Ohhhh,...Knotted Leather!

Yep, you know it. If it's leather and knotted with some beads or pearls anywhere near it - I'm in!

Leather (real or imitation) is all the rage right now and Tracy over at Make Bracelets Blog came up with a new, innovative and fun way to incorporate this ever so fabulous material into your jewelry designs.

 

 

She posted a link not long ago to her ever so hip and cool "Leather Links Video Tutorial" and I just had to purchase it!

 

Click here to go to the Leather Links Post Info

 

I had a blast listening and watching the step by step instructions and in her video tutorial Tracy shares many tips and tricks to working with leather (and hypo-cement!) and even throws in some handy-dandy 'touch-up' tricks you won't want to miss.

Here's a few pics of the first two leather links I created after watching the video and a couple of bracelets I made using them.

 

Click to Enlarge

 

Tracy's a real sweatheart and has created a Pinterest Board for those of us who have purchased the tutorial and have created items with the leather links - how cool is that?!   After all, Pinterest is the latest and greatest thing,...you know,...next to leather (and beads and pearls!).

 

 

 

 

So, whatcha waitin' for?  Hop on over and check it out and have fun creating some cool Leather Links!

 

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Leather Links!!

 

Cheers,

~Shel~

Have You Seen,....

The November issue of Bead Trends Magazine?

 

 

 

Well, you are in for a treat!

 

The Fall/Autumn inspiration in the November issue of Bead Trends is phenomenal!

 

I fell in love with Kristin Oppold's "Love is Seasonless" Necklace which she designed with her mother in mind when she was ill with cancer. Not only is the necklace beautiful and inspiring, so are Kristin's words about her mother! 

(Pages 84-87)

 

Next I have to give a nod to fellow Phoenician, Sara Oehler. Her Jewel School Article (Pages 68-72) is so cool - I mean seriously - she has created these beautifully colorful bracelets with Soft Flex Beading Wire (my FAV!) and crystals - and they are macarame!! Awesome!! 

 

The cover piece, designed by Wenche Brennbakk is so pretty and loaded with gorgeous pearls!! (Pearls!!) and then Kristy Abner's "Vintage Romance" necklace completely sets the stage for all those cool fall nights you'll have sitting with your sweetie by the fire!  (Pages 12-13).

 

And of course the 'beachy-girl' in me was dropping my jaw on my desk as I came across Joanne Shockey's "Silver Beach Bracelet!  (Pages 18-19)  It's a stunner, let me tell you!!

 

And the Designer Highlight on Andria McKee is fantastic!  Her designs are the kind you will want to wear every day! (Pages46-57).

 

Although I cannot share the entire magazine with you (you'll have to get your own copy!!) I can tell you that I was super fortunate enough to have two of my designs in the November issue of Bead Trends as well. 

 

 

 

My "Stick Around Town" Earrings from my Urban Chaos Collection are beautifully photographed on pages 42-43 and my "Everyday Glitters" leather and rhinestone chain wrapped bracelet can be seen on pages 80-81!

 

 

 

Insert "Happy Squeals" right here!!!

 

Thanks to Tatia Meyer and everyone over at Bead Trends for all the fabulous work you do each month in Bead Trends. The photographs are always so wonderful and the articles and projects are ones that capture our attention and keep us excited about what we do!!

 

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Happy Squeals!

Cheers,

~Shel~

Procrastination,....

I’ve been working on getting photos of things I’ve created over the past few months.

Yes, I said months.

Usually I’m able to get pics with in a week or two,…but that’s not the case here lately.

I have stuff from back in March that I created during Spring Break while on the beach in California that I am just now getting around to photographing.

Does this ever happen to you? 

I mean, do you ever have plans to do things and for whatever reason, they keep getting pushed back or put off? 

Is it procrastination,…laziness,….too much to do with too little time to do it? 

What’s the deal?
 

For me, it’s a bit of all of this. 

I procrastinate.  I’d rather be doing other things.
Or like normal – I get sidetracked!! 

My hubby and son have nicknamed me “Sidetracked Shelly”. Not sure that’s a good thing!!


