TALKIN' BOUT SOME SPARKLES!

Some January bling to help keep the mood light and sparkling.  An adorable set for the neck and ears - the star is a pattern I purchased from Deborah Roberti, who does such a great job with providing good, easy to follow patterns. And, then I added some snowflakes -- Y E S please, from a Fusion Beads inspiration pattern. I used little star studs for first pair and made ear wires for the rest. 

No difficult pattern below...just some fun, "bring a smile to your face" kind of projects.  Some metal angels I spotted in a craft store, and thought hmmmmm ..., what can I do with those?  So I buffed 'em, painted 'em, sparkled 'em up and added some swarovski crystals and bells.  A very fun and light project, and I ended up doing many different color combos, some of which weren't photographed, as they were headed out the door.

and, some more snowflakes... 

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?

FALL LEAF REMAKE

I love it when a piece of mine speaks to you, enough so that you want one of your very own!  That's what happened with my Falling Leaves Ensemble posted on September 27.  Here's a slightly altered version of the necklace and earrings made by special request.  Just enough of a change - different pendant hanging from the newly beaded necklace, with some wire wrapping and Swarovski dangles, along with new shorter version of leaf matching earrings.

Showcasing an Agate

A lovely piece made with lots of birthday love for my work-sistah and dear friend Kriss - who I have mentioned in the past as one of my most avid supporters.  She both purchases my pieces and then markets them, simply by putting them on.  Thanks, Kriss.  Here's the first of her birthday gift set.  She actually purchased some beads on a trip to Seattle, and because I asked her to go into a shop (yes, a bead shop!) for me in Bothell, she came home with some loverlies in a sack and said something like, "when you get time . . .  no pressure, but maybe at some point. . . " I've been looking at this pendant and her little sack for several months now and then I decided for her birthday, I just needed to get 'er done!!!  She bought the piece of Agate, and it was already a good sized piece - so, I made it larger(!) by embellishing it with transparent purple and turquoise peanuts (Kriss's sack), 11.0 seed beads and added swarovski crystals,  also in a combination of purple and turquoise.  I used 2-hole czech tiles (Kriss's sack), interspersed with 11.0 seed beads, for the necklace.



A view of the three pieces - the earrings are so cute - a peanut beaded bead, using transparent peanuts (Kriss's sack!) and my stash of drops in two sizes with swarovski crystals for added pop.

 

MORE CRYSTAL/FP EARRINGS, AND A CUTE SET!

Don't these colors make a beautiful combination?  Oh, LOVE these.  I started adding a little more embellishment with 15's and an 11 around the edges.  I like the finished look of it all.  Plus on this version, I used hex 11's.  The hex beads don't always lay the way I want them to, but on this pair, they did.  Unfortunately, I had to rip out one pair because I didn't like the look!  

 

 

                     And purple... oh, love the different shades on this pair...so purteeeee!

And this combo... well... you can tell, I like THEM ALL!  How many earrings can one person wear at a time? Hmmmmmm,  well, I can change them hourly, how's that?  ☺☺ Or, maybe some people will receive little pkgs in the mail... 

Now, let's review...

 

Oh, yes and I must squeeze in this darlin pic of my grandsons as a quick diversion.  They are just such a joy to me and grandpa!  :)  They are full of life and light and all things sweet and wonderful.  And grandpa Noah and I love them sooooo much.  Okay, now back to beading... :)

 

A lovely set for a special friend of mine's birthday.  The Mother of Pearl is really one of my favorites and it really worked with these copper colored fire polish, plus I had this darling little concave shaped stone heart to add on.  Me n' hearts ♥♠♥

 

 

 Here's the bracelet to match - started with a pattern learned at Bead Street awhile ago, and then embellished with 15's, 11's and 3 mm FP.  Plus the button is ta copper Tree of Life.  Love this bracelet.  It almost didn't make it in the birthday box!  :)

 

 

 

Weightless Colorful Earrings!

CRYSTAL AND FIRE POLISH EARRING DESIGN

A new earring adapted from a Deborah Roberti design.  These are so light -- no earlobe drag!   Plus, the color combinations are endless.  I used AB fire polish and swarovski crystals, with an 8, 11's and 15's.  My daughter-in-law, Lindsey, was so excited at the weightlessness of these after trying them, that she "forced" me to sell them to her.  :)  It normally takes me awhile to let go of my latest creation... (yes, I'm nutty!) and I had just finished making these!  I hope you think of me every time you wear these, Lindsey! xo



AB orange tones FP with clear AB crystals

Purples/blues/greens.  These pics give a nice view of how the colors can change in different lighting.  And, this purple multi tone hue FP is so versatile.  My best customer Kriss bought these to match the necklace she had her eye on the minute she saw it -- Russian Lace from a previous post back in May.  The green and purple look great together, and I didn't even make them to go together.  Guess I like that color combo... imagine...

 

This is a slightly adjusted version - I used 4 mm rounds instead of 4mm crystals and also a 4mm round in the center instead of an 8, plus added some 15's around the center round to give a little depth.
 

My beautiful daughters-in-law and their adorable boys (major hunks as their shirts indicate!), our grandsons.  We had a family visit last week and it was so wonderful to all be together. 

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!