Sunday, May 19, 2013

Beadblogger Sunday and a Photo of a Blythe doll by jean yates

"Neffie"--a collaboration by Cindy Sowers and me a few years ago.  She did the fashions, I did the jewelry.--jean



















BEADBLOGGERS!

A Bead A Day
What does blogging mean to you? Lisa's sharing her thoughts on the beauty of blogging, check it out!
 
About.com Jewelry Making
A new "frame" necklace tutorial up that incorporate some amazing mirror crytal beads.


Art Bead Scene-Color Cord Mixes and a Free Bracelet Project
Are you looking for a place to start on a jewelry design to enter into our Art Bead Scene Monthly Challenges? Lorelei has been creating color cord combinations inspired by the art piece chosen by the Art Bead Scene team.


Beading Arts
Cyndi has worked out an easy way to hang odd-shaped pieces from wire!
 

Resin Crafts Blog!
Making textured, coloured and rubberstamped pendants is a breeze with Jewelry Clay!


Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
It it National Children's Book week! Jean has a giveaway on her blog for a children's book written by a famous author, Elizabeth King Gerlach, which Jean herself illustrated! Come over and sign up! It is adorable!
 

 
The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
Using the Now That's a Jig!, Andrew made some fun earrings for a local musician!

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Friday, May 17, 2013

Fusionbeads and Create Your Style are running a dual promotion and YOU could be the winner

Create Your Style With Red, White And Blue!












From Fusionbeads.com:
"You have an amazing opportunity to win up to $500 worth
of Swarovski Elements Crystal
in the My Patriotic Heart Beads…
Red, White and Blue Create Your Style Design Contest!
All you have to do to enter is send them a photo of the sparkling patriotic design you create
using Swarovski Elements Crystal!
Head over to create-your-style.com for all of the details on how to enter this fun contest!
To sweeten the deal, we’re teaming up with Swarovski
to offer you 10% off ALL Swarovski Elements Crystal!
Use the coupon code CRYSTAL10 to save 10% on all
Swarovski Elements Crystal through July 5, 2013 @ 4 PM PDT!

So, purchase your crystal from FusionBeads.com today
and get started on your patriotic masterpiece! Contest ends July 4, 2013.

They will be selecting winners based on the creative use of Swarovski Elements
you use to create the patriotic design!

$500.00 worth of Swarovski Elements
$250.00 worth of Swarovski Elements
$150.00 worth of Swarovski Elements
happy beading and good luck to those who enter! – Allie"


note from Jean: There may be other bead stores running promotions and teaming up
with Create Your Style -- when I hear I will let you know! Good luck to all!!!
xox jean 

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Thursday, May 16, 2013

The wonderful company, Ezel Findings, which you should know about, has a brand new offering,The Beading Pal

note from Jean: this looks very useful and well
designed.  If I had this in gold or silver I would carry it everywhere!

Ezel Findings presents
the latest must-have for beaders, the


“Beading Pal”

Carry your beading project super-organized and in style.

We are very pleased to introduce our new Beading Pal. Please visit our website, www.ezelfindings.com to view our new Beading Pal.

The Beading Pal has a high quality faux leather outside, produced in beautiful gold and silver with gold plated zipper pull. Inside, a very soft faux suede cushions the beading area and provides a hand rest. The Beading Pal measures 10¼″ x 8¼″ x 1⅔″.
The inside of the Beading Pal features elastic bands that can hold bead tubes, a thread burner, or scissors. A mesh pocket holds tools and other supplies, such as pliers, a spool of beading thread, beading needles, etc. And, of course, there is room for one or more beading projects, with cushioning to protect them.


Shown in Gold and Silver
Ezel Findings will be at Bead & Button in Milwaukee, WI.
The Biggest Consumer Bead Show in the World.
May 29 - June 10, 2013










great, huh? no... it doesn't come filled
but you knew that deep down in your heart!!!!
We can always wish, though! --jean


        

        



              

            

              

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Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Giveaway on my blog--Hooray--Children's Book for National Children's Book Week, One Lucky Flower, author Elizabeth King Gerlach, illustrator Jean Yates


BOOK GIVEAWAY!

