Exposed! And in Tucson!

"Get ready to embark on an exciting adventure through the world of jewelry design" is the appropriate first line of a new book entitledBead and Wire Jewelry Exposed by Margot Potter, Fernando Dasilva and Katie Hacker.

A lucsious luscious book on stringing and "exposing" the unseen materials in stringing like Beadalon wire and other materials. The designs are gorgeous and the Swarovski crystals make all of them sparkle.

If you're going to Tucson, you can take a class with one of the fabulous authors of Exposed at the Create Your Style event.

Check out this beauty from the book thatMargot Potter is teaching at Tucson! I hear she's got some awesome swag for the class too!



(Above photo from the awesome Ms. Potter's blog - the rights to the picture are hers hers hers (smile!) and she deserves it - look how gorgeous it is! ;-)

Simply Soldered Jewelry

Simple Soldered Jewelry & Accessories is an easy-to-follow guide that introduces you to the joy of making soldered jewelry and decorative items for the home.

I've been blogging about the the techniques in this book - it's practice, practice, practice but is well worth the effort!

A Secret I Can't Keep Quiet!

"The way I got into frit was really quite simple-it was my search for an intense, hot pink transparent glass."


Never has the search for the elusive vibrant pink glass yielded such a wonderful creation! I've been waiting patiently for Val Cox, the fritmaster who introduced the frit frenzy to the current glass beadmaking world, to write her book. She has unveiled it to the world on her website: Frit Secrets: A Flameworker's Guide to Using Reactive Glass Frits.



Since 1999, I've been making glass beads but I could never master frit and make it sing like Val. Always willing to share, Val opens the flood gates of her frit knowledge and shares her techniques. There are chapters on Furnance Blown Glass, Frit Manufacturers, Frit Grind Sizes, COE, Base Glass, Five Special Colors, Color Review, Applying Frit and more.



Each chapter is comprehensive and full of tips and common sense tips. The bonus is Val's recommendations that come from her extensive frit testing. I particularly appreciated the chapter on color since I've been working on using color more effectively in my work.



Val does careful color studies of each frit then takes all of the pictures herself. Her photography is luscious - I just want to reach out, pick up her beads and lick each one of them! (Oops did I say that out loud?! wink!)



I've acquired a stash of Val's frit. Although I've been unable to create a lovely frit bead, I never parted with the frit hoping that somehow the frit goddess would visit. She's finally come to visit in the form of Val's book. I'm re-energized to get the frit back out and try again. I'm thankful Val has shared her secrets and I won't keep her secrets quiet!

(All Photos courtesy of Val Cox.)

Creating Crystal Jewelry

(Photo Credit: Creative Publishing International)

Laura McCabe has written a luscious volume full of vibrant Swarovski crystal jewelry. Who among us doesn't love the sparkle and color of Swarovski crystal? Bicones, faceted rounds, rings, rondelles, one of my favorites - margaritas and rivolis! Combined with seed beads to create bezels, Laura is a master at making the beads and crystals sing with color and sparkle. Included are Laura's most notable designs, the Rings and Things Necklace, the Three-Strand Rivoli Bracelet and the Crystal Burst Ring.

The book is organized into seven instructional chapters followed then by the crystal jewelry projects. Chapter one is a brief but comprehensive history of cut crystals. Chapter two is a detailed discussion of the types of seed beads and crystals used in the book's projects. Chapter three describes tools and materials. The four basic stitches needed to create the projects is the topic of chapter four.

Beaders are resourceful, they can make beads mimic almost anything a metalsmith can do. The bezel is a good example. Seed bead bezels and open-back bezels are described in chapter five. The resourcefulness continues with chapter six where the reader learns to create a toggle out of seed beads. Chapter seven is like the cherry on a sundae, a final, sweet sprinkling of sparkle - embellishments and then it's on to the projects.

In the chapters that teach a off loom technique, there are pictures of completed steps. It might have been helpful to include pictures of the step in progress but there are detailed written directions that may do just as well.

What I love about the projects is the "Beading time" given at the top of the project. It gives you an idea of how long it will take you to do a project. There's also a little synopsis that gives you an overview of the project. Sets the tone and the direction which I find very helpful. On pages 29-31 there are guidelines for bezeling rivolis and other crystals that is worth the price of the book.

The techniques in this book can be used with artbeads to vividly highlight the colors and characteristics of a special cabachon or bead. An art bead can take you in a unique and interesting direction - flameworked disks will have a distinctly modern twist. Try it, you'll like it!

Wrap, Stitch, Fold & Rivet

After 25 years of creating art and teaching others how to do it, I've realized that so much of what I do is about making connections

Another one of my favorite books! This is a great book if you're just starting out with metals. Using a jeweler's saw isn't really hard (as you can see in Kazmer's Making Connections) but if you want to see what you can do with scissors, this is the book to use. There's a bit more filing with scissors than with a jeweler's saw but for the beginner it might be worth it - it'll make you a great file-er! :-) Lots of great projects here all beautiful! Another great book from Hettmansperger!

Get it from Independent Bookseller, Powell's Bookstore in Seattle

Brenda Schweder Channels Tim Gunn

Here's the $10,000 question

What a great first line to a jewelry book! I'll just say it now - I love this book!! Brenda Schweder has a quirky sense of humor which shows throughout but more than that, I think she's channeling Tim Gunn with this book and has seen my stash of vintage/antique/heirloom jewely collecting dust in a box on my dresser. How did she do that?

There are so many inspiring techniques and tips in this book. You can tell that Schweder does what she writes about and does it well. Just buy it - if you've got a stash of grandma's jewelry or want a stash of vintage jewelry to play with - this is the book for you. It will show you how to upcycle and create lovely jewelry - what's better than that?!

BeadLit Is....Sign Up!

Since BeadLit is fairly new and it's getting new subscribers everyday, some may wonder what the heck is BeadLit? BeadLit is a Twitter I was inspired to start when I read about TwitterLit. TwitterLit is a twitter that posts the first line of a piece of literature with an link to the actual book. I thought it was a cool idea to do with beads! Why would I think so? I'm a glass beadmaker who has been making flameworked glass beads for 8 years and selling them from my website for 4 years. I designed jewelry with beads prior to making glass beads and continue to design jewelry. I string jewelry, I wire wrap, I do metal work, I work with seed beads - you name the technique, I've probably done it and bought a book about it! So, I have a long love affair with the bead and only someone who truly loves them would have half of her studio dedicated to books about beads. I want to share the bead-love with you! You'll be able to read a line about bead and/or jewelry making on the go!

On Tuesdays, I'll Twitter the first line of a beadmaking/jewelry design book - beadmaking of all mediums, glass, clay, metal, paper - you name it! - I'll BeadLit-Twitter the first line of how to make beads, how to design with beads, history of beads, design techniques with beads - anything related to a bead and written in a book.

So, sign up to follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/BeadLit

Until next Tuesday, Peace and Beads!