New Earrings

Worked on these as I watched Canada win the gold medal for hockey and then the closing ceremonies afterwards. (Just don't ask me how many hours!) Goodness knows I'd have been biting my nails during the hockey game if I hadn't been beading!

These beads are called "amethyst" but they look more raspberry to me.


Turquoise and silver always look good to me.


The green of the fire polished beads is very interesting...there is some red in them too. I like the way they look with the metallic AB seed beads.


Not black...hematite. I love the shine of these beads.


All of these earrings are for sale in my Etsy shop.

Gold Bling

These gorgeous gold Swarovski pearls were the inspiration for this necklace. The first piece of the set that was completed was the smaller of the two circles in the pendant. My granddaughter told me that it was too large for earrings so I decided that it would be a pendant. Then I added the larger circle of the pendant.



The Russian spiral rope contains pearly seed beads and is closed with a Swarovski button and loop. The sparkle and flash of the pendant were to be dominant so the rope needed to take a back seat to it.



Finally, the matching earrings were added. When I look at the set, I envision it worn with a full length strapless gown.



Oh and in between working this set, I managed to complete two more pairs of baby booties. They are available for sale in my Etsy Store!

Three Piece Dark Denim Set

The inspiration for this set was the colours of the beads themselves. When I looked at them together, I envisioned them worn with jeans, heels, a tailored wool or leather jacket and a mannish white shirt. The juxtaposition of the feminine and masculine elements feels balanced to me. You couldn't wear this set and not be feminine, no matter what you wear with it.

I've been toying with other sets of beads and thinking about another set.

The closure button is a 10mm Swarovski crystal button in a colour called Montana Sapphire that I bought online at Artbeads. The way it finishes the necklace and bracelet is exactly what I wanted.



Three types of beads make up the spiral rope; triangles, Toho hex beads and seed beads.

Aqua and Silver Necklace

Another necklace is finished! This one has been sitting on my livingroom coffee table for quite a long time. I started it and when I got about half way through it, I decided that I wanted to include some Swarovski crystals and I kept forgetting to order them. Finally they arrived and have been waiting for me to get back to the necklace. At last, I put my mind to it and got it finished in the last few days, little by little, bit by bit.

The Russian Spiral stitch that I used is one of my favourites to play around with and see how it comes out with all different sorts of seed beads. This one is basically bugle beads (I always have trouble remembering the name of these - "trumpet" kept popping into my head!) and Toho seed beads. I love the sparkle that the silver lined beads create and it's just the thing to go with the crystals. It's for sale in my Etsy shop if you take a fancy to it. You'll also find more details about it, length and such, there. You'll see a couple of other photos of the necklace as well.





If you scroll down a couple of posts here to the batch of earrings I recently posted, there is a pair that would go perfectly with this necklace. It's in the bottom photo of the post, in the bottom left hand corner.

The necklace is for sale in my Etsy shop.

What The Heck?

Wondering what I've been up to?

I've been busy, that's for sure. The #1 thing that is keeping me busy is my garden. There is so much clean up to do. I have what is certainly the biggest cherry tree I've ever seen. So big in fact that none of the cherries can be reached. Even with a ladder, unless of course I call the fire department! The tree is now slated to be cut down and I'm planting a new one. For the amount of mess a cherry tree creates, it's just not worth it when I can't harvest the cherries. First there are the blossoms that cover my lawn, then there are all of the debris from cherries not forming as well as cherries dropping off of the tree before they are ripe. And finally, I have the leaves falling to look forward to in autumn.

The new cherry tree is standing in a pot in my front yard along with a pear tree that is a gift from friends. They are not in the ground yet as I haven't decided where they are going. Soon though...I have to get them planted!

I've been beading like crazy too, working on stock for the Studio Tour of Artists which takes place late August. You may recall seeing some of these posted here earlier. Well, this dozen is the most recently completed project.



Thought you might enjoy a closer view, though the colour isn't great.

Fun With Earrings

For quite a while now, I've been intending to play with some earring designs. Much of the designing I do is "on the fly" and this latest earring design was developed that way. I began with beads looped into a circle and just sort of winged it from there by adding a row of beads and evaluating the look and then adding another. The black and silver pair happened first with several false starts...beading and then unbeading. Ultimately, I'm satisfied with the result. So much so that the silver pair is mine. And then, of course, I wanted to work the design in some other colours so I had to put together a bead order. Which turned into two bead orders. And that's how I have "fun with earrings".



The gold pair of earrings is available for sale in my Etsy shop.

Works in Progress

Before anything else, I need to mention this gorgeous sunset I managed to get a pic of from my bedroom balcony two nights ago.



