Featured Studio--PickleValentineVintageBeads

This week the featured studio is "PickleValentineVintageBeads" aka Libby.
This is a studio that is filled with the most fabulous and lovely vintage beads. I am very partial to vintage beads myself so visiting "PickleValentineVintageBeads" is quite a treat and a pleasure for me. I find that when I am in this studio I am just about drooling from all the fabulous beads.

'PickleValentineVintageBeads' specializes in vintage glass beads for jewelry making and also for jewelry restoration. However, you will also find cabochons, buttons, findings, and other wonderful finds here too.

Libby admits to being a bead junkie for most of her life. She has haunted garage sales, thrifts, estate sales, auctions, swap meets, LBS in every town, church rummage sales...you name it. Libby says that she knows the pain and joy of paying more than she ever intended and eating eggs and tofu for one week straight. I guess you can say that she is as close to being a bead harlot as one can get.

Btw, when you visit this studio you really have to read the bio information. Libby talks about some interesting things about vintage beads and you will probably have a new feeling about them.

Let's take a look at some of the wonderful items that you will find in this fabulous studio:










Please take a few minutes to visit "PickleValentineVintageBeads" to feast your eyes on the wonderful vintage beads and more that is showcased there.
And don't forget to leave a comment in support of Libby and her wonderful studio.

Featured Studio--Pinkymonkey

The featured studio of the week after a long hiatus is Pinkymonkey aka Maki.Let me say at the onset that this is certainly a fabulous studio. If you like Swarovski crystals (and who in their right mind doesn't?) then this is a studio in which you will want to spend a lot of time in. You will be pleasantly delighted by all the sparkly bling showcased here.

Maki is dedicated to using only the finest quality materials in each and every one of her designs.

She loves to use chic fabrics, sterling silver, antiqued silver, and of course the one and only Swarovski crystals.

Maki is quite the talented and skilled artisan. Her creations run from earrings, necklaces, bracelets, hair accessories, cell phone charms, and a special line for younger girls too.

If you need a gift for someone special in your life or even for yourself you will surely find something sparkly and beautiful here.

Oh yea, she also offers a number of lovely jewelry supplies that jewelry designers will just adore.

Now, let's take a good look at some of the fabulous creations you will find in Pinkymonkey.

EARRINGS

PINKY GIRL COLLECTION

HAIR ACCESSORIES

BRACELETS

NECKLACES

Let's show our support for this fabulous studio and Maki by leaving a comment here for Maki to see.

A Very Special Guild Event

Each of the above causes are very important and worthy causes. To help support the wonderful work that is done for these causes the Ajdjss Guild will be having a promotion that will ultimately lead to donating a portion of our sales to each of these causes.

Our participating studios will have a special "Breast Cancer and Domestic Violence" Section that will showcase the items that we hope will be sold so that a portion of these sales can be donated to these causes.

This special promotion will be going on for the entire month of October. At the end of the month all the sales will be tallied so that each guild studio will know the portion of the sales that they will donating.

There will also be a "Donate Now" button, here on our blog, for those of you who would like to donate to these very worthy causes without purchasing an item from our guild studios.

In conclusion, we of the Artfire Jewelry Design Jewelry Supply Guild, ask that you help make this a successful promotion.

Thanks for your help to support Breast Cancer Research and Domestic Violence Intervention Centers.

Featured: Spun Sister Designs

This week the Ajdjss Guild features "Spun Sister Designs" aka Kathryn.
Kathryn is quite lucky because she comes from a family that is quite creative.
Some of her creativity can be seen in mixed media art, altered art, digital art, decorative painting, and of course designing jewelry.
In fact, she has been a part time artisan entrepreneur for about 20 years now.
Her love of jewelry design is so great that recently she left the "corporate track" to do it full time. How wonderful for women everywhere.
You will find a wonderful variety of jewelry designs in "SpunSisterDesigns" that are definitely unique and original and made with top quality materials. Kathryn takes great pride in handpicking the beads and all the supplies that she uses in her creative jewelry designs. Lucky for us.
The creations that are showcased in "Spun Sister Designs" are made with semi-precious stones, lampwork beads, crystals, pearls, sterling silver and 14k gold filled findings.
When you visit this wonderful studio you will discover earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and some lovely wedding items.

