Cobriana Armband and shop news

Frosted black 11/o  triangles, and 15/o glossy black seed beads in herringbone, with glinting silver-lined 11/o garnet seed beads between the stitches. I reinforced the center two lines of beads with more thread, pulling tighter as I went, and it created a slightly undulating effect in the bracelet. I was going for something dark and sexy, with plenty of textural interest to balance the relatively simple design, and I'm very, very happy with the result.

I had stitched a magnetic clasp right into the band, realizing that reinforcing the thread had shortened the bracelet to a bit too short to accomodate my 7" wrist in comfort. Bypassing the pesky process of adding several rows to make it long enough, I thought to simply add another magnetic clasp: I made a simple bead link with a metal barrel bead, wired each end to half a new magnetic clasp, covered the joins with linked jumprings, and matched the new halves of the clasp to the existing magnetic clasp ends on the bracelet. Instant 1-inch extender!

I just love the textural interest of the frosted vs. shiny vs. red beads, plus the pointed/flat sides of the triangle beads. The title and indeed, the whole bracelet, is inspired by the garnet-eyed prince of a kingdom of shapeshifters. His name is Zane Cobriana, and his second form is a royal cobra.
--Zane Cobriana and story material comes from the beautiful novel 'Hawksong' by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes. No copyright infringement intended, I just want to talk about what inspired me.

In shop news, I'm thrilled to finally have another  Keys to Secret Cities bracelet listed.

After a long time of trying to design my own version of the amazing emerald earrings Angelina Jolie wore at the 2009 Oscars, I came up with a simple shimmerstone version several months ago, listed them--and sold them within a few weeks. A couple days ago, I discovered I had the materials to make a second pair, so I did, listed them yesterday--and sold them this morning! I only have supplies to make a couple more pairs.

Lastly, I've got some stuff up my sleeve, doing some advance designs appropriate for Valentine's Day. Stay tuned...

Ivory Diamond and Calibrated Cabs

I've recently made several 30mm premium shimmerstone cabochon. One of them was this ivory-sparkle cabochon. I surrounded it with a copper-lined AB Czech seed bead bezel and finished it with a right-angle weave bail.
I LOVE the premium shimmerstones! They're so easy to bead with, having a more shallow dome than the regular shimmerstones, and being uniform in size and shape I can glue them into findings instead of having to search for just the right size/shape. In fact, I'm seriously considering switching over entirely to the calibrated shimmerstones in my ParadoxMoxie supply shop, eventually phasing out the uncalibrated kind except by special request.

In fact, if I were to switch entirely to premium shimmerstones, that would mean a wider selection of sizes and shapes--ovals, rounds, teardrops, sometimes even fancier shapes such as diamonds, squares and hearts!
Ok, I've convinced myself. I'm going to do it!

Are you a Bead Geek? (or, How I Made a New Line)

Are you a bead geek? Do you get excited over technical little details (like sparkling inclusions in a quartz strand) or read bead catalogs for fun, or want to correct layman mistakes in spelling of a kind of stone?
My 'bead geek' moment came recently, when I realized not everyone read bead catalogs as teenagers, and therefore not everyone knew what 'calibrated' meant. For the record, 'calibrated' refers to standardized common sizes/shapes of cabochons, such as those in this chart (courtesy of Fire Mountain Gems):

And I'm having a 'bead geek' moment now. Oh how excited I am! After receiving several special requests for calibrated cabochons, I am now introducing a permanent line of shimmerstone cabochons in calibrated, uniform sizes and shapes, for my customers who love incorporating them into their pre-fired metal clay projects, for polymer clay enthusiasts, and people who work with vintage and modern cabochon settings.
When I first decided to make a special section for the calibrated cabochons, I thought I'd have to buy a lot of new supplies, but when I looked in my drawer of glass, I saw I had enough materials left over from the commissions to make a decent number of calibrated cabochons to fill a new section. Joy!

Shimmerstones as published in Step by Step Wire Jewelry!

The other day while paging through Step by Step Wire Jewelry, what did I see but my very own shimmerstones, published in the Cool Stuff department! I had sent them in for consideration a few months ago, but didn't know the issue had gone to print. When you're waiting for months, you tend to feel like you're always going to be waiting 'just a few more weeks' until it hits the stands! SO EXCITING!

The third contest entry is...

Midnight Champagne by DeviantArt user Ellygator  , incorporating a Shimmerstone in the 'Alethiometer' shade. This is only a small taste of the wonders in this woman's gallery!

'The Beaded Passion': announcement and call for entries!

I'm giddy to announce my newest ongoing project: a self-published how-to beading magazine, called 'The Beaded Passion'! It will feature jewelry made from various materials, using a myriad of techniques at many different levels--but they will all reflect a passion for beading! There are still some things to work out and finish up, but I hope to release the premiere issue around the end of January.
In the meantime, what better way to celebrate the upcoming beady joy than with a contest? So, I call for entries to 'The Beaded Passion Contest'!

This beading contest is to show off your skills designing with one or more cabochons! The cabochon/s may be gemstone, bone, vintage or modern glass, polymer clay, metal clay, or Shimmerstone.Techniques you might use in your entry piece include but are not limited to: wiring, bead stitching, looming, bead embroidery, clay work (polymer or metal), and chainmaille.

Rules for entering:
Entries may be jewelry or functional art object.
Judges not eligible to enter.
Your entry must incorporate one or more cabochons, and must be your own original design.
New work is encouraged, but previous works done within the past six months are acceptable.
Put in the listing description that this is for the 'Beaded Passion' contest, with a link back to this post.
To submit, simply comment on this post with a link to your entry. Alternatively, you may send me a DeviantArt or Etsy note entitled 'contest entry' with a link to your entry.
Last day of accepting entries is March 31. Winners are notified and announced within two weeks.

The prizes are as follows:
Most Unusual~$15 gift certificate to my bead shop ParadoxMoxie
People's Choice~$20 gift certificate to my bead shop ParadoxMoxie
Best Entry~$25 gift certificate to my bead shop ParadoxMoxie

In addition, each of the the winning designs will be featured on my Bright Circle blog, my DeviantArt journal and in an issue of my upcoming bead magazine, 'The Beaded Passion'! All entries will be featured on my DeviantArt journal as they come in.

 Entries will be judged on creativity, technical skill, aesthetic appeal, and use of the cabochon in the design.
If you would like to furnish prizes/be among the judges, send me a DeviantArt note or Etsy Conversation.

Contest rules subject to change depending on the number of entries received. For example, a deluge of entries may necessitate the introduction of contest categories. Rest assured, any changes will be posted.