Pendant For The Russian Spiral

A while ago I purchased some natural beads that are called mother of pearl blister pearls. They are absolutely beautiful and unique and I've been anxious to find ways to use them. It seemed to me that they'd make a stunning addition to the Russian Spiral necklace I made and I'm so pleased with the result. The piece sits high on the chest, more or less right between and just below the collarbone. And the pendant can be removed so that the neck piece can still be worn alone. It's so much fun to create something like this that's more versatile.

Russian Spiral

This necklace is my first foray into the new book I bought. I found the instructions very easy to follow and the stitch itself is fairly simple and straight forward once you get going on it. I did have to unbead it a couple of times but that's no big deal. I really like how it feels. It has a bit of stretch to it and it's very supple and soft. I'm working on a bead order to get myself a stash of different beads to work this stitch. And, there is a pendant in progress to go with it. But there's also a different version of the rope brewing in my head that I may have to work on next. Oh, and there is a freeform peyote bracelet in progress too.



Hockey starts tonight! So I'll be knitting during the game.

Summer On My Arm Bracelet

This pretty little bracelet was the result of wanting to experiment with the spiral rope stitch. I have a collection of glass beads that I haven't been using so I sorted through them and decided that some of the bell flowers and leaves could create a summer garden feeling. There were also some bright green seed beads that I've been trying to find a use for and I love the viney look they give to the bracelet. The other elements that I couldn't resist using are Swarovski crystals in a variety of colours just to give the piece a bit of sparkle. The bracelet is for sale in my Etsy store.





This bracelet has been sold.

Bead Shopping in the Big City

I'm away from home this week and today I went to a bead shop that I enjoy, hoping to find some interesting and/or exciting beads to inspire me. What I ended up doing was buying a couple of tubes of seed beads, a gorgeous oval jasper donut and a new beading book. I bought Seed Bead Stitching - Creative Variations on Traditional Techniques which is published by Bead & Button Magazine.



Though the book is pretty much beginner level, there are several variations on stitches that I haven't yet managed to teach myself. There are chapters on peyote stitch, brick stitch, right-angle weave, daisy chain, spiral rope stitch and Russian stitches which include three fabulous rope type stitches. I've been getting a little bored with only having the spiral rope to make necklaces out of, so this will provide a welcome change! I can hardly wait to get home (tomorrow) and get beading again!

Just Two More Days...

...left to vote on the Etsy BeadWeavers Challenge for September! If you haven't already voted, please do so now! I need all of the votes I can get on this bracelet of mine which is entered!

 Click HERE to vote!

For more views of the bracelet (or to buy it) CLICK HERE.

Blog Award...and...

I received a blog award from Linda at Hammelman Art. I really appreciate being given this award, but I'm not going to pick seven blogs to pass it on to. If you are interested in having the award, help yourself at Linda's blog. There are just too many wonderful blogs out there for me to single out seven! Again, thanks Linda.

Abrupt change of topic:

Looks like cruise season isn't over yet! This ship is on it's way to Alaska, past my front door!

Three Day Pendant Necklace

The three day pendant necklace is so named for obvious reasons.  It's taken me three days to complete it.  It's labour intensive, yes, but certainly not three days worth.  I needed to take it easy on my neck.  Anyway, I was absolutely driven to make it happen.  It was in my head and I had gotten some new beads in and knew I wanted to do something in navy and copper.  And I'd also been wanting to make a pendant size triangle.  

Though the photos are showing the colours pretty accurately, the sparkle is not revealed.  In the evening under lowered light, it catches and reflects the light.  In other words, it sparkles.

Not to be forgotten that today is 9/11 and I would be remiss to not mention that I too remember that day and the shocking events, for I have a son who is a volunteer fire fighter.  I gratefully remember the heroes of 9/11.

Entrecard and Me

So I've been doing the Entrecard thing for a while now and I have a couple of lists I'd like to share.

Blogs I Only Go To Once

• Blogs with music - I have my own music happening thank you very much
• Blogs with lots of animated "stuff" - It just takes too darn long to load
• Blogs that are heavily weighted with advertising - Goes without saying; I want content
• Blogs that hide their Entrecard drop spot near the bottom of the page - Time spent searching for it is time I could be reading your blog.

Working the Entrecard System

• Cultivate loyal traffic by returning all drops to your card
• Comment when you read something that interests you and to which you have a real response 
• Place your Entrecard drop spot "above the fold"- near the top of the page so that your droppers are reading, not searching
• Don't decide it's not working too soon

I can't really judge how effective Entrecard is at marketing my blog unless I work the system to it's limit.  That's what I'm doing and so far so good!  

EBW Challenge Voting Open

It's that time again! And I've entered a piece in the challenge again! So please head over to the Etsy BeadWeavers' Blog and check out the entries and choose your favourite and VOTE!

Earrings and Bracelet To Match

Ever since I made this necklace for the Etsy BeadWeavers' Challenge, I've felt it needed matching bracelet and earrings. I finally got them done and here they are for you to see. I'm happy with how they turned out and now I feel like I'm 'finished' with the design. Now, on to another freeform bracelet. I've got the beads all picked out and ready to go!

The Big Bear In My Front Yard

Life is never dull, living in the boonies!

This guy dropped in for a visit. My neighbour threw him some apples. You can see that he's eating one.



He hung around for about 10 minutes and at one point he was on my deck, looking in my patio glass doors. I was upstairs in the window above him.



After some of the comments left, I thought I'd clarify a couple of things. Yes it's interesting to see these guys up close, but it's also very dangerous to feed them. Lots of bears get lazy and go after the "easy pickins" rather that forage in the bush as they are meant to. They'll keep coming back to where they found food easily and they have been known to break into homes to go after food, once they know it's there. The town I live in is very small (about 2500 people) and it's about 100 miles from the closest large center so we are really in the bear's territory. I have a lot of respect for them and a healthy dose of fear!

Freeform Peyote Bracelet in Black, Grey and Silver

First thing on my agenda today is to wish my daughter Rainey a very happy 41st birthday! Here is a recent photo of her just hanging around!



I'm very happy to say that I've finished the bracelet that I have been working on! I'm pleased with how it looks finished though I have to say that the photos do not do it justice! Of course, it's for sale and I'll be listing it in my Etsy store very soon. It's made of a combination of beads, including seed beads, triangle beads, bugle beads and even a couple of gorgeous Swarovski rondelles.

Work in Progress

Today I'm working on this freeform peyote bracelet. It's been a while since I've done freeform so I'm really enjoying it. As I bead away, I'm being inspired to create some other pieces and I've been taking breaks and surfing the net looking for a few different kinds of focals. Something that I haven't had much success finding is raku beads. If anyone out there knows of a raku bead maker, please let me know. Anyway, I have a lot more to add to the piece.



This pair of bracelets were completed yesterday. I'm not yet sure whether there will or won't be a third bracelet in the set. It's my intention to sell them together. They can be worn individually, together or linked to create a princess length necklace. I'm also considering making a pendant to go with them to make them even more versatile.