Rivoli Glam Madness

I can't stop playing with sparkly Swarovski Rivolis

Autumn Rivoli Pendant

Glam Slam Ring

I am having a great time with the sparkle, shine, and color in these pieces. I was not a sparkle-facet kinda lady, but I am hooked. I have been wearing the ring since it was nearly finished. I thought it would be for sale, but I was wrong. I MUST keep it.

FUN!!!

Gotta run, I have a few more projects with which I must tinker.

Great Giveaway!!

Some of you may know about my obsession with Green Girl Studios pewter and sterling beads and pendants. A blog I follow is offering a great Green Girl Giveaway, with five different pewter frog-themed pieces. Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio is an interesting blog by a fellow jewelry artist, and she is celebrating the release of Cynthia Thornton's new book (one of the Green Girl artists) and the inclusion of one of her own pieces in the gallery section. Awesome! I'm really looking forward to the book, called "Enchanted Adornments", which is getting great reviews in the jewelry/bead art world. Go to Lorelei's blog and leave a comment and you're automatically entered to win! I really hope it's me, tee hee.

Below is a picture of some pieces I bought from Green Girl Studios earlier this year.

WASPS!

So, instead of attacking the sparkly things as planned, I've been sidelined by wasp stings. Three in fact, all on the same finger. My finger is only just now starting to work the way it should, so I hope to get back to it Sunday night. During the day on Sunday, I hope to get some inspiration at my grandfather's 90th birthday party. Can you believe it? NINETY! So, Happy Birthday Pop Pop!

Get Your Glam On

Wow. That is my response to my class yesterday. Or rather, my response to the ladies who took my class yesterday. It would be enough for me that they are interesting, eager, and friendly. An added plus would be how encouraging they were to each other, though they were strangers. But I say "WOW!" for a different reason. I am so amazed how these ladies were already coming up with ways to customize and adapt the technique I taught before they even finished their bracelets. Fittingly, we sat at a round table, sharing ideas, brainstorming, and i think we had some good lightning bolts come out of it.

I also came home with more Swarovski Rivolis, so I am going to go for the sparkle this week. I've been thinking about holiday party season this week, as well as holiday gift giving, so the bling is going to figure big for me coming up. I'll be teaching a rivoli pendant class in October, as well as a class on the peyote rings I worked on last week. Can't wait to get my glam on.

Also making a reappearance is this geode slice necklace, I made this six or seven years ago for my husband. He has been wearing it a lot lately, and he gets lots of compliments, which is a lovely stroking of my ego of course. I am surprised that I still even like this piece. So often, artists look back at their older pieces and see only the mistakes. But I still like the Geode! I wish I could get more geodes, trying to track some down. The botswana agates and onyx beads are also still captivating to me.

So many ideas to tackle... not that I'm complaining, I am ready to get to work.

Ring Around the Rosie

I've been making rings by request for a new class.

It is really quite fun to experiment.

Of course, I have no idea what size rings I'm making.

I just stitch what I like.

And I like this Turquoise ring. It's made with 11/o seed beads

and some 13/o Charlottes

given me by my friend Diane. Thanks!

This ring is kind of gothic, with the burgundy and black seed beads

and a round Swarovski Crystal.

And here is my version of refined/ sophisticated.

A very simple and strong design with an amethyst colored Swarovski in the center.

The dark green- blue seed beads play nicely with the plummy purples.

I have also been playing with iPhoto, as seen in the cute little borders and frames.

It's quite simple, which works for me.

On a side note, my 4 year old is continually going into my room/ tiny bead studio and wreaking mad havoc EVERYWHERE.

She has learned to break seed beads with a chain nose plier, which is a helpful technique to remove a bad bead or mistake from the middle of a piece.

She has broken seed beads from the middle of my two newest finished pieces, which did not NEED beads to be removed.

So, I had two new necklaces to show you, but now...

not so much.

Changes, Opportunities, Beginnings

This past week has been a challenge for each role I perform daily; I grew as a mother, wife, and artist. I am glad to take a moment to reflect on that, and acknowledge the stress life can sometimes bring. This week brought a new school schedule for my oldest daughter, a change in work schedule for my husband, and I found out I have three classes booked for the month, which is a VERY good thing, particularly in the artist budget arena.

My family needs me so much, but they inspire me every minute. For example, the Mermaid necklace is inspired by my little water babies, who swam this whole long weekend! We had a blast swimming in the beautiful Gulf, at the Treasure Island Public Beach. We saw so many fish! I'll have to do a necklace with all of those magic fish as inspiration.




This necklace was made with Glass seed beads and little bits of Labradorite and moonstone. The center piece is a magical mermaid from Green Girl Studios, a favorite of mine for many years. The back has an inscription that reads "even lovers drown".




I've also included pictures of a necklace I call "Montana Blue Bird", with a more modern birdie motif and lots of freshwater pearls, Swarovski crystals, and Iolite beads woven throughout the seed bead base.





I wanted to include both of these necklaces in one post because they were made with the same basic technique, which is a (very) modified Zulu stitch. Zulu is fun and easy. It is also great for those times when you need to just go with the flow and design as you go along, making the beadwork more or less full, as desired.

