CHAINON Addiction and some added bling!

Hi, my name is Janet and I'm an Eileen Barker "Chainon" pattern addict! HA HA! True story!  It's an awfully fun stitch!  Here's another of my latest versions and really, my camera just doesn't seem to be picking up the beautiful beads to show how awesome the shades are together, but I guess this will have to do.  I added 8.0 sb in between the super duos for a slight alteration of the pattern, and added a 6mm bead inside the center bump to provide a little more stability for long-term wear.  The earrings were kind of an afterthought, but aren't they pretty with the bracelet?

DARLIN' EAR CANDY!

I've been working on some new designs - yeah!  Some I can share right now and some I can't, so stay tuned... it's all about the timing don't ya know...and who might be getting what when... ha ha!  Mostly, I've been appreciating and enjoying getting back to some regular beading sessions with my friends!  We had all taken a break through the Hollydaze, and then bad weather and roads continued to make things difficult.  However, of late, we have been getting in a few group bead sessions, and that makes me so happy, and helps my artistic juices flow.  It's always fun to see how differently we all see the same pattern, and then the choices of colors, etc. we all make.  Thank you to my "bead-line" ("life-line") of friends!! :)   

So, back to some of what I've been making -- some darlin' earrings, most of these shown are my JDreams design.  The first pair below is my design... I think they're so spring-like! and I was able to get a pic outside while the sun was shining.
 

 

The pair below also my JDreams design - for someone very special.  Don't they go beautifully with the scarf underneath?
 

And below a creation for a friend who prefers posts instead of loop earrings, plus anything silver.  I try hard to keep posts in stock, so I'm not madly searching at the last minute.  I was happy I had these available.

And last, but not least, some fun copper wire wrapped, purple 3-shade dangles - the bead weaving design is from Deb Roberti (color variation from a previous post), and the overall design, with wire wrapping, mine.  C U T E and really light! 

Stay tuned... more to come...

DRAGONFLY DESIGN

If you love fall colors, you'll love the combo I chose for this "Dragonfly" pattern taught by Sandy Taylor @ Bead Street designed by Eridhan Creations.  You've heard it before, but I LOVE THIS ONE! The colors speak to me L O U D L Y (imagine!) with oranges, rusts, metallic, purples and greens.  This is a time consuming project, but well worth it.  By the time I finished it I don't think I could have passed through any of the beads one more time -- they were FULL of 6 wt fireline!  I also bought one of the new fold over magnet clasps from Eileen and really LOVE it.  It attaches easily and seems to really hold.  I don't normally like magnets, as I've lost several anklets going through magnetized doors, but this is protected by the outer shell.

HOT DAYS OF BEADIN' STRINGIN' & WIRE WRAPPIN'

Hot days of summer is an understatement... it's been unseasonably hot everywhere in the West, but here in Boise, ID, the week before the FOURTH we were into triple digit heat - 110 was our high one of the days and it hovered around that for several more.  The FOURTH cooled down slightly, which was VERY WELCOME - it was about 92, which was more livable.  This hot zaps my energy - so, of course I retreat to my beading table.  Unfortunately, under my lights, it even gets warm there, so my wonderful hubby lent me his small table-top Coleman fan from his camping stash... it is very wonderful for such a small contraption with only two blades, and it does the job!  So, here's what I've been working on since my last post, with my little fan a turnin as fast as it will go -- a little stringing, a little wire wrapping, a little painting to embellish the metal on the ring petals, and AGAIN, some stringing.  

 

 I used a pattern learned at Bead Street a couple years ago as my inspiration, but modified my version to only one round of 11s around each large 8mm crystal instead of two rounds of 11s around 3 mm. I love this pattern and love the pop of the red crystals with the two hues of blue and gold 11s.  I made the toggle clasp to match with even count peyote.

 

 

 

 Isn't this little ring a cutie?  Lucite rose with czech glass petals, 8's and then a metal flower, painted in several different hues to get to just the right match.







And yet another little ring.  Peyote stitch using 11s with flower and side hinge embellishments with 15s picot.   I started the ensemble with, yes, the ring, based on a pattern for a bracelet I saw at Fusion Beads on their Inspiration page.  I did my own thing from there.

 Necklace to match ring.  This is really so adorable with a dainty St. Petersburg stitched necklace.  The purple, green, yellow and a really bright orange center 3mm really pop for a summer combo.  I used 11s for the basic square, but stitched the flower in 8s so it would pop out.

 

                                                                                      The fringe dangles show better in this shot!

 

 Yet another pattern just learned at Bead Street, using a free online pattern by Deborah Roberti.  Thanks Sandy Taylor for "learnin" us.  You are a wonderful teacher, fellow beader and friend!  It was a wonderful afternoon.  This is not the bracelet I made that afternoon.  I didn't like my colors or my design, so went home and cut that one up and started over.  Love these daisy czech glass two-holes I have in my stash.  Wish I could remember where the heck I bought these.  Plus two-hole lentels, 11s in two colors, yellow and gold....

SUMMER PINWHEEL EARRINGS

Earrings, earrings, earrings.  You can never have too many, right?  I found a fun pattern at Fusion Beads, and have kind of fallen for this style.  They look like pinwheels don't they?  And, you can use so many different beads with the Super Duos.  The purple combo below was my first(!) and the second two followed with slight deviation. Colors are all varied so can be worn with lots of different clothing combos. 



Love the color combination of purples on this one.  Transparent purple Super Duos in center and four different color 8 sbs on outer edge.  I didn't add any chain to this first version, so they fit closer to the ear.  My handmade copper earring wires finish these off.  I hope you love these, Tara!  ♥ 

 

Multi colored center - transparent Super Duos (purple, blue, pink) with 3mm AB swarovski crystals around outer edge and with 4mm as dangle.  I changed the pattern up slightly by adding the center flower bead to each, and in this version I also used a Super Duo, instead of 15 sbs for the attachment to the chain, for a slightly longer version.



These are very fun on.  The center is transparent yellow, and the Super Duos are the pinkish color.  The bright pink/peach colors are so big this year and this earring, with the yellows, turquoise, orange, purple size 8 sbs, are versatile...I added the chain and drops after to give them a little more length and low key bling.

SPRING MOTIVATION!

I finished my latest project -- the necklace to match the earrings at the end of my last blog entry.  It's my version of Maria Teresa Moran's pattern for a bracelet, which I modified to make into a necklace.  Turned out, well..., gorgeous!  It drapes nicely on the neck.  Many hours of bugling, so to speak, ha ha, but nice effect.  And, I don't usually like repetition, but this pattern was a lot of fun so it kept my interest.

A large crystal centerpiece, with twisted bugle beads around the focal, 6 mm bicone crystal and 8 sb and 15 sb inside the bugles.  Smaller triangles thereafter with two different bugle beads, matte and shiny, with 11 sb, 15 sb and 4mm bicones.

Necklace and earrings.  Nice combo.

 

This necklace was a fun change from the stitching and repetition of the last piece and the colors make me happy!  Fun tagua nut rounds and a new chain maille pattern - thanks, Sandy, at Bead Street!  It's a Byzantine pattern.  I hadn't done that before and of course the options are endless.  Everyone else made a bracelet with a bead wired in the center or a few interspersed inbetween the chain maille, but I did my own thing... imagine!  Next will be a bracelet... hmmmmm... not sure exactly what I'll do, but it'll include these colors OF COURSE!