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.

Beaded Bead & Leather bracelet

What happens when little beads grow up and want to become Beaded Beads? Why they become bracelets and earrings and necklaces, of course! This obsession with little beads just takes over and becomes so much more...those of you who create with seed beads will understand. I'm off on another adventure and creating more beaded beads again, this time showing more ways to use them once completed.

Here is one way to use the simplest of round beaded beads, add them to strips of leather and simply tie in place. One larger bead was made with five round beads in the base instead of four, this one was added last so it could serve as the "button" bead. A doubled over piece of leather was knotted, making a loop, then alternating beads and beaded beads were strung on with knots in between each addition to hold all in place. This would also look great as a centerpiece for a necklace!

This humble little bead is being offered at Monica's Quilt and Bead Creation, in Palm Desert, for our first Bead of the Month project. By the end of January we should have several different ideas on how to use these beads and incorporate them into jewelry and accessory pieces.

Transitions Bracelet

A fun collection of several types of black beads, including 3.4 drops, each stitched for about an inch and then changed into a different stitch. A good form of practice for tackling multi stitch projects. My first idea was to stitch a 7" swatch of each stitch and then wear it as a wrap bracelet. Well, of course, sanity got the better of me and in order to finish this up quickly, a revised shorter version was made. The influence for this bracelet is one of the newest Lark Master Beader Series, Maggie Meisters Classical Elegance. Several pieces in this book require more than just one stitch and often a knowledge of transitioning from one stitch into another is required. Thought this piece would make a great learning project. It includes; peyote, brick stitch, two drop peyote, ndebele, right angle weave and square stitch.

Tangerine Dream

Another beautiful piece for a Birthday Gal...This to coordinate with her lucious robe and gorgeous dress. It is comprised of Swarovski Crystals and loads of bicones, rondelles and other sparkly trinkets! Done in a monochromatic warm color theory, like many theories that can be found in Beverly Ash Gilberts Beading Colorways, an awesome display of color info.

The wirework was looped and secured and looped again...painstakingly placing the crystals...a joy in discovering the wonder for aspects of orange. See the little loops??? The wire was pulled as a thin ribbon would be, causing it to curl and wiggle. Fun!

This piece rests gently on the neck and lights up the room.. perhaps the birthday queen will send us a photo? This is perfect for showing off a glowing smile....Happy Birthday, La Terra!

Transitions, a bracelet study of stitches

So, the wonderful new Master Series book by Maggie Meister has spurned an idea of sorts. A sampler of stitches and therefore the transitional flow needed to move from one stitch to another was created. I think this is a great way to prepare for what you need to learn in order to work from the book...of course, this is assuming that you already know how to use most of these stitches in several of their forms. The book utilizes movement from right angle weave to peyote to ndebele and then back again, so here is my study using those stitches. The first idea I had was to create a long wrapped beaded bracelet...each wrap a different bead and stitch...then I realized that would take too long and not be productive for a class setting...so you get the short version! I will still create the longer wrap as I think it's going to be a very cool looking bracelet!

I've created this in black, using beads with different surface finishes, even the little 3.4mm drops. It will also be great using multiples of color, or a study of other Monochromatic colorways or even dare I say it GOLD!!! Just be careful, always use a permanent or Duracoat finish when using a metal color. We at Monica's Quilt and Bead Creations in Palm Desert are lucky, almost all our colors are switched over to a "permanent" finish.

Vanessa, The next generation of beader

What a wonderful time we had in Saturday's class! Several beaders were hard at work on projects and the youngest of the group was Vanessa, a delightful, talented young lady from Rancho Cucamonga. She had come out to the desert to join her Mother and Grandmother in a beading session at Monica's Quilt and Bead Creations. Lucky for us she was willing to help in a project called 'Beading to Beat Autism'... Vanessa just kept on beading and before long she had made not one, not two, but ten stretchy bracelets for the cause! It was marvelous to observe the diligence she had in class and to note that she represents the young girls of the next generation of beading..she already had a great sense of color theory and excitement for the craft...I think we're in good hands for the future.

