I picked up quite a few sets of seed beads at Beadfest this year (you can see the loot to the right here); including a few strings of wonderful earthy beige and a hank of Picasso seed beads. The Picasso beads have been all the rage lately, as I hear everyone talking about them. But they are quite a bit more expensive for some reason. Frankly they look like all those beads I spill on my bead table and don't get around to sorting. I do really love the mixture of color, and I might just need to do my own mix!
This simple peyote pattern actually started with the beautiful center carnelian piece. I have a few of them sitting on my bead table that I've definitely been hoarding for some time. My friend Christine gifted them to me, and I love them. I think Carnelian ranks right up there as one of my absolutely favorite stones. I absolutely love it's rich, honey tone. I could not resist showcasing the photos of the bracelet draped over a rock. Anyone who knows Christine knows that she'd approve of this maneuver.
I wanted to do something different. Unique. But wasn't exactly sure what, and it took me quite a while to come up with the pattern. Sometimes the simple patterns take the longest to figure out as the understated can be quite dramatic. It makes me think of my hairdresser. I know .. I'm down a rabbit hole. But stay with me for a minute, and I'll explain. So I always thought ... how hard can it be? I have stick straight hair ... all you need to do is cut it in a straight line. But I've heard people cut my hair over the years and mumble under their breathe because every snip shows up. And in fact I have seen people struggle to cut my hair as it is harder to have it look like a clean cut, or not have a few pieces hang down if I part my hair slightly off from center (as I typically do). I guess simple patterns are the same. Any small stitch out of place, or slightly different color of a bead, or even slightly irregular shape or size ... shows up. Can anyone see the spirit beads in this piece?
I ended up with a 2 row chevron pattern of Picasso beads alternating with the earthy beige. I did a drop stitch at the ends creating a triangle so it would roll around the center piece. I kinda love the softness of that look. I'm going to have to do that again, for sure. I also grabbed a set of Melinda Orr's leather snap ends (man I love these) and punched a couple of holes to bead right into. I had to laugh as I explained to my bead buddy Linda Younkman that I had left the string exposed when I attached the beading to the leather. I think she asked me twice, maybe it was 3 times if I really left it exposed. LOL, yes. I like the rustic, boho (aka 'didn't tuck in my shirt) look.
The piece fits like an old worn in baseball mitt. Truly. I was afraid the carnelian hoop would feel uncomfortable, but the beading around it gives it some swing in the pattern. I still have 2 more of these carnelian pieces to play with. But this one; it must return to Christine. I channeled her through the entire pattern. In the end is was earthy, had a touch of native flare, and just a bit of Colorado.
And another one of my beady friends, Linda, was off doing her thing with peyote. Check out these stunning variations where she simply played with the size of the bead. She also included a tutorial for those of you that would like to try your hand at a simple, and classic peyote beadweaving stitch. Sometimes the simple can create the dramatic. You definitely rock Linda! You can see this article (include my simple peyote bracelet) in this month's issue of Bead Chat Magazine.
A few weeks back my beady friend Linda Younkman and I were playing around with herringbone. I had pulled out these large square wood beads (size 8) to practice this weave. But I really like how the angled squares turned out in this pattern.
I was pretty technology challenged at the time as I was up in the Adirondacks for a break from work. I was trying to snap a picture to send to Linda, of which it took something like 20 minutes to upload to Facebook (insert swear word ... then multiply). Anyway, once I did upload Linda was game to give it a try. And as usual I got the BRB message as she high tailed it to her LBS .... that would mean she would 'be right back' after heading to her 'local bead shop.' She pinged me later with her own stash of square beads and off she went to try out the pattern.
And man, I love how she added a leather closure to her version. Check out her post called Needle, Thread and Beads, but don't forget to come right back because we then decided to write up a quick tutorial on this simple weave and show you a few closures and variations. I whipped up a second cuff, this time in reds, to show you a slide closure. You can check it all out in this month's Bead Chat Magazine, or read the full article on the BCM site. Either way, give this one a try for a quick cuff that feels really nice around your arm.
Oh, and btw (I'm just full of acronyms today) Linda's post (featuring several different beaded cuffs) caught the eye of one of the editors over at Beading Daily and they gave one of her pieces top billing on their recent post! Go Linda! bead on my friend.
