Creative Impressions In Clay :: ClayButtons.com Blog

It’s Studio Saturday at Art Bead Scene!

Click on over and take a peek. It’s on the house!

Leave a comment at ABS for Studio Saturday and you could win a house button!

Jean Yates of Pretty Kitty Moon Dog Jewelry wrote the nicest things today on her blog.

She was a recent winner at Art Bead Scene for our Studio Saturday giveaway. Jean won one of my Tie Dye buttons. When I sent her the button I included some of my Puzzle Piece buttons knowing she had 2 children with Autism.

The puzzle piece is the symbol used for Autism. I had been wanting to send her some but the original ones I made misfired. I send her what I had on hand.

Jean is such a cool lady. She hurdles many obstacles daily and keeps smiling. I admire her talent and tenacity. Rock on!!

Today is National Autism Awareness Day.

Make sure you check out Jean’s new book Links! Here is an awesome book review by Margot Potter.

Today is the first Birthday of Art Bead Scene! This is a blog I am a part of that celebrates Art Beads.

The definition of an Art Bead is explained very well by Melanie of Earthenwood Studio.

I feel very fortunate to be involved in this blog with 4 other very talented women.

Art Bead Scene Editors :

Melanie Brooks Lukacs :: Earthenwood Studio

Elaine Ray :: Elaine Ray Beads

Cindy Gimbrone :: Cindy Gimbrone Beads

Heather Powers :: Humblebeads

Me, Tari Sasser :: Creative Impressions In Clay

We hope you will stop by and take part in the Art Bead Scene!

Today is Leap Day! Tomorrow take a leap over to Art Bead Scene. It’s studio Saturday at the Scene. Have a peak into the studio of an Art Bead Scene editor every Saturday. Tomorrow I will be the studio you get to peak into. The photo is a peak at what you will see.

Happy February! Art Bead Scene is happy to announce this month’s challenge theme is Chains of Love. Use your imagination to create with this theme! Take the theme literally or figuratively - let’s see what it means to you.

Some suggestions from the editors:

You might want to create a chain using Earthenwood’s Linky Things

or with Creative Impressions in Clay’s Bead Links

Show your bead love and make a chain using Humblebeads wafer beads -

You could show your Love with Elaine Ray’s Rainforest Heart Connectors

or show your edgey-ness Love with Skully Kidz from Cindy Gimbrone Beads.

The Details: This challenge is open to jewelry-makers, fiber artists, collage artist, etc.

***Beads by themselves DO NOT qualify.***

Please add the tag or title FebABS to your photos. Include a short description, who created the art beads and a link to your blog or website, if you have one.

***What is an Art Bead? An art bead is a bead, charm, button or finding made by an independent artist. Art beads are the vision and handiwork of an individual artist. You can read more about art beads here.

***A bead that is handmade is not necessarily an art bead. Hill Tribe Silver, Kazuri ceramic beads or lampwork beads made in factories are examples of handmade beads that are not art beads.

How to enter: Submit a photo of an object you have created with art beads that fits this month’s theme to the Art Bead Scene Flickr group. Detailed instructions can be found here, and click here for a tutorial for sending your picture to the group.If you can’t upload to Flickr, send your entry and information to Heather.

Your entry can feature art beads created by you or someone else. Each entry has to have at least one art bead.Each unique entry that incorporates an art bead and the monthly theme will qualify for the drawing.

Your entry MUST be tagged with FebABS to be accepted into the gallery.

Participants can not win two months in a row, but are encouraged to still play along!

The winner will be randomly drawn from all the qualifying entries on March 1st. Enter as many times as you’d like.

Good luck and happy creating! Visit us tomorrow for the scoop on this month’s prizes and sponsor!

p.s. If you have a blog, post your entry and a link to the ABS challenge to spread the beady goodness.

Ornament Thursday is a fun blogging event happening this holiday season on the blogs of a growing group of popular designers. Jewelry makers, mixed media artists, plush artists, ceramic artists, paper artists, and more have been making ornaments and using their blogs to show how they do it! Check out some of these great blogs today to see more:

First Day of Christmas: Scarf PinsWith the popularity of hand knitted scarves, shawls, and other wintery clothing, what better way to accessorize those chunky knits than with a chunky kilt pin? These pins can be used to bundle up a wrapped scarf and keep it in place, secure a shawl around the neck, or just to decorate a knitted hat or sweater. The pins are thick, so a heavy weave is best…these pins are not for dainty fabrics.

Materials Needed:

1-Humblebeads Long Lariat Bead
1-Earthenwood Studio Dragonfly Halo Charm
1-Bend it yourself safety pin
1-pewter 6mm flower spacer
1-pewter10×7mm beaded bail
1-pewter pyramid charm
1-5.8mm sterling jump ring
6″ of 18 gauge sterling silver wire
Round nose pliers
Chain nose pliers
Wire Cutters
Sources:
Pin from Rings & Things
Lariat Bead from Humblebeads
Porcelain charm from Earthenwood Studio
All other materials from Fusion Beads

Directions:

1. Open jump ring and insert charm, tiny pyramid charm, and the ring of the bail. Close jump ring.

2. String onto pin the following beads: beaded bail, Lariat bead, and pewter spacers.

3. Push the beads all the way down on the pin. Take the end of your wire and begin to coil around the pin after the last bead, carefully working to make a tight, even coil about 1/2 inch in size. Trim the wire and smooth the end bit of the wire onto the pin.

4. With your hands and round nose pliers, bend the pin in half where you made the coil. The pin point should nestle comfortably into the catch without extending, so make your bend accordingly, widening or tightening the bend as needed.

Additional Hints:

Mix it up by using your favorite large holed art beads and accent with some pewter or silver or brass. Use a bail or a jump ring to hang a colorful charm for some movement. Below are some additional examples, for more ideas!

This pin uses a button that has been wired through with silver wire with a loop behind each hole for the pin to thread onto. Button by Creative Impressions in Clay , Charm by Earthenwood StudioMix materials, like shiny glass and earthy ceramic, for a rich effect. Lampwork Spiral by Cindy Gimbrone , Charm by Earthenwood StudioAdd a little bit or ribbon for a textural accent, and fancy it up with an intricate silver bail. Beads by Elaine Ray , Charm by Earthenwood Studio. You can’t go wrong with black and white and silver, it’s classic! Charm by Virginia Miska , Beads by Earthenwood Studio

Melanie Brooks Lukacs is the ceramic beadmaker of Earthenwood Studio, who blogs from her Metro Detroit, Michigan home. These finished pieces, and the kilt pin findings, are available for sale in her Etsy Shop

12 Days of Christmas

The contributors of the Art Bead Scene would like to thank our readers for making our first 9 months of blogging such a joy. We’ve been inspired by your enthusiasm for designing with art beads in our monthly challenges. Your thoughtful comments have kept us encouraged. And we have been delighted by those who have helped spread the word about our blog.

As a thank you, we present to you the Art Bead Scene’s 12 Days of Christmas. We have 12 free projects from our contributors to offer over the next two weeks.

So no matter what holiday you celebrate this season, we hope you do it in style - adorned with art beads!