Fit To Print -- "Spotlight on Wire" by Melissa Cable

When I was recently at the Bead & Button Show, I snagged this recently-released book my Melissa Cable.  As the title indicates, the book shows how to twist, fold, hammer, weave, and wrap metal and wire.  The cover project immediately caught my eye, and a quick flip through the book showed a number of other projects that were beyond beginner level.  Don't get me wrong -- a beginner will both learn and be able to accomplish many projects in this book, but there are plenty of projects for more advanced wire-lovers.

The chapters are broken down into styles of wire:

1:  Woven Wire

2:  Textured Strip Wire

3:  Corrugated Wire

4:  Heavy Wire

5:  Chain and Wire

The tips and techniques pages explain how to do interesting things with wire and strip metal -- texturing, using a "poor man's rolling mill" (something I found really cool), and patinating.  There are plenty of step-by-step photos, too.

If you aren't used to working with wire, dealing with the many different gauges and lengths of wire in each project might be a little confusing at first -- lots of numbers to deal with in some projects.  However, if you're new to wire, start with the simpler projects first and you'll get the hang of it quickly.  The font is also a little small, but the projects are worth it.

I'm looking forward to trying out some of the projects in this book in a challenge with my friend soon.  Stay tuned for that!

Lori Anderson writes the blog Pretty Things and creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs.   She is also the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party.   

Fit to Print -- "Handcrafted Wire Findings" by Denise Peck and Jane Dickerson

One of the things I love about making my own jewelry is finding beautiful clasps and links.  Lately, I've been pulling out my hammer and my bench block and spools of wire and experimenting with making my own findings, so this book came at an opportune time.

This is a book that should become a staple on your shelf.  It covers tons of basics and lots of techniques that can be used day after day in virtually anything you make.  I LOVE knowing what gauge AND how long to cut my wire before muddling around trying to figure things out -- this book has saved me a lot of time and angst.

You'll find simple projects that only require the usual jewelers pliers to projects that require a small butane torch for fusing.  Yes, there's some fire involved, but no, they aren't difficult -- they're wonderfully accessible and once you try one, you'll be off like a shot.

My suggestion -- before trying anything in sterling silver, try several times in copper.  That way, you'll feel confident when you move to the more expensive wire. 

Absolutely check this book out!  Published by Interweave, you can find it in the Interweave.com store, Amazon.com, and other book sellers.

Lori Anderson writes the blog Pretty Things and creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs.  She is also the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party.  

Studio Saturday with Lori Anderson

Welcome to Studio Saturday! Each week one of our contributors gives you a sneak peek into their studio, creative process, or inspirations. We ask a related question of our readers and hope you'll leave comments! As an incentive, we offer a free prize each week to bribe you to use that keyboard. The following week we choose a random winner.

This weeks winner is BeadRoe. Congratulations!

You have won a bag of goodies from Erin Prais-Hintz!

Send Erin an e-mail with your address and she will send you those treasures!

This has been a hectic week here in my studio!  I went to the Bead and Button Show (brought lots of goodies back in case you want to try for the Big Bead Giveaway!), met with my book editor, did a video interview for promotional purposes down the road, met a million wonderful people, and did a bit of damage to a credit card I'd just paid off.  But I was good, actually, compared to some years.

Needless to say, my beading table and lampwork studio are either piled up with clutter or getting dusty.  I'm behind.  Soooo behind.  I feel like the White Rabbit in "Alice in Wonderland" .... "Late, late, for a very important date!"

source

When I have so many things piled up and a ton of deadlines due, I tend to get, shall we say, frazzled.  The running-down-the-street-waving-my-hands-over-my-head-screaming type of frazzled.  So I've learned to set aside the deadlines, if only for an hour or two, and do something that gives my mind a break.

Two things sooth this savage beast, and one actually helps me get the pile on the workbench under control.

One:  I sort beads.

It's SO cathartic for me to pull out a box of beads and sort.  Beads in too large a baggie get poured into a smaller baggie.  Ahhhhh, there.  Nice and tidy.  Beads that are rolling all over the table, driving me (and the cats) mad, I scoop up and corral into their proper spaces.  My mind can just drift, and I actually feel like I'm accomplishing something without having to think and plan and design and create and, and ..... and.

my bead storage cabinet

Another thing I do when my brain is on overload and I need a mental break is make earrings.  I sell a ton of earrings at craft shows and always try to keep at least 200 or so pairs on hand, so days when I'm overwhelmed are deemed Earring Days.

