Welcome to our favorite day of each month - Kit Day! Today we are unboxing our latest jewelry making kit (Purple Petals), revealing our newest kit (Happy Owl-Leen), and taking a look at the designs our community created with our previous kit (Summer Rain). Kit Day is a Soft Flex Company 'holiday'. There is a downpour of excitement at the office. If you are part of our community, you are probably as thunderstruck as we are. If you love making jewelry, this is a day for inspired jewelry design ideas and creative appreciation. If you are a crafter or maker, you are going to want to join us for our live unboxing and jewelry demonstration. Enjoy our finished jewelry showcase, it features jewelry designs from our employees, our VIB Facebook community and our friends. Kit Day is a day for joyful beading and fun. Let's celebrate Kit Day!
Visit us live on Facebook and YouTube today. We are going to open our Purple Petals Design Kit (Sold Out). A cool summer breeze tickles the stems and ruffles the petals. The field of lavender begins a swaying waltz with the gentle wind. The dance begins slow and orchestrated. Each blossom moving to an unheard symphony of nature. The meadow shimmers with the enthusiastic hustle of the purple perennials. The exuberant swing ends as the breeze quiets. The field of flowers waits silent and still for the next lively shuffle. Sara will show you how much fun our beading kits are and she will show you how to make some artistic jewelry. Our Facebook and YouTube videos are free jewelry making classes online. Get a crash course on how to design and finish your favorite new necklace.
We are looking at designs from Soft Flex jewelry designers Sara Oehler, Kristen Fagan, members of our VIB community, and YouTube creators. The Summer Rain Design Kit (Sold Out) was our celebration of the monsoon. We love the drama of the dark clouds and the sweet answer of falling rain. We have an unboxing and jewelry demonstration video from YouTuber Stephanie Garrett Creative. We take a look at what MetalScrappinChick created with her design kit. Marcie Creates showed us what she made with her beads and components from Summer Rain. We have an incredible gallery of jewelry from Members of our VIB group. Our VIB members are designers, crafters, and beginners. VIB is a collective of people that love to create and learn. If you want to learn a new technique, this is the group for you! If you want to be inspired or inspire others, you are going to cherish this community!
Beak-a-boo! A parliament of owls is holding court. We don't want to ruffle any feathers, but the spooky season is nearly upon us. A wise session has gathered to hoot their approvals. An owllegiance of the most sage and knowing has congregated to herald the beginning of Owl-Leen celebration. The festivities will begin in the dead of night. Owlchemy, magic, and high spirits are the order of the eve. Who will answer the call? Owl are welcome here. Let's take flight and let inspiration guide our talons!
Sara will be doing a live broadcast on the Soft Flex Facebook page and YouTube Page, with the Happy Owl-Leen Design Kit, on Wednesday, September 29th at 3pm (PT).
If you'd like to join us in the design challenge next month, buy this kit and challenge yourself to try something new and unexpected. If you are new to beading, this kit comes with findings, beads, wire, and surprises.
Our kits are great for skill building. We want our kits to feel challenging. We want them to be accessible for beginners and advanced designers alike, but we love to throw in elements that may seem difficult to test our beaders skills and make them think out of the box. We think jewelry is great when it is easy. But when you really have to engage your mind and process your materials and tools, we think that your jewelry has the potential to be life changing.
Our kits may be inspired by a colorway or theme, but they are meant to be creative interpretations. Imagination and innovation do not follow the rules. Expect the unexpected.
Supplies are very limited. Don’t miss out!
Finished Jewelry Designs From Our Summer Rain Design Kit
Sara Oehler Designs
If you love the rainy season, you are in for a treat. The Summer Rain Design Kit (Sold Out) was an ode to the elegance and drama of a luscious summer storm. The moment the heats breaks, the clouds gather, and the earth is soaked with sheets of rain is divine! Capture this instant with jewelry that evokes a powerful memory. We added a unique surprise to this kit. Inside was a wooden cut-out cloud pendant that was hand drawn and crafted by artist Andrew Thornton of Allegory Gallery exclusively for the Summer Rain Design kit.
