Thursday, November 30, 2006

What I'm reading nowCyndi L

Angel Pendants/Angel PinsYou have to check out the design gallery


Angel Pendants/Angel Pins

You have to check out the design gallery & angel gallery at HHH Enterprises! Click on their banner below. I haven't seen anything quite like the angel gallery... just in time to get ready for the holidays (yikes!). You can make angel pendants for necklaces or angel pins. Isn't she sweet?


click on their banner below:

125x125 Banner

jeanettedesignstudio@gmail.com (~jeanette design studio~)

Beadwork Archives9/29/06 Updates and Beautiful Bookmarks5/19/06 The Garnet Diva Necklace5/3/06

Beaded Key Chain Gift I have a few bead buddies


Beaded Key Chain Gift
I have a few bead buddies this year to buy little gift-ies for, and one thing I’m considering is one of these beaded key chains from Beads for Education. I bought one for myself about a year ago, and I love it. The beadwork is exceptional, and I’m constantly getting asked about it. Plus, as an [...]

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Saturday was a busy dayCyndi L

Caviar and Cigarettes. Well Versed in Etiquette. Fastidious and Precise


Caviar and Cigarettes. Well Versed in Etiquette. Fastidious and Precise
Last night I attended a lovely little showroom event for Helen Yarmak the exceptionally opulent fur designer. How opulent? She has a gigantic showroom on Fifth Avenue on the twenty third floor of the Playboy building with a wrap around balcony. Want further proof? She has a hand beaded sable wrap that goes for two [...]

Have you been reading the Journals?A while back I blogged


Have you been reading the Journals?
A while back I blogged about the Journals of Louviere. For those of you that missed my previous blog, it's a story about a door to door bead salesman and all the strange happenings going on around him. It's fun to read about the people this guy interacts with and how his beads touch their lives. There's some exiting twists to it also. The story is as yet unfinished - or at lease not yet completely published to its web site.

Every couple of weeks a few more pages are added. Reading it always leaves me wanting more. If you haven't checked it out recently you should. It's about 5 times times longer than it was the last time I wrote about it.

The link above will take you to the intro page about the journals. If you scroll all the way to the bottom you'll find the links to the pages from the journals. Happy Reading!

Anne

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Is the Balenciaga bag on its way out?.flickr-photo { border:


Is the Balenciaga bag on its way out?

By Raquel Franco

When the Balenciaga Motorcycle bag first appeared upon the arms of celebrities like Nicky Hilton and Sarah Jessica Parker, they were an instant success. Stores were selling out of them and were unable to keep up with the supply and demand. Not only were Americans lusting after them but fashionistas in Taiwan and Switzerland were also craving a taste of designer Nicolas Ghesquiere. The waiting list for the sleek and sexy bag began growing larger than the Louis bag that is now "so five minutes ago."

Now time has passed and everybody wants one and every celebrity has one. Celebrities even have multiple bags in numerous sizes and colors. I am sure that you are getting to the point where you must be wondering is too late to get one. Will I just be another wannabe jumping on the bandwagon? Absolutely not! Celebs are still carrying their beloved bags wherever they go. A good way to know if a trend has taken on a life of its own is when everyone and their mother are carrying one. Now is the perfect time to be seen sporting this delicious arm candy. The bag is still yet to be made common among the average woman. Owning a bag like this will make you the first to stand out. So if you are having second thoughts, don't hesitate to give in to your desires.

You can fulfill your craving at Le Fashionista. We now carry four Balenciaga style bags in two sizes for a mere fraction that it costs to buy the real bag.

Shown above are recent pictures of many celebs who own the infamous bag and none of your friends that don't.

Picture source: http://lime-light.org

Picture Caption:

1. Diva Collection Motorcycle Bags
2. Nicole Richie on March 23rd
3. Amerie on April 25th


lefashionista@gmail.com (Editor)

Bead Expo HighlightsThere were more than 160 vendors at the


Bead Expo Highlights
There were more than 160 vendors at the show with just about anything a beader could desire. I spent the weekend demonstrating projects and techniques from Hip to Bead, signing books and shopping! It was fun to meet readers and beaders. I also enjoyed seeing The Beaded Figure exhibit in person. These beaded sculptures are just amazing. Check out the The Beaded Figure gallery at www.beadworkmagazine.com to see them for yourself.

Here are some other things that caught my eye at Bead Expo:
Big (25mm) disk-shaped gemstone beads

Opaque resin beads that look like chunky gemstones

Bead frames: geometric shapes that are open in the center

Shell beads: tons of different styles

Lots of rhodocrosite and rhodonite beads (pink gemstone)

katie@katiehacker.com (Katie Hacker)

