Christmas Delivery

Please note that the last day to make a purchase from my Etsy shop for Christmas delivery is December 15th. I will be on vacation from December 16th until January 1st as we are moving to a new house. What a great Christmas present, huh?

I will reopen my Etsy shop on the 2nd of January and will have many new items for you then.

Thank you so much for your patronage in 2009!!! I love creating treasures and it thrills me that others like my treasures as well.

So....

HAVE A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Forever Beading,
Kerri

Looking for a nice tutorial?

I wanted to take a break from packing to introduce you to Mei from WireBliss. If you want to try some new designs, her Etsy shop has some very nice, easy to follow wire wrap tutorials.




I have purchased and tried the stud earring tutorial. It was very easy to follow and I made a nice pair of earrings my first try. The design can also be used to make a pair of wire wrap dangles with minor alterations.




This butterfly pendant is very unique and perfect for the butterfly lover. I haven't tried this one yet, but plan to in the near future.

Mei's addiction with creating and making wire wrap jewelry started in mid-2006 and now she's decided to share some of her handmade jewelry with all of you. She is self-taught for most part. I love her designs!

Check out Mia's Etsy shop and her wonderful tutorials. CLICK HERE to enter her shop.

She also has a blog that you can follow by CLICKING HERE.


If you'd like to see a sample of her stud earrings, CLICK HERE

Thank you Mia for sharing your designs with everyone!

Please Hang in There With Me......

It's been some time since I've posted a blog and wanted to let everyone know I'm still around.... We're in the process of moving and I'm knee deep in packing and boxes. It's bad timing, I know, but once we get moved I'll have an actual studio for creating more fascinating pieces. I have all kinds of ideas for different jewelry so if you'll hang in there with me, new designs will be coming.

We'll be moving on the 17th of December.

More to come.....

Kerri

Fabric Beads by Beadworks by Kerri

It's been some time since I've challenged myself with a new craft. Just to show you can teach an old dog new tricks, I decided to try making fabric beads. It was more fun and exciting than I imagined it to be. As with all new endeavors, practice makes perfect, but I think my first attempt turned out pretty good. I'm in the process of making another necklace, but the process takes time. This first attempt is for safe and memory keeping but I hope to have some fabric bead jewelry in my Etsy shop soon.

I would love to hear from you....and hear your thoughts and any new endeavors you're taking on now too.

To see my other designs, please CLICK HERE

Happy Beading!!!

Winner of the Military Brat Team Fall Challenge

I'm proud to say my Autumn Splendor bracelet took first place in the Military Brat Etsy Team Fall Challenge. Thank you to all who voted!

To purchase Autumn Splendor please CLICK HERE

To visit the Military Brat Team blog site please CLICK HERE

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is breast cancer awareness month and I want to dedicate this blog for all those who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. Great strides have been made in the medical field, but there is still more that can be done. I'm one of many Etsy artists who have joined Etsy Project Embrace and make monthly donations to the American Cancer Society. 10% of all the proceeds from sales in my Etsy shop are donated each month. Last month I donated $40.50 and hope to donate more as time goes on. In honor of breast cancer awareness month, 50% of the proceeds from the above earrings will be donated, along with 10% of the total sales. Please consider purchasing your gift items from my shop and supporting a worthy cause at the same time.

To purchase these earrings, or to view other items in my shop, please CLICK HERE.

Thank you and God bless!
Kerri

Another Etsy Artist

I just had to share these adorable pictures of my granddaughter, Addison Ternes, falling in love with a little handmade doll I found for her on Etsy. They're made by a very talented artist known as Greenie from Wisconsin. She makes Indie art dolls that celebrate non traditional forms. She doesn't use patterns and every item in her Etsy shop is hand sewn and constructed. They are adorable dolls that are sprinkled with pink fluff, slight pouts and big dreamy eyes. The dolls are of collector quality and designed for the kid at heart. But, as you can see, they are loved by all.