This time of year, believe it or not, I start preparing for holiday earrings.  My show season starts in mid-October, and patrons expect to see those snowflakes, so out comes the ho-ho-ho and away I go!

beads by Moonraker Lampwerks

I think we all have days when we're just completely overwhelmed with Life.  Life has a way of sneaking up on us and yelling, "BOO!" in our ear just when we've thought things had settled down.  It's always good to have a backup plan, and these are just two of mine.  Depending upon the day, my backup plan could be a nap and a box of chocolates, but then, that would have been a short and boring blog post, now, wouldn't it?

So here's my question to you -- what is your favorite way to recharge your batteries when you're overwhelmed with being a jewelry designer?

 

Answer this question in a comment below, and a winner will be drawn at random next Saturday.  The winner will receive a nice healthy helping of my Bead Soup, styled to your favorite color palette.  Mmm, soup is good food!

Lori Anderson writes the blog Pretty Things and creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs.  She is also the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party. 

These Are a Few of My Favorite Beads

No matter if your day is happy or sad, beads will make you smile!  Here are few of my current favorites...

polymer clay cat bead by Tree Wings Studio

boro lampwork beads by Firelily

polymer clay beads by Earth Tones

lampwork beads by Lori Lochner

porcelain owl by Joan Miller

Lori Anderson creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs, and wrote the blog An Artist's Year Off.    She is also the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party.  

Interview with Polymer Clay Artist Barbara Bechtel

Barbara Bechtel was one of the first polymer clay artists I fell in love with on Etsy.  I continue to love and use her beads and she always comes out with new and innovative pieces.  I thought I'd interview her today so you could get to know her, too! 

L:  Barbara, how did you get started? 

B:  I started making beads after becoming disenchanted with the mixed media work I was making. I've always been a tinkerer, a Jane-of-all trades. One day while I was tinkering in my studio, I came upon some polymer clay in my supplies and decided to see what I could make. I was immediately smitten and have been making beads ever since.

L:  What inspires you? 

B:  I am keenly inspired by nature. For many years, my paintings were narrative in nature. I also have a deep interest in history and anthropology. Historical artifacts and relics all influence my work.  I seek to translate these forms into a new and fresh perspective....I also love the marriage of images and words.

L:  What are your favorite colors to work with?

B:   I don't know that I have favorites but I am definitely drawn to blues. Color is such a magnanimous thing, it has the ability to transcend the shape it is confined to.

L:  What is your favorite time of day to work?  What does an average day look like?

B:  I work best in the early morning. My workspace is pretty small, so I usually try to focus all of my efforts on one task that day, whether it is making beads, finishing them or working on finished jewelry. I'm very much a recluse. I don't leave the house that much. I work intuitively, so when I go into my studio, I work on the thing I feel most drawn to that day. 

The afternoon and evening are usually reserved for more tedious tasks...but I find that when I'm doing those tasks, I get the beginning visions for new projects. I spend an inordinate amount of time in deliberation about these ideas, so that when I physically begin them, I only have to work out the physical details.

L:  When did you begin making beads, and did you make jewelry first or beads first?

B:  That's a hard question because I made jewelry first in some basic jewelry classes. I never connected the two until I made those first polymer clay beads. Those first beads smacked of the same work I had done in my jewelry work and so, the two have become linked.

L:  Is there an artist that inspires you? 

B:  I love seeing the working process of artists. What goes on in an artist's mind an life and how that is translated when they begin to work. I recently watched the documentary series, Art City, and that really resonated with me. 


I think a constant for me has been Nina Bagley because I was first drawn to her mixed media work as a mixed media painter myself. Stephanie Lee's work is also very inspiring to me for a similar reason. The work my customers make with my beads always thrills me because they often use the beads in completely different ways than I could ever imagine and that is really inspiring to me as well.

 

L:  Do you have an art background?

B:  I have a BFA in painting from the Savannah College of Art and Design. I really loved that experience but I don't think it's necessary for everyone. I don't believe that one needs a piece of paper to make things. I think a person makes things because they can't imagine not making them.  If someone wants to make something, they should just do that.

L:  What is your artistic outlook on life?

