NEW!
Apollonia:
Architecture meets fine jewelry
©2020
by Cynthia Rutledge
Born in 1857,
Sotirio Bulgari hailed from a small village in northern Greece.
For generations this area was known for its exceptional silversmith
art, a refined skill that had been passed from father to son
since the Byzantine Era.
Apollonia is
inspired by Bvlgari's masterful use of Roman architecture as
a muse. In this case, I am using the imagery of the Italian baroque
ceiling from The Palazzo dei Penitenzieri in Rome.
This set consists
of a pair of earrings and a necklace. The main components are
cubic right-angle weave (CRAW) and peyote stitch bezeled pear
CZs using seed beads and fire polish beads.
More
info...
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NEW!
Fortuna's
Wheel of Fortune Bracelet
©2020
by Cynthia Rutledge
Fortuna's Wheel
of Fortune Bracelet is a series of three "wheels".
The central "wheel" is a CZ that has a simple peyote
stitch beaded bezel. From there, the outside of this shape has
been extended to give it a square 3-D shape representing the
early designing stages of a wheel. It's not square, but not round
either. The side "wheels" are made in two parts, the
wheels and the axles.
More
info...
Designed
for exclusively for Heart of Texas 2021.
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NEW!
Art Deco
Tutti Frutti Bracelet
©2020
by Cynthia Rutledge
The style has
an east meets west aesthetic, which was wildly popular in the
1920's, but only gained its fun name in the 1970's. Art
Deco Tutti Frutti Bracelet is the result of a blend of
designs, the Art Deco era with its angles and Tutti Frutti with
the riot of colors. These styles come together in a fashionable
bracelet using cubic-right-angle weave (CRAW) and peyote stitch.
More info...
Designed
for exclusively for Club Bead 2021.
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NEW!
Swaying in
Harmony
Necklace & Earrings
©2020
by Cynthia Rutledge
Combine a beautiful
chain with a dramatic pendant, and you have a contemporary necklace
that has timeless elegance. Whether you wear it with jeans and
western boots, or a velvet cocktail outfit, Swaying in Harmony
will be a staple in your wardrobe. Add earrings and this set
will be indispensable!
More info...
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NEW!
Gaudí's Folly Earrings
©2020
by Cynthia Rutledge
Gaudí's
Folly Earrings
were inspired by two different aspects of his work. The first,
being the architectural flowing shapes, arches and spires. The
second, was to capture the essence of his use of color and light.
Then, the more I worked on these diminutive 3-D shapes, the more
I thought of them as follies! More info...
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The Beloved: A Wrap-style
Bracelet - NEW
KIT!
©2016
by Cynthia Rutledge
A wrap-style
bracelet with an interesting lacing technique is the background
for the embellishments. The center component consists of a beautiful
puffed ring that "swirls" on a pearl stem. The second
set of components has a trillion CZ as the center with a puffy
bezel to accent the shape. The last components are 10mm CZ's
with a simple bezel. All of the components are sewn to the wrap
bracelet, which ends with an oval CZ button.
More
info...
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Gabrielle's Earrings
Kit
©2018
by Cynthia Rutledge
Gabrielle's Earrings
is a blend of styles using inspiration from the long pearl necklaces
and mixed chains that were a standard iconic style of Coco's
personal style, my design flows from this inspiration right into
the art deco period.
A bezeled cushion-cut
CZ and a puffy square-shaped pearl drop can be linked together
for earrings or a small pendant. The shapes can be used independently
from each other for smaller earrings or multiples linked together
for a bracelet.
More info...
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Anatolia's Bracelet
©2020
by Cynthia Rutledge
The wealth and
prosperity enjoyed by many during the early Byzantine era is
demonstrated by the expensive jewelry produced during the period.
Jewelry played a significant role in how people expressed their
status. Byzantine royalty loved having their bodies covered in
jewelry. From headwear to earrings, necklaces, and body jewelry,
these royals would wear as much as possible to show their status.