So, without any further ado let's take a peek at some of the fabulous jewelry creations that are showcased in "SpunSisterDesigns":







You are invited to visit "SpunSisterDesigns" to experience the beautiful jewelry showcased there and to contact Kathryn with any questions about her jewelry.

http://spunsisterdesigns.artfire.com/

Featuring Ajdjss Guild Earrings and the Jewelry Supplies Needed to Create Them

This week the Ajdjss Guild is featuring the many beautiful earrings made by the Jewelry Designers and the fabulous earring components showcased in our Jewelry Supply Studios.
Baubles, bangles and beads have been adorning human earlobes as earrings for as long as five centuries.

Pierced earrings first made their debut in the Middle East as early as 3,000 B.C. and were intended to provide strangers with a quick and easy clue as to the wearer's religious, political or tribal identity. Earrings were also an indicator of the individual's social status in the community and were worn as a matter of choice and pride by those who were in power and as a label of inferiority and shame by those who were enslaved. Originally crafted of metals that could be bent, flattened and twisted into unique designs and hoops, earrings became more elaborate in the second century A.D. when assorted gems were introduced. During the Middle Ages in Europe, the fad of fancy ear bobs that had caught on with society's elite was pushed aside in the excitement of gigantic hats, towering wigs and high collars--a combination that would either completely obscure any ornamentation dangling from one's earlobes or cause it to get tangled in fabric and voluminous locks of hair. With the transition in necklines and more subdued hairstyles at the seventeenth century Italian courts, earrings were once more back in vogue and part of a well-heeled lady's bragging rights that her husband could keep her in frivolous luxury. A century later, however, earrings went back into hiding with the advent of bonnets that framed the face and hugged both sides of the head with wide sashes. With the arrival of 1900, elegant hair piled on top of the head or brushed back into a sleek chignon not only delighted jewelers once more but also led to the subsequent invention of clip-on earrings that were considered more sanitary. The rise of both the movie and the modeling industries put the allure of the earring on its biggest platform ever, with women of all ages wanting to emulate the fashion sense of film stars and cover girls who clearly knew how to accessorize. As for men, the option of wearing an earring dates back prior to Biblical times and, in later centuries, came to be associated with rogues such as pirates and explorers.

The wearing of earrings today is primarily ornamental and helps to "tie an outfit together" by using colors that match or contrast with the overall ensemble. The metals, primarily gold or silver, are complementary to the necklaces, bracelets, rings, watches and pins the wearer selects as accessories. Earrings are also an expression of one's personal taste in art and can be made out of wood, plastic, feathers, ceramics, rubber, shells and even food such as pasta, dried beans and various seeds. Earrings can even make a political, religious or social statement by representing campaign propoganda, crosses, or "ribbons" in support of causes such as U.S. troops, breast cancer awareness or empathy for victims of AIDS.

Different Types of Beads Used to Create Earrings from the Ajdjss Guild:

Earring Components from the Ajdjss Guild:

All kinds of Earrings From the Ajdjss Guild:

The pictures in this article were provided by the following guild studios:

1. PickleValentineVintageBeads, SWBeadShop, LadyHawk

2. KitschBeads, FiredanceBeads, VintageBeadlady5

3. RougeRiverBeads, FreshStringBeads,
4. RoyalMetals, SupplyCloset, VintageBeadlady5

5. JewelledTrellis, CatinaLife, SWDesigns

6. CreationsWithHeart, GravelRoadJewelry, Beadlady5

The information about the history of earrings was gotten from "History of Earrings" by Christina Hamlett (http://www.ehow.com/about_4588246_history-of-earrings.html)