Bielec's Baubles

Exciting New Contest!

2011-11-02T07:02:00.000-07:00

New Contest!!! Post a review of my jewelry, website, FB page or blog at any of these sites and win a unique copper and leather necklace. This pendant is heavy gauge copper, flattened and hand wrapped with a unique petrified wood bead my husband got from Vietnam when he was there. Strung on a double suede black cord. A winner will be chosen randomly from all posts (post at more than one site for more chances to win). Contest ends November 15! Thanks everyone and good luck.

Here are my Bead Soup pieces!!

2011-09-17T00:01:00.000-07:00

It was so fun and challenging doing this wire crocheted necklace। I had done wire crochet before but the challenge here was to string the beads similarly on each side and have them come out fairly even on each side. I also had not increased and reduced wire crochet like this before. Then my final challenge was to come up with some way to use the square glass bead which I needed to string side to side but I still wanted to hang the pendant from around the middle. So I attached the square middle bead with a wire and then attached a curved wire piece to the middle wire to hand the pendant from. I hope you all like it. I love how it turned out and I loved doing this challenge.

I also had some cute little beads left so I designed, shaped and soldered the sterling silver wire and added the beads as dangles. :)

Thanks Kelley Fogle for the great bead soup mix and thanks Lori Anderson for including me in such a fun project. I can't wait to see what everyone else has come up with.

See the bead soups my partner and I swapped.

2011-09-11T08:36:00.000-07:00

So here is what I sent to my partner. The larger black and brown ones are handmade polymer clay beads. Then black acrylic, cream freshwater pearls. vermeil filagree tube beads, gold spacers beads and a gold vermeil toggle clasp. I made the poly clay beads myself.

Here are the ones she sent me. I love them all but especially love the silver pendant. Gorgeous!!

I have already made my piece with these beads. It is a necklace. That is all I am going to tell you until the reveal!!

My life... one bead at a time.: BSBP

2011-09-04T05:38:00.000-07:00

My life... one bead at a time.: BSBP

This is the link to the picutre of the bead soup I got. I was so excited to get creating that I forgot to take a picture of it before I made my piece. You can't see the piece yet until Sept. 17. So check back and see what I did with this beautiful mix of beads and this drop dead gorgeous pendant. :)

Bead Soup Blog Party and New Pieces

2011-08-09T06:03:00.000-07:00

Pretty excited here for many reasons. My son is coming today to help me out for two weeks. So I will get to see and visit him and also have some help with the broken ankle.

I am also excited because I taught myself a couple new chain maille weaves. European 6 in 1 and European 4 in 1. The picture is of a bracelet I made with European 6 in 1. It is a fun weave to do.

And last but not least I got my partners name for the Bead Soup Blog Party. I am going to get my beads together today for her and get them shipped out as soon as she sends me her address. I already emailed her with my info. I think this will be a fun project and can't wait to see everyones beads and what they make with them.

Hope everyone is having a great summer and challenging their creativity with new things.

Beading and Friendship Toast

2011-08-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

I was just thinking one day about all my beading and clay friends. They have really added a wonderful dimension to my life. So I wrote this up for all of us.

So let's have a drink to our family and friends;
And to strings of beads, without any ends;
To hugging and holding;
To stringing and molding;
To hugs and kisses;
To wiring and stiches;
I wish you a life of creative endevour;
I wish you a life with loved ones forever.

Bead Soup Blog Party

2011-08-02T07:41:00.001-07:00

Wow, I can't believe it has been two years since I entered anything on here. I better get going on this thing. :)

I am entering my first Bead Soup Blog Party. I thought it would be a good opportunity to created some inner growth and do some networking. I want to make a special focal bead for the exchange. It will be fun what comes my way that I will need to make something out of.

I have been doing a lot of wire working lately. I am laid up with a broken ankle so it is difficult to do much of anything marketing wise. I can't get out and sell, I can't even take pictures of what I am making to put on the website. What a way to totally ruin a summer. I still have 6-8 more weeks of no weight bearing on my ankle. I will have a lot to catch up with by then

I do have two chain maille classes that are coming up that I will be teaching at Potomac Bead Company in Pheonixville, PA I am so glad for these as I will be able to get out of the house and interact with some other jewelry people.

Bead People

2009-07-24T15:33:00.000-07:00

So today I went to Bead Chat on Interweaves site and I am going to participate in a couple of earring swaps that sound like a lot of fun. I have not done seed beads but a lot of the people on here are wonderful at this. Hopefully they will like my polymer clay beads and wire work as those are my strong points.

Speaking of which, I came up with a really cool new polymer bead. I call it Snakeskin as that is what it looks like. I will post a picture of it when I get some taken. I love it! I have used it with a few color combinations and it looks great everytime.

Connecting with other clay people.

2009-06-27T15:29:00.001-07:00

Well, they are actually real people, not "clay" people but they love working in polymer clay like me.

I was excited to have one of my projects published by Cindy Lietz at www.beadsandbeading.com/blog Cindy is an accompished artist and polymer clay guru. We all love learning from her and talking back on forth. This is a great place to learn and grow in polymer clay.

I also went to the Mile High Polymer Clay Guild ( I know, quite a mouthful) Clay Day today. Got some more great guidance and instruction and met some great people. Their website is at www.mhpcg.org/. I can' wait for the next Clay Day. There are some really talented people in this group.

And hey, the other day I made my first earwires from wire. What fun. With making my own beads and wirework, soon I will have my very first, totally created by me, piece of jewelry. YEA!

So came home and did a little housework but can't wait to get back to claying and making more jewelry.

Fingernails

2009-05-15T16:20:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I am going to have to give up any hope of ever being able to grow fingernails long. They just get in the way and mark up your clay. I was a midwife for years and could not have long fingernails then either.

Have you given up anything for your art (well, besides time and money)? Let me know. I am sure there are people out there who have given up much more than long fingernails. LOL

So here is my first blog! or should I be twittering

2009-05-06T14:45:00.000-07:00

Not so strong in the techno area. I am starting this blog to document my discovery and growth in the jewelry making field. I have been making jewelry now for about 9 months. First with just little cheap plastic beads, making earrings out of premade french hook wires. Then moved on to a bit more expensive beads, then to doing some wire wrapping, then on to making my own beads with polymer clay.

I am excited about my growth and somewhat daunted by the ever expansive world of handcrafted jewelry. I had no idea about this other world when I first started. I just was bored one day and my son had left his beads at my house. I have now turned this innocent beggining into a couple hundred dollar a month habit. But my husband is happy as it is keeping me out of other trouble. LOL

So, here starts the documentation of my adventure.