RNEST Giveaway

I'm providing one of my pendants valued up to $17.50 for my local team, The Rochester NY Etsy Street Team. There a bunch of ways to enter. The following is copied directly from the RNEST blog.

Wednesday Wellspring: Beadwork by Amanda
The well is bubbling over with the excitement of being able to bring you what you requested: a giveaway from Beadwork by Amanda!!

Amanda is giving away any pendant in her shop, valued up to $17.50 - yes, indeed, that includes several gorgeous circuit pendants that you were all so interested in! And here's a little more information about how Amanda creates these upcycled works of art:

Recycled circuit boards are hand cut and ground into a variety of shapes. The boards rest in bezel cups and are covered in clear resin. These circuit pendants also work excellent as key chains.

Now, in addition to being an artisan of amazing beadwork and upcycled creations, Amanda is also planning and hosting a new, indie arts and crafts show: MayDay! Underground. Located right in the heart of downtown Rochester on May Day (May 1st), this show promises to be a feast for the eyes, ears, and soul with lots of beautiful and unique crafts and works of art, plus live bands! Check out the site and apply to be a vendor if you're a local artist or grab a coupon and plan to attend if you're in the area!

Now, for the giveaway rules (This giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY)(Go to the RNEST blog to enter. Entries here don't count):

MANDATORY ENTRY #1: Go to Beadwork By Amanda, heart the shop, and then leave a comment here telling me your favorite item.

MANDATORY ENTRY #2: Become a follower of this blog and leave a comment letting me know- or if you are already, leave a comment saying you're a loyal follower (for this, go to the RNEST blog, since entries here don't count).

BONUS ENTRIES (leave a separate comment for each):
1. Follow the Beadwork by Amanda blog.

2. Follow Beadwork by Amanda on Twitter.

3. Become a fan of MayDay! Underground on Facebook.

4. Follow MayDay! Underground on Twitter.

5. Tweet and blog about this giveaway and leave a comment here with the link.

6. Bonus entry for Rochesterians: Add the MayDay! Underground badge to your blog or print and hang a flier at your place of work.

The winner will be chosen using the random number generator on Tuesday, March 16 and will be announced in the next Wednesday Wellspring.

Beadweaving Bliss

I've been on quite the beadweaving kick lately. Plus I've been having a bit of fun playing with new techniques. The first is an "orb" pendant I made using a method developed by Gill Slone (B&B). It is made with size 15s, size 11 delicas, and Swarovski crystal bicones.


I also tried to make a beaded ring. It's a little lumpy, and not so round (more triangular-square-ish) but it makes for a neat frame for crystal.


I'm still on a rivoli kick, so I had to make something a little more substantial than just a pendant. I made a whole necklace!

Finally, I decided to give the Cellini spiral a shot since I've been ogling over the technique for a while now. I combined it with some Swarovski crystal (of course!) and here's the result...

New Listings!

I promise...I do still have a blog! I've just graduated from RIT with a degree in chemistry, while working 2 part time jobs, running my Etsy shop, and doing craft shows every weekend. Unfortunately, blogging was at the back of my mind through all of that!

Now I'm working part-time until I go to graduate school. I would like do do research on organic photo voltaic devices (solar cells). I'll spare you the gory detail :) This leaves me a lot more time to do things like blog and craft. Yay!


This is one the newest additions to my line of circuit jewelry. It is all sterling silver, including the chain, so it has a very feminine, delicate feel. There's still time to ship for the holidays too.




Soon, I'll be sharing my awesome Artbeads finds and what I've made with their sterling silver and glasss beads and components.

Swarovski Crystal

Who doesn't love a healthy dose of Swarovski crystal?! Artbeads has tons of beautiful, sparkly beads and components to choose from. I got a whole bunch of different beads to give them a try. I really like the crystal rivolis because they have so much depth and dimension. The funky polygon shape in padparadscha is also really neat!



Here's what I've made with the Rivolis and a little bit of bead weaving with size 11 and size 15 seed beads:

I had a lot of fun incorporating Swarovski Crystal bicones into bead woven bracelets. The wavy lime bracelet is inspired from a bracelet in the most recent Bead and Button magazine, and has lime crystals in the center. The deep blue bracelet makes use of dark sapphire bicone crystals.



Check back here in a week or so and I'll show you what I've done with some more of the Swarovski Beads that I have, and to get some inspiration!

Busy Bee!

I've finally made enough pendants to fill my shop to normal capacity again! Here's a cool collage of all the goodies that are now available (or soon to be available) in my shop! Notice I've added some cuff links to the mix so your geeky guy can get his geek on!

Oh, and don't forget to get them now while they are 15% off (use code "back to school" at checkout)!

New Line!

I've been playing around with some beads I bought from a show some time ago. For some reason, I've been obsessed with making tons of these! They are an affordable way to wear beadwoven jewelry!

They're available in a myriad of colors and I'd be happy to make custom pendants and earrings!

Geeky Treasury

Clockwork Zero has featured me in a treasury featuring items that are great for Father's day. Of course, all of the items are geeky in some way with several being made from old electronics.

Etsy Artist Feature - Helix Elemental Jewelry

Glass artist Russ Colwell has worked in stained glass, mosaics and fused glass as well as metal fabrication and digital art. If I had to choose one favorite item from Helix Elemental, which contains glass pendants, earrings, and barrettes, I would be debating with myself for many hours trying to choose just one!


Russ says, "I use 90 COE thin glass and dichroic glass. I usually work with transparent rather than opaque glass. I also use dichroic on clear glass rather than on black glass because I like to borrow from the colors of the glass beneath the dichroic. It also has more of a gem quality.
I have a preference for heart pendants because I never seem to run out of new ways to layer and combine the various colors of glass. If I have anything that can be called a signature style, it would probably be my way of using multiple layers of glass and fusing with a very “shallow” tack fuse. Rather than the more common techniques of full fusing and incorporating all the layers into one, I like to retain the shape and defined edges of the glass while finding ways to make the layers work together."