ONE LUCKY FLOWER

by Elizabeth King Gerlach

Illustrated by Jean Yates<--me

From Elizabeth, author of this lovely book:

"I'm excited to announce the publication of a new children's book!
One Lucky Flower
is now available for purchase [see here-->] on amazon."






 


    For ages 3-9.

A brave little flower is rescued by a girl who takes her on many adventures.
Even though the flower is scared at first to leave her home
in the garden, fun and surprising events unfold.
She learns that with a little faith and trust,
things can turn out even better than expected.
Fanciful and colorfully illustrated,
this story is filled with flowers, cupcakes, paint and love!


Here is Elizabeth's website

and here is Elizabeth!



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elizabeth King Gerlach

Elizabeth is a writer living in Eugene, Oregon with her husband, Scott,
and black Lab, Luna. She is the mother/stepmother of four wonderful young men.

I have known Elizabeth for years and years and she is a remarkable person.
I could make a
list of the ways she is remarkable, but it would be miles long!!! And take it from me,
you would not be bored! She is that amazing.

An accomplished and well known author,
this is the first time Elizabeth has written a book which is entirely fictional, 
however because Elizabeth loves nature
and all the beauty which surrounds us, this book
pays tribute to that love in a delightful and very real way.

To enter this giveaway,
please leave a comment on this entry.

I will choose and announce the winner using random.org next Wednesday, a week from
today. If you are the winner, you will be one lucky person!!!

Thank you,
jean xox

note: Giveaway limited to the US. Thanks again!

 
 
 



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 




 


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Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Got this email from Kim Miles today



Hi Everybody!

A quick heads-up - I'm closing my Etsy Shop tomorrow, so that makes
today the last day to shop! If there was something you wanted there,
better go grab it!




Eat Your Greens!
xo Kim
Cook with me!

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Monday, May 13, 2013

Work in Progress








As you can see, I am showing you our banner for our team project, For the Love of Blythe.

Look at the date when we started this blog concerning our project. It is a long time ago now--almost a year and a half ( and we began before we put up this blog, For the Love of Blythe.

Cindy Sowers had the initial idea and Fanny Zara and I are the co-administrators of  the project with her. The project is world wide in scope and involves customized Blythe dolls and a book.
We will be showing our dolls proudly at Blythecon in NYC in October of 2013, and we will be selling our book, as well. You can get tickets for Blythecon on Facebook, here:

https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/446261702071423/?fref=ts

Here is Blythecon NY's logo.




 Blythecon is not directly connected to our project, but Erica Duh (yeah some of us go by pseudonyms--I am jny_jeanpretty because I am so beeeyoutiful, hah hah) who has spearheaded the whole convention, has graciously
given us a venue table for our dolls and books. This is so kind, because our project is a charity project and this helps us immensely.  Our dolls will be raffled off at Blythecon, and everyone who buys a raffle ticket from us will have a chance to win one of the greatest works of art that the Blythe World has ever seen.

I am incredibly excited to be involved with this.


My dear friend Moon Rouge created the lovely banner at the top of this post for us. In case you do not know Blythes by sight, this is a photo of Moon Rouge's "Goldie"  Blythe, wearing different team colors. That is Moon Rouge's signature, on the red shirted Goldie.
Moon Rouge and I are both on Team Pink. Moon Rouge made the accessories for our dolls (yes, we have TWO!) and the pull charms, and I made the jewelry.

I didn't understand until I had to let the "girls" (dolls) go, the attachment I felt to out team dolls. People had talked about it, but I didn't "get it" until I was finished with my part and had to pack them up and send them on. It really hurt to see them go!  I have my own Blythes ( as you may have noticed)  but to know that other people had created these dolls; other people who are some of the greatest Blythe artists of our time, made it an incredibly moving experience to say goodbye.

