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, I decided to make a necklace. I found some...

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 page 124 of the September 2008 issue of BeadStyle...

You are shopping for gemstones. Hmm, how about some turquoise? Your search leads you to many types of turquoise: Sleeping Beauty, African, Chinese, Viennese, Howlite, and Purple. What to choose? Time for some serious research. And what you will find can be a little confusing. African turquoise is really...

I love bold colors, textures and unusual materials. A great combination for summery designs is wire lace and Greek ceramic beads and/or pendants. The wire lace gives the impression of fishnet floating on water, and the Greek ceramic pieces come in a variety of styles that scream ‘summer at the beach...

What a week for the web! Check out this week's links from some of my favorite sites. About.com Jewelry Making Tammy declares, Red Brass Rocks! Consider red brass wire as an alternative to gold-filled if you have been put off by the price. Art Bead Scene Give your Art Beads a Summer Vacation! Earthenwood...

Ahh... long weekends. All the things one can do with that extra time. Unfortunately, it also means all the things that one can FORGET to do with that extra time. Though I try to post these on Friday, Friday got away from me. But I know you'll have more time to visit these sites post-Independence...