Time Capsule: Bead Embroidery

Three years ago this month I was diving head first into the Egyptian Gods Jewelry Challenge, and working feverishly on the entry of Sobek the Crocodile. For that design, I went with a bead embroidered pendant featuring mother of pearl ‘scales’. Although I really liked how the piece turned out, a part of me knew – but didn’t want to admit – that it looked an awful lot like a slice of spinach pizza. Still, I learned quite a bit about what my beads could do, and it was a worthwhile project.

Bead embroidery was the very first seed bead technique that I ever learned, back when I was about 7 years old. Since then I’ve experimented with it quite a bit, but never often enough to reach the level of the masters like Sherri Serafini and Jamie Cloud Eakin. Though I didn’t include it in my list of beading resolutions for this year, I would like to focus a little more on bead embroidery, both to experiment and to master the basics a little better. For now, I thought it would be fun to look back on some of my favorite successes with the medium and see what kind of inspirations surface.

The Medallion series is by far my favorite, - not only because of how fun they are to make, but because I get a little design help from one of my favorite munchkins. I find that quick projects like these are great for practicing techniques because you can focus on one style or method and really hone those skills. The added bonus is that you don’t have to commit a lot of time or beads, but you still get a really nice design in the end.

I’m just getting back into graphic bead embroidery again, and it’s been far too long. A few years before I started doing off-loom beadwork, I made a set of Egyptian motifs with a combination of embroidery and folk art painting. I still have these pieces in my studio to help inspire new designs. I was always a little disappointed that the beadwork didn’t come out as nicely as the painting, but I’ve learned a lot since then and I’m looking forward to topping these designs one day.

There’s something about bead embroidery and concentric circles that just clicks for me. It’s probably one of the reasons that I’ve never really focused too intently on the medium – I know that I’m likely to revert to this method rather than take design risks. These two pieces are my favorite examples of how whimsical and cheery a few seed beads can be when you stitch them down just-so – and how easy it is to make something fun when you don’t stop too long to plan. Bead embroidery is definitely one of the best techniques for beaders who love to go freeform.

My newest favorite material for bead embroidery is fish leather, which looks amazing and is great for designs with a little bit of negative space. It can be sort of a pain to work with, and I've found it a bit difficult to use as both a bead surface and a backing in the same design, but I've still got a lot of affection for fish leather. I have a few pieces in assorted colors left in my stash, which I hope to use up this year.

Are you a fan of bead embroidery? What’s your favorite way to use it?

Mortira

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Copyright 2016 Inspirational Beading

Time Capsule: Beading Challenges

January is a time for looking forward, but it’s also a great opportunity to look back. Perhaps it’s best to just look over your shoulder as you move ahead to new things, but reflection is definitely a healthy exercise. When I looked back at what was happening three years ago this month on Inspirational Beading, I was surprised to discover that it was the start of the Egyptian Gods jewelry challenge.

Geb and Bast Egyptian Designs

Even though I could have done the math without looking and known that this challenge began 3 years ago, it was still a bit of a shock to discover just how long it’s been since I took on that exciting journey of inspiration. When I look back through some of my favorite designs from the series, I find that they are still inspiring me to this day.

One important thing I did discover is that I’m not feeling the same amount of excitement and inspiration for my current challenge theme. I’m having the hardest time trying to fit my favorite geek characters and ideas into the type of beadwork that I like to do. It’s just not working, and I think I’m going to pack in the Geekspiration challenge and look for something new to broaden my repertoire with. I might get an idea for the series here or there, but I'm going to focus most of my creativity elsewhere for now.

Donna and Aurra Designs

The good news is that I’ll probably be able to get new projects ready for the Master Class series even faster than I thought. I’ve been a bit limited by work schedules and the sun’s winter timetable, but I should have the first installment ready soon. After that, who knows what inspirations await?

Have you ever had a great beading idea fizzle out before completion? What did you take away from the experience?

Mortira

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Copyright 2015 Inspirational Beading

Time Capsule: Creative Challenges

Five years ago this month I was beading non-stop for my Necklace a Day challenge, attempting to create and post 30 necklaces in 30 days. Although it was exhausting, I loved doing that challenge. I learned a lot about the materials and techniques that I was using, and discovered a lot of new designs thanks to the pressure of coming up with quick projects.

Some of my favorite designs were created during a Necklace a Day, including the first herringbone fringe necklace and some very tasty lariats. It’s always interesting to look back on collective projects like these and see how much my style has changed, and wonder if these old techniques could ever be made new again.

