Friday 25 December 2009

Princess Tia + BAO Items of the Week

Almost a week has gone by since my last post… I had a crazy work week (real job) and completely forgot to post the second necklace I made… where did the time go? … where is my head??? :-) so, apologies, and here it is:

Princess Tia – Necklace

Princess Tia - Necklace 01 copyThe centrepiece for this necklace, believe it or not, came about from a mistake… well I was super happy to have made this mistake, as it led to this creation! :-) I was trying to make the neckpiece for the previously posted necklace Cleopatra by beadweaving a band in graduated herringbone stitch, but it just didn’t work… and as I hate wasting, I started playing around with the “mistake” and got the idea to use it as a centrepiece by adding to it this gorgeous triangle Swarovski crystal I bought not long ago… sometimes mistakes pay off! :-)

Sadly, since this was made I’ve had absolutely no time for any beadwork… as I said above, it’s been a crazy work week… hopefully things will quiet down in the next week or so and I can go back to beading!!! :-)

For now, let me show you this week’s BAO Items:

bao item of the week

My item this week is:

Emerald Queen Necklace


Purchase and pay for this necklace between now and 31st December and receive 15% off + free shipping!

To see all the beautiful BAO Items of the Week visit:  
http://beadartoriginals.blogspot.com/

Wishing all of you hay holidays!! I hope you are all enjoying yourselves with your loved ones!!!

Saturday 19 December 2009

Cleopatra - Necklace

The sun came out!!! The sun came out!!!!!!!!!!!! :-)

Although I wasn’t happy that my son woke me up at 7 am this morning (last night I begged him to let me sleep), seeing the blue skies and the sun shining definitely made me a bit less angry! :-)

So I got my camera out, fearing that the weather might not hold up, and I took pictures of my latest two necklaces.

Here is the first of those two:

Cleopatra – Necklace

Cleopatra Necklace 02 copy
This necklace was inspired by the Cleopatra – Cuff I posted previously. It took me a while ( a few days) to work out what necklace to make for the centrepiece… in fact, I almost gave up on it… well… I’m now glad I didn’t, as I’m pretty pleased with how this piece turned out! The netted soft wavy necklace contrasts with the stiffness of the beadembroidered centrepiece, and I really like the contrast! Let me know what you think?

Now I have to go back and work on the photos and descriptions of the second necklace…. come back tomorrow and check it out! :-)

Friday 18 December 2009

BAO Items of the Week

OK… so I have 2 gorgeous necklaces ready to make their appearance into the cyber world…. but no sunlight!!! so I can’t take photos…… hopefully another few days of this miserable grey weather (reminds me of living in London) and then I will take photos!

What I can show you is this week’s items from the BAO

image

My item this week is:

Angelina Jolie Bracelet – OOAK


Purchase and pay for this bracelet between now and 24th December and receive 10% off + free shipping!

Also, a reminder… Worldwide free shipping throughout my shop until the end of this month!!!

Don’t forget to check out the BAO blog and find out what specials offers are attached to this week’s items!

http://beadartoriginals.blogspot.com/

Wishing everyone a superb weekend!!! :-)

Monday 14 December 2009

Cleopatra - Cuff

Well I’ve been hiding away in my bedroom for the last 3 days…. beading, of course!…. I love it when I get so inspired that I cannot bare any interruptions whatsoever!!! and this weekend was one of those times!…. it all started off with my dear friend Miriam from Cielo Design who sent me these beautiful Swarovski Chatons and some metal settings…. I’ve been looking for these for absolute ages, and nowhere could I find them, not on the net, not in any shop…. it was driving me mad… and Miriam came to the rescue! thank you Miriam!!!

So armed with my new little treasures… and a set of phone instructions from Miriam on how to use them…. I set off on a marathon beading session… I made one cuff, a necklace and a piece of bead-embroidery which I believe will eventually become part of a necklace…. this last one has been giving me a little bit of trouble in terms of design… I think I’m on my 4th or 5th attempt at making a necklace for it… I’m taking a break from it to see if fresh eyes will produce clearer design directions… we’ll see! :-)

Here is my first piece… the necklace still needs to be photographed… if the weather permits, I should be taking photos tomorrow… lets hope!

