Inspiring Bead Shops: Perfectly Paired

I thought I would try something fun today and feature a few online bead shops that are worth a visit. These are friends of mine, but this is just me saying "oh, look here at what they've got" because these three hardworking beady women sure do inspire me! I've paired up their beads with a few of my Humblebeads Bead Mixes. Enjoy!

Ornamentea + Humblebeads
Ornamentea is a brick and mortar bead shop located in Raleigh, North Carolina run by Cynthia Deis. Ornametea has a super inspiring website with lots of free projects from trendy designers. They offer an eclectic array of mixed media and jewelry making supplies.Cynthia works with several different bead artists to round out her collection, which I love to see!

Humblebeads: Wild Bird Bead Mix

Ornamentea: Chexx Beads, Beveled Bayong Wood Beads, Green Girl Shibuichi Bird, Antique Brass Metal Spacers,  Harvest Gold Dupioni Silk
 

Stinky Dog Beads + Humblebeads
Kitty Bozzini has carved out quite the bead inspiring beauty of a website at Stinky Dog Beads. This is an online only bead shop that offers a beautifully curated collection of beads with photographs that just make you want to shop! Stinky Dog Beads offers lots of unique items that have my nature-lovin' heart going pitter-patter. Must shop the clasps.

Humblebeads: Woodland Bead Mix

Stinky Dog Beads: Central cut Picasso Czech glass beads, Double link chain, antique brass, Mykonos Peace dove, twig connector, Halo Heavens English cut Czech beads

The Curious Bead Shop + Humblebeads
Rebecca Anderson is the curious bead propieter behind The Curious Bead Shop. Rebecca's popular Etsy shop is run from home in Scotland! You may have seen Rebecca's jewelry featured here on my blog, she has a way with Humblebeads.  Rebecca's shop offers mainly Czech glass in so many yummy colors and styles but she is also branching out with findings, metal spacers, waxed linen and leather.

Humblebeads: Tribal Pattern Bead Mix

The Curious Bead Shop: Copper faceted cornerless cube, Orange Evening Ember Faceted Rondelles, Royal Blue Faceted Glass Bicones, Violet Opal Petals, Burnished Pink Leaves

Grab Bag Project Inspiration

Happy Saturday!!! My weekend is going to be filled with three things: beads, blueberries and birthdays. 

Beads because every spare minute is now crunch time for Bead Fest. (Booth 559A) Oh my, oh my, do I have some amazing things for this show. I'll be posting tons of picks next week. Follow me on Instagram for a behind the scene peak at prepping for a national bead show. (@humblebeads)

The other two B's - it's Blueberry Festival in my hometown and I love playing tourist. Checking out the craft show in the park, sidewalk sales, eatin' some berries, etc, etc. And birthdays, well for my nephew and my bday is on Monday and I like to celebrate it for a good 2-3 days!!! 

Back to beads - that's why you are here right? I'm having a huge clearance sale making way for all my new goodies. 

You can find 40% off grab bags in my Etsy shop. They are bright and cheerful and start at $25!!! 

It's a great way to stock up on focals and find some rare Humblebeads. 

Here is a free project as an example of what to do with those round focals: 

Dahila Necklace

Check out all the grab bags in my Etsy shop: 

Have an awesome weekend!!!

A Bead is Born

While making my January Bead of the Month I snapped some photos of how I make my beads.  I thought you'd enjoy seeing what goes into each and every one of my disk beads.

First - it starts with color.  I love Brandi's color palettes that she makes for the Art Bead Scene. I print them out and start custom mixing my colors to match. 

Next, the colors are formed into round beads.

And here comes the hard part - I sketch out my canes and start to create them. 

The designs run horizontally in those tubes.

Paper thin slices of the designs are applied to each bead.  We then roll the clay smooth, shape each bead, poke the hole, bake and artfully arrange them before we tie them up into sets.  Jess is my official bead roller.  He takes forever, but he just does such a great job.

Here are the finished beads.  I only made 12 sets.  These sets each month are only available to my Bead of the Month Club subscribers.  I used the rest of the canes to make other beads and created leaves, birds and flowers to match, those can be found in my Etsy shop. 

 

I'm offering five more Bead of the Month Club subscriptions for the 10 months left in the year.  Each month I take the inspiration painting from the Art Bead Scene's monthly challenge and jump off from there.  If you buy the BOM Club, you don't need to take part in the challenge, that's just my inspiration. 

