I'm a new Grandma!

Of all the most pleasant reasons to take a break from blogging, this has to be the best! Three years ago, we had no grand children...now, we are blessed with four wonderful babies! My daughter has two beautiful children, Melia 3.5 years old and Ty who is 16 months old. My son has two gorgeous girls, Pyper at 3.4 years old and Scout who is 9 months old.
And now...back to beading!

Diamonds in a Row loomwork

 

I'm newly fascinated with Loomwork again, after a break of a few years. I remember creating pieces on the loom, then being intimidated by all the loose threads to sew in to place. Now I know a few different methods in finishing the work but the most fun is using one of the newer looms that are warp-less. The most recent work was completed on a Rick's Loom...now at Monica's Quilt and Bead Creations...The only concern was what type of closure to make and how to attach the clasp.

The toggle was a simple peyote beaded bead and strap in the similar weave as center of bracelet. The  middle of the toggle is filled with smaller size 8 beads on a 18 gauge wire and 6mm crystals.

The clasp is a shaped peyote piece rendered with a little help from the Diane Fitzgerald book that is a great study of the same. I filled the shape with tiny rolls of foil so it would keep it's firmness through the wearings.

It was fun creating the pattern on my BeadTool4.5...or what ever update it's up to now...I just know I like the program and it makes it easy to switch out colors and move patterns around.

Tutti Fruitti

Anothe in my series of Odd Count Peyote bracelets. this simliar pattern was reworked in the neon brights. All Delica beads with 4mm fire polish Czech glass topped with a size15 seed bead to hide the slider clasp with five loops. This item beaded by Wendy Hathaway who did a gorgeous job!

Sweet Valentine

Here is one of the sweetest cuffs I've seen in a while! Pattern was created by another beader and I just thought her use of color space and shadow was great. Will post her name and the magazine as soon as I locate both...Of course, I changed the colors because I wanted to wear it right away! Looks like a bunch of valentine heart candies ready to eat! It was a real treat to wear on Valentine's Day.
Made entirely of delica beads with a five loop slider.

Mulit Five Wrap macrame bracelet

 

Really, truly, I have been working on lots and lots of new items! We have been so busy with our two new grand babies in the family, that all things social media have been on the back burner.

So to start again, I'm sharing a few items of the wildly popular macrame technique! 

The latest of my newest items is this lovely multi wrap bracelet...I think we'll keep seeing the stacked bracelet look carry on well into the summer and fall of this year. And all things organic will play a huge role in the accessories market.

This piece is full of interesting beads; shell cut as sequins,which are added with a cross weave technique, matte copper beads, rhodium plated hex glass beads and a few pearls thrown in for good measure. Also, a few fire polish glass beads. The button is one from my own vintage collection, a high domed pressed glass shape with a touches of gold. I made this wrap with several added cords, so it's a bit fuller than the ones my students are making in class...

Speaking of which, this has become the most popular class...who knew we'd still be so involved with macrame, a throwback to the 70's! Ahhh, but so much more chic!

Come join us in all the fun at Monica's Quilt and Bead Creations.

Quilted Crystal Cuff

  I couldn't resist making this beautiful cuff, pattern by Kassie Inman. It was featured on the cover of this month's Beadwork magazine. Of course, I used what i had handy and these brown marroon tone tila beads just happened to be on my bench. The 4mm Bicone Crystals are a mix of color; Amethyst Satin, Black Diamond, GriegeAB, BurgundyAB and Volcano. These bugle beads used might be 1mm longer than the pattern called for, however as a trial I used them anyway. It still worked out fine. The pattern calls for three rows across, I wanted a little more bling, of course, so added one more row...I think the next might be five rows across. It was a great pattern and I'm thrilled for Kassie, it's her second published pattern, look for more of her work on the Beaded Butterfly. What a fine accomplishment.

Shoulder Dusters

These were fun to make and a great way to use up my stash of bugle beads. A simple ladder stitch in the center and then brick stitch upwards to the top is all it takes. Be careful about the row you use to begin the long fringe, I highly recommend making a row below the ladder stitched one, as that first row fills up with thread and it becomes difficult to retrace your thread path. Just add an extra row below the first ladder stitched row with brick stitch, then continue on with the fringing.

I did create a fabulous pattern for these which was my coupe de grace` of the day, it was a stroke of luck figuring out how to 'export' the pattern from Bead Tool, click the 'aspect ratio' button and resize the pattern so it looks like actual Bugle Beads. Opening up a whole new world in the pattern design department!

