Elizabethan Cuff Revisited

I originally made the Elizabethan cuff in black, a really long time ago…  A couple of weeks ago I was asked to make a similar one using silver wire and gold beads… I forgot how hard it is to crochet with wire…. and after a few false starts and a lot of blisters :-) here is what I came up with:

Elizabethan Cuff – Silver and Gold

I did make some modifications from the original one, because from wearing the black one (a lot) I found that the crochet wire stretched quite a bit, so I made this one in a tighter knit to counter-act that stretch. Let me know what you think….

Also, I wanted to thank all of you who have left comments on my blog and apologize for not replying to these comments and for not always being able to comment back, and it’s not from lack of trying!!! but every time I go into my blog and a lot of others I get an “operation aborted” error message…. which makes it impossible for me to leave a comment on here and on some of the other blogs – apparently blogger is dealing with it… at least I’m still able to post (via Windows Live Writer) – so again…. sorry!!!!

Wishing everyone a wonderful week ahead!!!

Amazon Warrior - Bracelet

Sometimes I get the inspiration, the time and the absolute need to bead! Lately it’s been one of those times! :-)

Half-way through making the Amazon Warrior Choker (see previous post and bottom photo) I already had a complete design worked out in my mind for a matching bracelet…. and here it is:

Amazon Warrior - Bracelet

 

I love both pieces so much that I am truly reluctant to part with either!!!!  I have to try and see if I can find more of these mother-of-pearl shell beads… I thought I bought them about 2-3 years ago, but I just realized that it must have been more like 4 years ago… the shop I bought them from closed down around two years ago and I have no idea how I'm going to find them again :-(  That will be my mission this weekend!!! because I really want a set for myself!!! :-)

Here is a reminder of the necklace I blogged about in a previous post:

Wishing all of you who celebrate Shavuot a very hag sameach!!! Eat lots of cheesecake for me… I’m (trying to be) on a diet, so none for me! :-)

My son is off kindergarten for the holiday so we will be spending most of it by the pool… I wish I could take my beadwork there! :-) maybe when he’s a bit older :-)

Wishing everyone an early wonderful weekend!!! :-)

Bead Art Originals – Items of the Week

I’m in the midst of a beading frenzy… trying to bead as many cabochons as possible before night sets in…. so am going to make this post super-quick, so I can go back to my beading :-)

Please visit the Bead Art Original’s blog to check out this week’s items and to see what specials are attached to each for the duration of this week! http://beadartoriginals.blogspot.com/

Green and St. Petersburg Chain Stitch

As I mentioned in a previous post, I’m new to and am loving the St. Petersburg Chain Stitch, I’m in the midst of a turquoise/green obsession and I was going to make a bracelet in this stitch – here it is:

Amazon Forrest

The main part of the bracelet didn’t take too long to make but i got stuck at the closure… and whilst looking for the right one, I found myself making lots of elements…. one was too big, one didn’t look right…. so I cut it off and started again… till I finally came to a simple toggle in complementary colours…. and I love it! I’ve been wearing it all day!!!! It’s soft, light, I almost forgot I had it on! :-)

Back to those elements… whilst I couldn’t work out how to finish off the bracelet, I got derailed and started making a necklace… totally unexpected… but I’ve fallen in love with it!!!

Amazon Warrior – Choker

I used these amazing mother of pearl shell beads, that no joke, I’ve had in one of my boxes for at least 2 years if not more…. and I have about 10 of them left… I already have an idea for a bracelet that I’m dying to go and make…

I love it when a design develops itself from discarded elements from other designs!!! especially when I don’t make myself use them rather they find their own harmony…. and that is how this necklace came about and was in fact finished long before the bracelet was even close to completion.. now back to beading, that bracelet is calling me to be made! :-) Happy beading everyone!!! :-)

Emerald Queen – St. Petersburg Chain Stitch

A couple of days ago I showed my first attempt at the St. Petersburg Chain Stitch, and I got really inspired…. Learning something new is sometimes exactly what the doctor ordered when I’m stuck and uninspired :-)… I had to unpick a row of what I had already beadwoven… I was originally making a triple St. Petersburg chain stitch, but once I made the centrepiece for the necklace, it just didn’t seem to work with it…. so I unpicked one of the rows leaving me with a double chain stitch, which works much better.

I bead-embroidered, bead-weaved and embellished the vintage emerald square Swarovski cabochons with lot and lots of Swarovski crystals in shades of turquoise/green and emerald. I used 3 different sizes to create a more 3-dimensional piece, in comparison to my usual more flat bead-embroidery and am so, so happy with how it came out!!!! :-) I love the colours, the sparkle, the shape, the feel but most of all I love how it looks on the body!!!

The St.Petersburg stitch was such a pleasure to learn and to execute that I’m sure I will be using a lot more of it in the near future… my next design will probably be a bracelet made using this technique… simply fun!!!! :-) In the meantime… here is what I created with my first St. Petersburg Chain Stitch – Emerald Queen:

Golden Pool

One of my favourite things about having joined Etsy is the discovery of so many talented and wonderful artists. One of those talented artists is Lisa Peters from LisaPetersArt. She makes the most beautiful OOAK beads, buttons and cabochons using different types of clays, glazes and firing methods. In the last year or so I have bought quite a few of her cabochons and some buttons. They are all so beautiful that I sometimes find it difficult to part with them and use them in my beadwork. I just love looking at them and fondling them! :-) However that is why I buy them… to use in my beadwork… so last week I did just that! I picked one of her cabochons and decided to make something out of it…. and this is what I made:

Golden Pool

I love her pieces so much that I didn’t want to detract too much from the beauty of the cabochon so I decided to keep it simple, at the same time I wanted to somehow depict and incorporate into the beading the movement of the golden swirls, so I bead-embroidered round the cabochon and tried to mimic the movement by adding a twisted edge to the bead-embroidery. This was the first time I had tried using this technique and I have to say I’m really pleased with how it turned out…. I’m sure I will be using this twisted edge again! :-) I wanted to make the necklace along the same idea, so I simply strung two strands of beads and twisted them together, and I think it works well.

