Disclaimer: I do not claim to be nor have I ever been a paper crafter. My apologizes to my paper crafting friends for my humble attempts made during this project. LOL!

Happy Monday, Everyone! It’s hard to believe that the holidays are just around the corner. We start to think of the special people in our lives that we might want to remember by giving them a token of thanks. The project I have for you today not only lets you send someone a holiday note of appreciation, it also enables you to give them a gift at the same time!

Consider making a personalized greeting card for a friend or loved one this year.

This project is a great way to up those scraps of paper at the end of a roll and snippets of ribbon you may have laying around. For the front of Holiday Card, I used leftover wrapping paper and brown velvet ribbon. The Gift tag was made using a Friskars punch, 6mm Swarovski Crystal bicone, 12mm Gold Sparkle bead, and 8mm vintage pearl, strung on Soft Flex Copper Metallics wire.

While the front may be beautiful, inside a glamorous surprise awaits!

Imagine the delight on the face of your friend or loved one when she finds a gorgeous gift inside!

The inside of the card was assembled by using Christmas Rub-ons from Stampin’ Up, off white card stock, scrapbook paper, an Easy Earring Card Punch, and a pair of custom made Christmas Earrings by Suzann Sladcik Wilson. By using an Easy Earring Card Punch, the card enables you to include a pair of custom made earrings. It really is a fun and unexpected way to give a gift!

Close up of Christmas Earrings by Suzann Sladcik Wilson

I have written about the Easy Earring Card Punches in an earlier blog post and how much I enjoyed them. This holiday season, you may want to have some greeting cards made with the Easy Earring Card Punches on hand for your customers to purchase. It will save on wrapping for your clients, and boost your sales, too!

I hope you have enjoyed our project. Now, don’t forget to hop around the other blog posts in the Designer Crafts Connection by clicking the box on the left hand side. You might even find a give away or two! You can even find the Designer Crafts Connection on Facebook now, so stop by and “like” us today!

If you have any questions about beading, or the Easy Earring Punch Kit, please feel free to contact me at 224-305-3321 or Suzann@Beadphoria.com. Always happy to share the joy of beading with you, Suzann Sladcik Wilson of Beadphoria.com and BeadphoriaBoutique.com.

Beadphoria is excited to announce that Beadphoria Founder and CEO Suzann Sladcik Wilson will be a guest on this Wednesday, November 2 at 2pm central on Fave Crafts Radio. Host Pat Sloan will be interviewing her about beading trends, her upcoming book Simple Beginnings: Beading, and various other jewelry making topics.

This lively lifestyle program treats listeners to creative ideas and featured guests and reporters who offered creative tips, project ideas, product reviews, tips about projects on FaveCrafts.com and so much more. It’s all about discovering the crafter in you! Archived podcasts can be streamed directly from the FaveCrafts.com website or downloaded for free through iTunes.

Pat Sloan is a quilt artist, fabric designer, author, speaker and teach who has been sewing since she was a child and she has been quilting for over 14 years. Several years ago Pat started teaching quilt making to others and then turned her skills to pattern designing. She has had her designs published in many national magazines, has written many books on quilting and has designed several lines of fabric for P&B textiles.

We look forward to sharing the Joy of Beading with you today on Fave Crafts Radio!

*This month’s Blog hop project is dedicated to my mom Regine Sladcik, who is an inspiration as a 32 year breast cancer survivor, and to Beadphoria’s dear friend Debbie Goldwater who left us too soon 3 1/2 years ago at the age of 43.*

What does a Jewelry Designer do with Wescott Scissors, Pink Duck Tape, and Velcro? No, it’s not beginning of a bad joke. Instead, it is a fantastic way to stretch creativity and help in the fight against Breast Cancer.

Going into this month’s challenge, I knew it was going to be, well, a challenge! Using these products as a jewelry designer is totally out of my realm. When I received my package of Duck Tape, I was not only impressed with the tape, but also the box it came in. I knew I wanted to do something with it, but what?

Looking at all that pretty pink, black, white, and, yes, GOLD Duck Tape, Pink Velcro, and beautiful Westcott Scissors, inspiration suddenly struck. Why not make a travel jewelry box? Something that if a woman needed to bring her jewelry with her to the hospital, it could be transported safely and elegantly.  The Duck Tape would make the box gorgeous, the Velcro could hold the jewelry in place while being moved, and the Westcott non-stick scissors made cutting the super sticky tape a breeze!