Bead Heaven!

Some days don't you just love the UPS man?  I mean really love!  Look what arrived at my door yesterday.  Oh, I want to keep them all.  These are more of the beads that I will be offering on the cruise and then in my Etsy shop when I return.

I picked colors to match my beads, it all works together and I'm not sure if I will sell the glass by itself or in small inspiration kits paired up with my beads.  What do you think?

It's crunch time for the cruise.  I will be buried under tasks this weekend, sort of like we are buried under snow today.  I hope you have a fun weekend filled with your favorite things!  

Bead Table Wednesday

It's been a while since I've done a Bead Table Wednesday post.  I'm finally starting to get into a regular schedule again and gearing up for the rest of the season.

I have a little stash of beads I keep nearby so I can work on nests when I have a spare moment.  I'm stocking up for holiday shows.  I try to not work once the kids are home, but I do sneak in a little nest time when they are doing homework or off goofing around.  

Eventually the nests will be used as pendants - simple and sweet and just awesome gifts.  I was invited to do an Inspired by Nature Jewelry Trunk Show at the Kingman Museum in Battle Creek next month - so most of these are heading over there.

Along with a few shows I'm hoping to get into, I have a trunk show, book signing and Birds of a Feather Nest Workshop at Bead Quest here in Grand Rapids on November 12th - just a month away.  The class will be lots of fun and a great way to get started on a few of your own holiday gifts!  Everyone will leave with at least two completed nests.

I'm also working on plans for a Humblebeads Holiday Workshop for November and will have details posted soon.

Be sure to stop by the Bead Table Wednesday Flickr Group to see what other bead obsessed folks are up to this week.

If you'd like to stock up on some beads for your projects I am having a sale in my Etsy shop until 10pm tonight.  Use discount code BEADS4FALL for a whopping 25% off!!!  

A showcase of beady awesomeness!

Do you remember a few weeks ago I mentioned auctioning off some large grab bags on my blog?  I decided while that would have been fun only three people would have walked away with beads and that didn't seem fair.  So I decided to spread the beady happiness around a little and broke them down into smaller grab bags.

And let me tell you - they are AWESOME!  So awesome I had to give them that crazy title.

These are not seconds, in fact some of them are treasures that I've been hording and realized it's time to let them go.  I know someone will put them to better use then being nestled away in my studio.  So let's look at what I put together.

Is it treasure you seek? Good thing you came here to take a peek!

The "Unearthed Treasures" grab bags have earthy colors with some very unique beads. These sets have at least 6 beads, some many more. A few sets include my very limited edition William Morris series, pictured here.   

Feeling blue? This is the grab bag for you! 

The "Chase the Blues Away" grab bag has all sorts of blue hued beauties.  Some include birds and eggs, one set has some of my tiny snowman and there are lots of beach inspired bead sets in this collections.  Each set has 5 or more beads.

Do you feel pretty in pink? Grab this bag before you click another link!

The "In the Pink grab" bags are so very lovely.  Some of them are woodsy inspired with brown and pink combinations.  Others head more towards the darker red hues.  They all have great beads, many were one-of-kinds, like these never before seen pink willow pendants and charms.

I have over 20 grab bags up for taking - you'll save at least $15 on each set.  If you order more than one grab bag I will send you a little Beady Bird charm - colors vary.

I have TONS, let me say TONS of beads in stock and you can find those  in my http://www.humblebeads.etsy.com/ shop and I will be shipping before and after my move. 

Most of our packing is done now.  I just have lots of 'business' to wrap up before I leave.

The move is actually the easiest part of this process, I have my portable studio all ready to go in my suitcase (okay, maybe two suitcases.) And the girls and I are flying to Michigan, so I have one day of travel.  I can handle that.   And I will hit the ground running, I have events almost every weekend in September!

I very much appreciate your bead buying support during this time! 

I am so thankful for each and every one of my Humblebeads fans.  You have no idea.  And not just for the financial support, but thank you for all your well wishes during this season in my life.  I have appreciated the emails and messages of encouragement on facebook.  It's so wonderful to be part of such a caring community.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

New Fall Beads

A few weeks ago my very sweet friend Terri requested that I try my mushrooms and gnomes in earthy colors to match the rest of my woodland beads.  I hadn't thought about it before but once she said it I could immediately see them in my head.  Little gnomes in goldenrod jackets and leaf green hats.  Mushrooms in forest fresh green and tiny charms with mustard yellow mushrooms on light blue backgrounds.  So adorable for fall!  Thank you Terri!

