tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-226244622012-01-11T21:25:01.824-06:00I began a journey a few years ago and realized a hidden passion for jewelry making. Now I would love to share my passion with others.Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.comBlogger571100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-9322384172994623502012-01-11T21:16:00.006-06:002012-01-11T21:25:01.834-06:00

I was very happy to have a set of my earrings featured in this collection.#widgetcont p{ padding:0; margin:0; } .title_brown, .title_brown a, .title_brown a:link, .title_brown a:active, .title_brown a:visited, .title_brown a:hover { color:#dfa754; font-weight:bold; }.title_charc, .title_charc a, .title_charc a:link, .title_charc a:active, .title_charc a:visited, .title_charc a:hover { color:

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-27342463390430238132011-08-07T13:32:00.001-05:002011-08-07T13:34:41.349-05:00

So at the end of this past week, we packed up and headed out to Ohio. It was a three-with-one-stone kind of deal. We had gone up to Ohio the previous year a couple times to hang out at Cedar Point. This was a first for our family, and we quite enjoyed it. Jeff, who is notorious for his motion sickness, even tried one of the coasters. While I give him an A for effort, it probably wasn't the best

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-25271672583395487282011-03-24T19:10:00.001-05:002011-03-24T19:10:26.283-05:00

So I'm one of the few hundred thousand who went out and got the latest iPad. I'm part of the elite group who are not waiting two, three, four, or five weeks for delivery, thanks to a wonderful husband who was First in line at Best Buy. It was not all sweetness and light, though, as I was looking for a 64G unit, and as luck would have it, our local Best Buy was the only one not offering that

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-59282592928130097842010-10-31T15:01:00.001-05:002010-10-31T15:01:36.052-05:00

Halloween 2010Originally uploaded by AridanI love Halloween, it's just fun and the kids have a great time. Some years we do more than others, but it's always fun to make a connection back to my childhood, and the magic of turning into someone else for a short period of time.This year we celebrated by making fresh pumpkin pies, going to the pumpkin farm, carving jack-o-lanterns. The kids had

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-1001466407440057872010-10-07T23:47:00.002-05:002010-10-07T23:57:12.405-05:00

October is a wonderful month for many happy reasons. It's the month of my wedding anniversary, and the beginning of Autumn, and the month for good natured Halloween fun. On the more serious side, it's also the month to support Breast Cancer and Domestic Violence prevention. The wonderful artisans of the ArtFire Jewelry Design Jewelry Supply Shops Guild have come together this month to support

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-91967785396517942362010-09-19T21:49:00.000-05:002010-09-19T21:50:34.986-05:00

#widgetcont p{ padding:0; margin:0; } .title_brown, .title_brown a, .title_brown a:link, .title_brown a:active, .title_brown a:visited, .title_brown a:hover { color:#dfa754; font-weight:bold; }.title_charc, .title_charc a, .title_charc a:link, .title_charc a:active, .title_charc a:visited, .title_charc a:hover { color:#333333; font-weight:bold; }Geometric Beauty Curated By:

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-78597730097215034402010-09-19T16:35:00.001-05:002010-09-19T16:35:36.467-05:00

My latest piece using gunmetal chain. The muted color of the chain makes for a nice contrast to the Fall colors of the lampwork beads. I've been waiting on using the chain until I had matching findings. I did a similar piece for a pirate themed bracelet, but the headpins were silver. It didn't look bad, but I much prefer the seamless look you get when all the metal matches. This piece looks

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-20779553318735445772010-07-09T18:46:00.001-05:002010-07-09T18:46:10.869-05:00

Our first born has begun to develop sophisticated and expensive tastes in dinner choices. Here at the Starved Rock Lodge she is kissing his hand for permission to order sea scallops with linguini. My girl won't be a cheap date.

