Just for fun, a friend and I picked up these skull beads from a street vendor here.  His stand was filled with Chinese "antiques," "jade" bracelets, coins, beads and such.  There are many of these folks tucked away in shops or selling wares off a blanket. You never know what you’re going to find….so it’s a must to take a quick peek at each one…unless husbands are nearby. 😉

At first I thought I would make some Halloween jewelry with the skulls.  However, I couldn’t get inspired to add orange and black beads to these little fellas.  Someone mentioned Day of the Dead coming up and I thought, Bingo!  Festive bright colors are way more my speed.  I fiddled with the bracelet yesterday, but it needs A LOT of tweaking.  The copper seed beads are not fitting in.  I may restring it onto memory wire.  Katie says I can glue the skulls on the memory wire so they always face upwards. 

And then, there are the earrings, which I cannot take credit for making.  I had this vision of what I wanted, so this morning when the girls and I went to pick up some supplies I found the pair of earrings I was seeing in my brain.  Get this-I had the beads with me so I asked the young lady to remake them with the skulls on top.  That was easy!  Those are CZ drops which you can now get the purple ones from Beadalon by the way.  The girl was savvy in how she remade them too.  Listen to this!  She removed the dangly charms section from the ear wire, threaded a piece of elastic through the ear wire and both ends of elastic through the skull bead.  Then she threaded one side of the elastic through the jump ring on the charms and tied the two ends in a knot (or several knots as it were).  Voila!  The elastic keeps the skull head snug and from twirling around.  Now, why didn’t I think of that?  I’m really happy with them.  And also, I’ve determined that we all need an assistant.  Where’s Rocker?

Learn more about Dia De Los Muertos here.  The Crafty Chica has spectacular Day of the Dead ideas.  Festive and fun, I’ll be sporting my gems on Nov. 1st! 

A friend asked me if I would make up a piece for the international school’s auction.  I found this bamboo and shell pendant in my stash and went from there.  My fingers were drawn to the latte and eggplant colored pearls–signs of fall weather moving in…I’m sure.  I love the Zen-ness that comes with stringing simple patterned necklaces.  That is until you check back through your work and see that you forgot to string one tiny 4mm glass bead right next to the pendant.  Ugh.  It happens. But, I’m pleased with the overall piece. 

Just a quick post…Rocker is antsy so I suspect it’s time to go for a walk.  I’ll close here. May all your beading be Zen-ful! 

FIND-THE-BEAD!!!  Yayyyyyyy! 

Ok, a little lame.  Annnnnyyyyyway, I was drinking my coffee this morning trying to think of something for my bead blogger post.  And as I looked around, I noticed beads are used in so many of our household objects.  So, let’s play!  FIND-THE-BEAD! 

One of my all time favorite thrifted finds.  I bought it nearly 10 years ago and drug it all the way to Ch!na with me.  It was made just over in HK.  Love that.

Here’s a shirt I picked up in Rheydt, Germany.  I believe it was what started my whole love for Mandarin collars.  Needs ironed!  Lord.

Ohhhhh, horses.  Little leathery, kitschy, horses!  I got them here in Dongmen when Grandma and I were shopping at the fabric market.

Ch!nese zodiac wall ornament from Suzhou.  The rabbit is our fav as we think it looks like Rocker.  Don’t tell him I said so though.

And lastly, the cat neck pillow.  This is also from Suzhou and is made from the famous blue and white fabric made here.

Ah, beads. So useful and perfect.  Thanks for playing and have a good weekend everybody!

I forgot to post the Need to Bead Girl’s links.  This reunion planning and classmate hunting has taken over my computer! ha.  Better late than never, so here goes…

Art Bead Scene
We don’t mean to frighten you, but October is here and it is time to bring out the scariest, most terrifying, art bead designs! Join us this month for a spooky challenge, if you dare! Our theme this month is Gothic Queen. We have Haloween Treats from Rings & Things and artist Cindy Gimbone this month for our prize! Drop in to catch up on all the rules and details. No Tricks, we promise!
http://artbeadscene.blogspot.com/2007/10/abs-monthly-challenge-october.html

Jewelry and Beading Blog
Tammy at the Jewelry and Beading Blog has her famous bead and wire project available. This has been a favorite of many readers over the years, and it’s the perfect time to make one.
http://www.jewelryandbeading.com/2007/10/04/wire-bead-spider-lovers/

Katie’s Beading Blog
Katie went to New Orleans, where beads grow on trees! She also found the perfect fleur-de-lis charm and lots of other inspiration. Read her post for highlights, links and more!
http://katiehacker.blogspot.com/2007/10/beady-new-orleans.html

Naughty Secretary Club
Jen wrote a trend spotting article about South West Style for Etsy read all about it here!
http://naughtysecretaryclub.blogspot.com/2007/10/south-west-style-in-storque.html

Savvy Crafter
Confessions of a newbie knitter who’s also addicted to beads…. Candie tells all about her new love: beaded stitch markers.
http://candiecooper.typepad.com/savvycrafter/2007/10/confession.html

Snap out of it Jean! There’s beading to be done!
Please visit Jean, Soft Flex Designer of the Month Oct 07. First stop by her blog for a close up look at one of her featured necklaces and then see her full bio and feature on The Soft Flex Company’s Site!
http://prettykittydogmoonjewelry.blogspot.com/2007/10/jean-jetson-and-her-fleet-of-dogs-and.html

Need to Bead!

Art Bead Scene
September is coming to and end and so is this month’s Art Bead Scene monthly challenge. So catch your last chance to join by rounding up beads from more than one of your favorite artisans, and send us a picture for the When Beads Collide theme. Check back next week as we announce the theme and prizes for October.
http://artbeadscene.blogspot.com/2007/09/abs-monthly-challenge-september.html

Bead Arts
Cyndi’s lastest bead embroidered page for the Bead Journal Project is finished, and it’s her favorite one yet!
http://www.bead-arts.com/bead-journal-projectaugusts-sturgeon-moon/

Jewelry and Beading
Tammy has been working on jewelry making e-course for some time now and has a total of 17 available. They are free, yes – f – r – e – e! Learning everything from bead strining to metal clay.
http://www.jewelryandbeading.com/2007/09/19/jewelry-e-courses/

Katie’s Beading Blog
Break out your rubber stamps and get ready for beady action. This week, Katie shares an easy way to dress-up a plain picture frame.
http://katiehacker.blogspot.com/2007/09/beads-stamping.html

Savvy Crafter
One minute Candie’s in China and the next Hong Kong. Check out the whirl-wind tour she’s been on this week.
http://candiecooper.typepad.com/savvycrafter/2007/09/ive-been-on-a-t.html

Snap out of it, Jean! There’s beading to be done!
Margot Potter was nice enough to scan the back cover of Art Jewelry magazine’s November issue for Jean, who has a cool necklace for Fire Mountain Gems on display!
http://prettykittydogmoonjewelry.blogspot.com/2007/09/nice-margot.html

The Impatient Blogger
Margot shares some of her insights on blogging, linky love and blog promotions with Get Known Now platform building expert Susan Falter-Barns.
http://margotpotter.blogspot.com/2007/09/blog-on-baby.html