And speaking of fall, I've also added a golden yellow addition to Willow Petals headpins and pendants.  They remind me of fall leaves.  These would look great with my Golden Branches Disk beads.

I'm so ready for fall.  And for the first time in 10 years I will get to see the leaves change colors.  You know that is going to inspire some autumn colored creations later in the season.  I can't wait for apple cider, getting pumpkins at the farmers markets, wrapping up in woolly scarves.  I can't wait to see that first snowflake of the season.

I know, it's August and I'm pushing it.  But I've been baking in Texas for way to long.  I need a dream and right now that dream involves a snowflake seen through a steamed up glass window pane, a mug of cocoa in my hand and my feet in some crazy fuzzy slippers.  Ah to dream...

Have you had enough of summer or are you still hoping to squeeze out a few sun-drenched beach filled days?

Visit my Etsy shop to see all of the new goodies.

Big Huge Giveaway - that's the BHG!

Have I lost my mind? 

I feel like one of those used car commercials - come on down to crazy Heather's and save, save, save.  Okay, maybe not that bad and certainly not desperate.  But I do have an abundance of beads that need to find new homes.  I'm in the process of a major studio purge and I have some huge bead bundles that I'm going to auction off next week, they are filled with amazing one-of-a-kind beads.  But this was a smaller set - and I thought, why not do something crazy like give it away.  So, that's what I'm doing.  Maybe my brain has melted from one too many days of 100 degree weather.

Some were experiments, some are discontinued items and others are just overstock.  They are wonderful!

So what do you need to do to enter? 

Leave a comment - tell me what your favorite Humblebead is - if you are new here, check out my Etsy shop and pick a favorite.  That is one entry - blog, facebook or twitter about the giveaway and you will be entered for each one that you do.  Leave a comment to let me know which ones you did.

So four chances to have this collection of beautiful beads heading your way!

And because I think my brain really has melted, I am having a sale until Sunday night at Midnight.  Save 20% off everything in my Etsy shop, excluding custom orders.  Use discount code TOOHOT when you are ready to check out.

I will draw one random winner on Tuesday.

Good luck with the giveaway - I have my fingers crossed for you!

Humblebeads Spring Collection

I put together these two photo sets for a client and thought I'd share them here too.  It's Humblebeads for Spring.  Ah, so sweet.  You can find all of these in my Etsy shop.  I've brought back my Purple Martin bird, there in the corner and a new color of branch beads in periwinkle blue. Tomorrow I will add the new tiny eggs to my shop.

Tonight was the first night of Hecho a Mano.  The crowd was steady and busy shopping, two good traits for a holiday market.  I will try again tomorrow to take photos of my area.  It's not a booth, but a shelf.  A really, really long shelf at eye level.  Pretty cool and something different.  They try to use pedestals and walls as much as possible to make the show look more 'arty'.  I would prefer a booth and a table, but I'm trying to roll with it.  Sometimes when things don't work out like you want them too, you just have to smile and pretend it's awesome.  I enjoyed talking to folks who were excited about my jewelry and even sold a few favorites tonight. And visiting with the artists is always fun.  Tomorrow will be a long day of selling, but I'm ready!

Beady Finds

Yes, I know I just went to Bead & Button. Yes, my bead boxes are stuffed to the gills. Oh yes I did go to another local bead show last week and oh yes I did find some goodies calling my name!

This was a small show, only 17 vendors I think. And most were the kind that sell remainders, those cheap strands of pearls and stones for $3 & $5. And while those can be fun and you can find some interesting items I was the hunt for a few specific things. In particular copper from my favorite local show vendor, Beading House. I picked up 2 strands of copper disks. They don't sell them on their website, I use them often and have people emailing where to find them. I'm going to list them in small quantities in my etsy shop.

Along with my copper I found a few out-of-the-ordinary things that caught my eye. A shell bead of some type, this carved wood bead (love you) and mosaic turquoise (uh, you mean reconstituted?) and my favs from the show those unpolished fire agate in the first photo, I love the teal blue ones. They remind me of a cross between beach glass and bird eggs. Oh how I have plans for you my friends!

Happy 4th of July!

Rings & Things Show Review

Last weekend was the Rings & Things trunk show. I was thoroughly looking forward to this show, even though I just had a great shopping adventure a few weeks ago. I'm in a serious gathering mood as I gear up for a new round of projects for various publications and I'm working on some spring/summer jewelry to sell in my etsy shop again.

