Shopping Bag

I really wasn't planning "101 uses for my new embellishments" but it's kind of turning out that way on my blog. Over the past six months, I have made a bunch of projects with these beads. I told you I loved them.

Here's another...a reusable shopping bag that I made. I bought the bag, even though you could sew one. I painted some white swirls and designs on the bag. Next, I cut out some felt flowers and decorated them with some stitches and sewed them on. I sewed the flowers on using a bead in the middle to hold them in place like a button. It was super easy and fast. I made my friend one too, but I am thinking I should make some more for gifts...the holidays are coming.

Have a great day,
Jennifer

"Jangle-ly" Frames

Good morning...

I showed you a frame I made the other day with my new embellishments, here are a couple more. They are a little bit more "Jangle-ly" I painted the frames up all funky and then used my glue gun to add the embellishments. I love these, they make me smile.

It's been really busy around the studio these days....lot's of glazing to do today.
Back to work for me...
Jennifer

Embellished Frame

Hello, Hope everyone had a great weekend...

I mentioned the new embellishment/beads that I added to my website last week, I thought I would show you a few more projects made with them. Today I thought I would show you the picture frame I made.

I bought a unfinished wooden frame and painted it black. After the paint dried I went back over the edges with a little sand paper to give it a worn look. I put a coat of sealer on it to make it more durable. After my paints were all dry I took four circle embellishments, 8 disc beads, and some wooden beads to the hardware store. There I found some nails that fit through the holes of the beads and extended a half inch beyond the beads when fully inserted. I took them home and arranged the beads on the frame. Next, I got out my hammer and nailed them into the frame. Yep...hammer and ceramic beads... The wood beads that I used help absorb the shock of the hammer. I did not break a single bead in the process.

Have a great day,
Jennifer

Free Necklace Project

Hey, Hey,

I am super happy to be included in the current issue of Cloth Paper Scissors. I found this magazine about a year ago and became hooked on it right away. Whenever I am on a car trip, I bring all of my back issues to look at. I never get tired of them. Of course, all that reading about mixed media inspired me to do a little crafting of my own. I have a wall hanging project in the magazine featuring some of my beads and others. I also have a free necklace project online at Cloth Paper Scissors. If that wasn't enough to make you go out and buy this magazine. They had a charm swap with their readers and there are photos of he charms that readers made. There are some super cool charms . I am just bummed I didn't know about it or I would have been swapping too.

Totally off the subject here...I keep forgeting to mention two things:

1. My shipping rates at the website have been lowered.

2. My newsletter signup has been fixed. The ten holiday project newsletter start at the end of September so now is the time to sign up. It's the only way you will get the projects. Tell your friends!

I hope everyone has a great weekend,
Jennifer

Bead Surfin, Did You Know, and A Big Sale

Here's a craft idea for you. Did you know that you can take a clay flowerpot, glaze it and out it in your kiln? I know there are a lot of beadmakers out there with small kilns. These flower pots come in all sizes, you can even find saucers that could be converted into plates too. Follow the instructions on your low fire glaze jars and put them in the kiln. Terracotta is a low fire clay so I would fire more than cone 06(1828 degreesF). I painted this flowerpot and fired it in my kiln. I am working on some more for my porch too. Let me know if you try it, I would love to hear about it.
It's that time again...here are some great links to check out this week. Have a happy Sunday!

Strands of Beads : Melissa cracks some geodes to add to her jewelry making stash.

Jewelry & Beading: Wendy Van Camp has written a wonderful tutorial for J&B on how to make adorable earrings!

Jennifer Jangles Blog: Jennifer shows off her very loved tools.

Carter Seibels for Divali Glass Jewelry: Who says the grass is always greener on the other side? Stop by Carter's blog for a sneak peek at her green and grassy new bead display.

BeadStyle Magazine: New video interview at BeadStyleMag.com: Meet Melissa Cable whose necklace is featured in the September 2008 issue.

About.com Jewelry Making: Tammy's collected a load of links featuring jewelry related news and events.


Last thing....There is a big sale on Etsy this week in the Jangles store. I am at the end of my show season and I thought what the heck, I will have a sale. It's this week only, the beads are all first quality, and I will ship them right away. Doesn't get much better than that, does it?