I’ll probably never do a daily challenge again, but since then I’ve developed a lot of affection for creative challenges. It’s such a fantastic way to keep new ideas coming, not to mention creating opportunities to fail and learn from it. The successes can be pretty inspiring, too!

My most recent design challenge was a more casual approach. The Egyptian Gods series had no deadlines, just the hope of eventually making a design for each of the most well-known Ancient Egyptian deities. I ended up cutting it short with only two projects to go in order to get started on Ancient Worlds Modern Beads, and once that was complete the challenge had lost its inspirational appeal.

Really embracing the Egyptian themes that I love was incredibly inspiring and gave me the opportunity to create pieces that I really liked. It feels like a good time to start that kind of challenge again. This time, I want to explore my geek side – something that I haven’t shared here much before. The Geekspiration challenge isn’t one I can put a number on – there are just too many possibilities - so I’m going to put a one year deadline on it. We’ll check in and see how many designs I can come up with by November 2016.

Right now most of my ideas are revolving around geek heroines, and designs inspired by their style. There might also be some more obvious inspirations that come along, too. I'm not saying I will definitely do a Minecraft pattern tutorial, but I'm not saying I definitely won't, either. Can’t wait to see what the beads will do!

Mortira

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Copyright 2015 Inspirational Beading

Throwback Thursday: Fresh Starts

This week I went back and had a look at the first projects that I did after finishing big challenges that I’ve done here on Inspirational Beading. Ever since my very first custom jewelry order, I’ve experienced a feeling of creative elation whenever I get to just bead, just because.

Although I had done some continuous beading themes before, the first ever deadline beading challenge I did was to make and post one new ring every day. It seemed like it would be easy to fit it all in, but there were times when I had to sacrifice design for time. There were a lot of lessons learned during this challenge.

The first piece I made following Ring a Day was a destash necklace featuring a custom soup of all my pink and purple beads, with a hint of pale blue. It was a little weird, but I still really like this one, probably because of the way the blue beads pop out of the chain.

With the first challenge feeling like a success, I decided to do another more difficult one later that same year. Necklace a Day was a lot of fun, but there’s no way I’d be crazy enough to try it again.

After completing the last necklace, I didn’t post another project on the blog until the New Year, when I started yet another beading challenge. This one was more manageable, but a much bigger commitment. Bracelet a Week began with a simple herringbone cuff in neon green and coppery 6/o seed beads. It was pretty exciting at the time.

Fast forward 12 months to the end of the bracelet challenge, and I was working on trying out a new bead shape in the form of long magatamas. I may have been feeling a little burnt out, because I ended up going with the simplest possible design. It still turned out great, as simple things often do.

Bracelet a Week was immediately followed by an open Destash Challenge, in which I forced myself to use up beads that I still had lying around because I didn’t want to use them. It was actually a really rewarding challenge and helped me clear out a lot of baggage. A few of the designs – like the first collar – are still my favorites.

The end of the Destash challenge blended a little with the 2013 Egyptian Gods series, which technically was never completed as I ran out of time once my side project got rolling. It didn’t occur to me until I started looking back that I’ve always had some kind of beading commitment on the go. This year I’m just going to do what my beads tell me for a while; but there’s no guarantee that I won’t have a craving to do another daily challenge in 2015!

How do you like to challenge yourself in beadwork? What motivates you to try new things?

Copyright 2015 Inspirational Beading
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Throwback Thursday: Custom Favorites

During my first year as a jewelry seller on Etsy, I was very fortunate to get several requests for custom work. In addition to keeping me busy and inspiring some new designs, it helped give me the budget I needed to start building a really respectable bead stash. Although I’m very happy with the place I’m in right now, creative-wise, I still look back on these projects fondly. Here are three of my favorites:

This chain link necklace called for a tropical palette,
so I combined almost every shade of orange, yellow, and purple that I had in my stash.
There’s also some aqua blue and a hint of green.
I had a lot of fun working out the best pattern for such a large selection of colors.




I was really excited to work on this lariat, not only because it was one of my favorite - and proudest - designs.
I simply loved the transparent red seed bead mix used in both the rope and the leaves.
I think it’s just about time I searched for it again.




This pendant was really interesting to make.
It combined my love for 15/o bead flowers and 4mm cubes.
I want to revisit this design in a more versatile style soon.

Do you like making custom designs? What’s your favorite part of the process?