I know I will see the dolls again at Blythecon, and we will have the book we can remember this experience by, but I doubt very much that anything in my life will have quite the same impact as this sweet work of charity, contributed by so many lovers of beauty, on me, in my life.

jean xox

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Sunday, May 12, 2013

Beadbloggers and Mother's Day




Beadbloggers!!!



A Bead A Day
Looking for a way to get more involved in the beading & jewelry making industry? Becoming a Jewelry Making Ambassador could be your next step!
 
Bead addicts, Jewelry Making Machines & Connoisseurs of Handmade (Art Bead Scene Blog)
"Vase With Flowers in Window" by Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder, 1620 is a vibrant inspiration for May's Art Bead Scene Monthly Challenge. Here are some handmade art beads and components to inspire your designs for May!
 
Beading Arts
Cyndi has kicked off "Wire Month" on Beading Arts by sharing a quick and easy earring project!
 
Resin Crafts Blog!
It is amazing what a little acrylic paint can do on resin clay pendants. Carmi focussed on creating the look of a ceramic pendant without the kiln!
 
Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean reviews a great book by Anna Elizabeth Draeger: Crystal Play: Fun & Fabulous Designs for Stitched Jewelry
 
The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
Trying to help out those who want sell their work in stores and galleries, Andrew sheds a little light on the process from the other side of the counter.

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Friday, May 10, 2013

Cousin is looking for new Craft Ambassadors for 2013-2014 to add to their program

 I heard from Cousin today, and the news was very exciting! I thought I would share it with my readers!




COUSIN ANNOUNCES CALL FOR APPLICANTS FOR
CREATIVE CIRCLE AMBASSADOR PROGRAM
Five New Ambassadors To Be Selected To Join The Inaugural Group
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LARGO, Fl., May 10, 2013 – Cousin Corporation of America is pleased to
 announce a call for applicants for the Cousin Creative Circle™ Ambassador program for the 2013-14 term.
Cousin is a premier manufacturer of jewelry making components that supplies products to craft stores,
retail chain stores and professional jewelry makers all over the world.
The Cousin Creative Circle™ is a diverse group of talented jewelry makers
who have a strong commitment to the craft of jewelry making and who use Cousin products
because they are the best in the industry. These brand ambassadors have a platform to share ideas
 with the product development team, receive Cousin products to incorporate into their work
 and attend a team building retreat at Cousin Headquarters in Florida.
"Our Creative Circle program has absolutely surpassed our expectations," said Jeff Cousin, President.
 “We want to keep the craft of jewelry making relevant and maintain it as a growing art.
The Ambassadors have shown thousands of people that jewelry making is accessible and rewarding,
and as a result we have introduced those people to the Cousin brand.”
The selection committee will choose five additional Creative Circle Ambassadors
to join the original members chosen last year. To be considered for the Cousin Creative Circle™,
each applicant must complete a comprehensive application form and submit at least 3 images of their work.
The deadline for submissions is Monday, June 17, 2013 at 11:59 p.m. EST. To apply, please visit www.cousin.com/CCC.
About Cousin
Cousin Corporation of America is a family-owned company founded in 1970 as Enterprise Art,
a retail craft store in Largo, Florida. Today we are a premier wholesaler of jewelry making supplies.
Our focus is to design, manufacture and provide quality jewelry making products at an exceptional
value to customers who are inspired by the craft of jewelry making.
For more information about Cousin Corporation of America, please visit www.cousin.com.
###
Media contacts:
Jessica Ringelspaugh, Sales and Marketing-jessicaringelspaugh@cousin.com
Nick Dautrich, Sales and Marketing-nickdautrich@cousin.com
727.536.3568
 

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Wednesday, May 8, 2013

The great Punk exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum, Hollywood stars galore






I found this article about the Metropolitan Museum ball in NYC in the fun news bulletin I get in my email from National Jewelers Newsletter. If you want to sign up here is the link to a number of choices:


This focuses on the jewelry the attendees wore:
May 8, 2013 - Today's News
Darker designs haunt steps of the Met
Celebrities were encouraged to take their fashion and jewelry styles to the punkier side at the annual Costume Institute Gala, which took place May 6 in New York.
  