Cleopatra – Cuff

Cleopatra Cuff 01 copy

I cannot emphasize enough how pleased I am with how this cuff turned out! I really, really, really LOVE it!!! It’s cool, it’s funky, it’s elegant…. as I said, I love it!

Cleopatra Cuff 02 copy

The cuff was created around one of the Swarovski chatons I received from Miriam…. beadembroidered using, Swarovski crystals and pearls in dark purple and light bronze Japanese seed beads and cubes.

Cleopatra Cuff 04 copy
Did I say I love it??? :-) and I cannot emphasize how much more delicious it looks in real-life!!! it’s just gorgeous!!!

Come back in a few days and check out my new necklace, and who knows… maybe till then I will have finished the 3rd piece too! :-)

Happy Hanukah! :-)

Friday 11 December 2009

BAO Item of the Week

Here are this week’s BAO Items of the Week! Visit the BAO blog to see what specials are attached to these items until 17th December:

bao item of the week

My item this week is:

Turquoise Galaxy Necklace

Purchase and pay for this necklace between now and 17th December, and receive 10% off + Free shipping!!!

Wishing everyone a happy Hanukah!!!! Hag sameach!!!!

Monday 7 December 2009

Picture Framed Take 2

Well the sun has gone!!! Horrible, cold, grey and wet weather has taken it’s place!! Winter makes me miserable, especially when I have to take photos of my beadwork!!! but I had to take these pictures… and seeing that they predict (miserable) rain for the next 2-3 days, I figured I would just get on with it… I have to say the photo didn’t come out as bad as I was expecting… it’s a bit (a lot) yellow… a bit dark… a bit grainy… but as I don’t have any indoor photo equipment I had to do with my ceiling lamp for light… and the result is not too terrible… I think…

Picture Framed 2

I was asked to make another of my original Picture Framed pendant (see photo below) – The beadembroidery is almost identical, the stone is different…both are Picture Jasper but the one below looks more like trees reflected in water, the one above more like trees along a long road… I love these Picture Jasper beads, each one has its own marking… each one telling a different story…. I actually like both of them equally, however in the photo below, the colours are more accurate, in the one above, it’s a bit too yellow (due to the ceiling light) and the jasper is a bit washed out… but it’s the best I could do under the circumstances :-)


Well…. all I want to do is get back into bed and hide under my duvet!!… but I have too many things to do… so the duvet will have to wait till tonight! :-) For now… back to beading! :-)

Sunday 6 December 2009

Purple Delight

The sun came out and I quickly got my camera out to take pictures of the cuff I finished making about a week ago!!!

I was asked to make the Truffle Delight in purple, and here it is!

Purple Delight

That’s all for today… got to start beading a pendant someone asked me to make… do some work (real job)… start preparing for a class I’m teaching on Tuesday…. oh how i wish there were 36 hours in a day!!! :-)

Happy beading everyone!!! :-)

Friday 4 December 2009

BAO Items of the Week

My son is back in school!!! :-) I’m still nursing a bit of a cold, but nothing too serious… catching up with work… a bit of beading… I finished my sister’s necklace and bracelet… pictures to follow as soon as she sends them to me, as I didn’t have time to take them before I gave them to her… but am happy to report she loved them both and wore them (looking stunning) at her son’s Bar mitzvah last Saturday night, which I actually managed to attend! :-)

Finished a purple version of Truffle Delight, which I also haven’t had a chance to photograph (there hasn’t been much sun, hopefully this weekend or early next week) and I’ve started on a beadwoven piece, which I’m not quite sure what I’m doing with… yet :-)

Here are this week’s BAO items of the week:

bao item of the week

My item this week is Water Lilly – Necklace

Purchase and pay for this necklace between now and 10th December and receive 10% off + free shipping!

Also, as the holidays are just around the corner, I’m offering free worldwide shipping on all items in my shop until 31st December 2009.