Copyright 2014 Inspirational Beading
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Throwback Thursday: Turquoise Collage

It’s always enlightening to look back on old designs and marvel at how much our styles and skills have changed. Have you ever compared your first peyote stitch project to one you made years later? It’s usually a big revelation. Of course, beading isn’t the only skill that evolves over time. Today I had a look back at one of my other hobbies, and was amused at what I found.

In July of 2010, I posted the first ever Wear It Twice collage: a look at two different ways of styling a statement necklace. The idea was pretty simple, and so was the first set that I made. Since then, I’ve added a lot of different elements to my template, and moved away from the strict color palettes.

2010's Turquoise Queen by mortira featuring a long blue necklace

Fashion collages are still one of my favorite sources for inspiration all these years later. I think that when you make things for people to wear, it’s important to be aware of trends and style concepts. Knowing what jewelry goes well with certain cuts, prints, and shapes is an important part of both designing and selling jewelry. Plus it’s really fun to play with color and experiment with dressing the designs you like.

2013's Gourd Gorgeous by mortira featuring clip earrings

What’s your favorite creative outlet apart from beading? Do you ever mix them?

Copyright 2014 Inspirational Beading
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Throwback Thursday: Spring Bead Mix

This week at Bead & Button, I shared some ideas for using bead soups and seed bead blends without doing any freeform stitching. Even if you’re working with a structured stitch, you can still get amazing, organic looking designs just by using a whole bunch of beads together.

Thinking about some of my favorite custom bead soups reminded me of a packaged seed bead blend that I was once head over heels for. Way, way back when I first started bead weaving, I had two choices for bead shopping in town. One was a small indie craft store, and the other was a dollar store that stocked such nice things it was more like a boutique. And they carried Czech seed beads, which was incredibly awesome. Both stores sold their beads in tubes, and one SKU in particular was always in stock - much to my delight.

The mix was called Earth, and included copper lined: transparent dark gray, crystal, Montana blue, mauve; and a gorgeous, stunning, copper lined green. If it weren’t for the metal lining, I would still be using that color today, because it is amazing. The mix that I liked also included color-lined crystal seed beads in Montana blue, pale blue, pink, and sometimes mauve. I’m a big fan of the color-lined crystal finish, and on occasion I used just the color-lined beads and left the rest of the mix for other projects. At some point, the recipe changed, and the color-lined beads were replaced with copper-lined blue and pink.

I lost access to this mix when both of the stores I shopped closed, and then I gave up using metal-lined seed beads. Even when I went back to ordering Czech seed beads online, I never thought to look this mix up and see if it was still available. It turns out you can still get the earth mix, but it doesn’t quite have that pop that I loved way back when.

Do you have a favorite bead mix or blend?

Copyright 2014 Inspirational Beading
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Throwback Thursday: Bead & Button 2006

The very first beading magazine that I ever purchased was the Bead & Button August 2006 issue. Just looking through the pages again I’m amazed at how much things have changed in my creative space. I was excited to try new techniques, explore jewelry design ideas, and learn more about the beads I was using - everything seemed new. At the time, many of the projects were intimidating, but I wasn't afraid to make adjustments to the instructions to bring them closer to my comfort and skill level.

If I remember correctly, the very first magazine project I tried was the diagonal peyote necklace by Rebecca Peapples on page 68. The design was inspired by Bargello weaving, and featured carefully stitched peyote with drop beads and dangles. I made three variations using the materials that I had. Back then it seemed like I had all the time in the world to bead.

Although peyote stitch is incredibly versatile, and able to morph into such interesting shapes, it never grew on me the way other stitches have. I learned a lot from this project, but I never had the desire to try the diagonal approach again. My other favorite projects from this issue include the fragrant beaded beads by Deni Whaley, Virginia Jensen’s loopy trimmed loom cuffs, and the shell donut necklace by Julia Gerlach.

Do you remember your first beading magazine or book?

Copyright 2014 Inspirational Beading
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Throwback Thursday: Cubic Zirconia

Sometimes really great relationships can result from blogging, and one of my all time favorites has been working with Artbeads.com. A few years ago I was a part of their blogging program, and they were a great help in aiding my budding bead repertoire.

In December of 2009, Artbeads sent me some lovely cubic zirconia beads, and I had a great time incorporating them into my designs. I was a little on the fence about using them, with their relationship to gemstones, which is why I haven’t pursued them since. I did enjoy the unique colors and shapes, plus the hefty weight of the beads.

