beaders! I hope that you've had a fantastic transition into fall. I am still struggling with finding the right work-life balance, and fitting creative time in where I can. Things seeme...

http://inspirationalbeading.blogspot.com/2016/11/work-in-progress-daggers-and-spirals.html

As promised I have moved on from herringbone fringe necklaces, but I wasn’t quite ready to give up on fringe yet. Not only is it really satisfying to make fringe, but I’ve been in the mood to...

http://inspirationalbeading.blogspot.com/2016/09/work-in-progress-spiral-daisies.html

It’s the first day of September, which means that no matter how many more sunny days we may have to look forward to, it’s officially time to say goodbye to summer. With help from the Monochro...

http://inspirationalbeading.blogspot.com/2016/09/bees-heart-honey-necklace-tutorial.html

My adventures with stripes and fringe are still going strong, and projects are chugging along at a much better pace. I had thought that I would want to try a new project once the latest necklace ...

http://inspirationalbeading.blogspot.com/2016/08/work-in-progress-nefertiti-stripes.html

There are so many different ways to find color inspiration in the seasons, and many of the ones we turn to again and again are natural. For summer this might be the colors of the beach, summer fr...

http://inspirationalbeading.blogspot.com/2016/08/bead-color-ideas-sunscreen-hues.html

I have been enjoying my summer down time immensely these past few weeks, just working and relaxing – and getting lots of beading done. I have definitely found a good groove with working multipl...

http://inspirationalbeading.blogspot.com/2016/08/work-in-progress-ongoing-stripes.html

Today my guest is Adam Jordan, co-founder of the Thembalethu Beaders project of South Africa. Supported by gorgeous beadwork designs, and founded by Thuli Dumakude, their mission is to “Increas...

http://inspirationalbeading.blogspot.com/2016/07/inspired-beaders-thembalethu-beaders.html

My tentative steps back into my normal beading routine have begun, and I have actually had some time to sit down with beads over the past couple of days. I decided it was time to just pick a proj...

http://inspirationalbeading.blogspot.com/2016/07/work-in-progress-beadwork-potpourri.html

Today I want to introduce you to an amazingly talented beader. Anika Jaumann’s elegant beadwork designs are a delight to behold! Inspirational Beading: When did you first get started with beadi...

http://inspirationalbeading.blogspot.com/2016/07/inspired-beader-anika-jaumann.html

Greetings to all of my fellow beaders and jewelry lovers! It has been very quiet here on Inspirational Beading for several weeks, and I need to begin this update by apologizing profusely to anyon...

http://inspirationalbeading.blogspot.com/2016/06/the-long-overdue-update.html

It is taking quite a bit longer than I expected to get back on track after my recent hiatus. There’s something about a long to-do list that’s easier to put off than a short one. Plus I’ve r...

http://inspirationalbeading.blogspot.com/2016/06/work-in-progress-lazy-collar.html

Last week’s mini collar was a complete success, and a very welcome one as well. A spot of illness totally ruined my timetable, so it was fortunate that this collar turned out just right, and I ...

http://inspirationalbeading.blogspot.com/2016/05/mini-collar-week-blues-and-greens.html

My beading trays look much the same this week as they have for the past month or so. I’m making good progress on this week’s mini collar, using some of the greens I experimented with for a re...

http://inspirationalbeading.blogspot.com/2016/05/work-in-progress-satisfactory-necklaces.html

One of the best things about making your own jewelry is the ability to make it versatile and even interactive. It can be as simple as designing three necklaces to be layered together, or making a...

http://inspirationalbeading.blogspot.com/2016/05/book-spotlight-convertible-crystal.html

This week’s mini collar was a bit of a whim. When I opened my tray of daggers and drop beads to plan the next design in the challenge, I was once again a bit overwhelmed by how many choices I h...

http://inspirationalbeading.blogspot.com/2016/05/mini-collar-week-black-lotus.html

Now that we’ve covered all of the essential basics of working with peyote stitch, we’re moving on to some of the more exciting variations available for this versatile stitch. We’ve already ...

http://inspirationalbeading.blogspot.com/2016/05/peyote-stitch-master-class-tubular-and.html

This week my bead tray looks like all kinds of progress. I’m about an hour away from completing a new mini collar for the challenge, incorporating the last 5 jet black daggers from a strand tha...

http://inspirationalbeading.blogspot.com/2016/05/work-in-progress-many-daggers.html

Today I’m in the mood for a little jewelry eye-candy, and nothing beats polymer clay when you want to feel a little creative awe. Really great polymer clay designs are like a combination of scu...

http://inspirationalbeading.blogspot.com/2016/05/gorgeous-polymer-clay-inspirations.html

While working on the often-earthy Greek and Roman projects for Ancient Worlds Modern Beads, I ended up accumulating more shades of green seed beads than I would normally ever use. Since then most...

http://inspirationalbeading.blogspot.com/2016/05/bead-color-ideas-green-duo.html

For this week’s mini collar, I couldn’t resist using one of the palette ideas to go with a quartet of pretty glass petal drops in marbled blue that we explored last week. The combination of t...

http://inspirationalbeading.blogspot.com/2016/05/a-collar-week-berry-salad.html