This event particularly fascinated me because it was all movie stars and Hollywood big shots.
I guess they heard the call of PUNK and couldn't resist the opening of the Punk Chaos to Couture
fashion exhibition
at the MET!

I wish I had been there. I was alive during punk times, and it was a fascinating fashion era to me.

Here's some news directly from the Met with my old pal Sid Vicious right at the fore. I will never forget the great portrayal of Sid given by Gary Oldman in the film, "Sid and Nancy".

Punk Fashion Will be Focus of Spring 2013 Costume Institute Exhibition at Metropolitan Museum
May 9–August 14, 2013

PUNK: Chaos to Couture
Gala Benefit May 6, 2013, with Co-Chairs Rooney Mara, Lauren Santo Domingo,
Riccardo Tisci, and Anna Wintour

Member Previews: May 7–8
Exhibition location: Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Exhibition Hall
Press preview: Monday, May 6, 10 a.m.–1 p.m.

The spring 2013 exhibition organized by The Costume Institute of The Metropolitan Museum of Art will be PUNK: Chaos to Couture. The exhibition, on view from May 9 through August 14, 2013 (preceded on May 6 by The Costume Institute Benefit), will examine punk’s impact on high fashion from the movement’s birth in the 1970s through its continuing influence today.

The exhibition is made possible by Moda Operandi.

Additional support is provided by Condé Nast.

“Punk’s signature mixing of references was fueled by artistic developments such as Dada and postmodernism,” said Thomas P. Campbell, Director and CEO of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, “so it makes sense to present this exhibition in a museum that also shows the broader output of those movements. Indeed, that dialogue between art and fashion is what makes The Costume Institute so singular. Projects like this don’t happen without sponsorship, and we greatly appreciate the generosity of Moda Operandi, and its co-founders Aslaug Magnusdottir and Lauren Santo Domingo.”

To celebrate the opening of the exhibition, the Museum's Costume Institute Benefit will take place on Monday, May 6, 2013. Beyoncé will serve as Honorary Chair. Co-Chairs will be Academy Award© nominated actress Rooney Mara; Lauren Santo Domingo, Co-Founder of Moda Operandi; Riccardo Tisci, Creative Director of Givenchy; and Anna Wintour, Editor-in-Chief of Vogue. This fundraising event is The Costume Institute’s main source of annual funding for exhibitions, acquisitions, and capital improvements.

“Since its origins, punk has had an incendiary influence on fashion,” said Andrew Bolton, Curator in The Costume Institute. “Although punk’s democracy stands in opposition to fashion’s autocracy, designers continue to appropriate punk’s aesthetic vocabulary to capture its youthful rebelliousness and aggressive forcefulness.”

Exhibition Overview
The exhibition, in the Museum’s second-floor Cantor galleries, will feature approximately 100 designs for men and women. Original punk garments from the mid-1970s will be juxtaposed with recent, directional fashion to illustrate how haute couture and ready-to-wear have borrowed punk’s visual symbols, with paillettes being replaced with safety pins, feathers with razor blades, and bugle beads with studs. Focusing on the relationship between the punk concept of 'do-it-yourself' and the couture concept of 'made-to-measure,' the exhibition will be organized around the materials, techniques, and embellishments associated with the anti-establishment style. Presented as an immersive multimedia, multisensory experience, the clothes will be animated with period music videos and soundscaping audio techniques.

