Archive for the ‘Jewelry’ Category

A couple months ago I had my first ever Spring Designer Challenge. I gave away some great beads sets for first second and third place. I only had three entries so everyone who entered got a prize, how cool is that!

During the process I also learned that not everyone has the competitive spirit that I do, and some people are just not comfortable with putting their work out there for others to scrutinize. I’m cool with that, but here is a little food for thought…maybe you are not comfortable showing your work, maybe you are worried that someone will steal your ideas or maybe you are just plain shy. However, if you ever plan to sell your work to more than just your friends and family, you need to get over that and work the Internet! It’s FREE, anyone can use it, but it will only work if you work IT. Every time someone mentions your name or posts a link to your site that’s a little bit of free search engine love. But, you have to get out there and bring in the links they will not come to you. That is really what my challenge was designed to do. To give other artists a chance to advertise themselves on my blog as well as getting a little attention for my own beads.

The following is some FREE advertising!!!!

Kim Forrer of Kim Forrer Designs won first place in the challenge! She just recently sent me pictures of the pieces she made with the beads that she won. They are just spectacular. I really love seeing what others have done with my beads. I don’t consider myself much of a jewelry designer so it’s really exciting to see my beads used in new and interesting ways that I would never have thought of!

This is the set of beads that Kim won:

and here is what she made with them:

Thanks Kim, for sharing those images with me!

Well today is my day for the BIG BEAD SOUP REVEAL! Ta DAAAA! My Bead Soup partner was Tari Kahrs of Pearl and Pebble and she sent me the most wonderful mix of ingredients. The color theme of the ingredients was predominantly green. Green is not a color I normally work with so the challenge was on. I just had to get some orange in there somewhere, so I decided to try using copper wire instead of my usual silver and I just fell in love. Throw in some large carnelian rounds and the color combo is just to die for, if I do say so myself. Tari sent a couple different pieces that could be used as a focal so I picked the one that I thought best fit the color theme of the necklace. I have a bracelet and some earrings in the works with the rest of my ingredients but I just didn’t get time to finish them up before we went on vacation. You can read all about that on our New Lassini Light Works Blog.

Well I won’t hold you in suspense any longer….

Today is the start of the Bead Soup Blog Party! Since we have so many participants Lori has decided to break us up into groups to make things a bit more manageable. I will be posting the piece I made on Tuesday June 22nd. Make sure you check out Lori’s blog for the daily groups.

I got my bead soup ingredients on Saturday! I’m gonna make a HUGE pot of EXTRA delicious soup with this stash!! Tari included super cute tags telling where each ingredient came from. Check ‘em out.

Click on the images to go the Etsy site!

My latest Bead Soup partner is…<drum roll>… Tari Kahrs of Pearl and Pebble! Tari makes gorgeous organic and vintage jewelry of all shapes and sizes. Be sure to check out her Etsy Shop!

Here is a sneak peek at what I am sending Tari for the challenge. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with!

A huge Thank You to the three very talented ladies who entered my first ever Spring Designer Challenge. It was not easy to pick a winner from the three gorgeous entries, but knowing that everyone was getting a prize made it a little less painful.

Without further ado, the First Place Winner is KIM FORRER of Kim Forrer Designs! Kim entered an amazing bracelet she calls “Dream a little Dream”. The stunning bracelet was made using a bead of mine called “Midsummers Night”. We loved Kim’s use of color, her cool homemade clasp and her awesome photography. Kim has won a complete set of Whitney Lassini lampwork beads including one focal and six accent beads.

Second place goes to CRISTI CLOTHIER of 2 if by Sea. Cristi sent in a truly amazing necklace made with my focal bead called “Garden Variety”. I really love the colors she used in this piece and how she paired the dainty flower beads with Swarovski crystals. Cristi has won four fun Bubble Beads.

And last but definitely not least is Luann Zanke Gilliland of LZG Beaded Designs! Luann submitted a gorgeous necklace using a cool focal of mine called “Gospel”. I love the cool colors and the interesting beads she used in her piece. Luann has won six funky frit beads!

All three will also get 10% off their next order from my Etsy Shop!

Thanks again to all the ladies who entered the challenge! I really enjoy seeing what others do wtih my beads! I hope to have another challenge in the fall so get those designs ready and check back in a few months!

I must apologize for the delay on this post! I received the third and final entry for the Spring Designer Challenge on April 29th and I still have not posted it. Well here you go! The final entry comes from Cristi Clothier of 2 if By Sea. Look for more of her beautiful jewelery in her Etsy Store 2ifbysea.etsy.com.

Stay tuned I will announce the winners of the challenge on May 16th!

The deadline to enter your pictures for the Spring Designer Challenge is just around the corner! Friday April 30th is the last day to send in those pics! So far, I only have two entries for the contest. It’s my very first challenge…I guess I can’t expect tooo much If no one else enters I will split the Third Place Prize between the two entries.

If you have ever made a piece of jewelry with one of my beads, and you happen to have a picture of it, and you happen to send it in it before April 30th at Midnight, you are GUARANTEED a prize!!! C’mon its so easy!!

I did it, I finally bought the Nortel Bead Core Liner! It is really easy to use. After only a few “yuckies” I was able to make some pretty decent looking cored beads. I still need to refine my technique a bit. I haven’t figured out how to round the edges nicely and I think I need to polish them somehow to get the nice smooth shiny look, but so far I am quite happy with my new purchase.

I bought my silver tubing and bead caps from GinkoDesigns on Etsy.

Take a look at the results…first the “Yuckies”…

and here are the good ones…

I have my first two entries for the Spring Designer Challenge!

My very first entry is from Kim Forrer of Kim Forrer Designs. If you like this bracelet you should stop by her Etsy Shop and 1000 Markets Storefront for more of her amazing designs.

Some details about the piece:

Whitney Lassini focal bead
Faceted Labradorite stones
Amethyst Stones
Sterling Silver wire and spacer beads
Lapis Lazuli Bead Dangle to bring out the blue in the focal bead
Sterling Silver hand-forged abstract hook and eye clasp with Amethyst stone accent

The next entry comes from Luann Zanke Gilliland of LZG Beaded Designs. Her work is currently featured at a local gallery, Framing by CJ, in Bloomsburg, PA.

Some details about the piece:

“I was inspired by the colors and swirls of this bead. I used three different shades and textures of purples to capture the movement of colors swirling around in the bead. (Czech glass, Asian crystal, Greek ceramic spacers) I used the amber color as a complimentary accent color. I carried the swirl into the finished piece by incorporating a sterling silver swirl clasp.”

Thanks so much for sending in those entries! I can see that my judges over at Bead Quest are going to have their work cut out for them!