The 'Idylle' Necklace in Olive

The relief I feel, when a large project is completed, is immense!  

Relief that an unfinished project is no longer hanging around on my desk (in its proper place, mind you)...

Relief that I can now move on to the next exciting project without getting a case of the 'UFO guilts' (that is, feeling guilty for the number of UnFinished Objects lying around on said desk)...

So whilst sitting back and enjoying this lovely feeling of relief, I can finally show you photos of my completed 'Idylle' necklace in an olive colourway.  You may recall seeing me working on it here and here.  (And you can find the original 'Idylle' necklace in the lilac colourway here.)

'Idylle' 

(French for 'romance')

I used the most delicious matte metallic rainbow turquoise/light green delicas for the main body of the necklace.  Depending on the light, they exhibit shades of olive and denim and yellow...and they perfectly compliment the gorgeous light green Swarovski crystal pearls...

For this variation of the Idylle necklace, I used flat spiral stitch ropes rather than St Petersburg chain as in the original version.  Beautiful 3mm cream Swarovski pearls are sprinkled throughout the ropes, and I have finished the necklace with my unique floral toggle clasp...

As always, I have made the reverse side of the necklace as pretty as the front...

Thanks for looking, and be well!

My creative space...

If you have ever read...

...you will know that everything has it's proper place!


At any given moment, I have an average of four to five different projects on the go, so it's essential that each project has its proper place.  


Here's my solution...each project has its own handy little container which holds all of the beads, metals and materials, together with the work-in-progress...

I get bored easily so it's nice be able to flit back and forth between projects...

My new daffodil project has been coming along nicely, although it has been pushed aside for now while I wait on some supplies to arrive...


So today I have been working on the olive variation of my Idylle necklace.  It's coming along nicely...

I love the negative space created between the beaded components...

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


Thanks for looking, and be well!

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!

My creative space...

Thursday comes around so quickly!


Time to take a peek at what is going on in my creative space today...


I'm working on a variation of my Idylle necklace in shades of olive and cream...

Unlike my first effort which utilised glass beads in a gorgeous shade of lilac, this variation is being created with luscious Swarovski crystal pearls in light green.  

The double St Petersberg chain (which I am yet to make!) will feature tiny 3mm Swarovski crystal pearls in cream.  


This is my first time using Swarovski crystal pearls and I am so impressed with the quality, they have a really nice weight to them.  And they look ultra-luxxe!


Pop on over to Kirsty's blog to see what other goodies are being created today.


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.

Solaris necklace...and another starfish

My latest custom orders have been shipped off to their new owners, and I'm still waiting with baited breath to find out whether they are happy with them.  The suspense is killing me!  I need to know that they love what I have created for them.  I need to know that I have read their minds correctly and have brought their vision to beaded fruition.


So whilst I'm waiting impatiently, I will show them here and ask what you think.


The client wanted a necklace to wear to the office.  She liked my 'Angelus' necklace but didn't want the large angel-like pendant hanging from the centre, and she wanted it in beige tones, not silver.  The result is a VERY simple necklace...so simple, in fact, that I had to ask my husband to tie my hands behind my back so I wouldn't embellish it anymore.  


Less is more, less is more, less is more...  


The Czech fire-polished beads in copper lustre add a little sparkle without being too over-the-top.  The finished necklace reminded me of rays of sunlight (ok, so you might need to squint your eyes...and use your imagination a little...), and so I have named her 'Solaris':

A sweet little seven year old is the recipient of the following necklace.  She loves the ocean and all its creatures, and turquoise is her favourite colour (well it is this week, but she reserves the right to change her mind...she is seven, after all).  So a starfish was in order.  But this starfish is different to my other starfish...because it has a backside!  It hangs from a looooong tubular herringbone rope so that the little darling can slip the necklace straight over her pretty head.  What seven year old wants to be fiddling with a clasp!  

