Lark Crafts

When I attended Bead&Button in 2011, I was absolutely bowled over by the pieces on display in the Bead Dreams showcases. One necklace that really wowed me was Helen of Troy, by French beader Anneta Valious. Not only was it luxe and gorgeous, but I couldn’t figure out how it was made. I wanted to know more about this technique and I figured other beaders would, too, so I asked Anneta to be an author, and here we are, a year and a half later, with her book, Soutache, just hitting stores.

Want to find out more about Anneta and her lovely jewelry? Read on! All photos in this blog are by permission of the artist, and any errors in translation are mine…

What is soutache?

Soutache is a type of trim or gimp, and more specifically a flat braid with a groove down the center. Soutache began to be embroidered onto garments beginning in fifteenth-century France, becoming quite popular in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Soutache enjoyed a brief resurgence during the macramé craze of the 1970s. Today, it’s used mostly to embellish lampshades. It’s less well known for making jewelry. [But wait until crafters get their hands on Anneta's book: that's going to change things! --NM]

Calypso

Aren’t we all on the lookout for the latest trends and products, eager to get our hands on some fun new tool or material? Well, have you heard of epoxy clay? This hot new material has vast creative potential. Just mix, model, embellish the self-hardening synthetic clay (no need for baking or firing), and flaunt! The clay comes in a wide range of colors and there is zero shrinkage. Once cured, epoxy clay is permanent, even under water. It adheres to a huge variety of surfaces: wood, metal, ceramic, glass, plastics, and stone. It’s now available at craft stores, bead shops, and online. Our exciting new book, Foxy Epoxy, written by dynamo Kristal Wick, offers up a thorough and inspiring introduction to the material.

There are 44 projects–by Kristal and leading craft and jewelry designers–that demonstrate how beautiful and diverse the results can be. Mix custom colors. Cast beautiful cabochons. Makeover salvaged jewelry components. Apply other stunning embellishments including beads, mica, glitter, and wire.

Below you’ll find just a few of the fantastic projects featured in the book. It’s available now, so get yourself a copy to see more! And keep your eyes here for an upcoming you-don’t-want-to-miss-it giveaway featuring the book.

“I ADORE this book! I couldn’t put it down! Cover to cover I loved the projects, and the inspiration popped off the pages. I applaud Kristal and all the fabulous designers for taking this medium and making it classy, funky, and so much fun.” – Sherry Serafini

“This is a gem of a book! If you’re in need of inspiration and ideas for your epoxy clay creations, look no more. Foxy Epoxy featured work by today’s top designers and is filled from cover to cover with ideas that will keep you creating until all hours. I promise!” – Mark Montano

Sweet, delicious, yummy donuts. Or if you’re a purist: doughnuts. Plain, with chocolate frosting, cake, cream or jelly filled, with sprinkles, any way you can get them, you know you love them. To help you show the world your donut love, here is a list of some of our favorite Etsy projects. And be sure to visit the poll at the end of this post: Krispy Kreme vs Dunkin’ Donuts! And no, I’m not biased. Really. Most importantly, don’t forget to visit your local participating donut shops for a FREE DONUT!!!

Credits, each column top to bottom starting at left: Chocolate Doughnut Pincushion by cyrillascrochet • Donut Ring by shimrita • Ceramic Doughnut Coin Bank by modclay • Needle Felted Jelly Doughnut Ornament by fuzzefood • Scented Sprinkled Strawberry Donut Necklace by BabyLovesPink • Donut Pillow by mypillowfactory • Stack of Donuts Miniature Clay Figurine by InkedGoddess • Donut Fascinator Headband by prettygoodthings • Chocolate Frosted Donut Studs by shayaaron • Solid Glass Mini Chocolate Donut Paperweight by TheMELTkitchen • Shameless & Insatiable Wall Embroidery by BackstitchPass • Pink Donut Bracelet by Zjakazumi • Sugarstrand Iced Doughnut Brooch by ChuckyEggJewellery • Yummy Chocolate Diet Donut Magnet by DanielleLondon • Donut Soaps by AubreyEApothecary • A Dozen Donuts Scarf by EEFashions • Donut Stop Dancing Shoes by mnmbeautyemporium • Pink Donut Print with Sprinkles Retro Apron by mamamadison

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One lucky person wins this kit!

Doggerel for a Beading Kit

No need to plunk down any cash,

To try embroid’ry with soutache.

We’ve kitted up a project in

Our book “Soutache” for you to win.

You get beads and thread, leather and trim,

Immediately, you can begin.