My favorite design was a bib necklace with soft and fruity seed beads in raspberry and wisteria, with a large honey-colored twisted oval cubic zirconia pendant. The color combination and the pattern of the beadwork were very pleasing. What I didn’t know as I was making it was that this necklace would bring me some very welcome criticism.

About half of the off-blog comments I received on the piece were positive, while the others were not. I was a bit shocked at first, because it’s so rare to hear negative comments in the beading community. We love to encourage and compliment each other. Then I realized it was this break from the norm that made me love the comments so much. It was refreshing! I knew for certain that those who didn't like the piece were really taking the time to form an opinion on it, and that was a different kind of compliment. It's good to have a little salt with your sweet sometimes.

Have you ever received negative comments about your work? How did you feel about the experience?

Copyright 2014 Inspirational Beading
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Throwback Thursday: Bead Embroidery

Way, way back in January of 2009, Inspirational Beading was just five months old, and I was just starting to find my creative groove. One of my favorite posts from that month was an embroidery project featuring freeform flowers. It was one of the first pieces of bead embroidery that I had done in years, and I was pretty happy with how it turned out.

I still look back on that piece with a little bit of pride, although the beadwork was rather clumsy. I loved how the overall design turned out, and only wished that I had had more colors to work with. I've used the same flower shape since then, and the concentric circles are still a great way to play with bead embroidery without taking too many risks.

Getting back into bead embroidery on a regular basis has been a lot of fun, especially since I’ve found a way to get my helper to join me in the process. I’ve changed techniques and improved my approach since that first flowery piece. I’ve also found a lot of satisfaction in working with small pendants. There’s very little commitment to time and beads, and making things in miniature is always appealing.

Do you remember your first embroidery project? How did it turn out?

Copyright 2014 Inspirational Beading
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Time Capsule: March 2010

Three years ago this month, I tried a new necklace design that is a definite favorite to this day. There is so much trial and error when it comes to trying out new beading techniques; so when something sticks, it’s a big moment. I was pretty impressed with how the design turned out at the time, but I had no idea how often it would come up again.

The simple solution of stitching a front-drilled tagua slice to some St. Petersburg chain has become a go-to technique for all kinds of pendants. I love the way that the V-shaped beadwork provides just enough space for a pendant, and makes it easy to complement a focal with little fuss. Layering more than one pendant makes for even more possibilities.

Often when I’m faced with a beading challenge that involves finding metal-free ways to use common materials, it doesn’t turn out as nice as I would like, but this necklace was a total success, that lead to many more design ideas.

Do you have a favorite eureka moment in beading?

Copyright 2013 Inspirational Beading
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Time Capsule: Tubular Peyote

Although I would never know about it unless I went searching through the archives, I am always surprised by how similar my current projects can be to those I was creating three years ago. I’m currently working with tubular peyote stitch, and getting a little frustrated at my own attachment to outrageous tension, which is ruining the ropes. I’ve been considering looking back on some older tube designs to see if the same problem was there, and sure enough, in Feburary 2010 I was working on my all time favorite tubular peyote necklace.

As part of my series on mythology, I took a little inspiration from the three-headed Chimera to make a cascade necklace with a rope base. Even just looking at the photos, I can tell that I had much more relaxed tension back then. Too much right angle weave has created an obsession with taut threads, I suppose.

Do you struggle with tension from stitch to stitch? What’s your most troublesome technique?

Copyright 2013 Inspirational Beading
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Time Capsule: Three Short Years

Do good things happen to those who wait? I think this is often the case, although perhaps there’s a little more involved than just sitting idle while that waiting goes on. As I approach my 4 year anniversary of selling jewelry online, I find myself wondering if I should assess just what it means to be successful. To be honest, moving forward and improving in beadwork and presentation are always at the top of my goals list. As long as I can continue to stay in business, I will, even it it’s not making me rich.

Three years ago this month, I debuted my first Egyptian inspired beadwork collar, as part of a series of designs I made based on famous females. It was a great theme, which also included favorite designs like Emily Carr’s necklace, and a fantastic interview with Barbie maven Margaux Lange. Coincidentally, Nefertiti’s collar found its owner this week, and I suddenly realized just how long it’s been waiting.

But is three years such a long time? Even brick and mortar stores have product that doesn’t sell for years. I used to shop at a tiny grocery store that had housewares from the 1970’s, so dusty that you could barely see the labels on the package. I certainly don’t want that to happen to any of my designs. Last year’s jewelry purge was a very rewarding experience, and one I plan to repeat whenever it needs doing.