Love da shoes! $39.50

Unconventional vs. Conventional?The first bracelet was inspired once again by


Unconventional vs. Conventional?
The first bracelet was inspired once again by the marvelous lampwork beads by James Derrick Reeves and reminds me of something a friend once said,"Artists can get away with anything."
"Oh, you mean like staying drunk all the time and being unfaithful?"
"No, "she said, "you know, like wearing green and purple together."
The bracelet above is made of tourmalinated quartz, lampwork beads, and wonderful faceted amethyst nuggets along with sterling silver chain and tiny little charms.
Maybe not as daring as green and purple together, but I was in a mood, and I'd just gotten these luscious faceted citrine nuggets (very nice), and decided to mix them with some light aqua chalcedony I had as well as the lampwork beads. The sterling silver accents are from the Thai Karen Hill Tribes.
For the more conventional, a rainbow moonstone bracelet with lampwork beads in a light periwinkle blue. The lampwork is by Burt Gumeson. There are also chalcedony nuggets and faceted rondelles as well as some tiny little cabochon rainbow moonstone charms.
In the same vein, but a different temperature is the bottom bracelet: a sunstone and boro lampwork bead bracelet with vermeil and a huge very special crab fire agate faceted nugget. The vermeil elements in this bracelet are from the Thai Karen Hill Tribes also.

After being out of town for a while, nothing is as hectic as returning and trying to catch up on all the work - even though I took plenty of work with me! Does work multiply exponetially when we're away?
To see these bracelets, and many more, go to our Cluny Grey Jewelry website; the link will take you to the citrine bracelet first. (Don't forget that citrine is the November birthstone).

jewelry
fashion bracelets chalcedony
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design jewellery lampwork beads
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silver moonstone
The Jewelry Blog citrine sunstone amethyst agate
quartz

clunygrey@yahoo.com (Cluny Grey)

Monday, November 27, 2006

What I Will Wear: ThanksgivingAbout the feet: I will really


What I Will Wear: Thanksgiving
About the feet: I will really be wearing my practical shoes, but I wanted my sister to be able to see the slippers that I bought with part of the gift card she gave me for my birthday.

Unfortunately I didn't realize until it was too late that you can't really see the coolest thing about this outfit:


The blazer is brown (multi) velvet paisley!


More later!

Rebecca

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Huge addition to Bead Show ListThe Bead Show List on


Huge addition to Bead Show List
The Bead Show List on the main Kintera Arts website has been updated. There's about 100 more shows listed there today that weren't listed yesterday. Several states were also added to the list. If you're ichin' to buy some more beads, you'll want to check this list out!

Anne

Friday, November 10, 2006

A 'Modern Day Angel' to guide your way through pro...Stephanie

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

I wanna new drug...Hi. I m KJ and I have a


I wanna new drug...
Hi. I m KJ and I have a shoe addiction. I m telling you, shoes
are the new crack and zappos.com is the new dealer in town.

I mean, really, brocade ribbon AND an ornate crystal buckle. This pair is beads, jewelry, sparkly stuff AND a shoe all rolled into one. I m powerless to resist.

Help me.

Must...resist...lure of... shoes ...that don t...go with...anything I own (but are really super cute nonetheless). If nothing else, I'm just enjoying the fact that shoes are even AVAILABLE in a color called "cyclamen."

And as long as I m going to hell anyway, I may as well go straight for the hooker shoes, right? Figures this design came from JLo. Although this pair in purple is slightly less hookerish and more 40 s bombshell which, with my curves, is a look that so works for me. And now that I think about it, they would go with my new gray suit...

Hmmm...would it be, um, bad form to wear hot shoes to work?

Of course, it may be too late for me to worry about that now considering I ve already worn red, patent leather, ankle-strap peep-toes AND cheetah-print stilettos (yes, Sparkle, on two separate occasions) to work. Hee!

But, the pair I will probably actually buy (because I m so annoyingly practical...er MOST of the time) is this pair. Second choice is this pair in dark blue.

Now, where did I put that winning lotto ticket? Oh, and if a certain SOMEONE would hurry up and ask me out on a date, already, I d have a place to maybe actually WEAR some of these beauties besides the office. Getting compliments from co-workers is not nearly as nice as watching a guy trip because he s busy staring at your legs and thinking lascivious thoughts. I know, because I made the whole guy-trip thing happen once this summer by way of the Anne Klein killer sandals (as previously mentioned here) and a knee-length denim skirt and it was quite an enjoyable experience.

Did I mention I only have 5 lbs. to go to hit my initial weight-loss goal and I look fa-bu-lous in a size 12? Okay, conceited, I know, but I ve worked REALLY hard to get this far so I figure it s okay to take some well-deserved pride in my accomplishment.

KJ

P.S. As long as you re sharing in my obsession(s), check out this totally cute purse .

Silver Parrot

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Bead embroidery stitchesCyndi L

Monday, November 06, 2006

Spooky! Well Halloween is upon us and it would seem


Spooky!
Well Halloween is upon us and it would seem that I don’t have a costume. Yes I know this is tragic as I am sponsoring a party tonight but what is a girl to do? Being somerthing funny just feels weird when every other woman is doing the slutty Halloween skank thing. So I will [...]