It is exciting to see something that you created and put a lot of effort into, get published. I feel that way whether it is in a printed magazine, or in the pages of the eMagazine I work on called Bead Chat Magazine.
This month we did a tribute to Bead Trends Magazine. I think a lot of us were quite sad to see the end of it's publication. The magazine was always beautifully done. And I think a lot of felt it was more accessible to the broader bead community than some publications. That is one thing that the team at Bead Chat Magazine has tried to do; to make a publication that is accessible, and one that celebrates all the wonderful artists in our midst.
I was one of the many people who submitted to Bead Trends, had one of my pieces selected only to find out weeks later that it would not be published. And that they were ceasing the magazine. What! Really? It sent ripples through the bead community. Our team decided to asked Tatia Meyer, the publisher, if she'd be willing to do a tribute issue with us. You'll see a letter that she wrote (Pgs 9-10) to thank all those who contributed through the years.
I was so bummed when I heard my piece wasn't going to be published, as this was a piece that I had been dying to share with people. I made it early last Spring, shipped it off to Bead Trends, and then found out it was back logged as one of the many that needed to be returned.
I was excited about our Bead Trends Tribute, because I was going to be able to show you all my necklace, along with pieces from several other artists. Mine uses an irregular netting pattern. The beads are from my Turkish friend who brought them back from a visit. Their odd shapes contribute to the old world feel of the piece. I added wing oyster shells (I brought back from a trip to New Zealand) as the fringe. I wanted to give some substance to the edging, but also have a little sound from the movement of the piece. The shells were just the thing. It sits up on the collar bone and looks fantastic with a scoop neck top. Be sure to check out all the other unpublished pieces, plus an interview with Jess Italia Lincoln from Vintaj, and Erin Siegel who talks about her thoughts on being published. It's another packed issue!
This week Sally's prompt has a seasonal twist to it. She asked us to focus on: saints, souls, skulls or scares. And while sugar skulls are most popular this time of year, I've been playing around with another type of skull: Southwestern style. In my opinion, no one does it quite like Georgia O'Keeffe.
Georgia traveled from NY to northern New Mexico in 1929, and she talked about her love of the area saying “When I got to New Mexico that was mine. As soon as I saw it that was my country. I’d never seen anything like it before, but it fitted to me exactly. It’s something that’s in the air, it’s different. The sky is different, the wind is different. I shouldn’t say too much about it because other people may be interested and I don’t want them interested.”
Georgia was a photographer and a painter and you can see the influence of advanced photography (of the time) in her paintings. Her imagery is both crisp and surreal. She painted the subtle nuances of color, shape and light on her subject, in more than 900 paintings during her lifetime.
I'm showing several images of my necklace to explain some of the things I'm learning as I use my new camera. The main reason I wanted the camera was to be able to get better close ups of my jewelry, and I also wanted to play with the focus so I could blur out the background as you see in this picture (left). I hung the necklace in a tree to create the green background. I have been trying all kinds of surfaces to get a completely white background. This is so that you can take the background out of the picture and have only the image of the jewelry. We typically use a white background for Bead Chat Magazine. I tried a blank white canvas, cotton, cheesecloth, even fresh white sand ... and most of these surfaces produce a bluish hue? You see this in the first picture (top left). For some reason the watercolor paper absorbs the light instead of deflecting it and gives the warm hue you see in the second picture (top right).
As for my necklace, Georgia was my inspiration. I wanted to get that stark Southwestern feel in my focal. I used a custom cut wood focal made by Edi Royer of Memories for Life along with some small wood feathers that I've had her make me before. A bit of simple tone on tone beading (the large rounds are howlite) to create the headdress on my skull. You'll see this featured next week in the November issue of Bead Chat Magazine. I'm just giving you a sneak preview and some learnings on photographing. There is a big announcement next week, so be sure to look for it over at Creative Bead Chat!
This month I have a turquoise leather necklace featured in Bead Chat Magazine (page 103 - just in case you missed it!).
It's quickly becoming one of my favorite styles: simple, Boho inspired. I think it would look fantastic with a simple, white, flowing, cotton summer dress. Or perhaps a little denim.
