UNIQUENESS!

A beautifully unique piece of jewelry to wear and enjoy.  That's what we all strive for in each and every creation isn't it?   I know I'm drawn to those artists who's creations are so special, my own artistry takes on a higher calling and I'm brought to a new level of workmanship.  It also keeps my mind open to new ideas, colors and patterns.

This unique, beautiful porcelain pendant by Nancy Adams of Round Rabbit  has been in my stash for a while now.  Nancy stopped making beads and pendants, and moved on to other of her many creative outlets.  I do so miss her style and works of art on the beading side of life.  But, because she no longer makes these types of lovelies, I had squirreled away a few - yes, it's also called hoarding!!  This one has been laying in wait for just the right project... ta da... and here it is!  I hope I have done it proper justice.  

I started this piece by free-form wire wrapping a connector, with some czech glass daggers in two sizes and colors and then added a pre-made copper connector for some additional style.  I really love how that part of the project all came together.  Then, I had to search (of course) to find the perfect beads to complement, which started with lovely polymer rondelles by Heather Powers of Humblebeads.  From there I added some rich, beautiful gemstones in mahogany obsidian, snowflake obsidian and picasso jasper.   At the very end of the process, I added in some czech bell flowers in a black copper wash combo.  Sometimes it's a fine balance of joining all the different segments - wire to glass to gemstone to the clay and porcelain, and not to overdo.  i have trouble finding that balance some days, but feel I nailed it on this piece!

And, last but not least, as a compliment for the ears, I used a free inspiration project "primrose" from Fusion Beads, stitched with picasso rembrandt gemduos, superduos and firepolish.  I added the czech daggers on top to bring the green into the coordination.  The gemduos are so fun... but I didn't pay close enough attention to the top and the bottom, so practice was in order... I now know!!

HAPPY VALENTINES and OTHER JOYS!

Recent creations, just to mention a few, made right before and right after the lovely Day.  I hope your Valentine's included hearts of some kind!  I'll start with the adorbs heart set... wood burned tear drop with heart made by Ashley Bonney of Summer Wind Art.  The wood pendants are so light, there's lots of option to add on without too much weight. I decided to cut out some really fun red/black embossed leopard leather to give it some added size and interest.  I also added some dangles at the bottom for movement - a copper heart, and five red 1-hole lentils.  I free form wire wrapped the pendant to a necklace of glass and fire polish.  The earrings are also leather cut outs with copper hearts and copper filigree bead caps, 8mm glass rounds, 6mm and 3mm black fire polish.  So light and just plain fun.  My cutting is all hand done, so it's not perfectly straight, but that gives it a "real" feel of creation.

Now for a couple free-form wrapped heart earring sets.  The first pair I made the wire heart form in 18 gauge, and then used 24 gauge wire to wrap these beautiful pink shimmery 8 sb around the form.  I added a crystal pave round bead and shimmery pink glass round for the top. 

The next pair I strung the 8 sb right on the wire as I was forming the heart, still using these gorgeous pink beads.  On this pair I added a 4mm bicone on the top near the ear wire and a Czech glass bicone and Czech crystal heart for the dangle.  

Next, a couple of my latest macrame bracelets.  These are happy and colorful and the messages something we can all relate to and enjoy wearing.  I never tire of making these.

I added some Vintaj paint to the leather on the next one.  I love how it turned out.  Majestic mountains and all that!

And, below, some absolutely yummy earrings, gearing more towards spring colors... These are a recent Fusion Beads inspiration project, with a little JDreams added in.  The outer ring is the pattern, but it needed more so I added in the chain and the Czech glass / swarovski crystal dangles, along with the glass rounds and copper bead caps on top.  The colors truly are just so yummy, and the mix of the crystals with the pearls!  Ah... love these.

DANGLING EARLOBES!

Some fun new earrings as we transition into spring.  My color choices start to creep -- ever so slowly -- towards brighter shades.  Still some fall/winter tones, but movement towards the new season.  Design below from Fusion Beads' Inspiration page.   They look just like their "Peacock" name.  A 12 mm swarovski crystal provides an incredible center point for the turquoise, blue and purple seed beads that surround it.  F U N to make and wear!

