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.

Double Decker Wraparound

Okay...so here's the first of many wraps I made along our trip to Utah! Hey, you gotta learn how to use those ten to twelve hours in a car wisely! More on my personal tips for a stable setup in an other post.

This wraparound bracelet was created especially for a dear young lady who is a Master Wig Maker and hair dresser for the Shakspeare Festival in Cedar City. She loves owls and I thought the colors suited her well. The cubes are 5mm Hex glass beads from Miyuki, the leather is brown round 1.5mm and the owl bead is a new item from TierraCast, a findings company usually well represented in most bead shops. This wrap was concieved with a slightly different approach, more of a loom stitch rather than a half hitch around the leather, multiple cords were set up and then the three rows of cubes were stitched all at the same time. It was quickly finished and the gift was nicely appreciated.

As you can probably tell, yes that is the dashboard as my surface for the photo...and as a testament for the smoothness of the ride, I do believe we were traveling at a steady 75mph when I shot the pic!