 B:  I don't know that it is an outlook....but I try to follow my heart. To do the best I can, however I can.

L:  What do you like about your work?

B: I like that my work has remained true...I think it has always been a reflection of myself....a documentary, if you will. I can look back at both the good work and the bad work, and I can see what was going on in my life at the time.

L:  What is the best piece of advice you’ve been given? 

B:  Work hard, stay honest, be critical. Keep your eye on the ball, even when you can't see the ball. Make sure the process of making brings you joy. Never allow negative attitudes to control your own thoughts.

L:  What could you not do without?

B:  The love of my family and friends.

L:  If you weren’t a bead and jewelry artist, what would you be? 

B:  I would still be a maker, of some sort. I love food, so I've always liked the idea of being a chef...and I still love to paint. I would like to someday return to making larger paintings.

L:  What is your dream project?

B:  To build and design my own home and working studio. That would be amazing.

You can visit Barbara at the following sites: 

blog: http://secondsurf.com

jewelry and beads: http://floridity.etsy.com

vintage and paper goods: http://kitofparts.etsy.com

paintings: http://2ndsurf.etsy.com

Lori Anderson creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs, and wrote the blog An Artist's Year Off.    She is also the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party.  

If I'd Only Known -- Some Tips for New Beaders

I've mentioned in the past that I got into the jewelry design business completely and totally by accident.  I didn’t take a class, just jumped in with both feet and started messing around and figuring things out for myself.

Almost immediately, my hobby turned into a business.  Looking back, there are so many things I wish I’d known:

1)  Beads will take over your life.

Do not fight this.  So from the start, get a huge storage system in place.  It will be full sooner than you know.  The quicker you allocate studio space (even if it's a corner in your basement!), the quicker you’ll be able to find things when you need them — and you'll know what you have so you don’t keep buying the same supply over and over again!

2)  Take some classes early on.

I don’t know how long it was before I learned how to make a perfect wrapped loop, but at first, I had no idea how.  And it showed.

I now allow myself to make all sorts of mistakes while I'm learning a technique....

...but when it comes to selling something, I'm very, very particular about how something is constructed.

3)  Explore different mediums.

Right now, I’m a stringing/wire work jewelry designer.  I know traditional metalsmithing and lampwork bead making, but I’ve gotten so involved with keeping inventory up for the shows I do that I don’t have much time to look into other things, or hone new skills.  If I’d started exploring new mediums sooner, who knows what I’d be making now … altered art?  Woven wire?  PMC?.  It also would have helped me figure out what direction I wanted to go with my jewelry — what did I want my primary market to be?  I didn’t allow myself enough experimentation time before starting to sell.

4)  If you’re going to sell your work, use the best beads you can afford.

I should have been pickier when I first started selling my work.  I cringe now at what I was using.  This doesn’t mean you have to start with AAA London Blue Topaz, but if you’re going to be serious about selling, be serious about your beads.  There are LOTS of wonderful art beads out there that will run circles around the run-of-the-mill beads you'll see in craft stores.


Suburban Girl Beads

 5)  Get a handle on your pricing structure right away.


I quickly learned that my retail prices weren’t going to support a wholesale business.  I also learned that because I started with such cheap beads, it was a little difficult for my customers to get used to prices once I discovered beauties like handmade glass.  (Another good reason to make sure you’re happy with your style before you start selling it!)  Do some research by hitting the craft shows -- what is the price range that seems to be selling?  Additionally, try to decide right away if you’re going after the wholesale or retail market.  Each one has its own peculiarities, and it’s often a good idea to choose one or the other.

I feel pretty lucky that seven years later, things have turned out as well as they have.  But it sure would have made a difference if I knew then what I know now.

What are some things YOU wish you'd known then?

Lori Anderson creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs, and wrote the blog An Artist's Year Off.    She is also the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party. 

Fit to Print Review -- Jewelry Upcycled! by Sherri and Michelle Haab

I love books by Sherri Haab.  Not only are they sure to have innovative tutorials, but they're a treat for the eyes.  This book is no exception!

The book, "Jewelry Upcycled!", features techniques and tutorials for "reusing metal, plastic, glass, fiber, and found objects".   The tutorials are broken down into five "upcycling" sections:

• Metal and Wire
• Plastic
• Glass and Ceramics
• Fabric and Leather
• Found Objects

There really is something for everybody in this book.  You'll learn how to rivet, use resin, felt old sweaters, solder with copper tape -- there really is a LOT between these pages.  