I am still planning on offering a free tutorial for my starfish, particularly now that I have my swanky new 21.5 inch iMac complete with Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and the works.  So I will try to squeeze it in somewhere between designing my website, fulfilling custom orders, creating new designs, entering competitions, looking after my two babies, loving my husband, cleaning the house, brushing my teeth... 


Did I mention that I've given up sleep?


Be well!

Alexandra

The weekly challenge on the Beading Forum this week is 'Czarina'. Naturally, I had to enter! The word immediately conjured images of Russian royalty, decked out in glorious gold and regal purple.

Here is my interpretation...I have named her 'Alexandra', after the last Tsaritsa of Russia:

The curved components are created with herringbone and peyote stitch, and they are strung between glass pearls and glass teardrops:

I have always been a fan of wire wrapping, but have never ventured into that arena myself...until now! I am determined that 2010 is the year to learn, so I dug out my copy of Rachel Nelson-Smith's 'Seed Bead Fusion' (great book, cool chick) and made my first wire wrapped clasp using her easy-to-follow instructions. And here is the result:

The clasp is made with 20 gauge wire and wrapped with 32 gauge wire. I even made all of my own jumprings! (Funny how you start seeing everything as a possible mandrel when you begin wireworking... LOL) Here is a closer look (don't laugh, it was my first attempt at wire wrapping!):

Thanks for looking, and be well!

Sea Star necklace

When I first began beading (exactly two years ago!), I promised a good friend of mine that if I ever became any good at it, I would make her something. Two years is long enough, don't you think? I think I'm finally ready :)

She loves turquoise and she loves the sea, so I set about reinventing and revamping a starfish design from my Garland of Galatea necklace using delicas and size 15 seed beads.

Here is my offering to her, a Sea Star necklace in turquoise and copper (which, by the way, is my latest colourway obsession...):

I have recently learnt that an extender chain comes in very handy when you don't know a person's exact neck measurement! LOL

Detail of the starfish pendant:

And detail of the twisted herringbone rope...just because it looks pretty :)

I'm hoping to offer a free tutorial for my starfish design sometime this year...if I can convince my wonderful husband to buy me a Macbook and Photoshop *grin* Should I start a petition? *wink*

Thanks for looking and be well!

Idylle

Idylle, which is French for 'romance', is my latest beadwoven creation. A romantic, lacy, Olde Worlde necklace in shades of lilac and cream.

This is a great example of how one idea can lead to another. The beaded beads and pendant in my "Vintage Rose" necklace inspired me to push those ideas further to see what I could create. And this is the result, variations on the same theme but a completely different outcome:

Detail of the floral motifs (they are identical front and back, so the reverse side of my necklace is just as pretty as the front):

Detail of the floral clasp. As usual, I wanted it to blend in with the rest of the design:

I hope you explore some variations in your own work. We all need a good dose of 'What if...?' occasionally. You never know what it will lead to! ;)

Earrings...and some beaded beads

Following are my first ever attempts at creating earrings. I don't know why I didn't make any sooner. Quick and easy, and requiring a minimum of materials, each pair was created in a few hours. Perfect for Christmas gifts :)

The bronze/turquoise pair was created with delicas, Czech fire-polished beads, copper daggers, and size 15 seed beads:

The turquoise pair was created with Czech seed beads in sizes 11, 8 and 6, Czech pressed glass leaves and a couple of turquoise stones. Not real turquoise, probably dyed howlite:

The purple earrings were created with purple AB crystal teardrops, delicas and size 15 seed beads:

And the back:

And just for fun, some beaded beads in crazy, bright colours. Can you tell I'm not afraid to use colour? LOL One day I'll learn how to tone it down ;-)

This photo taken in sunlight better shows the true colours of the beads. Vibrant, huh. I made up each bead as I went along, using cubic RAW, triangle weave, or a combination of both. These were so fun to make. And quick! Three hours of beadweaving produced the set of five, which I have collectively named 'The Moulin Rouge Collection' because the colours reminded me of those a cabaret dancer would wear! LOL :-)