Soutache Fever

I’ve been infected!!! Yes, I also have caught the soutache embroidery bug!!!

After years of not knowing what to do with the soutache braid that laid unused in one of my many boxes containing bits and pieces that I may, or may not use one day… I finally broke down and bought a soutache tutorial! :-)

First of all, let me start by saying that I probably would never have even thought of trying this technique had it not been for my dear friend Miriam Shimon who not only inspired me with her stunning soutache work but also encouraged me and shared some of her secrets with me.  If you are not familiar with her work, please visit her shop, you will not be disappointed!!!  

Here is one of my favourite souache pieces that Miriam designed:

So armed with inspiration and all her support and encouragement I bought a beautifully explained tutorial by Jodi Horgan, who also makes superb soutache work:

and as I’m unable to follow instructions (in terms of design, not technique) this is what I made from the tutorial… my first soutache pendant:

It’s not perfect…. but I love it and it’s the perfect winter pendant for me and I’ve been wearing it non-stop! :-)

As I said… I caught the bug… so I started making more pieces… these are my first (well made) earrings:



Can’t wait to make some more pieces!!!! so stay tuned!

Indian Summer

It’s November… not that you could tell by looking at the weather we are having here… the temperature has dropped slightly… about 3-5 degrees… it’s so unbelievably hot still!!! but at least the nights are cooler than they were in the summer… and thankfully it isn’t as humid!!! 

Don’t get me wrong, I’m NOT complaining… I love the summer, and am not too crazy about the winter… but it would be nice if the temperature would drop a little bit… I don’t know, down to maybe 20-22 degrees.

The thought of Autumn but the reality of what we actually have makes me think of Indian summers and inspired me to create this necklace and matching cuff.

Indian Summer OOAK Necklace

What I’m most proud of in this piece is the beaded caps and closure.  I love wearing leather necklaces but don’t really like how they are usually finished, so I tried to improve on the finish by creating beaded end caps, I think they smarten up the whole look and I’m really pleased how they turned out!

Indian Summer OOAK Cuff







I really love how this cuff turned out! I love using the metallic silver leather!!! and I love the edging, it came out so pretty and the cuff looks amazing on!!!

More silver leather cuffs to follow as soon as I get around to working on the photos!
Till then… happy beading!