Next design is patterned after a "Bubbly" wire earring pattern from the July 2013 Bead Style magazine.  A  design by Madelin Adriani Pratama.  I didn't want the bubbly as much as a cleaner line with some dangles and a feather, so here's my version.  The older beading magazines are so wonderful to thumb through when my brain is less than inspired.  So many options and such limited time!!!

Such a darlin' pair -- a beaded bead of fire polish with a czech glass flower dangle, and a metal Native American coin as the earring post. 

The flower star beads below are incredible - like a lapis finish - and very unusual.  I can't even remember where I picked these up, but I have been using them sparingly as I don't have many.  The brilliant blue pearls really make them pop! 

And, some fun hammered hearts - with fire polish and seed beads wire wrapped.  

REMEMBERING CHRISTMAS!

As we neared Christmas, YEP, that holiday that's just a distant memory now... I found a really fun earring pattern that I could easily color adjust to make each one an original.  The pattern is so versatile, and the earrings turned out really light and just pretty gorgeous.  I also made some brick stitch trees inbetween because I'm not great at making the same pattern too many times, so a diversion and distraction was in order.  The last pair shown was made for my mother, who's birthday is December 23 and needed to not be Christmas colors!  Plus, she wears clip on (components f/Fusion Beads), so this pattern lent itself well to that change.  The pattern on the repeat earrings was aptly called "poinsettia" and can be found on the FusionBeads.com website.  They have many fun patterns posted in their inspiration section, and these were exactly that!

 

PLAYING CATCH-UP!

No great excuses for my absence from my blogging, other than life getting in the way and time being more limited.  Life has a habit of doing that now and again, but I'll do my best to get myself back on track as I love my creative time so much, and I've been missing it so... here we go... 

Last fall, I had continued on the raku trail because I love the rugged pendants with copper wire, coupled with the softness of the sari silk fibers from LaShell Wyskochil.  These pieces were made for special people.  I find the wire wrapping to be so relaxing... that is, once I get over my fear of it.  Each one takes on a life of its own, which spurs me on to try another, and another, and another!

and of course, all good raku pendants need something to go with, like a bracelet or earrings.  Here are a few of what worked as compliments.  The colors were so delish!  Copper heart is from Green Girl Studios, and the design for the earrings is from Svetlana Chernitsky published in a 2015 special edition of Beadwork magazine.

MOTIVATING EARRING DESIGNS

A wonderful advantage to beading and creating jewelry --  of all shapes, sizes, colors, and methods -- is that I get to be my own guinea pig and wear and appreciate my own "blood, sweat and tears."  :)  These earring designs are fab - the first a combination pattern from several seen on Pinterest, but w/my own adjustments and unique color combination (of course)!  I don't usually use silver or stainless, because I just prefer the warmth of copper or bronze, so this was a very fun change and they came together beautifully -- and they're quite large -- which makes them perfect for long hair.  

And so the stitching continues... including wonderful time with my beading friends who help keep me motivated, and who freely share their ideas, designs and colors with me.  We are all so different, yet we share a mutual love for this creativity thing... it is a P R I C E L E S S bond and always wonderful, healing time.  

And, the lovelies below, from a Fusion Beads Inspiration Project.  I purchased some of the materials for these, but slightly varied the bicones, and added a fire polish instead of another component at the bottom.  It was a bit more challenging than I thought it was going to be.  And, inserting the stones after wire wrapping the frames almost didn't happen.  Bit of frustration for me trying to get the stones to stay in so I could bend the four little prongs in.  Oh my, but so well worth every moment.  The colors are absolutely scrumptious on these - they SCREAM SPRING as you can see when the sunlight hits.  

The pic below shows my wire wrapped earring wires a little better.  Love incorporating beads to my wires.  It brings everything together for a coordinated design.

RAKU MEDALLION AND OTHER WRAPPINGS!

