Have you considered thunderpolish?

Nothing says bling like swavorski but have you considered thunderpolish?  I was very hesitant at first but when I saw the beads first hand at my favorite bead shop and realized the price was so much more affordable, I decided to give it a try.  The pieces below were made with a combination of swavorski and thunderpolish.  Can you tell the difference? Don't forget October is visit your local bead shop month!  Happy beading!

-M

2 Drop Peyote

I love peyote stitch.  I love the way it looks, the way the beads lay and the ease of being able to design with it.  The way it bezels stones and rivolis makes the beads fit like a glove.  I just recently taught myself the 2 drop peyote and if you thought peyote was fun, 2 drop is not only fun, but fast! Here is a bracelet I just finished using this technique.  Now I am ready to pick new beads and a new project and start again.  I love the process of choosing the bead colors and mentally designing the piece at the beginning.  What is currently on your bead mat?

Happy Beading!

M

Polymer Clay

I have recently taken up working with polymer clay and although the learning curve is wide here I have found it to be an enjoyable substance to work with and it does add a new dimension to my jewelry.  There are so many good tutorials on You Tube along with finding many on Pinterest or just searching in Google will turn up many new techniques.  Creating different colors and canes with the clay is like completing a science experiment.  You really don't know what you are going to end up with for the final project so it is exciting until the end! Here is a sample piece of just black and white canes that I played around with:

If you would like to check out some other pieces made with polymer clay you can check out my Etsy sight at: www.etsy.com/shop/landtiser.  

Polymer clay has been a lot of fun to learn and if you have never played with it before, it is fairly simple and inexpensive to get started in this medium.

What is a new technique you have been learning lately?