So, speaking of the future, the Autism project is spearheaded by a another young lady, Michela Riggles..she's been on the Ellen Show and others promoting her goal of raising monies for a research and educational facility in Kentucky. Read about her journey on her website; www.beadingtobeatautism.org it's an amazing undertaking for one so young.

As I said, our future is in good hands.

My own personal Bead Hop

Bracelet found at one of the vintage shops on 4th St.

Spent a few days at the beach last week and was able to visit not one, not two, but three bead shops. The first, Beadology is a long time favorite in Huntington Beach. My husband then found two online in Long Beach. He drove (of course, I get to bead while travelling) Our first stop at Ruby Tuesday found that they did not open until 11, so onto Pudgy's, whoops, they sleep late too. What to do? Oh well, we were forced to go and eat pie at Polly's. Just down the street from Pudgys, so if you go, you must stop! Back to Pudgys where I met the owners and found that they stock a very large selection of Vintage beads. A bit over an hour later we were on the road back to Ruby Tuesdays, with a side trip to a block long area of vintage shops, where we found a great vintage starfish bracelet. Starfish were the theme of the day as I was looking for items to incorporate into designs for my daughter, Dawn Marie, who designs reversible swimsuits under the label "Deuce Swimwear."

It turned out the shops, all on 4th St. Long Beach were just half a block from the house John had lived in from about age 4 to 10 years old. We found the house and got some photos, tempted to ring the bell to ask for a look around but passed. Back to Ruby Tuesday which is a newer shop with a very enthusiastic owner and a very nice selection to choose from. She spent a lot of time with me helping to choose and showing me examples of her work.

Dakota Turquoise Earrings

How's this for a feathery look without the feathers?!?!? Brick stitch a few colors together and then dangle loads of beads from the baseline. Here, I used all Delica cylinder beads in Matte Black #310, Red 723, Blue 166 and Nickel 035. Notice at the end of the dangles the lovely semi-precious stones in turquoise, the weight of these stones help to keep the dangles looking straight.

The earrings are comfortable to wear and the length of the dangles could be as long as you desired. Of course, there is nothing stopping you from adding an extra feather or two if you want more for effect. Simply attach the stem of the feather to a fold over crimp end and attach it at the same time you are adding the beadwork to th earring finding.

Beading to Beat Autism...a Beading Girl's Night Out

What a fun night we had last night! To kick off the 2011 Bead Shop Hop, we introduced all attendees to the schedule of events upcoming in September. Wow, two weekends in a row seeking out all the great Bead Shops in SoCal...a beader's dream come true!
Tied into this evening was a worthy event as well, we all gathered around the beading table to create little stretchy bracelets that will in turn help a young girl's dream come to fruition! Check out www.beadingtobeatautism.com and read about Michala's story...she's only fourteen years old and has aspirations of building a center for education and research into the silent world of Autism. At age ten she raised over 250Thousand $$$ for her family and the treatment of her young brother, now four years later she desires funding for a Center in Louisville, Kentucky. Find out how to help her further this dream...
For some great pics of the night I'm sure we'll have some good photos on Monica's Quilt and Bead Creations web site, www.monicasquiltandbead.com. I bet we hold this event again so Monica herself can take part in the fun and others who were unable to attend can have another opportunity for fun , creativity and community service.
Above is my creation with Turquoise looking Magnasite and a Red Coral bead for contrast, remember your color theory?!? Lots of Silver spacers, nice chunks add a bit of panache! And then there is the puzzle Charm ( a symbol for autism)...given to me awhile ago by Deb, one of my Bead Chick friends. This Charm has some great words on the back as well...family, tradition, love, friends, charity...to remind us of what's important in our daily lives.
It was amazing to hear the stories of how many in attendance last night knew someone close to them who had Autism affecting a close personal friend or relative.

