Weekly Wanderings Around the Beadosphere

Cold (low 50s which is cold as far as this California girl is concerned) and the last couple days have been rainy. That hasn't kept me from visiting a lot of great blogs out there in the Beadosphere, where the weather outside just doesn't matter.

From the Annual Reindeer Bead to this week's featured design project every day at A Bead A Day, Lisa shares fun beads and ideas.

Beading Arts - If you're into using seed beads Cyndi is giving away "Seed Bead Fusion" next week - check here for how to enter.

The Beading Gem's Journal will link you to some great tutorials - like this necklace of exposed wire loops and 3D Crystal Animals (know a Hello Kitty fan? You'll want to click that link).

BunnyBlogs - Pretty baubles, bracelets and a shout out to yours truly! Thanks, Drea!

Davinia over at Deez News worked on her wire wrapping and strung a lovely mixed bead necklace. Oh, lets also wish her mother a speedy recovery!

At Designs by Blanche (aka Sha-sha Handcrafted Jewelry) her post "Family and Inspirations" has lovely photography - including a really impressive background for a jewelry set. She also very kindly shares links, including mine (thank you!) and a sneak peek at the items she got from Artbeads Blogging for Beads.

AJ over at ErtheFae's shares some Artbeads goodies she's working with and got to take a class from Marcia DeCoster and shows what she made there.

Just A Tish features Corse Crafts, shares links to giveaways, but best of all talks about her lovely featured work in Bead Trends - go grab your copy!

See great designs with The Beadin' Path Lucite beads at Pretty Things.

At Silver Parrot gorgeous new pieces, 3 Things and Friday bead porn. This is a really fun blog, I hope you're following, because those were only three of the fun posts from last week.

Willow Walker shared two great sets on Thursday, but the entire week's posts are truly gorgeous. I really appreciate her sense of color and the interesting shapes of her dichroic glass work.

Artbeads blog - last minute gift ideas, gorgeous bracelet, and information on the Use the Muse III reveal, coming soon

Beadalon blog Technicolor Bracelet Tutorial.

The Beadin' Path - Weekly Beadditude with Dara: Felted Christmas Ornaments

Friendly Plastic - Too hard to choose between the two posts this week - Glisten and Shine or Go Dramatic. One of these days I'm going to get my hands on this stuff and try it.

Ornamentea - Fun felt ball wreath

Rings & Things - What are 'findings'?

SoftFlexGirl - Free project idea "Simply Irresistible Headband"


Don't see your favorite blog here? Just leave me the link in comments and I'll be sure to check them out.

Also, if you follow* this blog, you'll never miss the weekly wanderings because you forgot to check - I'll be delivered right to your reader or Blogger dashboard every day!

*Look up at the uppermost left hand side of this page - see the boxes that say "search blog" "flag blog" and "follow blog" - just click the "follow blog" box!

Hope you have a great week - see you tomorrow!

Thursday Feature: Artbeads CZ design #4 & Review

Only one more day of Artbeads Cubic Zirconia Beads to go after this. Today I'm sharing the 7mm Dark Purple CZ Coins I was provided and have used in the earrings below:

Under my Ott Lite® the faceted CZ teardrops I used for the earrings appear much lighter than the coins, but in less intense light they seem to the eye to be the same color. Also, the teardrops I've used are not from Artbeads, but a suitable substitute should be these 5x7mm Dark Purple CZ Pear beads. The gold-filled lever back earrings are from Artbeads, they are sold individually, with price breaks at 6-11 and 12+.

Beadalon makes special sized jump rings (see ring X) that can be used with their CZ-Gem Dropz™ and I've used those to link the teardrops and create the short (4 link) chains.

Since on Thursdays I sometimes do reviews, I thought I'd give some opinions about the CZs I've received. On the minus side, the faceting on some of these isn't aligned on a straight horizontal or vertical and some of the drill holes are off center. I find this a bit disappointing, but perhaps at the price it's to be expected. On the plus side, the colors are lovely and the price does seem reasonable. The channel set clear CZs were wonderfully bright and I love the way they look.

On Friday I'll be asking you to comment on your favorite CZ piece from this week as your entry in a random drawing for a $25.00 Artbeads gift certificate. The winner will be drawn on Saturday and will get their certificate directly from Artbeads, so I'll be asking you to email me your full name and email address, if you're chosen.

For a chance at a $100 Artbeads "Holiday Cheer" prize go to their Facebook page to read how and enter.

Hope to see you tomorrow when I share my final Artbeads CZ design!

FTC compliance notice of material connection: some of the CZ elements, as noted above, were provided to me for free in exchange for design purposes and/or promotional consideration by Artbeads.

Weekly Wanderings Around the Beadosphere

This is really late today - my apologies!

This week at A Bead A Day, Lisa shows off some beautiful glass heart pendants, among other things.

