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!

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.

Catching up on things...

It's been over a week since I posted anything that I've been working on. In part, this is due to not being able to get the quality of pictures I desire.

Hopefully soon I'll have some fresh shots of all my etsy shop items though. I've contacted a friend, Brody, over at Polarity Photo. Brody takes some amazing shots. His passion is..um...legally being escorted into abandoned buildings and capturing the decay of the untouched.
Here are a few prime examples of what he sees through his lens:

That's just a taste. Definately check out his site for more amazing photography.

Now...onto the jewelry.

This ring and earring set was the absolute biggest pain in the butt to photograph. After many attemps, I settled a little bit on the picture. I'm excited to show them and I just couldn't wait any longer.

I've done rings and earrings of this style before, but I do have to say these are my favorite. Red and black together are just such powerful colors. This was woven with matte black delicas and checkerboard swarovski crystals. Again, I was going for a vintage/flapper style, and I think I captured that quite nicely.

This next bracelet is something I made as a gift for a friend who shall remain nameless. I don't think she's a blog reader, but better safe than sorry!

It was woven with toho seed beads, and overlayed with purple swarovski pearls.

These next bracelets are purely fun. I have had this stash of plastic pony beads for the longest time. Pony beads, meet stretchy cord. =)

Copper Sunset Ring

When my copper swarovski crystal met my metallic iris raspberry delicas, I knew it was meant to be. Seriously, these 2 colors together are amazing! The iris rasperry delicas could quite possibly be my favorite color delica, I've been using it a lot lately. How can you not love a color that is gold with flashes of purple?! The color of the beads is best seen in the 2nd and 3rd pics...in the 1st pic the crystal is getting all the attention.

I just get tickled every time I finish one of these. They're just so fun to make, and they're so sparkly!
It kinda has a vintage feel to it...like a flapper in a speakeasy, gold tassel dress, short slicked hair, and her finger shimmers every time she raises her glass to her lips.

Visit my Etsy listing for all the juicy details.

Thank you Art Zoo!

One of my beaded rings have been featured on the Art Zoo.
Definately check out thier blog and take a look around, they have a new artsy creation featured each day!

Sparkly and Spiky

Lately I haven't been interested in delving into any time consuming projects (aside from the ones I already have going, of course). I do love the accomplishment I feel from finishing a complicated piece, but sometimes you just want (close to) instant gratification. Instant gratification for a bead weaver is any project we can accomplish in a weekend...am I right? This past weekend, I stitched up 2 fanciful rings. The first is a circle motif, woven with toho seed beads, czech fire-polished beads, and genuine swarovski crystals.

The second (and admittedly my favorite of the 2) is a vintage inspired square ring with 2 layers. The bottom layer is all cube toho beads, and the above layer is toho rounds, criss crossed over the square to give the ring texture.

Some new items for October

Having bought some various orange and black beads last week, I've been eager to play with them (silly dayjob getting in the way of my fun). Not knowing exactly what was going to come out of it, I just started going to town, and came up with these. Cute, dangly earrings with a touch of swirl.


Originally when I started on this one I was thinking it was going to be a bracelet, but it wanted to be a ring instead. It was a bit too thin for me to be a bracelet, and when I wrapped it around my finger it looked fabulous...so a ring it shall be!

End of Summer Giveaway - Win this set!

Based on the poll that some of you voted in, the most wanted item for a giveaway was a ring. Rings are nice, but I wanted to be a little more generous, so I made a matching bracelet and ring set. This candy corn motif was something I came up with while doodling around trying to come up with holiday patterns. Cute, huh?
The bracelet measures 7-3/4" long with a goldtone swivel lobster clasp. The swivel keeps it from twisting up on ya, and the lobster clasp is bigger than normal, making it easy to get on/off. The ring will be custom made to the winners ring size.

This is a worldwide giveaway, so even if you do not reside in the USA, feel free to enter. I will ship the set for free to you, however international participants are responsible for any customs fees.

Ok here are my very simple rules for entering to win:

1. Leave a comment on THIS post and tell me how you found my blog. Was it entrecard, a webring, did you randomly stumble upon this site from a search engine? Inquiring minds want to know. If you do not have a blog, you must leave a way for me to get in touch with you.

2. Please indicate your ring size in your comment. I'd love to get your prize to you as soon as possible, so if I know your size I can weave one up immediately after drawing the winner, and I don't have to wait to hear back from you.

That's it! Easy, right? The winner will be selected via random.org on the evening of October 1st. That's just about 2 weeks to get your comments in. Good luck everyone!