Pearls, Pearls, Pearls Hop

I can say with certainty that I do not know anyone who loves pearls more than Shel! She has such a passion for the subject, and has written quite a few guides to help the rest of us with the difference in luster and origin of these beauties. 

Last year I participated in Shel's hop and had a funny thing happen to me. I discovered that I had an ethnic boho style. I truly love creating pieces with leather and pearls; there is just something about that look that I gravitate towards. 

But every now and then when I pick up pearls I just feel the elegance of them in my hand, and I need to create something with a bit more timelessness. This sweet little double strand bracelet screams Audrey to me. I could absolutely see her wearing this in Breakfast at Tiffany's. While this one is a bit formal, I feel like I could wear it for almost any occasion. 

As Shel says "most people still see pearls as stuffy, snobby or classic and all prim and proper. Not me. I believe they go with anything, on anyone, in any season and for any reason."  And besides, that little flower clasp just makes me smile. So I may just be wearing this one everyday.

So one of the things that happened in my life recently is that I changed 'day jobs.' Oh how I wish my beady hobby was enough for me to pay the bills, but alas it is not. And so I spend my days working in an office. This new job has a need for more formal 'meeting attire' and I was realizing that I really didn't have any jewelry that matches this (did I say how much I like boho?). This is just silly considering my stash of beads and findings, so I decided to make myself a simple black pearl necklace for work. I didn't want it too stuffy so I alternated with small off white freshwater pearls in a few sizes. I wear a lot of black and grey so this has been absolutely perfect.

CC7A :: Something Old, New, Borrowed & Blue

This month it was my turn to host the challenge items for Alicia's Creative Continuum of 7 Artists. 

I sent out a mixture of blues and silvers along the theme of the old wedding adage from Victorian times: something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. I picked the theme since June is the month for weddings; although absolutely nothing about my own wedding was traditional. 

I'm also not known for following the rules, not even when I'm the one that makes them. The pieces I made for this month are not a wedding set. I also managed to send out the same mixture to all the other artists, but for some reason didn't leave enough for myself. So I'm expecting mine to look a bit different from what everyone else makes! Which will be part of the fun for me as I can't wait to see what everyone made.

I did have extra apatite, so I used that and I had one piece of the toggle (the leaf) but manage to lose the other part of it. I mean seriously ... a comedy of errors for me this month! And of course I only realized it after I had sent everyone else's out. Oh well, it will still be blue with silver!

I've been in the simple stringing mood lately, so I went with it for my piece. I wanted a striking blue bracelet with a focal closure. I pulled out an old button that fit through the leaf, which worked perfectly! I used some borrowed silk thread (from my friend Christine) to add the button and a little more apatite for fringe. I grabbed some cute bird and feather charms to make a matching pair of earrings.

So there you have it ... my something old (silver button), something new (bird and feather charms), something borrowed (silk thread from Christine) and something blue (apatite). 

So now on to the fun part of hopping around to see what everyone else made! Check out the other blogs: Alicia (our host), Christine, Emma, Monique, Sally and Therese. 

Break From Tradition :: Blog Hop with Spikes

Last Fall I kept seeing spike beads everywhere, and was wondering how exactly I might design around some of those thingies. But I did notice that so many of the ones I saw were large, metal and rather sharp looking. Which just didn't really look all that 'safe' for the kind of beader I am.

Now ... most of you know that I consider beading to be a contact sport, and typically walk away stabbed and bleeding from an afternoon of bead weaving. Perhaps a broken needle or two, and maybe a large amount of swear words have been uttered. 

So when I saw these 'less sharp' looking howlite spikes, I figured it was probably a better option for me. I grabbed a white and a black set and headed off to the cashier. But once home I realized that it was a crazy amount of beads to work with, so I asked a couple of my beady friends if they wanted to give these things a try. Surprisingly, all four said yes. Well alrighty then, game on.

Months later ... we're getting around to posting our creations. Now some of us have already created a thing or two, some of us tried and ripped out (multiple times - with probably a few swear words), and a few more left those beads on the table to stare down for a few months just to see if that would help tame them. So let's get to it, shall we ...

I did try my hand at these spikes a while back, and posted it here. As a quick recap, I tried several times to work these beads into a bracelet, but my early attempts were complete and total #FAIL. I'm telling you, these spikes take some taming!. I did finally settle on a nice, freeform ladder stitch around the beads. The cuff has nice warm, earthy colors that are great for winter wear (I have it pictured in the lower left below). I was completely surprised by how comfortable it is to wear! I was careful to use only 5 of the spike beads so that there weren't any on the under side of the bracelet. That way it isn't uncomfortable to wear for everyday tasks .... for say typing out this blog post. 

For this more recent, and second attempt, I wanted to change it up a bit to make it lighter (in color at least). This looks more like summer on the wrist and would be a fun piece to wear with a flow-y blouse ... in a bohemian style (of course). Again, I used only 5 spikes so the under side of the bracelet is flat. It too is comfy to wear!

A little call out to the blog hop button. I found this adorable Etsy shop, Sofia's Couture Designs, that creates costumes, and this twist on the Batman (ehem, girl) Superhero outfit was perfect for our Break From Tradition Hop. So now it's time to check out the other brave beaders who tried out these ginormous howlite spikes: Therese, Janet, Christine and Bobbie.