I do have a few things in progress. This is a freeform peyote bracelet I'm working on. It's very early stages and I'm using a Taho bead mix. If you haven't played with any of their mixes...check them out. They just happen to be on sale at Artbeads.com this week. But hurry, they are going fast because they are having a Dollar Days Sale. I've already placed my order and will place a second if the money gets to PayPal quick enough!



On this tray, I've got a pair of earrings in Delica's started. I'm also working on a necklace and pendant using some Howlite beads I've had for a while.



And finally if you are interested, I've put some photos of the "greening of my garden" HERE.

Commission Finished

When I completed the black and silver commission and delivered it to my friend, she mentioned a "beaded fairy" that her granddaughter had made that she'd like turned into a necklace. When she got the "fairy" to me, I told her I thought it is a mermaid. Anyway, based on that idea, I wanted a neckpiece for it that felt...waterish. I delivered the piece today and she told me that she may give it back to the granddaughter as a graduation gift this year. Sounds like a great idea to me.



I also made this pair of earrings that I thought she might like to have. She decided not to take them so they may end up on Etsy.

3-D Triangles

This necklace is created entirely with Delica beads. When I found the instructions to created these 3-D triangles I just had to try them. I also wanted to try linking two together. It was a bit of a challenge to weave the one into the first, but obviously not impossible. I'd lo it again. I tried them in several different of bead combinations but like the result with the Delicas best.

The photos aren't very good because I've already packed most of my photo equipment. The beads are silver lined gold, opaque chocolate brown and AB cream. The triangles can be worn with the gold side or the cream side showing giving the necklace a bit of variability. I'm also planning on making matching earrings.

More Spiral Earrings Plus...

Last post I mentioned making some pink ones for my granddaughter. Here they are...one pink and one in her favourite colour combination, pink and lime green:





I also completed a new freeform peyote bracelet which is listed in my Etsy shop. Similar to one I'd made in the past but a bit simpler.

Spiral Earings

I actually made these several days ago and have made more since. They are fun to make and the two pictured here are available for sale in my Etsy store. I'm planning a pink pair for my granddaughter and I have some ideas for a few more too. The dangling dagger really finishes them.





I'm not sure which pair I like better!

Gift for Granddaughter

This first photo is my beautiful granddaughter Hazel. We'd just spent a day together shopping and she is about to get on a ferry to go home.



This is a bracelet that I recently made for Hazel.



Pink is her favourite colour so of course I had to make her a pair of earrings to wear with the bracelet!

Odds and Ends

I'm leaving home this week and won't be back for a while so there may be a lapse in posts. I may be able to get a post up somewhere along the way, but I can't be certain.

Anyway, here are two items I finished in the last few days. The bracelet is another Russian Spiral and is a gift for a friend. The earrings are additions to my inventory as I've been selling earrings lately and stock was dwindling.

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!

It's Time To Vote

This month I'm participating in the Etsy BeadWeavers' August Challenge with the theme "Art Deco". The piece that I've entered is here and is number 17 in the mosaic below.

I'd love it if you voted for me, but no matter who you choose to vote for, please visit the Etsy BeadWeavers' Blog and VOTE!!

A Treasury Appearance!

I was checking out the EBW Etsy forum thread and found myself in this Treasury!




I'd like to thank Scarf It Up for including my Turquoise Freeform Peyote Bracelet!

Check out her shop! I love this scarf which would have been gorgeous in the Treasury!

More Earrings!

I'm still enjoying making the triangles so...more earrings! I'm loving working with the Toho triangle beads too!

It's Time To Vote!!

Etsy BeadWeavers July Challenge is up on the blog and ready for you to vote. The theme this time is A Midsummer Night's Dream and the entries are...well...dreamy! Below is a sample of the entries but you'll need to go to the EBW Blog to cast your vote and link to the entrants beaded piece to see details. Don't miss it! You only have till midnight on July 15th to vote!

Triangle Earrings

This first pair of earrings were started quite a while ago. I first showed one of them here and completed them a few days ago.



The following two pairs are made using Toho triangle beads. I really like the look of these as it's less controlled and more serendipity, though they are still basic triangles.

First the Earrings...and Then..the Rope

It all began with making a triangle. When the triangle was "finished" I wondered what I'd do with it and decided to try extending one side for a different shape. Then it became the earring. At that point, I'd made several triangles in a row and wanted to do something different. Out came the beading magazines and I came across a bracelet that was based on the spiral rope design. I was referred to the back of the magazine to a 2 stage graphic to teach me the basic stitch. I began in the beads that I'd been using in the earring and at first thought I'd make two one inch ropes for a pair of earrings. But I wanted to see more of the pattern so I continued, thinking bracelet, while I stitched. It just kept growing and now it's a 17" piece of spiral rope that I suppose is a necklace. But now it needs a pendant. And I don't feel like it goes with the earring. I'm going to "live with it" a bit before I make a decision. It needs to "season".