And sometimes I’m just lazy and would rather do this than that today.  Or this over here looks easier, more fun and interesting than this thing over here that needs attention.

(Sound familiar? Please tell me it does!!)

And then there’s times when I’m actually ready to do something and I’m working to get it accomplished and now, because of my procrastination and laziness,…well, now there’s too much to do and too little time to do it in. 

(Self-induced stress – what the heck?!!)

What do you do in situations like this? 

I mean, I know what I need to do to get all my stuff done, I just find other distractions, ya know?  

I've been updating my C.V. and some of my past classes and this kind of stuff lately too, and as I look back on the last few years I realize that I actually have accomplished quite a few things.

  

How about you?   Does it sometimes feel like you’re not accomplishing anything? 

Or, have you ever looked back after thinking that and said,

"Hey, that’s not too shabby.  I know I can do better, but it's not too bad!”

I hope so!! 

Here’s to kicking each other in the pants to keep us all going in the right direction!!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Moving Forward!

 Cheers,

~Shel~

***Side Note***

I find it a tad ironic that this post will hit just as I am ready to go away for the 4^th of July and have my shops on vacation mode – LOL!!
  

I guess this isn’t good timing – but it is what it is, right?!! 

Oh, and I was playing around with some photoshop stuff and some ipiccy things for this post.

You know,...instead of doing what I'm supposed to be doing!

;-)

It's Wrapped, Stacked and Layered Time Baby!!

It's time for the
Wrapped, Stacked and Layered Challenge
hosted by Tracy Statler over on her blog
Make Bracelets!

One of the rules of the challenge was that you had to have at least three bracelets, two of which needed to be made by you, and wrap, stack or layer them and take some photos.

They could be any color, any size, shape, style, etc. that you wanted and the idea (and fun) was to be creative and let your imagination play!

I created all the bracelets you see pictured here
(some more recently than others!)
and I had tons of fun making them, too! 

I wear my bracelets 'wrapped and stacked' on a normal basis.

It was a bit harder to get photos than usual.

I'm not used to taking pictures of my own wrist!

Here's a few more bracelets I've created along
with some tips on wearing them!

When you find yourself wanting to

Wrap, Stack and Layer

just remember to have fun!

Now, go get your eyes filled with tons more arm candy by clicking through all the participants listed below in the Wrapped, Stacked and Layered Bracelet Challenge - you're gonna have so much fun and be so inspired!!

Thanks so much to Tracy for hosting this lovely bracelet challenge - it's so much fun!!

Oh, I almost forgot,...

Barbie joined in the fun today as well!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Wrapped, Stacked and Layered Arm Candy Baby!!

Cheers,

~Shel~

Wrapped, Stacked and Layered Bracelet Challenge
Participants:

makebraceletsblog.com
ahteesblog.blogspot.com
songbeads.blogspot.com
sadafulee.blogspot.com
beadlolabead.blogspot.com

