Hello! I was wondering if any other crafters here received gift cards to their local beading or craft stores over the holidays. I was very generously gifted with a Michael's card and had a chance to use it last weekend. I've been posting all of my goodies on my blog at www.abeadaday.blogspot.com and started wondering about all the other gift card shoppers.

I found some great deals and since the lines were a little long, I happened to read the sign about Michael's accepting competitor coupons!! I don't know why I didn't know that before, but the good news was that I had some Joann coupons with me and was able to use the one for 10% off the entire purchase. Wow, that was a great surprise!

Here a few of the bargains and a couple of the regular priced items I found:

99cent cuff

  $1

99 cent pack

Regular prices
 

Hi there! I wanted to share some photos from a recent craft night I attended with some friends and family. Each participant brings materials for everyone and teaches a new craft. I wanted to take a simple jewelry project so there would be time to make earrings and possibly even a second bracelet if the design process went quickly. I typically take a finished piece as a prototype and then provide variations in color for each person. This allows everyone to actually design their jewelry rather than just assemble a piece of jewelry.

I love how they all turned out and each one is different. We used some simple glass pearls I found recently at the Meijer grocery/department store and when paired with a focal stone and some crystal accents on memory wire, I think they all turned out great. If you have a number of gifts to make this season, these come together quickly and look quite nice when packaged up with a pair of earrings.

Hello! I was just pondering this question and, while I have no real scientific evidence, I believe the answer is YES! Most often when in need of a little more positivity I will turn to music or chat with a friend just to get back on the right track. There are other times when a little extra push is needed. I asked myself a few days ago, "what would make me feel really happy?", and the answer was lots and lots of crystals!

I envisioned a bunch of crystals on multiple strands of wire all twisted up together. Since I prefer to wear things that appear to be pieces of jewelry rather than just a big mass of beads twisted together, I decided to work on a pendant. I hadn't used one of these large circles yet and wanted to try something that could be worn close to the neck like a choker and add lots of positive sparkle energy.

I had a handful of 6mm comet argent ab bicones left over from a project and also discovered I had quite a few 3mm comets too! I did actually connect these by beading and twisting 26 gauge silver craft wire together between the holes on this bead. I think it reflects just a little bit of disorder among the orderliness of the circle and dangle bead. I felt pretty happy wearing it with a black blouse and thought I was pretty sparkly. I'm not sure that makes for a scientific finding, but it worked for me so I thought I'd share. Have a great week!

Hello! I wanted to pop in and share a recent blog post from www.abeadaday.blogspot.com since there are so many crossover crafters and beaders on mycraftivity. I am hoping to get some new ideas as well.

Have you ever used diamond dust or glitter of any kind on a beaded jewelry project? During a previous holiday season I had used e-beads to make some baubles for earrings and pendants. Since I had the mod podge and diamond dust rainbow glitter out already, it seemed only natural to add a little to the beads. Well, a little became a lot and I have to admit I still get a kick out of these. The fun part was, as the recipents of these gifts wore their necklaces, they became just a little glittered themselves. I thought that was pretty cool!

Let me know what you think and if you have any other glittery bead projects to share, that would be GREAT! 

 

Hi everyone! Since I haven't posted for a while, I wanted to share a handful of beads and jewelry that have been posted on my blog at www.abeadaday.blogspot.com recently that you might find interesting.

I love coming across gorgeous, interesting and even odd beads and enjoy sharing them with other beaders. It's the treasure hunting aspect of beading that is so great to devote a Saturday or Sunday to so you can really dig around and look in drawers, baskets and little containers on shelves in the bead shops and even the chain craft stores. 

I hope you enjoy these! Have a great day!  -Lisa C.