Visits the BAO blog and find out what specials offers are attached to this week’s items!

http://beadartoriginals.blogspot.com/

Monday 23 November 2009

Look what the postman brought me!

Amongst all the running around from doctor to doctor… I managed to sneak into the post office  for a few minutes yesterday to pick up a package that had arrived… whilst I was running from doctor to doctor :-)… Incidentally my son is feeling much better, although he still has a bit of a fever and a bit of a tummy ache, but obviously and thankfully  the worse is over!!! and nothing could have cheered me up more than his recovery and opening up my package!!! :-) and this is what I found inside!!!

Lisa Peters Art 
Lots of gorgeous ceramic cabochons from Lisa Peters Art!!!! and trust me when I say the picture does not do any of the pieces justice! they are all so gorgeous!!! I revelled in unpacking each and everyone and then spent a good hour just sitting on my bed admiring each and everyone!!!! Can’t wait to start using them… don’t know when… don’t know what I’m going to do with them… but I can’t wait!!!!!

Check out her gorgeous ceramic and raku pieces by visiting her website or blog, you won’t be disappointed!!!!

Sunday 22 November 2009

BAO Item of the Week

A super quick post today! My poor son has been sick with really high fever (41 Degrees Centigrade) since Friday (suspected swine flu – suspected because no one can actually say if it is or not!)… so I’ve been up for the last 2 nights with him and spent yesterday at the emergency clinic and today at the doctor… a couple more days and it should be all over… and they tell me that within the next 3-5 days I should know whether I caught it or not! something to look forward to!!! :-)

So my apologies for posting this late, but here are this week’s BAO Items of the Week:

bao item of the week
My Item this week is:

Ridin’ the Wave – Bangle

Purchase and pay for this bangle between now and the 26th November and receive 15% OFF + FREE shipping to anywhere in the world!!

Visits the BAO blog and find out what specials offers are attached to this week’s items!

http://beadartoriginals.blogspot.com/

Wishing everyone a healthy week ahead!!! :-)

Tuesday 17 November 2009

Truffle Delight

Ok, so my trilogy is no longer a trilogy, as this is already number 4 in the series and am in the middle of a few others…. I obviously had low expectations of how many pieces I could make in this series… but love all of them so will carry on till I burn out! :-)

Here is the latest cuff:

Truffle Delight

and…. as I’m writing this post…. I just received the most wonderful e-mail any etsyan can ever receive…. yes!!! it sold!!! that must be an all time record!!!! I think it only had 4 views before it sold!!!! how exiting is that!!!! well look out for this style in other colours in the near future… I’m now off to pack up the cuff and prepare to post it to its new owner!!!

I’m going to sleep tonight with a HUGE smile on my face!!! till the next time…. :-D

Monday 16 November 2009

Chanterelle Necklace

Here is the third piece I made… although I have since finished another one, and started a new one… all those months of not much or very little beading, I’m sure making up for it now… I think I have about 4 projects on the go at the moment… but as of tomorrow I really need to concentrate on finishing my sister’s necklace and bracelet!!! :-)

Chanterelle Necklace

The centrepiece was beadembroidered around 2 topaz Swarovski Rivoli crystals and the necklace was beadwoven in embellished Right Angle Weave.

In the next couple of days I will post the next piece I finished and if I have time hopefully a matching necklace… so come back and check them out!!! :-)

Saturday 14 November 2009

BAO Items of the Week

This week’s gorgeous items from the BAO:

bao item of the week

My item this week is:

Black and Pearl Blossom Earrings

Purchase and pay for these earrings between now and 19th November and receive 15% OFF + FREE shipping to anywhere in the world!!!

Visits the BAO blog and find out what specials offers are attached to this week’s items!

http://beadartoriginals.blogspot.com/

Thursday 12 November 2009

Truffle Trilogy - Cuff

I promised you the second piece I made… and here it is!

Truffle Trinity – Cuff

This was definitely inspired by the piece I posted yesterday, as far as the colours go, however design-wise, not so much… and I have quite a few ideas for some variations… am very exited!!! :-) especially as during the last few months I felt so uninspired…

Obviously I’m in a chocolate-kind-of-mood lately! :-)
I beadembroidered the centrepiece for this cuff using exactly the same beads I used for Truffle Temptation but this time I used the Jet Nut Swarovski Rivoli buttons I received from artbeads.com as my focals.