Please check out her Etsy shop by CLICKING HERE. She also makes whimsical animals, here's my favorite.



Thank you Greenie, for making such an adorable dollie that warmed my heart and delighted my granddaughter!

Kerri

Interview with an Etsy Seller and Friend

I've been buying jewelry supplies from Sherry Spring of springbeads.etsy.com almost since I first joined the Etsy community. I've always gotten the best service so I wanted to let everyone know a little more about her through an interview.

Question 1: How did you get your start selling jewelry supplies?

Sherry: Actually, I didn't. I started selling jewelry, then quickly discovered that my "creations" were not selling at all. So, I decided to start selling beads on a different "E store". I made a few sales, but nothing to speak of. My younger sister was visiting from Iowa and she asked me if I had tried selling on "Etsy". I said,"What the heck is an Etsy?" She promptly went to my computer and brought up Etsy. It was love at first "site". Here we are 8 months and over 700 sales later!!

Question 2: What are your favorite beads?

Sherry: The Czech glass beads are my most favorite of all of the beads. The colors and different cuts are beautiful. I just love aurora borealis coated Czech glass beads and my other favorite of the Czech beads are the capri blue, because they sell so well.

Question 3: What does the future hold for Springbeads?

Sherry: If it's anything like the past 8 months, the future looks good. I am always cruising my supply catalogues looking for incredible beads at a reasonable price so I can pass these beauties on to my customers. I have been testing the waters on semi precious stones and found that there is a great demand. Then, finally to take it one step further and start selling precious stones and metals.

Question 4: Is there anything you would like to add before we finish this interview?

Sherry: I want to be known as the shop for customer service from start to finish. The finest quality product that I can find, fair prices and honest rates for shipping. I believe a good transaction is when both parties leave happy. Also, I would like to thank all of my customers, old and new.

You can CLICK HERE to visit Sherry's Etsy shop and you can CLICK HERE to check out her blog.

Thank you Sherry, for being such a great Etsy vendor and for your friendship along life's journey.

Check out her beautiful jewelry supplies, you'll be glad you did!!

Autumn Goddesses

There's a chill in the morning air and cool evenings have come our way. Looks like fall will hit us early this year. I'm all for it because fall is my favorite season. I love the fall colors in the leaves and nice fresh feeling air. Here are a couple of necklaces that remind me of Thanksgiving dinner with fun loving relatives. You can almost smell the pumpkin pie baking in the oven!! The pendants in these necklaces are 100% handcrafted. The poly face was crafted by a local artisan and good friend of mine, Kristie Lou Brigham of Sculpted Windows Jewelry. The beadweaving was done by me. All in all about 5 hours worth of work went into making each of these special necklaces that bring back happy childhood memories.




For more information on the necklaces or to view other designs, please CLICK HERE to go to my Etsy shop.

Thank you!

Same Stone, Different Look

The idea behind this blog post first began when I decided to break up a matching pair of gemstones and make pendants with them rather than earrings. Each stone needed to look unique, but the coloring in the stone gave light to another idea. Why not use the same beads for each stone but with different stylings to show everyone just how different the exact same stone can look. It's actually why there can be so much jewelry on the market, yet most of it (at least the handmade pieces) looking so different. All a matter of the artist's interpretation, imagination, and of course, sense of color.

The first piece uses more of the light green seed beads and has a more earthy look to it. The light brown beads go quite nicely with the light green for a subtle look.

The second piece uses the same seed beads but has a more angelic look. In fact, when I realized it was taking on that look and feel, I decided to only add the light green beads around the top. Sort of like a halo effect.

So, each pendant started out using the same focal bead, which is travertine. For those of you not familiar with it, travertine is a terrestrial sedimentary rock, formed by the precipitation of carbonate minerals from geothermally heated hot-springs.

I welcome any and all comments.....

If you'd like to view more of my creations, please click here to visit my Etsy shop.

