Two new patterns!

Issue two of the new on-line only beading magazine Digital Beading Magazine is now available and once again it has 158 pages packed full of a wide range of projects and techniques to satisfy everyone.  Although this magazine is based in Australia, being on-line means that you can download it as soon as it becomes available and see what everyone else is seeing ... that means no annoying waiting for it to arrive and no hefty overseas shipping fees.  You can simply purchase it (or subscribe) and immediately start flicking the pages on your computer and decide what you would like to make first.  I have two projects in this issue and the first one is Galactic Gumdrop earrings which mixes the new gumdrop beads from York Beads and a few seed beads to create a pair of out-of-this world earrings.

And the second project is Bohemian Bloom which takes a hank of multi-coloured Czech hybrid seed beads and turns them into a fun flower brooch that will bloom beautifully with everything in your wardrobe.

There will be two more new patterns from me in issue 3 of this magazine which will be available in April, so if you don't want to miss anything, be sure to either complete the 'Follow by Email' box on the top right-hand side of my blog or 'like' my Facebook page. 

Bye for now!

Kerrie ♥

New Year and New Patterns!

Happy New Year everyone!

Well 2012 didn't quite go according to plan but although there is a gaping Mum-shaped hole in my life, I am happy to report that things are going very well on the bead front.  I have spent the last few weeks beading and pattern writing almost non-stop and it looks like there will be lots of new designs and patterns popping up here, there and everywhere throughout 2013.  If you don't want to miss anything, be sure to either complete the 'Follow by Email' box on the top right-hand side of my blog or 'like' my Facebook page.  The first piece of news is that a new on-line only beading magazine has just been launched and although it is based in Australia, being on-line means that you can download it as soon as it is available and see what everyone else is seeing ... no annoying waiting for overseas shipping while all of your friends are busy drooling over the designs, buying the beads, making the projects and moving onto the next fun thing!  I am thrilled to be part of the design team and my project Moon Posy appears in the launch issue

The second piece of beady news is that Bead & Button magazine has also published another one of my patterns and again it's an on-line pattern, but this one is FREE!  Simply follow this link and either log in or register and you will be able to download the Gumdrops in my Garden pattern to make this dainty little bracelet using the new Gumdrop Beads created by York Beads.

So that is my news for now.  I hope you enjoy these projects and that you have a wonderfully satisfying and creative 2013!

Bye for now!

Kerrie  ♥

Yorkie and the Midnight Garden!

A couple of weeks ago the Midnight Garden had a visitor.  Of course I couldn't show you on the blog at the time because of the contest, but as he proved to be quite a popular character on my Facebook page, I thought I would share his story with you today and also ask him if he would kindly make a return visit to pick the lucky winner of the giveaway!

So that was Yorkie's first experience of the Midnight Garden, but I have a feeling that some kind of magical spell was cast on him that night and that now he will be a regular visitor.  He was only too glad to come back into the garden to pick the winner of The Bead Shop Manchester giveaway.  Mr. and Mrs. Prickles oversaw  the proceedings to make sure that everything was done fairly and a small group of onlookers huddled in the corner, waiting with baited breath to learn the name of the winner ...

 

 And the winner is ...

Iha Vahlberg Orre of Sweden!  Congratulations Iha - your beautiful beads will soon be winging their way to you!  A big thank you to everyone who entered the contest and of course special thanks to Yorkie too!

 Kerrie  ♥

Gumdrops Galore!

Being a freelance designer sometimes means that I am asked to create designs using new types of beads or beading products that hit the market - and that is just what happened with the new Czech Gumdrop Beads designed by Perry Bookstein of York Beads.  These pressed glass beads have softly rounded tops and a flat base with a hole running from side to side near the base.  They come in a tempting array of approximately 15 colours with mouthwatering names like 'Magic Raspberry' and 'Peach Melba' - but of course, as I am currently immersed in moonlight I had to choose something that would fit into the Midnight Garden and so I chose 'Silver Bullet' and 'Orion'.  I thought it would be good to show that these new beads can be incorporated into designs as simple or as complicated as you want them to be and so first I made a straightforward pair of 'Galactic Gumdrops' earrings ...

For my next trick I wanted to create something a little more intricate and as the gumdrops vaguely reminded me of acorns (probably due to my recent trip to Sherwood Forest!) I thought I would try to make the kind of nuttily leafy bracelet that you would expect to find in my beaded garden.  So I bezelled the bottom of each gumdrop to make it look like the cup of an acorn and brick stitched some little oak leaves.  Next I wove everything together in a pleasing cluster and tied the bracelet with a soft grey ribbon to give me 'From Midnight Oaks Magic Acorns Grow' ...

 Bye for now!

Kerrie ♥