Sweet Bead Studio — Handcrafted jewelry by Cindy Wimmer

Designer Highlight: Livewire Jewelry!

by Cindy on December 28, 2009

Hello!

It was a wonderful Christmas and it sure came and went too fast. I’ve been savoring the slower pace and just know getting back in to the routine will be difficult…but I won’t worry about that just yet!

A few days before Christmas I received a square, white box. I wondered if it was a present that I had ordered as the return address wasn’t familiar. I was in for a surprise when I looked inside and found the January 2010 issue of Bead Trends. I couldn’t wait to flip through it and find the section dedicated to one amazing jewelry designer….the Designer Highlight. The designer highlighted in this issue is my dear friend Sharon Borsavage of Livewire Jewelry! I could not wait to see her top-secret designs, and let me tell you they are all stunning. I am so thrilled to see such a deserving, talented, and generous person fill the 17-pages within the Designer Highlight! And to think some of these very designs will be listed in Sharon’s Etsy shop soon…. but I’ll admit I have dibs on one of the pretty featured necklaces! 🙂

The photography in this issue is even better than ever, if that’s possible…Bead Trends is known for it’s gorgeous photography (and pages full of inspiration!). I’m thrilled to have a necklace included in this issue and among some incredible company with fellow jewelry designers and bloggers. You’ll find beautiful designs by talented artists such as Mary Jane of mairedodd, Mellisa of Chinook Jewelry, Debbie of Prairie Emporium, Sue of Sue Beads, Kristen of MJM Jewelry Designs, Erin of Tesori Trovati and Marie of Skye Jewels and many more. There are so many great project ideas in this issue – the cuffs made from sheet metal and the Omni Gel photo transfer tutorials immediately caught my eye. This issue is a KEEPER! 🙂

Enjoy the final days of 2009!

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Merry Christmas!

by Cindy on December 23, 2009

Hello everyone

Just days away from Christmas, can you believe?? I am up late and was supposed to be wrapping gifts, but got a little side-tracked visiting many of your blogs! I can’t resist. I love hearing what you are all up to this week. I finally had to stop making my social rounds and got back to my agenda!

Remember the recent give away post in which so many of you mentioned your favorite holiday dishes? I wanted to list the recipes from the randomly-drawn winners…they were so generous in sharing them with me. And then I received even more yummy-sounding recipes so I thought I’d list all of the ones I received here. The post was too long with the recipes typed out word for word, so I’m simply listing the recipes I received with their contributors. If you see a recipe that you’d like to try, just let me know and I’ll email the recipe to you! And for those who asked, I’ll compile all of them for you and email them out once things slow down after the holidays!

CHIPOTLE MASHED SWEET POTATOES from Mary Sullivan (Gift Certificate Winner)

CHERRY, CASHEW AND WHITE CHOCOLATE COOKIES from Mary McGraw of MK’s Creative Musings (runner-up)

CAROLE’S PUMPKIN SOUP from Juliette of Abeille a Miel (runner-up)

BANANA PUDDING from Diane of Rosa and Josies

CHOCOLATE GINGERBREAD COOKIES from Mellisa of Chinook Jewelry **We made this one already and my husband has declared it his new all-time favorite cookie….it is scrumptious!!!**

POTATO CAKE from Jayne of Mamas Got to Doodle

CHOCOLATE ALMOND MARBLE POUND CAKE from Leslie of Bei Mondi

HOT BACON CHEESE SPREAD from Wendy of from the Heart

BLIZZARD OF ’09 CLASSIC SUGAR COOKIES from Cindy (ME!….and you’ll never need another sugar cookie recipe again!)

Thank you ladies for sharing your delicious tried-and-true recipes with me….I am looking forward to trying them! 🙂 And please don’t be shy – let me know if you see one you’d like for me to send to you, just leave a comment or email me.

Although we’re way past the first 12 Days of Christmas, I realized I never shared the beautiful charms I received from the Charmsters swap. I’ve grouped the 12 Days of Christmas charms in sets of 4 so you can see each individual charm more closely. I recently bought the Golden Book version of the 12 Days of Christmas and read it to my kids with the charms as real visual props! As I read the book, the kids looked through these charms and had to pick which charm went with the coordinating day! Some were a little challenging for them…but all all of the charms represented their Day with such amazing creativity. I plan to put these charms on a miniature table-top tree for next year.

Finally, I thought I’d share a few pictures we took while trying to get a good family shot for our Christmas card this year. We were really a sight to see, trying to get the kids lined up. We take very impromptu holiday shots and this time decided to take them by our neighborhood lake. There was no place to prop the camera to use the “self-timer”, and I didn’t have a tripod. So we waited (and it was bitter cold that day) for an unsuspecting soul to come by….and we jumped on the first couple that happened to walk by! The young guy was happy to oblige, but seemed a bit surprised by the responsibility we bestowed on him. Luckily it all worked out.

I wish you all a blessed Christmas – and that you enjoy the holidays with your family and friends by your side. Thank you for visiting sweet bead studio and for all of the kindness you have shown me. My blogging friends have become such a big part of my life, and I thank you for it! Merry Christmas!

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Greetings from the Blizzard Capital

by Cindy on December 19, 2009

Hello Friends

I’m writing in the midst of a blizzard warning here in the DC area! This a lot of snow for us! Looks like we’re going to have a white Christmas this year! Good thing I went out and finished up my Christmas shopping yesterday, even missing the big Intergem bead show to do so. Today we’ll make Christmas cookies (the dough is in the fridge chilling), make ornaments, and finish up my (yikes!) Christmas cards. Everyone’s been out in the snow for as long as they could last.

Have you heard the word about an upcoming online digital workshop? I love the idea of online classes (with 4 little ones, there’s practically no way for me to travel and get to workshops….but I’ll be sure to make it to Bead Fest Wire!). If you are looking for ways to enhance your photographs and learn some amazing techniques, then be sure to check out DJ Pettitt’s upcoming Image Editing Workshop!

DJ is an amazing artist who teaches workshops from California to Australia. She is known for her incredible mixed media paintings and art journals. If you’re like me and live no where near these areas, now you can take one of her classes! DJ describes her class, Memories and Manipulations, as a “collaboration between photography and graphic design”. Oh, and if you sign up for the class or simply visit her blog and leave a comment, DJ will be giving away a few collage art pieces! Sounds good to me!

Every day more participants in Molly’s Secret Santa Exchange are receiving their necklaces. Today my recipient received hers! I was as excited for her to receive it as she may have been to open it! Would she like it? I think she did! I was so happy to discover Carolyn Mallin’s blog through this exchange and hope to visit often. I created a copper and lampwork super long (35″) necklace that can even be worn doubled. In her write-up, Carolyn mentioned she liked eclectic (captured by the various wire links used) and well as bright (represented by the colorful lampwork beads by Moon Stumpp).

And lastly, I received a sweet “Christmas Blogger Award”, just something to pass along to our blog friends this holiday season. I received the award from Kinga Albert, an incredibly talented university student who lives a world away in Hungary. If you take a peek at her blog, you’ll see her beautiful, intricate beadwork throughout the posts. I’d like to share this award, more like a holiday hug, to these friends who have recently shared their Christmas decorations on their blogs. Please stop by and say hello to Judy, Lori and Leslie! There are no”rules” with this award, just sending along a hello to you and you can pass it along if you’d like.

Hopefully you’re staying warm today…’til next time!