Instead of beading the whole cuff, as I usually do, I decided to use the Ultrasuede as a design feature rather than just to line the inside of the cuff, and I absolutely love the contrast between the dark chocolate Ultrasuede and the shiny beads!! Am very pleased with this piece and as I said have plans to make more in different variations and colour combinations… so stay tuned!!!

Tomorrow I will post the last of the 3 pieces, come back and check it out! :-)

Wednesday 11 November 2009

Truffle Temptation

Remember I said, I’ve been quite busy beading three new pieces?…. well here is the first one!!! :-)

I received these amazing Swarovski components from artbeads.com at the beginning of September and I am so ashamed to say that it’s taken me this long to finally create something with them… but finally I did! 

Whilst I laid in bed with the flu this weekend, I had this overwhelming need to use these luscious Swarovski crystal components! I ordered an Octagonal Fancy,  a Fancy Pear and some Rivoli buttons, all in Jet Nut, a colour that I was not familiar with, but I thought would be nice to try…. well, the colour is just so gorgeous!!!! A deep, rich dark chocolate brown almost verging on black… just yummy!!! probably why I wanted to use these when I was sick, as chocolate is by far my favourite comfort food and I guess beading with this beautiful colour was what I needed! (I was too sick to go out and get chocolate ;-D)

Truffle Temptation Necklace


So I bead-embroidered around the Octagonal and the Pear shape Swarovski using these beautiful bronze-lined crystal Toho seed beads, and some yummy,  luscious  deep brown Swarovski pearls.  That was the easy part… the hardest part was trying to find the right necklace for this piece… that took me about two days of going through every magazine and book I have on beadwork before I decided to go with a lovely chevron stitch using the same Swarovski pearls but in a tiny 3mm… and I’m happy to say those two days of research surely paid off, as I’m really happy with how this piece turned out!!!

For the clasp I used one of the Rivoli buttons and then made a peyote stitched loop to accommodate the button.

As I said I’m really pleased with how this piece turned out, but let me know what you think! :-)

And if you are looking for Swarovski products, check out the extensive range  artbeads.com has.  Not only do they provide a great selection at great prices but they also offer amazing customer service, they are a pleasure to do business with!!!! Here are some links to their Swarovski products:

Swarovski crystal beads: http://www.artbeads.com/swarovski-crystal-beads.html

Swarovski rhinestones: http://www.artbeads.com/swarovski-flatbacks-rhinestones.html

Swarovski pendants: http://www.artbeads.com/swarovski-crystal-pendants.html

Yesterday, I received this lovely letter from them which included a card offering 10% discount.  They informed me that I could share this discount code with friends, family and of course my blog readers! :-) Did I not say they are great?!?! :-)

So here is the discount code: SCF10P-ARTBEADS-0424
There is no minimum order and it is valid until 31st December 2009
Free shipping to the U.S. and only $1 to Canada!
Check them out!!! I know I will be definitely placing an order very soon!!! :-)

To see what I made with the rest of the Rivoli buttons, come back tomorrow!!!

Wishing everyone a great beady day!!!! :-)

Tuesday 10 November 2009

EtsyBeadWeavers November Challenge

Voting has started over at the EtsyBeadWeavers’ Blog!!! The challenge for November is “Beauty of the Flower”! Go check out the lovely flower interpretation that the talented EBW members came up with this month and vote for your favourite!!!!

ebwc

You may have noticed (or not) that I’m missing… well I have relatively good reasons… like the flu… but mainly because I’ve been busy making 3 new pieces and a couple of orders… and I just could not interrupt my thought process whilst I was working on the new stuff… come back in a couple of days to check them out!!! In the meantime pop on over to the EBW blog and vote for your favourite!!!!

www.etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com

Friday 6 November 2009

BAO Items of the Week

Here are this week's BAO Items of the week! Visist the BAO blog to see what specials are attached to these items!

