Ema K

Follow to My Blog

2013-05-19T10:59:00.005-04:00

Please visit my blog now being hosted on my website,
Ema K Designs.

Thank you.

AJE Earring Challenge Reveal 5 (weeks 9 &10/52)

2013-03-17T10:44:00.000-04:00

Please click the photo below and follow it to my blog to see the AJE Earring Challenge Reveal 5.

Of Sand and Sea - A blog hop reveal

2013-03-09T17:37:00.001-05:00

Are you looking for my Sand and Sea Reveal? Please follow this link to my blog. Thank you.

Ema K's Trunk Show and Auction

2013-02-22T11:36:00.002-05:00

I am hosting an online trunk show this weekend. I am auctioning off over 80 items! Included in the auction are lampwork beads, copper jewelry components and jewelry, all handmade by me. The event begins at 9 am on February 22 and ends at 7 pm on February 24.

Come on over to my Facebook fan page and join in the fun! Auction items can be found here.

All the details can be found on the event page. I hope to see you there.

Focus on Life Week 7

2013-02-18T11:03:00.002-05:00

A new blog post is up on my new blog page.
Focus on Life, Week 7, is all about Flowers

Hop on over, check it out and join my new page.
http://www.emakdesigns.com/2/post/2013/02/focus-on-life-week-7.html

New Website = New blog page

2013-02-02T16:21:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone,
It has been a while since I posted here. At the beginning of January I began blogging from my website. I invite you to join me at www.emakdesigns.com/blog.

There is lots of beads, jewelry and fun happenings going on so I hope you will join me.

A 52 week exploration in photography, Focusing on Life. Sally Rusik at The Studio Sublime is hosting a wonderfully inspiring word prompt each week. All the the participants are challenged to take this prompt and translate it into a photograph. I just love the positive thoughts this challenge leads to all week long as we ponder Sally's prompts.

A Wellness Words Jewelry Challenge hosted by Tracy Statler of Make Bracelets.

Lisa Lodge is hosting a jewelry challenge over at Pine Ridge Treasures.

The 7th Annual Bead Soup Blog Party.

Erin Prias-Hintz of Treasures Found is hosting the Challenge of Music.

I am so excited to share that my work was published in Bead Trends Magazine February 2013!

All this and it is only the first quarter of the year. I'm sure there will be much more goodness happening. So jump on over to my new blog and follow me.

Thanks for visiting. See you at www.emakdesigns.com/blog.

Lampwork Bead Destash Sale has begun

2013-01-07T12:52:00.001-05:00

Today is the day, The HUGE sale over at my Facebook Fan Page. I invite you all to stop by and have a look at all the beads I have up for sale. It is time to let go of some oldies but goodies to make room in my studio for new ideas to grow. There is nothing I want more than to send some beads from my studio to yours.

Here is a brief sampling of the some the beads on sale.

I set up a photo album, Lampwork Bead Destash Sale by Ema K which has all the information you need on the how sale will work.

See you there, at the Destash Sale.

Happy 2013 from Ema K

2013-01-04T16:13:00.005-05:00

A new year has arrived and I am looking forward to it. 2012 was a tough year for me personally and I am ready to move on. One new item on my list is my new website! Yay! I just love the look and all the options available to me here. I can blog directly from my site. I love that.

I invite you to subscribe to my new blog. I intend to be blogging once or twice a week, so don't worry about getting too much information in your inbox.

What is happening in 2013? Well first up is a huge destash sale. I have been working hard on taking photos of the ooooh sooooo MANY lampwork beads I have. I have too many and it is time for them to find a new, loving home.
Here is a sampling of one of the pieces which I will selling for HALF OFF the original price! Yes 1/2 PRICE!
It is a good deal for you and allows me to clear some space for new work on my bead table.

On Monday January 7th I will begin to pictures in a Destash Beads album on my Facebook fan page. The rules of purchasing will be as follows:
The first to comment "SOLD" will be the new owner.
Post your paypal address or send me a message with your paypal address and I will send you an invoice.
Shipping will be $3.00 for the first item and .50 cents per additional item.
The sale will continue through Saturday the 12th and beads will ship out on Monday the 14th.

There will be one shipping date because I will be adding beads all week and this will allow you the chance to add additional beads to your order which will ship in one package on the 14th. I will post at different times of the day to allow for various time zones and work schedules, so don't fret about missing out on the bargains.

In February and March I am going to have tutorials published in two magazines. I am excited about that. Stay tuned for more to follow.

Thanks for stopping by and please join me on my new site: Ema K Designs blog.

Have a great weekend, see you Monday.

~ Ema

Reflecting and Looking Forward to 2013

2012-12-19T12:20:00.001-05:00

The holiday season is here! Are you ready? I still have a few people I need to find gifts for and I am feeling stumped. Hopefully gift ideas will come to me within the next couple of days, as I'm not a very good at last minute gift buying. That thought brings me to the point of today's post. I plan to be off line for the next couple of weeks. Taking some time to spend with my kids and my family without thinking about creating or marketing my work. I hope to refresh my spirit, get a couple of projects off my list and just have fun.

This has been a busy year for me, full of interesting learning curves. While dealing with multiple members of my family having serious health issues (which thankfully are behind us now) I found I completely immersed myself into learning new techniques in order to maintain my sanity.

I kicked off the year by creating a Katwise sweater coat for myself.

Sweaters were taking over my kitchen.

But I LOVE my coat.

I took painting classes.

I gifted myself a lampworking class with a fantastic teacher, Trey Cornette. Lampworking classes are very expensive so I don't take a class too often but I really needed something to make me feel better at this time. I have long been an admirer Trey's work and there was no way I was going to miss this opportunity.

These are the beads I created in Trey's class. With Trey's help I was finally able to work silvered glass in the flame without it turning a muddy brown. This was huge and exciting for me! Sometimes it is a small thing that makes me so incredibly happy.

One of the beads I adorned with kumihimo braided seed beads. I just love this piece!

I spent a great deal of time researching and learning metal working techniques. I worked on etching copper in an acid bath and a more environmentally friendly etch using a salt water bath.

These are the results of my first experiments with the salt water etch.

