HERRINGBONE WRIST BANDS!

These kinda scream spring... And they feel really good on the wrist.  Nothing too bulky and nothing to irritate the wrist while moving about.  A bunch oh' stitching for sure... but oh so worth it.  This pattern started out with inspiration from Fusion Beads sedona sunset design and then I went off track... which is what I usually do.  The center three triangular designs follow Fusion's pattern, but the rest just kind of came from the seed beads on my mat and out of my needle!  Ha.  Really happy with both color combinations and the slight changes to make them unique and my own!

COMPLETED SPECIAL PROJECTS and some words of wisdom thrown in...

Ongoing projects recently finished, gifted or sold... The raku medallions continue to speak loudly to me, so they may be part of my posts on a continuing basis in one form or another.  I love working with them and I've ordered and reordered many from our local Dragonfly clothing/gift shop.  The colors are so gorgeous and ever-changing, plus my copper wire wrapping is never the same,  sometimes more challenging than I anticipate!  But, I can't get enough of them.  The siri silk continues to be one of my favorite, colorful finishing touches.   

Dragonfly colors are so gorgeous in life and in raku.  The Dragonfly symbolizes change and transformation with some emotional maturity and growth thrown in.  I am in that state of mind, so all good... 
  

The tree of life speaks for itself.  What an important symbol, up close and personal to me right now.  Symbolizing a fresh start, positive energy and strength.  On any given day I find myself hanging on for dear life... as are many of my closest peeps, so strength and positive energy in any form are welcome.  

An incredible Green Girl copper slider... I loved it the minute I saw it, and could envision it on a bracelet.  And, the message is one to remind ourselves... we are capable of doing more than we ever imagined when faced with what life throws at us as we are "unbreakable".

More of my hand cut earrings using the beautiful blue/turquoise leather.  I mixed some metals for the chain and added some very light and colorful polymer clay dangles from Areto Artisan beads.  Perfect for the changing colors of this season.

A brass bracelet connector I embellished with some Vintaj paint.  It turned out so ADORABLE, if I don't say so myself.  I macramed in a few size 6 beads close to the connector for some interest.

And, I always need something to believe in... so I wear this brass bracelet connector, embellished with some Vintaj paints in fall colors, on those days when I'm having some trouble with that... there is always hope too, right?  That'll be my next bracelet.  Without believing there is hope, I am lost... 

And, last for this post, BE KIND.  Can't be said enough.  Hard one to remember when others are not following that same path... so if wearing on one's wrist... good reminder!

SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW, SOMETHING BORROWED...

Starting with something borrowed... my friend Aimee, who opened my eyes to this creative life-line called beading so many years ago... has gotten back into her own creative jive again by making some incredible adjustable bracelets using macrame... and I love what she is doing (imagine!) So, here's my hand at that "borrowed" thing... following Aimee's lead and absolutely copying her idea with a teeeeeny tiny twist. I reached far back into my stash and found this beautiful ceramic bracelet connector from Bo Hulley Ceramics.  It looks so awesome with the macrame.  Love reaching back into my stash of special pieces to find the perfect one to showcase.  Thank you Aimee, and Bo!!!

Now to the "something old" part of this post... actually something my brain just opened up to -- Dream Catchers  designed way back in the 19th Century, which I have always loved.  Heck, I have Dream Catchers on my nails right now!  So, here's my first attempt, far from perfect, but a good start I think.  It was a bit challenging for me using a small ring and 1.5 mm cord, but I do love the look, so lots of practice and more Dream Catcher variations will be in my future.  

And now, last but not least, the "something new".  My latest brick stitched lovelies... I love doing brick stitch around a component.  You can make it all up as you stitch.  I added some loose wire wrapping at the top of the earring wires for some added design and hung some tiny little metal flowers in the middle.  These are adorable in person.

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!

TURQUOISE AND BUTTERFLIES

A darlin' BUTTERFLY bracelet pattern by Vezsuzsi.  I had to remake this twice as the first time it was way too tight and wouldn't bend to go around my wrist.  I wasn't the only one in my beading group... several of us had the same difficulty.  I must say though, that the original pattern is for a bangle, and we were making ours for a clasp, which does change the bend requirements.  So after slightly altering the pattern and adding an extra 15/0 or an extra 11/0 here and there, it softened up and had more flex to go around my wrist.  I love the colors I used... bright and cheery for sure!  It's dainty, so caution will need to be taken when worn.

 

And, next this wonderful turquoise wrist eye catcher.  My beading sistah Judy had made one and I LOVED it, so I asked if I could copy her idea using the turquoise and make my own version.  I used a base of ladder stitch with 4mm cubes.  You could use any kind of chips ... or truly... anything else.  You are limited only by your own imagination.  I'm going to give it another whirl with something less expensive than turquoise.  But, isn't this fun?  I love my owl button too.  Kind of finished it off for me.

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?

NATIVE LOOKING EARRINGS/NEW BRACELET DESIGNS USING O-BEADS

I couldn't resist trying these drop earrings from the design in my July 1 post - the Marcia Balonis Spring Loaded design -- the pattern is so versatile, you can make as many components as you would like I made two components for these earrings and I think they are pretty perfect.  Any more might be too heavy.

 

 

A new design called "J-O-sef" by Vezsuzsi, taught by Sandy Taylor at Bead Street using superduos, rizo beads, o-beads and 11.0 sb.  I added the pearl/Czech glass beads down the middle just to add a bit of splash and they also help the rizos stand up like little petals.  

 

This is another version of my July 14 post, showing totally different colors using the "O bead" design by Marcia Balonis.  The colors just meld in this bracelet.  I have gathered beads from wherever I travel, and so I started looking in my stash... imagine that!  Using beads I already have... totally new concept!  But, I digress...  The peachy fire polish beads I used from my stash were perfect with the turquoise and greens and darker reds - I found them in a little store in Helena, MT.  The finished color combo looks very Santa Fe-ish!  :)