CATCHING UP FROM 2020!

New Year 2021... Here it is March (WHAT?) and I haven't posted in soooo long.  Time to get back to it.  I have made some shareworthy pieces since my last post, but the year of covid-19 -- to the present -- has been such a struggle for a lot of us.  It's been hard to get my creative cap on, but when I have, it has provided me absolute joy!  I thank all these magical beads for so much happiness... plus the thoughts of all the people I love drive me onward to provide special gifts and creations.  Here we go... back to the fall of 2020 and then forward to March 2021...

The pendant below started with a metal connector of 16 copper gauge wire, hammered and colored a bit with some Vintaj paints.  I have made several different types of connectors, but Heather @ Humblebeads  inspired me on this one.  The beautiful leaf pendant is made by Ashley at Summerwind Art.

My JDreams design of some fun fall leaves and dragonflies for the ears.  The lucite leaves added to the czech glass help to keep these remarkably light.

This next set started with the Grubbi Ceramics pendant.  I found Grubbi on etsy and fell in love with this mountain flower scene.  Perfect for my MT  daughter in law!  I stitched a herringbone connector for the necklace, added in some peanut beads for added sparkle, a small czech flower and some bell flower beads for movement.  

Beautiful earrings to match in multiple blue tones - the czech glass flowers have been in my stash forever.  I only had two, so they were perfect for this project. Lucite beads above the czech flowers and sparkly glass prisms on the bottom.

Last for this post, a winter set using a Heather (Humblebeads) snowflake bead and a pre-cut wood piece, painted and grooved for some design.  These are so great, Heather!  I also wire wrapped some rounds and added Heather's metal dangle gloves.  So adorbs together!  Love the cool colors of this set.  Not my normal, as I tend more to the warm, but absolutely love this ensemble.  Something about the snow and winter made these beads pop out of my stash and come together.

OWLS!

Aren't owls such incredible birds?  Britannica refers to them as the bird of Athena, the Greek goddess of practical reason.  Makes total sense to me - and I am totally drawn in.  Some owls moved in to our back yard a few years ago, nesting in a very old, mostly dead tree that had lots of internal nooks and crannies and external year-round foliage.  They were white and gray, so I think they were juvenile grays based on the Idaho F&G site.  My husband didn't believe me when I whispered "THERE ARE TWO OWLS ON THE FENCE", but he slowly came to where I was and saw them with his own eyes.  Sometimes that's what it takes... for him to see with his own eyes!! But, back to the owls... it felt like a magical moment to have them in such close proximity and in our garden!  From that day forward, we started hearing their haunting hoots and calls on a regular basis.  So, to have Gaea capture their beauty in her art work and art beads is a wonderful gift.  The eyes draw you in immediately.  This finished piece started with the owl and became what you see.  Something about Gaea's art brings out the best in me too... 

The ceramic bead is also from Gaea.  I felt like the blue star went perfectly as part of the arrangement.  I wire wrapped 4mm fire polish and 11.0 seed beads around the top and bottom and then added some blue translucent drops around the bottom of the pendant.  The top piece is herringbone stitch.  It just felt good as I put the pieces together...

CLOSURE FINISHED -- "ALONG THE SEINE"

As promised in my last post, here's the completed bracelet showing the final closure.  The super duo rounds as the closure have kind of become my added "interpretation" of this design since I can't seem to make one that is long enough to fit me - I tell myself to quit stitching so dang tight, but to no avail... so I end up having to add on. All because of an original design by Eileen, owner of Bead Street.  
 

Here are the completed bracelets, side by side.  The color combinations for this pattern are only limited by the colors of the super duos - isn't the herringbone pattern down the center an eye-catcher?  I also used peanut beads on the outside of the melon red version, instead of 11.0 sb - I think it gives a bit more depth to the outer edge.  This time for the closure I added a darlin copper button.

LENTILLE BRACELET, two versions of the same pattern . . .

MY FALL COLORS adorn this wonderful pattern.  A class at Bead Street taught by Sandy, using an Adele Kimpell pattern, "Lentille Bracelet".  This was my second bracelet - my first is below.  On this version I took it down a slightly different path, using both two hole Czechmate lentils in the shiny bronze, and  a variety of fall colored super duos.  It's yummy if I don't say so myself.  The herringbone tube-like pattern was very fun, and since I had struggled with this stitch on a previous project, I had it down this time!  I used a multi-mix tube of matte 11.0 seed beads in copper/yellow tones and shiny gold (permanent finish) 11.0's down the center for a little pop.

My closure is a leather button with peyote stitched loop.

Here's the FIRST bracelet I made, below.  I wanted to try something slightly different and even though I'm in a fall color mode, I chose cooler colors for this project, starting with the purple metallic (permanent) 11.0's, and the metallic purple/blue mix lentils.  The whole time I was working this bracelet I wasn't sure I liked the combo until near the end.  I wanted to try a different closure, so transitioned from the herringbone to peyote stitch, then used a button and peyote stitched loop.  I must say, I had to tear out this small section over and over and yes, over again, because it wouldn't lay right.  It was a challenge, but in the end... yes, I love this one too.  Isn't the button oh so cute?