Now that I was creating with metal I needed to finally learn how to use my jewelers saw so I could cut and shape the metal into jewelry components. I read a wonderful book, Metal Artist's Workbench: Demystifying the Jeweler's Saw. This book was extremely helpful in getting me to understand how the jewelers saw works and provided some great practice projects.

A finished piece of jewelry, using lampwork beads and etched copper as a focal which has been colored using Vintaj patina inks. This bracelet was a gift to my niece for her birthday.

In addition to etching metal I learned to emboss and impress images onto metal. Now this is really fun to do!

These bracelet focals have been cut, sanded, embossed, patina added using liver of sulfer, sanded some more, shaped with a partial curve and sealed.

I purchased the book Painting with Fire by Barbara Lewis. Barbara developed a technique of adding enamels to metal without using a kiln. I was lucky enough to visit Barbara at her new store (of the same) and got a mini private lesson. I haven't had a chance to explore painting with fire in my own studio. I intend to do more of that in 2013.

Enameled metal beads

The internet has so much to offer in terms of learning new techniques. I have to credit many of the fabulous women I have met through A Creative Bead Chat group on Facebook. Without them I'm not sure I would have learned so much this year. Thank you CBCers.

There is still so much more I look forward to learning and adding to my work and sharing with you.

I have some exciting events coming up during the first few months of 2013.

Over my break I will be going through my beads (oh there are so many beads) and jewelry preparing for a huge destash sale during the week of January 7th. Stay tuned to my Facebook fan page for the details.

In February and March my work is going to be published in two different issues of beading magazines! I am very excited about this and will share more details about this in January as well.

In late February I will be hosting an online auction of my work on the Facebook site, Artisans Open Market. I hope you will be able to join me for this event. Stay tuned to my blog and my Facebook page for all the happenings.

I have a few other ideas in the works for January too. I'm thinking about a Component of the Day, offering a bead or jewelry component at half price! What are your thoughts about that deal?

Thanks for joining me and I hope all my friends are enjoying their December Holiday Celebrations and I hope you all have a very Happy New Year.

See you in 2013!

AW Holiday Earrings Winner

2012-12-03T14:24:00.000-05:00

The winner is.....comment number 11.
One comment per person was counted to determine the total number of comments. I used a random number generator to determine the winner.

I said the winner would receive a pair of my new earring design but I didn't have a photo of the exact earrings. These are the earrings I will be sending along to the lucky winner.

And the winner is Shelley Graham Turner! Congratulations Shelley.

I thank you all for entering and visiting my blog. If you are interested in owning your very own pair of earrings like this please visit my Etsy shop and I invite you to join me on Facebook to stay current with my new designs.

The Challenge of Color - Earth as Art

2012-11-30T01:00:00.000-05:00

I joined the challenge this year. Erin Pais-Hintz of Treasures Found and Brandi Hussey of BrandiGirlBlog are hosting the 3rd Annual Challenge of Color.

The Earth As Art image gallery is a group of over 120 pictures taken from the Landsat series of Earth observation satellites since 1972. These pictures of the unique features of our beautiful planet are a vital resource for understanding scientific issues related to land use and natural resources. I encourage you to check out these photos. They are beautiful images and so inspiring!

Each participant was assigned two color palettes from the Earth as Art images. I was given these two color palettes to choose from.

A little background on the Dardzha Monster: Looking like a monstrous ogre with something gooey in its mouth, the Dardzha Peninsula in western Turkmenistan lies among the shallow coastal terraces of the Caspian Sea. Strong winds create huge sand dunes near the water, some of which are partly submerged. Further inland, the dunes transition to low sand plains.

Background on the Dasht-E Kevir: The Dasht-e Kevir, or Great Salt Desert, is the largest desert in Iran. It is a primarily uninhabited wasteland, composed of mud and salt marshes covered with crusts of salt that protect the meager moisture from completely evaporating.

I committed to working the Dardzha Monster palette. I found this choice to be my challenge. I thought and thought, how could I design a lampwork bead in this color scheme. I had some ideas and got to the torch.

Round 1 of beads. I was not satisfied with what I was coming up with. The colors were proving to be a real challenge for me to create beads with. I had made a few more of the spacer beads. They seem to have disappeared from my work bench for the moment so they missed the photo shoot.

I know I committed to the Dardzha color scheme but it just wasn't working for me. So I thought I would try the Dasht E Kevir color scheme.

These beads are from the second round at the torch. I was seeing blues and off whites in the Dasht photo. Then I thought earth and nuggets. So I created nugget shaped beads as well as round beads.

It all looked good going into the kiln but once the kiln had cooled I was disappointed. Although I like the beads there is too much blue in these. Again not the look I had in mind.

Round 3 and I nailed it! (if I am allowed to say so myself). Okay, finally, beads I can work with. Immediately the ideas for a finished jewelry design began to take shape.

This is a blog hop. I am sure you will want to check out what all the participants created based on the images they were assigned. We were given some great inspiration photos. I can't wait to see what everyone has come up with!

Erin Prais-Hintz http://treasures-found.blogspot.com/2012/11/3rd-annual-challenge-of-color-reveal.html

Rebecca Anderson http://songbeads.blogspot.com

Kris Auderer http://strandedinthecity.wordpress.com

Chrizette Bayman http://beadsoupmix.blogspot.com

Lori Bowring Michaud http://artfullyornamental.blogspot.com

Courtney Breul http://beadsbybreul.blogspot.com/

Lynsey Brooks http://yellowunicorncreations.blogspot.co.uk

Stephanie Buss http://maxandlucie.blogspot.com

Iveth Caruso http://www.creativeatelier.net/

Shannon Chomanczuk http://www.formysweetdaughter.blogspot.com

Lisa Cone http://inspiredadornments.blogspot.com/

Cece Cormier http://thebeadingyogini.com

Lori Dorrington http://lorisglassworks.blogspot.com

Dawn Doucette http://designsbydawnmarie.blogspot.com

Jeannie Dukic http://site.jkdjewelry.com/blog/

Kim Dworak http://cianciblue.blogspot.com/

Beth Emery http://storiesbyindigoheart.blogspot.com

Janice Everett http://JLynnJewels.blogspot.com

Pam Farren http://www.re-maker.blogspot.com

Donetta Farrington http://simplygorgeous-donetta.blogspot.com

Gloria Ferrer http://judetaama.blogspot.com.es/

Cherrie Fick http://designsinthelight.co

Therese Frank http://www.theresestreasures59.blogspot.com

Patty Gasparino http://www.mylifeunderthebus.typepad.com

Tanya Goodwin http://pixiloo.blogspot.com/2012/11/3rd-annual-challenge-of-color.html

