I recently received a galley copy of a very interesting book, "Bead One, Pray Too" ( Church Publishing Inc, March 2008, $28). Written by Kimberly Winston, the book gives an overview of prayer beads from many of the world's religions and... Read More

After Crystal McDougald, the author of Beading From Nature, Creating Jewelry With Stones From he Earth , paid to have a strand of garnets restrung, she knew she needed to learn the art of beading. After a few years of jewelry making, Crystal began constructing... Read More

In a couple of weeks, I'll be visiting New York for the winter JANY show . Even though the emphasis is on diamonds, there are hundreds of artists and companies showing gorgeous gemstone and precious metal jewelry. I'll be looking at collections... Read More

Thanks to everybody who gave us input on the May cover. The comments you left pretty much mirrored our own discussions. The green necklace was "richer" looking, but the other version was very light and "springy" — something we can... Read More

Perhaps you’ve seen colorful take-out food containers at your local craft store (check near the wrapping paper). I’d heard that these boxes are great for packaging jewelry gifts, so I decided to try it for myself. I recently gifted a bracelet in one such... Read More

Brooke White appeared on this season's American Idol wearing a necklace with a key pendant, much like the one featured in the January issue of BeadStyle . Not that we needed any proof that BeadStyle has cutting edge fashionable projects. Check this... Read More

BeadStyle does not generally do commercial announcements for products, but I have to make an exception here because we have received so many questions about where to get Vintaj findings. There are a number of online and brick-and-mortar locations, but... Read More

Whether it's for a new president or a new BeadStyle cover, your vote counts! Thursday, check out our cover test . We'll post two or three options and you can vote for the one you like best. We can't give away our trade secrets for how we choose... Read More

I saw a lot of beautiful things in Tucson. As my Visa card can attest, I brought a few too many of them home with me. One of the most beautiful things I saw, however, weren't gemstones. They were the photos of children that decorated the Beads of... Read More

Last week, staff from both BeadStyle and Bead&Button returned from the Tucson gem and mineral shows. Though I didn’t get to go, all the sharing of stories and purchases has gotten me excited for the Bead&Button Show, June 1–8, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin... Read More

Since the March '08 issue went on sale February 5, I've received a couple of e-mails asking about the bar-and-link chain used in "Subtle & classic" (p. 70–73). Jackie Boettcher purchased her chain from Michaels (see michaels.com... Read More

Jill Erickson of Art Jewelry was visiting artist Sherry Bell in Sedona, Ariz., — and look what she found in her studio — the BeadStyle gemstone poster that we included in the July 2007 issue. Yay, Sherry — we love to see it being put to good use. Check... Read More

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. Hope you are feeling the love. I found these pretty wooden hearts at Fusion Beads . Each heart is 11/2 in. long. There are different types of wood (like walnut and cherry) and designs to choose from – these are purple heart... Read More

Dogs and gemstones may have their imperfections, but that only adds to their appeal. If you're interested in reading more, please check out my post on my personal blog. Read More

I was going to blog about the many things I saw in Tucson last week (I will eventually), but I had to add to Lindsay's "Beading Bloopers" blog from last week. I've also dumped graduated beads into our carnivorous carpeting, and made... Read More