Creative Spark - Winter Edition

Creative Spark, Winter 2015

The latest issue of Creative Spark, ZnetShows' design magazine meets winter head-on, delivering an avalanche of snowy inspiration; no snow shovels required.

I was again asked to participate and submit a design, working with their lovely cultured sea glass and the theme "Icy".  Living by the ocean, one of my favorite things is to go beach combing, searching for sea glass.  But Znetshows definitely has a way of spoiling a person.  Their cultured sea glass has all of the soft lustre of real sea glass, and comes in a huge range of shapes, colors and sizes.  The trickiest part for me was figuring out how to fit into the winter theme, when the glass kept whispering 'warm summer sun'.

Taking a departure from freeform peyote for a wee bit, I created a choker style necklace with regular peyote stitch and netted fringe loosely inspired by the Roaring 20's using several peridot-green, diamond-shaped sea glass drops as the accent beads.  Working with the theme "Wintergreen", I paired the drops with bright, iridescent white and iridescent crystal seed beads. 

In the end, I couldn't resist creating a little freeform peyote ring showcasing one of their sea stars.  Curious to see what I created?  My necklace is on page 10.  But mine are only a couple of the many, many featured designs, including bead weaving, stringing, wirework, and more by nearly two dozen designers. 

Hope Smitherman has once again put together a stellar line-up, filled with wonderful beady eye candy and inspiration, along with several fun surprises.  Be sure to check it out! 

Interview with Cynthia Machata of Artisan Whimsy

Earlier this month I had the pleasure of corresponding with Cynthia Machata, Lead Editor for Artisan Whimsy: A Creative Bead Chat, asking about my work with freeform peyote, self-publishing, teaching and more. 

Artisan Whimsy is the brainchild of Melinda Orr, with the goal of 'bringing the handmade beading/jewelry community together in a place where newbie or skilled artisans could share and learn'.  The free online magazine definitely lives up to it's vision.

The content of these online magazines is more fluid than the mainstream publications we all already know and love.  A single issue may combine artist interviews (such as the one featuring yours truly, starting on page 78 in case you're curious), sneak peaks into artists' studios, lots of gorgeous eye candy for inspiration, and a variety of short tips and tutorials, including tips and techniques for beading, wirework, manipulating photos, improving one's blog and running a craft-based business.  They can even include embedded video tutorials. 

Interested in writing an article?  Consider submitting your idea!

 A little peak inside (I think the layout and design is lovely): 

In parting, I'll also add a shout out to Creative Spark, another free glossi edited by Hope Smitherman and produced by ZnetShows.  Especially if you have a love for crystals or sea glass. 


Do you have a favorite online beading magazine?  I'd love to hear.