HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE!

HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE!  I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable entry to 2013!  I'm hoping it's a new year filled with lots of beading for me!  :)  I've been working on a few new designs, but they are all gifts, so have not been able to post much lately... but keep checking, cuz they'll be goodies once the birthdays come and go.  I have FIVE birthdays in January.  What the heck... I say, once again... what the heck!  Right after Christmas, that gives me just a tiny bit of stress, all self inflicted of course.

Here's a necklace I made for "moi" for the Holly-Days.... It's a beautiful pattern - Thank you Eileen at Bead Street - using twins.  The earrings were in process at this picture.  Love the ceramic candy cane beads. 

Tubular peyote stitch and dangles.  These really are beautiful on.  Lighting isn't perfect in this shot, so true colors aren't reflected.  They are more of a teal, w/rust, and beautiful maroon czech glass flowers and leaves, seed & 3 mm brass beads and some turquoise pieces. 

OTHER THINGS CHRISTMAS.

December 17, and we are almost finished decorating our tree and putting the final touches on the house. Seeing Christmas lights and the fun of it all through a 2 1/2 year old grandson's eyes...ahhh, that feels good!  I do still have lots of "other stuff" to get done... of course...but in the midst of all the commercialism, the untimely death of my daughter in law's father, and the true sadness of country events this past week, I'm trying to keep it together.  I know the true spirit of the season is out there and I am focusing on seeing it through the joy of our 2 1/2 year old grandson. I am grateful for these tiny moments of bliss.



Such a sweet picture. 

Working hard at coloring Big Bird and friends, and making
mom and dad a special stocking.
 

What's better than one hand in red and one in green for grandma & grandpa's frig?

INDIE MADE POP UP SHOW.

My friend Jenny and I had a great time last night at the Indie Made "First Thursday" Pop Up show. It was a great experience for me, as selling in any venue is still pretty new to me. This locale was very low key and I learned so much just by watching how other vendors do it, and of course, the people! It's interesting just to watch how people come and go - a real study in human nature for sure. I learned soooo much about improvements I'll need to make if I do this on any sort of a regular basis. Lighting and display space alone are huge. Biggest issue for me right now is to learn to RELAX and BREATH. It isn't life or death stuff, and I do have a full time "other" job. Many thanks go out to Jenny Horton for encouraging me to get my feet wet and letting me share her table with her.  And, to my many friends, family and co-workers who came out to support me.  Thanks so much everyone!  With your support, I think I can... I think I can... I think I can. :)

 

WIRE WRAPPING AND MEMORY WIRE.

If you need some great gift ideas, you live in Boise, and also have an interest in supporting local people with local products, come visit me at the Indie Made Shop for FIRST THURSDAY - December 6 - from 5-9:00 p.m. in the Old Pioneer Building @ 108 N 6th Street.   FIRST THURSDAY in downtown Boise is alot of fun, and there is always much to see and do.  Alot of the downtown stores participate and they try to make it a special evening with discounts etc.  My friend Jenny and I will be sharing a table and selling some of our wares!  Hope to see some of you there! I've posted a few "teaser" items I'll have at my table, including Christmas wrapped wreath earrings etc. Nothing to heavy... just fun stuff for the Season!

These turned out so fun!  I wrapped seed beads around premade squares. 

AS I NEAR THANKSGIVING...

It's the week of Thanksgiving and my beading has slowed way down for the sake of all the other things I have going on in my mind and in real time! But, here are a few miscellaneous designs. I'm working towards more proficiency on maneuvering this blog...here goes..

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE! 

 

 

The backdrop and lighting don't do these earrings any justice, but what ya gonna do? The main gemstone is really a beautiful green--it looks washed out in this pic--coupled with the more traditional blue round turq. and the copper wire wrap.  I do love earthtones... as if you couldn't tell. 

This is a ceramic bead I encompassed with peyote and then made a beaded chain in complimentary colors/beads.  A customer at my favorite hair salon, Moira, liked it enough to buy it --I hope she is enjoying it!

Think "lots of time" on this one.  It was my first, and probably LAST, attempt at bead crochet.  I tend to stitch too tight, imagine that!! and by the time I finished the small section of crochet, it would barely bend, so it became part of a necklace.  I learned the crochet technique at Bead Street.

Another bracelet with a copper button centerpiece and peyote.  Czech glass oblongs and pearls make really nice bracelet straps.  I've kind of gotten into this peyote thing... am liking it alot.  It makes any gemstone, bead, button, etc. look so rich, I think!

One of my JDream ring designs.  Same pattern as the leaf bracelet in my first post, just with different beads. The colors are great with the AP swarovski crystals and the turquoise drops.

PEYOTE AND RIGHT ANGLE WEAVE.

My most recent original JDreams creation!  Lots of rich deep color.  These pictures actually make it look lighter-my camera flashed.  But I liked that it outlines the pattern and highlights certain beads.  I do love flower petals. 



JDreams ring design in peyote with drops and two hole tilas.

And, of course earrings!  This pattern was from the Nov 2012 Beadwork magazine and was designed as a bracelet by Melinda Barta.  Slightly different view of the ring in the background.

 

THE START OF THE BLOG... yipeeeeeee!

J Dreams
Original jewelry, one piece of "my kind" at a time . . .
by Janet Carter

 

I love the way this bracelet turned out and this picture doesn't really do it justice!  It's one of my new favorites.  A peanut bead flower centerpiece, with beaded popcorn beads designed by Kassie Inman, using different purple/green combos.

The button was the catalyst for this necklace - purchased at my favorite beadshop - Bead Street here in Boise (www.beadstreetonline.com) and it was one of my first attempts to encase with RAW and peyote stitch. I made different sized peyote connectors to pull the necklace together.  The colors really worked beautifully.




Love the clay pendant designed by Tracee Dock at The Classic Bead.  She does really excellent quality clay creations!   I followed the colors in the pendant for the necklace embellishments.  The chain is Russian lace pattern.

A necklace of sea glass.  It's beautiful, but really heavy to wear.  I saw the design in the July 2012 BeadStyle magazine and of course the colors called my name.  I used slightly different coloration from the magazine, but it came together beautifully.

A customer at my hair salon, Moira, had the earrings and asked my incredible stylist, Jenny, if I could make a necklace and bracelet to make a set.  I gave it a go -- looks like it was all purchased together, don't you think?  Czech glass and silver with crystals to match the opal strip in the earrings.

This is just a small section of my summer garden party bracelet.  It was done on peyote base and then I just started embellishing with flowers and leaves.  It was beautiful!  I sold one very similar to one of my dear friends - these are time consuming pieces and become part of my soul...and they just feel good!

This is a RAW design with embellished crystals, taught at Bead Street.  I actually used two colors of duo beads -- the teal you can see and the purple that you can't.  I loved the result and the button closure is fun.