Everyone I have shown them to just ohhs and ahhs...but then the comical look happens; who is going to wear these? Well, most Rock Stars I would like to think and a couple of models...Heidi, want a cute pair of earrings to wear on Project Runway???

Soon a smaller pair for the Real Women amounst us!!!

Leather Wrap Arounds

The latest of my wrap arounds...this one created with the duo hole beads by Preciosa Ornela. A beautiful glass with an iris coating. A five wrap, I think was made at 26" or is that a four wrap??? Well, maybe it was 32" for a five wrap...I think I've made up a formula that works for determining the amount needed for a specific wrist measurement.

Take actual wrist measurement for wrap #1, for each consecutive wrap add 1/4" more for ease. Then finish with three knots, forming two buttonholes for adjustment.

For example, a four wrap for me would be; 6.5" + 6.75" + 7" +7.25 = 27.5"

This way you could make one for a friend and know it would fit properly!

This front side view of a wrap being sent out this week to a very special gal...The multi colored 4mm stones are River Rock Agate which blend beautifully with the smooth cornered Thai silver beads we have at Monica's Quilt and Beads Creations! The leather a gorgeous tan natural color in a 1.5mm round leather.

Here is a full back view of the bracelet, I started adding Silver beads every third or fifth set of beads. added some light to the piece. The cute Lizard button was a gift from one of my Bead Chick friends!

Blue Diamond Peyote Bracelet

A new version of my odd count peyote series, this one a direct result of designing a smaller odd count peyote beaded bead. A beautiful shade of denim blue-green, Delica Bead #325 is the basis for this layout. It matches beautifully with the beaded key presented in an earlier post.

Pattern was created on the Bead Tool 4.4 or 4.7 which ever is the lastest update. I find working with the product extremely easy and very managable. I transported the design from the beaded bead for the key into the new program of the bracelet...or rather made a revision and hit 'save as' in order to create a new pattern. I will also be making this in a Victorian color way for the Holidays...It is July after all and what better time to start on holidays gifts and projects? trust me, time flies...

The bracelet clasp is a rather simple one, however it lent itself perfectly to the antique brass tones needed to complement this bracelet. I purposely have shown you the back side of the clasp. Note how the piece aligns next to the bar clasp and the loops of the clasp sit inside the beadwork. The stitch was more of a running backstitch catching the clasp at the same time as the stitching was passing through the loops.

Looks like my friend Joanne, will be making yet one more bracelet for the summer! This one a perfect fit for all those casual days of tee shirts and jeans.

Happy Beading on a Summer Day!

My own personal Bead/Quilt shop run, July 2012

Redlands Sewing Center, State Street

First, a stop at an all time favorite shop in Redlands, my friend Tami just got her new Viking serger here! Showed the gals in the shop my newest pattern,'It's too Darn Hot' and talked about how great it would be for a quick sewing class!

A Rolling Stone on Citrus Avenue

And just around the corner, a fabulous bead and button store with tons of hidden gems everywhere you look!  They have a new way to buy an interesting collection of great stones too, multiples of beads on a single strand.

The Painted Lady Quilt Shop on Tennesse Ave.

A darling shop getting a well deserved facelift under creative new ownership. Lots of hard to find Civil War goods plus some of the newest and latest colorful textiles by the likes of Riley Blake and others. I found something here to add to my Halloween collection!

The Garden of Beadin' in Upland, CA

Just one of the most innovative Bead shops in the Inland Empire, whenever we are close, I want to stop. Since I had a specific project on the board I wanted to stay on target and just add components for that piece...ya, right! I did find more great items from Tierra Cast and some large holed beads to fit on the ndebele bracelet I am creating. More on that later...

Upland Sew & Vac, Second Street, Upland, CA

And literally right down the street, another really great sewing machine center, this one with lots and lots of cute fabric and a mini long arm quilting machine I've had my eyes on for a long time. They a very good clients and liked the new pattern I had shown them...Your store of choice for Bernina sewing machines!

Brea Bead Works, just west of 57 Fwy on Imperial Hwy.

And a trip down the freeway won't be complete without a stop at BBW...newly remodeled and chock full of fantastic beads. Here I found  pink dichroic rings from Paula Radke, they might find themselves hanging on a necklace...must be soon, I need something pink to wear!

Beadology, on Golden West in Huntington Beach

The main reason for this trip, a class with famed Judy Walker, for a multistrand Ndebele bracelet. It seems unlikely I know, but to take a class with a well known teacher at a fraction of the cost at a convention, such as Bead&Button, is hard to pass up! Plus, I know any class will enhance what one might know and will advance your skill level exponentially.

