BRICK STITCH ON WOOD!

I found these wonderfully designed wood rounds somewhere... can't even remember where, but I was trying to come up with a new idea for earrings, and these popped out at me from my rather large stash oh beads and stuff!  I wondered what I could do to jazz them up a bit, and brick stitch came to mind.   These are not for the faint of heart as they are a statement in size alone, but so light you don't even know you are wearing them.  I knew someone special who could carry these off... and by golly, she sure does!  

The first pic is a bit dark, but it highlights how the blue/green transparent 8.0 seed beads at the top pop in the light.  I also added some Vintaj paint to a few of the spokes for additional interest and to draw your eye to the wonderful design.  Love how these turned out!

STITCHIN' EARRINGS!

It's a great time of year (especially since we seem to be experiencing more wintery weather now than we have all season!!) for bead stitching, which translates to fun/colorful earrings and dangles.  Peyote and brick stitch are a nice change of pace, and so versatile - large, small or somewhere inbetween, with just about any design.  Add some fringe to finish the project off, and oh my my... Well, give these a look see and let me know what you think.  A variety of color and size, and all very light on the lobes.

The next two earring designs are my own -- but there are so many variations out there on many different sites or in magazines, the ideas are only as narrow as your own imagination.  I'm especially proud of the first pair - the turquoise and copper.  I started stitching and came up with the design as I went, so it's a JDreams original!  The fringe really makes the design.  The purple color combination is hard to miss, a bit less dramatic design and smaller size, but still gives an incredible pop of bright.

A side by side shot to provide sizing perspective.

 And, below, I thought this view from the end of the fringe was a cool shot!  The turquoise earrings have Super Unos at end of fringe, and the purple earrings have small drops.  I love the change in look by altering one thing (or a few!).

Next, earrings using instruction and design from Jill Wiseman called Russian Leaf.  I struggled with this design at first - it called for 6 lb fireline, but the earrings would not hold any shape - very flimsy - so I ended up cutting up the first earring and redoing it using 10 lb fireline, which was much better and held the dome shape.   

I make all my own earring wires, mostly using copper wire.  Copper is my metal of choice.  And, the wires below are fun with a bead wrapped on top for a bit of extra, and to coordinate with the 6 mm fp in the earring design.

And, last, but certainly not least, this beautiful design from Robin Smith and Linda's Crafty Inspirations blog.  I didn't even notice there was a heart in the original design, but I added a few seed beads here and there to shore up the tension and there it was... one of my most favorite things - hearts!  These are so dang fun.  I added the raku looking rounds with the 4mm marbled fire polish and I think they truly make the combination stand out.

A RIBBON OF A DRAPE!

The June 2015 issue of Bead & Button showcased this beautiful pattern on the cover and I could not resist making it my own.  The pendant is designed by Wendy Speare, and I'm loving the possibilities of the underbelly superduos.  I don't usually work with delica sb, but did in this version because I wanted to make the first like the pattern, and I'm really liking the combination and the look of the square against the round 15/0 sb.  Of course, it all starts with a beautiful Swarovski crystal.  How can you go wrong?  And, I added a purple ribbon to finish it off.  Lovely...