Beading Arts - Last week I mentioned the Lady of Shalott necklace as a work in progress - check here for the finished piece. Also, check out the Artbeads giveaway and CZ products from Artbeads Cyndi will be designing something lovely with soon.

The Beading Gem's Journal is another one that's hard to choose just one post from, since it's full of wonderful ideas and links each week. The post about enlarging holes in pearls is handy, and the post "It's OK to Change Your Mind" is another good one.

BunnyBlogs - Drea shares some lovely garlands and other decorations she's made.

See what Wendy made with the ebony wood chain from her Rings & Things blog partner items at Craft Dinner.

Davinia over at Deez News tries out magnetic clasps and practices her wire-wrapping .

Over at Just A Tish you can see her new CZs from Artbeads, some wonderful designs using vintage Lucite from The Beadin' Path and the adorable Christmas charm bracelet made from lampwork beads from Rings & Things. If you only visit one link, though, check out her December giveaway and enter!

At Silver Parrot there's the story of a charity auction with some darling chicken lampwork jewelry. Also, check out the Friday 'bead porn' post.

It's hard to pick just one day from Willow Walker's blog, but I think my favorite pieces of the week are her untitled "living flame" set. Be sure to check out the whole week, though.

Artbeads blog - $100 Giftcard Giveaway

Beadalon blog - Beadalon acquires Artistic Wire

The Beadin' Path - Weekly Beadditude by Dara: Candy Cane Jewelry and last week, which I missed while in L.A., but worth reading - Beading for the Holidays

Friendly Plastic - A number of great posts, but a good one to start with is this one about Friendly Plastic and Textiles

Ornamentea - Pre-order Steampunk Style Jewelry by Jean Campbell from Ornamentea and get a free kit

Rings & Things - Garnet, January's birthstone and other fun posts all week.

SoftFlexGirl - Spotlight on writing articles for bead publications

Thursday Feature: Reviews & Interviews - Wubbers Review

I've had enough time with my Wubbers now to feel comfortable giving a product review.

First of all, Wubbers are pliers that are made by Euro Tools and hand finished to reduce marring on the relatively soft metals used in jewelry making. Wubbers is a word created from the initials of "Wired Up Beads", which is a company that is now a division of Wubbers. L.L.C.

The catchphrase Wubbers uses is “Made to Make Jewelry™” and I would have to agree.They have been engineered for comfort and balance. The joint of the pliers moves very smoothly and the grips are a cushioned foam that is quite comfortable during extended use. More about the designer of Wubbers and other information can be found at the Wubbers website.

I was given some Wubbers for review purposes by Blue Buddha Boutique with their recommendation for use in chainmaille construction. I can see why Blue Buddha would recommend them - the constant gripping and twisting of jumprings to construct even a small bit of maille can be very wearing on one's hands, but using Wubbers reduces the strain. When I first got the Wubbers I noticed a distinct odor from the grips, almost like artificial cherry flavored candy smells, but it's dissipated with continual use.

Additionally, the surface of the tool which touches the wire or jumprings is just matte enough to grip but smooth enough not to leave gouges. I've now made several items with a lot of jumpring manipulation, including a couple of charm bracelet chains, that I can truly tell the difference when I'm using Wubbers versus other tools - no tool marks or shiny spots on colored wire or jumprings. The one exception has been copper - I can't seem to eliminate all scratches or nicks on copper, especially patinaed headpins or wire. Even so, the depth and amount has been significantly reduced. Perhaps it's just me not being cautious enough.

I have Classic Wubbers (flat nose: 6.5 inches long, with a 7/8" jaw) and Baby Wubbers (flat nose: 5 inches long, with a 3/4" jaw). I prefer the Baby size as I have fairly small hands, but the leverage of the larger size may be more helpful with larger gauge wire. I haven't really tested that since the wire I use is 20 to 26 gauge. When working with pieces that have very small spaces for manipulating a wrap, like a fine gauge wrapped loop fitted tightly against a bead, the Baby size is easier for me to use.

Unless I'm clumsy, or the finish on the rings is particularly delicate, I've had great results as far as tool marks or scratches go. I think that for some finishes nothing is going to help eliminate the occasional nick or flake, but the Wubbers keep that to a minimum compared to other tools I've used, and most of my tools are Euro Tools, so it's not as if I'm not using pretty good ones, although I'd like to try Wubbers against Lindstroms one of these days.

You can purchase Wubbers at Blue Buddha Boutique and other jewelry making suppliers.

FTC compliance disclosure, notice of material connections: Two pair of Wubbers were provided as promotional gifts for review purposes by Blue Buddha Boutique.