The laser cut wooden pendant was perfect for adding a personal twist to your designs. The pendant could be colored and painted so it would show off the quirks of your character. Of course, you could also leave the cute little cloud as is - it is already an amazing piece of jewelry art. Sara was excited that there were no rules with the cloud. You could face it upright, turn it on its side or even hang it upside-down. Express yourself and think out of the box!
Sara And Kristen Fagan Designs
Double trouble! Sara and Kristen unboxed the Summer Rain Design Kit (Sold Out) together. Normally Sara unboxes our design kits on Kit Day. This Kit Day fell on Customer Appreciation Week. Customer Appreciation Week was our week of giving back to our favorite customers and beads stores. We hosted a week long festival of jewelry demonstrations and fun on our VIB group and Facebook page. If you love jewelry, this was a great time to learn a new technique. If you missed out on this fun event, make sure you read our Customer Appreciation Week blog. There are so many presentations and jewelry ideas. You are going to love it. Thank you for being part of our Soft Flex community!
What a fun kit! This was a captivating mix for every rain lover! If you miss out on one of our jewelry Design Kits, there is still a chance to design with the color palette. We often follow up with Trios Beading Wire Packs and Bead Mixes that share the theme of the Design Kits. This is a good way to grab some of the fun of the Design Kit or enhance the Design Kit you purchased.
Kristen Fagan Designs
You have to hand it to Kristen. She can take any bead and make magic. In this video, she turned dagger beads into flower petals. What a fun idea! Learn how to make a bracelet that is perfect for every season. Change up the colors and you can wear this gorgeous bracelet any time. What kind of Summer Rain designs did you make? Did you share them on our VIB group? If you buy a kit make sure you post your designs there, you will automatically be entered into our design challenge. The winner of the design challenge receives the next kit free of charge!
If you are not a part of our VIB group on Facebook, make sure you join us! Every month, we have a design challenge giveaway. If you have purchased a kit, you can post your finished jewelry designs on the group. Every design you post is an entry into our giveaway. You can post ten designs on one photo or post ten separate photos. We count each finished design as an entry. At the end of the month, we collect all of the entries and put the names in a spreadsheet. We do a random number draw online and the number that is selected is our winner. There is absolutely no skill involved. The giveaway is not juried. You have the same chance to win as somebody that makes jewelry for a living. Every entry is a better chance to win! What do you win? Well, for one, the kudos of everybody that enjoys your jewelry. Our community fosters an atmosphere of creative energy and respect. We all love jewelry and want to praise our favorite pieces. The giveaway winner also receives our next kit for free! We draw our winner and ship the next kit straight to them. No shipping. No handling. Just jewelry making fun!
VIB Group Member Videos
We are seeing more and more jewelry making videos from our community. We love it. If you are a creator that works in front of a camera, let us know what you are filming. If you are working with Soft Flex Beading Wire or products, we would love to share the spotlight and put you on centerstage for a bit. Check out some of the fun unboxing and jewelry design videos our community has created with the Summer Rain Design Kit (Sold Out).
Stephanie Garrett Creative Unboxes Our Summer Rain Design Kit And Makes Jewelry
From Stephanie Garrett Creative:
Hi my name is Stephanie Garrett, and I live in Los Angeles California. I’m a jewelry artist, mixed media artist and trained actress. I’m also a busy wife and mom! I’ve been making jewelry for over 15 years. I have created Stephanie Garrett Designs to showcase my jewelry pieces.
I love to inspire people to live a creative life, which motivated me to create my YouTube channel, Stephanie Garrett Creative, where I teach others to make their own unique pieces.
Stephanie's links:
YouTube Channel
Instagram
Facebook
SGarrettDesigns
StephanieGCreative
Video Classes
My original art prints
@StephanieGarrettCreative
@StephanieGarrettDesigns
MetalScrappinChick Shows Her Finished Summer Rain Jewelry Designs
From Kim:
Hello! I am Kim Weatherholt from the bluegrass state of Kentucky - born and raised here. I have always been a very crafty person ever since I was a little girl, but I really got into making jewelry in teenage years. I enjoy making lots of different styles of jewelry but my favorite things to make are definitely girly and chic. I love using flower beads and anything sparkly. I love creating pieces that I would wear myself, but also pieces that would be suitable for all ages and styles. I consider myself a very versatile yet simple beaded and enjoy making beautiful jewelry!
