Free Jewelry Project #2 from Bead Chic by Margot Potter

It's Week #2 of the four week bonus Free Projects from my new book Bead Chic! Here's the one from the Make Jewellery feature I showed you last week. You'll need to get the book for the step by step photos.

Enjoy!

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free signed copy of the book!

If you left a comment last week, stop in on Saturday to see if you won, I'll announce this week's winner next Saturday!

Cheers,
Madge

(Image copyright Margot Potter 2009)

Chaos in Pearls Necklace
Bead Chic
Chapter One: Scale
Copyright Margot Potter and North Light Books
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Crystal pearls, faceted plastic rounds and gun metal chains are clustered in a chaotic mass at the front of this daring, delightful and decidedly different necklace design. The less you map this one out, the better. You can opt to vary the chain lengths even more dramatically to give this an ‘haute couture’ design flavor.

Materials
13 8mm black plastic faceted rounds
14 12mm SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS cream pearls
39 1.5-3” lengths small gun metal curb chain
18.5” section gun metal oval rolo chain
27 gun metal head pins
1 large silver plated swivel lobster clasp
15 4mm gun metal jump rings

Tools
Round nose pliers
2 pairs chain nose pliers
Wire cutters

1. Cut 39 1.5-3” sections of small gun metal chain.

2. Create looped dangles for every pearl and faceted round.

3. Cut an 18.5” section of rolo chain. Attach a pearl to one end using a jump ring.

4. Attach the lobster clasp to the other end using a jump ring.

5. Starting on the 32nd link in your chain, attach a pearl, a faceted round and three varied lengths of small chain with a jump ring to the link.

6. Move down every link and continue attaching a pearl, a round and three varied lengths of chain on a jump ring. There are 13 pearl, round and chain combos.

Madge Goes Global

Copyright Make Jewellery Magazine and Margot Potter for North Light Books
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED (pardon the scan, this is an extra large magazine!)

Imagine my surprise and chagrin while leafing through Make Jewellery magazine from the UK and spotting a full page feature with a project from my new book Bead Chic! I did a double take, a Danny Thomas coffee spit take and let out a gleeful little giggle.

Okay really I just said, "Hmmm...that project looks familiar"...and let out a gleeful little giggle.

The rest was just what you might call, artful embellishment.

I'm a Leo, we like to decorate everything. Yay for international press! Yay for people who buy my new book, I heart you! Yay for my birthday month! Yay for exclamation points!

Yay for too many cups of coffee!

Love
Madge

Free Jewelry Making Project from Bead Chic Week #1

Click on image to view close up. Copyright Margot Potter for North Light Books ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Leave a comment and I'll select TWO people to get signed copies of the book on next Thursday.

This is the first of four free projects I'll be sharing from my new book Bead Chic. For photo step by steps, you'll need to get a copy of the book. It's a really great book, trust me. There are 15 gorgeous variation projects from 13 well known designers in the craft and jewelry making industry and a lot of variety in terms of style and techniques. I give you a bit of everything, including stringing, exposed wire weaving, wire wrapping, metal stamping and hammering, making your own findings...but the focus of the book is on design. You'll explore how you take a design that inspires your creativity and make it your own through small changes in color, scale, pattern, texture, focal elements and foundations.

This is the project we did at my Beadalon make it and take its at CHA and it's very easy and satisfying. I don't know why, but to me, taking some wire and bending, coiling and hammering it into a pair of earrings never fails to blow my mind. It's just a copper wire, until you forge it into something fabulous. Like every project in the book, this is all about making it your own, so think about what you might change to make this project suit your design style.

Bead Chic
Curlicue Earrings
Chapter Three-Texture
Copyright Margot Potter

When coiling wire around a jump ring maker tool I pulled the coil off and gently tugged it apart and got these great little curlicues! They add just the right touch of whimsy to simple hammered copper earrings. You can take this idea so many places...so what are you waiting for?!

Materials
20 gauge copper Artistic Wire

Tools
Jump ring maker tool with ¼” dowel
Round nose pliers
Chain nose pliers
Wire cutters
Chasing hammer
Mini anvil or steel bench block
Bench block pad

(Tools and materials courtesy Beadalon)

1. Cut off a 3” segment of wire. Round over a large dowel or use fingers to create a hoop shape.

2. Create a small loop at one end of the wire.

3. Bend the other end up at a 90 degree angle.

4. Use rounded end of hammer on a mini anvil to add texture to both sides of your ear wires.

5. Adjust shape after hammering.

6. Wrap wire around a jump ring maker with a ¼” dowel.

7. Remove coil and gently pull apart.

8. Move down every four coils and cut off coiled segments.

9. Use round nose pliers to make a small loop in one end and a larger loop in the opposite end. Make fourteen coils.

10. Thread larger end of 7 looped wires on earring. (Be sure coils are all facing the same direction.) Repeat for second earring.

CHA 2010 Summer Schedule!

Curlicue Earrings COPYRIGHT Margot Potter from Bead Chic for North Light Books

I will be attending the CHA Show next week in Chicago. I can't stay for the Super Show, I have to prepare for my upcoming book photo shoot. If you're going to be at the regular CHA Show, please stop by and say hello! I'll be doing make it take its daily in the Beadalon booth making these fabulous copper wire earrings from my new book Bead Chic! Plus I have one half hour book signing you can attend and get a signed copy of the book!

