BAO Items of the Week

This week’s gorgeous items from the BAO:

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/

bAO item of the Week

Here are this week’s Items of the Week from the BAO:

My item this week is: Something Blue Bracelet

Purchase and pay for this item between now and 17th September and receive 20% off !!! $78 instead of the regular $98!!!

Go to the BAO blog to see what other specials are on offer this week from the talented BAO!!!

and don’t forget…. voting for the September “Indian Summer Dream” Challenge is currently in process at the EtsyBeadWeavers’ Blog – My entry is entry # 1 – go and vote for your favourite!!!
http://etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com/

Dove of Hope by Daniella Flakowicz

Today I'm showing the work of a wonderfully talented Israeli artist; Daniella Flakowicz.

I met Daniella when she attended my bead-embroidery workshops a few months back, and as you will be able to see, she took to bead-embroidery like a duck to water! :-) Although I'm not surprised because if you check her website, you will see she is a woman of many artistic talents!

When Daniella described this piece to me and the reasons why she created it, I had goose bumps all over and tears in my eyes. This piece is not only stunning, but the reasons behind its creation are so touching.

This is what Daniella had to say about this piece:

"Here is the dove of hope... created with all my thoughts and concern for Gilad Shalit. I ended the work on day 900 of his captivity ,which is 21600 hours !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Imagine.

Each bead was carefully embroidered as one hour of Gilad's time.
I hope and pray he is released as soon as possible!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have dedicated this project to Gilad's mother as a very small thing I could do to be with her.

I thank you Triz for teaching me the art of bead embroidery, so I could combine it with my love of painting and colours, even though I limited the colours to white and shades of blue, colours of our national flag .

I hope as many people see this dove of hope, so we don't forget our Gilad, a son of ours. "

The Hebrew words are from a proverb from the bible: "that our sons shall return to our borders"

I can't really add much more to this.... the piece is stunning, its sentiments are even more beautiful.... I'm deeply honoured that I had a tiny (tiny) part in teaching this technique to such a wonderful artist, and I too pray and hope for the speedy release of Gilad Shalit!!!

If you are unfamiliar with who Gilad Shalit is, please visit http://www.habanim.org/en/gilad_en.html and read more about his story.

Celeste Earrings

As the craziness of December is finally over, or is at least winding down... I find myself able to go back to all those projects that I didn't have time or energy to finish... and here is one of those project.

Believe it or not the earrings were almost finished a long time ago, all I had to do is attach the top part to the bottom.... would you believe it if I told you that it took me over 3 weeks to actually sit down and do it?!?! talk about procrastinating... I'm almost ashamed! :-)  I don't know why but there are times when the design is so close to completion and nothing on this earth would actually make me sit down to finish it! why??? I'm not lazy... there are just so many distractions... mainly in my head, with ideas for new pieces... and I just have to move on to the next piece.... it's all very well, until I find myself confronted by tons of pieces that are in the almost-finished-stage... with still more stuff cluttering my little brain! :-)

Anyway, here they are: Celeste Earrings - Bead-embroidered around white Quartz and Jade cabochons in gold glass beads and greeny-blues Swarovski crystals - I just LOVE them!!!! I wish I had learnt how to bead while I was out and about partying in my 20s and 30s... I would have worn these to death!!! :-) now my idea of partying, is cuddling up under the duvet in front of the telly and hoping for 6 hours of sleep! :-) not much need for ear decorations :-)

Tomorrow I will post the Blue Lagoon necklace.... I'm still working on the photos... till then... happy beading!!! :-)

Frozen Waters - Earrings

 

 

I'm so pleased with how the Frozen Waters earrings have turned out that I've already started making a second pair in a different colour.  Although it's really difficult for me to keep to such small dimensions, compared to my cuffs and collars, I really enjoy making these... it's so nice to be able to start a project and finish it in the same day! :-) instead of my usual days or weeks :-)

Sadly the pictures are not brilliant... this is the best one out of a lot of really bad ones...  lack of light, but I will take some more in a few days when I have a few more pieces to photograph and better light! :-)

 

 

 

These earrings are the perfect complement to my entry for  this month EtsyBeadWeavers' Snow Queen December Challenge. 

