Janice Parsons’ Beading Blog

Creating bridal jewelry is so personal. This year, more than ever, I am seeing brides-to-be coming into the shop to create a tiara, mother-of-the-bride necklace and bridesmaid jewelry.

Isn’t Emily a lovely bride? Emily got married last June and her grandmother, Norma H. had started all the girls’ in the family on jewelry making. Norma said to me, “I started out calling it ‘Grandmother’s Club’ and all of my grandchildren came into the shop and got hooked on beading. When Emily became engaged, I knew the necklaces and earrings would be proudly made by us.” Norma was able to bring photos of the bride for us to share with you. Here is Emily with her mother, Ann, who also looks young enough to be the bride!

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I feel so lucky to share with Ashley and Dan in their engagement and upcoming marriage. I made Ashley a necklace with their birthstones; she is Amethyst (February) and he is Peridot (August). Amethyst is the stone of clarity and vision and Peridot brings harmony and openess in relationships. I added a Garnet for love and devotion and a small moonstone above it for balance. The starfish symbolizes the wishes and dreams just ahead as they walk on the beach together. Silver is the sacred moon goddess that soothes and supports. I added a pearl because I try to add a pearl to everything I do and it also represents feminine wisdom. The diamond in the pendant reflects their engagement and the beautiful ring Dan gave to Ashley. And, the cz rondelle near the back cushioned by their birthstones is their wonderful wedding to come!

On Saturday afternoon, November 10th, Naomi Fujimoto came to our shop to teach techniques from her new book, Cool Beads for Teens. It turns out the book is perfect for every age! Naomi told me she “likes things simple. Just the beads without spacers or extra beads; I like how the jewelry turns out when each bead is just on its own”.

Here Naomi is hard at fun with Becka, a long-time TBS student and customer, putting together earrings with dangling pearls from each loop. The project is quick (about 20 minutes) and the cost is less than $15 for sterling and freshwater pearls.

Naomi and I have different styles, but I can see how her style speaks to her creativity. Thank you, Naomi for visiting us. It was a super afternoon!

Meet the Author of Cool Jewels, Beading Projects for Teens on Saturday, November 10th from 3-5pm, Naomi Fujimoto

I am so excited to welcome Naomi to our shop on Saturday, November 10th from 3-5pm. Naomi will be signing her new book, Cool Jewels Beading Projects for Teens and doing some demos. Like many of you, she learned about beading in a class. This is what she has to say:

“I took my first jewelry class in L.A. at Ritual Adornments because I wanted to learn something I could finish in one sitting. (I was having writer’s block while working on my Master’s at UCLA.) After I moved back to Milwaukee, I started selling jewelry at boutiques and salons. Through a sorority connection, I joined the staff at BeadStyle magazine when it launched in 2003. Things have just taken off from there! I wrote a book for teens because I wanted to get younger people interested in jewelrymaking as a hobby.”

You can also email me if you have any other questions. Thanks!
N.

Hello Friends,

There is so much to celebrate! I have brought Vicky Nguyen in as my business partner. After 26 years of solo, it’s nice to have such a creative, smart fun person to lean on. It’s about time!

If that isn’t enough to toast to, Vicky went to Italy in September with her sweetheart, Wade Eva, and became engaged in Caraglia by a century’s old spring near a property owned by his family. What can get more romantic than that? She has set the date for May and we are all so excited for her. Congratulations, Vicky!

I have some huge news to share with everyone and I can’t wait to “spill the beads”! My daughter, Ashley, became engaged to her special guy of almost two years, Dan Jablow. It is so adorable; he asked her after a beautiful dinner in Sonoma at The General’s Daughter. She called me and said she was “over the moon”. It was so sweet the way Dan asked both Ashley’s father and me for permission to ask our daughter for her hand in marriage. It was in August so I had to hold my breath for way too long! The families on both sides had to keep quiet until Dan picked out the ring and had the moment planned. Ashley was completely surprised.

Now the fun for the Mom of the Bride begins! My first project is an engagement necklace. What is an engagement necklace? My take on it is it’s a gift of great importance to both the bride and the groom. It has meaning and charm. It is meant to hold their secret love. I will share it with you in my next newsletter I hope you will fill us in on your stories. We can blog together about wedding jewelry, beads, questions, recipes (both for beading and cooking!), etc So, join me for some online connections, when you have some time.

In celebration of our great news, we at The Bead Shop and beadshop.com would like to extend a sale on Bridal Combs and Tiaras for 30% off this week only.
(Sale ends Monday, November 5th at 4pm pst).

Stay in touch,