Tila Beauty

What a fun new bead is the Tila! I have had a great time developing new pieces using these beads in the most unsual ways. This piece involves peyote, square stitch and right-angle-weave, just to keep it simple! The most exciting part is that I haven't seen this version any where yet, so I'm happily submitting this item to a bead mag and we'll cross fingers and hope it sees the light of day! Of course, it will be on my roster of classes at Monica's Quilt and Bead Creations for those more adventurous students. The beads here are Tila beads, 4mm fire-polish and size 11 seed beads built using one-G thread, altho' I would also us Fireline or Wildfire.

A big plus...my daughter, Dawn and her friend, Jessica both admired the piece, so it could be a hit! Maybe Dawn would wear one in grays and black???

Tila Film Strip Bracelet

What a wonderful chance to use these marvelous Tila Beads! Work this braclelet as you would a semi precious stone leather wrapped bracelet, just remember to stay in place and catch both holes! On this piece I used both a matte and shiny gray Tila bead, just picked up at random and it created such a translucent effect that I thought it looked like film strips...you know the old 35mm kind before there was digital media! Each color used weighed about 10 grams of tila beads and the leather was 1.5mm thick.

Star Power Bracelet

As promised here is the bracelet I designed using the Star Power influence from the earring pattern. Note the cute Beaded Bead Ball at the end , this was a vintage piece from a collection located in New Jeresy. It could be easily replicated using a 12mm wooden bead and several passes with small beads such as 15's or small Hex seed beads. The button loop was created using a simple peyote ring of beads, then making a few passes and on the last row forming a picot of five beads, the middle bead a peanut. Love these new shapes of beads!
Bead-weaving techniques such as peyote and right angle weave were used.

New Olivine Beauties

Away for the weekend up at the Crestline cabin...a first in about four or five months! Treated to a new Bead and Button magazine in the mailbox just waiting for me when we got home. A darling earring feature by Gloria Ljubich using peanut beads got my creative juices flowing again so here is the result. Of course, I had to try things my way and one thing led to another so this piece was stitched with one continous thread, not in separate components as in the pattern. I mananged this by using right angle weave, my stitch of choice. Wait til you see the bracelet I conncocted inspired by this project.

Now to make another set of earrings that I will actually be able to wear, as this runway length just looks silly on me! I'll share this with my Beading friends at my Sit-n-Bead Class tonight as I think everyone has the magazine by now.

p.s. a good issue (#103) with lots of goodies

Slip Knot Lariat

A new delivery of sparkling Swarovski Pandora style beads has come into the shop, so we are all putting our heads together and coming up with ideas on how to use them in other ways. I remembered this fun idea that was shared with our beading group, the Bead Chicks, from the talented Robin Cowart of wegotthebead.com. Of course, my end product has been tweaked a bit, I added the dangling bits and changed the construction but she planted the germ of an idea...and a good one, too! Taking a long enough chain to fit over your head, fasten a larger bead, here I used a silver cube bead at one end. Add more chain below the bead for fashionable interest and now you have a support structure for the large hole beads. I suppose you could do this for Dzi beads or other gemstones with a large hole. The caveat to remember is that the width of two chains, sliding inside the hole, must fit easily into the large hole beads. Now you can buy one or two colors each and wear multiples or switch them up to match your wardrobe! Later, I'll show you how beautiful the new interchangeable designer beads are going to look, instead of these cat's eye stand-ins. Fun...Fun...Fun

From the deep blue sea...

Here is the lovely necklace I wore as Mother of the Bride, now called Mermaids Delight. Aptly named by the mermaids father (who was also Father of the Bride). This piece was created with our dauther in mind, the lovely Dawn aka the mermaid, on the occasion of her lovely October wedding to the young man of her dreams, Jeffery. Her shoes happened to be tall, beautiful satin heels of this deep oceanic blue...well, it was all the inspriation I needed to begin this creation.

