More Beaded Body Parts

Warning: This post features (im)mature content.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to say this, but…The April’s Army shop is now open! This month, Regretsy readers and fans are raising funds to purchase the very best in service dog equipment, to help a young woman live life to the fullest. You can learn more about the fundraiser on Regretsy. But first, let’s have a look at some of the amazing handmade items that are up for grabs! (Don't linger too long though, as items tend to move fast!)

Before I show you the piece that I created, I want to say that it’s designed after something that I normally wouldn’t consider for jewelry inspiration. It’s actually kind of awful. In fact, if you don’t recognize it, I don’t recommend trying to figure out what it is. Seriously, do not Google it. My consolation is that when you laugh at something, you take it’s power away. And this particular topic has been turned into a huge source of laughter on Regretsy, and in turn helped to raise a lot of money for very worthy causes.

To create my donation, I used matte black seed beads, and a beautiful mixture of blue Miyuki seed beads that I purchased with some rewards points at Auntie’s Beads. As soon as I saw them, I knew they were destined for something great! It took some time to decide on a method for the necklace chain. I ended up modifying the round right angle weave a little to get a nice, sturdy chain.

You can see this “Blue Moon” necklace, and other amazing creations in the April’s Army WePay shop. This is a new selling platform who’s main appeal is complete freedom from PayPal. Anyone can shop in the store, but seller accounts are currently limited to US residents. If that’s you, I highly recommend checking them out!

Without any further ado, here are some of my favorite jewelry designs from this month’s fundraiser:

Caged Pearl Bracelet
by Slipstream Blue





Hellephant Pendant
by Quiddity Designs





Circuit Board Bracelet
by The Blue Kraken





Winds of the Orient Collar
by MBush Digital Art





Red Beads Bracelet
by Sew Goth

Here’s to crafting for a cause!

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading and Friends
Images Hosted by Pinterest
Subscribe to Inspirational Beading
Get inspired on Facebook and Google+

April’s Army Favorites

For the past few months, I’ve been having a blast creating items and donating tutorials for the fundraising efforts of the April’s Army Etsy team. Every month when the shop opens, I look forward to browsing through the amazing donations from other members, and sharing my favorites with you. The variety of items is always delightful and creative!

The April’s Army shop is on a sort of vacation for this month, and will hopefully be returning soon. So, instead of showing you my favorite designs from the shop, I wanted to share with you some of the fantastic items that I’ve been able to purchase from talented April’s Army members during previous fundraisers.

I’ve started to build quite a collection of unique Pithitude magnets from tamarakraft.
Last month a fantastic set of Halloween balloon magnets was up for grabs, and I was really exited to scoop it up!




I know my fellow beaders will appreciate my all time favorite find - a quirky and adorable pincushion from Gloomstopper.
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry whenever I poke this little guy with a beading needle. What a face!




As a book lover, I was really delighted to get my hands on an upcyled vintage storybook journal from paperdiva.
Made from a Golden Book, it still has the entire story intact, with blank pages added for notes, sketches and whatnot.




I’m also really fond of these handmade cotton face scrubbers by selkiecrochet.
They are amazingly gentle, but clean really well - my face has never been happier!

Do you have a favorite handmade or vintage indulgence?

Copyright 2011 Inspirational Beading and Friends
Subscribe to Inspirational Beading
Get inspired on Facebook

Tutorials for Christmas Cheer

Can you believe that September is nearly over already? This month went by so fast, and was filled with lots of new designs, inspirations and videos. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to create the totally outrageous necklace that I want to donate to the April’s Army fundraising shop. It's still on the drawing board, and I hope it will be ready in time for the next campaign. In the meantime, I thought I’d inspire some beaders to get a head start on their Christmas crafting.

There are six copies of my Beaded Poinsettia tutorial available from April’s Army. The PDF instructions explain how to make cute little Christmas beaded beads, plus variations for four additional flower designs. All proceeds from this month’s shop will help an artist during her battle with cancer. You can learn more about the fundraiser on Regretsy and Facebook.

As always, here are my favorite jewelry and accessory designs, donated by members of the April’s Army Etsy team.

Click on the images to see these great designs, and learn more about the artists behind them.

There are always some fun and fantastic designs to see in the shop, including clothing, home decor items, handmade soap and art prints. I hope you’ll stop by and see them all!

Copyright 2011 Inspirational Beading and Friends
Subscribe to Inspirational Beading
Get inspired on Facebook

Beaded Eye Rings

I’ve grown incredibly fond of making herringbone rings, and I find that other styles just don’t appeal to me as much. Not only are they really simple and fast to make, but they are just so cute and wearable. I’m always looking for new ways to incorporate different patterns and shapes into the design to make each one unique.