Visit Kim's YouTube channel:
Marcie Creates Reveals The Finished Jewelry She Made With Summer Rain
From Marcie Creates:
My name is Marcie Hall and I live in North Texas. I am a mixed media artist, jewelry maker, recipe creator and an avid Dachshund Lover (I have two rescues- Ginger and Cha Cha). I have been an artist my whole life. In my early art days, I would create prints, sculpture, ink drawings and oil paintings. About 25 years ago, I started making jewelry after a friend invited me to take an intro class at my local bead shop - I was hooked! I loved everything about jewelry making- the colors, textures and shapes really spoke to me. Soon I was making jewelry for family and friends and then everyone said, “you should sell your jewelry” and Marcie Hall Designs was born.
I recently started a YouTube channel called Marcie Creates to share my passion for beads, jewelry making, mixed media art and cooking. YouTube is a new venture - I am really enjoying it and would love for you to join me!
Visit Marcie's links:
Marcie Creates YouTube Channel
VIB Group Member Designs
We gathered a small assortment of fun designs from our VIB Facebook group. There were so many wonderful ideas and jewelry pieces. You really need to join our group to see them all. A lot of our members also have stores online. If you see a design you love, make sure you let the designer know. They may sell you that design or at least let you know how they made it. We would love to see your work too, join us today!
VIB is a great place to visit. It is an online bead gathering. It is a place to chat and meet new friends. It is a great way to be social if you are distancing. Stay healthy and stay at home. You can learn a new tip or technique daily. You can get inspired by the gorgeous jewelry designs other people in the community post. You can also get your own jewelry gently critiqued if you want pointers on how to make your designs really stand out. We love wallflowers and chatty designers alike. Lurk or showcase your talent. You are going to love our fun club.
If you would like to see more Renewal jewelry designs, go to our VIB group. In the 'Search this group' field (or magnifying glass icon on the upper right), type or paste this: #renewal. This will search the inspired designs we hash tagged.
Designed by Soft Flex VIB Studio Member: Asaria Speicher
See more of her designs on her Facebook page.
Designed by Soft Flex VIB Studio Member: Barb Brown
Designed by Soft Flex VIB Studio Member: Charlene Perry
Designed by Soft Flex VIB Studio Member: Karen Knorr Kilcrece
Designed by Soft Flex VIB Studio Member: Kim Vagnone
Designed by Soft Flex VIB Studio Member: Lois A. Becker
Designed by Soft Flex VIB Studio Member: Mary Trenkle
Designed by Soft Flex VIB Studio Member: Mercedes MillerBartley
See more of her designs on her Etsy page.
Designed by Soft Flex VIB Studio Member: Robin Wilke
See more of her designs on her Ebay page.
Designed by Soft Flex VIB Studio Member: Stacy Leigh Meissner
See more of her designs in her Etsy Shop.
Designed by Soft Flex VIB Studio Member: Terry Murphy Matuszyk
See more of her designs on her Facebook Page and Etsy Page.
Designed by Soft Flex VIB Studio Member: Trish DeAngelis
Join our Facebook group – VIB. Stay in the know. Stay up to date. From our bead shows to our video shows and sales, you can stay in touch with us. The community is full of artistic and helpful beaders and crafty people. Inspire and be inspired. Share your pictures and get the beading bug from others!
Visit the Soft Flex Company YouTube Channel!
Blog contributor Thomas Soles loves Jazz Age writers and crunchy french fries. His favorite gemstones are Lapis and Pietersite. His favorite hobby is day dreaming. And his favorite mustache is Freddie Mercury's. As you can see, he has a healthy (or possibly unhealthy) sense of humor. You can write to him at Thomas@SoftFlexCompany.com