And if you think that using recyclable materials means the jewelry won't look like.. well, jewelry, take a look at Sherri's bubble wrap necklace:

Isn't that cool?  

The book is 144 pages and is put out by Potter Craft.  I'd highly recommend it to anyone looking to expand their jewelry-making horizons and go green!

Lori Anderson creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs, and wrote the blog An Artist's Year Off.    She is also the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party. 

Jumping Out of Your Comfort Zone -- Take a Class!

Last year, I decided to reduce my craft show circuit from about 20 shows and knock it down to only five.  I wrote a separate blog about it, figuring it would keep me accountable.  The idea was to take a bunch of classes, try a lot of new techniques, and hopefully expand upon my current style, or maybe even develop a new one.

My usual style, with beads by Jane Perala

What I ended up finding out was classes scare me.  

Now, I looooove a trip to Barnes and Noble.  LOVE to peruse Amazon.com.  I have a ton of beading magazines and a healthy bookshelf FULL of how-to books -- everything from metalsmithing to micro-macrame.

one of my many, many bookshelves

However, the vast majority of those magazines and books go unread.  

I always have an excuse, which usually has something to do with not enough hours in the day.  There's always a deadline.  Or a school function.  Or the weather is too nice to stay indoors.  Or or ... and or.

So the only way I can really ever learn anything is to sign up for a class.

Attending class is a very humbling experience for me.  First comes knowing what to wear.  I know everyone will be wearing something SMASHING they made themselves -- probably from a two-week art retreat in the Italian Alps, which may or may not involve wrapping wire for three days straight on a hair-thin mandrel or encasing the fur of a unicorn in resin.  I'm totally joking around, but you get the level of my anxiety, I'm sure!

Unicorn shoe by Bete Noire Forge

Needless to say, I've been making jewelry around eight years now but I am THE newbie in the class.  Not just a newbie, but a rank beginner -- the person who cuts things wonky  (accidentally), pounds her thumb with a hammer (repeatedly), and sets things on fire (allegedly).

the inauspicious beginnings of ... something... at my class with Stephanie Lee

I'm the one who sits with shoulders hunched, looking with wild eyes at my neighbors confidently tackle their projects, armed with the perfect tools, the perfect packets of ephemera, the perfect ideas running through their heads.  I glance at the teacher, and all the teachers I've met -- they know That Look.   

And they stop and help.

Not only do they stop and help, but they encourage me to continue to ask for help -- not to the point of nuisance, but just often enough for a few seconds-worth of "is this right?".  And then I move on.

Sometimes it works out OK in the end, and all it takes is one class.

pendant I made during a class with Tracy Stanley

Sometimes it takes a couple of classes before I get things down.  For instance, the first time I took Barbara Lewis' enameling class, I burned things up.  Blechy beads.  Nothing salvageable.  So when she showed up in my neck of the woods nine months later, I took a refresher course, and it finally just... clicked.  I got comfortable.  I relaxed.

my second set of beads from Barbara Lewis' class

I still worry every time I take a class that I have a neon sign over my head that blinks "Caution!  Does Not Know Anything!" and "Doesn't Have a Clue!" over my head.  I am still awed when I walk into the class and see the amazing art around the students' necks.  And I still often wonder what was possessing me when I signed up for the class in the first place, because I feel I don't belong there.

Which, of course, is the entire point.  Why would you take a class if you DID belong there?  It's all about learning something new, isn't it?

necklace I made in Stephanie Sersich's class

Jumping out of my comfort zone means I REALLY take a cliff dive into an entirely new realm of jewelry design.  All of the classes I take are so far removed from what I normally do they require a different zip code.  However, after taking the class, I'm never sorry I took it.  I always learn something, even if I (allegedly) caught the piece on fire once or twice.

My challenge to you -- jump out of your comfort zone this year by taking a class in something that is totally unlike your norm.  Be it jewelry or cooking, sign up, take a deep breath, and jump.

I promise someone will catch you.

Lori Anderson creates jewelry for her web site lorianderson.net.  She writes the blog Pretty Things .  She lives in Maryland.

Studio Saturday with Lori Anderson

Welcome to Studio Saturday! Each week one of our contributors gives you a sneak peek into their studio, creative process or inspirations. We ask a related question of our readers and hope you'll leave comments! As an incentive we offer a free prize each week to bribe you to use that keyboard. The following week we choose a random winner.