Organized thematically, each of the seven galleries will have designated punk ‘heroes’ who embody the broader concepts behind the fashions on view. The first gallery will be devoted to CBGB in New York City, represented by Blondie, Richard Hell, The Ramones, and Patti Smith. Next will be a gallery inspired by Malcolm McClaren and Vivienne Westwood and their Seditionaries boutique at 430 King’s Road in London. The Clothes for Heroes gallery, embodied by Jordan, will examine designers who extend the visual language of punk, as it was originally articulated by McLaren and Westwood, by merging social realism with artistic expression.

Do-it-yourself, punk’s enduring contribution to high fashion, will be explored in the four final galleries: D.I.Y. Hardware, focusing on couture’s use of studs, spikes, chains, zippers, padlocks, safety pins, and razor blades, with Sid Vicious as its icon; D.I.Y. Bricolage, highlighting the impact of punk’s ethos of customization on high fashion, including the use of recycled materials from trash and consumer culture, as epitomized by Wayne County; D.I.Y. Graffiti and Agitprop, exploring punk’s tradition of provocation and confrontation through images and text exemplified by The Clash; and D.I.Y. Destroy, examining the effect of punk’s rip-it-to-shreds spirit, typified by Johnny Rotten, via torn and shredded garments associated with deconstructionism.

Designers in the exhibition will include Miguel Adrover, Thom Browne, Christopher Bailey (Burberry), Hussein Chalayan, Francisco Costa (Calvin Klein), Christophe Decarnin (Balmain), Ann Demeulemeester, Dior, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana (Dolce and Gabbana), John Galliano, Nicolas Ghesquière (Balenciaga), Katharine Hamnett, Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren (Viktor & Rolf), Christopher Kane, Rei Kawakubo (Comme des Garçons), Karl Lagerfeld (Chanel), Helmut Lang, Martin Margiela, Malcolm McLaren, Alexander McQueen, Franco Moschino and Rossella Jardini (Moschino), Kate and Laura Mulleavy (Rodarte), Miuccia Prada, Gareth Pugh, Zandra Rhodes, Hedi Slimane (Saint Laurent), Stephen Sprouse, Jun Takahashi (Undercover), Joseph Thimister, Riccardo Tisci (Givenchy), Gianni Versace, Junya Watanabe, Yohji Yamamoto, and Vivienne Westwood.

The exhibition is organized by Andrew Bolton, Curator, in the Met’s Costume Institute. Photographer Nick Knight is the exhibition’s creative consultant working with exhibition design consultant Sam Gainsbury (who was creative director for the Met’s Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty exhibition in 2011) and production designer Gideon Ponte (a set and production designer for photo shoots and feature films including Buffalo 66 and American Psycho). All mannequin head treatments and masks will be designed by Guido Palau, who also created treatments for Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty and last year’s Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations.

The design for the 2013 Costume Institute gala benefit will be created by Nick Knight, Sam Gainsbury, and Gideon Ponte with Raul Avila, who has produced the benefit décor since 2007. Additional funding for the gala benefit will be provided by Givenchy.

A book, Punk: Chaos to Couture, by Andrew Bolton, with an introduction by Jon Savage, and prefaces by Richard Hell and John Lydon (a.k.a. Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols), will accompany the exhibition. This publication will be illustrated with photographs of vintage punks and high fashion. Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the $45 catalogue (hard cover only) will be distributed worldwide by Yale University Press.

The Museum’s website at www.metmuseum.org/punk will feature the exhibition. Follow us on Facebook.com/MetMuseum and Twitter.com/MetMuseum to join the conversation about the gala benefit. Use #PunkFashion and #Met Gala on Twitter.

###

April 10, 2013
Left: Sid Vicious, 1977. Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Photograph © Dennis Morris - all rights reserved
Right: Karl Lagerfeld (French, born Hamburg, 1938) for House of Chanel (French, founded 1913), 2011. Vogue, March 2011. Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Photograph by David Sims.