Here is how the front of the box turned out.

Travel Breast Cancer Awareness Jewelry Box by Suzann Sladcik Wilson, Beadphoria

When you open the box, the real treasure is revealed!

Inside of Travel Breast Cancer Awareness Jewelry Box

On the inside of the box, I glued a small mirror to the top of the left hand side. Underneath, I place 3 rows of Velcro to hold numerous pairs of earrings, rings, or pins. I also included a little message to remind the owner that, even though they are fighting an ugly disease, YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!

On the right hand side, I glued a full sheet of pink Velcro to the bottom of the box. The fuzzy side was on the top. What is nice about using the full sheet, is that you can secure various types of jewelry in different arrangements. The small pink Velcro strips used to hold down items to the large sheet are, believe it or not, Velcro plant ties!

I hope you have enjoyed my project. Make sure you hope around to all the Designer Craft Connection blogs by clicking on the badge on the left hand side of this page and see what they have made. When you are done, stop by the Westcott Blog and leave a comment. You have a chance to win this extremely generous package:

Prize Package From Westcott

If you want an extra chance to win, stop by the Westcott Facebook Page and leave a comment there, too! Good Luck!

Special thanks to Marisa Pawelko for coordinating this challenge. It’s been fantastic working with you!

If you have any questions about beading, or jewelry business marketing tips, please feel free to contact me at 224-305-3321 or Suzann@Beadphoria.com. Always happy to share the joy of beading with you, Suzann Sladcik Wilson of Beadphoria.com and BeadphoriaBoutique.com.

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This party treat bag tag can also be used as a pendent for a necklace to be worn long after the party is over.

Today is the last day of summer and tomorrow fall officially begins. Our attention is now turning toward the next holiday that is a little over a month away – Halloween! Scary, isn’t it?!

If you are planning a Halloween celebration, you can easily create these personalized treat bag tags that will be treasured long after the party is over. Slip the tag onto leather, cord, or other stringing material and it magically becomes a pendent for a necklace that can be worn any time of year!

The back of the treat bag tag displays different image, letting the wearer have two different looks from the same necklace. By Suzann Sladcik Wilson

These treat bag tags/Halloween pendents will be an extra special treat for your guest and are simple to make with almost no tricks to it. Check out the tutorial below to conjure up your own.

All the materials you will need to make your Soldered Halloween Pendents and Treat Bag Tags

Materials

• Soldering Iron
• Heat Resistant Surface *Tip* Remnant large ceramic tile works well.
• Copper Foil Tape – 1/4 inch wide
• Gel Flux & Brush
• 2 Microscope Slides
• Lead Free Solder
• Sterling Silver Jump Ring
• Bone Folder
• Hemostats
• Tweezers
• Martha Stewart Halloween Scrapbook Paper
• Scissors
• Third Hand
• Letters from magazines to spell names
• Mod Podge w/ brush
• Krylon Craft Paint Pen in Black

1. Trace an image you want to use from the Martha Stewart Halloween Scrapbook paper using a microscope slide and pen.
2. Cut out your image. Make sure your image fits inside the glass. Trim off any paper that extends past the edges of the slide.
3. Apply the letters from magazines to spell the name of your guest on your paper using Mod Podge. *Tip* Rub the shovel end of the bead tweezers over your letters to ensure they are laying flat.
4. Place your piece of paper with the name between two slides.
5. Wrap copper foil around the edges of your slides. Make sure your slides are in the center of the tape. This will ensure that the copper tape will be even on both sides.
6. Press down the tape onto the slide with your fingers. Use your fingernail to press down the corners. Rub the tape with a bone folder to ensure the tape adheres tightly.
7. Brush flux gel onto the copper tape covering in completely. The flux is what helps the solder adhere to the copper foil tape.
8. Lay your pendent on a heat resistant surface. Use your soldering iron to pick up a small amount of Lead Free Solder. Skim the tip of your soldering iron with the solder over the copper tape on the front of your pendent. Once the solder has cooled, repeat on back.
9. Use your tweezers to hold your pendent on the heat resistant surface so you are able to solder around the edges in the same manor you did the front. You may need to do more than one coat to build up the amount of solder you like.
10. Once you are finished soldering around the edges, use a third hand to hold your pendent so the bottom is flat against your heat resistant surface.
11. Grasp your jump ring with your hemostats. Brush the bottom of the ring with flux so it will easily attach to your pendent.
12. With one hand, use your hemostats to hold in place the jump ring on the center of the top of your pendent. Use your soldering iron to slowly melt the metal on either side of the jump ring. You will know it is attached when you feel the jump ring “drop” into the metal.
13. Remove the hemostats from the jump ring and let the pendent cool before removing from the third hand.
14. Color the silver solder black using the Krylon Craft Paint Pen to give the pendent a more festive look.
15. Tie onto your Halloween Treat Bags for your guests to enjoy!

