Sue Beads

It's yet the end of another month, and that means it's the reveal day for the Art Jewelry Elements Component of the Month. For April, Rebekah Payne of Tree Wings Studio provided us with these cute little polymer hearts! If you love them, she has them available in her shop!

I asked Rebekah to send me a surprise, and I received a copper one!

As usual, I stared at the bead, stumped, for the better part of the month.  Feeling under the gun with many blog and personal and work deadlines, I was finally able to come up with what I wanted to make after looking at another piece I had made quite a long time ago!

These stone beads caught my eye on my dresser, and that was it.  I knew what I was going to make!  They match perfectly with the heart!  I added some pretty copper accent beads, and a copper clasp.

I'm really happy with the way this came out!  I will happily be wearing it!  Thank you so much Rebekah for another month of inspiration!

Check out what everyone else made with th…

This month's AJE Component of the Month challenge was from Rebekah Payne of Tree Wings Studio.  She makes awesome polymer clay beads, but recently she has been making hand painted leather feathers.  For this month's challenge, we could choose either a single larger feather, or a pair of smaller ones.  I chose the smaller blue pair.


I wanted to make some bicone beads to match these feathers, but as soon as I got back from Bead Fest I started working my other job again, and quite honestly have not wanted to even look at my torch right now.  I had these pretty round swirl beads that matched perfectly, so I went with them!


I knew I was going to make earrings, and wanted to figure out a wire wrap, instead of punching a hole in the feather.  It took me a few tries, but this is what I came up with.  If this is a technique that's already out there, please just bear with me!   Here's what I came up with:


I folded over the tip of the feather, and made a wrapped loop.  Here's…

This month, it was Rebekah's turn (Tree Wings Studio) to provide the Component of the Month!  I was excited about this because I almost immediately knew what I wanted to use with the bead I received. 

 I chose this olive green one with white and copper dots!  Look at the texture on the side of the bead - I really nee to know how she did this - it looks like stretched taffy! 

 I had purchased these chunky pearls at a bead show here in Pittsburgh a few months back, and I was so glad I did!  They go perfectly with the bead Rebekah sent me!  I also used two copper lantern beads I had left from a Bead Soup a while ago. 

 I did NOT, however, have the perfect clasp to go with it, and while I want to make one, I decided to look on etsy and see if I could purchase one.


I found this great toggle clasp from hummingbirdsupply on etsy and this it goes perfectly, with the dots on the clasp.  The only thing that might not work is if it's too antiqued, which I can change, of course, or just g…