Sea Star Necklace & Earrings

As I mentioned in my previous post, my Sea Star Necklace and Earrings set is on its way to its new owner in Papua New Guinea (how cool is that!)


Here's the necklace:

And the earrings to match:

When time permits, I will be making this set in different colourways.  Any suggestions?


Thanks for looking, and be well!

My creative space...

Wow, Thursday again...already?!


Last Thursday's creative space necklace and earrings set is finished and winging its way to its new owner as we speak.  But more of that in another post. 


Time to peek inside my studio to see what I'm working on today...


This custom order began with bead soups I mixed together in shades of white, emerald, aquamarine and sapphire (to represent the birthstone colours for the months of March, May, June and September...a sweet sentiment, don't you think!)...

The aforementioned bead soups are being woven into a beautiful freeform bracelet:

I love these colours...so serene, tranquil...

To see what other artisans are creating today, head on over to Kirsty's blog.


Thanks for looking, and be well!

The 6th Photo

My good friend, Nicole, invited me to participate in a fun little game called 'The 6th Photo'.

I have to show the 6th photo that I ever posted here on my blog, and critique it...what would I do differently, how could I improve it, etc, etc.

*gulp*

Here goes:

Eek, it's my first EVER attempt at bead embroidery!  Little did I know, that this piece was the catalyst for an enduring love affair with the technique.  I created this piece, 'Phoenician Scarab', for a 'Phoenician' challenge on the Beading Forum.


What would I do differently if I had my time again with this piece?  I would use better quality seed beads!  I have rarely worn this necklace, but the cheap silver-lined gold seed beads are looking rather ugly now.  The silver lining is turning black!  Lesson learnt, and now I only use the best quality Czech and Japanese seed beads ;-)  Aside from the cheap seed beads, I'm still rather happy with the design.  It's bright and bold...just my style!


Thanks for the trip down memory lane, Nicole!  Feel free to play along and critique your own sixth blog photo...make sure you leave a comment so I can come and take a look!


Thanks for looking, and be well!

My creative space...

It's that time of the week again... 


Thursday means it's time to take a peek inside my bead studio to see what I'm working on.


This Sea Star necklace and earrings set is one of my latest custom orders:

I wear a pair of these earrings all the time, and they always draw compliments.  Everyone loves a starfish!


Head on over to Kirsty's blog to see what other artisans are creating today.

A Dream of Fair Women

All has been quiet on the blog-front lately, but I have been beading like a madwoman behind the scenes.  My latest couple of projects have been secret squirrel business, so I haven't been able to show them...until now!


The latest challenge on the Beading Forum was to create a bracelet to swap with a randomly assigned partner...and the theme was 'Inspired by Art'.


I ached and agonised over which artwork to draw my inspiration from, but in the end I settled on 'A Dream of Fair Women' by Emma Florence Harrison.  The Art Nouveau movement has always been a favourite of mine and an endless source of inspiration.


The vibrancy of the red poppies really stood out to me, so I decided to make them the focus of my 'Poppy Bracelet':

To offset the flatness of the herringbone bracelet band, I created three dimensional poppies and leaves.  The flower stalks move too!

My swap partner is the lovely and very talented Lyn of Beads on the Run.  I hope she likes her bracelet, it's a little more subtle than my usual bold style but I tried to make something I thought she would wear.  Not everyone has such outrageous taste as I do ;-) hehe  


I can't wait to see what Lyn has created for me.  Her work is always beautiful and perfectly crafted.  I will post pictures when her bracelet arrives.  And in the meantime, you can find me hiding in the bushes stalking my postman...


Thanks for looking and be well!

I've been interviewed!

Imagine my delight to receive an email a few weeks ago, asking me to participate in an interview for the wonderful Beads Perles blog.  I nearly fell off my chair!


When I read the list of artists who had been interviewed previously, I was even more excited to be invited.  So many artists whom I admire, whom I look up to...it is humbling to be amongst such good company.


You can read my interview here!

Happy Easter!

Image courtesy of The Graphics Fairy

This morning I got my Bunny on.  


I was up at the crack of dawn, hiding Easter eggs in the garden for our two year old daughter to find.  


The Little Egg Hunter had fun finding them...she scurried across the grass in her bare feet, bucket in hand, while Mummy Bunny watched and reminisced about childhood egg hunts.


For me, Easter is all about creating a little bit of magic for the kids, while they are still young enough to believe in a mythical bunny who deposits chocolate eggs in the garden.


So it's chocolate for breakfast here!


*nom nom*


Lots of empty wrappers, bloated tummies, and chocolatey grins...

I hope the Easter Bunny has been good to you...Happy Easter to all!