If you have any questions about beading, or the Soldered Halloween Pendents and Treat Bags, please feel free to contact me at 224-305-3321 or Suzann@Beadphoria.com. Always happy to share the joy of beading with you, Suzann Sladcik Wilson of Beadphoria.com and BeadphoriaBoutique.com.

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Today is the big reveal day for Lori Anderson’s Bead Soup Blog Hop. As many of you know from my earlier post, the amazingly talented Margot Potter is my swap partner. She was so generous in sending me some of my most beloved beads, Swarovski crystals and freshwater pearls. The clasp/focal is an absolute stunner from ClaspGarten.

Sparkling bead soup from my partner Margot Potter just waiting to be mixed.

And here is the finished piece…..

A Night at the Opera Choker Necklace by Suzann Sladcik Wilson

I had several ideas before this one came to be. I thought about making something longer, but the beads seemed to always came back to the design with the choker. I am really excited about how it came out. The next black tie event that I attend, you can bet that this necklace will be worn with a little black dress!

Thank you for stopping by to see my creation. Make sure you stop by Margot Potter’s Blog and see what she made with her soup. Click here to see the list of other bloggers participating in hop. Enjoy all of the delicious designs the Bead Soup blog hop has to offer!

If you have any questions about beading, or jewelry business marketing tips, please feel free to contact me at 224-305-3321 or Suzann@Beadphoria.com. Always happy to share the joy of beading with you, Suzann Sladcik Wilson of Beadphoria.com and BeadphoriaBoutique.com.

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Sparkling bead soup from my partner Margot Potter. Photo by Suzann Sladcik Wilson

Hello to all my bead friends! Today I present to you a picture of the glittering bead soup that was sent to me by the amazing Margot Potter. This is my fourth time participating in the Bead Soup Blog Hop run by Lori Anderson, and I have to say that this is the most dazzling soup yet!

Click the photo above to see the list of over 350 bead bloggers that are part of the Bead Soup Swap.

If you are not familiar with the Bead Soup Bead Swap, you’ll be happy you checked it out. This time we have over 350 (yes, you read that right!) participants. The wide range of talent not only here in the US, but world wide is staggering. You will find bead bloggers that range from those that have only been making jewelry a few months to master bead artisans. Each one has their own creative spark that will have you looking at beading through a fresh pair of eyes.

I am still contemplating what I am going to with my soup. Two ideas are currently competing for my design attention. You will have to come back on Sept. 17 when all the designs are relieved to see which one won out.

Speaking of winners…I have decided to award TWO winners of my upcoming book Simple Beginnings: Beading since I had people post both here and on Creating the Hive. The random winner from this blog is Stacy S. and the random winner from Creating The Hive is Pine Ridge Treasures. Congratulations, ladies! Please e-mail me at Suzann@Beadphoria.com with your address and I will make sure to send you your signed copies of Simple Beginnings: Beading as soon as they are available.

If you have any questions about beading, or jewelry business marketing tips, please feel free to contact me at 224-305-3321 or Suzann@Beadphoria.com. Always happy to share the joy of beading with you, Suzann Sladcik Wilson of Beadphoria.com and BeadphoriaBoutique.com.

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Hello to all you beaders out there! This past spring, we here at Beadphoria attended 2011 Bead and Button Show in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Every year we are amazed by the amount of beads, various ways to make beads, and jewelry designs that are on the shopping floor. We wanted to let you in on some of the trends that you might see popping up in your favorite magazines and at your local bead shops.

Jen Cushman demonstrates how to use Ice Resin at the Bead and Button Show 2011 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

1. Resin is HOT! Resin demonstrations and classes seemed to be everywhere! The resin now on the market has little to no fumes and is especially made for jewelry making. This is one trend you are going want to try!

