Happy Monday morning friends!  Thank you for stopping by sweetbeadstudio….

When I began creating jewelry, I quickly found the online bead store – Artbeads.  This store is wildly popular among jewelry designers as a place that offers a HUGE selection of beads and findings as well as FREE shipping in the US (pssst…right now they are have a big sale on their pendants and charms!).    I was so thrilled when I was recently asked to join their blogging team.   I will have the opportunity to design with some of their beads and in return I’ll share those creations here on my blog…what a great arrangement!  And in case you didn’t know, Artbeads has quite an active blog for the beading community.

For my first contribution to the blogging program, I had fun creating with Swarovski Crystal. I looked through the amazing selection in the pendants category (on sale through Nov. 5th!) and chose a Cosmic ring.  I’ve paired a flashy 20 mm Crystal CAL V ring with a rustic wirework bail.  I wanted to add a component that I’ve never worked with before, so I chose  18×16 Black Diamond Cosmic baguette sew-on rhinestones.  To add to this classic color scheme, I also used Black and Morion Swarovski crystals.  The necklace was oxidized and polished.

Now for some earrings created with beautiful Swarovski sparkle…. again I chose the 18mm Cosmic Baguette Sew-on Rhinestones, this time in  Aqua.  These baguette sew-ons make the perfect connecting links!  Shades of blue crystal dangle from a coiled sterling silver wire.

I really had fun creating this next piece….. “My Secret Garden” started with a beautiful soldered pendant from Esther’s Les Illusions Baroques shop.   I pulled colors from this sweet focal piece and went to  town with steel wire, pearls, crystal and handmade glass beads.  A 12 mm Cosmic-shaped bead in Indicolite was paired with coiled wire to create a hook clasp.  I had never seen the color Indian Pink before, so I chose them in 6 mm rounds.  You’ll also see Swarovski crystal beads in Erinite, Chrysolite, Peridot and Light Rose throughout the necklace.

Please visit Artbeads (especially with this sale!) and find Swarovski crystals to complete your next jewelry project!

Have a great week! 🙂