Ambra Gostoli http://chicandfrog.wordpress.com/2012/11/27/3rd-challenge-of-color

Jess Green http://tabbiekoshka.blogspot.co.uk/

Denielle Hagerman http://somebeadsandotherthings.com

Mary Harding www.maryhardingjewelrybeadblog.blogspot.com

Karla Hartzog http://www.karlakrafts.com

Kim Hora http://www.kimmykats.com

Brandi Hussey http://brandigirlblog.com

Emanda Johnson http://ArtemisiaStudio.blogspot.com

Jennifer Justman http://soulsfiredesigns.blogspot.com/

Sue Kennedy http://suebeads.blogspot.com

Ema Kilroy http://emakaye.blogspot.com ***** you are here *****

Lee Koopman http://Stregajewellry.wordpress.com

Linda Landig http://www.LindasBeadBlog.com

Kirsi Luostarinen http://kirsiluokorut.blogspot.com

Cynthia Machata http://antiquitytravelers.blogspot.com/

Alicia Marinache http://www.allprettythings.ca

Beth McCord http://www.ebbeadandmetalworks.blogspot.com

Mary K McGraw http://mkaymac.blogspot.com/

Karen Mitchell http://www.overthemoon-design.com

Cheri Mitchell-Reed http://creativedesignsbycheri.blogspot.com/

Aimee Moisa http://threecatsdancing.blogspot.com

Karla Morgan http://www.texaspepperjams.blogspot.com

Penny Neville http://copperpennydesigns.blogspot.com

Becky Pancake http://beckypancakebeaddesigns.blogspot.com

Kashmira Patel http://sadafulee.blogspot.com

Alice Peterson http://alice-dreaming.blogspot.com

Kayla Potega http://www.teejewelry.blogspot.com

Debbie Price http://greenshoot.blogspot.co.uk

Bobbie Rafferty http://beadsong.blogspot.com

Caron Reid http://caronmichelle.blogspot.com.au/

Nicole Rennell http://nicolerennell.com/blog

Cynthia Riggs http://cynthsblog.blogspot.com/2012/11/3rd-annual-challenge-of-color.html

Andrea Ross http://silvermapledesigns.blogspot.com/

Sally Russick http://thestudiosublime.com

Annie Scherz http://www.studioluma.ca

Pam Sears http://crazycreativecorner.blogspot.com/

Renetha Stanziano http://lamplightcrafts.blogspot.com

Sandra Stein http://sannipanni.wordpress.com

Kristen Stevens http://kristen-beadjourney.blogspot.com

Tracy Stillman http://www.tracystillmandesigns.com

Sherri Stokey http://www.knotjustmacrame.com/2012/11/challenge-of-color-reveal.html

Lola Survillo http://www.beadlolabead.blogspot.com

Kay Thomerson http://KayzKreationz.blogspot.com

Jo Tinley http://daisychaindesignsjewellery.blogspot.com

Emma Todd http://www.apolymerpenchant.com

Cory Tompkins http://www.tealwaterdesigns.blogspot.com

Pam Traub http://www.klassyjoolz.blogspot.com

Melissa Trudinger http://beadrecipes.wordpress.com

Michelle Tucker http://michellescreativemusings.blogspot.com/

Shelley Graham Turner http://www.shelleygrahamturner.blogspot.com

Monique Urquhart http://ahalfbakednotion.blogspot.com/

Rachel Van-Walsk http://balancedcrafts.com/blog

Patti Vanderbloemen http://www.myaddictionshandcrafted.blogspot.com

Lesley Watt http://thegossipinggoddess.blogspot.com

Lynn White http://lynnwhitejewelry.com/Lynn_White_Jewelry/Lynns_Jewelry_Blog/Lynns_Jewelry_Blog.html

Joan Williams http://www.lilrubyjewelry.com

Thanks for joining me. As always you can visit my Etsy shop to find lampwork beads, metal components and finished jewelry at Ema K Designs.

Hurricane Sandy Relief Effort Artisan Supported

2012-11-25T14:18:00.001-05:00

My friend Lea Avroch, of LAJewelry is from NYC. Her cousin," Mandy Bickerstaff, set up a grassroots fundraising group to help victims almost as soon as the storm hit and she's STILL helping them through her group, UWSLOVES."

Lea has organized her friends and artisans to donate items which are being auctioned off. You can make a bid on your favorite items, if you are the winner you will receive an artisan made piece and know that 100% of the funds you are donating will go directly toward Hurricane Sandy victims. You will find all the items up for auction here:

Hurricane Sandy Relief Effort on Facebook

These are the earrings I've donated toward the effort. They are valued at $40.00 and the current bid is at $20.00. What a great value! Stop by and place your bid and help to directly support Hurricane victims. This auction will end on November 26th.

You can find more earrings like this in my Etsy shop.

www.emakdesigns.etsy.com

and you can follow me

www.facebook.com/emakdesigns

Visit my Holiday Page to find links to wonderful artisan sales and giveaways!

Artisan Whimsy Holiday Sale

2012-11-19T14:01:00.003-05:00

Kumihimo Jewelry designs now 15% OFF

Shop the finest Jewelry Designers For the 2012 Holiday Season

Many of our artists have published work & sell their beautiful pieces nationally and internationally.

See something you like?
Please click on the picture to browse their giveaway and view all their
Fabulous Handmade Jewelry Pieces.

The largest Artisan shopping event
for Cyber Week...Ever!!
It starts this Friday, Nov. 23rd thru Friday Nov 30th.

All participating jewelry designers will be offering a discount on their stores &

will be promoting a giveaway.
Winners will be chosen individually by the blog owners.