It's elements include fresh water pearls, Swarovski crystals in Peridot, EmeraldAB, IndicoliteAB, Jet2XAB with a few Vintage Margaurites and two-toned 18mm Electra Rivilois. Various seed beads in sizes 15, 11 and delica beads were also used. A right angle weave base supports several clusters of flowers and leaves to form the bouquet style necklace. Each peyote stitched flower took about an hour to complete with several of the large ones taking a few days working on them here and there. Total time to complete estimated at two months. My dear friend and fellow Bead Chick, Jeanette helped me in crunch time and made the sprial rope, so delicate because it's all made with 3mm crystals and size 15 seedbeads.

I actually added a small element on the lower corner, if you look at the photo (of the necklace being worn) there seems to be a space where the point should end. I did mean for it to be asymetrical, however, it was a little off at the point so I added the small flower bit and it is much better now and complete.

So I'm happy to say that John took a photo and we entered it in the BeadStar contest...should know by June if it places in the finals. Hip-hip-hooray. I actually followed through on something and completed the paperwork, that in and of itself makes me happy!

Cuff 'em, Dano

Look at these beautiful examples of Bead Embroidered Cuffs. The bracelets in the photos above are being created by my Bead Chick Friends (and students:-) from the Great NW. Their first attempt at Bead Embroidery and they are showing such artistic promise! Notice the little beaded (3.4mm mini magatamas) drops in Cherryl's at the top, they will represent a cluster of grapes, in fact her whole piece tells a story. I love it when we can focus on a journey to tell and translate the thoughts into beads.

LuAnne's cuff, shown in the middle , has beadwork centered around a piece of gorgeous Austalian Opal, it'll be fabulous with denim jeans and a fun top..hey, for a chain mailler she can bead really fast! Very good transitions from one color to the next...notice the calming colors of this complementary color scheme.

Nancy's is a wonderful color study told in an analogous (colors side by side on the color wheel) colorway. She carried the lime green of the Caspite throughout the piece and anchored it all with the deep tones of navy and indigo. Another beader that comes to us from the world of wire and Chainmaille...They are all doing such beautiful work!

Leather Wraparound

This is becoming so very popular in the beading circles. I have to give kudos to my fellow FIDM alumni grad Chin Luu for her design! She started it all about 5 years ago...and thus the full life cycle of a designer element; from Runway to publicity (in Oprah Magazine as one of her favorite things) to popularity (copied by others) to the DIY crowd (that's us the beaders of the world!)

Here's my version and looks so very nice in Howlite and Black leather... think I will make one for my daughter -in-law and a larger one for my son.

Back of Captured Crystal Earrings

Shown here are the backs of the Captured Method for covering the Rivoli. A basic start of 5 or 6 beads in the center and then circular peyote growing out towards edge it provides a simple method of covering the delicate foiled backs of these crystals.

Two Rivoli Earrings

Another day, another way...to capture and showcase Swarovski Crystal Rivolis. Here displayed as earrings, the Blue/Purple set above are captured with the technique made popular by Nikia Angel. Made with an 18mm Rivoli in Meridian Blue and Sapphire Bicone 5328 crystals using a netting stitch. A quick, rather painless way to wrap up a rivoli surrounded with 4mm Crystal bicones. See Beadwork magazine, Summer 2010, for more details.

The second set of Earrings are competely covered in the back with circular peyote and then points of 3.4mm Mini drop glass beads are set around the perimeter. All created using size 11 Delica cylinder beads and size15 seed beads. This pattern is my original design and is one of many classes I teach at Monica's Quilt and Bead Creations in Palm Desert, CA. As I get more tech savvy I hope to offer this as a downloadable pattern, with more to come.

Bridesmaid Bracelet

Another in the collection of bracelets designed for Ms. Jamy's Wedding. Six colors of 4mm bicone crystals make up the palette for this crossweave technique. I made this 12" long, added 2" simple chain at one end and a lobster clasp at the other. You could make it longer or short as desired, every six or seven inches equals another wrap around the wrist. Swarovski colors used include cyclamen opal, tanzanite, volcano, fuschia, purple velvet and amethyst.