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-15181656932608305512009-08-26T16:23:00.003-05:002009-08-26T16:26:01.240-05:00

A shop names is the first introduction to a brand, and should therefore send the message you intend it to send. It should say something about your shop, what you sell, or should at least not give a misleading impression of your shop.There are all kinds of wonderful handmade shops out there. They have unique names that can seem straightforward, but the stories and reasons behind the name of a shop

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-26853188156957487842009-07-06T16:51:00.008-05:002009-07-06T17:56:34.481-05:00

I have been lucky enough to be given a sneak peek into the new look for the MyArtFire page. ArtFire has been making steady strides in continuing to improve and streamline the look and feel of its web presence. As the tools and capabilities of this selling venue become more sophisticated, so do the web pages from which we use those capabilities.ArtFire has recently updated the look of its homepage

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-16456155765073239152009-05-01T17:00:00.000-05:002009-05-01T16:01:29.064-05:00

So recently I was reading a thread on the Etsy site about Twitter. Some were saying that they wouldn't be surprised if Etsy was banned from Twitter because of excessive spam (I guess any spam is excessive). People feel strongly on both sides of the issue. Some people feel that you should not be promoting your new listings at all on Twitter and some people feel that tweeting their listings bring

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-80559956428530459592009-04-27T17:39:00.003-05:002009-04-27T17:44:20.560-05:00

I have long had a school-girl crush on the tale of The Phantom of the Opera. I have read the original book, as well as some greatly romanticized versions. I have seen the musical a number of times, and of course I own the movie. Some people don't understand the appeal. I love the juxtaposition of opposing forces in the story. Good versus evil, beautiful versus ugly, light versus dark, man versus

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-87818504270682018772009-04-23T08:17:00.005-05:002009-04-23T09:00:39.832-05:00

I am not really new to online selling. I signed up for an Etsy storefront in 2006. But you would think I'd be much farther along than I am in building sales. Well life events pulled me away from my art for a long time. Now I'm back and there have been so many changes, new venues, new opportunities, it makes me a de facto newbie.In my efforts to learn more about online selling I found

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-83247060272384386352009-04-20T23:25:00.006-05:002009-04-20T23:49:13.630-05:00

The Artfire Jewelry Design and Jewelry Supply Shops Guild is currently running it's Spring Cleaning and Treasure Hunt event. Below are some of the beautiful selections available in the AJDJSS studios. Visiting these studios will allow you to check out some of the discounts and specials available, and maybe even qualify you to win a beautiful, handmade, unique jewelry design...or two! Check out

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-11999791879462151842009-04-20T19:27:00.009-05:002009-04-20T20:00:56.880-05:00

We recently went to The Field Museum in Chicago. We decided to get membership there a couple of weeks ago, and it provided us with free tickets to the paid exhibits. One such exhibit, The Aztec World, was ending April 19th, so we squeaked in before it moved on. We were particularly excited to see the exhibit because we had been to the site in Mexico City on our honeymoon, and saw the beginnings

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-87366659793081013192009-04-12T21:59:00.006-05:002009-04-14T13:59:05.665-05:00

It is a pleasure to work with so many supplies in a variety of colors. Not only do beads come in a rainbow of colors and finishes, so much so that you need a class to identify them all, but metal wire, beading wire, components all have colors and finishes that provide and endless number of combinations with which to work.Sometimes having that many options at your disposal can paralyze your

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-88912637763457148142009-04-11T09:00:00.000-05:002009-04-11T09:00:05.907-05:00

I don't usually like to talk about what vendors I use. It inevitably will happen that someone will have a less than flattering comment about my vendor, and tries to convince me why vendor XYZ is so much better. This tends to get under my skin, and I'm sure I'm not alone. The reason is that there are so many practical, impractical, personal, and pragmatic reasons that people choose the vendors

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-29281974300514660842009-04-09T22:31:00.002-05:002009-04-12T22:46:39.944-05:00

A collection of handmade jewelry for Spring, in shades of pink.

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-69109194882570063242009-04-07T20:22:00.004-05:002009-04-07T20:37:20.273-05:00

Ok, anyone who knows me probably realized I didn't mean actual Spring "cleaning". Rather I'm talking about the upcoming event being run by my ArtFire guild. An ArtFire guild is a group of people brought together by a common mission, who help and support each other in building traffic and bringing business to their studios. Our guild's name is Artfire Jewelry Design and Jewelry Supply Shops.This

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-76962975553882927452009-03-30T20:54:00.004-05:002009-03-31T13:03:59.683-05:00

When creative people are not feeling all that creative, anything that can inspire is welcome. If you have a graphics pad at your disposal, you may enjoy tooling around with ArtRage. It is software that allows you to paint on your computer. I don't pretend I'm a painter. I actually started jewelry design after I realized I did not have my Dad's talent for painting.Aside from paints, it also

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-90007081914735176062009-03-27T16:06:00.000-05:002009-03-27T16:06:05.012-05:00

You may not be able to tell unless you look closely, but these two sets of earrings are actually different. The difference is in the color of seed beads used on the outer edge of the blossom. One is made with Amethyst Glow and the other uses a more subtle Rainbow Amethyst. Although not a traditional representation of Spring flowers, they make a colorful, bold statement.

