Don’t miss Rebeca’s “Celtic Spikes Bracelet” in the February/March issue of Step-by-Step Wire Jewelry.  Inspired by her love of spiked jewelry, this project is a fun spin on Celtic Visions that lots of people will love to wear.  Kits for this project are now available on our site and we will have copies of the magazine available for purchase soon.  Have fun making this project and be sure to share what you create with us on our page on Facebook!

Psst…the next issue of Step-by-Step Wire Jewelry will have the project instructions for Rebeca’s pendant variation of this weave!  We’ll be offering kits for this project as well in packs of 4* that will allow you to make each pendant unique!

*oops! We wrote earlier that these would be sold in packs of 2 and 12.  Sorry for the error – those pack sizes are for ANOTHER kit we have coming out soon – chainmaille party still on

celtic spikes · chainmalle projects · Rebeca Mojica · step by step wire jewelry

I’m just settling back from a great weekend in Pennsylvania at Bead Fest Wire 2011 by Interweave Press.  Here’s a quick wrap-up of the folks I met there, along with some of their projects.  Enjoy!

Joe and Anat Silvera with Joe’s recently released book – Soldering Made Simple: Easy techniques for the kitchen-table jeweler, currently on the best-seller’s list on Amazon!

And of course, chainmailler Sue Ripsch, long-time instructor at this show and author of her own best-seller, Classic Chain Mail Jewelry: A treasury of weaves.

Instructor Kaska Firor was new to me.  Her chainmaille designs caught my eye (obviously) but really, I completely fell in love with her wirework, in particular the Ocean Waves Necklace (shown on her website, and also visible in the center bottom of the photo below).  Pictured is Kaska on the left and her daughter on the right.

The final chainmailler at the Meet the Teacher’s reception was John Fetvedt. I bought one of his instructional CDs, and if I like it, you might just see Blue Buddha carrying them!  (Unfortunately, they are only available for PCs….and being a Mac/Linux fan myself, well, you know.  *grin*)  If you know you’d be interested in the CD, leave a comment–that’ll also help us determine if we want to stock ‘em!

A major highlight of the weekend was meeting some customers face-to-face, especially those I’d never met before.  Here is a long-time customer wearing a scale necklace she made (using plain aluminum and iridescent gunmetal scales).  Of course, I spotted the scales before I spotted the person.  heh.

Another highlight was talking with Denise Peck, editor of Step by Step Wire Jewelry.  We brainstormed ways to make the chainmaille projects in the magazine even better….and came up with some great ideas.  Stay tuned for more info–and submission requests, because I know a lot of you have some awesome projects that really should be in the magazine!  In the meantime, feel free to leave a comment with any chainmaille-related requests you have for magazine projects or topics.

And finally, the person who touched me the most over the weekend was Maryann Corey, founder of The Portable Playhouse.   I saw her at Bead&Button last year, but we didn’t get a chance to talk, so I didn’t get to find out exactly how cool of a lady she is. The Portable Playhouse is a non-profit organization dedicated to art therapy.  As a fundraiser, she is working on the worlds largest necklace (shown below). Please visit LongestBeadedNecklace.com for more info and to make a donation.  For only $1, you can have a bead added to the necklace and help raise funds and awareness for her amazing organization.  So yes, you really can make the world a better place one bead at a time.

chainmaille teachers · Interweave Press · step by step wire jewelry

Kits are now available for chainmaille artist Vanessa Walilko’s recently published project, Galdriel’s Cuff (Elf Weave). Invented by Johnny Nilsson (known online as Nadrendion), Elf Weave is a dense, intricate pattern from the European family of weaves that it is incredibly fluid and has a lovely weight in enameled copper.  The floral clasp for this project makes a beautiful focal point and the perfect finishing touch.  (And yes, stay tuned because we will be selling the clasp in several different finishes—including gunmetal!—by the end of April.)

Learn more about Vanessa, the artist behind this kit, by visiting her website, liking her page on facebook, or following her on Twitter.

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Instructions for this project are available in the April/May 2011 Issue of Step-by-Step Wire Jewelry.  However, weavers beware – the magazine lists the wrong size!  Use size H19 enameled copper to make this piece.