stringsattachedcindi.blogspot.com
carolynscreationswa.blogspot.com
cathiecarroll.blogspot.com
pinterest.com/chrisdeweerd
beatnheart.blogspot.comstoriestheytell.blogspot.com
tellyourgirlfriends.com
mamasgottodoodle.blogspot.com
copperdiem.blogspot.com
copperpennydesigns.blogspot.com
greenshoot.blogspot.com
twentytwelve-mmxii.blogspot.com
delle56.blogspot.com
elizabeth-marengoalhajas.blogspot.com
treasures-found.blogspot.comerinsiegeljewelry.blogspot.com
ferrarioriginalsyahoocom.blogspot.com
facebook.com/handcraftedserenity
PaisleyDesignStudios.com
pixiloo.blogspot.com
hintjewelry.blogspot.com
silverrosedesigns.blogspot.com
daisychaindesignsjewellery.blogspot.com
jazzierich.blogspot.com
site.jkdjewelry.com/blogjeanetteblix.com
glassaddictions.com
jerrisjems.com
howienjoylife7997.blogspot.com
overthemoon-design.com
katerichbourg.com
pinterest.com/kk0725/stack-it-up-bracelets/
kimmykats.com
kymhunterdesigns.blogspot.com
lamplightcrafts.blogspot.comlelamccracken.blogspot.com
etsy.com/shop/goingtribal
inspiredadonments.blogspot.com
lorelei1141.blogspot.com
freshbakeddesigns.wordpress.com
lindysdesigns.blogspot.com
maryhardingjewelrybeadblog.blogspot.com
maureenmeanswell.blogspot.com
maybejustperhaps.blogspot.com
beadrecipes.wordpress.comtekaandzoe.blogspot.com
miri100.blogspot.com
melissameman.blogspot.com
kenshostudio.com
beadingbymalindekoning.blogspot.com
havanabeads.blogspot.com
eclecticteaenshrinements.blogspot.com
roxidesigns.blogspot.com
stefaniessammelsurium.blogspot.com
thestudiosublime.comsandivolpe.com
sharondriscoll.blogspot.com
sedillohillstudio.blogspot.com
sunshinebliss.com
sharonsjewelrygarden.blogspot.com
MiShelDesigns.com   
aujourlejour-shelly.blogspot.com
blueberrycrazy.deviantart.com/gallery
uniqueboutique-creativetouch.blogspot.com
starhitchedwagon.blogspot.comterrabeadworks.com
theresestreasures59.blogspot.com
sweetbeadstudio.com
missyrappaport.blogspot.com
mylifeunderthebus.typepad.com
fredbeansnook.com/blog

It's Almost Time!

Oh,...I'm excited for the Wrapped, Stacked and Layered Challenge hosted by Tracy Statler over on her Make Bracelets blog!

 

It's tomorrow, Saturday, April 21st, so you'll have to come back on over here in the morning and check out all the lovelies everyone will have posted on their blogs!!



Also this Saturday, my sis and I are hosting our Spring Jewelry Boutique over at her house.


 

We try to do this twice a year.

Once in the Spring and once in the Fall.


We always have so much fun!

  

We'll have live music by acoustic guitarist

Preston Hindman

You can listen to one of my favorite songs he wrote,

 Remi's Song - here!

 

And, we've got Mina coming back this Spring to give her famous 30 minute massages, too.

She's fabulous - let me tell you!

We always serve a few cocktails and have some fruits and veggies along with tortilla chips a my sis's famous Pico de Gallo! YUMMY!!

Oh, and of course there's fun jewelry to drool over, too!

So, if you're here in AZ and get the chance, email me for directions and stop on by! 

It's gonna be a great Saturday!!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Fun!

Cheers,

~Shel~  

Working on Color!

For those of you who know me personally you know that my closet probably has fewer than five articles of clothing with 'prints' (this includes scarves, too!) and that most of my colors are, shall we say,...neutral and rather drab.

Translation: browns, greys, black, navy blues and an occasional pop of dark red - gotta love RED!

Anyhoo, I was reading Tracy Statler's blog post today over on Make Bracelets and she's got these amazing colors going on with all the goodies she just got from a bead show that was just in her area.

Her post was quite timely since I've been trying to incorporate more color into my designs. 

You really gotta check out her blog and all her yummy finds - they're super gorgeous!

Tracy also gives you a head's up on some great blogs that have various color palettes and things related to colors.

One of the blogs she mentions is one of my favorite blog 'must' reads - Brandi Girl Blog.

Brandi's blog has really been helping me get out of my neutral-zone as I try to rev up my use of color.

I know,...some of the things I've been creating lately are just white pearls and silver - so typical me - but I'm mixing it up a little bit and adding a few other colors as well. 

(Slowly but surely - don't rush me!)

What I'm curious about now though is this:

Do you tend to 'play it safe' with the colors of your

clothes and your accessories?

Or, do you jump in with both feet at once

and dance with different colors regularly?

Let me know what colors you're drawn to right now and why?

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Rainbows of Colors!

Cheers,

~Shel~

*All photos, jewelry and designs by Michelle Buettner