Frozen Waters - Cuff

Which reminds me voting is currently taking place at http://etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com/ vote for your favourite piece! voting ends 15th December!!!

Snow Queen EBW December Challenge

 

 

31 amazing entries this month!!!! WOW!!!! I have no idea which I'm going to vote for!!!!! They are all so beautiful, I think I have about 15 favourites!!!! I must narrow it down! :-)  Can you pick your favourite????

GO and check them all out at the EtsyBeadWeavers' blog and vote for your favourite!!!!!  Voting starts today 9th December and lasts till 15th, so don't put it off, cast your vote!!!!!!

My entry for the Snow Queen Challenge is # 11:
Frozen Waters Cuff

Vote for your favourite! http://etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com/

Frozen Waters Cuff

Here is my new bead-embroidered cuff!!! It took me a really long time (over 22 hours) but I really enjoyed making it and I love how it turned out!!! :-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This cuff was created with the EtsyBeadWeavers' Snow Queen Challenge in mind, especially in terms of colour palette, but in terms of technique, I used the technique I learnt from making Sherry Serafini's collar and this has  definitely been a huge influence in this piece.   (see previous post)

Frozen Waters is probably going to be my entry for the EtsyBeadWeavers' December challenge "Snow Queen".  I say probably because I'm half-way through making a matching bead-embroidered collar and if I actually finish it in time, I think I may enter that one... don't know... don't know if I'll have the choice :-) also a pair or earrings are in the plan! :-) I don't know what happened, but I really like this colour combination and have been very inspired to make more with it!!! :-) come back soon! :-)

A Black Tie Affair - Treasury

And finally I got a treasury... even though it's Treasury West and for some reason these don't seem to get as many views as the ones on the main treasury.... but I have been waiting for too long!!! and enough is enough!!! I want to bead!!! :-)

Here is my treasury for the week - it will expire Thursday 23rd October - go check it out!!! :-)

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=29714

BAO Items of the Week + Snow White Treasury

 

Here are this week's BAO items of the week - visit the BAO blog and find out what specials are being offered on these gorgeous items!!! http://beadartoriginals.blogspot.com/

My item for this week is: Passion Flower Earrings

Purchase and pay for these earrings between now and 19th October and receive 5% off + free shipping to anywhere in the world!!!  :-)

 

It's been a really busy morning, and it's only 8.20 am!!! :-) I'm trying to get as much done as possible, before even showering or getting dressed, because my son is home from kindergarten for the next 10 days or so, for Succot (the current Jewish festival!) and we have lots of things to do together!!! However, I managed to grab a treasury this morning!!!! yeah!!!!! and not only a treasury, but a 3 day one!!!! double yeahhhh!!! :-) and here it is:

 

 

 

Please visit this treasury between now and 15th October to check out these gorgeous Etsy finds!!!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=14657

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 Flower - Part 2

All going well :-) finished beading it (# 1), cut it and attached it to the ultrasuede (# 2)... all good... :-) I start beadweaving a band to make the loop to attach the flower to the crocheted rope.... and again!!! confusion and uncertainty!!! I actually quite like the effect the beadwoven band (# 3) has against the flower... so now I don't know what to do!!! :-) and that is how my next project started :-) so I'm going to sleep on it for a couple of nights before I make a decision and of course whichever I decide will then only create the next dilemma... to fringe or not to fringe? :-)

1. 2. 3.