If you love something you have to let it go - or in the case of jewelry inventory, sometimes you just have to keep it for yourself. One piece of advice that is often repeated by help articles for online sellers is not to get attached to your work. Be critical. Take the crud out. And while I agree one hundred percent, I also think it’s important to persevere when you know that somewhere out there, your design has a mate.

Let’s confess and compare. What’s the longest you’ve had a design in your shop before selling or retiring it?

Copyright 2013 Inspirational Beading
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Time Capsule: Found Objects

Way, way back in November of 2009, the theme on Inspirational Beading seemed to be found objects. There were only a few designs to share that month, and two out of three featured unusual, non-bead components like river rocks, napkin rings, and bamboo placemat tiles. That was the year that I tried to tie every month's post together in a neat little bundle, and it was a great challenge to come up with designs to match.

My favorite design from the Found Object marathon is the Gaia necklace. The entire piece was an experiment, from netting a river stone in seed beads, to creating straps with right angle weave and freeform embellishment. I am still in love with the combination of colors, and the abundance of Picasso finish. When I retired this design from my shop, it went immediately to the top of my to-wear list. I've never been able to recreate the look of that necklace - my next few attempts at the technique were disastrous. I suppose it must have been one of those lucky accidents.

Looking back, I can’t recall very many designs in the past three years that featured other found objects. Apart from this year's Halloween pendant, I’ve pretty much steered clear of unusual components. Perhaps it’s only because nothing has come across my path that shouts “Bead me!”. Since I had to work so hard to "find" the right objects for this series of necklace, it's more likely that I’m just too enamored with seed beads to view everyday things in a jewelry frame of mind.

Do you ever work with found objects? What’s your favorite subject to date?

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading
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Time Capsule: September 2009

Three years ago this month, Inspirational Beading was all about necklaces and the ocean. When I look back on some of those designs, I see the beginnings of some of my current favorites. Things were really starting to roll, and I was finding my beading groove.

There was a lot of stringing going on that month. After completing a freeform necklace inspired by Caren Schwartz’s Organized Chaos project, I started to see new possibilities for seed beads and Fireline. This led to an adaptation of my first peyote rings project, with a nautical inspired palette, and shell beads in an SOS pattern.

One of my all time favorite necklaces also debuted in September ‘09. It all started with a carved bone seahorse, and a whole lot of blue and green beads. The ombre strands of beads with shell and pearl accents are still a beading success that I look back on fondly, and one that I have yet to recreate.

Last but not least, I also completed my first square stitch Wavy Wedges bracelet, adapted from one of my earliest beading experiments. After a few more variations, I eventually created a tutorial for this very fun technique.

Although these projects are very different in many ways from what I’m doing now, I see so many important discoveries there that would eventually lead me to what I’m making today. These little beading epiphanies were the first steps towards really creating, instead of just playing with beads.

Do you have a favorite a-ha! moment in beading?

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading
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Time Capsule: Two Necklaces

Looking back on three years of Inspirational Beading posts was rather interesting this month, because both of the projects that I shared in July 2009 have ties to this year’s destash challenge. It’s incredible to really do the math, and realize how long I’ve been at this, and how far I’ve come. The fact that I’m still holding on to materials from way back then also makes the challenge seem worthwhile.

First there was a little bezel experiment, done with ordinary glass globs or nuggets. I have about a hundred of them, and although I haven’t officially included them in the list of destash beads, I do want to use up a few more of them before the year is out. Only a handful will be round enough for a really nice design, but I do love the look of the glass, and the nostalgia that comes from working with such curious components.

That month I also completed one of my all time favorite projects. The Nature Nut Lariat still stands out in my memory, because I was so looking forward to creating it. I had just finished several weeks of custom work, and it was the first thing that I made just for the fun of it. It was also a treat to work with the unique nut beads, and have the piece turn out even better than planned. I’m happy to say that this necklace recently found its owner, and it was such a pleasure to send it out into the world.

Do you ever look back on old designs and critique your work, or long for used up beads?

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading
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Time Capsule: May 2009

Yesterday we had a look at ways to connect and combine St. Petersburg chains for fun beadwork variations. Coincidentally, three years ago I was using this same technique to make a very unusual necklace. Although the entire necklace is stitched in four sections, it looks as though a single large piece of beadwork is split in two, and then into four separate chains.