For event wide discount code use: AWHOLIDAY

We will be hiding
Three Exciting Giveaways
throughout our participants blogs.
When you find them, follow the directions to be entered!

AND! Bookmark ArtisanWhimsy.com for Future Artisan Jewelry Shopping Opportunities!

Lampwork beads 15% OFF

Copper Jewelry Components 15% OFF

In my Etsy shop, Ema K designs, I am offering 15% OFF all jewelry and jewelry components when you use coupon code AWHOLIDAY at checkout.

What am I giving away? I will be giving away a pair of earrings. It is a new design I have just worked up. The design is so new I haven't had a chance to photgraph them. I will snap a photo and add it later.
Leave a comment to enter the giveaway. Make sure to leave your email address so I can contact you.
The earring giveaway will be similar to one of these designs.
Drawing will take place on December 1.

Have a wonderful and happy Thanksgiving!

To view a listing of all participating artists visit my blog page, Holiday 2012 Great Deals.

Rolling Along and Painting with Fire

2012-11-08T19:04:00.003-05:00

I am just back from a vacation with my Mom, two sisters and my youngest son. My Mom and two sisters have happily finished their radiation and/or chemotherapy treatments and all are doing very well. I saw this trip as a celebration of our lives and our health. I am happy to have those treatments behind us. It is not easy watching your loved ones deal with the side effects but I was also pleased to see that cancer treatments have come such a long way. I encourage you to support your favorite breast cancer research foundation. It is important to all of us.

My sisters and I sitting on top of 4 feet of shells washed ashore by Hurricane Sandy

My sister Pat, myself and my Mom

We, as a family, are lucky to regularly visit the West Coast of sunny Florida; palm trees and beaches, my favorite place to be. This trip had a special side trip in it for me. I was an hour drive from Barbara Lewis' new store Painting with Fire in St. Petersburg. Definitely put that trip on the agenda!

Photo from Painting with Fire website (I forgot to take a photo!)

What a joy it was to meet Barbara. She is definitely a kind hearted soul. (Again I forgot to get a photo with her). She dropped everything she was doing to chat with me, give a demo and even allowed me to enamel a couple of beads (should've had one of my sisters take a photo of this!). I explained to her the trouble I have had in removing the bead from the mandrel after it has been enameled. She gave a mini private lesson so now I should have no trouble making enamel beads. Thank you Barbara, I am looking forward to trying this technique out in my studio.

The two beads on top are from Barbara's demo. The bottom two are from my mini lesson.

Of course I shopped too. Barbara's store is full of goodies. I had to refrain from overspending. There was so much good stuff. The shop has everything you might need without feeling crowded. The shop is very comfortable but not lacking for any supplies. In addition to a great stock of enamels, plenty of beads to enamel there was nice variety of metal working supplies. I picked up some jewelers saw blades, a trivet for enameling metals on a flat surface, metal beads to enamel and some sari silk.

Metal beads to enamel

Sari Silks

Ribbed beads to be enameled

The whole stash! The trivet is in there, buried under the silks.

I didn't waste anytime putting those silks to use. I am trying out some new styles.

The Power of OM necklace by Ema K designs

Sari Earrings by Ema K designs

The Power of OM set

Boho Sari Heart by Ema K designs

I will be listing these pieces in my Etsy shop soon or you can visit Ema K designs on Facebook to find these pieces. What do you think of this new design style? I would love to know your thoughts. I know I had plenty of fun visiting Barbara and her shop. If you get the chance you should definitely stop in to meet Barbara.

Creative Bead Chat and the Women Who Make It Happen

2012-09-10T16:52:00.000-04:00

What is Creative Bead Chat? Creative Bead Chat, aka CBC, is a relatively new group on Facebook. Created by a group of talented women. The goal of CBC is to create...
"A home for creative component and jewelry designers to share new creations, tool tips and help build our creativity and

sales ! A home for new designers as well experienced to share your experiences and ask questions. Ultimately we are a team and work together towards the goal of being proud of our accomplishments and accomplishing our dreams...welcome to Creative Bead Chat!"

And what a wonderful group it is! It is a place to where you anyone can drop in and see what is going on in the world of beads and jewelry. It is a place I have found to be wonderfully open and giving. There is no question that goes unanswered. Everything is discussed and shared from design ideas to business questions, even questions you didn't know you had. I am learning so much from this group and I am so happy to be a part of it. The group is growing fast, recently reaching 1000 members. If you like jewelry on any level this a wonderful group to become tuned into.

The women who serve as administrators are wonderful artisans as well as business women. They deserve some recognition for all their hard work in organizing the crew.

Please let me introduce you to them and their work.

Melinda Orr of Melinda Orr Designs. Melinda is a woman of many talents. Melinda got Creative Bead Chat off the ground. I completely admire her work in metal and patinas. But it doesn't end there, you definitely must head over to her shop to see all the cool pieces she creates.

Marla James of Marlas Mud. Marla creates in ceramic. I am in love with her raku pieces!

Karen Totten of Starry Road Studio. Karen creates beautiful metal clay jewelry components. I see so many beautiful pieces I would love to add to my stash.

Marla Gibson of Spice Box Design. As I understand it Marla has had some health concerns so her Etsy shop is on vacation but you can visit her blog. I'm sure she will be back in full swing in no time.

Keirsten Giles of Lune Designs. Keirsten has gorgeous jewelry in her shop! These earrings are perfect for Fall.

Many thanks to the admins of CBC for creating an open environment which gives us all the potential to support each other and grow along side each other.

Let Me Tell You About My First Time

2012-08-27T12:49:00.001-04:00

My first time behind the torch that is. ;o)

My first lampworking class was in September 2005, just about this time of year. I always get reminiscent about it at this time of year too. So it is complete serendipity that my friend and fellow lampworker, Jennifer Cameron over at Art Jewelry Elements, put out the call to other artists to post pictures of their first pieces of work to show how they began and where they are now. What a fantastic idea!

The challenge here was finding on old photo. I couldn't find a digital image of a bead from those early years. Sorry about that. I am definitely going to have to dig deeper and find some of those images. I had to settle on an image from 2009 for this writing. I will try to gather some of those older beads and update this story, but for now I want to share.

