Army Men Bracelet

Remember when you were young, and the long summer day seemed to last an eternity? Ya know, when kids used to bring their toys outside to play instead of sitting in front of the tv for hours? I've brought the nostalgia to your wrist with wearable art that will bring you back to the simper days!

I wove this bracelet bead by tiny bead using peyote stitch and the incredibly uniform Delica beads. A sterling silver slide clasp adds value and a touch of class to the piece. Woven on a 6lb test quality beading thread, this bracelet should outlive you when treated properly!

The bracelet is available for purchase in my Etsy shop.



For the crafty folks out there who prefer to bead up their own bracelets, I also have a pattern available for purchase HERE. Purchase of my original patterns entitles you to make AND sell your wares. Please give credit to the designer though! Happy beading!

Speaking of animal print...

...how about some zebra print fun?! I recently finished weaving up this super wide peyote stitched cuff using Delica beads and my favorite beading thread. It measures 7-1/2" long and a whopping 2" wide.

Want to make one for yourself? You can! I have detailed zebra print patterns available in 3 different widths AND different color combinations. Check em out in my Etsy Shop.

All of my patterns come with a full color image, delica bead number and bead count needed, a large easy to print black and white symbol graph, and a word chart. I also email you a hi res photo that you can zoom WAY in on.

Get WILD!

Leopard Peyote Stitch Bracelet

Animal print, when you over do it, can be just awful. Gaudy, I guess is the right word. When done right, though, it's downright classy. The RIGHT way to wear animal print (and I know this because I have seen at least 20 episodes of "What Not to Wear" lol) is to accessorize with it. You know, animal print shoes, animal print purse...
Animal print jewelry!


This bracelet was woven using Delica beads using peyote stitch. If you'd like to add a little touch of "wild" to your wardrobe, it is available for purchase in my Etsy shop.

If you are a bead weaver yourself and would like to make this bracelet, I have patterns available in three different widths: 2" wide, 1-1/2" wide, and 1" wide.
All of my patterns available for purchase are my own designs, and come as a PDF with an easy to print symbol graph, full color picture, and word chart. You may also sell bracelets that are made with the pattern!

Holiday Ornaments and Snowflake Earrings

I can't tell you how excited I was to find a variety of shatterproof ornaments at k-mart this year. When I saw so many colors I went a little crazy and bought lots of them. Shatterproof is the way to go IMO, why bother with glass ornaments if you'll be worried about your child or pet hurting themselves with glass.
I'm not sure how many more ornaments I'll be doing, as it's time to be working on holiday gifts!
Here are the ornaments I have so far, all listed in my etsy and artfire shops.












The snowflakes I used for the last 2 ornaments, and for the snowflake earrings below are an original pattern from Sandra D. Halpenny, and is used with her permission. Thanks Sandra!
The snowflake earrings would be great for holiday parties or even everyday wear. They're cute and they weigh next to nothing.

Lacy Rings

I'm continuing to experiment with 2 needles, or cross needle weaving as it is sometimes called. It can be challenging at times - at first picking up beads with the needle in my left hand was a little difficult. I have more confidence in it now though, and find myself choosing to use 2 needles instead of one more and more. I still use only 1 needle for some stitches...peyote stitch, spirals. However for that lacy look 2 needles work just lovely. These rings were the result of some 2-needle experimenting - I think they turned out very pretty!

By the way, you may have noticed I changed up my background in my photos. I originally was using white because I wanted the attention to be on the item itself - but my pictures were looking a little washed out. Does the new background take attention away from the rings (or the bangles below)? Great photos are a constant struggle of mine...always striving for better.

Beaded Rings

I've been experimenting with RAW (right angle weave) a lot lately. The possibilities are just endless - and it's good beading fun. In addition to that, I've been doing all my beading with two needles now, using cross needle weaving techniques. I find it to be more effiecient time-wise than using just one needle - PLUS the strings can be twice as long as your comfortable working with, which means not having to weave in thread as often. Yay!

These rings were super fun to make. After they were done my head was spinning with all sorts of ideas - colors/shapes. But these babies are my prototypes.

This next ring was woven in size 15 toho's - the smallest size toho seed beads come in! In retrospect, I suppose I should have taken a photo with a penny or something for a size reference. I'll have to do that before I list it for sale, but, alas, here it is. Woven in cubular raw with some beads added on the inner circle for stiffness. It's light and extremely comfortable.

Lacy Beaded Rings

I've been experimenting with cross-needle weaving, or, two-needle weaving a lot lately. For a while I was quite content working with one needle. As I look to expand my experience, though, I thought it was worth a shot. There are some things you just can't do with one needle alone, and some things are just a whole lot easier using two needles. At first it was difficult, I felt like I was learning to bead all over again. My left hand is used to holding the beadwork, not a needle, so it took a little getting used to. After I was comforable with it I just couldn't stop! I'll share more with you throughout the week, but here's a glimpse at my first cross-weaving endeavors...some lacy beaded rings!

Neon Fun Bracelet

Most of my bead weaving is done with tiny beads. Really tiny beads. This makes for a very detailed design, but it is an incredibly time consuming labor of love. Any bead weaver out there knows what I'm talking about. Every once in a while though, I feel the need for (almost) instant gratification. Anything that can be finished in an afternoon is "instant gratification" for a bead weaver.

This bracelet was my "instant gratification" this past weekend. Its woven with size 8 seed beads, in orange, green, and pink neon colors. It's finished with a silver-plated swivel lobster clasp. I don't think I'll ever go back to non-swivel lobster clasps after using a swivel. Not having to worry about your bracelet and clasp getting all twisted on you is a wonderful thing!

Rings!