It uses a little leather fringe in the focal, some turquoise and pearls in the focal and everything hangs on a beautiful rustic leather cord by Orrtec.
I think I might just be addicted to leather as it is starting to show up in so many of my designs, but I just love this look. It is so that 'easy to grab and go!' and dresses up pretty much any outfit.
You'll find it listed in my Etsy Shop.
Ok, maybe it isn't quite fair of me to allude to my piece being featured in Stringing. Yes, the most current issue of Stringing has a section on pearls that are 'not your grandmother's' style. And I did enter this necklace, but it was not selected.
I'm posting it anyway, and I'm doing so because I think there is an important message to those out there that do submit to magazines, but get frustrated by the process.
So few pieces are actually selected, and it always is a bit of a mystery as to why some are selected, and others are not. I feel like I can say this now with some confidence since I have had a piece selected and published. Although I would not say that I am a regular contributor by any stretch of the imagination. But, I did think that I had finally figured out what might be selected, only to have 2 others rejected. And even more frustrating is that it seems to always be the same designers showing up. One other tip I will tell you is that once you submit you end up with a bit of a dialogue with the editors and it does help to make your name known to them. Although it clearly made no difference for me!
The message I would give other designers out there is to keep designing. Design in exactly your style. There are so many amazing pieces out there that never end up in the few select pages of these magazines --- to match whatever theme happens to be on the drawing board for that issue.
What I would encourage you all to do is to check out Bead Chat Magazine. This is an eMagazine designed, written and edited by the bead community. And in our short 7 months of publishing we are up to 100 pages each month full of the designs from all of you (August issue). You can find more about us on the CBC Facebook page or on Artisan Whimsy for upcoming themes. Or you can email us at beadchatmagazine@gmail.com
Join us!
Ok, not exactly sure how I missed this one. Maybe because there were so many pieces I made with Melinda's leather pieces she sent for our 5 x 5 test group in this month's Bead Chat Magazine. There was one more that I did that featured some really cute wood buttons that Edi over at Memories for Life made especially for the team. She really does some amazing things with wood and I've had her cut some custom items for me in the past. The little wood feathers on my Native American necklace were also by Edi.
This bracelet is a simple design, and the buttons seem like they were made for this. looped to pull around on either side they create leather wraps. Fun, light and comfortable to wear. Do check out Edi's store! along with Melinda's at Orrtec.
I think Boho has got to be one of my favorite styles. It's comfortable to wear, and from a design standpoint there are very few rules. Leaving the artist to play. And boy did I have a lot of fun playing with the goodies Melinda Orr sent me! The leather is soft and easy to work with, and I used every last bit and piece of it!
This first piece was a stamped pattern flat leather. I punched holes in it and then beaded on top of the pattern. I also learned how to create a button hole closure with a rivet that Melinda sent me. You can see the tutorial in this month's Bead Chat Magazine glossi (page 81-82) ... I can't even believe how big our little magazine is getting! I'm like a proud moma.
The next piece I decided to leave the beautiful pattern alone and add a beaded band. I recently saw something like this in one of the beading magazines, completely escaping me which one. But a simple enough concept!
I moved on to the thin leather cord which Melinda sent in 3 colors: blue, off white and natural. Might sound a little strange, but it is beautiful stuff! I tell you that this first one with the cross pendant, the second I finished my teenage daughter (also my model here) put it on and never took it off!
She did the same with the next one I created with various wood beads. I had only just finished gluing all the cords into the end when she slipped it on! Popped out one side of the closure, so I had to reset everything. Guess who claimed this one as well?
Now this next one I tried a little something new. I'm calling it freeform chainmaille. I was pretty sure that there wasn't such a thing as chainmaille is a pretty organized sort of thing. But I decided to try. I used it to create a focal and pull the two leather bands together in the middle. Later I googled 'freeform chainmaille' and found that it is indeed a technique, who knew? There is even a book on it by Kalmbach.
Ok, so at this point I have only a couple of scraps left on my bead table. And not wanting any of this gorgeous leather to go to waste ... I decide to create little leather loop earrings. The final two pieces include a Native American inspired beaded pair, and then a wood disc pair that I added a little flair to. If you haven't already clicked over to August Bead Chat Magazine issue ... then click here and check out what everyone else did with their leather from Orrtec.
