Peacocks… my version :-)

It’s 4.23 am… and I’ve been up for over an hour!!!  I wouldn’t mind, as I usually wake up around 4 am every day…. check my e-mails, facebook, etc…. and I’m usually out the door by 6.15 am for my run with the dogs… but tonight I’m teaching and have no idea how I’ll be able to stay awake and sound coherent! :-) I hope I can mange a nap at some point during the day… so I thought… I’m up… I have a blog to post… so here I am! :-)

In the last post I mentioned I had loads more pieces to show you and here are some!

These pieces were inspired by the colours of peacock feathers (or at least the way I see them in my head) :-) The peacock colours are represented in my choice of the Swarovski crystals I used.

Peacock OOAK Necklace

 Peacock OOAK Asymmetrical Cuff

Peacock OOAK Earrings

Yesterday, as I waited for my son to finish his swimming training (2 hours), I had the bright idea to take all my almost finished pieces with me, and instead of going for a run or reading a book (which is what I usually do when I’m there), I managed to finish 4 pieces!!!! Hopefully today, weather permitting, I’ll be taking photos and hopefully should be posting them around the weekend… so stay tuned! :-)

Till then… have a great one!

Lilac & Purple Meadow – NOT a Leather Cuff! :-)

Here is my newest piece!!! and it’s not a leather cuff!!! :-)

This is the first time I attempted to make a barrette and I owe it to Nicole Campanella of Beadwright.

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you may remember last April, Nicole sent me one of her Brooch Kits… it was my very first kit and brooch… making the brooch taught me the skills needed to make the barrette, so thank you (again) Nicole!!! and here it is:

Lilac & Purple Meadow - OOAK Large Barrette

I’m actually relieved to finally make (and post) something other than a leather cuff!!! :-)

And whilst trying to stay away from my leather cuff addiction, today I started a bead-embroidered purse, which will hopefully be my next tutorial… actually I also have a bag I started a few weeks ago, that I’ve put aside for now… so hopefully I will be able to post one of them in the upcoming weeks.

The leather cuffs are not forgotten of course, I actually have to make two for my upcoming workshop, which I’ll be teaching at Bogal (Gloria’s place) in Ranana, sometimes soon… so if you are interested in the workshop (and live or are visiting Israel in February), get in touch with either Gloria or myself for more details.

Happy beading! :-)

For the Love of Andrew

Andrew Thornton is an incredible artist and is dealing with cancer and the hoard of medical bills that come with it. The EtsyBeadWeavers have been donating some of their gorgeous beadwork to send money to the Andrew Thornton Medical Bills Fund.

Here is my donation:

Purple Balagan

This piece is on Sale (25% off) $187 instead of original $250 and 100% of the proceeds will go directly to the Andrew Thornton Medical Bills Fund.

Please check out the EBW treasuries featuring donations for this fund here:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4cbf44f812b58eef61ca2377/for-the-love-of-andrew?index=1

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4cc1d04a5ccc8eefc04f22b6/pay-it-forward-andrew-thornton-medical?index=0

and if you are doing some early X-mas or Hanukah shopping what better way than to purchase something from these treasuries and know that your money is going to help a fellow artist though some very difficult times.

The Next Generation + BAO Item of the Week

I spent the last 2 months together with Ethan! We’ve had a ball!!! We spent most of our time at my parent’s pool which overlooks the sea… it’s a hard life! ;-)

Ethan has mastered his front crawl… and I’m so proud of him!!! I love swimming and the fact that we can now swim together, rather than me following around the pool having mini heart attacks every time he goes underwater, has been an incredible pleasure!!!

He started showing an interest in photography… another of my hobbies…. so I gave him my old digital camera and he takes it with him everywhere!!! The pool, walking the dogs, the supermarket…. everywhere!!!

Then one day… out of the blue… after I received my loom in the mail… he said: “mummy I want to learn how to bead too! I want to make bracelets and then you can sell them on the intranet (internet ;-D) for me and give me the money so I can buy lots of toys!” :-) my heart melted… the next day we went out looking for a kiddie bead loom… it took me a few days to find it… but we eventually did!

here he is, hard at work making his first bracelet which will be a birthday present for his cousin Shani who just turned 4! :-)

How precious is that!!!!! I couldn’t be prouder!!!! :-)

As for me… I’m busy making the next EBW Challenge “Bollywood”….

and last, but not least… here is my BAO Item of the Week:

Cleopatra – Necklace

Purchase and pay for this necklace between now and the 26th August and receive 5% off + free worldwide shipping!

