But before I got into my craziness, I thought I would share a little about my partner. Not only does she love to bead and love earthy tones (like me), she also owns a business making her TEXAS PEPPER JAMS. You must check out her blog and see all of what she does and makes. I tried one of her recipes already and it disappeared rather quickly. Raspberry Crumb Cake is the bomb! You MUST to try it. You can find her tasty jams on her website and on her Etsy shop.
I thought I have plenty of time to work on my creations but life has had its ups and downs for the past 2 weeks. Good news, all is well. So, I did a little sketching here and there. Liked one of the drawings I came up with and started to get to work. I made a quick pit stop at our local bead store and picked up some seed beads. Matched them up nicely with the bead mix I got. Its been awhile since I have done some seed bead work so I started one little strip... Didn't like it. Tried again. Everything was lookin pretty good, the bead fit nicely in the little casing I made for it. I was tightening the beads down, and next thing I knew the large bead slipped right out and it went flying on the floor. I picked it up, tucked it back in the casing...took a little maneuvering but I got it to fit. Again, the dumb thing popped out. The bead is sooo smooth that no matter what I did, it kept popping out of the beaded casing. I was frustrated to say the least.
See how the thread broke! Broke my heart, all that work...UGH
Dang slippery bead!!
So, I get to work...stitching away. I was on a role... Then it came time to see if the bead would slip out or not. I held my breath and slid the bead into the casing, it fit perfect! Very little slipping, step one was now successful. Next I stitched the back side. It went so much smoother than the first time. The bead fit perfectly. Even though there are a few flaws...I hid most of them..shhhh...LOL I had to make changes to the design to make it work for this particular bead. The problem I had was the bead has a slight twist, so the casing needed to bend with the bead, and that I exactly what it did.
Back side, nothing is gonna slip out of this baby!!...LOL its not perfect, but it worked!
I had these old seed beads that matched perfectly with the colors on the large bead. Now, once I perfected the casing, I needed to figure how I wanted to hang it around the neck. I made two beaded loops on the sides of the bead. Ok, got those done, now what? I knew I wanted to make stitched beads. So here I go again, hunting for the right style of bead. It was starting to get late, but I didnt care. I was on a mission...LOL I found a simple beaded bead pattern online through Pinterest.
I saved the image and put it up on my computer in my work room. I set up my station and got to work. Well, you know what happens when you dont wearing the right glasses, you dont always see things the right way! So, my first bead was a flop! I had to rip it out and do it again. I was getting so tired by now that all I wanted to do was to get one bead made up. 11pm sneaks up rather quickly when you are having fun! I made half of the bead and told myself that this is not looking quite the same as the picture. I knew it wouldnt because they ask for bicone beads when I used large seed beads instead. And I really should have used a different thread but I didnt care, I was going to make this work... Then, I kept looking back at the pendent and really didnt like the loops I made on the sides. Then, it happened again! That AH HA moment! I put the thread with beads and Sari Silk ribbon through the loop and through the half beaded bead I just made and it looked great! So, midnight comes around and my eyes and brain were fairly fried by then and I called it a night.
I just love those fun colors of these large seed beads.
Saturday morning I crawl out of bead...I wont tell you what time it was, but breakfast could have been considered lunch...hehehe But I slept so well, and my brain was awake with my large cup of coffee...bacon and pancakes.
I finished the necklace, made a few pairs of earrings, and made another necklace by 7pm. I feel good. I am very pleased with my little creations.
I was afraid I was going to miss the deadline which I thought was last Saturday. Lucky me it is this Saturday...
Here it is....the challenge necklace. I had to go back and tighten the larger seed beads on the front. They did a little too much dangling around. LOL
This pair of earrings was fun to make. I made the enameled rings about 3 weeks ago for fun. The colors matched perfectly with the mix I had so I decided to use them for these earrings.
I really like how other jewelry artists include string, twine, silk and other types of string in their creations. I really like how these turned out too.
I know its a very simple bracelet, but sometimes that is all you need!
I actually made another necklace with this bead, but I didnt like how it was turning out. So I decided to do a little wire wrapping. My sister told me that she has seen lots of women wearing necklaces with just one little piece dangling, so this is my version of just one simple pendent. I like how it feels when wearing it too. Soft...LOL This is Sari silk which I bought from Divinity Fibers on Etsy.
Finally my last piece. Now this was a bit of a challenge for me because you know its hard for me to work with big beads...LOL So, I thought that if I used the big beads, I somehow needed to still make the necklace not so heavy. If I used lots of wire or metal components, it would be too heavy. Lately I have been in love with the kumihimo, but again, its a little bulky. I wanted slim and light weight and pretty. So, I did a drawing on Thursday evening while I was doing some brain storming and came up with this design. I think it came close enough to the drawing what do you think??? I used silk thread in a nice dark gray. The thread fit perfectly in the holes of the big beads, did you know the holes are actually pretty small?
I don't have a name for this piece, but it will happen someday soon I promise...Hehehe...
I made these head pins with enamel and copper. Wrapped them around a hammered piece of copper.
Ohhh la la... This almost looks like my hair...seriously! I have natural curly hair and when I get up in the morning...this is it!
I added some of that eyelash yarn, just a few strands to add a little more fun!
So, instead of using a clasp, I decided to do a little macrame clasp, the strands loosen enough to put the necklace over your head. The pretty pearls dangle on the ends
Ohh la la... Light weight and yet it has those beautiful chunky beads. I love how the flash makes these beads stand out..so pretty.
I like this shot, it really shows how delicate and frilly this piece is.
I still have more beads to play with, but I need to clean my house first...LOL
For more images, go to my FLICKR site.. Enjoy!
Dont forget to visit my partner...
cant wait to see what she did with the beads I chose for her...
Karla
ps...here are some other participants blogs if you want to take a peek at their creations too!
ps...here are some other participants blogs if you want to take a peek at their creations too!
Gorgeous and unique designs!! The focal in your first necklace turned out beautifully!!
ReplyDeleteEach and every one of your designs just puts me in AWE of your amazing design abilities. You have such talent for vision. It seems to all have worked out. I hope you had some fun with this challenge! (OH, and I changed your link on the ZnetShows blog over to here instead of your Flickr page if that's ok. Just FYI)
ReplyDeletethat turned out beautiful! that green bead is awesome. good job!
ReplyDeleteDebbi
-yankeeburrow
Love that last piece with the eyelash yarn. So fun and whimsical. But your beadwork on that focal and necklace is amazing. I love that. Great pieces.
ReplyDeleteswoon .... loving each and every one of your pieces! so sorry for the delay in hopping, I'm traveling with no connection!
ReplyDeleteI love your "nameless" piece. The sketch makes me thing of a garden swing. Nice way to soften the boldness.
ReplyDeleteThe jewelery is so beautiful..all of them. Very elegant and nice work (:
ReplyDelete