BeadStyle : charms

Donations for Kathy's Garden Party benefit

Naomi Fujimoto — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:11:00 GMT

Every year, Cathy and I design jewelry to be auctioned at Kathy's Garden Party. This year's theme: "All Dolled Up." I stayed in my comfort zone, making a charm bracelet with pink and peach gemstones.

Cathy, however, has been trying lots of new things with resin. (You'll love the necklace she's showing in the March issue!). For her donation, she made a necklace of resin charms with photos of doll faces. The shades of green and copper looked beautiful on the runway!

To see the other Barbie- and doll-themed items, click on the "Preview artwork for Kathy's Garden Party" icon on the Grace Events page.

For the birds

Naomi Fujimoto — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 19:47:00 GMT

In the bridal shower section of our upcoming special issue, Beading Parties, we show a beautiful bird necklace by Nina Cooper. I've noticed that the bird motif is still going strong — and though I'm not a fan of the actual winged creatures, I do like the theme in jewelry. I'm also seeing lots of owls and wings.

A few of my favorite jewelry designs:

• Free People's sterling silver charm on crocheted cord

• Peggy Li's delicate dove necklaces

• Heartbreak Jewelry's vintage plastic pendant

• Buttercup Days' bird charm lariats

• Local Library's enameled pendant in retro colors

• Allison Wells' flying bird earrings with attached earring wires

As far as sources go, Nina Designs has many styles right now, including open wirework (my favorites — I prefer flat, two-dimensional charms) and songbird-and-floral prints. Or, for inexpensive charms, try the Blue Moon collection at Jo-ann or Michaels.

I'm hoping that puppy charms will soon become a trend. (Not realistic, but I can hope, right?)

Jewelry to memorialize pets

Naomi Fujimoto — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 21:46:00 GMT

Today, I made a charm necklace from the tags on my dog's collar. Please feel free to read about it (and leave comments, if you want) on my personal blog. Thanks!