Weekly Wanderings Around the Beadosphere

If today's post seems a bit abbreviated, it's because I have so much to do before I leave for my show in L.A. Also, my daughter is here for a holiday visit, so I'm a bit pressed for time this morning. I'm just going to highlight just one post at a few of my favorite Beadosphere stops today.

There's a very good chance that because of the show, I won't be able to post a Wandering's next week at all, but we'll see.

As ususal, there's something fun and fabulous every day at A Bead A Day, but Lisa's post about her book is the one you absolutely must not miss! Congratulations, Lisa!

After Hours Art Glass shares a collage of new items

Beading Arts - necklace (work in progress) inspired by "Lady of Shalott" by Tennyson

The Beading Gem's Journal is another one that's hard to choose just one post from, since it's full of wonderful ideas and links each week, but I think this one about contemporary style earrings is a good representative sample. Plus, I really need to work on more earrings, so any bit inspiration helps!

BunnyBlogs - I think this is the first time I've mentioned this blog - and this post is a must read. Drea's friend is fostering two girls from Alabama and their story, until now, was heartbreaking.

See Wendy's creation Time Flies from her Rings & Things blog partner items at Craft Dinner.

Davinia shows off the great finds she made the other day and wonders how to seal the finish on some cool beads. If you have a suggestion about that I hope you'll leave a comment on her post at Deez News.

Earthenwood Studios' Melanie shares how she used the Rings & Things wooden chain and Idea-ology clasp in a wonderful necklace

It's hard to pick just one post from Just A Tish this week to feature, but since I seem to be sharing a number of Rings & Things blog partner posts, here's her very cool design using the Idea-ology antiqued plate and chain for a dramatic brooch.

Over at Silver Parrot this week she's been sharing the entries to a design contest (entry deadline is today at 5pm Pacific) she's having, and it's nearly impossible to feature just one post - but this is my favorite entry so far, so it's the one I'll link to.

Nikon Sniper - What might the picture in this post inspire you to make?

Willow Walker asks what you think of her ideas for a name for this gorgeous dichroic glass pendant.

Artbeads blog - Artbeads featured in 2009 Best of Stringing

Beadalon blog - beaded decor

The Beadin' Path - Weekly Beadditude by Dara: Oxidize your own jewelry

Friendly Plastic - I was skeptical until I saw the finished piece

Objects & Elements - announcing their new ICE resin site

Ornamentea - Thrifty & swiftie gifties

Rings & Things - 5 Favorite Things

SoftFlexGirl November Spotlight - and a "Double Feature", read about The Beadin' Path, their featured store!

In case you don't visit again beforehand, Happy Thanksgiving! I'm thankful that you share some of your time with me and doubly thankful for the great friends I've made around the Beadosphere this year.

Weekly Wanderings Around the Beadosphere

Another beautiful fall Sunday here in Silicon Valley. It's cool and clear outside, the leaves on the little pear tree out back have changed and are starting to fall. Here's hoping the talented residents of the Beadosphere are having a similarly lovely day. Let's see what they've been up to this week!

A Bead A Day kicks off a week of sharing her Rings & Things blog partner items with "Forevermore" and wraps it up with a really beautiful bracelet she made using a number of the goodies.

Bead Origami made it to the Rings & Things traveling bead show.

Beading Gem's Journal - the week's "bookends" were Fabric Jewelery Tutorial links and Wire Wrapping Cabochon Tutorial links but in-between are some incredible designs using Swarovski, LED lights and a lovely pair if earrings to go with a leopard skin patterned wood bead necklace.

Wendy at Craft Dinner has been having a winning week! First it was cool goodies from HHH Enterprises, then the Rings & Things Guest Blog Partner drawing! She's also a regular Beadin' Path design partner and shared about the cool Lucite beads she just received.

Also Mrs.B at The Daily Whine posted a while back and I missed it, but she's planning to compete in the Rings & Things "Your Designs Rock" contest

Across the ocean at Deez News, Davinia's creating new earrings with interesting materials and her usual flair.

ErtheFae's "ArtBead" day, Elvensoul featured at the Art Bead Scene, and a coupon code you can use from Artbeads.com.

Just A Tish found inspiration on Sesame Street, had an idea in her head work out perfectly using her Rings & Things blog partner goodies - the wood chain creating the perfect backdrop to copper chain and gorgeous stones, very early morning beading, "life saving" memory wire and a reminder that the Bead Trends May deadline is nearly upon us!

Ladybead talks about Twitter.

Silver Parrot got her Rings & Things goodies, shares a lovely pink lampwork bead necklace, and the Friday bead porn post should definitely be on your weekly reading list.

Smutopia explains her recent lack of posts - it's *very* good news, congratulations Jessica!

WillowWalker's been very busy! Check out every day, but my favorites were Ice Queen, Eclipse, and Aurora. It's not only that she makes gorgeous dichroic fused glass focals, but the wire work she finishes them with is so beautifully done.