I have several blogs set to drip while I'm away, so check back! There's another fabulous Adirondack chair to share and my weekly Teen Crafts project for ILoveToCreate!

Tuesday July 27
10am-1pm Curlicue Earrings from Bead Chic Make it/Take it

Wednesday July 28
10am-1pm Curlicue Earrings from Bead Chic Make it/Take it
3-3:30 pm Craft Studio Book Signing Bead Chic

Thursday July 29
10am-1pm Curlicue Earrings from Bead Chic Make it/Take it

And the winners are...

And the winners of the signed copies of Bead Chic are...

Amber Dawn of Inventive Soul

AND

Mari of Life is a Creative Journey

Please email me at margot@margotpotter.com with your snail mail addies so I can get your books out to you asap!

Stay tuned for more giveaways...

xoxo
Madge

Do You Wanna Know a Secret?

Blackbeard's Bounty Necklace Copyright Margot Potter from Bead Chic

One of the hardest parts about my job is that I can't really share much with you. Since I don't sell my finished pieces at retail, I have to keep them under wraps until publication. That means I'm often working a year in advance. I can keep a secret, but it's not always easy! I get so excited when I'm creating new pieces.

I can't tell you what my next book is about, I can't show any of the designs I'm creating...it's a lot of Top Secret stuff around Studio Madge. If I share pictures or concepts, I risk someone taking those ideas and beating me to the punch. I can only blame myself if that happens simply because I couldn't keep it under wraps. Once you've put it out there, it takes on a life of it's own. That's the hardest part of designing and sharing your work on the internet. It's so easy for people to right click, save images of designs they like and then forget where they found them. Once you see an idea, it's easy to absorb it and later use it in your work without even recalling that you've seen it before. And then, most unfortunately there are those who just think the internet is a great big free for all and anything they see is fair game. It is what it is and even though it stinks sometimes, my job as a professional designer is to protect my ideas.

I keep my cards much closer to my chest these days than I used to. That being said, I'm so excited that I can finally share some pieces from my new book Bead Chic, here's one of my favorites. I called this necklace Blackbeard's Bounty. It's a tangle of gun metal chain, SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS pearls with a Green Girl Studios skeleton key hanging down the back. Yummy.

I'm going to offer free projects and book giveaways as we get closer to publication. So stay tuned. It's fun to finally be able to share with the class!

Cheers,
Madge

It's a Bead Chic Sneaky Peek!

Pssst...guess what?
You can see inside of my new book! YAY!

Hey Howdy Hey Boys and Girls

Thank you to everyone who left such nice comments on my book post yesterday. I think one of the hardest things in life is learning to embrace and to celebrate our own success. Let's face facts, it's uncomfortable to toot our horns and to make a big splash in the pool and it can make other people who are insecure or unhappy feel threatened when we do. Ultimately, that's their problem. When we embrace our own joy, we are able to give it more freely to others. We all deserve as much bliss and as much success as we can imagine...and then some. When we create success, we are showing others that it's possible. Then we have to remember not just to celebrate our triumphs, but to celebrate the triumphs of those around us. It is imperative that we pay it forward. So thank each of you for allowing me the space to embrace my joy and for celebrating it with me, I had a lot of tough years and struggles along the way and it took me a long time to learn to love myself and feel worthy of love and success. This career began precisely when that happened. It feels really good to grow up.

And on that note, I have some exciting news! If you go to Amazon, you'll be able to Look Inside of my new book Bead Chic! I haven't even seen it in full color until today! I'm so excited, I just can't hide it and I'm not gonna apologize for it either! I really hope you're going to be excited too. The design team at FW did an amazing job on this book. There are 30 fashion forward base projects with variations including stunning variation projects from some of the biggest names in the jewelry making world. This is a book for folks who have the basic techniques down, but want to learn how to think like a designer. This is about learning how to take an idea and make it your own and that is the crux of my entire crafty message. Everyone has something to say and I want to inspire you to say it. Out loud! In technicolor! Without shame!

xoxo,
Madge

Creative Living on PBS

Pretty in Pink Mixed Media Frame Copyright 2009 Margot Potter
Lazy Daisy Mixed Media Bib Necklace Copyright 2009 Margot Potter

I’m heading to New Mexico in two weeks to tape three segments on the PBS show Creative Living with Sheryl Borden. I’ll be sharing tutorials for a pair of wire wrapped earrings, a mixed media necklace and a mixed media frame. The frame I used cost a dollar! There’s a sneaky peeky of two of the projects above.

It could be up to 18 months before these segments go live...so I’ll keep you posted.

I’ve got some other video appearances that should be going viral in the near future and I’ll share them as they do.

I've got the first round of edits to do on my new book Bead Chic so I must away, but tune in tomorrow for more crafty goodness here at The Impatient Crafter™. Oh and I'll be on QVC this Friday on Q-Check in the noon EST hour with a very cool set of 5 mini flashlights from Stanley...check it out!

Cheers,
Madge