Jewelry Glitz for the Holidays

Keep your eyes open for all the special holiday issues coming out about now from magazines such as Beadwork. Yes, it's that time of year, and you can find all kinds of glittering jewelry designs to try out or inspire you. In Beadwork's latest issue (Dec 05/Jan 06), they are concentrating on "glitz." Copies should be available on newstands any day now, and along with some sparkling projects, you'll find informative articles about crystals and costume jewelry. It's hard for me to pick only a few projects out of this latest Beadwork issue, but if forced to - I'd have to put in my vote for the following:

• "Uptown Sweater Guard" by Ruth Ann Grim - This is one of those beaded clips that connect to both sides of a sweater so popular during the 1950s. I am a big fan of charms, so I really like how a charm is used as the center piece for this. Plus this combines a little seed beading with bead stringing.
• "Cascading Pearls" by Kim Wertz - Again, this combines many of my favorites: pearls, chains, and wire. While these earrings are long and dramatic, the pearls keep them classic.
• "Scheherazade Necklace" by Liz Smith - Say that 3 times fast! This is a knock-out peyote necklace using bronze triangle beads - Yowza! The technique isn't too difficult, though it would probably take some time to make just the same - but well worth it.