This weeks winner is Carol of Dillman's Dallies! You have won a pair of  that awesome earring tree from Miss Fickle Media.  Please email Shannon with your address so she can ship that off to you.

And now we'll join Lori Anderson in her studio...

Today I'm going to give you a bit of a tour through my studio.  This might take a little bit, because I don't have ONE studio, but a lampwork studio, a work space, and an office.  All three handle distinctly different things, and I love them all for distinctly different reasons.

So grab a drink and a snack and settle in, why don't you?  

We'll start first with my work space -- the kitchen table.


(Click all the photos for a larger look).

I found a desk organizer from TJMaxx that is perfect for my tool caddy.  The drawer holds beading wire, files, and tools I use every day (I have a tool box, a large cookie jar, and a tray for the random tools that I use on occasion but still MUST have).  I use a self-healing cutting  mat and cover it with a Vellux beading pad (secured with clips) for my work surface.  I LOVE the blue mat because it has a ruler at the bottom.  Very handy.

To the left of the beading area is a wooden tray (a silverware tray from IKEA).  I keep a bunch of beading supplies in it that I need at hand for the day in this nifty little gadget.

Behind my chair is my bead cabinet, made by Collectors Cabinets.  LOVE this cabinet.  It holds a million beads so I'm not sure why there are a million and a half scattered all over my table, but... you know what it's like.

The top drawers hold a plastic tackle box easily with room at the front and sides for overage, and the bottom can hold either two tackle boxes or, as you can see by my system, a heck-ton of baggies.

I like working at my kitchen table for many reasons.  I can look outside through the double sliding doors (my lampwork studio is right in view), and since we have an open plan first floor, I can enjoy my family while I'm working on jewelry.  

Now on to the work horse of the Lori Anderson Designs operation -- the office.

Running a jewelry business is my full-time job.  I'm a single-person company, getting help only when my husband sets up and takes down my booth and tent at craft shows.  Most of the time, I'm sitting at this desk, writing blog articles, updating my web site, PhotoShopping pictures, writing invoices, entering receipts, organizing marketing plans, applying to shows, wrapping packages, etc. And etc.  And.... etc.

A quick tour.  On the left side : the pink metal lunch box holds pretty greeting cards as I like to send customers and colleagues snail mail from time to time.  Underneath, I store jewelry boxes (I'm running low, I see). A rack of file folders takes up the rest of the left side of the desk.  On the right side, on the printer, is my stack of marketing postcards and my Zentangle box.  Above the desk is my collection of Swarovski crystal snowflakes.

Next to the desk is my credenza filled with boring files and receipts, but it's topped with some interesting inspiration -- two very vintage typewriters.  I learned to type on a manual typewriter when I was eight and have been tested out on typing at a speed of 90-120 wpm. I started writing stories when I was six.  So when I look over at those typewriters, I get inspired.  I think, YES, even beyond making jewelry, there are other things I can do.

Next comes my photo staging area, which is relatively new since I put away my light tent and professional lamps.

I love this darned table.  Sometimes when I'm stumped or tired out or even sad, I can twirl around in my desk chair and just stare at this table. It's so full of STUFF!  

The shelf above holds a mix of modern and vintage -- a handmade doll by Vanessa Valencia, a pottery fish by a friend of mine in the craft show biz, a bottle collection, and an old camera.  On the table are old ledgers, fabric boxes, pieces of wood, another vintage typewriter (and next to it, a vintage tin toy typewriter), vases, bits and bobs, all things that I have bought, found, or been gifted that either will make a cool photo prop or just makes my studio feel pretty.  

Barely out of the picture in the bottom right, you can see my metal work table, where I can pound rivets and punch metal.  Cool table, inexpensively purchased at Harbor Freight (click here) for $28.  Expect to curse a little when putting it together, though, unless you were a bit more clever than either me or my husband!

I have a lot of beading books in my office bookcase, too. 

Now let's go outside to the lampwork studio!

The lampwork studio is very new (built last year) and I only torch a few months out of the year because I don't have enough hours in the day to keep up with making jewelry for the various shows and projects I have going on.  One day, that may change, but for now, it's where I run to when I need a zen moment.  There's nothing else you can think about when you're melting glass BUT the glass.  Start worrying about bills, the kids, or the number of cookies you ate before dinner, and you're liable to either burn yourself or your beads will rebel and look at you with reproachful eyes. ("Dear.  I know you can do better than THAT.")