A Time To Stitch 5 :: Same But Different

Therese and Christine are hosting another one of their famous bead weaving challenges called A Time To Stitch (#5 in the series) and this time we're focusing on using one stitch but creating variations on it.

I played around with several different stitches before settling on a simple flat spiral weave. I was actually hanging out with Christine when she showed me a simple stitch in a Beadwork issue and I realized that's it! I'll play around with this one.

That is one of the things I've learned from Christine; taking a simple stitch and playing with variations, and colors, and bead sizes, and bead shapes. She is a master at this and the theme this time has her name written all over it! Oh one of these times Christine you know we're going to do CRAW because we know how much Therese loves that stitch - LOL.

Ok, let's get started. The first set of beads I picked up were size 8s, or larger beads to use as the center anchor stitch. And then I picked up some fun brick red colored lentil beads with an off center hole. They made such a fun design with a 'paddle' look to it. I happened to have my apprentice in the shop with me (my daughter Anne) who loves to help with creating patterns or shooting photos. She was running around the yard picking up bits of nature to add to the photos, and so I let that name each piece. This one is then called 'wild strawberries.'

Next up I increased the size of the center anchor and pulled out these translucent celery colored tear drops. I love this color, and I miss it in the dead of winter when nothing outside is green. But Anne found the perfect reflection of it in this fern. You can see how the larger beads accentuate the curve in the spiral stitch for a piece called .... of course 'fern.'

I wanted to try yet another bead type for the accent, so this time I pulled out some dragon scale beads which can be tricky as you need to keep track of which direction they are going. Not always easy when you're beading in a spiral! In the 'fern' bracelet I blended the center anchor color and the accent beads, but in this one I wanted the center to stand out with it's own wave through the piece. So I pulled out silver which I really love with purple. Anne showed up with a fist full of 'wild flowers' for my photo and aptly named this one.  

For the finale I pulled out a beautiful wood focal pendant that Christine gifted me. It seemed perfect for my nature series, and I really just love its simplicity and beautiful tree blossom pattern. I wanted the pattern for this to look more like chain, so I went with smaller beads. I pulled out some cylinder rootbeer beads with a cat's eye finish. They felt like bits of branches to me, and so perfect to let the pendant be the star. I added small green-ish tear drops for the accent. It looks like a 'woodland blossom' branch to me, and a perfect way to finish my series in variations on flat spiral.

Please check out all the other bloggers participating in today's hop. Our hosts Therese and Christine. And all the rest of us: Kim, Maryanne, Lola, Dagi, Shirley, Alenka, LiliKrist, Amy, Crystie, Sally, Cynthia (that's me), Bobbie, Karin, LizE, Becky Pancake, Karin G., Ana, Wendy, Mary H. and Jasvanti

June's Creative Continuum of 7 Artists

This month it is my turn to host the theme for Alicia's Creative Continuum of 7 Artist Challenge. We post each month on the 26th, so it a little over a week away. But I wanted to give a shout out since we have a whole lot of blog hops coming up through the end of the month, so don't forget to check in!

I picked a theme that I thought we could have some fun with that is an old adage for brides. And then I sent out the mixture to match: something old (reclaimed sari silk), something new (imperial jasper), something borrowed (several remaining leaf toggles from a ZnetShows hop) and something blue (apatite rounds). 

Meaning: It is said that something old represents continuity, something new offers optimism for the future, something borrowed symbolizes borrowed happiness, something blue stands for purity, love and fidelity and a sixpence in your show is a wish for good fortune and prosperity

June tend to be a month for weddings, so I thought I'd challenge us with the theme, but I'm hoping I see some great non-traditional pieces with the loot!

For some reason I was so excited to get this out to all the other artists that I didn't remember to take a picture of the beads before dropping them into the mail. But Monique, Sally and Therese all sent me pictures ... and so I'm going to use them all. Thanks Ladies! Can't wait to see what all of you made! Be sure to check back in to see everyone's reveals: Alicia, (our host), Christine, Emma, Monique, Sally and Therese. 

Beadweaving :: Little Quilts

Very few things make me happier than hanging out with a friend and being able to completely be myself. Couple that with a great bead session and you pretty much have nirvana for me. Ya, it's the simple things in life that make me happy. 

So a few months back I got together with my beady friend Christine and she showed me a pattern she was working on that looked like little quilts. She created this pattern during her 'beading in circles' phase, which I'm not entirely sure if she's made it through yet? Doesn't matter because she created some pretty amazing, inventive and beautiful bead weaving this last winter. And this is one of them. You can see all the variations she created with these little quilts over on her blog One Kiss Creations. 

I met up with Christine and her Mom's quilting friends (guess crafting in numbers runs in the family). The two of us were busy teaching the next generation as we both brought our daughters to the get away. It was fun to see them become fast friends and get to work on creating batch after batch of polymer beads! I still haven't had a chance to get a photo of them, but I'll be back with a post on those later.

Today I wanted to show you that I did learn this fun pattern from Christine to create my own 'Little Quilts' bracelet. Thank you Christine for being that friend that I can be myself and just enjoy hanging out crafting for a weekend.