Anatolia's
Bracelet
is inspired by the jewelry designs of this amazing period.
Exclusively
designed for Beaders
Dream Retreat 2020, San Diego.
More info...
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Arabesque Collar
©2019
by Cynthia Rutledge
Arabesque
Collar
is a meeting of materials, a collision of contrasts and a marriage
of metal and glass. The word "Arabesque" refers to
an Arabic or Moorish form of artistic decoration based on linier
patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage or complex geometrical
patterns.
Thin copper patina
is the base of the central component, cut to an oval shape and
decorated with a beautifully bezeled CZ, using peyote stitch.
The CZ bezel is embellished with pearls and crystals, drawing
the eye to this focal point. The metal form is simply bezeled,
ending with a picot/netting flourish. Behind the scenes, there
is a pearl cabochon "foot" added to support the metal
structure on the collar.
More info...
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In Plain Sight
©2020
by Cynthia Rutledge
My inspiration
stems from the architectural aspects of the ruins of the ancient
capitol city, Tikal (dating back to around 350 BC and abandoned
in the 9th century AD). This pre-Columbian Mayan civilization
is located in the archaeological region of the Petén Basin,
which is now northern Guatemala. Consumed by the rainforest,
Tikal was "found" again in the 1840's. The site is
famous for its soaring temples, large royal palaces, residences,
gaming courts and even a jail.
In Plain Sight revives the style of
the temple pyramids that are found in Tikal. From 125 to 230
feet tall, these temple pyramids are made of limestone and have
a stair-step style with a central staircase, carvings and a flat
platform at the top.
More info...
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Symbol of the West
©2020
by Cynthia Rutledge
Few fashion jewelry
statements are specific to a locale, but the Native American
bolo, or bola, tie is synopsis with the Western United States,
especially Arizona, Texas and New Mexico. Mid 20th century bolo
ties were designed and made by Zuni, Hopi and Navajo silversmiths,
and were at first, basically a sliding component designed to
keep a bandana from coming off from around the neck.
Symbol of
the West
is inspired by the early bolo styles. A "woven" peyote
stitch cord ends in two bezeled metal ovals and a decorative
pearl and beaded cap.
More info...
This piece was created exclusively
for the Heart of Texas 2020 workshop.
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Attention:
Beadwork and Metal: Meet in the Middle Students...
Bead & Button has created an online
space for ALL students from my Beadwork and Metal:
Meet in the Middle workshops to post photos of their finished boxes.
See the beautiful
work that is up so far! Here's a link!
Here's how to
submit your finished Beadwork and Metal: Meet in the Middle
box photo:
- Take a photo
with a plain white background. (You can send more than one photo
but only one photo will be chosen for the gallery.)
- Email your original,
unedited photo to editor@beadandbutton.com and put Beaded
Boxes in the Subject line.
- Bead &
Button
will crop the photo and do any color adjusting.
- Bead &
Button
will email a contract for you to sign before your image can go
on the website. The contract gives Bead&Button permission
to post an image of your work, your name, and any contact information
you would like put on the website.
- If you have
any questions, you can send an email to to editor@beadandbutton.com

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New &
Exciting Kits!
These are our newest
kits.
They all contain our new style instructions.
View
kits!
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Timeless Beadwork Designs
A Book by Cynthia Rutledge
My book, Timeless Beadwork
Designs, celebrates my 20th year in this business and is
a "thank you" to all of you, my friends, students and
customers.
Timeless Beadwork Designs has 15 brand new projects. My inspirations
came from art, history and design from the 1400's to the 1900's.
There are
2-3 different colorways for each project resulting in 31 pieces
of beadwork to inspire you to bead: five necklaces, four bracelets,
three pairs of earrings, two rings and a brooch.
Order your autographed copy here!
NOTE: Errata Sheet for Timeless Beadwork Designs:
Download
Here
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