2. Colored Metal – Metal is no longer just silver, gold, brass, and copper! By using gilders paste, inka-gold, and various other methods, metal can now be colored almost any color under the rainbow. Color metal to match or contrast the stones you are designing with.

3. The Return of the Artisan – We were very happy to see many new hand made bead vendors. There seemed to be more this year than any other.

4. Messages – Words seemed to also be a popular theme. You could find them stamped on metal, in pottery beads, and inserted into resin components. Your jewelry can truly make a statement with these components.

5. Mixed Media – In jewelry making we are seeing quite a bit of crossover from other crafts. Fibers, found objects, and paper are just a few of the materials that being used. Be on the lookout for items to use in jewelry making outside of the beading aisle.

Crystal Clay, demoed by Stephanie Dixon, is a beutifully blingy new product that lets you use Swarovski Crystals in a whole new way!

6. BLING IS BACK! Crystals seemed to be popping out everywhere. Crystal Clay is a new product hitting the market that will make a big splash. It brings together a two part epoxy clay that is then embellished with Swarovski crystals. With a 24 hour drying time, you sport your sparklingly beautiful crystal clay creation in no time!

Chunky rocks and wooden beads were also being paired with crystals. Organic materials and stones became more sophisticated with an extra touch of shimmering crystals.

As you can tell, we had a lot of fun! What trends are you starting to see in jewelry making? Share your knowledge with your fellow jewelry makers in the comments below.

If you have any questions about beading, or jewelry business marketing tips, please feel free to contact me at 224-305-3321 or Suzann@Beadphoria.com. Always happy to share the joy of beading with you, Suzann Sladcik Wilson of Beadphoria.com and BeadphoriaBoutique.com.

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Simple Beginnings: Beading by Suzann Sladcik Wilson and published by Fox Chapel Publishers. Available on Amazon.com for pre-order now!

Tada! It is the cover for our brand new book “Simple Beginnings: Beading” being published by Fox Chapel Publishing! How cool is that?! Even more cool is that it is available for pre-order from Amazon.com. You can click here to order it.

The book contains projects that are easy enough for an absolute beginner, and yet will inspire experienced beaders.  The photographs for the projects are beautiful and plentiful. The appendix has FAQ with many resources that jewelry makers are looking for.

Fox Chapel has been an excellent company to work with. Writing a book for the first time can be extremely challenging. They walked me through the process with the up most professionalism and understanding. For that, I am truly grateful.

What advice would you give to a beginning beader? Leave us a comment and let us know. One lucky commenter will win a signed copy of my book when it is released! Contest ends on 8/7/2011.

If you have any questions about beading, or Simple Beginnings: Beading, please feel free to contact me at 224-305-3321 or Suzann@Beadphoria.com. Always happy to share the joy of beading with you, Suzann Sladcik Wilson of Beadphoria.com and BeadphoriaBoutique.com.

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When this challenge rolled around, I knew I wanted to create something unusual. “Patriotic” is a somewhat vintage word in that it brings up memories of our country’s heritage. I felt the necklace design should reflect that.

Rummaging through a bag of old medallions and tags from a local flea market, I came across this pendant. Originally, it was so tarnished, it appeared to be copper or bronze. Using a Sunshine Polishing Cloth and a lot of elbow grease, a treasure was unveiled.

The medallion was actually silver with gold highlights. What a surprise!

Finding out more about this patriotic medallion has been quite a challenge. There has only been one other image I have been able to find on Google like it. A brief mention is made about the National Lutheran Commission For Soldiers on the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America website.  If you are aware of any other information, please let me know in the comments!

I wanted to the design of the necklace to include patriotic colors, but in a more subdued way. Here is the final design “For County” using the pendant.

Beadphoria "For Country" Necklace designed by Suzann Sladcik Wilson for Designer Crafts Blog Hop

What do you think of the patriotic “For Country” piece? I would love to have your feedback in the comments below.

Now, click on either “forward” or “back” on the Designer Blog Hop button on the right hand side of the blog and see what other Patriotic creative ideas my fellow designers have come up with!

If you have any questions about beading, or the “For Country” necklace, please feel free to contact me at 224-305-3321 or Suzann@Beadphoria.com. Always happy to share the joy of beading with you, Suzann Sladcik Wilson of Beadphoria.com and BeadphoriaBoutique.com.

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