Handmade Beaded Jewelry
Butterflies for Inspiration In Your Beaded Jewelry Creations.
Jun 7th
“Butterflies” is another great source of inspiration from Nature. From ColorLovers.com,
a beautiful presentation of color palettes inspired by the natural beauty of butterflies. Great inspiration for Fashion Designers as well as Beaded Jewelry Artists. Awesome!
I have to thank NHBeadLady at “Create Your Style” Community for this link. www.ColorLovers.com
From the same source of Nature, the inspiration for naming your creation comes naturally too. Are you curious to know how popular is this naming convention?
I googled for Beaded Jewelry and Butterflies, and Voila! (vwa LAH!) There were at least 400,000 results from these 2 keywords.
My imagination could not have been more vivid until I stumbled on this jewelry site.
This particular creation by Cathy Dailey is very a beautiful interpretation of a butterfly. She had given it a name that very aptly captures my imagination. This is truly a great inspiration from Nature that gives more than life to a creation in color, shape and texture.
I can feel the mood and an influence of culture in the making of a trademark that could be so unique to each individual.
Enchanted Butterflies created by Cathy Dailey
5 Great DIY Jewelry Sites : Tips and Tricks
May 23rd
5 Great DIY Jewelry Sites : Tips and Tricks to Handmade Beaded Jewelry.
5 Great Treats for all Beginners in Handmade Beaded Jewelry, fantastic web sites to visit.
Treat No: 1
Jewelry Making at About.com
Great articles by Tammy Powley. Free tutorials for beginners, large database of resources. Free Jewelry Making E-course emailed weekly.
Treat No: 2
Fire Mountain Gems and Beads is America’s Favorite Beading and Jewelry Supply Company. For more advanced designs, beautiful free catalog, how to, free tutorials and Design Gallery. Huge traffic volume can be frustrating, just got to be patient and take a little longer to load the site.
Treat No: 3
Auntie’s Beads
Great instruction videos, basic technicques and interesting projects on video.
You can also find these videos on Youtube too.
Treat No: 4
This beautiful project is from Wig Jig University.
Wiring techniques, choosing the right tools, how to use the jig, beginners instructions and many great projects.
Treat No: 5
Bead Online
Basic Jewelry Making techniques. Graphics to show the steps to beautiful free projects.
Have a wonderful time! Happy Beading!
Mors Dag, Happy Mother's Day
May 11th
I bought this beautiful Royal Copenhagen porcelain plate from a flea market at Clark’s Quay almost 10 years ago. On it, the artist’s impression reads “Mors Dag, 1972″.
So I thought Mors Dag is the name of the artist who painted the plate in 1972.
I was just wondering how much it is worth today as a collectible item. So I started searching the internet for information. I had a good laugh when I found out that Mors Dag is not a person. Haha, “Mors Dag” is “Mother’s Day” in Danish and Swedish.
In Singapore, we celebrate Mother’s Day on the 2nd Sunday of May as in Denmark, US and Japan. Sweden honors all mothers on the 4th Sunday of May as in UK.
~ Happy Mother’s Day! ~
Jade Forever and Pearl Bling Bracelets by Amethyst Crystal
May 5th
When I first joined the Swarovski “Create Your Style” Community, there was a contest running. Though not prepared, but for the sake of participation, I submitted 2 designs.
Jade Forever Bracelet and Pearl Bling were submitted for the January 2008 Contest.
Jade Forever created by Evelyn Lim of Amethyst Crystal.
Jade Forever Bracelet is a free-style concept, re-designed from a simple single strand of oval-shaped select, beautiful green Jade beads.
At my sister-in-law’s request, I transformed the beautiful single strand of Jade Beads of classic beauty into something more contemporary. In creating Jade Forever, I added emerald green Swarovski crystals and some copper beads to create a more casual style so that it looks great for any occasion.
I used the stringing method, weaving 3 nylon cords of 0.3mm thickness. 4mm Emerald Green Swarovski Crystals to compliment the jade. The string of copper beads is inter-twined around the main strand for a final touch.
Pearl Bling created by Evelyn Lim of Amethyst Crystal.
Pearl Bling Bracelet is also a recreation from a treasured momento of hers. It was previously an elegant 0-0-0 formation. I was fortunate to be given this opportunity to re-design it and give it a fresh look. Metal findings, metal beads and crystal beads were added to enhance the string of pearls and gold tubular links.
If you are a beginner, you will find this site at Swarovski Create Your Style very informative. Look for Beading Techniques.
Have fun making your own handmade beaded jewelry!
Colors of Spring in Your Beaded Jewelry Creations.
Apr 29th
I have been spending time looking for jewelry creations that has appeal, something that grabs my attention at first sight. It is just a way of drawing inspiration from the artistic geniuses who created them. Most of them got their inspiration from Nature itself. It is the way to go, and in Spring, go for the Colors of Spring in Your Beaded Jewelry Creations.