Artbeads Blog - A cool program for beaders with Nintendo DS, beautiful fairy themed necklace by Andrew Thornton using one of the lovely painted onyx focals.

Beadalon Blog - a great idea for finishing off a multi strand necklace.

Friendly Plastic - Contest going on, ends the 18th.

Objects & Elements shares cool texturizing techniques & a great torch safety post.

Ornamentea's Shiny Little Things blog challenges you to try mixed metals.

Rings & Things blog featured "shellies" last week.

SoftFlexGirl announced the winner of the drawing, shared a "how to" post link for "Lucky Earth" necklace, and shared some fashion clips featuring designer love for yellow this fall.

Can I Have Your Vote?

Just click on the picture and look for Dawn O'Bryan-Lamb's designs - 5 to choose from!

Weekly Wanderings Around the Beadosphere

Have you adjusted to Standard Time yet? Even after a whole week I'm still taken aback somewhat when it gets dark early. I've never been a morning person so taking advantage of the extra light at 6 or 7 am really doesn't work for me. Driving home in the dark from work isn't much fun either. Fortunately, there's no need to worry about the time of day around the Beadosphere, it's always brightly lit!

A Bead A Day went 'froggy' to kick off her week! I remember learning about frog closures when I was 11 or 12 and living in Taiwan. Many of the traditional Chinese clothing had lovely, embellished frog buttons on them. I may have gotten my fascination with macrame from thinking how cool it would be to learn how to create the knot buttons! It's been Arts & Crafts Week all week, so be sure to check each day's fun post on a different crafty topic.

I loved this week over at The Beading Gem. Read about bead addiction (I'm not addicted, I can stop anytime...yeah, right), neutral jewelry design and don't miss her post on the Maharaja Exhibition - lots of great pictures of the dazzling gems of India's Maharaja's.

Over (Under? Davinia's in Australia) at Deez News she expresses her dislike of "the drawing board" as in, back to the...how well I know that feeling! The lovely earrings from bits of a disassembled garland are gorgeous - a bit of ink, a smudge of 'silver rub and buff' (I need some of that!) and the result is delightful.

Wish a happy belated birthday to Melanie at Earthenwood Studios and check out the lovely ceramic art beads she's created. She also posted about the latest Art Bead Scene challenge and her "double challenge" offer which is a sweet prize of some of her latest beads!

Speaking of the Art Bead Scene challenge, ErtheFae's been inspired to submit this month - take a peek at her submission which uses one of the darling elf faces from Earthenwood Studios.

An Intergalactic Bead Show! As a nearly life-long fan of all things Science Fiction, (started in second grade, officially but probably got hooked earlier, or else why did I buy The Lost Race of Mars from Scholastic Book Club at school that day?) that would have definitely been my destination last week, if I lived near enough to go - Just A Tish got to visit, so I'll have to just enjoy it vicariously! Tish also shares her latest Rings & Things blogger review package (mine's not here yet and I'm so sad!) and lovely Beadin' Path design partner results, too - love what she's doing with the carnelian!

Ladybead's blog was new last week to my weekly round up and this week you can check out some special items for weddings - like custom invitation designs and wedding garters.

Margot Potter is so energetic I get a great workout just clicking through her posts! (Wouldn't that be wonderful if you *could* burn hundreds of calories reading blogs? I'd lose 30lbs on my Sunday postings alone). Margot and her daughter got featured in an ad, tells how she made the adorable Mom & Daughter shirts you see in the ad, gives a sneak peek at two of the designs she'll be doing a PBS Creative Living show segment about, is doing a subscription to Totally Creative Magazine giveaway (post your comment before Thursday!), and then she was off to QVC! *whew*

Orion Designs shared a necklace the other day with a very unusual (to me) focal stone - 'stitchite' That led me on a merry chase (via Google) looking for suppliers selling that stone.

Silver Parrot took the Humblebeads challenge and shared her work last week. Check out her use of ribbon as a bail, unusual use of findings and horizontal focal posts. As a bit of an interlude hope you enjoy her adventure at the deli counter as much as I did, and of course, bead porn! I wonder if she looks at her analytics to see what kind of searches end up on that post when she does them... :-)

All week long WillowWalker has been sharing her lovely "Create Art Every Day" challenge posts - do go look at her beautiful glass work (I love these adorable pink earrings)!

I'm sorry to report that there have been no posts from Smutopia or Shoozles last week - hope they come back soon!

Over at Artbeads there's a lovely "I Remember Summer" charm bracelet and some Holiday Card inspiration.

Beadalon is offering a giveaway if you comment on the Swarovski flatback + gluable bail post - ends either today or tomorrow, so get over there. Yes, even if I lower my chances to win, you should check it out. Also, there's a Katie Hacker's post about color as beading inspiration.