I purchased a couple Raku medallions a few years ago from one of my favorite locally owned stores Dragonfly.  I absolutely loved the size and coloration!  Fast forward to now, and in searching my rather large stash of "special" pendants and other beads, they popped up and yelled... me, me, me!  Ha.  So, I was feeling the creativity and decided I'd do some wire wrapping, which doesn't always go perfectly!  But, on this particular day, the force was with me. :) I started by shaping and hammering some patinaed 16 gauge wire for the outer round and then used that as my base for attaching the pendant with 18 gauge wraps.  On a really great day, as we all know, creativity can flow with such positive force.  So... here are the wire wraps from that day.  I hadn't determined what I would do for a necklace on either one, but eventually did make a leather strap for the horse medallion, which was perfect.  Unfortunately, that beauty has galloped off to a very happy new home, so no picture available to show the leather.  Also, some earrings to match below.

The coloration and coating on the drops in the earrings below (from Fusion Beads) are so gorgeous and really pick up some of the same tones from the Raku medallion.  I also used some 1-hole lentils for a bit of add'l design.

And for my next wrapping, an incredible Staci Louise Originals Day of the Dead pendant.  The design of this piece, along with the colors, is so unique!  Love it and I must say, I'm thrilled with my wrapping ability on that ONE GIVEN day.  :) 

LIFE...a fly...AND A BEAUTIFUL TREE!

I've been looking at this Inspiration project on Fusion Beads' site for awhile - I even printed it off a few times, thinking I would get to it, but didn't, until finally...over a few evenings last week and a bit over the mother's day weekend, found myself with some extra luxury time... so decided to start cutting pieces of wire to see if I couldn't get my own "Tree of Life" pendant put together.  It's a project that's difficult to put down once you start, as there are multiple wires sticking up in a small space ready to be individually wound.  But, I can honestly say I LOVED THIS PROJECT.  It is creative and challenging.  [As an aside, I made my own wire frame on this version, which created a few challenges along the way - I used 20 gauge wire (hindsight says 16 or 18 would have been better).  Sturdiness did become a small issue as I got further along in the wrapping process, as it kept changing shape, even though I had hammered for strength - note to self for next one.] Once I got the trunk wires all wound and was happy with the way it looked, it was just a matter of placing the fire polish bead branches and continuing to wrap.  What about that "fly" you say?  Well... Funny story!  As I was taking the photos, I didn't notice a fly had come to perch right on one of the branches of the Tree - see if you can spot him in one of the shots below.  So so F U N N Y what you can't see right in front of you until it is enlarged!  :)

OUT OF THE DOLDRUMS COME PROJECTS!

Spring cannot come soon enough.  What a long cold snowy winter it has been, and while I have always loved the snow... this year has given me pause.  And, add insult to injury, I got this wonderful flu/cold bug that's been circulating the country.  I'm still fighting it, but much better.  Ah, to feel like there might be health again... Beading is the answer, and here are my latest creations which bring me great joy!

This earring pattern was calling to me from under my stacks of beading magazines... I just had to try the pattern and I had hoped to wear them on Valentine's Day, but, alas, that was not to be!  But now... yes, now... I need to find that perfect outfit to really show them off!  They are really wonderful in person, and have a true flair . . . A design by Thomasin Alyxander aptly named "flirtatious daggers".

These earrings are also g o r g e o u s!  It was a bracelet design by Deborah Hodoyer featured on the cover of Beadwork magazine.   I didn't think the pictures did the pattern justice, so decided to play around with the colors to see if I could spruce it up a bit.  Love how both sets below ended up.  The multi-copper 8.0 seed beads and the turquoise kheops and multi faceted 2-hole silky beads are a wonderful eye-popping combo. 

And, a new necklace in the double spiral rope pattern to go with . . . finished with some simple leather and wire wrapping.  Isn't the combo of multi-faceted fire polish, turquoise czech drops and the varying colors of 11.0, 8.0 and 6.0 sb yummy?  I am so happy with the way it turned out. 

And, then for absolute fun... I'm loving these adjustable bracelets!  The peyote bead work can be as easy or hard as you want to make it -- done fairly quickly, or, more extensive -- the skies the limit!  What a fun new splash of color on the wrist.  This first pattern is from Fusion Beads' Inspiration page, and I gave it my own spin, with bright colors for spring.  Notice the rubber rings on the side too, which I added to hold the bead work in place, but also to pull it together.  More bright colors needed...until we are officially at springtime.

This next pattern is my own design, and I'm loving the snakeskin in purple!