Many thanks to my Dear Hubby, John, the driving force (literally, ha!) behind my creativity and progression down this career path. This little road trip was his idea and I'm glad he was willing to go the distance. It was a great trip topped off with nice lunch in Old Downtown Fullerton, then a little stroll through some vintage stores and an art gallery or two. 

Vintage Keys with Beaded Beads

Well, one is a Vintage Key, my skate key from way back when and the other two are a beautiful set in antique brass. This month's challenge to create a Beaded Bead for the shop was facing a writer's block, (or the equivalent for a beader!) until I spied these new keys on display. One thing led to another and this peyote beaded bead accent was made for our Bead of the Month program.

It was easy to create the beaded bead pattern with my favorite beading program, Bead Tool 4.5. It still is a time intensive process, involving the testing of the pattern, redrafting and final critique but it is well worth the process. 

This pattern has a short bead, five Delica beads wide by eighteen rows for the little key and the diamond pattern which is twenty six Delica beads wide by twenty two rows long that fits the long key. All is worked in Odd Count Peyote with a two needle start. There are several ways to turn at the odd count side, my personal favorite is the traditional figure eight type of turn around. However, it is much faster to work the turn with the chain stitch that loops around the previous rows' bead or by using two needles to complete the odd turn.

I hung all on pre made chain and connected Round Swarovski crystals, the color is Indicolite, as well as 6mm bicone #5328 crystals from the various chain links. The crystals were easier to move when I attached them to small jump rings...this was discovered after moving items a few times. It sure helped that I have a full size mannequin on which to hang these pieces. That would be a most useful addition to your workspace.

Check out our Bead of the Month program at Monica's Quilt and Bead Creations...the pattern is free when you buy the supplies! We sure have fun at our Monday night Sit-n-Bead sessions!!!

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Fandango in Pink

Here is another version of my new favorite earring. I made these in just under an hour, they are getting faster!

The most fun is choosing the colors...these to match a blouse with a bit of embrodiery, so it was easy to make the color scheme work.

Having a great time with some new ideas usiign Cellini Spiral technique.

Fandango Earrings

What happens when a spiral goes spiraling out of control?  Well, you can always make another and call the both of them a pair of earrings!

Which is exactly what happened here. A simple task, to make a Cellini spiral Ring, became so much more than that when an experiment with bead size and count went a little oversized. The extra large bead sizes caused the ring to lay a little bit flatter than I had hoped, but my Bead Chicks (my beading network) encouraged me to carry on and figure out how to use them anyway. The next challenge was to recall what steps I had taken to make them as they were and replicate the same again...only this time in mirror image since I wanted to have them hang as a pair.

Well, it helps to take good notes while you are working...that could be lesson #1. A few photos along the way would have been lesson #2. So now to make yet another pair or two..perhaps in green and blues and another in blacks and white with a pop of red! Anything could be used as the drops, a larger bead count to start the first row would create an even longer pair. This pair included several color of Delica beads, a couple colors, including that color of the year Tangerine Tango,  in size 11 seed beads, one size 8 hex seed bead, one size 6 seed bead and of course the cute Vintage Czech Glass Yellow Drops!

We'll see what happens real soon! 'Til then I've been wearing these and getting loads of compliments. A great way to use up those left over bits from other projects or a bead soup, too!

I'll be wearing them at Monica's Quilt and Bead tomorrow, so stop by and take a look! Ohhh, I see a new class on the horizon...

Milady Pendant Part 2

Consider the dilemna..too many colors choices! The pearls here are surrounded with gold #471 size 15 seed beads. Might be the way to go since I don't seems to have the more Old World color of gold that would match the Delica Beads in a better way. Those were the 24k gold iris.

And below I have another set of pearls trimmed in a darker marroon seed bead. Why do I have so many pearls finished? The pattern called for eight so I bezelled all eight, repeating the same steps each time so it became faster and faster to bead them...but I later notice it only needs four bezelled...oh well, more for the ring to be made later!

Oh, what a lesson learned here! Notice the Rivoli colors...These have the Mystic finish and I had a thought about the colors of each when I first laid them out...but I didn't really check in differnt light until I started to take photos. I tell my students in class to take a second look at a project if your inner voice is telling you something is not quite right....but in my haste I plowed onward and now will have to remake the fourth stone. No worries about the extra, it will become the center of a cleverly constructed ring...more on that later.