The Beadin' Path's Dara has a great post about the history of La Peregrina Pearl, from Mary I of England to Elizabeth Taylor.

Clever new uses for Friendly Plastic are shared at The Art of Friendly Plastic blog. Even if you don't use the product, it's got inspiration, especially around color.

Jeanette Blix (Fundametals.net) talks about riveting.

Objects and Elements - PEPE tools for dapping and cutting metals and simple and stunning designs.

Ornamentia (aka. shinylittlethings) shares Elaine Ray designs and a lovely pearls and ribbon necklace tutorial.

Rings & Things - Do you know about CERF? Now you do! Plus, snowflakes and *sigh* Swarovski price bump is coming. But the best post is about the winner of their guest blog partner drawing - Wendy Gibson! Congrats, Wendy!

SoftFlexGirl featured guest blogger Jamie Hogsett's DIY paper box instructions, shared their banner ads for the Flex Your Creativity contest (lookie! My design got on one of the ads!!*faint*), reminded you about the giveaway drawing for new Soft Flex Trios variety packs (winners announced on Nov 9th, so hurry!) *and* a contest for designing with recyclable materials!

Well, that's it for this week. I keep adding new blogs to follow and trying to share interesting posts with you from each of them, hope it's useful! Let me know if you have a blog you follow I could mention next time.

If you like keeping up with the Beadosphere here, do consider becoming a follower of this blog (there's a handy button at the top left of the page in the blue blogger banner, that says "follow blog" just click!), I'd love to reciprocate as well, so mention it in the comments so I can.

Also, on the right side of the page, in the sidebar, is my Facebook widget. I'd love it if you'd be a Facebook fan of Dawno, too.

Weekly Wanderings Around the Beadosphere

November already! Seems like it was Summer just yesterday. I can certainly tell it's Fall, the evenings start sooner and last night we set the clocks back an hour, too, so my time sense is going to be all wonky for the next week or so. It's gotten cooler here, but still not what most people (outside of the southwestern states) would call cold. I've seen in the news that some folk have been getting significant snow. Hope it wasn't snowing on your Halloween! Well, I'm sure you're here for the Wanderings, and not my verbal meanderings - so strap on your snowshoes if you need 'em and off we'll go around the Beadosphere.

A Bead A Day started the week off with some "edgy chain" and wrapped it up with cute "arts & crafts" bracelets. Be sure to check out the rest of her posts. On Fridays she does a featured designer, too.

Beading Gem's blog did a great week of Halloween themed posts with links to "how-to's" you'll want to bookmark for next year.

Deez News "When Designs Go Pear Shaped" - Davinia re-worked a bracelet into a necklace but thinks it's boring. I disagree! It's lovely, elegant in its simplicity. Check out the cool earrings, too!

Melanie at Earthenwood Studios has a new line out (which you can follow at the Now Showing Studio blog)- read about it starting last Tuesday and check out the "Seed of Chucky" bracelet she posted yesterday.

Tish from Just A Tish has been showing off her Beadin' Path goodies in some really lovely designs, starting with this beautiful "Cremescicle" design - that fire crab agate is really cool, I'm going to have to grab some for myself! These bracelets are gorgeous showcases for side drilled and center drilled vintage Lucite spheres in the most lovely colors. I really love how Tish shows how versatile and dramatic copper jewelry can be. Oh, and while she calls this one an "epic fail" it's still lovely, and I'm sorry that I giggled a bit at the trials she went through, but...well, read it and you'll see what I mean.

Ladybead's blog is new this week to my weekly round up with her beautiful designs. And her niche? Beach jewelry - adornments for barefoot glamour, especially beach weddings! But with the cooler weather coming up, there's also boot jewelry (what a cool idea!) Met her via Twitter, by the way.

Margot Potter talked Halloween most of the week, but wanted her readers to share this particular post about Haiffaa Ali so I do hope that you'll read Margot's post and then follow the links to Haiffaa's story and feel compelled to pass it on.

I haven't mentioned Nikon Sniper lately, but this post...well, if that gorgeous scene and those amazing colors aren't inspirational, I don't know what is!

Check out these gorgeous earrings featuring Swarovski briolettes from Artbeads at Orion Designs. What a great eye she has for colors that really grab your attention.

Here's a design from SCDiva in polymer clay - and I bet you'll have as much trouble as I did believing it's clay. I swear I'm going to start *any day* figuring out how to make great beads, too. Any day!!

Shoozles: Wear Your Art blog has a lovely thought piece "Giving- The Creative Contiuum"

Silver Parrot had a guest blogger - Dr. Frankenstein! When I need a good giggle, I can usually count on Silver Parrot's blog.

Over at Artbeads they show this lovely "Quality of Mercy" necklace and announce the winner of the treasure hunt.

