Lovely Brooches

Do you wear brooches? I am afraid that most of you would say "No".

You do not have to wear them only with "fancy" classic outfit at all. These lovely accessories can be good additions for your silk blouses, dresses, knitted sweaters, scarfs, and even coats! 
 

My first brooch was made with "cherry quartz" and Czech beads..

Pancakes

Today is the last day of Maslenitsa (Ма́сленица) also known as Butter Week or Pancake week, a Russian religious and folk holiday. In Slavic mythology, Maslenitsa is a sun festival, celebrating the imminent end of the winter.
My mom was making pancakes for my father all week :)  I made thin pancakes only today, for breakfast.

 

Giveaway #1. Closed

This is my first giveaway on my blog. You have a chance to win a set of handmade polymer clay pendant with earrings.

I will also add an extra gift, but that is a surprise you will get to see only when you unwrap your package.

Mandatory entry: 
Visit Aroundbeads Etsy Shop , browse around, and leave a comment here telling me what your favorite item is! Make sure to include your email address or a way to contact you if you win!

Extra entries (make sure you leave a separate comment for each). Current fans are eligible!

* Follow my blog (you can follow by clicking follow in the left sidebar) - 1 entry
* Follow me on twitter / facebook - 1 entry 

* Share about this giveaway on your facebook or twitter -1 entry
* Blog about this giveaway (include a link to your post) - 1 entry
* Purchase anything from AroundBeads or SuperSupplies4U  shops and come back letting me know what you purchased (use coupon code BLOG10 to get 10% off at AroundBeads shop) - 4 entries

This giveaway will run from March 1st through the 8th, and the lucky winner will be  chosen by random.org on March 9th, 2011. The winner will be announced here, and he or she will have 48 hours to respond with his/her mailing address. If a winner cannot be contacted or does not respond, another winner will be chosen after 48 hours.
Make sure you leave a separate comment for each entry. The more entries you post, the more chances you have to win!

This giveaway is open worldwide.

Have fun and good luck everyone!

My Pets

I love animals, and I have five of them now.

Since I was a child,  we always had cats. So, I am a cat-person (mostly). I don't want to say I hate dogs- once  I had a puppy, Alsatian, and she was the smartest 'person'!

When I moved to the USA, my future husband had two cats, which was kind of unusual for me because  my family always had only 1 pet... Peter and Stripy- two sisters. Yes, Peter was a 'girl'. By the way, my husband's name is also Peter, his father was Peter, and his son is Peter - why not to call cat Peter, right?

Well, this is Peter the Cat

Little Toys for Big People

I am not a kid, but I still like to play and make little 'toys' with beads. One of my first was this kitty that still lives at my husband's desk.

Best Candy Ever

Today I made best candy ever! No kidding :) 

I am typing this and my mouth waters.

 It's easy to make this delicious dessert.

Tutorial: Wire Business Card Holder

 Having a home product party or going to art show to sell your stuff ? Show off your business information in your style.You will need only 40cm (16") of heavy gauge wire and a couple of pliers :)

Are you ready to make it all by yourself?

Do You Like Abstract?

About a year ago I found a new (for me) media. It was a polymer clay :) It has endless possibilities to create one-of-a-kind pieces.

I want to share with you some of my favorite designs with abstract pictures. When I was making them, it was like magic- after cutting a slice of clay you see new picture. What do you see here?

Some people see a dog, others- angel or rabbit. Everybody sees his/her own picture. It's like the Rorschach test, right?.

Tutorial: Beaded Jump Ring

Did you try to slide a nice big bead on a jump ring and it did not "want" to go there? Today I want to show you how make jump rings with gemstone, or any “beads” on them. In other words, you will be able to create fancy jump rings, which can be used as connectors in a variety of projects.

 Materials:

·  Wire 22ga or thicker (it has to fit bead’s hole), round, half hard

·  Gem beads 3mm, or seed beads size 6°or 8°, or gem chips

Tools:

·  Chain nose pliers

·  Flash wire cutters

Tucson 2011

A week ago I came back from Tucson where I was teaching jewelry making classes. I am a teacher in the third generation, so I  really enjoy this work. While teaching in Tucson, I caught myself at calling my adult student "kids" :)
I had 24 kids students this year , so  I got 24 new friends from all over the world.
To make long story shorter, I'll show you pictures (I am a bad writer, by the way).

This is a really international class: Catherine from Australia, Ida from Colombia, and me- from Russia:)