Prima Bead Blog Team!

Hello everyone!

Despite being a frantically busy beader, I have accepted yet another challenge that I found just too good to resist and I am happy to announce that I'm now a Prima Bead Blog Team member! So what does this mean and how does it work?

Well, firstly Prima Bead is a division of the large US based Cousin Corporation which specialises in jewellery making supplies and they have created this brand new team to tell the world about their products. There are 10 team members - 8 are based in the US, 1 member lives in Canada and then there's me in the UK.  Each member is an experienced blogger and has a passion for craft and design and although we all have very different styles we will all be sent the same product each month to review. See the Prima Bead Blogger Team links on my sidebar to learn about the other members and to visit their beautiful blogs - be sure to visit them all regularly to keep up with the news and to see what we all make from the same set of items.  The first products we have been asked to review are items from their non-tarnish hypoallergenic Stainless Steel Elements range.

Yesterday I received my 'Welcome Pack' from Prima and as you can see they have certainly made us all feel very welcome! But let's be honest here ... although I am thrilled to be part of the team and I love receiving beady bounty ... there is not one single seed bead in that box! If you follow my blog you will know that seed beads are my thing and so you might be wondering what I have got myself into, but you will also know that there is nothing I like better than a challenge. Remember the time Beads Direct challenged me to make something with a mystery pack or when they asked me to review their Art Clay Silver Masterclass? Or what about when E-Beads (now I-Beads) challenged me to make their logo in beads? That was a tough one! And then of course there was the time The Beadsmith invited me to use some of their clasps in my work and more recently I have been thinking up ideas to showcase Preciosa's range of beads.  So although I will admit to being nervous about this new venture, I am no stranger to this type of work and so I am very excited and I can hardly wait to dive into that wonderful 'Welcome Pack' and get the cogs of my beady brain turning.

See you soon with more beading news!

Kerrie ♥

Fab Four!

Hello everyone!

The latest issue of Digital Beading Magazine is now available and although I don't have a project in this one, I do have a slot in their regular 'Fab Four' feature alongside Edgar Lopez, Aurelio Castano and Lucy Duckham.

So if you want to read my answers to questions such as 'What do you enjoy most about the creative process?' or 'What were your early beaded creations like?' or even 'Tell us about your work with Preciosa?' then follow this link to purchase your copy of the latest issue. It is packed with a wide range of inspirational projects and at $US4.95 for 163 pages it's great value for money too!

See you soon with more beady news!

Kerrie ♥

Three patterns on one CD!

Hello everyone!

It might seem a bit quiet around here lately but rest assured, a LOT of beading is being done. I'm still working with various companies trying to come up with designs to show ways to use their products and although this is great fun and an exciting challenge for me, it means that pictures of new beadwork are few and far between at the moment.  I have at least ten pieces waiting in the wings but I have to keep them under wraps for the time being - but I can tell you that before too long there will be a colour explosion and I will be bombarding you with picture after picture!  So until that time all I can tell you is that I have just added a new PDF to my website and you can purchase it by following this link.

The PDF includes three of my patterns that were previously published in Digital Beading Magazine: Simply Spikes, Galactic Gumdrops and Bohemian Bloom. It is twenty pages long and also includes a fascinating bonus article about hybrid seed beads written by Perry Bookstein of www.yorkbeads.com. I have set the price of this bundle to £5 for all three patterns as they are magazine versions and are therefore not as minutely detailed as the other patterns I sell. I would also like to mention that these PDF's were designed for online viewing rather than for print.

So that's it for now but I'll be back soon with lots of new pictures, but a word of warning ... you might need some sunglasses before you look at my latest work!

Bye for now!

Kerrie ♥

Spikes in Bloom!

I've just returned home after a lovely couple of weeks visiting family in Spain and there were so many beady things happening in the run up to our departure, that I didn't get chance to tell you about the new pattern I have with Bead & Button magazine.  Some time ago, Perry of www.yorkbeads.com asked me to create a piece using his new spike beads that would be used in an advertising campaign.  As you know, I love a challenge and so I was thrilled to be asked and excited about the opportunity, but I was also very nervous as I had no idea whether I would be able to create anything suitable.  I had already designed several spike pieces and each one was the best that I could make it but as this one was going to be used for an important advert, I knew I needed to try and create something completely different.  I had heard some of my beady friends tell me that they were not fond of spike beads as they looked too aggressive and so that sparked off the idea in my mind to try to find a new way of using these beads, a way that softened their initial dangerous look, something that made them look more feminine and if I could, something that would give them an elegantly floral appeal.  I spent a considerable amount of time experimenting with these 5 x 8mm baby spikes and eventually I mixed them with my trusty Midnight Garden Toho 176B's and a length of grey organza ribbon and found a way to make them bloom.

Just like the Gumdrops in my Garden pattern, this is now another FREE on line pattern.  All you need to do is follow this link and either log in or register and you will be able to download the pattern for Spikes in Bloom.  The pattern includes instructions for making a bracelet, pendant and ring but there are all sorts of other possibilities too and I look forward to seeing your creations.  I find the rings are particularly addictive to make and as you can see, I made myself a whole handful!

And below are copies of the adverts so far, the top one can be seen in the June issue of Bead & Button magazine and the bottom one appears in the current issue of Digital Beading Magazine.

I hope you have fun with the new pattern.

See you next time!

Kerrie ♥

Stripes and Spikes!

Issue three of the new on-line beading magazine Digital Beading Magazine is now available and it seems to have grown yet again with 166 pages and over 50 very varied projects.  I have two new projects in this issue and I was thrilled to see that my project Floribunda Bangle is on the cover!  The bangle is part of the range that I have been creating with the beautiful Czech glass striped beads from Preciosa Ornela and is a really substantial 'statement piece', but as all the flowers are removable you can make as many as you want or even just make one to wear as a pretty pendant.

The second project 'Simply Spikes' is exactly what the name suggests; a set of bracelets and rings that use only the new spike beads from www.yorkbeads.com and strangely for me ... no seed beads!

And last but not least, little 'Flash' the stripey owl has his Australian version of the Preciosa Ornela advert in the magazine too!  I know it looks as though I have hijacked this issue of the new magazine, but don't worry, with 166 pages there are plenty of other projects to choose from - why not purchase a copy and see for yourself?

See you next time!

Kerrie ♥

International Flash!

If you follow me on Facebook you will know that I have recently been doing some work with bead giants Preciosa Ornela - a Czech Republic based company that manufactures a vast range of high quality Czech glass beads in all shapes and sizes.  I started off by creating some pieces using their two hole Twin™ seed beads which was quite a challenge for me as I had not worked with that bead shape before and you can see the results of my efforts by following this link.  My next assignment was to work with Preciosa's striped seed beads and although most of these beads come in larger sizes than the beads I usually work with, I felt much more at home with them and I began creating an assortment of striped beadwork.  I would love to be able to show you all the new pieces and to talk more about my experiences with these striped seed beads, but  I am afraid that I have to be a little bit mysterious as Preciosa sometimes has other plans and so I mostly have to keep things under wraps until I am given the go ahead. BUT ... I can tell you that one of my striped bead 'critters' has been used in a full page magazine advert for Preciosa!

I am very proud of 'Flash' my little beaded owl as he was made in England (by me) and then he flew all the way to the Czech Republic to have his picture taken professionally and now here he is starring in a full page advert in the US magazine Bead Style!

I hope to be back with more stripey news very soon.

Bye for now!

Kerrie ♥

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 ♥