Studio Saturday: Picture Frames, Bead Stars, and Cool Tools, oh...and Steampunk

First of all, I guess you guys are aware that Blogger decided to throw a hissy fit on Thursday and Friday so I wasn't able to get back to those of you who left messages with your response to my kit question. Well, it's Saturday and I guess after two days of getting slapped around by Daddy Google, Blogger is back so I'd like to thank all of you who gave me your feedback to the question of kits. I'm thinking about everything you said and definitely weighing the pros and cons of offering kits.

In the meantime, I worked really hard this week to get my newest tutorial finished!

I call these little pendants Picture Frame Pendants, because well...

They use a mix of bugle beads, Tila beads, fire-polished Czech glass and seed beads in sizes 11 and 15. You work the pendant in rounds and when you're done you have this little beveled frame that is perfect for showcasing a little bauble or stone in the center.

I've used simple faceted teardrops for the center, but if you've got a super nice briolette of kyanite or amethyst, it would look gorgeous suspended from the center of the frame.

You can find the tutorial here:
Picture Frame Beadwoven Pendant Tutorial

And now that I have three pendant tutorials in my shop, I've decided to bundle them, so you can get my Carnaval Pendant, Medallion Pendant and the new Picture Frame for the price of two!

I've listed it here.

I also wanted to remind you (since there are only three days left) to go vote for your Bead Star Favorites!

I've got two pieces in the running this year.

The first I call Fauxmaille because it looks like chainmaille, but it's made really simply with stone rounds and copper findings.

I also entered the Seed Bead category with a Steampunk-inspired necklace.

There are some great entries and you can vote more than once, so be sure and pick your top three in each category.

And finally, I wanted to show you the two new pieces that I've got in the shop for today:

The first is a Steampunk ring that I created using some more of the vintage watch faces and little gears that I found. I call it Keeping Time.

And, I also made a set of bobby pins with the same materials. They are similar in style, but different in color. I call the set Time and Again.

Okay, last but not least, I came across this great tool on the Bello Modo site that uses the colors of Swarovski crystals to create different color palettes. Even though I don't use Swarovskis that often, I think this is a great tool for experimenting with color. You can see it here.

Thanks for hanging in there with me today! I know it was a long post.

I hope you have a great weekend!