Ok, so if any of you feel like giving me your tuppence worth on wether you prefer the white crochet rope or the lilac-ish beadwoven band, please feel free to do so by leaving me a comment... I will take all suggestions into consideration, because truthfully I like them both, but really, REALLY don't feel like making two of them :-) so help me decide!!! :-)


If you missed the first part of Purple Flowers please go to Part 1


I'm not sure how much beading and blogging I will be able to do this next week as my son is home from kindergarten all week!!! :-) It's Pesach (Passover) starting Saturday night. Most people hate this festival, mainly because of the dietary laws during this week (no bread, no pasta, no rice, no yummy food basically) but I actually love it (except of the food problems). I love it because it's spring and Israel just looks, smells and feels amazing. The weather is perfect, bright skies, lots of sunshine, longer days, no humidity, warm but not hot.... but most of all I love it because I was born on the 7th day of Pesach, so it's my Jewish birthday, and although I decided (last year) that I would no longer celebrate my birthdays, in an effort to forget how old I am and therefore not care (I'll let you know how that works out in a few years ;-D), I still really like the feeling of this festival. I'll be going to my sister for Seder night, so am looking forward to a nice relaxed evening with her, her husband and my gorgeous nephews and niece!!! :-) My parents flew to Italy, so it's weird becasue I think this is the first time ever that I haven't seen them around pesach and I'm jealous I want to go to Italy!!! :-) and my other sister is staying put in London with her hubby and her 2 little girls. I miss them!!! :-) I haven't even seen my latest niece, who is only a few months old... hopefully I'll be able to go to London after the summer... I hope so, would like to see my nieces before they go off to university :-) + my son is driving me nuts because he wants to see grandma and grandpa and wants to go on the aeroplane again :-) and then wants to take the train to Paris to see Nonna (my grandma who is 96!!!).... I think he thinks of all transport as the car... just another way to get somewhere :-) my little jet-setting almost 4 year old :-)


Ok so I rambled a bit.... I told you... I'm not the mood to bead :-(


Wishing everyone who celebrates Pesach, a peaceful, happy and kosher one!!! :-)

Updates + preview

I'm not feeling my best today, and am finding it difficult to concentrate on the beading for long periods of time, so I bead a bit, I catch up with my blog reading, then I bead some more... but am just not feeling it and I really, really like the new project I started yesterday afternoon, so I want to enjoy it, not force it :-) So decided to write an early post today, why not? maybe I'll feel like beading later.

My desk looks like.... I would like to say like a bomb hit it, but with everything that is going around the world and especially here, I feel like it's a bit inappropriate... it looks like a bloody tip!!! My tidy-up lasted... not very long, as you can all see :-) but at least I have a good excuse... hmmm, I meant reason ;-) I'm currently actively working on 3 projects and that makes for a bit of a mess, both on the desk and in my head :-)

Sometimes it happens... when I'm not 100% sure where I'm going with a piece, I start getting loads of ideas in my head, and the ones that get discarded are the ones that inspire new pieces.... and in my attempt not to forget these ideas, I need to start them off. So that is how I get to have 3 almost completed but far from finished project on my beading table in the space of a couple of days!!! :-)

So here are the updates:

Water - no progress yet, lots of ideas flying around in my head, but nothing concrete yet - Water progress - part 1

Purple flowers - some progress, am at a crossroad regarding which way to carry on, will post progress later on, see Purple Flower progress - part 1 and check in later for part 2.

here are 2 previous bead-embroidered pieces that have been on hold for a while, I really like both of them, I just don't know what to do with them YET! :-)

ok so in the midst of all this chaos.... and in between deciding the last few steps for the Purple Flower, I started a new piece, also purple/lilacish and white, also flowers and also I don't know what I'm going to do with it :-) I have NO idea what on earth is going on with me lately... I'm so undecided and unsure.... not my usual self... well, I'll just go with the flow for now, and hopefully I WILL snap out of it soon... and just think of it this way, all of a sudden I will have (hopefully) 5 new pieces all at once!!!! :-) and then everyone that hasn't been following my ramblings :-) will think I'm a super-fast beader!!! :-)

Here is a preview of the new flowery piece... yes, I know more flowers!!! what can I say, I'm sorry... I love flowers, I even worked in a flower shop for a year, which I LOVED immensely!!!

I have 3 flowery tattoos, although arguably not pretty flowers and mostly chosen to balance the more intense tattoos I have spread around all over the place :-) If I could afford to, I would buy fresh flowers every week and have them all over the flat.... as I said, I really love flowers!!! :-)

come back later to see more on the purple flower progress

Water Progress - none / NEW Purple Flower - Work in Progress - part 1

OK.... I just can't come up with anything for the Water piece and I really like it, so I don't want to mess it up by rushing it... it has now joined 2 previous bead embroidered pieces that I like but have not figured out what to do with yet.... so rather than pull my hair out, I decided to leave it and start something else.

