FREE Online Tools Event Today!

Hi Gang-
A quick update from the front lines! (Oh, and Happy October BTW. Have you picked out your Halloween costume yet? I am thinking of going as a Jewelry Educator...already have the costume. But I digress...)

I wanted to let you know that later today (5 PM PST 8 PM EST) is a great online FREE event that you don't want to miss.

That's right. A FREE and fun webinar hosted by Alison Lee, founder of Craftcast. I'll be there along with a few other illustrious industry bigwigs to discuss the latest and greatest tool finds. We had a rehearsal last week and let me tell you, it's a fun-fast-paced-frolic-fest. Click over now to register. It's gonna be fun!

A few other notes:
My Etsy Store is back up and running after a short vacation. Click here to peruse. AND I have some great classes coming up at the Bay Area Bead Extravaganza in November and they are almost completely sold out, so if you want to join me in Oakland in November, you'd better sign up TODAY.

That's it for now. Have a lovely day, my crafty friends!

The Fine Art of Knotted Beads

I bought myself a little treat last week for my birthday. Two lovely strands of Blue Apatite Beads. All. For. Me! I thought the best way to string those beauties would be to knot them. I love to knot. It adds so much flair to a simple strand of beads.

I thought I would share what I did with you. Here is the story:

I used two 16" strands of apatite beads, size 2 nylon thread with needle attached, a clasp, a black skull bead,  4 small spacer beads and a rhinestone bead all from my local bead store, Baubles and Beads in Berkeley, CA.

Start by tying a knot at the end of the thread and slide on an endtip (photo 1). Pass the tail through the loop of the knot several times to make a bulky knot that will not slip off the strand. Then string your beads, one by one, and tie an overhand knot after each. Use a fine-tip tweezers if needed to slide the knot into place.

Finish by sliding on an endtip, cutting the needle away from the thread, unravel the threads so there are two ends and tie a square knot into the cup of the endtip (photo 2). Make a bulky knot so that it does not pull through. Seal the knots with clear nail polish and let dry so they won't unravel when the tails are cut away.

And that's it! You can find my tutorial on making an endless knotted strand at this link. And all about how to choose the right necklace lengths here.

You can see that the rhinestone and skull beads are near the clasp. I can wear those in front or scoot them around to the back. The necklace is long enough to wear as a double strand around the neck or wrapped five times around the wrist. It's also a great piece to wear long and layered with other pieces in my jewelry box. I love it!

JTV Adventure

Hi Everyone! It's Kate's cousin, Zoe. I am the acting Social Media Manager for Kate during this fun trip to Knoxville!

Well, it was a long trip from the Bay Area to Knoxville (plane maintenance issues, re-routes and delayed luggage arrival), but we made it!

We arrived at the JTV studios bright-eyed and excited this morning and Kate just finished setting up her samples. She's ready for her close-up. :)

I am a huge online shopping and Jewel School fan, so you can imagine my excitement this morning. In fact, I just had the pleasure of meeting Kim Prentiss, my favorite JTV host!

One of Kate's favorite people, Katie Hacker just arrived. She is scheduled to appear on Jewel School this morning too!

Make sure to follow Kate on Facebook and Twitter.
Follow the hashtag #JTVfun on Twitter to experience the adventure. Trust me, you won't want to miss it!