He likes making jewelry the best of all things he's tried. Often he shares ideas with his wife, Christina Colwell, who is a mixed media folk artist.


Be sure to stop on by and check out the beautiful items for sale! He is offering free shipping worldwide (nudge, nudge).

Colorful Circuitry

I am soooo excited that I have found circuit boards in colors other than just green. I've been adding them slowly to my shop. The red one already sold!


I would love to find purple or violet colored circuit boards. If anyone has any I'll trade for a pendant made from them (or something else)!

Congratulations Courtney!

Courtney of Daughters of Eve Blankets has won my blog giveaway. She chose to receive the Circuit Ray Pendant.Courtney sells blankets, cat toys, and jewelry. The blanket hems are double stitched and have reinforced mitered corners. The fabrics are really cute! Her earrings have pretty glass beads in a variety of shades. Be sure to stop on by!

Blog Giveaway!

In the spirit of the upcoming spring season, I am running a giveaway! You can enter to win ANY pendant from either my Beadwork by Amanda or Happy Rainbow shops. The value is up to $16.50. If you would rather, the winner can also opt to have a pendant custom made!



Here are some ways you can enter. Each entry type can be completed once for a total of 8 possible entries:

1.) Pick an item from Beadwork by Amanda, include the link, and tell me why you like it
2.) Visit my tutorial posted below and leave a comment (on the squidoo page)(A rating would be nice too!)
3.) Pick an item from my Happy Rainbow Shop, include the link, and tell me why you like it
4.) Twitter about this giveaway and include your twitter link
5.) Leave a comment on my forum post
6.) Become a follower my blog and leave a comment saying so
7.) Visit my 1000 Markets site and leave a comment on my wall
8.) Join my mailing list. The link is to the top right of my blog page.

Be sure that however you enter, I know how to contact you!

This contest is open until March 15. I will choose a winner at random using random.org. This contest is open to anyone worldwide!

Resin Gummy Bear Pendants

I posted a tutorial on Squidoo explaining how to make gummy bear pendants. If you like it please leave a comment! You can find them in my shop here.

New Shop!

And by new shop, I mean new shop:


I guess I would call it a division of Beadwork by Amanda, but with more playful items! Besides, my older shop has too much diversity and a boring shop title (let's face it, I picked it out when I was 15 and never dreamed of coming this far!). This way, I can keep the silly, fun items in one shop and the "serious" items in another shop. Plus I have a fascination with rainbows and just wanted something fun! Enough of winter!

You can see what kinds of new items I have! PLUS I'm giving away FREE sprinkle pendants to the first 5 customers!!

Are You Looking for a Job?

I sure am! Specifically, I'm looking for a summer co-op (internship) in a specific location with specific qualifications. I'm afraid I'll get stuck working retail because there aren't any chemistry jobs available. On a brighter note, I was featured in a treasury as the title suggests! I'm not quite seeing how my pendant fits the theme, but it's a cool treasury and a bit ironic, for me, at this time.

It's Not What You Would Expect

The treasury, that is! Awaken Journaling has featured one of my pendants in her treasury. It's a really neat theme and she chose some very beautiful pieces! Check it out!

You Call that a Studio?!

Yes, my sad excuse for a studio is no more that a poor little desk stacked high with supplies. What I’m not showing is the table half covered in more things, the buffet covered in even more stuff, and the utility closet that is holding about 30 plastic bins (the shoebox size as they call it) full of beads and findings. If you click the photo, it will take you to flickr where I have labeled some things. (If you were really that interested…)



Understand that I’m a college student living in a small apartment. If I had my way, I’d have my own room flanked with tables for working and hutches for storage!

Despite what some people call a creative disaster, I still manage to create! Here is my newest! Also pictured is a pair of earrings I made to match the Loopy Lei necklace shown in an earlier post.

Etsy Artist Features

I believe I have made it known that I love bright tropical things. I even went as far as to paint a mural in my bedroom growing up where all of the walls were covered in palm trees, beaches, waterfalls, animals, and flowers. Luckily, I had a 15 foot wall on one side for a full sized palm tree! But, for some reason, I also love wolves. I've always been partial to dogs but something about a wolf has me drawn in. I went searching through Etsy one day for wolves to see what I could come up with and I found two amazing artists.

Valerie of Greendogs has wonderful notecards. Her profile has an important message:

My hope is that these wolf dog images will help to dispel some of the negative myths, & promote something positive for these amazing animals. For some of us it is the only glimpse we will ever get, of the treasured, disappearing, wolf.

Wolf dogs are in a misunderstood limbo between wild animal & household pet, not fitting in anywhere & difficult to adopt out. Many of them are put to sleep as soon as they turn up at local animal shelters, as well as many dogs that have very little or no wolf in them at all, are put down simply because they have a similar likeness, or look “wolfey”.

There is also stunning photography on her blog! I strongly encourage you to check it out!

Another artist I found is Kathleen of Ladyhawk1. She loves to paint animals. It shows in the beauty of her art. My favorite item in her shop is, of course, a double matted print of a wolf.


I also love that she made mini works of art by converting her prints into scrabble tile pendants.
You can visit her blog here for more wonderful art!


All I can say is I just love these items and keep up the great work!

Treasury Feature

Another one of my Circuit Pendants was featured in a treasury! You can check it out here. I will be featuring some cool finds from Etsy soon but I really need to stop procrastinating and finish my lab that is due today!

I listed this pendant last night.