If you’ve been following my blog recently, you may have noticed my current obsession with using turquoise/green together with gold. Well this obsession has not even come close to running its course! :-) I’m currently working on a green and gold St. Petersburg stitched necklace. I decided yesterday to overcome my (unfounded) fears and try and see if I could manage to do it… and manage I did, it's actually relatively easy and am finding it extremely relaxing to work with… I have no idea what I’m going to do with it… but will be working on it later today and hopefully something wearable will have emerged from it in the next few days… come back and see! :-) In the meantime this is what I’ve managed to do so far:

For more of Lisa’s beautiful work, please visit her links below:

Shop: http://www.LisaPetersArt.etsy.com
Blog: http://www.lisa-petersart.blogspot.com
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisapetersart

BAO Items of the Week

Here are this week’s BAO Items of the Week.

Please visit the BAO blog to find out what special offers are attached to these gorgeous items.

My Item this week is: Turquoise Galaxy

Purchase and pay for this item between now and 24th May and receive 5% off + FREE shipping!

Congratulations Cielo Design

The EtsyBeadWeavers Hollywood Red Carpet Creations May Challenge winner is Cielo Design with her Suprastellar Red Carpet Necklace

!!!! Am so happy for her!!!! Not only is her design stunning, but she is one of the nicest people I have ever met in the cyber world! :-)   And I cannot get by without my daily conversation with her :-) Congratulations Miriam!!!!!!

This piece is absolutely stunning, but then again so are all her pieces.

Here are some of my favourites pieces by Cielo Design:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are just a few samples of her absolutely stunning beadwork – please visit her links below to see more and I promise you will not be disappointed!!!

Shop: http://www.CieloDesign.etsy.com
Blog: http://www.cielodesign.blogspot.com
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cielodesign

BAO Items of the Week

After a long… long week of feeling really awful, I’m back to normal!!!! :-) Back to beading, working, living! :-)

Here are this week’s BAO Items of the Week.

Please visit the BAO blog to find out what special offers are attached to these gorgeous items.

My Item this week is my new piece that I posted a few days ago: Leah’s Jewel Choker

 

Purchase and pay for this choker between now and 17th May and receive 5% + FREE shipping!

Also, don’t forget… the EtsyBeadWeavers Challenge is currently open for voting – Go and check the beautiful entries and vote for your favourite!!!

EtsyBeadWeavers May Challenge

Yeahh! It’s that time again and I’m particularly happy because after a few absent months from the EtsyBeadWeavers Challenge I manage to finish my piece in time for the deadline.

This month’s theme for the challenge is Hollywood Red Carpet Creations, and my entry for this challenge is # 14 Angelina Jolie Bracelet.

Inspired by Angelina Jolie at the Oscars in 2008, pregnant and beautiful wearing the most luscious green dress. This bracelet was designed with Angelina’s stunning image in that dress in mind, around one of LisaPetersArts gorgeous handmade ceramic cabochons.

Please visit the EtsyBeadWeavers’ blog between the 9th and 15th of May to see all the beautiful entries in this challenge and vote for your favourite!!!! http://www.etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com

Turquoise Beading Frenzy

Once a year, and sometimes more often, I get into this turquoise obsession where everything I make and everything I buy has turquoise in it… the last few weeks has been one of those times…. and needless to say I LOVE turquoise!!!!

To top off my turquoise craze I got into this weird mood where I felt the urge to cover as many surfaces as I possibly could with beads! These are two creations where I used some of those turquoise beaded covered beads:

The first one is just a simple beaded bead strung onto a gold metal choker. I love this bead so much that I just wanted to show it off on it’s own without drawing away from the actual bead itself.

Leah’s Jewel – Choker

The second was created using some of the other beaded beads I made during this period. I actually created the beads randomly to fit with the design of the necklace that I had in my head. I used different shapes of genuine turquoise beads and connected all the beads with a basic dark gold and turquoise spiral rope.

Turquoise Galaxy – Necklace

I’m very happy with how these two pieces turned out!!! During the same frenzied period I also covered some wooden doughnuts… and they’ve turned out quite cool…. I just haven’t figured out what to do with them yet :-) and as I’ve been feeling rather poorly this week, I left them for another day :-)

I really had fun making all these beaded beads and am sure I will be making more… and if I can tear myself away from my love of turquoise I may even make them in some other colour combinations :-)

Wishing everyone a happy and peaceful weekend! :-)

BAO Items of the Week

I’ve been really sick the last few days with the mother of all colds!!! My head is still killing me, as well as possessing the most beautiful Rudolf nose! :-) and as I couldn’t sleep any longer (48 hours in bed would do that I guess), I decided to take the opportunity and post the BAO Items of the Week before my day starts and I have to catch up with all the other stuff I missed out on in the last few days! and…. most importantly take photos of the last 3 pieces I’ve been working on this last week, including my EBW challenge piece!!!

Here are this week’s items from the Bead Art Originals, check out the BAO blog to see what specials are attached to these items.

My item this week is: Ancient Cuff

Purchase and pay for this cuff between now and 10th May and receive 5% off + FREE shipping!

And don’t forget to come back later to check out my new pieces!!! :-)