My first time sitting behind the flame watching glass turn to a malleable material was an absolutely amazing experience. Prior to this I had always thought of glass as an end product, already shaped into a form, as a household item. To sit behind the torch that first time and realize that I could use glass as an art form was eye opening. Glass can be sculpted and manipulated!!! How exciting! And come on now...I have always been a girly girl...so working hot glass in a flame...that is pretty cool! I now have a collection of tools that impresses most guys.

You can find my work at Ema K Designs on Facebook and Etsy.

Thanks for taking the time to share my journey.

Bead Soup Blog Party and some soup facts

2012-08-26T19:03:00.000-04:00

The third reveal date of Bead Soup is here! If you want to see some incredible creations visit the blogs of the participants. You are sure to be amazed.

I participated in the second reveal date. You can find my Bead Soup Blog reveal here.

Hostess, Lori Anderson, Pretty Things

Agi Kiss, Moonsafari Beads
Alice Peterson, Alice Dreaming

Alison Sachs, Beads by Earthtones

Amanda Dittloff, Passion Smashin'

Andra Marasteanu, Bijoux de Monanage

Angie Szlovak, SweetBeads

Anitra Gordy, Leelu Creations

Ann Sherwood, Ann's Blog

Arlene Dean, A Glass Bash

Audrey Belanger, Dreams of an Absolution

Barb Solem, Vivi Magoo Presents

Barbara Blaszczyk, laboratorim Flory

Becky Pancake, Becky Pancake Bead Designs
Beth Emery, Stories by Indigo Heart

Bianca Odenthal, Zydies Glasperlen

Birgit Klughardt, GitesBeads
Bobbie Rafferty, Beadsong Jewelry
Bonnie Coursolle, Jasper Gems
Cece Cormier, The Beading Yogini
Charlene Jacka, Clay Space

Cherrie Fick, En La Lumie're
Cheryl Foiles, Get Your Bead On
Christie Murrow, Charis Designs Jewelry

Christina Miles, Wings n Scales
Christina Stofmeel, Feng Beads
Christine Stonefield, Sweet Girl Design
Cindy Cima Edwards, Live to Design
CJ Bauschka, 4 His Glory Creations
Claire Smith, Embergrass Jewelry
Cynthia Riggs, Cynth's Blog
Dana Fowler, Trunk Full of Treasure

Dawn Pierro, Turtle Moon Designs
Dee Elgie, Cherry Obsidia
Donetta Farrington, Simply Gorgeous
Dot Lewallwn, Speedie Beadie

Eileen Snyder, Dorset Hill Beads
Elizabeth Bunn, Elizabeth Beads
Eva Kovacs, Ewa gyongyos vilaga!
Evelyn Duberry, Sheba Makeda
Fay Wolfenden, Torch Fairy
Fen Li, Bead Flora Jewels
Gail Zwang, Angel Moose Enterprises
Geneva Collins, Torque Story
Grace Dorsey, Fan of the Flame
Gretchen Nation, Art Food Lodging
Hannah Annear, Squintessential

Hajer Waheed, My Beaded World
Heather Goldsmith, As I Bead It
Heather Otto, The Craft Hopper
Heidi Kingman, My Bead Therapy
Hope Smitherman, Crafty Hope
Isolina Perez, Isolina Perez
Jacqueline Keller, CreARTelier
Jane Haag, Did You Make Something Today?
Janeen Sorensen, Wild Vanilla Designs
Jean Peter, Jean P. Designs
Jennifer Judd, Jen Judd Rocks
Jennifer L Justman, Soul's Fire Designs
Joanna Matuszczyk, Bizuteria z filcu
Joanne Brown, Jo's Jewels

Joanne Lockwood, Jo Bunkum
Joyce Becker, Joyce's Joyful Gems
Judy Riley, Three Red Beads
Karen Mitchell, Over the Moon Design
Karen Williams, Baublicious
Karin von Hoeren, Creative Ideen
Karla Morgan, Texas Pepper Jams
Kashmira Patel, Sadafule .. always in bloom!
Kate Richbourg, We Can Make That at Home
Katrin Lembke, AllesPerle
Kathy Combs, Torched in Texas

Kathy Lindemer, Bay Moon Design
Kay Thomerson, Kayz Kreationz
Kelley Fogle, My Life, One Bead at at Time
Kelly Hosford Patterson, Traveling Side Show
Klaudette Koon, Only Road
Lara Lutrick, Lampwork Beads by Lara
Laura Guenther, Blue Antiquities
Laurie Lalonde, Simply Mod Jewelry
Lilik Kristiani, Soul of My Embodiment
Linda Younkman, Lindy's Designs
Lisa Chapman, Beach Cat Beads
Lisa Lodge, Pine Ridge Treasures

Loretta Carstensen, Designs by Loretta
Lori Bergmann, Lori Bergmann Design
Lori Dorrington, Lori's Adventures in Etsy Land
Lupe Meter, Gem's PC Corner
Lynn Davis, LLYYNN
Malin de Koning, Beading by Malin
Mandi Effron, Craft-o-licious
Mandy Williamson, Mimi's Beading
Margot Potter, The Impatient Crafter
Maria Rosa Sharrow, Willow Street Shops

Marianne Baxter, Simply Seablime Jewelry
Marina Dobrynina, Savon Feutre
Marjolein Trewavas, Room for Change
Marelene Cupo, Amazing Designs
Marsha Neal, Marsha Neal Studio
Marta Kaczerowska, uhuhu
Mary Govaars, MLH Jewelry Designs
Melissa Trudinger, Bead Recipes
Menka Gupta, Menka's Jewelry Blog
Michelle Burnett, Reverie and Revival
Michelle Escano-Caballero, The Cabby Crafter
Miko Wiropati, Uniquely Yunikua
Milla Hope, LB Creative Arts and Crafts