Bracelets, Bracelets, Oh, No, More Bracelets!I'll start with carnelian, and


Bracelets, Bracelets, Oh, No, More Bracelets!
I'll start with carnelian, and the wonderful faceted orangey carnelian nuggets that I mixed with a carved flower of carnelian, lampwork beads, sterling silver and a bit of turquoise. The second strand has little charms hanging at intervals from the second strand.
I also got some great tourmaline faceted nuggets and decided to use those with these boro lampwork beads and vermeil. The chain is 14 karat goldfilled, and the other gold accents are vermeil (24 karat gold over sterling silver).
I really love sunstone, and peach is just about my favorite colour, so of course, I'm always trying to get my hands on good sunstone. This bracelet has 3 strands (one is a sterling silver chain). The wonderful lampwork beads are by Irene Collier.
I've been working on many different things this week, but I am still entranced with the Babylon Collection and have been making drawings that I may experiment with later this week. The basis for this collection is my love of lapis lazuli - especially when it is paired with gold. The lapis lazuli one sees on the ancient art in Egypt (beards are often rendered in lapis in sculpture) mixed with gold is opulent, the way you imagine rich gold and gemstones when you're a child. The museum in Cairo is like being lost in a fairy tale. One gets the same feeling at the University of Pennsylvania's small museum when viewing the Middle Eastern art with its lavish gold and lapis from Mesopotamia.

See the jewelry at Cluny Grey Jewelry . A few of the pieces may be on auction at Ebay this week: check for Cluny Grey or under the user name chloemarie99.
jewelry jewellery The Jewelry Blog carnelian gold lapis bracelets tourmaline sunstone sterling silver beads lampwork beads beading turquoise

clunygrey@yahoo.com (Cluny Grey)

Sunday, November 05, 2006

TheText on TextureVildy's comment hits me right in the uncertainty


TheText on Texture
Vildy's comment hits me right in the uncertainty zone (at least we're there together:)

I'm not sure anymore how I feel about textures. I would wear this out to a casual evening but not stretch velveteen in the daytime. Not any more, anyway. I've just gotten rid of all of my flannel suit jackets, skirts, trousers. I realized I never wanted to wear them because I like smooth fabrics. I like fabrics with substance and crispness, too. This goes against the whole "there should be movement in your clothing" philosophy.

I get a lot out of reading your thinking about clothes and life. I'd love it if you'd write more about texture. Even though I'm rounded, I have a crisp personality and feel awkward in soft, draped clothes - like I'm selling a bill of goods.


The textbook answer to the taute vs drapy fabric question is this:

Skeletal (straight line) body types wear taut fabrics, muscular = semi-taut to semi-drape, molded (smooth, where the natural padding obscures the visibility of either bone or muscle) types wear drapy fabrics. Combination types wear taut on the straight parts and drapy on the smooth parts.

But that advice has never suited my personality either. And it seems to contradict Clinton and Stacy's regular practice of making chubby people look slender by putting them in structured jackets.

Lots more on this topic to come. What are your thoughts?

Rebecca

Saturday, November 04, 2006

Bracelets, Bracelets, Oh, No, More Bracelets!I'll start with carnelian, and


Bracelets, Bracelets, Oh, No, More Bracelets!
I'll start with carnelian, and the wonderful faceted orangey carnelian nuggets that I mixed with a carved flower of carnelian, lampwork beads, sterling silver and a bit of turquoise. The second strand has little charms hanging at intervals from the second strand.
I also got some great tourmaline faceted nuggets and decided to use those with these boro lampwork beads and vermeil. The chain is 14 karat goldfilled, and the other gold accents are vermeil (24 karat gold over sterling silver).
I really love sunstone, and peach is just about my favorite colour, so of course, I'm always trying to get my hands on good sunstone. This bracelet has 3 strands (one is a sterling silver chain). The wonderful lampwork beads are by Irene Collier.
I've been working on many different things this week, but I am still entranced with the Babylon Collection and have been making drawings that I may experiment with later this week. The basis for this collection is my love of lapis lazuli - especially when it is paired with gold. The lapis lazuli one sees on the ancient art in Egypt (beards are often rendered in lapis in sculpture) mixed with gold is opulent, the way you imagine rich gold and gemstones when you're a child. The museum in Cairo is like being lost in a fairy tale. One gets the same feeling at the University of Pennsylvania's small museum when viewing the Middle Eastern art with its lavish gold and lapis from Mesopotamia.

See the jewelry at Cluny Grey Jewelry . A few of the pieces may be on auction at Ebay this week: check for Cluny Grey or under the user name chloemarie99.
jewelry jewellery The Jewelry Blog carnelian gold lapis bracelets tourmaline sunstone sterling silver beads lampwork beads beading turquoise

clunygrey@yahoo.com (Cluny Grey)

Friday, November 03, 2006

Gimmicky? Eh?.. Smart Water Though So I am feeling like


Gimmicky? Eh?.. Smart Water Though
So I am feeling like the worst person in the world now for saying this but wow so LVHRD’s Fashion Duel didn’t quite live up to the hype but chilling with my boy Manny was awesome! Even though the event was like blocks away from my apartment I still managed to get lost. I was on [...]

Was Halloween the Nightmare of Your Life?Then you might as


Was Halloween the Nightmare of Your Life?

Then you might as well win prizes; show us your Project Runway-inspired Halloween costumes! Click here for details about our contest.

The_Scarlett_Letters@comcast.net (The Scarlett)