My item this week is Ancient Cuff - OOAK


Purchase and pay for this gorgeous OOAK cuff between now and 12h November and receive 15% off + free shipping to anywhere in the world!!!

Friday 30 October 2009

variations + BAO Items of the Week

It looks like my beading rut is slowly coming to an end… mainly thanks to one of my sisters who ordered a couple of pieces from me, to wear at her son’s bar mitzvah at the end of November… I don’t know if you remember, a while back, my youngest sister asked me to make a variation of the Emerald Queen in purples for her mother in law… well, now my middle sister wants the same necklace but in red and greys! This style is proving to be very popular amongst my family members! :-) So I spent this week trying to get all the materials together and have almost finished the necklace!!! :-) and, I took this opportunity to take photos and write instructions out for this piece as I was working on it… I think this may be my first instruction for sale… let me know what you think! :-)

Here are photos of the two earlier variations, I will post the new one sometimes next week, providing the rain stops and the sun comes out again!!! :-)

Emerald Queen

Avril’s Jewel

avril 03 copy

And last but not least, here are this week’s items from the BAO, visit the BAO blog to find out what offers are attached to these items.

bao item of the week

My item this week is the Picture Framed Pendant, purchase and pay for this item between now and the 5th November and receive 20% off !!!

and now, I’m going back under the duvet to hide from this horrendous rain storm that is happening outside my window right now!!! :-)

Wishing everyone a fabulous weekend!!!

Friday 23 October 2009

BAO Items of the Week + a few features

Here are this week’s items from the Bead Art Originals… more eye candy! :-)

bao item of the week

Visit the BAO blog and find out what offers are attached to these items for this week! http://beadartoriginals.blogspot.com

My item this week is Purple Graces Necklace

Purchase and pay for this necklace between now and 29th October and receive 20% off!!!

I’ve also been lucky to have some of my pieces featured in a few blogs:

All Things Bead and Beautiful featured Cosmic Carnival Bracelet, which sold since the article came out… coincidence? I don’t know, but thank you Linda of Wild Wicked Beads for featuring it in the great post about Tera Belinsky-Yoder of BeadyGirl Beads. Stay tuned, I have a few more of those gorgeous buttons and beads and will be making more pieces soon! :-)

Found Handmade featured one of my favourite pieces Blazing Flowers on their blog. If you like handmade items you have to check out their site, what a great place!!! http://foundhandmade.com

And last, but definitely not least, my Turquoise Shield OOAK Necklace is featured in a great article about the EtsyBeadWeavers in Zoya Gutina’s Newsletter! If you are not familiar with Zoya’s beautiful beadwork, you must check her out!!! It’s just gorgeous!!! And if you are interested in finding out what the EtsyBeadWeavers are all about I strongly recommend reading the article!!!
http://www.mylovelybeads.com

Thank you all for featuring my work and wishing everyone a wonderful weekend!!! :-)

Wednesday 21 October 2009

Eye Candy from the EBW & BAO

I’ve been incredibly uninspired lately… and for the life of me I cannot seem to sit myself down and do any beading whatsoever!!! So, I thought I would look at some of my team members for some inspirations and it’s been a really long time since I last made a treasury, mainly because I just haven’t had the time but also because the treasuries seem to open up when I’m either out or I’m asleep! :-)

I really wanted to share with you some of my favourite pieces from some of the team members of the EtsyBeadWeavers and Bead Art Originals, to which I belong, and here they are (not in any order of preference):

CieloDesign

StickLizardDesigns

myfairladyvt4

FleurDeIrk

HauteIceBeadwork

    SmadarsTreasure

 daynamiles

gwenbeads

SandFibers

 

giapet

time2cre8

Naftali

   MAKUstudio

arosebyname

thejadedog

Malodora

SalamanderHouse

LisaPetersArt

sedonaskye

nemeton

This is by no means an extensive list of all my favourite pieces or artists…. There are so many more incredibly talented artists that belong to the EBW and BAO… but I couldn’t show all of them, sorry…
To see more search for the tags EBW and/or BAO on Etsy.