5/30/2014

MULTI-COLORED SUPERDUOS BRACELET

I  really love designs that provide me an opportunity to make them my own, like this pattern - a bit of color, a tweak here and there, and it becomes a personal project.  I enjoy multi-colored, seasonal jewelry that will go with just about anything, and this fits that perfectly!  Love love love my color choices, with the changing flowers and the 2mm orange AB crystals inserted with bright purple 15.0 on either side, making it complete (they kind of look blue in these photos, but they really are a bright purple).  You can see just what you can do with color, by looking at my last post of this same design ["Annelies Bracelet" by Ellad Des and taught by Sandy Taylor at Bead Street].  On this version, I used antique brass jump rings and toggle clasp for my closure, which made that part easy.






5/27/2014

NEON SHADE OF SUPERDUOS MAKE A SPLASH!

A wonderful three-day weekend - one afternoon of it spent beading, chatting, laughing, etc. with my friends and fellow beadaholics at Bead Street!  I chose one of Eileen's new neon shades of two-hole superduos (magenta-ish) for this project below and oohhh la laaaa.  It's absolutely a jaw dropper color in person, at least I think so!  The pattern uses superduos, 8.0, 11.0 and 15.0 sbs, plus 4mm fire polish.  I added a 3mm round with 15.0 on either side down the middle to make the flowers pop, plus added drops to my closure loop.  I've gotta say, that's my favorite signature finish to any pattern -- and depending on the button used, it makes getting the bracelet on and off much easier.
 
A beautiful pattern named "Annelies Bracelet", designed by Ellad Des, and taught by Sandy Taylor at Bead Street.





A couple other projects I played with as time permitted over the Memorial Day Holiday. A wonderfully fun change of pace -- a Happy Mango Beads project designed by Erin Siegel for HMB.  The bright colors, wood rounds and brass Ethiopian beads grabbed me, plus it's multi-wear -- as a double drape necklace or a multi stack bracelet.  I like it best as a bracelet, but love the versatility.  All done on 1.5 mm leather with fun heart attached anywhere you want!



And, last but not least, another  casual wrap bracelet on 1.5 leather using wonderful crow glass beads (and czech donut rounds) with that same darlin' heart dangle -- because the glass can get heavy, I only did two strands.



5/14/2014

Additional Spring Color projects . . .

A couple additional projects . . . Colors are not as true in these photos as I would have liked, but you'll get the idea.  I tried the dark silver, almost black, chain link with the pink leather and LOVE IT, for both the necklace and the wrap bracelet.  It shows the deep contrast of the two -- really shows off both the leather and the chain links, I think.  I've also shown the earrings again from my last post to show how cute the group is together.  The darlin bee pendant (It's really a clasp, but I used it as a pendant!) is a Gaea original; the pewter heart button is green girl studios. 






A turquoise necklace with an adorable owl. I found "him" in Helena, MT. It's not ceramic, but more of a pliable clay-like material. This piece just came together - I had the right beads in my head and in view - and it all worked well, from strining the first bead... Can't remember where I got the ceramic flower beads, but the roughened Czech glass turqoise beads came from Bead Street and I tossed in copper for the spacers and closure.



Fun Colored Leather bracelets and earrings for spring!


The sun shining through these fire polish beads shows the gorgeous tones -- perfect!



These eye catcher earrings match the copper/red leather bracelet above and were made as a set for  Mother's Day for one of my two wonderful daughters in law.  They are such a great color combo for her, and very light in weight.  You can see I'm into the flower mode now for spring/summer!
 




These darlin layered flowers  below were made to go with the turquoise leather bracelet above -- also for Mother's Day for my second wonderful daughter in law! They are a perfect length for her and the pinks, turquoise and green so springlike. Also very light in weight!


MORE fun earrings below.  I'm loving the spring/summer pallette of turquoise, pinks, green, yellow, BRIGHT PINK, peaches, etc.  So many fun colors to choose from!
 







5/05/2014

CLOSURE FINISHED -- "ALONG THE SEINE"

As promised in my last post, here's the completed bracelet showing the final closure.  The super duo rounds as the closure have kind of become my added "interpretation" of this design since I can't seem to make one that is long enough to fit me - I tell myself to quit stitching so dang tight, but to no avail... so I end up having to add on. All because of an original design by Eileen, owner of Bead Street.  
 



Here are the completed bracelets, side by side.  The color combinations for this pattern are only limited by the colors of the super duos - isn't the herringbone pattern down the center an eye-catcher?  I also used peanut beads on the outside of the melon red version, instead of 11.0 sb - I think it gives a bit more depth to the outer edge.  This time for the closure I added a darlin copper button.