Mimi Gardner, Other Curiosities
Miranda Ackerley, MirandackArts
Natalie McKenna, grubbi
Noemi Baena, fuego, metal, y color
Pam Ferrari, Ferrari Originals
Pam Sears, Crazy Creative Corner
Penny Neville, Copper Penny
Rachel Baron, R. Baron Designs
Rachel Myers, Rockabead Jewelry
Rana Wilson, Definitive Designs by R. Wilson
Rebecca Anderson, Song Beads
Rebecca Sirevaag, Becca's Place
Riki Schumacher, Riki Jewelry
Rose Binoya, Ahtee's Blog

Rossana De Gaspari, Rdegas Blog
Sandi James, Do Be Do Bead Do
Sandi Volpe, Sandi Volpe
Sandra Wollberg, City of Brass Stories
Sarah Goode, Pookledo
Sarah Small, blog by salla
Shai Williams, Shaiha's Ramblings
Shawn Mills, Shawn Marie Designs with Bent Wire
Sheila Davis, Stone Designs by Sheila
Sheryl Stephens, Babble Bead
Shiraz Biggie, Secret Song Designs
Solange Collin, Ahowin Handcrafted Jewelry
Sonya Stille, Dreamin' of Beads

Susan Kennedy, Sue Beads
Susan Sheehan, Strands of Thought
Suzann Sladcik Wilson, Beadphoria
Sweet Freedom, Sweet Freedom Designs
Tabatha Dinger, Modernly Created
Tania Hagen, Pelima Jewellery Design
Tanya Boden, Fusion Muse
Terri Gauthier, Blooming Ideas
Terry Carter, Tapping Flamingo
Tracy Stillman, Tracy Stillman Designs

Look at all the participants! It is simply amazing to see all the Bead Soup participants mapped out across the world. You can click on the maps for a larger view. The map content is courtesy of Lori Anderson's blog. Lori is the gracious hostess of the Bead Soup Blog Party.

The Entire Map: 45 US states and 25 Countries

US and Canada details:

Europe details:

Asia and Antipodes details:

(Oops.... I missed Singapore, I'm sorry!)

Bead Soup Cafe on Facebook

The Winner Is.....

2012-08-18T00:00:00.000-04:00

A little bit of disclosure first. I started to run this giveaway on my Facebook page, Ema K Designs. I was quickly and thankfully made aware by a fellow beader and jewelry designer that it is against Facebook rules to run a giveaway on a fan page. I quickly reworked the way I was running the giveaway and directed everyone toward this blog. Because of this I had people enter on my fan page and additional entries on my blog. I didn't feel it would be fair to use a random number generator to decide the winner, so I opted to pick the winner the old fashion way, with a little help from youngest, Mr. Big Heart.

All the names

The names are in the hat.....

Mr. Big Heart pulled one piece of paper from the hat.

And the winner is.... Bob Hoffmeyer!

Congratulations Bob!

Thank you all for taking the time to visit my blog and share my fan page. I appreciate your visit and your kind comments. Please don't be shy, stop back and visit with me again. I love to hear what you like and if there is anything I can make that will suit your jewelry designing needs.

You can see more of my beads in my Etsy shop, Ema K Designs on Etsy.

Join Me in the Celebration and Giveaway

2012-08-14T12:43:00.003-04:00

My fan page on Facebook has reached over 300 Fans. That means it is time for a mini celebration. Which means you get a chance to win a bead from my Kalypso Pearl Series.

I ask that you help spread the word about my work.

1. Share my FB fan page, Ema K Designs on FB, with your friends on FB

2. Leave a comment on my blog...see comments below.

3. Make sure I to leave an email address so I can contact you if you should win.

The drawing will be held this Friday, August 17th at 5:00pm EST. Entries will be allowed until 4:30pm.

Thanks so much to all my wonderful fans.

Free Shipping in the US.

*full disclosure*

My eye sees the colors in this bead as deeper than in the photo. The pink is a bit more rose colored and the brown areas are bit deeper.

Bead Soup Blog Party August Reveal 2012

2012-08-11T10:50:00.000-04:00

Today is the big day. The day I get to show you all the wonderful pieces I created with the Bead Soup I received from Melissa Meman. I am thrilled with all the pieces I received from Melissa. I have already decided I am going to keep the necklace and earrings for myself. I apologize to Melissa because I don't think my before photos do her work justice. Here is a quick reminder of the Soup Melissa sent my way.

So off we go...Taaa Daaaa......
Let's start with the necklace

Focal pendant created by Melissa Meman

I decided very quickly in the design process that I had to include the Czech glass beads with the focal Melissa sent me. The shape of the Czech glass beads had the same shape of the focal piece. Carrying this shape into the design of the necklace was a definite. The only slight dilemma was that these cute little glass beads had double holes. I worked out that dilemma fairly quickly and I am very happy with the end result.

My new love is patina'd copper. The patina color is just scrumptious! So I patina'd the rondelles Melissa included. I patina'd my own jump rings and the copper wire I used. I thought Melissa's handmade toggle clasp was too pretty to use on the necklace. I have a lot of hair and the clasp is simply not going to be seen so I used one of my own handmade, less ornate toggle clasps.

Patina'd rondelles and jump rings. Enameled metal beads created by Melissa Meman.

Patina'd copper wire and jump rings. A jump ring bead surrounded by amethyst stones.

Enameled metal bead created by Melissa with an amethyst stone.

My own handmade toggle clasp. Textured and patina'd.

My new necklace! I LOVE it!

Melissa sent along some other Czech glass beads that I couldn't figure out how to work into the necklace. The colors just weren't working with the rest of the pieces in my eyes. What to do? I think my solution was rather amusing because I ended up creating a bracelet by adding a couple of lampwork beads very similar to the beads I sent to Melissa in her bead soup. After I had sent Melissa's soup to her I realized that I loved those beads, so I made a couple of more beads for myself. I had intended to make a pair of earrings with them. Now they live in this bracelet. The beads work so well with the red Czech glass beads. I added some of my own work, more jump rings, viking knit and this is where I decided to use Melissa's lovely toggle clasp, which I did add patina too.

The beautiful toggle clasp created by Melissa Meman

Lampwork beads by Ema Kilroy. Patina'd rondelles and jump rings.

Viking knit by Ema Kilroy. Czech glass beads received in my Bead Soup.

