SNOWMEN AND DUELING BRACELETS

First, some snowmen to add some smiles to this stressful time of year.  These can't help but make you grin!  Their scarves keep them warm too, don't ya know!  :)

 

 

Next, a fab, albeit very time consuming, bracelet design by Marcia Balonis named "Whistle Stop", taught by Sandy Taylor @ Bead Street.  It's a gorgeous pattern, and well worth every moment I spent beading away...  I wanted a mixed metal look, so used matt silver lentils on top/gold sb and copper/orange/redish fire polish w/reddish/brown bricks.  I don't know the exact color names of what I used, so don't you love how precise my descriptions are? Ha. This bracelet feels really nice on the wrist too - it's one of those that feels great next to the skin and it moves with you.

 

 

This is a Vezsuzsi design named Leo Bangle, also taught by Sandy Taylor at Bead Street.  I'm having a devil of a time getting a decent pic of this bracelet.  It doesn't matter if its taken inside or outside.  It wants to show more pink tones, but it's really a true beautiful red--disappointing.  It drapes beautifully around the wrist because it is designed to be a bangle, but I made it a clasp instead.  I like to be able to size it closer to my wrist size and bangles don't work so well for that.

PRECIOUS METALS

A new special order project just completed for a special customer! Thanks, Bri! She requested mixed metals as a gift for her mom's birthday, and in the beginning I was a little stumped, but am so happy with the way these pieces turned out. I just kept redoing what I didn't like, and it all came together in the end. And my best critic, my hubby, gave this set a glowing thumbs up.

Necklace bracelet and earrings all together.  Lots of different metal pieces combined for a rich look. The necklace was seed beads and fire polish, with bronze chain intertwined throughout.

I started with the earrings because I found this wonderful design by Liz Stahl Ijust had to try.  These are a nice size and drape.  And, YES, I personally test all my creations by hanging them on moi first!  They looked loverly on...

 

I wire wrapped the center gold round to a larger vintaj hammered copper round and then surrounded with a bronze vintaj round, adding some dangles of fire polish and a bright copper key. 

A better view of the bracelet, which started with the large copper center piece and grew out from there.

 

A bracelet of lace.  Beautiful pattern learned at BeadStreet.  Thanks, Eileen.  Love this pattern, which was originally designed by Eva Marie Keizer, and then the pattern was altered slightly by Eileen to include only one row of the super duo pattern and an outer edge of scallop embellishment.  I bead rather tightly, so the scallop really meanders.  Fun!