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!

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!

Earrings galore

I just can't get enough of earrings at the moment. There is something so satisfying in weaving together a handful of beads and creating something wearable within an hour or two. Now that's what I call instant gratification!

I thought these creole hoops were interesting as soon as I saw them. I had lots of fun bringing them to life by weaving my tiny beads around them.

These 'starfish' were supposed to be part of a necklace, but I changed my mind about including them. Too cute to throw in my box of 'naughty bits', I whipped them up into a pair of earrings. Voila!

And finally, some very simple right angle weave and netted earrings in yummy shades of chocolate and cream. Good enough to eat! ;)

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 :-)

Button Pendants

I created some pendants using buttons for another Beading Forum challenge...these time the theme was 'Recycled'.







The flower button pendant has found a happy home with my Mum :-)

Dark Star of the Sea

My second seed bead creation was for another Beading Forum challenge, this time the theme being "Davy Jones' Locker".

I couldn't pass up the opportunity to create something for such a wicked and evocative theme, so I set to work. I took it as a chance to learn some new techniques...a challenge within a challenge, if you will. "Dark Star of the Sea" was what ensued. In my strange and warped mind, I envisaged Davy Jones manifesting himself in the form of an evil starfish. Hey, if the 'Adventures of Peregrine Pickle' says he rules over all sea creatures, so do I!

I created my evil starfish using five separate diamonds in brick stitch. The waves of the ocean were represented by the necklace, a peyote ruffle in three different hues of blue...and the seaweed was made with branch fringing with little shells and critters hiding amongst them.

These pics are cruddy...it was an overcast day and this was the best I could do. Well, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. The starfish is made with black AB (AB = Aurora Borealis for those non-beaders) seedies and has a wicked sheen to it which doesn't come through in the photos. It looks much better in real life...I'm serial!