Visit the BAO blog to see all the specials our talented member are offering this week: http://beadartoriginals.blogspot.com/

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend!!! :-)

Purple Rain

Some of your may know that I belong to the ArtBeads.com blogging program. A while back I received some gorgeous Cubic Zirconia products from them. I’m ashamed to say (and apologise profusely) that it’s taken me this long to create something with the products they sent me. The reason why is… I chose items that were completely out of my comfort zone, both in terms of material, shape and colour. When choosing, I usually try to pick items that I wouldn’t usually chose for myself… to try something new and different and to challenge myself.

This is what I received… way back in December:

From left to right:

1. 9x36mm Light Amethyst CZ Faceted Flat Teardrop Pendant
http://www.artbeads.com/cz-lam-td36.html

2. 12x18mm Light Amethyst CZ Faceted Fan Pendant
http://www.artbeads.com/cz-lam-fn18.html

3. 20x30mm CZ Faceted Oval Drop - Light Amethyst
http://www.artbeads.com/cz-lam-ov30.html

The Teardrop Pendants were a no brainer! They would make perfect earrings!!! And I knew I would use the Oval Drop as a centrepiece for a necklace…. but the Fan Pendant…. that left me really baffled! The shape was quite bulky and a bit awkward… for some reason I was expecting it to be a bit flatter… so rather than dwell on what I didn’t know how to use, I started beadweaving around the Oval Drop. I wanted to show the beauty and transparency of the Cubic Zirconia by bezalelling around it and had this image in my head of creating something very graphic and modern…. but when i finished… I wasn’t so happy with the results, so I put it aside and went on to other thing… finally last week I decided it was time once again to revisit the started piece… well I really hated it, so I unpicked it and decided to treat the pendant as though it was a cabochon (yes, back to my comfort zone!). That was the best decision I made!!! and I was able to realize what I had envisioned… but best of all I even found use for the Fan-shaped pendant that had been the cause of my creative block! :-) and this is what I made:

Purple Rain – OOAK Necklace

I beadembroidered around the pendant with some beautiful silver-lined AB purple Japanese seed beads that I bought a really long time ago, but had no idea what to do with them, and my favourite beads, Swarovski pearls in dark purple. Once the centrepiece was finished, I had no doubt that using the pearls in lots of different sizes in a Right Angle Weave would work perfectly with it!!! Isn’t it great when you finally get it together using materials you had no idea what to do with! I love how this piece turned out!!! It’s pretty, it’s elegant, it’s perfect!!! :-)

The earrings were easy once the necklace was finished:

Purple Rain – Earrings

I mentioned in my last post that I was working on a bracelet to match… well I’ve been sick all week and just didn’t feel like beading… or doing anything else for that matter… so the bracelet is still a work in progress… hopefully I will finish it over the weekend… in the meantime go and check out all the wonderful Cubic Zirconia products that ArtBeads have on offer – they come in so many lovely colours and they are really nice to work with!
http://www.artbeads.com/cubic-zirconia-jewelry-beads.html

Now I’m going back to bed to nurse this stinking cold!!!

Wishing everyone happy beading!!! :-)

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Disclosure: I am a reviewer of Artbeads.com products and a participant of its blogging program. I received all Cubic Zirconia components free of charge. This post reflects my honest opinion and Artbeads.com is not compensating me for my endorsement as it pertains to the products received and reviewed.

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

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! :-)

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!!! :-)

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:

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!!! :-)

BAO Item of the week

Another stunning selection from the Bead Art Originals!!!

My item this week:

Purple Flower Necklace – OOAK

Purchase and pay for this necklace between now and 3rd September and receive 20% off!!!

Visit the BAO blog and check out all the other offers on these gorgeous items! http://beadartoriginals.blogspot.com/

Miriam's Jewel - Choker

This is going to be a really quick post, as I'm struggling to concentrate on anything at all.... I've been sick with the flu for the last few days, and today, although my cough has gone and my nose has stopped running, my head is absolutely exploding!!!!!

As the sun finally came out, I thought I would take the opportunity to photograph my latest (and probably favourite) piece... I absolutely LOVE this piece, am so happy with how it came out!!!!!

Miriam's Jewel - Choker

 

For more information on materials, techniques and to see more pictures, please visit my shop or click on this link.

