SHADES OF TEAL AND TURQUOISE and some other stuff...

As I took the pictures for this post, it's uncanny how I seem to be in a mindset of turqoise and teals with everything!  I know I am drawn to different colors throughout the year, but right now, you'll see what I'm talking about in the posts below.  

I started this necklace with this adorable ceramic house, made by Bo Hulley Ceramics.  I have kept many of her ceramic creations in my stash as she only makes a few at a time, and there's lots of time inbetween the firings of her kiln.  My first thought for an add-on was the czech glass heart.  How perfect is that?  And, yes, my heart is totally in my home.  From there, I wanted some depth so I painted a brass flower to add underneath (Vintaj paints) and then kept on adding, wire wrapping some farfalle beads with daisy spacers, and this gorgeous glass hanging flower bead from Stars Beads.  I cannot remember the artist, but this is a hefty piece of beautiful glass.  I wanted to draw the eye to that glass, so added a Vintaj bead cap and some lentils around the edge for some sparkle. The necklace is check glass, some funky stacking bones and brass chain.  A very whimsical piece of creation!  

Since it proved challenging to take a picture of the beautiful glass flower, I did some unique arranging!! 

Earrings to match

My next creation began with a beautiful Gaea heart, one of her many incredible resin art pendants, encased in copper.  I wire wrapped the southwestern style copper button to the top of her heart and then used czech glass flowers in a beautiful opalesque color with fire polish/chain to finish the necklace.  So pretty and easy to wear.

Next some colorful earrings!!  I wanted to use the 2-hole chevron duo beads, so I experimented using 24 gauge wire adding different types of beads and different colors with the purple pip beads at the bottom.  These came out better than I could have imagined.  They are very light, a great source of color for sure - they go with anything in my closet. 

Next, another incredible heart by Gaea!  This time ceramic with a beautiful dragonfly hovering over the top.  I cannot go wrong when I begin my own creations with one of Gaea's art pieces.  I also used one of her ceramic round beads in a salmony pink color as a connector, with a funky bead cap sitting on top.  The bead cap took me longer than the entire piece to complete!  The beads were small and the pattern involved (designed by Amy Johnson [amyjohnsondesigns.com], but well worth it as it absolutely fits this piece.  I did some wire wrapping, used some large farfalle peanut beads and then czech glass bead caps to get up to the necklace, which is also czech glass - some puff squares, daisies and translucent square towards the back.   

AHHHH... SPRING COLORS!

I think the saying goes "March comes in like a lion"... well, it's going out that way as well.  We had unbelievably fierce winds of up to 70 miles an hour on Sunday night with the temp dropping from a high of 75 to a high of 45 on Monday.  Fierce for sure!  But... besides that... I am so happy to see the beauty of the colors "springing up" around us.  Makes me feel more inspired than I have in awhile.  A good feeling!  Here we go with some beautiful, yummy shades...

I'm starting with Gaea inspired beauties.  This necklace has three Gaea pieces -- the heart eye, the half moon and the lil' pale pink hearts.  The earrings weren't quite done when I took this pic (update coming) but for now, you get a good idea.  6mm fire polish in a yummy deep pink/peach color around the back with two different copper wire choices.  I wired some frosted 8mm glass rounds across the top of the heart eye, with some wired drops inbetween.  The earrings include Czech glass flowers with those adorbs lil hearts!.

Butterflies - I always say "yes please".  I recently learned to make paper beads through a Stars Beads tutorial, and I have fallen in love with that new process.  It is so relaxing and just plain fun.  There are so many papers to behold, from magazines to music sheets to everything inbetween.  I finally have another use for all my scrapbooking papers!  The metal charms are from Gaea, and they go so perfectly with my rolled paper beads (or is it the other way around?)  I made some really bright and colorful bead caps for the necklace and then added some 8mm glass rounds, that look like bird eggs, on the end.  Some blue and yellow peanut beads finished the look.

One last pair of earrings highlighting my new love of paper beads.  Some beautiful paper, czech glass beads, jasper gemstone rondelles, 3 mm czech sparkle in blue, and hematite wire and findings.

CATCH UP PART 3 +

I'm getting closer and closer to the current season of my creations, I promise!  Crazy part is I shouldn't feel that far behind as it was actually snowing here yesterday morning and evening in Boise!  What?  Another wintry creation and then I'll move right on into a few of my most recent.

