Welcome to the August installment of Ornament Thursday. This month's theme is Academia, and I was stumped at first, but then inspiration hit in the most unexpected way. Beading Parties , the latest special issue from BeadStyle magazine , arrived on... Read More

Last week, while at the BeadFest in Philadelphia, I met, chatted with, and learned from many talented people. As always, the work of Cynthia Thornton caught my eye. This is Cynthia - Her hubby, Greg Ogden is sitting in the background. Together, Cynthia... Read More

Tom (the art director for Kalmbach's books department) is getting married in Vegas next Friday. His fiancée, Meg, wants some simple jewelry to go with the dress she's wearing. She likes Celtic designs and wants a combination of silver and green... Read More

I switched it up this week and included Art Jewelry magazine's recent interview with Robert Dancik in the jewelry gems of the web. I had the chance to interview a bunch of great artists at the Bead&Button Show in June 2008, so this interview with... Read More

I just found an interesting poster at allposters.com. It reads: “Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity.” Do you believe that? It certainly takes creativity to make something complicated... Read More

Linda Arline Hartung, designer of the “Autumn leaves” jewelry in the September issue (pp. 96–98), gave us a great tip that we neglected to include in the project directions. When making the crystal leaf units, place your roundnose pliers against the crystal... Read More

Jay, an illustrator in the art department, gave me a Ziploc of lint balls. He found them when cleaning out his dryer. They're astonishingly round and smooth; some even look like polished rocks. (Why is lint always gray?) Viewing this as a design challenge... Read More

Today, cantonrep.com announced a wonderful event happening at Aultman Hospital in Caton, Ohio, as part of its grief service program – a jewelry-making workshop. Though lately we’ve been thinking a lot about beading parties as a way to have fun with your... Read More

Another lovely week here in southeastern Wisconsin. My laundry is all caught up, thanks to the DIY dryer repair I blogged about last week . My car, however, is still being parked in the driveway--who knew that a 1920s house would also have an old garage... Read More

Yesterday, Naomi wrote about some of the jewelry we BeadStylers wear. In Naomi's photo, I am wearing one of my necklaces that hasn't appeared in the magazine. The pendant is made from a repurposed bamboo placemat with a decoupaged image. The image... Read More

Here we are — Stacy, Erin, Cathy, me, and Jane — outside the Kalmbach offices. All of our colleagues (300 people) were here earlier for a company photo, but I also wanted a staff picture because we're wearing some of our favorite pieces of jewelry... Read More

In our special issue Beading Parties coming out on August 26, we published Janet Martinez’s book-bag dangle, which will channel your inner Harry Potter or Frodo Baggins (hint: The featured creature rhymes with “wagon”). As the start of the school year... Read More

I know this is a beading blog, but it's been a busy week and I'm looking for some kudos as well. So here's the story: Both of the clothes dryers in the two-flat I live in stopped tumbling in the last couple of months—I realized mine wasn't... Read More

Check out the video section for an interview with jewelry designer Melissa Cable. Click on "Video," and you'll find Melissa under "Interviews." Melissa's riverstone-inspired beads and the resulting necklace are featured on... Read More

We received a lovely e-mail from Jennifer Hawkins last week. I dig that she found the March cover necklace , "totally funky." I agree with that description and find Jennifer's alternative version equally unconventional and striking: I love... Read More