From Color Palette and Inspirational Images
[Image courtesy of the contributers of Morguefile]
Focusing on certain themes helps a great deal. When the inspiration comes, imagination runs wild. The great challenge comes when you start to choose combinations of shapes and colors to mix it on your very own palette.
I am not very good at choosing colors for my Beaded Jewelry projects. Most of the time, I would prefer to stay with monochromes to be on the safe side. Purple is my pick and it turns out to be most appealing to my friends too. Different shades of purple is monochromatic. However, after some time, the color becomes a little boring. Then it’s time to be more adventurous to try the complementary colors that are opposite colors, and analogous colors that are adjacent colors found on the Color Wheel.
I was checking out the Colors of Spring. Photos of the flowers found in the garden at my condominium. Spring brings bright and cheerful colors. The flowers are so beautiful, so close that you can see, smell or touch. How I wish I could see the beautiful flowers in your garden too. A great inspiration to start a new day, whether the roses, orchids, lilies or tulips that are carefully arranged in a vase, or put on canvas or refined accessories.
Flowers for Inspiration in Beaded Jewelry
Apr 17th
Flowers for Inspiration in Beaded Jewelry is a wonderful excuse to get back to nature and away from the workshop and computer for a pleasant break.
Did a lot a amatuer photography with my faithful Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-P73.
It was a lot of fun time with friends and family with just point and shoot no-brainer effort.
When I had to get down to photograph my beaded jewelry, I started to appreciate the macro function icon represented by a little tulip. Digital photography is fun. It is certainly a luxury to be able to shoot and delete. When I get lucky, I get a few good shots.
My WinZip has expired! But IZArc Is Doing The Same Job Free For Me.
Apr 2nd
My WinZip has expired!
The headache turned out to be a blessing. It helped me to unearth a treasure, IZArc!
I thought WinZip is the ultimate until I started a desperate search for an alternative. The point is that I hardly use WinZip. Is it not worth buying a copy when I seldom make use of it? Both evaluation copy of WinZip on my desktop and laptop expired and failed me at the most critical moment. It was frustrating. It was holding up a simple step like trying to unzip a plugin for my blog.
I googled for similar problems faced by many people and the opinions on program features that they liked most about their archive software. It identified popular archive software 7zip, Winrar, Power Achcive, Tugzip, Universal Extractor, Win Ace, WinZip and IZArc.
For the first time, I discovered that IZArc is a favorite choice from popular reviews and there is no need to look further. I tried IZArc and find it extremely user friendly. I’m so excited to share with you.
Wikipedia search defines IZArc (pronounced like “easy-arc”) as a file archiver developed by Bulgarian programmer Ivan Zahariev. The program is freeware which is computer software that is available for use at no cost or for an optional fee.
Some Features extracted from IZArc :
IZArc is integrated in Windows so you can perform all archiving operations by using right-click menus in Windows Explorer.
If you have broken archives IZArc can help you to repair them with ease.
IZArc is 100% virus free and it doesn’t contain any spyware or adware.
IZArc is the most complete archive utility available today.
IZArc has also built-in multilanguage support.
It is a long list of features at IZArc .
Check it out. You will love this!
Nature at Condominium
Apr 2nd
It is Show Time!
Mar 7th
It is Show Time!
Actually it is high time to show a few more pictures of my handmade beaded jewelry.
Here are a few presentable photographs I have taken recently, three sets of long dangling earrings are made with simple wire-work method. Nothing elaborate but simple and sweet.
If you have seen the designs at “Create Your Style” Community, you know what it means being “a class of their own”. They are awesome! “Create Your Style” Community was launched by Swarovski in October 2007. I was very excited to be among the privileged 300 members, the first batch for Beta Closed Pilot Program. For the past 6 months, we have been actively engaged in the private forum and contest organised exclusively for the Community.
Beading Design Artists and Jewelry Designers come together from all the world. The representation is amazing. There are award winners from Jewelry Shows in Europe, America and etc. There are also people like me who are there because we all share the same passion and attraction to Swarovski Crystals and handmade jewelry designing.
The second phase of registration is now open. Membership to this community is by invitation only. If you are a beading enthusiast and keen to join, I could help send you an invitation in the capacity as an existing member. Just leave me a note in comment.
Lunar New Year Celebrations in Chinatown, Singapore
Feb 8th
Lunar New Year Celebrations in Chinatown, Singapore, is a regular annual affair.
On our calendar, 2 days are marked as public holidays for the celebrations.
6th Feb 2008 was the Eve of the First Day of celebrations, a day when all Chinese try to get home for a reunion dinner with their families. Unofficially, the festivities would continue for another 2 weeks with a lot of visiting and feasting.
Firecrackers were banned in Singapore since 1972. Last night was a special occasion. Fireworks and firecrackers were lighted to make a boisterous welcome for the year of the Rat. Confetti canons were fired onto the thousands that gathered to watch the special event and performance by local TV artistes. Those who stayed home watched the event and countdown together live on TV.
Here’s wishing you a Happy and Properous Chinese New Year! Gong Xi Fa Cai.
More pictures on Travel Page.
Recent Comments