The completed bracelet

I still had some pieces from Melissa's soup left over. I decided a pair of earrings to match my new necklace would be perfect. I went with a very simple design using the enameled beads and a couple of amethyst stones Melissa sent. The enameled beads are mismatched, different colors and slightly different sizes but I was feeling a little risque. I think they work. And I'm willing to bet no one will ever realize the difference. After all there is a good 5 or 6 inches separating that pair of earrings (otherwise known as my head). ;)

Lastly, with a few bits left over (a few amethyst stones and one large enameled bead), it didn't take long for me to figure out what to do with them. I added some of my new metal work as a focal for a bracelet, more lampwork beads and jump rings to create another bracelet. I am amazed at how perfectly the colors from all the different pieces just fell together.

It has a been a very creative day and I enjoyed every minute of it. It was a pleasure pulling these designs together by combining my own work with Melissa's soup. Working with Melissa's pieces was so easy! Melissa was so generous, she also sent a package of enameled metal beads as a gift to me. I will be creating another blog post to show what I am going to do with these. I already have design ideas.

Now I'm off to see what Melissa created with all the components I sent to her. You can find out too, just stop by Melissa's blog. Before I begin hopping please allow me to say thank you to Melissa for sending along such a wonderful Bead Soup.

Many, many thanks to Lori Anderson for hosting this wonderful event. This the 6th Bead Soup Blog Party Lori has hosted and it is no small task to take on.

Here is a list of all the other artisans participating in this round of Bead Soup and the August 11th reveal. Stop by their blogs and give them kudos for all their beautiful work.

Hostess, Lori Anderson, Pretty Things

Adlinah Kamsir, Dream Struck Designs

Adrienn Lukacs, Raszputyin Designs

Agata Grygiel, Cytherea Bijoux

Alenka Obid, Pepita Handmade

Amy Dickerson, Damyjo Designs

Amy Schmidt, Amy's Treasure

Amy Severino, Amy Beads

Ana Krepel, Cat's Pajamas, Dog's Tuxedos

Andra Weber, Andra's Joyful Journey

Andrea Trank, Heaven Lane Creations

Anke Humpert, Anart Island Studios

Ann Rishell, My Critical Eye

April Grinaway, Brooklyn Bead Goddess

Ashley Bunting, Miss Ashely Kate

Astrid Boyce, Astrid Boyce Beads

B.R. Kuhlman, Mixed Mayhem Studios

Barb Fernald, Barbara S. Fernald Jewelry

Barbe Saint John, Saints and Sinners

Beata Benkone Meggyesi, Beahobbi

Brandy McNair, Bella Vita Handmade Jewelry

Bryna Lumb, Bryna's Bead Box

Carmen Lau, Little Maketto

Cate van Alphen, Fulgorine

Cathie Carroll, Cathie Carroll's Studio

Cathy Khoury, Touch Jewelry

Christina Stofmeel, Feng Beads

Collette Collins, Fire Fly Myst Artisan Jewelry

Courtney Breul, Beads by Breul

Crystal Thain, Here Bead Dragons

Cynthia Abner, Created Treasures

Deana Hager, Just Deez'Art & Life

Debbie Davis, Natural Treasures by Deb

Debbie Phenes, Deb Joy Sing

Debbie Rasmussen, A Little of This, A Little of That

Dhea Powers, Java Bead

Diana Welte, Lilyweeds

Dita Basu, alankarshilpa

Dorota Zeranska, gdymamczas

Dot Lewallwn, Speedie Beadie

Eleanor Snare, The Magic Square Foundation

Elisabeth Auld, Beads For Busy Gals

Ema Kilroy, Ema K Designs

Emma Todd, A Polymer Penchant

Eva Sherman, Eva Sherman Designs

Evie and Beth McCord, EB Bead and Metal Works

Francy Inman, Francy's Studio

Ginger Bishop, lilmummy likes...

Giorgia Rossini, Jo in Wonderland

Ine Vande Cappelle, Jewels by Ine

Iveth Caruso, Creative Atelier

JJ Jacobs, Coming Abstractions

Jackie Ryan, Kydo Jewellery

Jeannie Dukic, Jeannie's Blog

Jelveh Jaferian, Jelveh Designs

Jenna Tomalka, Twin Birch Studio

Jenni Connolly, Jenni's Beads

Jennifer Van Horn, Jennifers Jewels and Junk

Jo-Ann Woolverton, It's a Beadiful Creation

Johanna Rhodes-Nash, Fire Phoenix Creations

Joyce Blair, Bent Wire West Coast

JuLee Wolfe, The Polymer Penguin

Karen Vincent, Swallow Tail Jewellery

Karin Slaton, Backstory Beads

Kayla Potega, The Eclectic Element

Kim Dworak, CianciBlue

Krafty Max, Krafty Max Originals

Kris Lanae Binsfeld, Cherish Designs by Kris Lanae

Kristen Latimer, MJM Jewelry Designs

Kumi Fisher, Malie Kai Designs

Kym Hunter, Kym Hunter Designs

Lennis Carrier, Windbent

Leslie Wayment, AA Beads & More

Linda Florian, Lilys of the Valley Jewelry Creations

Linda Murphy, Bonita Bead

Lisa Johnson, Whimsey Wonders

Lisa Lodge, Pine Ridge Treasures

Lisa Sittniewski, Love, Yesterdays

Lois Moon, Que Onda, Q'Town?

Lola Surwillo, Bead Lola Bead

Lorelei Eurto, Lorelei's Blog

Lori Bowring Michaud, Artfully Ornamental

Lori Callahan, Dancing Wire and Beads by Lori

Lori Finney, Using My Beads

Marcia Dunne, The Alternative Foundry

Margareta Saari, Mags-koruja

Maria Horvath, Horimarika Beads

Marian Hertzog, M's Place

Mary Ellen Parker, BeeTree by m.e.

Mary K McGraw, MK's Creative Musings

MaryLou Holvenstot, time2cre8

Martha Aleo, Ornamento

Maybeline Tay, The Jewelry Larder

Megan Collins, Churchy & Her Sailor

Melissa Meman, Art. Life. Love.