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-22172734424009510712009-03-26T18:00:00.001-05:002009-03-26T18:00:19.539-05:00

I love the look of illusion necklaces, especially made with monofilament cord where you don't have to use crimp beads. The monofilament is strong, and very thin, so it's easier to just suspend the beads by passing back through the beads as you string them. It also makes it easier to space the beads consistently, and is flexible enough to allow for an adjustment or two if needed. These necklaces

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-53444237508380412502009-03-25T18:00:00.001-05:002009-03-25T18:00:15.791-05:00

It's been a long dreary winter, even for me, and I love the brisk weather and the snowfall. It seems that Spring is taking it's time getting here though, and I'm tired of days ranging from 50s, 60s, even 70s one day and back in to the 40s or 30s the next. This design is with a bit of green that came too late for St. Patrick's Day celebrations, but still represents the color of renewal and

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-33481594781194363242009-03-24T17:00:00.002-05:002009-03-24T18:18:31.744-05:00

There is a reason that artists use natural daylight bulbs, like the type that OTT brand uses. With certain materials, such as glass beads, the color looks different depending on if it's viewed in natural daylight or in fluorescent light. This particular illusion necklace was made with crackle glass beads, pink glass pearls and pink bicone glass beads, strung on clear monofilament cord. When I

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-88420892766578046612009-03-23T18:59:00.011-05:002009-03-23T19:30:49.101-05:00

I can't believe my niece is 13 already, a newbie teen, with a keen fashion sense and highly developed individual style. It's actually intimidating to try to design something for such a person...you want them to like it more than just the polite "Thanks, Aunt Kelle." For the birthday girl, I put together a couple items. I like designing with pinks and purples, so it's great that she's a fan of

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-85672707161949247382009-03-08T22:15:00.001-05:002009-03-08T22:15:50.405-05:00

Red and Black Dangle Earrings Originally uploaded by Aridan FashionsRepresenting Jeff's company, he, I and my aunt and uncle all participated in a bowling event to benefit Junior Achievement. As I had mentioned earlier, the shirts were black and red, with some white on the back. I took that as an opportunity to once again spar with my old friend the wire jig. Such a simple tool in theory, there

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-22283065706775153332009-03-08T21:39:00.001-05:002009-03-08T21:39:21.489-05:00

Teardrop Pearl Earrings Originally uploaded by Aridan FashionsThese 6mm and 8mm glass pearls are nicely framed in teardrop shaped earring findings.

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-22339914997591522002009-03-07T22:08:00.001-06:002009-03-07T22:08:08.001-06:00

Cane glass memory bracelet Originally uploaded by Aridan FashionsI find cane glass, also known as furnace glass, beautiful and fascinating. It's made by creating and combining glass rods into colorful patterns, and encasing them in clear glass to make a larger rod, then sliding them into different bead shapes and sizes. It comes in varying qualities, with lesser quality glass lacking the shine,

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-72941970655684307932009-03-02T16:23:00.004-06:002009-03-02T16:31:34.171-06:00

So venturing out on artisan selling sites, like Etsy and ArtFire, is not for the faint of heart. It's truly amazing how many talented people there are out there, working hard on beautiful handmade pieces of art. And that's just the start on these sites. I have to admire all these artisans that put the time an energy not only creating their fine pieces of work, but also contributing to the vast

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-68857788519955709872009-02-25T13:50:00.005-06:002009-02-25T14:13:48.949-06:00

I took bowling in high school, and I liked it. Unfortunately like many of the things I like, I was never very good at it. We can't all be good at everything of course. It's all in good fun. So I agreed to participate in my husband's charity bowling event for work. Low and behold we get bowling shirts! In honor of the black, red and white shirts, I put together this necklace. Among my new bead

