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I’m so excited for my friend Susan that her book Bead Simple is out this week. With gorgeous photos and cool, modern projects, Bead Simple is one of the best jewelry-making books I’ve ever seen. Susan has been making jewelry for many years so she’s got lots of crafty knowledge plus she asked a ton of great contributors to add some projects to round out the book. I am so happy to have a project in the book too!
I’m happy to be able to offer one copy of Bead Simple to a very lucky reader.
Below are a few of the 150 projects:
Alrighty Sparkle Cocktail Brooch by Cathy of California
Bric-a-Brac Charming Bracelet by Jennifer Perkins
Lacy Trio Earrings by me (!) and Circles and Circles Necklace by Art School Dropout
So now for the exciting part: All you have to do is leave a comment below telling me what your favorite piece of jewelry is (past or present) and I will randomly pick someone to send the book to. Comments close on Friday at 8 pm EST.
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This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 26th, 2008 at 2:42 pm and is filed under craftiness, events and announcements, free stuff. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
My husband and I really like Hilary Druxman jewelry and he’s bought me quite a few of her pieces over the years. I think my favourite is a simple flower necklace.
I have three rings that are utter favorites and all have been gifts. On my left hand, I wear a cocktail ring that my great aunt made in the 1920’s. My mom eventually got it and wore it nonstop for about 20 years. I’ve been wearing it for about 4. On the right hand, I have two coral rings stacked on top of each other; one was a high school graduation present from my parents and the other belonged to the mother of the family that hosted me in Turkey when I studied abroad this past fall. It used to go under her wedding ring and when I left, she put it on my hand, looked in my eyes, and said “American Daughter.” Those were her only words of English. The love that emanates from these simple pieces of metal and stone is an inescapable reminder of the good of humans and the love of my family.
What fun!!!
My favorite piece of jewelry is a heart-shaped pin that my mother gave to me when I turned 16. She had owned it for years, and I had always admired the delicacy of the piece. It has a little bow and suspended beneath is a large heart with a pressed flower inside. She surprised me on my birthday that year by telling me she wanted to pass it on to me. I love wearing it!!
I grew up in a very strict religious family that was also very poor. When I was in the 4th grade and my brother in the 7th my parents bought us gold and silver cross pendant necklaces (a great expense for them at the time). I managed to obtain my brothers and now I wear them together almost every day. I am not close to my family or religious but I have such a strong attachment to these two necklaces that I cant explain. I also find it really funny how people constantly apologize for swearing around me.
My favorite piece is my a ring my great grandmother had made. She took a stone she’d had as a brooch and had it made into 4 rings for her 2 daughters and 2 nieces. My grandmother passed hers onto me and I love it for it’s history and unique, simple style.
oh yay! well, I have two pieces of jewelry that I just looove: one on each side of my family. One is a pendant designed by my great grandfather (on my father’s side). He was an English jeweler in New Jersey. Not sure what the metal is but it’s gold in color and has mother of pearl ‘drops’. Very vintage. And second, on my mother’s side, is my great great grandmother’s engagment ring. Sterling silver. There is no stone in it now, as the diamond was taken out and sold. They are both so special to me! Here are pics of both if you’re interested=)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22072098@N08/
Ah, I’m dying to get my hands on a copy of this book! Thanks for doing a giveaway, whee!
My favorite piece of jewelry practically speaking is a pair of silver and black earrings in a diamond shape…they just somehow go with everything and when I wear them I feel transformed. Such a little detail, but puts a skip into my step.
My favorite piece of jewelry for sentimental reasons is a gold locket necklace that I got from my paternal grandmother. I never knew her very well, but she did give me this necklace and it’s all that I got when she died 10 years ago.
My current favorite piece is one I’ve made. It’s a jade heart with a stick pearl and round pearl below it; it hangs on a suede cord. Very simple and can be worn with most clothing.
My favorite has to be a necklace from Faryn Davis (fernworks.org), which is a real ladybug and some grass embedded in resin. It’s so simple and so unique, I just love it!
My favorite piece is a wide silver cuff bracelet (it might actually be made of aluminum, I’m not sure) that my grandfather bought for my grandmother when he was stationed in Guam during WWII. It has her name on it and the date he bought it for her.. I wear it whenever I miss her or feel lonely or sad and for all special events- holidays, weddings, etc. so that I can feel as though she’s there with me..
The last time I saw my grandmother before she died, she gave me a small embroidered box of her jewelry. My favorite was a square golden locket with a thick, notted chain, and I wore it every day for a while until I realized that the photographs inside had faded a little. Inside are two black and white photographs of a man and a woman whom my grandma told me are her grandparents, but she wasn’t sure because she had never met them when the looked so young. Other than the sentimental value, the best part of the necklace is the clasp - seriously, it’s genius and so easy and so secure, I wish they still made clasps like that because I always have trouble getting necklaces on and off behind my neck by myself!
at the moment, a teeny, tiny little silver tooth.
Geesh choosing a fave is like Sophie’s Choice for me. I almost always wear my vintage engagement ring, a plastic ring that is orange with a profile of an Aztec warrior, a resin ring i made with a Flamenco dancer and an extra large Cha Cha Bracelet i made. If I wear them all the time guess that makes them my faves
Thanks for showing a picture of my bracelet! I already have the book so count me out of the drawing just wanted to play along.
love your earrings…so delicate and pretty.
I love the idea of the mixed media with the cloth and trim and beading for the brooch. So clever!
I hope it’s not too late to win the book! I only found out about all this today.
My favorite piece of jewelry is this super fabulous necklace that I bought on my 30th birthday. I live in Portland, and it was a typical rainy day. At the time I had one child, who was 2 years old, and I had just moved here from Tennessee. I had a few hours all by my lonesome but didn’t quite know what to do with myself. So, I headed over to Burnside/28th street. I wandered into this tiny vintage thrift shop (which happened to specialize in vintage eyewear) and chatted up the super sunny positive shop owner. I happened to notice this amazing necklace in the glass case while we were talking. I asked if I could see it and told him it just might be the coolest necklace I had ever seen. He said, “that is so wonderful because I MADE that necklace.” The necklace is made from primary colored round vintage beads, large and small, with bright yellow floral discs on top. The most striking thing about it is the way he put the colors together. It was my 30th birthday present to myself and he told me he was so happy that it went home with me. It’s my favorite!