"RIGHT IN LINE" PUBLISHED BRACELET DESIGN!

A beautiful new bracelet design (Right in Line) by my mentor, bead store owner, incredible designer, and MOST IMPORTANTLY good friend, Eileen Barker -- just published in the Bead & Button, February 2016 issue.  An ELEGANT design, and one that will take your breath away, both while you are making it, and once completed.  It's a substantial, weighty, gorgeous piece.  

We convened for a group beading day, and tried to follow the condensed instructions in the magazine.  It doesn't get any better than having the designer at the beading table with you!  I like to have a longer thread, which for this piece, I now know I need to reconsider.  My length of fireline kept catching on all the other beads, the further into the piece I got.  Yes, Eileen, I'm listening... I need shorter thread.  Thank you for this incredible design.  LOVE IT!

And, as you'll see below, I altered the design ever so slightly and added in two 4mm fire polish on my first row, when it was supposed to be one, so I went with that and alternated every fourth row with the two, plus used a different color.  

FUN BRACELET DESIGN!

A fun pattern designed by Nela Kabelova, she named "Undulation bracelet".  I had a ball making this with my beading pals, taught by Sandy at Bead Street.  I actually made one in class that was too dark for my liking, so I disassembled all the beads and started anew.  These are the latest two versions.  The pattern works up nicely and wears easily.  Very light on the wrist.  My second version is trended for Halloween, and I'm loving the oranges, greens and purples.  Bricks, 6mm fp or 6mm rounds, 6.0, 11.0 and 15.0 seed beads.

LIGHT, DELICATE EARRINGS

These earrings are SO light and flowing -- really easy to wear -- I don't even know I have them on.  The pattern is called "Duo Drop Earrings" designed by 2015 Designers of the Year for Beadwork Magazine: Barbara Falkowitz and Amy Haftkowycz.  This pattern is showcased in the June/July 2015 magazine and I was excited to try them because it incorporates both wire working and stitching.  What's better than that?  Color combos are endless, of course! The first pictures below are outside in bright afternoon light - the next two are also outside, but in the morning light, one with a flash.  Proof that lighting changes the way your colors reflect! P.S.  The pattern called for half-hard wire, which I didn't have, so I used soft, plus I used what I had in beads, which were not all as the pattern suggested.  But, truly, that's the fun part, isn't it?  Making it your own!

MY OWN INTERPRETATIONS!

Summer gets so busy... and it's tough to stay on any kind of regular schedule, and expanding my beading brain has taken a back seat of late... but I have a few new completed projects that are my own creations and I'm quite proud of both!  One is stitched and one is wire wrapped.  And, I do have a couple other wonderful projects, which I hope to share on this blog very soon.  They are quite spectacular, designs by my mentor Eileen @ Bead Street. Stay tuned for those...

Making a button hole in peyote was a first for me on the bracelet.  It took me a minute to figure it out - as I started stitching the slit sideways instead of up and down with the flow of the beads.  Figured it out pretty quickly, and like how it turned out.  My button is a tagua nut round, with a magnesite disk that just fits inside, with a peanut bead and 15.0 on top.  I love the peanuts around the outer edge.  I tried several different things, but the peanuts seemed to mesh the best with the design of the bracelet.  I tried o rings too, and they were a neat look, but ultimately the peanuts won out.

 My other JDreams design is below.  I used mixed metals to make the heart and wire wrap the shell beads for part of the chain.  A special gift for Teri in my office.  She has been soooo helpful to me this past year and I wanted to do something special for her birthday.  She rides a darling covered scooter, and I found this charm with her in mind, and JUST kind of built it from there.  This necklace and earrings came together like it was meant to be!  Thank you, Teri!

 

KHEOPS WEAVE OOH LA LA!

Had a lovely class on Saturday, and then another on Monday, so it was a fun couple days, spending some quality time with my beading buddies!  We do have a great time playing with our beads.  Thank you Sandy for teaching this pattern @ Bead Street - designed by Ella Des aptly named Kheops Weave.  The sheen and color combination on these silky angled beads I chose (purchased at Bead Street of course!) is so incredible.  They are so versatile, and take on a different color dependent on the lighting, and the other beads surrounding them.

LENTILS, FIRE POLISH AND PEARLS ... +

A fun Saturday afternoon spent b-e-a-d-i-n-g!  Imagine!  This is a pattern designed by Eileen at Bead Street while she was in Paris a couple years ago with her besty Barb, with newly written instructions and class taught by Sandy Taylor.  Beads used were two hole lentils, 4mm fire polish, 4mm pearls for the center of the flower, 11.0 and 15.0 seed beads for the outer scroll stitch. 

This is one of my own JDreams designs using flat 2-drop even count peyote.  Colors added to colors.  And, it's still a work-in-process, so stay tuned for the finished version.  I started to use one fringe, and then took that off - started another version, and who knows where it will end up.  These are definitely beautiful spring colors that will go with so many things...

SPICE BRACELET DESIGN

A Saturday bead class at Bead Street was just the medicine needed for my swirling emotions these days.  Still in the midst of our 2-yr old grandson's short-term health prognosis, I needed to just sit and bead and try to get my "diversion" groove back... it worked!  Thanks so much Sandy Taylor!  This bracelet is a lovely design by Linda Roberts, taught by Sandy.  Time consuming because every RAW unit needs to be reinforced twice (and the RAW portion of this pattern was a challenge at first!), to cinch it up a bit, but well worth the time and effort.  I think my version looks very southwestern.  Love the matte finish blue/gold multi colored SuperDuos I chose, along with the brighter purple, mixed with the SuperUnos I interchanged on the outer edge - every other one. See what you think.

 

MORE BEADED PUFF BEADS

Here's the fun necklace made with three of the beaded puff beads from my last post (designed by SashaSi).  I beaded two in more of a navy color to intersperse with the sky blue bead.  It's an airy light necklace with an easy drape, and mixed with the sky blue earrings, a fun set.  The beads are fun to make - and, depending on your preference in stringing material - mine is FireLine at the moment - these beads will lay flat or puff up.  I tend to bead tight anyway, and with the FLine, they really puff!  Fun for a casual or middle of the road look... 

SNAKESKIN BRACELET DESIGN

Another new bracelet design (by StarMan TrendSetter Svetlana Einy) class taught at Bead Street, by Sandy Taylor.  I really wasn't sure I was going to like this pattern, but as usual, FELL IN LOVE as I worked the beads.  Color options are unlimited, as long as the beads haven't already flown out of Eileen's store.  I took the second offering (or maybe third) of this class, and felt very lucky to do so.  I'm enjoying my choice of colors on this one - kind of unusual for me - the blue daggers are two-tone with black, and then I added black, metalic black and a milky white opal color.  Since denim is a staple in my after-hours and weekend wardrobe, I thought it was time to go blue with some pizazz thrown in!  This pattern is just as pretty on the backside as it is on the topside.  Very unsual and fun!

My second version - multi colors mix.