Ok.... going to back to bed now, before I pass out!!! :-)

Blazing Flowers Earrings

I've been meaning to make these earrings to match the Blazing Flower Necklace since the necklace was finished.... but you know how it is.... there is always something else to do and so I just never got around to doing it... until, the other day I was asked to do so... and here they are! ;-)

Blazing Flowers Earrings

Blazing Flowers Necklace

 

This necklace came in 2nd place in the EtsyBeadWeavers April's Fire and Flowers Challenge :-)

And again a reminder.... EtsyBeadWeavers' November's Challenge is taking place right now!!! go and vote for your favourite piece!!!! :-) http://etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com/

ok 6.37 am, got to go and wake up my son and nurse this horrible headache I've had since yesterday.... I think I have a bit of a head cold! ;-p

and why is it he wakes up at 5 am on Saturdays but during the week I've got to wake him up????  one of those mysteries of life I suppose, but I will get my revenge when he becomes a teenager and wants to sleep in on the weekend... I'll make sure I make a huge amount of noise after he's been partying all night!!! :-D

Not just for Halloween!!! - Treasury

 

Here is my treasury for the week... and yes, yet again it's on treasury west, but as I was proved wrong last week... seeing that my last treasury west actually made it to the Front Page.... this time I don't mind :-)

So much purple, orange and black all over the place for Halloween, but why should it be only for the holiday... look at these great finds, I would wear them/use them any time of the year... Love this colour combo and not a pumpkin or ghost in sight!!! :-)

Go check it out before Tuesday 28th October:  
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=30227

Hope you are all having a super weekend!!!

It's a colourful world!!!! - Treasury

I was in a very colourful mood last night!!! Maybe due to the joy I felt at finally being able to drink and eat after 25 hours without!!!! Another Yom Kippur over!!! :-) The fasting wasn't so bad, but the no drinking... now that's my killer!!!! I drink a LOT of water daily and 25 hours without is what I dread each year!!! :-) but I have survived and to mark this event, here is my treasury for the weekend!!! wishing everyone a wonderful weekend!!!

Go check out these great colourful items I found! This treasury ends Sunday 12th October:
 http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=28573

I love the amazing diversity of products that you can find on Etsy!!! It was just about a year ago I heard of Etsy, and I have to say I'm so glad, I met so many lovely, talented, generous people on it, whose lives would probably not have ever crossed paths with mine if it wasn't for Etsy, as well as being able to expand the exposure of my work to the world and not being confined to my little country! :-)  I only found out about blogs when I started chatting to other EBW members - It's been  a really positive experience all around and one that I hope continues! :-)

Please don't forget, voting for the Animal Instinct Challenge is taking place at the EBW's Blog - Please go visit and vote for your favourite!!! :-) http://etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com/

ART DECO EBW Challenge

 

Voting for the EtsyBeadweavers August  ART DECO challenge has started!!!!! :-)

Go and check out the amazing entries for this month's challenge and please take a few moments and vote for your favourite!!!! - from 9th-15th August - only 6 days left to vote!!!! don't put it off!!! :-) 

http://etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com/

My entry for this challenge is entry # 2

Purple Graces

 

 

Flaming Wall Flower

 

 

 

Finally managed to finish the bracelet I started a few days ago using those gorgeous large Delica beads.... and for some reason I seem to be stuck on making those brick-stitched flowers I've been making lately... but it works so well with this bracelet that I couldn't help myself!!! :-)

 

 

 

 

 

I'm quite happy with how the actual bracelet turned out!!! and it looks so much nicer, more vibrant and luscious in real life... but what I'm really unhappy with is my photography!!! yuck... and these are  the best of over 150 shots I took....  I just found it really hard to photograph the red and purple!!!  If anyone out there knows what I'm doing wrong or has any advice for photographing these 2 colours then please, please, leave me a comment with your suggestions, because I'm at my wits ends... and it's not the first time I had problems with these colours... I tried taking the photo in the flat, outside, in the shade, in more shade... although I must say the darker the shade the better it looked... but am still not very happy with the results... at least the bracelet turned out pretty nice!!! :-)

So unless someone can suggest how I can improve on photographing these 2 colours, I may have to stop beading using this combination, and I have to say, that would be a tragedy as it is one of my favourite colour combinations!!!!

For more information on Flaming Wall Flower Bracelet please visit  my Etsy shop, thank you! :-)

 

Purple Graces

My first day alone at home!!!!!! :-) My poor son has been home from kindergarten for the last 3 weeks!!!! and today finally his eye infection had cleared up, so I quickly dropped him off and even more quickly got back so I could finally take pictures and post my new piece!!!!  Amazing how much one can get done with no distractions :-) 

I've been working on this piece since the EtsyBeadWeavers' August challenge was announced - Art Deco!!!Thank you Staci from PinkPoochDesigns for this wonderful theme choice.    So, as my son was home for almost 3 week, and I had a houseguest for almost 6 weeks....  I found myself hiding in my bedroom, which would explain this purple mood I'm in... my bedroom walls are a rich plum colour... no wonder all I could think of is purple!!! :-) anyway... here is my latest piece - Purple Graces - I made loads of those circle , actually 6, to get the correct proportion of size difference between the 3 circles... which is brilliant because I'm supposed to make 6 gifts for the teachers at my son's kindergarten for the end of year.... and now I have 2 pendant made for them... one I've decided to put up for sale at a later stage, also like this they won't all have purple necklaces :-)

