We had a blast bringing you some beautiful projects  over the course of the months since January.  In the end I just got too busy to keep up with weekly posts which required a fair amount of effort in order to bring you directions each week. My colleagues all did a stellar job of contributing and you all did an amazing job of beading some really fun projects! For now we'll be stopping as each of us leads busy lives and we need to turn our focus back to our respective businesses. We thank you for being here and for participating.  The content will remain at least for now, so i ..read more

How lucky are we?  Stephanie Eddy is sharing the darling bugle bead heart and she's given us lot's of design inspiration in the samples she has shown us.  Thank you Stephanie!  Marcia I’ve had a love/hate relationship with bugle beads dating back to the 60’s. Some of my very first beading projects were earrings using bugle beads. Back then, I only had access to the sharp-edged Czech bugles, which shredded the thread in just about every project I made. I quit them...for awhile. I was sure the affair was over. Steph & Nancy, Japan Then, in the 90’s, I ..read more

Met's engineering skills always shine through her designs.  CRAW  hearts seem to be the norm, but here Met gives us a peyote version where the placement of beads creates the shape.  I love a project that can be done fairly quickly which also provides some learning and can be made in different sizes.  Thanks Met!  Marcia My Bead Love contribution is a sweet little open heart made with peyote stitch and two different bead sizes. Using size 11 and size 15 seed beads in carefully selected positions, stitches made with single beads or multiple beads and areas where you pas ..read more

Linda has been a friend for many years now.  As so often is the case, we became familiar with one another on Facebook.  Then we got to meet in person at Bead and Button where one's passion for beads often comes together with others.  Then I was lucky enough that she moved not far away and we got to bead together on a regular basis.  I admire Linda's breadth of mediums and it's been my pleasure to watch some of her bigger art pieces develop.  Here she gives us a tiled bracelet with the sentiment that started it all.....LOVE!  Marcia I find that with beadi ..read more

Jacqui gives us the lovely concept of a Love Knot worked in one of the most distinctive new beads, the ZoliDuo.  She's turned this love knot into a ring which I'm sure will be as fun to wear as to make.  What color will yours be? Marcia  Supplies: 10         ZoliDuo Beads  (Right)   Czech 2g.        11° seed beads   Miyuki 1g.        15° seed beads   Miyuki 1           ss29 Rose Montee    Swarovski 1088 in sew on setting (2 parallel holes) 8# Fireline Beading Th ..read more

I have the extremely good fortune to have many friends in the bead world and it's always fun to spend time with them.  I will always remember when I first began seeing the name Sabine Lippert.  Her designs were beautifully executed, with a strong design sense, wonderful coloration and oh man, she was so prolific.  I remember writing her and saying something close to 'Who the heck are you?'  I laugh at those early days and memories.  She of course continued to excel and in short order we met at her first Bead and Button.  She's crazy fun in person and we've continu ..read more

It's National Beading week!  A concept started three years ago by the Beadworkers Guild in England. They asked if I'd be willing to be an NBW Ambassador and of course I said yes!  Sharing more bead love out in the world.  This is what I wrote on their website in the way of introduction. National Beading week! What could be better? This is a wonderful initiative by The Beadworkers Guild. It showcases how the beads unite so many of us worldwide. The Guild first came to my attention when the lovely Heather Kingsley-Heath contacted me for an article. I've since had the pleasure of ..read more

One can always count on Teresa to give us an interesting thread path while creating both pretty and solidly made beadwork.  These darling sparkly earrings will be a must do earring in many different colors.  I love an earring that can be considered bead neutral, in other words I can easily combine it with other bead work I may be wearing and it will compliment easily without competing.  I see a few pairs of these in my future! Supplies 1g seed beads size 15o  [8] 3mm 5000 round crystals or substitute 3mm pearls for a less sparkly look [4] 3mm 5328 bicone crystals [2] 1 ..read more

We are so fortunate this week to have Heidi share with us some of the techniques she uses to create her unique voice in bead artistry.  Her work is immediately recognizable as her work, yet she shares her techniques so that we may too create similar beauty.    I love how she creates such organic bead scapes with the always perfect touches of embellishment.  Thank you Heidi for sharing our process and your love for the planet and animals.  Marcia Gorilla in the Mist 2017 The  Howlers 2017 ..read more

This tutorial was inspired by Chris Prussing’s Puffy Heart and Marcia De Coster’s Love Letters, stitched with right angle weave (RAW) and cubic RAW. I wrote this tutorial expressly to be given freely on this Bead Love blog, a blog of inspirations on love and beads. I have been so inspired by so many other wonderful designers in the bead weaving community, and this is a little way for me to say "thank you" to all of you who have inspired me. Here you can learn to bead hearts and the letters in LOVE with just one size of seed beads in two colors. Since you only need one bead size, you can use ..read more