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.
Alice of Alice Dreaming is this week’s winner of a surprise bead bundle from Claire Lockwood of Something to do Beads.
Welcome to the Humblebeads Studio…
2015 has been crazy for me, I’ve been going from deadline to deadline, event to event. In between, I’ve been in my studio working away on orders and new beads. It’s a challenge to find time to develop new ideas and my creative process definitely goes in cycles.
Sometimes my creativity focuses on revisiting and updating designs that I have loved from the past like these fun poppy pendants.
Most of these ended up in the gift bags for my 2015
Bead Cruise that just passed. I paired them up with some yummy sari silk ribbons that matched the poppies. Bead Cruise? Oh yes, a week of beads, beaches, friends and fun. I’m working on the details for 2016 right now!
My next inspirations were from pics I snapped on the islands. Who can pass up the beauty of the tropical flora on an island?
I will be working these into new beads this week to take to an event next weekend, spreading some color and island inspirations in the snowy tundra!
My favorite part of the cruise – teaching! Nothing makes me happier than inspiring students. I taught my Metal Sketches class and the Hibiscus Pendant, it’s always a joy to see students wearing their projects and experimenting with new ideas.
I’ll be teaching both these classes in Baltimore next weekend with the Baltimore Bead Society. If you are in the area, I’d love to have you join us. They just have a few spaces left, it’s going to be a fun weekend. (Details can be found here.) I will also be presenting on Promoting Your Jewelry Business Online at their monthly meeting on March 10th.
So that’s what’s going on in my studio, making beads, putting together kits, working on lots of behind the scene’s kind of projects.
And now it’s time for the question of the week:
What kind of a jewelry class would you take if you could make a wish with a magical beady genie?
Share with me for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate from www.humblebeads.com. We’ll pick a random winner next Friday from the comments.
Katherine Thompson
February 27, 2015 at 5:26 pmI wouldn't make a wish with a Genie but if I could take any class I wanted for free it would be in Hawaii (my choice Remember) and it would be lampwork. I love glasswork.
Lottie me
February 27, 2015 at 5:51 pmI would love an online course (as I live in the UK) or a course I could print out like a book (which you do for your online courses which I absolutely adore!) That features easy pendants, with complimenting beads, to form a set for gifts.
Perhaps a simple bird or squirrel or something to represent a sign of the zodiac, or birth sign using only one or two different colors for each project. Or maybe a flat,square, oblong, or circular etc with ideas how to texture it with things you can find around the house or garden etc?, and perhaps using ready available paint that we might have in our craft 'kit' just ideas for creating without a huge outlay. You are so amazing the ideas you come with for you website creations. They are so original.
Nan Smith
February 27, 2015 at 6:10 pmI love your poppies, Heather. Can't wait to see what you make from your tropical inspirations. I would love a class on texturing and painting polymer clay.
(and it would have to be with you!)
Denise McCabe
February 27, 2015 at 6:27 pmFirst, those pictures (while absolutely beautiful) are just so unfair when living in a land with snow. Can there really be real colorful flowers still out there?
Second, as a for a class – either soldering – working with a torch seems so daunting! Or working with PMC – I'm guessing there are a lot of intricacies in making things with PMC and I wouldn't want to mess it up because of the cost of the clay.
Thank you!
Carol Dekle
February 27, 2015 at 6:54 pmWell, I would ask the magical beady genie to whisk you to the west coast, Lake Tahoe maybe? So you could teach a class on how you combine different color clays. I love that bougainvillea photo!
Melanie McGready
February 27, 2015 at 10:14 pmBeautiful photos and I love your poppies!! Regarding courses -silversmithing, lampwork, PMC, ceramics. I'd want to do them all!!
Kristen Stevens
February 27, 2015 at 10:23 pmHonestly I would love to take a class on making beads either polymer or clay because it blows my mind what can be done with colors and glazes.
Marybeth
February 28, 2015 at 4:41 amYour poppies are lovely! It would be great to learn how to make my own screens for silkscreening on polymer clay.
Divya N
February 28, 2015 at 7:15 amI would love a bead cruise trip or even a visit to a bead fest where I can take loads of classes. but if that isnt possible then atleast a soldering class from a pro
Kristen
February 28, 2015 at 11:44 amI would love to take a class someplace warm! I am intrigued by the lovely colors of your beads so a class in creating the color on polymer clay would be nice.
Marie
February 28, 2015 at 1:43 pmAt this stage of my beading journey I would like to take an off-loom bead weaving class to learn to make sculptureal shapes. Your poppy beads are beautiful. I admire your artistic skill.
Prakruti Mahendra
February 28, 2015 at 1:45 pmAdorable pendents!! I loved each of the color..with a feel of spring! Coming to the genie, I would love to take class on metal smithing.
Alice
February 28, 2015 at 2:05 pmJust getting over the nasty flu. I am so happy to win!
freshbakeddesigns
February 28, 2015 at 3:50 pmLove the color variations in your poppies! Happy!
I would love to keep on learning more about bezel setting stones, maybe try some tube settings.
Eileen Bergen
February 28, 2015 at 3:52 pmI don't have any of the materials for it, but I am really intrigued by the beautiful Metal Sketches designs you've pictured above. I would love to learn how to make those!
haezz
February 28, 2015 at 3:55 pmMagical bead genie you say? Glass. I love lampwork glass and would love to learn how to do it properly so that I can then break the rules. I'd ask for a dash of polymer clay knowledge as well. Want to learn to create organic and ethereal pieces.
Renee M
February 28, 2015 at 4:10 pmI would love to know some how-to's of making clay beads/shapes. It would be fun to see what I can use from my stamps/card-making supplies for clay creations, like can UTEE be used? I would like to know how to create seasonal/holiday things, like beads that look like peppermint. I've been having a lot of fun looking at your lovely creations–my wishlist is growing 🙂
Susanm
February 28, 2015 at 5:37 pmI would like to make glass beads – took a class once and it was fun but would love the chance to get proficient at it.
beadrecipes
March 1, 2015 at 10:44 amOh, I'd love to take a class in making ceramic beads! Especially the glazing and firing side of things!
Erin S
March 1, 2015 at 6:29 pmEnameling. Something I've always wanted to learn, but afraid to try on my own. I have to admit, I fear the torch.
Debra Gibson
March 2, 2015 at 5:46 amI would so love to have my genie grant my wish to spend an entire week with one of my favorite polymer clay artist !!! Thanks for the chance to win ! I love your poppy beads they are one of my favorite flowers !!!!
sheilaposter
March 3, 2015 at 9:10 pmI am craving a class with huib petersen. IThey make some magical works andI would love to learn some of their techniques. Thats with seed beads, thank you
Charmaine Boggs
March 14, 2015 at 3:51 pmAs a beginner to the art of jewelry design, I have been taking a few classes at a local bead shop, reading and researching techniques online, etc. I would really like to take a class or series of classes to learn more about working with metals and polymer clay. And, of course, taking the classes in an exotic, tropical location would be a magical plus!