The bezel technique for the 8mm pearl shown front and back. From Sabine Lippert's new book, Beaded Fantasies. A great compliation of most of her most dramatic creations, the patterns are nicely written, however her patterns for sale online are by far the best I have ever seen. Extremely detailed regarding each and every move needed for a complete unit.

A quick setup of several components placed together. We have just finished watching the Three Muskateers of 2012...Milady is portrayed by Mila Jonavich, wickedly good. Great costumes! This piece certainly reminds me of that era.

Now, I really have to get back to work...then I will return to this piece and complete it soon!

Milady Pendant Part 1

The process...steps in the creation of Sabine Lippert's Milady Pendant. From her new Master Lark Series book, Beaded Fantasties. Here with the four pearls needed for the piece.

What would the possibility be if I used all eight pearls? I think a bit too large to actually wear, usless you were Milady, of course!

The bezeling of the 14mm crystal, a nice way to finish the surface and still show alot of the face of the stone. When I approach a new pattern with several seed beads, I find it helps to use as many separate colors as possible. That way you can find the bead as it is referred to in the pattern. Another lessoon learned, wait until daylight to take the photos..or get up and go into the photo lab! just in a hurry...

Bezeling the pearls was easy...A quick tip I could share about this step is to move from pearl to pearl and complete each one before moving on to the next row or step. The repetitive action helps you move through the process faster than if you have done one at a time, production style if you will. Keep several needles tamed by placing into a plump pin cushion. Most moves would be considered peyote stitch and netting technique.

The first layout of beads and Rivolis, a pleasing assortment...just wish I would have caught that one Rivoli that is a slightly different color..is it the coating? the stone itself?

Twin Denim Wrap

These denim colored "twin" beads are gorgeous when used with peyote stitch. A new product from Preciosa Ornela, they come in so many delectable colors. A precious glass from the Czech company that has been around longer than Swarovski...nice, smooth double holes on each side of an oval shaped bead. Sized somewhere between an 11 and a 8 seed bead since both seem to tuck up easily next to the open space left at the end of a row.

Free patterns are readily available online at the Facebook page for Preciosa Ornela.

This bracelet was created using simple even count peyote stitch. Made twice as long as needed so it could become a wrap bracelet...well, just because anything worth making is worth doing twice, right??? Plus, it makes that piece so much more modern and of the current times. An easy change of the beads created the diamond shaped pattern, this way I was able to use two small tubes of different colors for the whole bracelet. Like the picot stitch on the edge? When you are ready to turn in to the next row of peyote, pick up the three beads needed for the picot at the same time you make the turn. Here three (3) size 11 seed beads were used, another possibility would be a size 11, a 3.4mm drop and a size 11 seed bead. A view of that one later in the week!

Two Simple Twin Rings

Oh look, thinking in twos already! One ring for my daughter, one for my DIL, both pregnant with our first grandbabies!

Simple right angle weave or even easier cross-weave technique is the method of construction for these little beauties. Fast to finish, a great way to use up left over crystals and put a little BLING at your fingertips. When using so many Swarovski bicone crystals, I highly reccomend Fireline or Wildfire beading threads for a bit more lasting power. Notice how the colors are accented with a brightly colored metallic spacer. I wish they were gold, but nowadays Vermeil will just have to do! Adding a spot of gold or Silver to your piece gives it a bit of life...keeps the eye moving around. The biege color is Sand Opal, a special coating, I think, because no one seems to know where to find them again (great)...The other in a pretty green called KhakiAB.

Beaded Loom Bracelet

For the longest time I have loved Loom work, just not all those pesky threads left over to weave back into the work. I knew there had to be a better way to begin a project and eliminate the extra threads. This project should be called an invented loom bracelet...the students in my class have to be very, very patient to set this up properly...but so far all have had happy conclusions!

A hand-made Thai Silver clasp begins and ends the piece and the central design has Swarovski crystals. Lots of pretty turquoise rondelles and heishi add to the very southwestern look. If you look closely you will see some very nice Tila beads, they are surounded by sets of three size 11 rocaille (round) seed beads.

Springtime is in the Air

Okay, even tho' the wind is blowing across the desert, colors are popping out everywhere. On cactus, blooms are just waiting for one more day of heat to bring forth all their glory. Our little cacti are showing signs of pink and fuchsia colored blooms so I thought a bracelet reflecting those colors would be perfect.
This was certainly an easy one to make, simple netting stitch and a few 3mm bicone swarovski crystals turned a springtime color palette into a beautiful finished product. The buttons on the ends are actually semi-precious stones, 10mm rounds of blue lace agate and chalcedony. A loop of bead offset into the body of the beadwork finishes the closure.

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