Two New Necklaces

Here are two new necklaces I just finished recently. The first one features a beautiful calico lace agate stone. It's the nicest piece of calico lace that I've seen and it is hard to find such good quality anymore. Truly a collector piece!

The second necklace features an amethyst cluster. This is a creation I've been thinking about and wanting to try for some time now. Most clusters are done up with wire wrap so I thought it would be nice to see one with beadwork instead. It's a very different look, a little more natural looking I think.

I welcome any comments... if you'd like to see more, please click here.

Thanks!

Artist Friends

I wanted to take some time today to introduce everyone to a new friend of mine from Etsy, the online shopping source for handmade items. He's known as Teaman on Etsy and for a good reason, he makes some of the most delicious tea I've had and that's saying a lot! He's originally from Windsor, Ontario, Canada and relocated to the US in 1996. He lives in the quaint little town of Howell, Michigan with his wife, two daughters and a pug.

Teaman has worked with the production and custom blending of tea for years. His tea is bagged with the highest quality tea paper providing great flow through ability yet prohibits product dispersion keeping its contents intact. Whether it is Assam, Ceylon, Kenyan, Chinese, Indian or Japanese, his teas are always fresh and are of the highest quality. Hand blended with real fruit, spices, roots, or beans then enhanced by adding flavor flakes. A fairly unique process which sets his teas apart. It is like flavor crystals that enhance the flavors of the fruit and spices. Along the lines of flavor crystals when added to chewing gum. The crystals flavor is dispersed with the addition of boiling water filling your cup with robust flavor!

His Etsy shop (click here to visit his shop) even has a recipe for making iced tea!

Right now he's running a special offer available through the month of August – receive 25 FREE cherry, orange & almond teabags with EVERY purchase of $5 or more.

Purchases of under $5 will receive 10 free teabags.

Please check out Teaman's Etsy shop, you'll be glad you did!!!

Gem Show in Springfield, MA

News from Beadworks by Kerri..... What a wonderful trip I had with one of my very good friends, Kristie-Lou Brigham, this past weekend. We took a couple of days off from the daily grind to attend a gem show in Springfield, MA. It was the first gem show of this magnitude for me to attend and I must say, it was a little overwhelming at times. We drove up the day before and spent the night so we would have a shorter drive the next morning. Got to the show about 9:30am and didn't leave until 6:30pm. It was a long day, but well worth the time and effort. We both got some beautiful treasures and will be busy making new jewelry for quite some time. Kristie does wire wrap using mostly crystals and minerals and I do beadwork using mostly cabs, so we shopped in different booths for the most part. It sure was nice to have someone keeping me company, though, for the 5 1/2 hour drive up there and back home again. We had quite the adventure getting back home too, what with signs posted wrong on the highway, almost running out of gas, and almost getting run over......we sure were glad to be back in PA!

This is me right outside the gem show venue.....it was packed full of people in no time!!

Here's my good friend, Kristie, wire wrap goddess....heehee

Yet Another Sedona Stone

Green is the color of the day with the 4th piece for the Sedona collection. This variscite is such a lovely shade of green, it's hard to capture it's beauty on film (least with my camera and photography abilities). I teamed it with seed beads that are also a striking green color and some small silver beads. The pendant comes with a black ribbon clasp that's removable so you can either use it or another chain of your choosing.

Sure to make a great addition to your ever growing jewelry collection.

You may purchase this pendant at www.beadworksbykerri.etsy.com

Thank you!

Tigereye Beauties

Finally got another piece done from the Sedona beads I purchased while on vacation. Aren't these two of the prettiest tigereye pieces you've ever seen? Once I saw them done up I wish I'd have purchased more sets. The beadwork on these was a little tricky because of their shape, but it was well worth the effort.

Fortunately (or unfortunately if you fell in love with these earrings) this pair is already reserved for a regular customer and not for sale.

You can see other designs at my Etsy shop www.beadworksbykerri.etsy.com

Thanks for looking!!