Beadalon announces the winner of the Katie's Beading Secrets drawing and shares a crystal web necklace designed by Margot Potter

The Beadin' Path's Dara talks about pricing your jewelery.

I'm not sure if this goes above in Artisan blogs or not, but The Art of Friendly Plastic blog is another new one on my reading list - it's amazing what beautiful designs they come up with.

Jeanette Blix (Fundametals.net) shares "The Down Side of Stamping" and a "Fabulous Art Exchange"

Objects and Elements - winner of the "Put Me In a Bezel" contest and Preserving Nature tutorial

Rings & Things - this week they gave us Christmas lampwork beads, The Spokane Keychain Experiment, and "Ten Tips to Top Designs".

SoftFlexGirl announced a great give-away (new Trio's!), talked about the CPSIA “Statement of Policy: Testing and Certification of Lead Content in Children's Products” and shares a Halloween greeting and sale


Well, that's it for this week. I keep adding new blogs to follow and trying to share interesting posts with you from each of them, hope it's useful! Let me know if you have a blog you follow I could mention next time.

If you like keeping up with the Beadosphere here, do consider becoming a follower of this blog (there's a handy button at the top left of the page in the blue blogger banner, that says "follow blog" just click!), I'd love to reciprocate as well, so mention it in the comments so I can.

Also, on the right side of the page, in the sidebar, is my Facebook widget. I'd love it if you'd be a Facebook fan of Dawno, too.

Weekly Wanderings Around the Beadosphere

Welcome back! Or maybe it's welcome for the first time - either way, I'm glad you're here to tromp around with me in the wilds of the Beadosphere.

A Bead A Day started off the week with a collection of beads that she focused on individually during the week. Blue glass "sticks", smooth round stones (look kind of agate-y to me), pearls that remind her of butter mints, and finally the big reveal - how all these beads came together in a splendid cuff bracelet inspired by a lovely hand-crafted card from a dear friend. Lisa, it's wonderful - thank you for taking us along through the process all week! And Happy Belated Birthday, too!

Just A Tish - wow, what a week you've had, Tish! I'm breathless just reading about it, I can't imagine trying to keep up with you in person! Two gorgeous stone necklaces on Monday, her Beadin' Path design partner beads on Tuesday, a bold and beautiful necklace inspired by a favorite song on Wednesday using blog partner beads from Artbeads, Sand and Sea necklace with Beadin' Path design partner beads on Thursday (have you needed to sit a spell and catch your breath, like me yet? *whew* she's been a whirlwind of creativity this week!), Friday she shows off an entire set of jewelry she had just made! (love the bracelet - you should do more!) and Saturday is about her new display pieces for her work that will be at Gifts With a Heart in Raleigh.

(I'd like to note here, in a bit of an aside, that I've neglected to mention that last Friday, Tish tapped me with a Kreativ Blogger award after receiving one herself from Gold Lily - thank you very, very, much, Tish, for your kind words! I'm so sorry it's taken me over a week to even mention it.)

Deez News Davinia shows off a lovely new necklace in bold beads and color plus fun with new tools!

Check out ErtheFae's Gothic Roots, Mythical Medusa necklace and a beaded setting for a fun fairy button pendant.

Jolicious talks about the polymer clay class she took - you simply must go look at the delightful beads and pendants she's made.

Over at Katie's Beading Blog she shows a darling "upcycled" necklace featuring a spinning brass 'love detector' from Ornamentia.

And at Margot Potter - The Impatient Crafter ^TM blog, have you been following Madge's Terrorific Tuesdays? Only one more left! Wednesday was a free how-to for a special 'in case of emergency' Halloween craft mixed media necklace. Saturday she shared that she'll be in Manhattan at Michael's signing books and hosting a 'make it, take it' - sure wish I could be there!

Lori at Pretty Things points us to a wonderful post by Cindy Wimmer of Sweet Bead Studio and her give-away of some fabulous stuff in celebration of Easy Wire 2009 which has her beautiful bracelet on the cover. Be sure to visit both blogs and enter that contest!

Silver Parrot did a whole lotta catch up last weekend, shared a number of really lovely pieces (the daisy necklaces are just...wow...) had some questions about hammers, got answers and worried about oxidizing her hair. Now usually on Friday she posts some 'bead porn' and her posts ended Wednesday. I hope everything went well with her liver of sulphur experimentation!

SmuTopia finds herself in a treasury with a "Where's Waldo?" theme, shares her wish list and some home decor items in green.

Artbeads shows off one of their customer designs - and that customer is our very own Just A Tish! You can also download some inspirational screensavers/wallpaper for your computer.

Beadalon announces their YouTube channel and spreads a bit of wire wrapping mania.

Read a fun bracelet exchange story from Dara's Weekly Beadditudes at The Beadin' Path.

