Daffodil bracelet

When I looked at the date that I had begun this bracelet, I was horrified to see that it was waaaaay back in March.  Really?  Surely not!  How on earth could this have been sitting on my desk for the last few months, untouched and unfinished?  


I'll tell you how...


I procrastinate!  In fact, I procrastinate so much that I have procrastination down to a fine art!


But anyway, I digress.  I'm good at that too.


So here *finally* is my completed Daffodil bracelet.  

It's not everything that I had hoped for.  My creative vision didn't manifest into the beautiful bracelet I had envisaged... 

My stitching looks a little wonky in places, mostly due to the memory wire I used as a base for the bracelet.  It was not the best choice of armature...it is so darn springy that it holds its shape which in turn scrunches up my beadwork (but can I plead ignorance because it was my first time using memory wire?!)

But you know what...it doesn't have to be perfect.  It is only a first prototype.


I realise that creativity is a process, and that it may take me many prototypes to perfect a design and create something that I am really happy with.  


And although this design turned out to be a dud, I'm very happy with the daffodil itself.  So Daffodil Mk. II is already underway in a lighter, softer colourway (see here for a sneak peek).  And Daffodil Mk. II will not be a bracelet, but a necklace.


And this time I'm skipping the memory wire.


Thanks for looking, and be well!

Song of the Seasons

Unfortunately I have a house full of sick children, so I was unable to participate in this week's 'My Creative Space' over at Kirsty's blog.  Rest assured I am working on many new pieces (when I'm not busy wiping runny noses or giving cuddles or watching Mickey Mouse reruns over and over and over....).  There will be lots to see soon, promise!

But this is what I can show you.  Last Thursday's 'My Creative Space' was a peek at a custom order for a freeform bracelet in shades of white, emerald, aquamarine and sapphire.  Well, she is finished...and I have named her 'Song of the Seasons'.

The colours each represent a birthstone colour...aquamarine for March, emerald for May, pearl for June, and sapphire for September...

It was such a joy to create this bracelet, the freeform flowed so easily.  


For one who was once afraid of freeform, I am now an official convert thanks to Beverly Ash Gilbert and her inspiring book 'Beaded Colorways'.  The book was a starting point for me to wander off on my own path of discovery, to develop my own style of freeform beadweaving and colour transitions.


Thanks for looking, and be well!

From Bead Soup to Bracelet

I'm constantly amazed by the versatility of beads.  They can be manipulated into any look that your mind can devise and your hands can create.  They can be uniform, or they can be organic...they can be precise, or they can be natural.

I find the natural, organic look of freeform beadweaving so appealing, but it is not something which comes naturally to me.  In fact, it makes me feel rather uneasy.  My brain seems to skip the 'free' and instead focus on the 'form'.  How can something that looks so natural, feel so UNnatural?

Having recently acquired the informative, inspiring and visually stunning 'Beaded Colorways' by Beverly Ash Gilbert, I set off on a journey of free-spirited discovery.  I enjoy pushing my creative buttons whenever possible, and this exercise pushed them unmercilessly!  My orderly brain fought the randomness every step of the way, but I got there in the end.  

I began with a pile of warm, earthy bead soup:

And ended up with a bracelet...'Whisper of Autumn':

Hmmm...

Thanks for looking, and be well!

Forget-Me-Not bracelet

Ok, now that I've gotten the crud out of the way, we can get to the good stuff.

Forget-Me-Not was my first real attempt at creating a piece using seed beads...and my very first original design! And just quietly, I'm still rather chuffed with this little number which I whipped up over a couple of late nights with next-to-no experience under my belt *wink* Hell, I had NO idea what I was making until it was made! That seems to be a common theme in my work these days...hmmmm...

It evolved from a $2 packet of lime and teal (ok, blue and green) el-cheapo seed and bugle beads. I was up late one night and wanted to 'play' so I began to ladder stitch some of the bugles together (not even knowing what ladder stitch was at that point), and thought, "Hmmm, this would make a nice bracelet"...so I made a strip long enough to fit around my wrist. The fringing came next, differing lengths with a teal (ok, BLUE!) picot on every tip. I made a peyote circle for one half of the toggle, and used an el-cheapo plastic flower bead for the other half. The bracelet was complete but looked rather dull, so I decided some blue daisies would brighten it up and add the right amount of 'cute'. And voila, my first ever seed bead design was born!

My inspiration was a challenge which was titled "Bead Me A Garden" on the Beading Forum (my regular online haunt and a fabulous place for like-minded beady people...see link thatta way ------------>). God knows why I thought my little bracelet was worthy of a challenge (I must have still been on a high from designing and creating my first seedy piece...or I was just delusional from lack of sleep - a newborn baby will do that to you).

So imagine my surprise when I discovered that I actually received votes!!! FOUR WHOLE VOTES!!! Complete and utter strangers actually LIKED my bracelet!!!

That was all the encouragement I needed. With my head full of ideas, my heart full of pride and my ego full of beads, I haven't looked back since. It was the beginning of a love affair...

Oh yeah, here are the pics:






Tried some fancy photography here...a half-burnt piece of firewood never looked so good...