Way back during my Ring a Day challenge, I made a herringbone ring with a shell coin as the focal. It turned out so nice, that I’ve made quite a few since, but none of them were quite like the original. The combination of shape and color made it look just like a misty, mysterious eye. Over the past year, I’ve pondered other ways to incorporate an eye design into a herringbone ring.

While experimenting with different Egyptian inspired designs, I came up with the idea of using a tortoiseshell bead and a white herringbone increase to make a more realistic, if not a bit feline, eye ring. And since the theme of this month’s April’s Army fundraiser is ‘beauty’, it seemed like the perfect fit.

I used some eye-shadowy colors for the base of each ring, and created an eye shape with a black lining. I carefully selected tortoiseshell beads that had a central black accent for the iris and pupil, and made some pretty interesting, wearable eyes.

These two rings are available as a set from the April’s Army shop, which opens today. All proceeds from the shop will benefit an artist who needs a hand up.

Here are some of my favorite jewelry designs from the shop:

Click on the images to learn more about the designs and the artists behind them.

And I have to give a shout-out to one of my all-time favorite Etsy sellers, UglyBaby, who is donating for the first time this month.

There are lots of beautiful, weird, and wonderful products on sale until the end of this week. This month, the team is raising money to help an artist go to school and get her dream job! You can learn more about the shop and this month’s recipient on the April's Army Facebook page.

Copyright 2011 Inspirational Beading and Friends
Subscribe to Inspirational Beading
Get inspired on Facebook

Beaded Body Parts

Disclaimer: This post contains mature subject matter.

The only thing better than using your talents to help someone else, is doing it with a sense of humor. I often get a burst of enthusiasm every time I come up with a new beading challenge for this blog, but none of them top the excitement of creating cheeky designs for April’s Army.

I actually have a few different designs lined up to donate, but they keep getting shuffled around. The piece I wanted to make for this month’s charity shop got pushed back yet again, because some of the supplies I needed were held up in the mail. So I moved on to my next, but no less outrageous idea - a beaded nipple.

The concept for this unusual design occurred to me awhile ago. Whenever I make something with circular brick stitch - especially if the first few rows match the base bead - I noticed there was something odd about the look of the beadwork. When I realized what it was, I knew I had the makings of a great Regretsy-worthy design.

To make this necklace, I combined a pink cat’s eye with seed beads in pink and pale beige. The domed shape of the circular brick stitch really adds to the overall effect, don’t you think? The pendant is suspended from an optional reverse-daisy chain, with a few different styles of beads in pink, white and cream.

The April’s Army charity shop opens today, and is stuffed full of handmade and vintage goodness. Not all of the designs are wild, and there’s something for just about every taste and budget. You can learn more about the shop’s mission, and the recipient of this month’s fundraiser on Facebook and Regretsy.

Here are a few of my favorite jewelry designs from the shop:

















Click images to see the listing and learn more about the artist behind each design.

Have you ever made a totally outrageous jewelry design? What’s your favorite ‘against the grain’ theme?

Copyright 2011 Inspirational Beading and April's Army
Subscribe to Inspirational Beading

Beading Tutorials for a Cause

If you’re familiar with the humor of Regretsy, you might also know about the spin-off Etsy team April’s Army, and their fantastic monthly charity collective. For one week every month, artists donate their best, boldest and weirdest designs to help raise money for another artist in need.

Donating designs for worthy causes is something I really enjoy doing - it allows me to give the best part of myself and do something meaningful. Although my love of Etsy has tapered off in the last year or so, I know how successful collective style shops can be. Last year, I couldn’t make rings for Help the Gulf Coast fast enough!

So, I joined April’s Army, and got to work on some unique designs to share. Unfortunately, labor disruptions with Canada Post made shipping a little too uncertain. So this month I donated something that I think Inspirational Beading readers can really appreciate.

Two personal use copies of my favorite tutorial - The Leafy Fringe Herringbone Lariat - are available from the April’s Army shop and going fast! The tutorial includes a full color and a text only PDF, so you can print out a portable version without using up all of your printer ink.

There are lots of other amazing things to buy as well. The proceeds from the June shop will help a family that really needs a hand up. You can learn more about the fundraiser and the recipient on the April’s Army Facebook page.

Here are a few of my favorite jewelry designs from the shop, but there are lots of other fun categories and designs to see. Please do check out the store, drop a few hearts, and if you see something you love, snag it or promote it! It’s all for a great cause.

Click images to see the listing and learn more about the artist behind these designs.

Here's to a great week!

Copyright 2011 Inspirational Beading and Friends
Subscribe to Inspirational Beading