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...

Bead Journal Project, January

Well, here they are in all their glory! Don't they look sweet? The one on the left represents my daughter, Dawn...the one on the right my daughter in law, Alina. Subtle changes in whites to silvers, more surface finishes than color. Lots of bead soup mix used for this project.

Only a few different stitches used in the creation of this piece. Mostly backstitch and stop stitch to hold the beads with holes in place upright. All down on Stiffy Stuff, then ttrimmed close to show the shape.

These pieces might be mounted into a frame later, so the edges are waiting until that deciding factor. Perhaps one will be set into a frame and the other afixed onto an Ultrasuede backing with a bail attachment to be worn on a necklace later.

Bead Journal Project in progress, January

This is January's work in progress, photo taken on the road. Yes, I do get lots of beadwork competed while John is driving. This clearly shows the layout and design of the little pregnant "goddesses" that have become the vehicle for my beaded project. The outline is printed on a new water soluable product called Tranfer-Eze. Best used for stitching projects, I thought it might give my pieces a bit of uniformity...at least at the start...We'll see where they end !!!

The two Goddesses represent my two sweet gals going through their pregnancies almost side by side. my daughter is expecting in July, then my daughter-in-law is expecting in September! We are calling them our twin cousins! So, mirror imagery came to mind first, then the white light for the "light of my life" or the "light of the universe" that these two babies represent. These will be our two first grand-babies! The cabochons are actually hand made glass by BeadStarr, the flash of rainbow color are the result of dichroic glass. The bead embroidery is laid onto Stiffy Stuff, next pieces will be in color since I have gotten packs of Nicoloe Campanella's beadbacking. Lots of white beads from my stash, mixed into a bead soup of various of shades and surface finishes were used for this piece. More to come soon! This is great fun...just finding time for it all is the challenge.

Fresh fish for Thursday

Special of the day today includes a beautiful beaded Fishy created for a Fish Challenge in a yahoo bead group. What a fun a thoroughly addicting process this has become! It seems that every beaded project I have on my table also ends up as a fish! This simple peyote Beaded Bead has subtle embellishments, using picot ends for the drops and a little bit of right angle weave to add the tail. It would be easy to use a bead soup mix to create one of these!

Talk about Color!

As mentioned earlier we were the happy winners of a contest sponsored by Beverly Ash Gilbert...well, today our gorgeous prize arrived! Take a look at a color feast for your eyes! We received a beautiful color wheel system with overlays for developing different color theories...plus the incredible "naturals" color wheel in both warm and cool color palettes. What a treat!!! Look at the fun bead soup mixes that also came, like it was Christmas in July...but it's only April. The color mixes above are Cherry Cordial, which looks so much like the Pantone color of the year honeysuckle, and Blue Moon, which just looks perfect for my wardrobe. Hey, didn't I make a Twirly Skirt in that colorway? Next stop the necklaces they become...Thanks to Beverly! check out her site for wonderful color theory support, books and tools. www.gilbertdesigns.net

Beaded Colorways

How exciting ...I won a contest! Wow ...or rather was lucky in a drawing. Beverly Ash Gilbert author of the Beaded Colorways, asked for comments on Amazon when her book first came out. So John and I put together a review and we were drawn as the lucky ones! Well, I'll be the lucky one since I get to play with a new package of beads...ohhh, yummy colors. So... I am very excited! Her lovely bead soups are gorgeous! Check out her website and blog. www.BerverlyAshGilbert.com . So to pick a choice from any of her basic colorways and newly developed bead soups would be hard...The Mermaid looks so pretty (and my daughter, Dawn, the Aquarian and lover of all things of the ocean would probably be the recipient of the piece of jewelry I made from that bead soup) The cherry cordial looks yummy, and I like the blues and purples...Since I am by Seasons classified a 'winter' all those blue tone colors are my favorites. Of course, now with my newly grown-out gray hair it really is like winter and perhaps even the new grays of Spring would be good. Whatever I receive will be fun and I'll post a photo as soon as they arrive, I'm sure it will be a real treat .