The wire work on the necklace Jeanette Blix shows on this post is so impressive - those double spiral links are perfectly done - I've tried that pattern and would love to be that good at it! Of course you'll love the darling nails and toes at the top of the post, too - no, I'm not explaining that, you'll have to go see for yourself. (This is posted under Supplier's Blogs as Jeanette is the proprietor of Fundametals.net)

See the last of the entries into the Objects and Elements "Put Me In a Bezel" contest.

Rings & Things asks "What are all those stacked up beads?", Kurt Madison talks about winning designs, Russ Nobbs explains 'trade beads' and Rings & Things is designated a Bicycle Friendly Business.

SoftFlexGirl does some Tool Talk, points to the October Spotlight articles on the SoftFlex site, and goes to New York for the Soft Flex Glass Art & Bead Festival.

Well, that's it for today. I keep adding new blogs to follow and trying to share interesting posts with you each week from each of them. Let me know if you think of ones I'm missing!

If you like keeping up with the Beadosphere here, do consider becoming a follower of this blog (there's a handy button at the top left of the page in the blue blogger banner, that says "follow blog" just click!), I'd love to reciprocate as well, so mention it in the comments so I can.

Also, on the right side of the page, in the sidebar, is my Facebook widget. I'd love it if you'd be a Facebook fan of Dawno, too.

Weekly Wanderings Around the Beadosphere

Hilary's The Smitten Image blog has some of the loveliest photography on the web. Before I start the weekly Beadosphere tour, I simply *must* share the link to these pictures she took of two adorable raccoons named Sugar and Spike. If you enjoy beautiful outdoor settings, her pictures of the woods and lakes and wildlife (including a Jack Russel Terrier named Benny who is full of personality) in her part of Canada are not to be missed.

On Lisa's A Bead A Day blog she started off the week with some "calming matte stones" and finished it up by showing the Zen bracelet she made with them, as well as sharing some really great news! Don't forget to check out all the days between, as well.

Over at Just A Tish, our gal Tish got some lovely earrings from the Beading Daily earring exchange she participated in (I forgot to get mine into the exchange in time *pout*) and shows off the gorgeous design she created as a Beadin' Path design partner. In between there's a blog award (and I'll be posting about that in a day or two) and the story of Larimar stones to read about, too.

Davinia at Deez News takes us on a pictorial journey through the creation of a stunning necklace
plus shares some delightful new earring creations. (Davinia, you know you're responsible for me needing to go out and buy grungeboard and a Cropadile now, right?)

Melanie at Earthenwood Studios shows Russ Troll what she picked for her Rings & Things blog partner goodies - can't wait to see what she makes with the wooden charm connectors and Rudraksha beads (I think Russ Troll feels the same).

ErtheFae has a mixed metals/mixed media necklace and Mistress of Ghosts earrings to share this week, along with some stories about dancing you won't want to pass up.

If, like me, you don't know what frit is or does, check out this post from For the Love of Beads. She's also, and rightly so, excited about her work being shown in Bead Unique. If you're really adventurous, and have a husband who doesn't freak out at the thought of you working with open flame, (not that *I* know anyone like that) you can check out her tutorial on how to make glass tipped head pins.

Margot Potter is sharing tons of great Halloween crafts patterns and ideas - this Hooty Owl featuring vintage Lucite from The Beadin' Path is wonderfully cute and not at all scary!

I really enjoy reading Silver Parrot - her posts are always fun, almost always funny, and usually include gorgeous pictures. Take her first Tuesday post for example. Having lived in L.A. I got a laugh out of her "Storm Watch" comment. A half micron of rain and the TV news there acts like it's Noah's Flood. Then she shows her beautiful bracelet and earrings. Then later is a quick post "This Just In" that had me in stitches. I really miss L.A. Someday I really hope to move back, until then, I'll just keep looking for mentions at Silver Parrot. Oh, don't forget the rest of her posts - sunshiny bracelet and Friday Bead Porn.

Jessica at SmuTopia is getting ready to move into a new home (congratulations!) and is interested in hearing about how you set up your workspaces. See what's new from Smu on Thursday's post (I love that bracelet display!).

Read about the Alpha Stamps 5th Anniversary "Let Them Eat Cake" contest.

Artbeads posts about their Treasure Hunt contest and new bronze quote pendants.

Beadalon Blog shared two designs this week - crinkle wire is featured in this Lilies and Butterflies necklace, the Gold Swirl Eye by Fernando DaSilva is a bold necklace that would look lovely with any number of Fall outfits - and a free pattern is provided so you can have your own version.

Dara's Weekly Beadditude at The Beadin' Path is about her finding time to do more beading as a busy mom. I'm still considering whether or not I should take some stuff to work and make things in the break room at lunch time. It's tempting because not only would I get some extra work done, but I'd also probably get some interest in what I'm doing and be able to hand out some business cards.