Here's my studio being built.

I found an L-shaped desk (again, at IKEA) and I covered the top with ceramic tile to create a fire-proof surface.  Then, before the torch was even lit, the interior designer in me went to work.

There had to be a mural in one corner...

...and as you can see, the walls and part of the ceiling are painted in three different colors.  I added a chill-out space to relax and read up on how-to books and tutorials that I store in pretty boxes by the chair.  (What?  Doesn't every studio have a fake tree?).

My glass storage on my actual work bench is heavy-bottomed square glass vases from Pottery Barn.  For mass-glass storage, though, I needed something bigger, and one day, in an antique barn in Pennsylvania, I found it -- an old postal sorting bin made out of oak.  I BARELY got it to fit in the van, but after three men sweat and swore and shoved, we got it in with only a few splinters to show for it.  And it's perfect.

Those pink and purple curtains you see to the top right swing down and cover the whole shebang for dust protection, and also to cover the storage-of-stuff shelves that AREN'T pretty above the sorting bin.  That sorting bin?  It's five feet (at least) wide and four feet-ish tall.  Cooooool beans.

I hope you enjoyed your tour -- it was a long one, wasn't it?  But since my job is pretty much a 24/7 deal, I surround myself with pretty, interesting things no matter what room I happen to work in. I think it's important to find a way to make your space your own, whether it's a corner of the basement or a full-fledged studio space.  After all, the first thing a visitor to your realm will see is how it's decorated, and it should be a reflection of yourself.

Whether your studio is on your kitchen table or spread across your home, how have you made that space feel more creative?  Leave a comment for a chance to win this ceramic bird pendant by Spirited Earth. 

Now go out, create, and decorate!

Lori Anderson is a full-time jewelry designer residing in Maryland.  She writes the blog Pretty Things, and you can see her work at Lori Anderson Designs.

Fit To Print -- Wire Style 2

I'm absolutely THRILLED to be reviewing this book for you today!  I received a copy last week (it's available to everyone on March 1st) and I immediately devoured it.  

There are various levels of wire work in the book, and with 45 designs to choose from, you'll find something to love.  Earrings, bracelets, and necklaces are all made with a variety of metals and materials.  Not only will you love the tutorials, but you'll love discovering new bead artists in polymer clay, lampwork glass, and ceramic.  

Learn how to make this necklace in the book! Designer, Cindy Wimmer. Art Beads, Kerry Bogert.

The book also comes with a one-hour instructional DVD -- excellent for those that like to see someone making things in addition to reading instructions.  Even if you don't watch the DVD, you'll find tutorials easy to follow, and they'll provide jewelry designers with a great jumping-off point for creating their own unique designs.

Along with author Denise Peck, the contributors to Wire Style 2 offer their own unique style. (The contributors are Kerry Bogert, Jodi Bombardier, Jane Dickerson, Lorelei Eurto, Connie Fox, Lisa Niven Kelly, Donna Spadafore, and Cindy Wimmer.)


My recommendation?  Run, don't walk, to grab this book as soon as it hits the stands March 1st.  It's an inspiring jewelry design book you won't want to miss.

Lori Anderson is a full-time jewelry designer residing in Maryland.  She writes the blog Pretty Things, and you can see her work at Lori Anderson Designs.

The Winner of the Sunshine Artist Magazine is.....

The winner of the issue of the latest issue of Sunshine Artist is....

Shelby of Sunshine Bead Designs Rhetoric!

Congratulations, Shelby!

If you weren't a winner, Sunshine Artist is currently, for a limited time, running a special -- four print issues absolutely free!  Just click here to take you to the special.

They also offer several options and price points -- receiving an actual print magazine or the cheaper option of reading the full magazine online.  Click here for more info.  You can start out with the four free issues, see if it's for you, and then go from there!

Congratulations, Shelby, and I hope you all take advantage of the offer.... but hurry, it can end at any time!

Lori Anderson creates jewelry for her web site lorianderson.net.  She writes the blog Pretty Things and chronicled her artistic New Year's resolutions for 2010 at  An Artist's Year Off.  She lives in Maryland.