Lattice Variations

This bracelet has the most amazing feel and drape, literally a beaded fabric.



The stitch is called Lattice Weave, I think. I know it is a variation of right angle weave, and it is done with one needle, making it simple to do, but the progress is slow. It feels heavenly... ahhhhhhhhhhhhh.




I stitched 10/o triangles (toho's I think) with 15/0 seeds that seemed smaller then a 15/o, tiny tiny bead holes... shudder. I used a size 12 needle and black c-lon thread, which always works up better then most of the other colors, though I do not know why that is true.




I added a pewter button closure, which is my current favorite way to end bracelets if I don't have any art glass beads that match. Must get more from Zen Art.




I went back to my old routine and used the scanner for the pics, and experimented with positioning and backgrounds. The backgrounds are scrapbooking papers that I had laying around. I am happy that the different background colors show how versatile the bead colors are, I would wear this bracelet with, hmmmmm... EVERYTHING!




This aqua version is my surprise favorite... I thought it would be too much. Nope, just right :)

The Ice Empress

I finished the Ice Empress Bracelet this afternoon, marking the first afternoon that my two girls let me get some beading done with them nearby, without any accidents. I am so relieved that I was able to have a few beads around the kids and no grabbing or messing around.

Anyway, I am proud of this piece, I felt confident during the entire creative process.




I used lots of little faceted Labradorite buttons, grey peacock freshwater pearl flat irregular chips, white freshwater pearls, and lots of different seed beads including 15/o, 11/0, and 8/o hex cuts. Woven with c-lon thread with a size 12 needle, the thread shredded many times and I had to add and end threads constantly, despite applying and reapplying Thread Heaven frequently. This was tricky as it filled up those beads holes so that I could barely get the needle to go through for the last pass.




I started the base for this bracelet with a chevron chain, then weaved a row of right angle on each side of the strip. I added the clasp and the outside row of Pearls on the next pass. Then I added the diagonal embellishments to the right angle weave boxes. Lastly, I added the Labradorite and more Pearls to the center row.




It measures 1.25 in wide by 7.5 in long. I think it would look lovely on a bride. I would wear it if I could marry my fantastic husband again.

Hard at work on Photography

I have been trying to photograph some pieces to start selling online, trying trying trying. But... life keeps making other priorities for me. Had to run to the property assessors office to file for tax stuff, picked up forms from the pediatrician so the big girl can go to school, had a power outage, and the two year old wouldn't sleep last night until 2 a.m. Whew, how do I find time for my jewelry? Here are some of my efforts. I am not sure I like the results, but I am learning!



I really like the earthy jasper with the pine cone from my front yard. I am having a hard time with lighting... not sure where to put the lights!
















The pine cone wearing a bracelet and then some pearl and sterling earrings.





I think this calcite pendant has an old fashioned feel to it, but I'm not sure how to make the picture feel more old fashioned. Maybe I should shoot it with a piece of my grandmother's crocheted lace.

I'll keep trying, and post my next batch of results. I'm beginning to think I need a new camera, and new camera skills. I have a digital photography book around here somewhere.

Finish it up, Put it away

Last night I wanted to relax and play cards. When I walked into my bedroom to grab a deck, I saw how messy my studio "area" was and I was compelled to act. I thought for a moment, can I just sit down and make something and skip the clean up? No, I had to deal with the chaos of bead and thread first. I made my sweet husband help me sort through everything, he provided much moral support. In very little time, I had my desk ship shape and ready to support more creative endeavors. I am so happy I organized!

Now that I was organized, I got back to work on this right angle weave piece I started creating a couple days ago. I made a base of right angle with delicas, then began embellishing with freshwater pearls and some coppery faceted glass.




You can see in this picture the base on the back, with the next layer of embellishment on the front. I love the how well the golden tones of the pearls blend with the matte gold delicas. I finished by weaving more delicas and 15/o seeds along the center and each edge, which gave it more structure and body.


I also added a third faceted glass bead between the other two in each of those rows, for a little more interest. It has an antique copper-finish pewter heart clasp. Hearts aren't my fave, but the color works great, and I had it laying around, so why not?


Overall, I am pleased with this bracelet, especially how comfortable it is on the wrist. I wanted a simple project, something I could just design as I went along without too much forethought, and that's what I did. Fun and relaxing can be rejuvenating, organizing can be rejuvenating, too. Maybe tonight I'll feel more up to a big bead challenge!

Getting Started

This is my "Empress Bracelet". It is made from 15/0, 11/0, and 8/0 hex cut japanese seed beads, as well as very pale blue topaz rondelles and grey freshwater pearls with a Bali sterling silver clasp. I sewed it using C-Lon thread and size 13 needles.

I used several different stitches, including chevron, right angle weave, and picot. The surface embellishment was the last step, and the most difficult, but very satisfying.

I wear this bracelet anytime I want to be identified as a beader... because people always notice it! I think of this as my signature piece.

I started this blog as a way to share my art and the process I use to make it. I hope to share my inspirations, mistakes, and finished pieces. I am without a camera currently :( so any jewelry pictures will be from my HP scanner, which is truly an HP and VERY cranky.