This ensemble is one of my new winter favs!  It's gorgeful in person.  It was a step out of my creative box as I don't usually gravitate towards cooler colors, silver beads or hematite wire and findings.  But this beautiful tree house bead by Heather at Humblebeads started me down that path, and I am absolutely in love with the result.  The finish on these etched/frosted daggers are unique, and the crystal beads I used have the AP sheen.  I had the milky white rounds in my stash and then used other clear Czech flower beads to finish the necklace.  And, I actually did use copper wire on the earrings (which is my go to wire and preference on most things I make). I like to mix metals when it works for the overall piece. I embellished with small Czech flower bead caps.  I love those!

Next one started with another of my favorite artists, Gaea, who makes these wonderful, beautifully formed clay hearts - which if you know me, you know I love hearts on everything!  I wanted to showcase these without anything distracting, so I looped them with brass jump rings onto some filigree antique brass chain by Vintaj, and let the hearts speak for themselves.  Yummy. 

And, last one for this posting, a new 2021 piece that started with a pewter Inviciti pendant.  I used 1.0 green leather to tie the pendant to an agate round, wired on a beautiful AB Swarovski crystal star, used leather to string a mix of Czech glass beads for the necklace, knotting after every, or after three, beads.  It was a very fun project.  I don't work with leather all that much, and every time I do, I wonder why I don't.  It's a wonderful look, with the hematite chain added for interest.  The earrings also started with Inviciti charms and I added jasper rounds and bead caps to finish the look.   

  

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.

CORK, METAL, WIRE, GLASS!

Some of my latest earring creations.  Each one wonderful based on the materials used.  Thank you Heather Powers for your Bead Table Wednesdays and the unlimited ideas, including using cork.  I ordered some to try it (Beans and Peanuts), and really like how many fun patterns there are - it's easy to use and cut to any shape, and even though my free-style cutting isn't perfect - good enough.  I added czech flower dangles, some fish and wood butterflies as additional dangles, and they are still light. :)

Can't have enough flowers for spring, so here's another, more traditional teardrop shape, with another of my cork patterns.  LOVE this for any shape or size.

Next, some incredible metal charms from Gaea.  These moon faces... what can I say?  Just so perfect.  I added some twisted brass wire, along with some czech flowers and glass rounds.  As these came together, the colors melded so nicely, and I think they are yummy!!

Below, some wire wrapping and stitching combined.  I wire wrapped the triangles, hammered them slightly to strengthen the wire and then brick stitched on the bottom.  I saw something similar on Instagram (#seedbeadjewelry) and decided to try my own version, with small drops on the bottom.  These colors are so summery.  

Vintaj has some wonderful projects on their FB page right now, and I knew I had some of their brass charms in my own stash, so I went searching.  I came up with these wonderful filigree squares and links so I folded in some crystal rivolis, added some swarovski 4mm bicones and rondelles and there you go.  These are real eye catchers in the light!  All these fun new ideas... I'm loving all the shared creativity going on right now due to the pandemic.  

And, last but certainly not least.  Oh my... again, it's springtime, and flowers and leaves are perfect with wire.  I used a prepared brass wire base, and started wrapping.  I redid these a couple of times to get them just so.  My wire wrapping skills vary, depending on how long it's been since I last did some, and the Czech glass gets a little heavy, so I have to be careful not to add too much.  This is about as heavy as my earlobes can take -- but, a small splash of garden color. 

A BUNNY, SOME OWLS and A HEART!

A spirited, unique clay pendant from Nicole St Laurent (Ravens Meadow), a beautiful enameled light purple heart and charms from Gaea and some gorgeous complimenting gemstones make for a unique Easter and all-year-round piece.  I started daydreaming about how this whole piece would come together a few months before I actually sat down to get 'er done!  I do that... I like to look at a piece, and let my mind wander about the possibilities, and hopefully sooner rather than later...(but sometimes it's years later!!) it tells me where I'm going.  For this necklace, I  began by wire wrapping around the top wire of the pendant using a deep purple 20 gauge wire, just to soften the edges.  I kept shifting the heart to see where it would best fit, and it felt perfect where I wired it in place.  I added some turquoise, amethyst and jasper, and 8 sb for the necklace portion - I also wire wrapped a couple of links to soften the connection of the necklace to the piece.

