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. 

TILES, TILAS AND SUPER DUOS

I just finished a second bracelet using one of the designs in my last post (Deborah Roberti free pattern taught by Sandy Taylor) but with different beads.  In this version I used tilas, tiles, superduos and two hole lentels.  This is a really versatile pattern and this combo of colors turned out great.  Plus, it is a comfortable design to wear - BONUS!  I interspersed tiles to beef it up just a bit, along with the tilas and super duos.

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....

RUSSIAN LACE CONTINUED...

Russian Lace is one of those stitches I can do while traveling - in a car or on a plane, as long as it's straight and not bumpy!  A little limiting, I know... but I love it so, I have to try to use my time when I can get it.  My hubby and I were en route (he was driving!) to Seattle a few weeks ago to see our son, daughter-in-law and darling red headed grandson (they were preparing to move to MT) and I started this project.  I finished putting it all together once I got home, but this one was soo fun -- I started with no particular design in mind--just colors that I liked and alot of road ahead of us.  I used 6 sbs, 11 sbs and bugle beads for the necklace.  Orange/peach and dark copper. And for the pendant, I just started and kept on adding.  I started with bright green peanut beads and built from there (see the back view below).  It created a nice pocket for the crystal rivoli in the center.

I really like the lighting in the above two shots ...the colors pop and are very close to the actual finish -- The back of the pendant is shown in the next couple of shots below - the funky greeen farfalle (peanut beads) started me off... and I added from there w/lots of different colors.  I took add'l front view shots (also below), which give a little different perspective, a little more eye on the stitch and less on lighting and posturing of the piece. 

 

I've never tried tubular twisted herringbone and my first attempt is below.  I'm now declaring this my official new favorite.  The twist is sooo cool.  I used 8 sbs in four shades of turquoise/blue and then every so often inserted three rows of a moss green. 

 

I strung one of my crystal hearts on the herringbone twist... it pulls in all the colors in the necklace.

A fun birthday project for a friend... Hope you love it Julie!  Tagua nut round, Czech bird bead w/gold outline, lucite flowers, turquoise drop and my fav... copper wire.  I had given her earrings with the green bird bead two years ago... this is an addition to her JDreams collection!