Always remember fashion diva wannabees: PUNK AND GOTH  are not the same.  Nobody who attended seemed quite sure which was which, because they were YOUNG. haha!!!

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Tuesday, May 7, 2013

review by Jean of Crystal Play Fun and Fabulous Designs for Stitched Jewelry by Anna Elizabeth Draeger






































Crystal Play: 
Fun and Fabulous Designs for Stitched Jewelry
by Anna Elizabeth Draeger

reviewed by Jean Yates

Crystal Play: Fun & Fabulous Designs for Stitched Jewelry is a marvelous, pretty, and frolicsome book by Anna Elizabeth Draeger.
Ms. Draeger is well known and much loved for her two previous books, Crystal Brilliance and Great Designs for Shaped Beads. She has also been an ambassador since 2009 for CREATE YOUR STYLE, which is a wonderful testimonial to her talents designing with crystals, as it is a program run by Swarovski Elements.

As a designer myself, I have studied many different styles of jewelry, but I never stray far from the breathtaking beauty of Swarovski Elements, whether they are used as accents or, as in this book, are the main attraction. They are just too beautiful!

On the other hand, the uniquely appealing aspect of this author's charming new book is the element of play which is mentioned in the title!

Often it seems to me that that playful characteristic is lacking in many designs which utilize Swarovski Elements. I am not saying that the designs in this book are any less beautiful that those which the reader might see in another book featuring these stunning crystals. However, I would like to point out the enjoyment one will derive from how this creative book marvels at its main components. You will find that it is a romp through utter beauty!

As I said, this does not mean that Anna's designs are any less stunning or beautiful than those found in other books. I simply mean that when the reader opens this book, he or she will be greeted with a ton of sparkle of all sorts! Fun rings, gorgeous bangles (note: these are some of my favorites from the book), spiky bracelets, beaded beads you will gasp over, necklaces and pendants galore will greet your eyes!

There is a clever natural progression in Crystal Play. It begins with a lively introduction by Anna Elizabeth Draeger, and continues with projects the reader can jump right into. Beaded Beads are first in the line up.
The second chapter is called Component Craze. If you haven't passed out with delight due to the author's vibrant and delightful imagination by the time you reach the glorious Northern Lights Necklace in this chapter, I will eat my 14 mm light vitrail rivoli I am thinking of using in one of the variations from this project. Note: DON'T EAT BEADS, OKAY?

As variations from the Northern Lights Necklace, one can make a ring, a bracelet, or change the whole color palette! This is typical of the "outside the box" thinking which the projects in Crystal Play offers consistently. You will find that this book actually contains about four books' worth of information for you to have fun with!
Playful Favorites, and Another Dimension, are the other two chapters. Wait until you see the Flat-Out Fabulous Bracelet in Another Dimension. It couldn't be any more ... well ... flat-out fabulous!!! It is TRUE! I love it, love it, love it!

I also love the Queen Anne's Necklace from the preceding chapter, Playful Favorites. It couldn't be any more elegant and is a symphony of soft greens, violets, and peacock- purples.

The author is known for her expertise in certain stitches. They are: herringbone, St. Petersburg chain, right-angle weave, and peyote stitch. If necessary, the reader can check the basic review at the end of the book to brush up on those and other techniques.

Anna hopes that you will enjoy her additional variations, which are called "Playtime" in the book. I assure you that you will, just as much as you will love her special way she uses the spectacular Swarovski Elements.

There is a Swarovski color chart, rare to see in a book, and it made my heart soar to see the amazing colors Swarovski offers!

If you choose to purchase this book for your design library, be aware that you will want to drop whatever project you are presently making and dive right into the wonder that is this great collection of projects and variations by Anna Elizabeth Draeger.

It has been a complete pleasure to review this jewelry design book, Crystal Play: Fun & Fabulous Designs for Stitched Jewelry. I hope you find it as innovative and lovely as I do!



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