CHAINON Addiction and some added bling!

Hi, my name is Janet and I'm an Eileen Barker "Chainon" pattern addict! HA HA! True story!  It's an awfully fun stitch!  Here's another of my latest versions and really, my camera just doesn't seem to be picking up the beautiful beads to show how awesome the shades are together, but I guess this will have to do.  I added 8.0 sb in between the super duos for a slight alteration of the pattern, and added a 6mm bead inside the center bump to provide a little more stability for long-term wear.  The earrings were kind of an afterthought, but aren't they pretty with the bracelet?

SUNFLOWER ENSEMBLE!

The color palette of sunflowers, SO BEAUTIFUL, and even though it's still winter, this combination just seemed to be calling to me - it was my fall-back if you will.  I started this lovely piece with the pendant, a Leela Beads design, in a class taught by Sandy Taylor.  My first attempt was in purple/pink hues, but alas, I just wasn't feeling the "love" of the piece as I finished it, and that's pretty much my gauge.  And, even though my husband gave me his usual oohs and aahs, I see scissors in that pendant's very near future!  It just didn't come together, plus I missed a couple of steps in the pattern (which did make a difference!) because I was enjoying my beading sistahs and not paying close enough attention...I may even have been talking!  Ha!  So, here' the final... ta da... This pattern uses the new Chilli beads, mini superduos, a 14mm rivoli, 11.0 and 15.0 seed beads and I went with the larger drops - 3 or 4 mm work.

Plus, these adorable earrings of my JDreams design, using polka dot orange heart ceramic buttons as my centerpiece.  Bo Hulley's artistry -- these hearts were shouting out "come get me" from my stash and I heard them!!  I added some table cut czech glass and some wood!  Really am excited about this combo.
 

"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.  

BACK TO IT IN STYLE!

The Holidays are behind me and this New Year 2016 well under way!    The first three months of this year will be filled with lots of new designs, creativity with my wonderful beading friends / designers, and some gift making, all with a happy heart as I sit down to bead.  There really isn't anything I'd rather be doing when I need to "zone out" and be one with my inner creative girl.  It is a very therapeutic hobby, which I love.  So... Here I go...this set is new for 2016.  A lovely pendant from Tracee Dock at the Classic Bead, went beautifully with the daintiness of the final piece.  The copper twigs are wonderful (altho little hard to find) and I added a little patinaed wire wrapping to attach the pendant to the necklace. As I was making the earrings I knew they would be wonderful, and they are!  The horseshoe shape (design by Jennifer and Susan Schwartzenberger (Beadwork, winter 2016) adds a new dimension I think -I am still in love with the art of stitching around a component (of any kind). The bracelet is a pattern from Preciosa they named Thorny Twig, learned en masse with my beading buddies in our first gathering for awhile.  It was a wonderful Saturday!  Note the new Chilli beads which Eileen is carrying at Bead Street.  Thank you to Sandy and Eileen for helping us make this new design.
 

FALL COLORS AND FUN!

So many wondrous things happening during this awesome time of year -- my favorite fall season!  Woo Hoo!  It's also a time of year when I'm preparing for birthdays and other celebrations, so I cannot post all my in-process little pretties, but soon, very soon!  Here are a few of late, that I can post.  The first is this adorable bracelet made in perfectly Halloweenie colors, of course!!! A pattern design by Eileen Barker at Bead Street (you can also follow her on Pinterest or view some patterns on Starman) using quadratiles, tiles, drops, 11.0 and 15.0 seed beads, and 6mm rounds, but of course I used 4mm pumpkin rounds (melons) with 11.0 seed beads on either side to fill in that gap.  I love this bracelet.  It flows with your wrist, and it lends itself to lots of color - the drops I used are so awesome.  Green/orange/clear.  One way they look green, another way they look orange.  A fun twist.

 

 Next, some witcheeee earrings.  So fun to wear.  They get noticed, I'll say that, even in all my hair!  I found a pattern on the Fusion Bead website (they do a great job in their Inspiration section!), and did my own thing from there.  I used some of what I had in my stash (another unbelievable thing... I know!) black onyx and lucite, including the darlin' melons for "her" head - they are fun to use on lots of different pieces.

 Another lovely fall colored bracelet below, that is wonderfully lacy on the wrist.  Sometimes it takes me a few minutes to warm to a new pattern, and this one was just that.  However, it didn't take long, and as I started assembling each of the parts, it began to talk to me!  A pattern by Lisa Jordan, a Starman TrendSetter, in a class taught by Sandy Taylor at Bead Street. We used super duos, mini duos, 4mm fp, 11.0 and 15.0 seed beads.

 These earrings are my design (JDreams) - I love leaves in all colors, but mostly in fall colors, surprise!  So I just started stitching and this is what I ended up with. Czech glass leaves, a 4mm bicone for added sparkle, a little bit of leaf chain, and a stitched flower of leaves with a 6mm fp in the middle, using copper 11.0's for the center.  I could have gone on and on stitching with these, but I just had to stop right where they are because they are lovely enough! 

The earrings above and the bracelet below are more of my JDreams designs - love these white bone melons, coupled with the green Czech glass spacers and the effervescent orange rounds.  Below a peyote stitched bracelet using a Bo Hulley ceramic heart button.  The button just finished off the wrap bracelet, don't you think?

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.

BEADED BEADS CREATE THE PIECE!

Sometimes, the moon aligns, the stars shine bright and my artistic abilities kind of go to a higher level (in my own world of colors and beads, that is).  This set is one of those.  I started with the beaded beads (designs from Vezsuzsi in classes taught by Sandy Taylor at Bead Street  using the new crescent 2-hole beads), and as I placed each one with other beautiful beads, and then added the incredible ceramic heart made by Bo Hulley, it just felt like it was melding beautifully.  The heart pendant is truly gorgeous in person, and who doesn't love hearts?  I sure do.  The pictures I took really do not even come close to showing how incredible the color mix is together, but alas, guess the stars weren't aligned for the photos!  Ha ha.

BRICK STITCH EARRINGS

Just learned how to brick stitch around a component/link and I think this is my newest FAV!  So many possibilities - just like every design in beading.  I can always make it my own.  Sue Weber taught the class at Bead Street.  It was so fun.  Thanks Sue!  So, here they are - the colors are much more brilliant in person, but awesome colors for fall.  And, best of all, they are very light on my old earlobes!  
 

LEARNIN' ME SOME MORE METALsmithing!

In my ongoing process of learning about metal and all those new jewelry creation horizons, I enjoyed another fun class with Beth at Bead Street.  Her Passion Flower design, her embossing machine and some 26g copper blanks (and several wire wrapped glass beads, leaves and flowers later) helped me make my leaf bracelet below.  I slightly altered my bracelet design (hard to imagine, I know!) because the original design had all the wrapped dangles on one side of the metal bar, which was beautiful, but on my wrist just wouldn't stay in place.  So, I went back and refined it for me ever so slightly by adjusting some of the dangles to the other side, so both were more weighted.  Now, it wears a little better for me.  I am also still messing with the metal colors... I can't seem to leave it alone, or to get it exactly where I want it, but this is the latest version.  More to probably come, as just this morning before I left for work, I was taking off old and adding new paint for a different look. See the last three pics below for newest coloration (more turquoise!)