The Vintage Bracelet has panache

Stitch it, wear it, you’ll make a splash!

I spent an hour–no balderdash–

On this rhyme, but…is it trash?

One thing’s

One thing’s certain: The Vintage Bracelet that you can make using this kit is pure treasure! See for yourself:

To enter for a chance to win the kit shown in the photo at the very top plus a copy of the book Soutache, simply leave a comment on this post by 11:59 p.m. EDT on June 13, 2013. A winner will be selected at random from among all eligible entries on June 14, 2013. Click here for the official rules.

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Remember the giveaway I announced on May 15? Well, I’ve drawn names at random and these three happy contestants each won a copy of Soutache: Annabelle Besnard, Elena Mary Siff and Tamara Allison. And the super-lucky person who receives both a book AND the Zenith Bracelet  is…drumroll…Anna Beal. Congratulations! (And thanks to author Anneta Valious for so generously donating this project.)

If you’re feeling blue because you weren’t one of our winners, here’s a little something as consolation: a PDF of free instructions for making the Zenith Bracelet. Hope you have fun! And keep checking back—we’ll have more giveaways.

If you’ve been to Bead&Button, you know how amazing this event is: beading royalty around every corner, exciting classes, happy crowds, funky hair color, zillions of products to choose from. (Oh, and miles of corridors to walk…grin!)

So many Lark Jewelry & Beading authors are going to be at the show! In celebration, we’re giving away one great big set of 20 books—all of these were written by Lark authors attending B&B 2013. Here’s what one lucky winner will receive:

To enter for a chance to win these 20 books, simply leave a comment on this post by 11:59 p.m. EDT on Monday, May 27, 2013. One winner will be selected at random from among all eligible entries on May 28, 2013. Click here for the official rules.

The 20 books are:

• Making Bead & Wire Jewelery, by Janice Berkebile and Tracy Stanley
• Metalworking 101 for Beaders and Necklaceology, both by Candie Cooper
• The Art of Enameling, by Linda Darty
• Marcia DeCoster’s Beaded Opulence, by Marcia DeCoster
• Diane Fitzgerald’s Shaped Beadwork and Diane Fitzgerald’s Favorite Beading Projects, both by Diane Fitzgerald
• Suzanne Golden Presents, by Suzanne Golden
• I CAN Herringbone, by Melissa Grakowsky
• Heat, Color, Set & Fire, Wrap, Stitch, Fold & Rivet and Mixed Metal Jewelry Workshop, all by Mary Hettmansperger
• Sabine Lippert’s Beaded Fantasies, by Sabine Lippert
• Laura McCabe’s Embellished Beadweaving, by Laura McCabe
• Japanese Beadwork with Sonoko Nozue, by Sonoko Nozue
• Beadmaille, by Cindy Pankopf
• Steel Wire Jewelry, by Brenda Schweder
• Metal Clay Beads, by Barbara Becker Simon
• Jill Wiseman’s Beautiful Beaded Ropes, by Jill Wiseman

Anneta Valious

We’re celebrating the release of the new book Soutache, written by Anneta Valious, with a fabulous giveaway! Three lucky winners will each receive a copy of the book, still hot off the presses. And—drum roll, please—one extra-lucky person will win a copy of the book PLUS a piece of jewelry made by the author and featured in the book, the gorgeous Zenith Bracelet shown below!

To enter for a chance to win one of the four prizes described above, simply leave a comment on this post by 11:59 p.m. EDT on Thursday, May 23, 2013. The winners will be selected at random from among all eligible entries on May 24, 2013. Click here for the official rules.

UPDATE: THIS GIVEAWAY IS OVER. ANNABELLE BESNARD, ELENA MARY SIFF AND TAMARA ALLISON EACH WON A COPY OF THE BOOK. THE WINNER OF BOTH THE BOOK AND THE BRACELET WAS ANNA BEALL.

If you haven’t yet discovered jewelry made with soutache, you’re in for a treat. And if you have seen this type of jewelry before, you’ve probably been wondering how to make it. Mystery solved! Be on the lookout for the new book by Anneta Valious (the first ever covering this technique in the English language), releasing next month!

Soutache is a type of braid or trim that’s been around for centuries. For a long time, it was used to embellish garments, but check out this wee sneak peek of projects taught in Anneta’s book to see what beautiful things it can do for jewelry!

Pretty dazzling, huh?

Check Lark’s blog again on May 15, 2013, for a chance to win not only a copy of Soutache, but a project from it!