Did you know Blue Buddha has supply lists and precious/base metal conversions for more than three dozen magazine chainmaille project? Check out the page, and save yourself the time of doing the calculations yourself!  After that, use our Ringpicker page to get everything on your project shopping list.



Also in this issue of Step-by-Step Wire Jewelry…check out Sara Richarson’s review of Rebeca’s book, CHAINED on page 62! Sara concludes, “If you’ve been resisting making chainmaille pieces, Chained will definitely convince you to break out of your shell and try it.  Go on, break out your pliers and make this beautiful jewelry!”

chained · chainmaille · elf weave · galdriel's cuff · help · instructions · kali butterfly · project · step by step wire jewelry · trouble shooting · vanessa walilko · wrong size

It’s that time again – time to meet another fantastic chainmaille artist who has agreed to let us pick their brain for our “Ask an Artist” blog series!  Charlene Anderson is an incredibly talented chainmaille jewelry artist (who incidentally uses Blue Buddha rings frequently!) and was Step-by-Step Wire Jewelry magazine’s Featured Artist of the Year in 2010. As someone widely recognized for coming up with new and interesting designs, weaves and projects, she is the perfect person to ask questions about creating your own original designs.  Read more about Charlene below and learn how to submit your questions for her at the end of the post.

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Charlene Anderson grew up in Hemet, California, on a Thoroughbred horse ranch. After college she moved to Hawaii, (sea level) where she lived for more than twenty years, before finally moving to Jackson Hole, Wyoming (6237 feet above sea level, oxygen tank optional).



Being fortunate enough to extensively travel the world, her time exploring the cultures, architecture and artwork in over 100 countries has given Charlene an international perspective to design; borrowing inspiration from different cultures and continents and combining them in original and eclectic ways is a hallmark of her work


Her work has been featured in many books and magazines, including Step by Step Wire Jewelry, Spin-Off, Interweave Knits, Handwoven, and many more. She has held numerous one-woman gallery shows and has been featured in juried exhibitions around the world

Charlene also sells her jewelry and jewelry making tools and supplies through her web site www.charanderson.com.
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It’s your turn to pick Charlene’s brain about how she turns her widely varied sources of inspiration into beautiful original designs. We will be accepting questions until Friday, April 8th! Here’s how to get your question to Charlene:

1. Write it in the comments section at the end of this blog entry
2. Post it to our wall on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BlueBuddhaBoutique
3. Tweet it to us using @BlueBuddhaBtq: http://twitter.com/BlueBuddhaBtq
4. Email it to me at jenna@bluebuddhaboutique.com

Learn more about Charlene:
Website: http://www.charanderson.com
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/charleneandersonartist
Twitter: http://twitter.com/char_anderson
Blog: http://charleneanderson.typepad.com/unravelings/

Ask an Artist · chainmaille jewelry · charlene anderson · design · inspiration · step by step wire jewelry

Do you ever have those times when you turn around and *poof!* what seems like yesterday was actually several months ago?

Well, I’m having one of those times today (truth be told, I think that happens here at B3 all too frequently!)  Today, I turned around and it was February and I still hadn’t completed my “Ask an Artist” interview with the fabulous Sara Richardson (which by the way, I began in *cough cough* NOVEMBER!) Lucky for me, she is truly lovely (and understanding and flexible and all kinds of other helpful things!) and is still up for answering all your burning questions about submitting your work to magazines and online publications.

As such, this is officially your last call for questions. I will collect your curiosities until Wednesday 2/9 at 12pm.  After that, it’s time to pick Sara’s brain – expect to see the results of all this inquiry posted by the end of next week!  Check out Sara’s artist profile to find out more about her art and her background as one of the founding editors of Step by Step Wire Jewelry magazine.

There are four easy ways to submit your questions:

1. Write it in the comments section at the end of this blog entry

2. Post it to our wall on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BlueBuddhaBoutique

3. Tweet it to us using @BlueBuddhaBtq: http://twitter.com/BlueBuddhaBtq

4. Email it to me at jenna@bluebuddhaboutique.com

Ask an Artist · Lovestruck Jewelry · Sara Richardson · step by step wire jewelry · submitting projects to magazines