BRACELETS GALORE!

A design by Eileen Barker renamed "Along the Seine" River (created during one of her trips to Paris!) and taught by Sandy Taylor at Bead Street.  It uses herringbone stitch down the middle with the 2-hole superduos (I interpersed both matte and polished super duos in the light yellow), 1.5 or 1.8 cubes for the peyote stitch and then finished with 11.0 sb.  It's a great pattern with lots of possibilities, which is another good teaching for me -- I bead tightly and as I continued to stitch this design, it continued to pull in the length... leaving me with a bracelet that was shorter than when I started!  Here's where the creative side of my brain has to kick in.  I haven't finished the bracelet below yet - no longer than normal closure designed as yet... so stay tuned.  However, the next pictures are the same pattern - a little more SPRING (in my step!) for sure.  I do love it when my creativity kicks in...

This is a pattern where it is important that your beads are close to the same size, and all in good shape -- culling them would be a good thing to do -- I was tring to pay attention, but alas, didn't notice and one of mine is slightly mis-shapen so it didn't fit in as well as it should have - if you look real close you will see it in the picture above.

This is the same design as above, just finished with a great closure, adding two rounds of super duos (on both side ends of the bracelet) and 11.0 sbs and a peyote stitched bar!  Aren't the colors fun?!  I think I may have lost the "Seine River" in this version - the center super duos are not as pronounced using two colors, but I love the different feel and look of the same pattern.  And, the added focal point of lucite flowers in the middle - large orange, mid sized bright pink and smaller turquoise, layered, add some add'l fun.  This is gonna be an eye catcher!

I continue to strive to make a leather wrap that goes flawlessly!  This one is getting there...I like the European looking Edelweiss clasp/button.

I think this is my favorite thus far, and it's a single wrap!  The mustard leather is so awesome with the turquoise 6mm Fire Polish and the closure is FANTASTIC -- it's a ceramic bead/button, made by Tracee Dock at The Classic Bead  Tracee is one of my favorite artists for sure!

2-HOLE TRIANGLE AND LENTIL BRACELETS

Here are a couple new pieces I learned at  Bead Street recently, using the two-hole triangles, which are the newest addition to my bead stash.  There are many new patterns being tested right now, and several are still in the testing phase as I mentioned in my last blog - those I won't be able to post for awhile.  But, these two patterns are out of the testing phase.  They use these awesome CzechMate beads, wich are so fun to work with!  The first design is "Cupids Crown", taught by Sue, adapted from a pattern designed by Nicole Starman and it uses 2 different colors of 2-hole  triangles, along with lentils, FP and 11.0 sb.  The class was to make a bracelet, but I thought it would be fun as a necklace... so I intermingled and reversed the colors in the crowns , using the same FP on each as the constant.  As with all these designs, the color combinations are only limited by the colors of the two-hole beads available.

Next, a design by Adele Kimpell perfectly named "Crystal Windows", taught by Sandy Taylor.  This pattern uses 11.0 seed beads, and is embellished with small crystal montees.  It's peyote stitch with RAW and picots for the centerpieces.  I'm trying the same pattern with 8.0 seed beads, and it's looking great so far.  Haven't decided what I'll put in the middle of the RAW--it'll be something other than the montees.

 

Spriral Herringbone in all Fall's Colors!

I think this Fall mix of rustic 8sb is so yummy and versatile.  This tube has been sitting in my stash of 8s and I've used a little of it here and there, but never all in one piece.  I think it's a statement in itself.  As I near the end of this type of project, I ponder how best to finish it so it looks professional.  This necklace gave me some pause, and some more pause, and then some more.  I wanted the end to look as pretty as the beginning and the middle.  So, it sat on my beading table for many many days... sometimes it's a little intimidating, so I move on to something else and let it sit.  But, once it came to me, it became fun. I stitched three loops of about 24 11s, then added a couple jump rings to those loops.  Then I started embellishing from the end of the Herringbone over those beaded loops (circular peyote stitch) and the jump rings to the start of the chain.  I used 8s, 11s and Miyuki drops and then a few 15s interspersed to include a little red in what became a beaded bead and voila... all of the worker beads were hidden!  I am happy with the result, especially since I had no idea how it would turn out :) 

 

I added one of my crystal heart pendants via large jump rings to the necklace so I can take it on and off easily.  Ooh la la.  It's nice. 

 And, here are the earrings from my last post, that make this a nice set!  The bronze metal is a nice warm meshing with the Fall colors of the beads.

PICOT STITCH PROJECT

I am on a pink/peach/orange kick and I found these beautiful fire polish beads on a recent trip to Seattle at Garden of Beadin.  The AB sheen (up close and personal) is really gorgeous.  Unfortunately, Garden of Beadin' is not on-line, so the fact that I didn't buy enough strands to do much more than this necklace is a dang shame...I don't know what the color is exactly, (the price tag didn't include color) but I had not seen it anywhere else.  And the final necklace shown below is not what it started out to be... it was supposed to be layers of picots, but for some reason as I neared the bottom layer, it didn't want to form a nice circle... had a mind of its own, and wanted to lay kind of funny.  So, I pondered it for a day or two and then finally it dawned on me that I could fold it over and just zip it up using peyote - I guess that would be peyote... the zipping part anyway!  I love the way it turned out.  The pinkish AB fire polish on top with the pearls in a light coffee color underneath are really wonderful.  It gives the necklace real dimension.  And, mixed with copper bead caps and a little chain... yummy!  I can also twist it so the pearls and fire polish are both given equal "show".  It's a versatile piece I didn't imagine when I started. 

 

Darlin' flower earrings to match.  I put a little bit of turqoise paint on the edges of the copper flowers just to give it a little extreeee pizazz...

 

My next project, again in the pink/peach/orange family.  This dyed agate (thanks so much Terri for educatin' me on the stone!)  is really gorgeous - the layering of colors really caught my eye.  Again, Garden of Beadin, and I only bought one.  What was I thinking?

 

The necklace is czech glass squares with darker color veins that vary in each square - I spaced with copper 2mm balls and 11 sbs.

 

 And here are the earrings to go with this necklace - drops are really pretty - darker on the outer layer and lighter pink inside.  I had a hard time showing that depth with my camera.  Swarovski crystals with Czech angular drops on copper wire.