Purple Graces

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I still have a few purple things in my mind that I need to get out, but as I am now back in my living room with the bright lights and walls, am looking forward to working with some different colour combinations!!! Not that I don't like purple... it's just time :-) and because I find it incredibly difficult to photograph purple!!!!  This one didn't come out too bad, but I have a piece that I made about a month ago, similar to this one, but much smaller and less geometrical, and I don't know why but I've taken hundreds of photos, and either it's out of focus or the colours get so distorted they almost look luminescent... it's just not working out...  I'll just have to keep that pendant for myself! :-)

Purple Balagan

I have been meaning to make a second bead-embroidered cuff since I finished my first one (Ancient Cuff) a while ago... and here it is!!!!

I guess I tend to be a bit of a control-freak when it comes to my designs.... but here I set out to free myself from the constraints of following rigid specific ideas to really allowing myself to go wild and almost do the opposite of what I would have usually done... and that is how my Purple Balagan came about. Balagan is a word used around here to describe a bit of a mess/confusion/chaos... but not in a derogative way... or at least I don't understand it in a negative manner :-) it's actually one of my favourites words... it's a fun word.... therefore befitting my cuff :-)

How much fun was that!!!! so much fun!!! I almost felt as though I was painting rather than beading... does that make any sense?... I absolutely LOVED making this piece and can't wait to make another cuff as soon as I finished working on my current bead-embroidered necklace... stay tuned! :-)

Purple Flower - Finally finished!!! :-)

I started this piece in around April , and although the actual flower was finished and the necklace part started, I just could not get my head around finishing it. I seriously had a mental block against beading the band in herringbone stitch, but finally this week-end I literally hid in my bedroom and put my mind to finishing it... and am so glad I did!!! finally!!!! :-) I am terrible.... I get bored so easily!!! so the prospect of beading not one but 2 plain long bands was just more than I could take! :-) but once I put my mind to it, I really got into it, of course I was in front of the telly catching up with all the programs I missed during the week... and the next thing I know.... it's actually finally finished!!! :-) I have to say.... this piece looks so amazing on!!! I must find a model for it.... my 6' something houseguest is a bit too hairy to carry it off :-) + am not sure he would do it anyway ;-) but in the meantime.... here it is!!!!

Click on the links below to see previous posts of this piece in progress:
Purple Flower - Part 1
Purple Flower - Part 2

Today I'm teaching, and tomorrow is my son's 4th birthday, so I'm not sure when I'll be able to add this piece to my etsy shop.... but soon :-) In the meantime.... let me know what you think :-)

Happy beading everyone! :-)

I added this piece to my shop: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=13349847

Midsummer Night's Dream

 

Midsummer Night's Dream

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've been working on this piece on and off for a while now... well, since EBW announced the July Challenge "A Midsummer Night's Dream".... and since then all I could envision was these flowers in these exact colours.... so it had to be made! :-)  and I'm really pleased with the result!!! :-D

I used these colours because they remind me of my teenage summer nights on holiday, where the grass looked really green and the skies were so dark they looked purple illuminated by bright lights from the stars in the sky. And because of the darkness the flowers change colour into a strange but wonderful world of greens and purples and lights.... My interpretation of an idyllic memory of how it was....

Six beautiful brick stitched flowers bead woven with freshwater pearls, purple and green fire polished Czech glass beads and Czech seed beads, and pale yellow Swarovski crystals appear to grow out from an ivory/cream brick stitched curved band and joined on the other side by 6 strands of seed beads leading to the bead woven complementary toggle and loop closure.

The largest flower measures 1 ½” (c. 4 cm) in diameter and the smallest 1” (2.54 cm). The band of flowers from the top of the first flower to the bottom of the last one measures 4 ¾” (12 cm). The neckline (inside) measures c. 19” (c. 48 cm).

One Of A Kind - OOAK

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Please go and visit the EtsyBeadweavers’ blog from the 7th of July and vote for your favourite piece from a selection of incredible beadwork.

http://www.etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com/

Voting only lasts 7 days, so don’t put it off! :-)

Green, Purple and Pearl Necklace

Well... I can happily say that my bead rut is officially over!!!! :-) and this is a new piece I made in the last couple of days - Green, Purple and Pearl Pendant - yes I know, hardly original, but as I have no idea what inspired me to make this... it just sort of happened... :-) I could not come up with a name for it.... Maybe someone out there has a suggestion.... if so, feel free to leave me a comment, it may be fun to see what everyone comes up with :-)

For more details on this piece please visit my shop : www.triz.etsy.com