We arrived early to find a crowd already shopping! I had gone through the catalog the night before and made notes of things I wanted to look out for. And what was I looking for? The unusual - both in shape, color and new materials. Things that looked old or had a sense of history also caught my eye. I rounded out my collection with a few basic beads in colors that appealed to me and a nice hunk of gunmetal findings.

Some of my favorites from this group include green and blue shades of Kyanite and apatite.

Loving the lavender stick pearls, a gray-purple stone called imperial jasper and the pink dyed chalcedony.

Pyrite and brown lava beads were standouts for me at the show, love the primitive quality. And check out the smoky quartz daggers, just a little bit of awesomeness! I think I covered the entire rainbow during this shopping expedition!

So if you were wondering why I haven't been blogging, I've been locked away in my studio creating night and day!

I have a few more Bead Cruise posts to share with you and will try to get those written up this weekend. Thanks for stopping by.

Bead Store Heaven

The day before the cruise about 20 from our group took a field trip to Turquoise Coyote in Ponchatoula. It's an unassuming store in a tiny little town. We thought we had died and gone to bead store heaven. We kept looking at the prices and asking each other, "Is this the right price?" You see, it's wholesale to the public and I mean wholesale. I would tell you of the deals we found, but there would be weeping and gnashing of teeth. All I can say is if you are ever in the area it would be worth driving one or two hours out of your way.

Above is one of the many cases filled with crystals, every color and style you could imagine.

I was particularly taken with the pearls and gemstones. There were many walls lined with treasures. I felt like a kid in a candy store, I can't remember the last time I was so excited about bead shopping!

Rosanne and I were the last two in the store. We are terrible enablers! Above is her tote filled with stones, bright and bold colors for Spring.

On the first night of the cruise we announced our design contest. Everyone had a week to make something with at least two items from our gift bags. This is one I whipped up for the challenge, just for fun of course! I used some yellow opal and blue lace agate from our shopping trip. Along with a pendant from Chinook Jewelry, a door charm from Mamacita Beadworks and a leaf from Vintaj.

Yes, I have new beads! They first went on the cruise and will soon be in my Etsy shop!

Like Lorelei, I have had to buy new bins for all my beads. But there is no end in sight, Rings & Things trunk show is this weekend and I have some serious shopping planned. Now, I'm off to make jewelry and use up some of these new beads!

Rings & Things

Here is a detail from my Bead Soup necklace. I was inspired to make this charm after flipping through the new Rings & Things catalog. I bought Jess a set of letter stamps from Evie's Tool Emporium early this year and decided to pull them out and give stamping on brass a try. The brass is Vintaj from Bello Modo.

And speaking of the new Rings & Things catalog, whoever is in charge of putting it together this year should get a raise! I get their catalog every year and I was always like, huh, there it is, same as last year. But not this year Mon Cher, it's packed with good information about materials, tips on how to use products and best of all, tons of inspiring projects that you can download on their website. I looked through the catalog this year and thought, "Yeah, I need to order from Rings & Things!" It made me wish I could make a Humblebeads catalog. Uh-huh, yup, when my imaginary millionaire silent-partner finally makes my dreams come true.



This is my favorite project, a Sweet Pea pendant from Mollie Valente. You can see more project ideas in the Rings & Things design gallery.

Metal Seed Beads

Yesterday on the Art Bead Scene Lynn Davis featured some of my work that incorporated seed beads. How could I not love seed beads? With Beverly Herman as my mom, it's in my blood! In fact she lives in New Orleans and when they headed out of town last week what did she take? 250 lbs. of seed beads traveled across country with her.

Lorelei had asked about copper seed beads so I wanted to share my source for metal seed beads, Charlene's Beads. Charlene happens to be a Bead Cruise sponsor and a very sweet person. I've purchased metal seed beads from other places, but Charlene has the best. I buy them by the 1/4 kilo and that's like 1/2 a sandwich bag full! I use them in almost every design. I love the antique copper and nickel the best. Neither changes color over time.

Okay, so your turn! Do you have a great source for your favorite bead or finding that you'd like to share? Post about it on your blog and add the link in the comment section. On Sunday I'll pick a comment from this post to receive one of my Chrysanthemum beads.

Bonus: directions for my dragonfly necklace that was first printed in BeadStyle and then made a guest appearance on Beads, Baubles & Jewels.