Melissa Mesara, One-Eared Pig Beads

Melissa Muir, Kelsi's Closet Jewelbox

Paige Maxim, Paige Maxim Designs

Pam DeBoer, Purple Notes from the Studio

Pam Farren, re-maker

Pam Hurst, Pam Hurst Designs

Patricia Handschuh, The Color of Dreams

Patty Miller, CabariBeads

Penney Klapoth, Faerie Acres

Regina Santerre, Regina's Writings

Rhea Freitag, starrgazer creates

Rochelle Brisson, A Creative Chelle

Sabine Dittrich, PerlenDschungel

Sandra McGriff, Creative Chaos

Sandra Neights, Petalo Azul

Sandra Young, It's a Bead Life!

Sara Oehler, SoftFlex Girl

Saturday Sequins, Saturday Sequins

Shanti Johnson, Sunshine Bliss

Shari Replogle, Plays With Paper

Sonya Stille, Dreamin' of Beads

Stefanie Teufel, Stefanies Sammelsurium

Tammie Everly, TTE Designs

Tania Spivey, Moobie Grace Designs

Tanya Wiles, Tenebrous Hollow Studio

Therese Frank, Therese's Treasures

Tina Holden, Polymer Clay Bytes!

Toltec Jewels, Jewel School Friends

Tracey Nanstad, A Beadiful Mess

Tracy Choy, BumbleBeads Designs

Valerie Norton, Hot Art

Bead Soup Gifts

2012-08-08T20:46:00.000-04:00

Oh the goods I am blessed to create with. Look at the wonderful pieces I received from my partner Melissa Meman.

I am thrilled that Melissa included one of her handmade metal focals.

Melissa's packaging was fun too open. A variety of packages to open, each one included details of the items inside.

Melissa included a beautiful handmade focal and a handmade toggle. I LOVE these. She also sent along some torch fired enameled beads. I have been learning about enameling and I am so happy to have some of Melissa's work to create with. I also received a strand of feather laced amethyst, copper rondelles and some sweet czech glass beads.

Here is a close up of the focal piece. Melissa set a mother pearl into this piece.

You will have to wait until Saturday to find out what I created with all these wonderful pieces.

Here is a quick shot of the pieces I sent to Melissa. I had planned what I was going to send to Melissa and then the day before we were scheduled to send out our beads I had a brainstorm and completely changed my mind. It was back to the torch for me. Thankfully Melissa was willing to change our mail date by a few days which allowed me a little more time to pull it all together.

You can find Melissa on the web....

Melissa's blog

Melismatic Art Jewelry on Facebook.

Etsy shop, Melismatic Art Jewlery

You can also visit our hostess, Lori Anderson, to find a list of all the 6th Bead Soup participants.

Bead Soup Blog Party Summer 2012

2012-07-10T13:49:00.004-04:00

Lori Anderson of Pretty Things is hosting a special summertime Bead Soup. This round of Bead Soup is special because, there are so many wonderful bead makers and jewelry designers that love to participate, Lori has spread out the fun with three different reveal dates, July 28th, August 11th and August 25th.

The sign ups took place back in June and of course I signed up, got busy with life and promptly forgot all about it. That is until I received an email from Lori telling me who my partner would be for this swap.

Meet my partner, Melissa Meman. Melissa has so many beautiful pieces in her Etsy shop, Melismatic Art Jewlery, I had a difficult time deciding which piece I would feature here.

In getting to know Melissa I have discovered she is a woman of many talents. The beautiful earrings pictured above were created using a technique I have dabbled in recently, torch firing metals coated with enamels. I can certainly say Melissa's results are much pretty than mine. I visited Melissa's blog and found out she has also been working with metals. I very much like what I see!!! Aren't these pieces gorgeous?

You can find out more about Melissa and her wonderful work by joining Melismatic Art Jewelry on Facebook.

Melissa and I have sent each other our own jewelry components. Once I am sure she has received her package I will share with you what I sent to her and what she sent to me. I wouldn't want to ruin her surprise. Stay tuned. We will be revealing our jewelry designs on August 11th.

You can also visit Lori's blog to find a list of all the 6th Bead Soup participants.

Bead Table Wednesday, June 20, 2012

2012-06-20T13:21:00.001-04:00

A quick photo of what is on my bead table this Wednesday. You will see that I have been busy working the metals, applying some of the metal working techniques I have been learning.

The 2 blue discs, to the left, are going to become a pair of earrings.

The verdigris discs to the right are going to be worked into a long necklace using the turquoise(ish) seed beads.

The heart in the middle....oh I love this heart!! ...is going to become the focal of a necklace. I cut out two copper hearts and a plate, which I stamped "love" on. I added patina to the base heart, used colored pencil on the red heart and added patina to the love plate. I sealed all the pieces with a metal sealant and then applied a cold connect technique to hold all the pieces together.

You can find more bead table wednesday participants on Flickr.

Thanks for joining me on this adventure.

I WON!!!

2012-06-15T09:04:00.001-04:00

I can't believe it, I actually won! I am so happy. I visited Jean's blog and found she was having a giveaway. Jean Yates has a wonderful blog which I have been following for a while, Snap Out of it Jean, There's Beading to be done. Jean, together with Lark Crafts, offered the book Heat, Color, Set & Fire by Mary Hettmansperger. Jean did a thorough review of the book and I knew instantly that this book would be perfect for me. All the information in this book fits perfectly with all the information I have been learning lately. I entered, and much to my surprise I WON!

I don't exactly know where this will lead me but I do know that all these wonderful pieces of information will be working their way into my work and joining forces into gorgeous, one of a kind, art jewelry.

Thank you Jean and Lark Craft for this gift.

Bead Table Wednesday June 13, 2012

2012-06-13T16:34:00.003-04:00

I haven't taken a bead table photo in a while so today I thought I would share.

Here is a shot of the pieces on my bead table today.

Stamped or etched copper, patina added and drying.

Etched copper...waiting for the patina inks to dry....

Some pieces I have cut into jewelry blanks and some squares waiting to be cut up.

One of my favorites gets a close up.

Another favorite deserves a close up too.

Enjoy. You can check out the other Bead Table posts here.