I've been playing around with right angle weave a lot lately. Cubular right angle weave to be specific. It is SO time consuming but SO worth it. The end result is a solid, structural piece, and the sky is the limit. I have a plethora of projects planned with this stitch in mind. Right now, in fact, I'm working on something very exciting! I can't spill the beans just yet though...I have 2 more in the "set" to finish before I can exhibit them to the world!
In the meantime, please enjoy some lovely cubular rings, inspired by my new favorite stitch!




I'm SURE I'll be making more of these style rings in the future...fun and unique, right up my alley!

Extra life anyone?

I managed to get a picture of this 1UP Mario mushroom before giving to my lil' sister. She said she wanted a key chain. The clasp is a swivel, so she can clip it on her shoe, phone, or wear it on a chain, too. I'd love to bead up a fireball flower sometime. So much to do...




I have a handful of small goodies I was hoping to get photographed last night but my attention was quickly diverted when the UPS man dropped off a package on my door.

My new toy...in all its glory. Wanna know what it was? Head on over to HoopFlow to get the rest of the story.

Peaches & Cream

Not long after figuring out some of the basic bead weaving stitches, I started netting and weaving around cabochons. The idea that you can take a lonely stone and suspend it securely within woven beads, without backing, still tickles me.
I had yet to try this technique out with round crystals, until this past weekend. It took a couple tries to get the number of beads just right, but the end result was very satisfying. I'm looking forward to wrapping more of these crystals, perhaps for a lovely set of earrings next time.
The crystal is a 12mm peach swarovski rivoli, captured in size 11 delica beads. I used a spiral weave for the necklace itself, which measures 18" from end to end.

The clasp is a very important part of a design...it can make an otherwise beautiful creation cheap and flimsy. Very seldom do I know at the start of something what I will be using for a clasp. Several pieces sit in my "to finish" pile for this very reason...they are waiting for the perfect clasp. One of my favorite ways to finish a necklace (and bracelets too, sometimes) is with a beaded clasp. It takes no extra components, and flows seamlessly into the design.

Rings n things

Lately I've been all over the place - beadily speaking. I have a plethora of almost finished pieces. Some are waiting for that special component or clasp to come in, and others I have no excuse for, except that I have a severe case of B.A.D.D. - beaders attention deficit disorder. If I am working on a labor intensive piece, I feel the need to take time off from it to do smaller "tweener" projects.

I wanted to do something similar to the Blue Crystal Fantasy ring I did awhile back, but in different colors, and with a slightly smaller band. It came out just as I was hoping, and is extremely comfortable for what could be considered a "chunky" ring. It's definitely bold, and the silver lined purple beads are eye-catching.
This one is a bit simpler than the rings I usually make. The band is a single string of beads, as opposed to a woven band, like the ring above. Have no fear, however...this ring was woven with PowerPro, a super strong braided cord. I wove the thread through the band several times before weaving it back into the ring for knotting. After it was finished I gave it a real good tug, too, just to be certain. Solid as a rock.
This dainty ring includes swarovski pearls, galvanized toho seed beads, transparent opal toho beads, and opal pink swarovski crystals.

Both rings will be available for purchase through my Artfire shop, with a full description and sizing information shortly.

Something for ME!

As I delve deeper and deeper into my art, I find myself making less and less items for myself. Custom orders, gifts for friends and family, and keeping inventory up to date all takes a good amount of time and effort. Occasionally though, a special event will prompt me to make a set to match an outfit. New years eve was such an event. My theme for the night was pink and brown, my entire outfit revolved around that. Having no pink and brown jewelry in my wardrobe, I just had to make something to match, didn't I?
I wove this choker with silver lined brown delicas and pink opaque toho seed beads. Delicas aren't usually the greatest for netting, but I find when I mix them in with tohos the drape comes out just lovely. I finished it with antiqued brass wire guardians, and an antique brass lobster clasp. It feels great on, I'm really happy with how it turned out.

The earrings I struggled with to be honest...I took them apart several times before getting it just right. I originally was going to do a fringe type dangle earrings, but things just didn't turn out that way. I ended up with a fan dangle (not a fandango). They match the necklace superbly, and have a wonderful swing to them. I used opaque brown, matte pink, and metalic pink toho beads, along with metalic brown bugle beads. They were finished with antiqued brass earwires. I'm looking forward to wearing them for years to come!

Bumps in the road...

For the past couple years, I have been using Photoshop CS on my husband's desktop computer to create graphics, and also for cropping and color-balancing photos. Sunday his computer died. Ironically he had ordered a new laptop which he just recieved Monday. Maybe the desktop got jealous and decided to pout.
Because there's no need to fix/replace the old computer (other than my need for PS), I'm outta luck when it comes to photo editing. We have ransacked the house looking for the Photoshop disc but cannot find it anywhere...ugh!
So, until I can find the PS disc, or find a suitable replacement for it (suggestions welcome), photos may be a bit scarce.

I do have a couple earrings to share however, I got these done right before the computer died.

This first one reminds me of feathers. I wove them with cylon blue seed beads, black bugle beads, and matte purple/blue hex cut beads.



This second pair I call "Cabernet & Rust". Deep maroon red bugle beads really compliment the metallic gold delica beads. I finished these off with antiqued brass wire guardians, and antique brass foldover earwires.


Both are available in my Artfire shop HERE.

Vanilla & Chocolate, Chocolate & Vanilla

This set of bracelets was quite fun to make. When I was weaving them and counting out the beads it was fun to say "2 chocolate, 1 vanilla". Much better than 2A, 1B don't ya think? The beads almost look like wood but they are really size 6 toho glass seed beads. I usually work with much smaller beads, because I love the incredible detail that is possible. However there is something to be said for big beads. They not only give beadwork a great texture, but they work up a lot quicker than than their tiny counterparts.