PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!

This gorgeous wire wrapped earring design by Penny Dixon, who has been featured on the cover of beading magazines, and on the inside pages too many times to mention, is a wonderfully intricate and challenging designer and artist.  This particular design was featured back in August 2013 in Bead&Button.  I actually took the class from Penny way back when and I just struggled and couldn't get the hang of all the very delicate wire wrapping (4 rounds of 28 gauge wire) around the 20 gauge wire base, so the pattern has been in my "too challenging for me" box. However, I had always hoped I would try it again, as they are so delicate and intricate and beautiful.  And, I can happily say, I DONE DID IT!!!  I've learned a few things over my years of beading, and yes... practice practice practice, plus age, plus ability, plus patience... and if you look closely at this first completed pair you will see they are far from perfect... but I am truly proud of myself.  Give this a try.  You will love how light and gorgeous they are!  Thank you Penny for always challenging me!

SEAHAWKS DANGLIES AND A SPLASH OF A PENDANT.

My dear dear friend LuAnn lives in WA state and they are avid SeaHawks fans.  After all these years of making her birthday jewelry, it dawned on me this year I should make something she could wear on game day.  Duh!  Takes me awhile I guess.  I saw a wonderful bracelet/earring design by CzechMates Trendsetter Svetlana Einy -- using four hole quadratiles, size 11 and 15 sb, and 2mm fp.  I don't usually bead with silver beads, or use silver wire, ... but you have to get out of your comfort palette from time to time, and for this girl, it seemed perfect this year --  LOVE YOU LU!

Next up an incredible pendant design by Penny Dixon - it's supposed to be earrings, and as with many of Penny's creations, if I get one done... I'm feeling lucky.  This one took on a JDreams life of its own at the end, as I made a couple errors (imagine!), which sometimes takes me on a lovely side journey, and things turn out great.  So, on this journey, I ended up adding some little flowers to the bottom round on either side!!  I absolutely love this piece and will post once I have an idea of how I'll finish it.  I used 2-hole crescents, 3mm fp, size 11 and 8 sb, and for the flower add-ons I used pips, 2mm melon rounds and size 15 sb.  This pattern used RAW, and I worked very diligently to get it down.  It took some practice!

A Challenging Earring Gone Pendant Design!

I do love a good challenge, and Beadwork Magazine Designer of the Year, Penny Dixon, does not disappoint.  She is an incredible jewelry designer.  I wanted to start a new project, and her "Pergola" earring design, just one of her many mathematical equations, called out to me from the pages of the magazine!  So, I gathered the beads that I needed and started... and I struggled, let me tell you.  But, onward I kept weaving each and every little stitch.  For this trial run earring (yes, I have made only one at this writing!!!) I used the colors I could put my hands on in my stash, so this might not be what I would have put together if I had had all colors (!), but I thought it worked and I really quite like the way it turned out.  Some red/green, but not too much.  I used a combination of metals for the Czech bars (I originally thought my Czech bricks were the Czech bars called for in the pattern, but they are too thick so I had to start once again with the proper bead to get the spacing just right) and Penny's pattern used the quadra lentils and I used quadra tiles, which seemed to work just fine.  I feel pretty dang thrilled with myself having finished this ONE earring.  On to the next one...

ODE TO FALL...

My newest dangles for the season, which work for one more week, thank you very much!  Thank you to Penny Dixon, Trendsetters designer at Starman, Inc., for this wonderful earring pattern. It's on the COVER of Beadwork's October/November issue.  It's an intricate, beautifully put together design using netting and picot stitching, and as you can see, the color combos are endless.  I wanted to do something for Thanksgiving, and these beads I had in my stash, so kind of jumbled them together.  These brown/translucent pear shaped drops are hard to photo to highlight the beauty of the markings, but you get the idea.  My friends and I think these look a bit like turkeys!  All the better!