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-3052119049643460122009-02-25T13:40:00.004-06:002009-02-25T13:49:42.158-06:00

I have a love of tear drop beads. They look so juicy, like a drop of liquid about to fall from a glass or a leaf. I've also developed a new fascination with glass chips. So I've combined my old love and my new love in this necklace. I thought the color of the chips looked like irridescent champagne, and who doesn't love champagne. Drop beads naturally lend themselves to cascading, thus the

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-65123540190603957092009-01-21T21:31:00.002-06:002009-01-21T21:45:17.966-06:00

It might be amusing to people who know me now to hear that I never considered myself a creative person. When friends and family see the fancy birthday cake or the new jewelry or the custom picture slide show, they always say "Oh, you are very creative."My father was an artist, he could paint and draw. The urge to create runs deep in my family, as we have many talented artists and musicians in the

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-67642997062789717922008-10-10T13:44:00.007-05:002008-10-10T14:09:26.957-05:00

Fall is in the air, one of my favorite times of the year, and yet a time that always kicks off the busy holiday season. I like to make my kids something to commemorate the season, and with the cute and affortable lampwork beads out there, this is relatively easy to do.My daughter loved the bracelet, and I made a zipper pull so my son wouldn't feel left out. Our family enjoys Halloween, and we

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-16226780845484132712008-09-11T10:08:00.005-05:002008-09-11T10:18:48.029-05:00

This is another design from Ruby. I love cube beads, but never seem to know what to do with them, they have so many posibilities. These beads are a teal color. It is a summery look that is versatile enough to be casual or classy.

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-68068076304564805952008-06-25T13:15:00.001-05:002008-12-09T11:31:17.173-06:00

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-73677476212353563352008-06-25T13:13:00.000-05:002008-12-09T11:31:17.323-06:00

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-74088359476081502302008-06-25T13:12:00.000-05:002008-12-09T11:31:17.496-06:00

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-69270552376049598242008-06-25T13:10:00.000-05:002008-12-09T11:31:17.671-06:00

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-67210292349194446322008-06-24T10:29:00.001-05:002008-06-24T10:29:40.887-05:00

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-39119726328063160722008-06-24T10:28:00.001-05:002008-06-24T10:28:45.688-05:00

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-4786501667928643952008-06-24T10:26:00.001-05:002008-06-24T10:27:34.571-05:00

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-58116481839527241762008-06-24T10:25:00.001-05:002008-06-24T10:26:07.874-05:00

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-29680966473535494742008-06-24T10:11:00.000-05:002008-06-24T10:24:56.272-05:00

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-65907828878096395892008-06-23T17:56:00.002-05:002008-06-23T18:31:16.641-05:00

I've long been an admirer of Ruby and her wonderful beading tutorials. I thought these beaded bangles looked fun, and decided to give it a try. I did this in size 11 pink ceylon Toho treasure beads, accented with size 15 japanese seed beads in shimmering dark rose. The other beads are just crystal size 8 seed beads. I made this for my daughter, as she loves these colors, and it matches most of

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-29316339888086201692008-06-19T14:34:00.003-05:002008-12-09T11:31:17.956-06:00

It's been a long time since I've been in the mood to create. Nothing like life's stressor to put a damper on the creative juices. Now with a new job for the husband and new friends in our lives, I've felt more inspired to be creative.I've just finished this spiral bracelet for a friend who has a daughter in cheerleading. Their colors are purple, silver and white. I used size 8 opaque white beads

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-1156792128773909112006-08-28T14:03:00.000-05:002006-08-28T14:08:52.233-05:00

I was so excited/happy about this. I finally had a completely unsolicited sale from Etsy. These babies were shipped off to my first official customer a couple of days ago. She indicated that she would have been interested in a white pair also. I have a set in crystal that I sent her a link to, but so far haven't heard back. Oh, well. I'm just happy that this effort has finally started to be

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-1156790593583418802006-08-28T13:37:00.000-05:002006-08-28T13:43:16.496-05:00

My friend Rana, whom I work with, asked me to craft a mother's bracelet as a gift. It was a good process, as she had a good idea of what she wanted, which was out of the box from what you might think of as a mother's bracelet. I was used to using light colors, but Rana chose jet crystals and vitrail crystals. Mixed in with those were the four birthstone colors. Plus she asked for a two-strand

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-1147919510352256972006-05-17T21:29:00.000-05:002006-05-17T21:31:50.453-05:00

I've had the blue goldstone for years now. Do you ever just freeze? Paying more than $30 for a string of beads tends to do that to me. I don't want to use them "wrong." But I girded my loins, and here is the fruit.Ok, enough mixing metaphors...enjoy!