It took a while to plan, and plenty of time to stitch and triple check measurements along the way, but the construction is actually quite simple. I can’t explain why I’ve never made an improved version of this necklace, but I think its time may be coming. I’ve been in the mood to make something big, and this design fits right into my current style.

The only thing I need to do is decide on a palette and pattern. Should I go with Egyptian stripes and gemstone colors, or something more earthy, perhaps with a dash of African Christmas beads?

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading
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Time Capsule: April 2009

It’s funny how we can come full circle. Three years ago this month, I shared a design that used a minimum of beads and stitches, but turned out great. At the time, I wondered if it lacked effort. Even though the piece had so many likeable elements, I worried that it wasn’t ‘enough’.

Then I jumped back into making big, elaborate, and stitch-heavy designs for a long time. It wasn’t until November of the following year that I realized the real potential of lightweight and simple beadwork. Beadwork that looks like stringing is quick and simple to do, uses beads that don’t always work well with other techniques, and helps to keep the price of a piece down when focals are expensive. My Necklace a Day challenge could not have been a success without designs like these.

Looking back on that Spring Jungle Necklace now, I find myself comparing it to the Y pendants and simple necklaces that I make today. It actually looks pretty fantastic - if not a little clumsy. The combination of different bead colors and cluster shapes is really fun, and makes a great complement for the art pendant. Maybe I need to start adding more leaves and branches to my work again!

Have you ever discovered yourself using a technique that you thought you’d grown out of?

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading
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Time Capsule: March 2009

In art, crafts, and especially in beading, sometimes mistakes can result in exciting breakthroughs. Three years ago this month, I was on the verge of a happy beading accident, but I didn’t know it yet.

There wasn’t actually much going on at Inspirational Beading back then. Only one post really stands out for me, because it included beads from my very first online order. Whenever I look back at those blue and green TOHO cubes, I get a nostalgic thrill. They represent the wide world of beading possibilities that had just opened up for me.

Although the other beads that I used in the tubular right angle weave necklace were simple Picasso finish seed beads, they actually sparked inspirations that I never would have come across on my own. Up until I decided to try shopping online, I had been buying tubes of Czech seed beads from a local craft shop, which were usually labeled as 11/o. So naturally for my first order, I added some 11/o seed beads to my cubes.

When the beads arrived, I was surprised by their size - they were more like the 8/o Czech beads I had been using. But, since I had never used Japanese seed beads before, I assumed that there was a slight size difference between styles. That’s why, when there was an Artbeads dollar sale on seed beads a short time later, I went completely crazy and purchased many different colors of 15/o seed beads. It turns out that the Picasso beads from my first order had been mislabeled, and now I had a lot of seed beads that were much, much smaller than I wanted.

I had never even seen beads that small before, and I was shocked and delighted by them. It took some time, but I finally worked up the courage to work with them. Later that year, I used 15/o seed beads to make my first beaded starfish - a design that would appear many times in my work and even tutorials for months to come. Amazingly, many starfish and rivoli bezels later, I’m still working on that first order of 15/o seed beads.

Do you have a favorite happy accident in beading?

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading
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Time Capsule: January 2009

Three years ago this month, something really fantastic happened on Inspirational Beading - the first ever Inspired Beader segment. I had originally imagined this showcase of awesome beading and jewelry talent as a stand-alone site, long before I had really sunk my teeth into blogging. When I realized how much fun it was to create posts for the blog, I realized that sharing and celebrating the work of other beaders was just the thing I needed to keep the ball rolling.

Our first inspired beader was Sheryl Westleigh of Noadi’s Art. Her incredible polymer clay sculptures and pendants caught my eye, and I was very pleased to share some of her inspirations and designs here. Since then, her selection of cephalopod and specimen jar jewelry has grown, but her imaginative designs still have her signature flair.

There have been almost forty inspired beaders featured here in the last three years, each one with their own exciting ideas and techniques, and amazing portfolios of beading and artwork to share. Here are just a few of my favorites:

Lionfish Mermaid
by Noadi




Amethyst Soap Rocks
by Soapsmith




Glass Pendants
by C.C. Valenzo




Barbie Smile Brooch
by Margaux Lange




Colorido Crochet Necklace
by Lavender Field




Spring Romance Necklace
by Zoya Gutina

I’m always on the lookout for unique designs to showcase on Inspirational Beading, and beaders who want to share their ideas and insights into our favorite materials. There are now three separate segments for guest designers, and everyone is invited to join in the fun. I want to extend a huge thank you to everyone that has participated in an interview with me over the years. Thanks for sharing with us!

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