The time of day makes such a difference in the lighting for pics.  The view below shows truer coloration.

Next, every necklace needs a cute set of earrings, right?  For this pair, I started with Gaea's gorgeous enameled metal charms, using purple wire to make the connector, and going up from there with turquoise and jasper rondelles.  Light turquoise czech glass flowers and my copper ear wires topped them off.  Is this a fun statement combo piece or what?   

STAYING AT HOME THEME!

I'm creating all over the spectrum right now - totally distracted at every glance - but here are a couple of my newest creations.  I think many of my blogs will be a bit disjointed right now and into the near future, as we all strive to find our own way.  That old life doesn't look like it will return, and really, it's probably time for a whole new outlook on life anyway.  Lot's of good things happening amid all the chaos of this pandemic.  Beading -- even though sometimes distracted -- has saved me on many a day.  I am grateful for so many many things, including this wonderful craft of beading.


Here are some earrings I made to go with the necklace, also shown below.  I wire shaped the hearts - slightly hammered them to help harden the wire, then wire wrapped around the hearts w/3mm melons, czech glass leaves and 2-hole piggy beads with a 3mm fire polish in the middle.    

Here's my necklace to match the earrings, which was inspired by one of Heather Powers' Bead Table Wednesday.  I already had the adorable heart vine house in my stash, so the project started out perfectly for me.  Heather's theme had a "staying at home" message, so her little houses fit the bill.  I've mentioned before that Heather generously provides project-making Bead Table Wednesdays - showing new ideas to get our creative juices flowing. If you haven't watched one of her videos, you're missing an opportunity!   So, this is my version of one of those recent Bead Tables.  I love her idea of the wire wrapped, hammered connectors and using 2-hole piggy beads on the connectors.  I added some different dangles (peanut beads, czech glass and a little metal bird) plus a tree charm I painted with Vintaj paints.  Truly, just so many endless ideas...Thanks so much to Heather for always providing wonderful ideas to get my brain flowing...

REMINDER OF FALL AND ON TO SPRING!

 I finished this beautiful color combination of a set last fall, and then of course time sped up and I never did get it posted.  The colors are so perfectly fall -- "falling" -- the beautiful heart pendant is unusual with the leaves carved and sitting atop, and the adorable charms -- well, what's better than pumpkins and leaves, since my favorite season is fall!  Pendant and charms are from Dana George, New Moon Design.  I simply added some beautiful sari silk ribbon from LaShell for the necklace and did a bit of wire wrapping, added some czech glass leaves and rondelles, cube turquoise and swarovski bicones for the earrings and away I went...   

Some earrings below I just completed from a Fusion Beads inspiration.  The colors of these Czech pearls and round crystals are so incredible together.  I embellished the pattern (of course!) and added some chain, Czech leaf caps and swarovski crystal in this incredible AB peach color.  Oh my gosh... colors like this make me sing and smile... :)

COLORFUL DAY OF THE DEAD!

My blog postings seem to continue on a sporadic schedule.  I just haven't felt like there's been enough time for beading, let alone posting... I'll just have to keep plugging along and do the best I can to keep sane!!  :)  A few projects of late, reflecting the yummy colors of this season.

This fantastic Day of the Dead (and so much more) pendant from Gaea is so wonderful.  Hard not to make this an eye catcher statement piece.  It can absolutely stand alone, with some added chain, but I decided to string some agate rounds in varying degrees of color with a czech glass flower on one side.  Simple, yet colorful.  I also added some little howlite skull charms below the Gaea off-white large ceramic bead and capped that bead w/copper caps... can't have enough skulls at this time of year, right?  And, these fibers just add so much to help pop and soften.  Thank you Lashell!

The skeleton charms on the earrings below are also Gaea.  Aren't her designs just so fantastic and whimsical?  I wire wrapped around some copper chain pieces and included 8.0 seed beads, czech glass flowers, flower caps and o rings. And, some fibers.  Adorbs!

Some more darlin fall wire wrapped skeletons.  Gaea charms and my wire wrapping of czech leaves, 11.0 seed beads, some turquoise and a crystal rondelle in the center bottom.

And a couple of macrame bracelets.  These are so fun to make, to personalize, and I can add any kind of middle charm or connector to a multitude of macrame color combos.