Objects and Elements wants more entries in their "Hey, Put Me in a Bezel" contest. You've got until Tuesday to enter.

Rings & Things got some nifty bookmarks from A Bead A Day's Lisa promoting her new book (due out in Dec or Jan) and announces their new Swarovski "search by color" feature - yay! that's going to make life a lot easier, if you ask me. Just don't ask my bank account...

SoftFlexGirl has a full week, but I'm singling out the post on bib necklaces as featured in In Style for inspiration and her post about the NYC Glass Art and Bead Festival - I'm looking forward to seeing some pictures from there.

Thank you, again, for visiting! Do consider becoming a follower of this blog (there's a handy button at the top left of the page in the blue blogger banner, that says "follow blog" just click!), I'd love to reciprocate as well, so mention it in the comments so I can.

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Weekly Wanderings Around the Beadosphere

Usually I do this post on Saturday night and schedule it for 6am Pacific on Sunday. Last night I realized at about midnight that 1) I was still awake! and 2) I hadn't done my Weekly Wandering post. I decided to wait for the morning. I hope you didn't stop by earlier and get a disappointment!

Got your sail éille ready and your brogans laced up tight? Oh, the sail éille will only be needed as a walking stick - no need to worry about self-defense in the Beadosphere.

Lisa gave us another fabulous week of beads at A Bead A Day - all week she has been sharing the lovely beads she picked up at the Rings & Things bead show and on Friday her featured artist was Davinia of Deez News.

Tish was busy the earlier part of the week - Monday was her Beadin' Path design partner necklace mixes Lucite and metals and pearls and glass into one gorgeous design for fall. Tuesday was about Lapis, One of Wednesday's posts you'll really want to bookmark, it's an October bead show listing. But also on Wednesday she also shared her October Bead Trend magazine pieces and an ode to her retiring side nippers.

Davinia shares about the challenges of finding a hotel for her holiday get together and a new pair of grungeboard earrings and her delight at being the featured artist at A Bead A Day.

Check out this sneak peek at SmuTopia - love the color of the earrings in the first picture!

WillowWalker set some goals on Monday, posted a lushly photo filled post on Wednesday (I love that fireplace screen being used for a necklace display!) and put up a lovely piece on Thursday.

Barbe Saint John posts the Miniature Masterpiece necklace she made with her Artbeads Blogging For Beads selection, Mucha's Eveningstar reproduced on onyx.

Breaking news at BeadJewelry.net - Step by Step beads is merging with Beadwork and registration is open for the inaugural Beading by the Bay retreat - to be held in March '10.

ErtheFae's Artbeads design features the new dragonfly pendant shape from Swarovski, lampworked glass, and Swarovski pearls in a beautiful - you guessed it - dragonfly necklace.

Ever want to make your own headpins? Over at Hint you can see how it's done.

There's a beautiful Rings & Things blog partner design to see at Humblebeads.

Wish you could visit Florence and bring home some beautiful glass beads? Well, Jolicious did and you can win some of her stash!

Stunningly lovely stamped polyclay design that reminds me of the broken china jewelry I've seen, over on Katie's Beading Blog

Margot Potter has been sharing free Halloween project ideas - this one is my favorite (for this week at least)

Pink Pooch Designs now has a Clint Eastwood bead mosaic bracelet pattern for sale - her work is so much fun! I wish I had the patience to do seed bead work like that.

Silver Parrot shows us the gorgeous and bold design she's created from her Rings & Things design goodies and, of course, her Friday "bead porn" post (totally suitable for all ages!) post is a feast for the eyes, as usual.

Melissa at Strands can finally share her Bead Arts 2009 award winning piece - congratulations, Melissa!

Lots of great posts over at SoftFlexGirl's blog last week, hard to pick just one, but how about pointing you to the Jamie Hogsett guest blog post and letting you wander from there?

Visit with guest designer Julie Zarate over at AlphaStamps

Artbeads shares a beautiful customer creation Japanese Lanterns

Dara's Weekly Beadditudes at The Beadin' Path is about naming your jewelry designs - something I constantly struggle with!

Fascinating responses to the Objects and Elements "Put Me in a Bezel" challenge - and it's a contest you can enter, see the rules and deadline at the "Put Me in a Bezel" link.

News Flash: Ornamentia a victim of a Random Act of Knitting!!

The Rings & Things blog is back! This week featured Citrine, Rudraksha, and a "bodacious" bike buckle.

Thank you, again, for visiting! Do consider becoming a follower of this blog (there's a handy button at the top left of the page in the blue blogger banner, that says "follow blog" just click!), I'd love to reciprocate as well! And on the right side in the sidebar is my Facebook widget - you can be a Facebook fan of Dawno, too.