In my efforts to advance with this piece I started playing around with making different chains in turquoise and white.... and one of them, a white crocheted one I really liked but not for the Water piece, so it inspired me to start a new piece using shades of purple/lilac beads and white, which I rarely use but summer is coming and what better than crisp white clothes!!! I have to mention that yesterday it was about 37-38 degrees Centigrade here, so crispy white is all I could think of to mentally try and stay cool :-)

1. 2. 3.

By now it was getting really late at night... I managed to keep my eyes open long enough to glue all the components down... and then went to bed exhausted but exited for the morning to come so that I can start beading on this piece :-)

4. 5. 6.

Morning has come and I like it!!! a lot!!! :-) which makes it an excellent morning :-)

Then I start beading round the petals.... mental note to myself: I hate the repetitiveness of beading the same thing over and over again.... next time reduce number of petals :-)

7. 8. 9.

Come back in a few days and hopefully :-) this will be finished :-) no, I mean it!!! it will be finished!!!! :-)

Happy beading everyone! :-)

Spring Bride Set

I finally finished the choker to match one of the bracelets in yesterday's post Bracelet Mania... and I have to say that it looks really simple but it actually took me quite a long time to weave it, especially as I went back through it more than once to give it some structure and obviously so the whole thing won't fall apart ;-)

Here is the choker Spring Bride Necklace

and I must thank Carol Dean of Sand Fibers as I took the adjustable closure from one of her wonderful pieces Brilliant Bronze Choker with Pearls. Go check it out! Thank you Carol Dean!:-)






Here is the set... am thinking of earrings too... but am not sure how to incorporate the cubes... and I really want to! :-)

I think the obsession for this week is white Japanese cubes and coloured pearls.... what can I say... spring is here... flowers in bloom... birds are chirping.... the weather is beautifull... and I'm sick of winter colours! :-)


Spring Bride Necklace

Spring Bride Bracelet

Bracelet Mania

I can't stop beading.... not even long enough to read the latest edition of Beadwork magazine that arrived yesterday :-) and it seems that my obsession for the week is beading bracelets... and white!!! which is even stranger for me than pink.... but I'm loving it!!! I really must be going soft in my old age, I'm becoming girlie :-)

so here are 3 that I made earlier :-)

These 2 below are the basically the same bracelet, the left one (Pearls and Bricks ) differes from the right one (Happy Bride ) in colour and size of seed beads, also the left one has alternating rows of Swarovsky crystals and pearls, the right one only pearls.



This next one (Spring Bride) is so much fun... I made one for myself :-) and I'm also in the process of finishing off a complimentary choker... hopefully I will be able to post it in a few days... I love all three pictures and couldn't decide which one to post, and as I'm so proud of all of them, decided to post all :-)



Come back in a few days to see the choker :-)

Stuck!!!! .... but inspired....

Well... I've been making all sorts of crocheted ropes for the piece I'm working on..... and I'm not happy with any of them!!!! however... something good has come out of it all.... as I used one of those crocheted ropes to make a new bracelet!!!.... Yesterday I went to pick up my order of beads from Bogal Ltd. and of course that is always exiting, coming home with a bag-full of new beads!!! and I got these amazing flat mother-or-pearl discs amongst lots of other amazingly gorgeous stuff!!! I feel so unbeliveably inspired... and have so many ideas for the new beads.... but there are only 24 hours in a day and I need to sleep at least 4 of them away!!!!! arghhh.... yes, I did mention that I'm obsessed with beading, right?!? :-D

anyway those gorgeous mother-of-pearl discs + my crocheted rope and I had to create this bracelet.... it was screaming to be made.... so here is my unexpected but very inspired Black & Pearl Bangle....

now back to the drawing board trying to work something out for the other piece ;-p stay tuned! :-D

and damn that bloody spell-check doesn't work againh!!!!!!!