Sedona, AZ Line of Jewelry

Here are the first two pieces of jewelry from my new line created with stones purchased while on vacation in Sedona, AZ. What a truly beautiful place with equally beautiful stones. These necklaces, along with other jewelry designs, can be found at http://www.beadworksbykerri.etsy.com/

This very earthy necklace features a faceted picture jasper teardrop pendant and Arizona turquoise chips. The turquoise chips have been dabbled with diamond shaped picture jasper to fuse the look and create an overall classy design.

The double strand necklace measures 16" and the teardrop measures 1 1/8" x 7/8". Strung with an antique brass toggle clasp.

Amber chips are combined with natural mother of pearl beads to showcase the brown agate pendant in this necklace.

The necklace itself measures 18" in length and the pendant is 1 3/8" x 7/8". Strung with an antique brass toggle clasp.

Hope you enjoy these designs. I'll be posting more as they are created.

Thank you for looking!

Slideshow of Jewelry

Can't believe I figured out how to do this, but I made up a slideshow of a jewelry sampling and published it on youtube today.....isn't that something!! I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks...LOL

I'd love to hear your comments and suggestions, here's the link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAm-qONoN9Q

Now if I can figure out how to add the video to this blogspot, that will be something.....

Thank you!

First Friday Art Walk on Etsy

There's a new event on Etsy I wanted to let everyone know about. Starting with July, Etsy will have an Art Walk sale the first friday of every month. Participating shops will have specials that day. What a great way to spread the word and encourage people to purchase handmade items for their pleasure and/or every day use.

Unfortunately, I'm going to be out of town for the first Art Walk, but will be participating as best I can. I'll set up my shop with a First Friday section and any item listed in that section I'll have on sale. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions either with a comment attached to this post or through my etsy shop. To contact me through etsy, please click on the title to this blog.

Thank you!!

Kerri

Hearts Desire

I'm back to beadweaving again! Here's my latest design, called Hearts Desire, using a porcelain heart shaped bead and a beadwoven setting. It's meant to dangle at an angle to show off the fringe. If you click on the title to this blog, you can view more pictures of the necklace and other items in my Etsy shop.

Featured in Etsy

I'm very excited to say one of my pieces (second one in the grouping) was featured in an Etsy treasury yesterday!! I feel so honored to have one of my pieces chosen. What a great way to start the day......please feel free to leave comments.......they're always welcome!

Just click on this link to view it...... I'm not sure how long the treasury will be available.

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=65106&show_panel=true

Have a wonderful day!!

First Wire Wrap Necklace

Please check out my first wire wrap necklace I call Amazing Amazonite. I wanted to see how a necklace would work if the beads were wired together with non tarnish artistic wire rather than beading wire or thread. I really like the way the wire accents the amazonite. I would love to hear any feedback you are willing to send my way. The necklace is available in my Etsy shop. www.beadworksbykerri.etsy.com

Thanks!

Beadworks by Kerri on Facebook

I just wanted to let everyone know who reads this blog that I've recently created a BeadworksbyKerri facebook page. If anyone would like to become a fan of Beadworks by Kerri, here is the link:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Beadworks-by-Kerri/194763735532?ref=ts

If this link doesn't work, then once you log into facebook, please do a search (upper right hand corner of the screen) for Beadworks by Kerri and you'll find the page. Once there, you can become a fan.

My plan is to periodically run specials toward purchases in my Etsy shop, BeadworksbyKerri.etsy.com

Right now I'm running a 30% off sale for any purchase made this week.

Come join the fun!!!

Etsy Beadweavers Team

I'm proud to say that, while on vacation, I was juried into the Etsy Beadweavers Team. It's such an honor to be selected and I'm really looking forward to participating in the monthly challenges. There are so many wonderful bead artists around the world today, such an inspiration! I hope I can live up to the spirit of the team.