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-1146702479602652302006-05-03T19:25:00.000-05:002006-05-03T21:18:03.860-05:00

This piece I made for my 6-year old daughter to wear with her Easter dress. I complimented it with a pair of simple hoop earrings. She looked lovely. :)

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-1143075081339783922006-03-22T18:51:00.000-06:002006-03-22T19:51:02.166-06:00

So I bought the Boss's Bead Bag from Fire Mountain Gems a while ago. It was an interesting experience that yielded a lot of dodads for my daughter to play with. Among the various items were quite a few of these heart beads. I liked the look and feel of them, but I stashed them to the side for years, until I heard their lonely call. They said "Lady! It's time to do something with us." And here is

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-1142312192725028942006-03-13T22:48:00.000-06:002006-03-13T22:56:32.740-06:00

No, it's not an alien spacecraft, it's a project that had been languishing for about two years. The wire knitting portion of the project was easy, it was finishing the ends that drove me to procrastination. The unfinished ends of the bracelet were just taunting me, and my only response was to shove the project under piles of beading supplies. Every once in a while I would come across it, and it

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-1141881302728509352006-03-08T23:10:00.000-06:002006-07-06T21:01:49.806-05:00

This is my first successful attempt at a Sandra Halpenny design. I started to really grow in respect for Sandra's design talent. The patience it must take to map out each design bead by bead is amazing.

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-1141269533058350132006-03-01T21:07:00.000-06:002006-03-01T21:18:53.066-06:00

This was crafted as a birthday gift for a friend and colleague. Once again, I thank Ruby for her wonderful tutorial for this pendant. The seed beads in the necklace are size 8, the ones in the pendant are size 11 and size 8. The glass pearls are 6mm, and the faceted round Czech crystals are also 6mm.

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-1140917120801380072006-02-25T19:13:00.000-06:002006-02-25T19:25:20.810-06:00

I've been practicing my wrapped loops, and I'm pretty happy with the results. I'd say this is the first time that I've been able to consistently produce wrapped loops. This item is made from non-tarnish silver plated Artistic Wire, porcelein heart bead, and Chinese 6mm bicone crystal beads with an AB finish. The wire for the links is 20 gauge, and the clasp is handmade from 18 gauge wire.

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-1140492586665671982006-02-20T21:15:00.000-06:002006-02-20T21:29:46.673-06:00

Ok, so this is the eve of my taking the plunge to actually sell some of what I make. I set up my Etsy store, and you can see it at aridanfashions.etsy.com. I set up my PayPal account. I created items for my store. So, I'm officially out there now.I've heard nothing but good things about Etsy. Of course as a jewelry designer we all pretty much get lost among each other out there, but we can't

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-1140291317710011122006-02-18T13:27:00.000-06:002006-02-18T13:35:17.720-06:00

I just recently finished the new tutorial posted by Ruby Fisch at her site, www.rubysbeadwork.com. Many thanks to Ruby for continuing to share her knowledge on the forums, in her self-published work, and with her tutorials. Just browse her site at the link above to understand more about this talented jewelry artist.I greatly enjoyed making this pendant, and I see a whole set of them in a variety

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22624462.post-1140229054251871272006-02-17T20:10:00.000-06:002006-02-17T20:17:34.253-06:00

A few years ago I used to buy beads in bulk. It was during a time when I thought the more beads, the better. I learned better, though, over time, and therefore there are containers upon containers of unused beads wasting away. I decided to take a few of them out of their dark abode and allow them to see the light of day. This bracelet was made using right angle weave and drop beads. It was an

Aridan Fashionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513231883911062187noreply@blogger.com0