Please take some time to check them out at http://etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com

Beadworks by Kerri

Hello everyone!

I've been busy creating more jewelry and finally back into beadweaving. I took a short break while learning some wire wrap techniques. Please take a few moments to check out my latest additions in beadworksbykerri.etsy.com. Above is my favorite....... let me know what you think!

New Artist Friends

Sculpted Windows Jewelry - Kristie-Lou Brigham

Here's a beautiful polymer clay cab created by Kristie-Lou Brigham, wire wrapper and polymer clay extrodinaire!!!

One of the nicest things that have come out of being involved with Gallery 141 in Lancaster is the friends I've met. I'd like to take a few minutes to introduce some of them to you.

Kristie-Lou Brigham is by far the best wire wrap artist I've had the pleasure of meeting. Her work is absolutely stunning, to say the least. Her favorite medium is wire, but she also makes beautiful polymer clay face beads. I've used a few of them in my beadwork and the pieces always sell fast once they're designed and on the market.

Kristie lives in Lancaster with Eon and her two weiner dogs. Here are a couple more of her pieces for you to enjoy (they're actually part of my wish list....heehee). You can find more of her work through

http://www.sculptedwindowsjewelry.blogspot.com/

Hello!

It's been some time since I posted a new blog and so much has happened. It's been a wonderful journey so far. I now have my jewelry in three different locations. If you're interested, here they are:

Olde Factory, Hummelstown, PA
Gallery 141, Lancaster, PA
www.beadworksbykerri.etsy.com

The etsy shop has been a good venture. I really like the site because it has tons of hand made items. I whole heartedly believe we should support the cottage industry. By cottage industry I mean people who make hand made items for resale. Artists pour their hearts into their creations and it shows. At etsy you can find a multitude of products, including jewelry, clothing, handbags, scarves, home decor, children's toys and much, much more.

Gallery 141 is part of the downtown art scene. It's a little off the beaten path, but we make up for it with charm. There are two monthly events that, if you're ever in the area, you should check out. The first friday of each month is "First Friday", appropriately named....LOL We have a live band, sometimes two and samplings of wine for our patrons. Most, if not all, of the artists are here for people to meet personally. The third friday of each month is "Music Friday". It's almost the same as "First Friday" but fewer galleries in the downtown area participate. The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10am - 4pm and until 9pm for First Friday and Music Friday.

Olde Factory in Hummelstown has been in business for 18 years. It's a three story building in historic Hummelstown and only about 3 miles from Hershey Park. They're open 7 days a week. Monday through Saturday from 10 - 6pm and on Sunday from noon to 5pm. There you can find antiques, collectibles, etc. My booth is in a glass case on the first floor.

Come on out and join the fun!!
Kerri

A Little Bit About Me

As many of you already know, my life long love affair with arts and crafts began when, as a young girl, my grandmother taught me how to crochet. Ever since, I'm happiest when my hands are creating something. Through my journey as an artist I have tried and enjoyed many crafts, including crochet, knitting (never quite got the hang of it), sewing, macrame, needlepoint, cross stitch, you name it. Sometimes I would have 4 or 5 projects going at the same time across several mediums. It wasn't until my older sister Cindy taught me how to make my first pair of earrings that I became focused on one craft. Almost immediately I became addicted to beads and for those of you who are also confessed beadaholics, you know what I mean. There's a certain feeling or spirituality that comes from running your fingers around and across a nicely shaped stone. The colors are fascinating and the variety is endless. As with many forms of art, you are only limited by your own imagination. It is my hope, through this blog, that my love of art can be an inspiration for other aspiring artists. It's been a long, wonderful journey and I'm amazed how intertwined it has become. The internet has opened up a whole new world for many. In the course of a few hours you can scan the globe so to speak. You do a search, find a website you like that has a link you find interesting which leads you to yet another website and more buried treasures. Half the fun is not knowing where it will all lead.



Come join the adventure and share your journey with me and others!!