My New Adventure!

It all started when I was looking for a ring for myself…. I had some idea in my mind of what I wanted… so I started looking on Etsy of course… and there were lots of gorgeous ring… but not exactly what I was looking for… and then I saw that Belinda Saville, who I knew for making really pretty beadwork, had started making metal (silver) jewellery… 

So I contacted her and asked her if she was interested in making me a custom made silver ring… she said yes! i was so excited because I really love her style!!! So we started e-mailing back and forth… she sent me photos of some of the stones she had and I fell in love with two!!! :-)  One of the stones was already in her possession, the other was on the way to her, so she started sketching some designs featuring this absolutely gorgeous labradorite….  and finally we agreed on one design that I fell in love with and couldn’t wait to see finished!!!  Belinda was an absolute pleasure to do business with!!! Apart from the fact that she is super-talented… she is one of the loveliest people I have “met” (through blogging)!!!

It wasn’t long till the ring was finished and not too long after that (seeing that I live in Israel and she’s in Australia) that the ring arrived!!! and oh my!!! the sketches, photos and not even my imagination could have prepared me for its beauty!!!! Absolutely gorgeous!!!!

 

And then came the second one!!! equally stunning!!!

I love… no, sorry… I LOVE both of them so much I wear them both every day, one on each hand!!! :-)

The whole experience was such a pleasure!!! and at the end of it I’m the proud owner of two stunning pieces of beautifully made jewellery that are so me!!!! :-)

So why am I telling you all this? apart from showing off my new rings and introducing you to a wonderful artist (in case you don’t know her already :-D)… well during the whole process I started talking to Belinda about making metal jewellery…. and she sort of gave me the courage to think that maybe I could try out this new (to me) medium… so I spent the last couple of months ordering tools to start me off… and oh my there are a lot of tools!!!  Bought loads of books on metal jewellery design… I painted my spare room… folded up the futon… I managed to get myself a professional jeweller's bench (second hand)…  and finally, yesterday I received the bulk of my tools from the US (birthday present from my dad, thank you daddy! :-D)… I spent all afternoon and half the night unpacking all my new toys and organizing them on my new desk….

Now all there is left to do is find the courage to actually turn that torch on!!! :-)  Not an easy thing for me… first I’m petrified of fire and burning down my flat and the whole building (I bought myself a fire extinguisher, not that I know how to use it!)… second my fear is preventing me from thinking of any ideas!!! So I though, as I’m so clueless, I’m going to start working with copper and bronze (so much cheaper to make a mistake on than silver) and rather than jump in with my own designs I’m going to work through some of the projects from the books I bought… hopefully without burning the building down! :-)

I will be posting my progress… but in the meantime go and check out the beautiful work of Belinda Saville who started this mad adventure!!! :-)

Belinda’s blog: http://belindasaville.blogspot.com/
Belinda’s shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/belindasaville
Belinda’s FB page: http://www.facebook.com/BelindaSavilleHandcraftedJewellery

* Photos of Belinda’s rings by Belinda Saville, used with her permission

Glam Rock

I’ve been so quiet lately… but I have a great excuse… I was in hospital and had an operation a month ago… the recovery is six week… all is well and as I'm regaining my strength I started to bead again!!! :-)

During my time in hospital and for the first 2 weeks thereafter I read everything I could find on metal smith, soldering in particular and some hammering… yes, my next new craze!!!! I’ve decided to expand my jewellery making repertoire into including metals… I have no idea what I’m doing, but have ordered all the tools needed to get me started… they should be here in about 2-4 weeks!!! :-) I’m so excited… and nervous… a bit scared of the torch… but I’ll give it a go! :-)

So my mind has been occupied with metals… which would explain the new pieces I created… very bold, very geometric and very clean design…

Here are three new pieces I’ve been working on for the last few weeks… yes I’ve been working/beading at a snail’s pace! :-) but my pace is picking up as I continue to feel better with each passing day! :-)

Glam Rock Black Leather Cuff 

Glam Rock Necklace

 Glam Rock Silver Cuff

 

I’ve got another necklace… but just as i was finishing it… I notice a mistake, so had to chop off some of it to redo it… but it will have to wait… hopefully I’ll finish it off tomorrow… in the meantime… I’m happy to be “back”! :-)

Wishing everyone, happy beading!!! :-)

Fashion Colorworks 2011

The second International Fashion Colorworks 2011 Beading Contest is being held by My Lovely Beads.

The first International Fashion Colorworks 2010 Beading Contest was a resounding success for all its participants: the contestants, the sponsors, the judges, and the bead lovers. 83 participants from 20 countries submitted 132 entries!

The second International Fashion Colorworks 2011 Beading Contest is on its way!

There are three categories: Seed Bead Jewellery, Finished Jewellery, and Beaded Objects and Accessories.

The entries for each category should be created in one of the chosen three Pantone Colour Institute fashion colours for spring 2011 colour combinations below:

The 1st colour combination:

Russet (CMYK: 44-67-76-9; RGB: 92614C)
Coral Rose (CMYK: 0-63-86-0; RGB: F47D39)
Blue Curacao (CMYK: 63-0-22-0; RGB: 4AC3CC)

 

 

The 2nd colour combination:

Lavender (CMYK: 33-32-0-0; RGB: A9A6D2)
Peapod (CMYK: 56-0-51-0; RGB: 71C59B)
Silver Cloud (CMYK: 25-19-23-0; RGB: C0C0BB)

 

 

The 3rd colour combination:

Regatta (CMYK: 73-28-0-0; RGB: 3397D3)
Silver Peony (CMYK: 3-13-15-0; RGB: F4DDD0)
Beeswax (CMYK: 0-30-78-0; RGB: FDBA51)

 

 

For the official contest rules and more details please visit:
http://www.mylovelybeads.com/contest/

 

I would love to take part, but unfortunately I will be away from the 6th March till after the deadline :-( but I cannot wait to see all the entries… last year they were amazing!!! Let’s see what this year’s contestants bring to the table!!!

Wishing you all best of luck in the contest!!! :-) Happy beading!!! :-)

New Tutorial! Marie Antoinette and Bloody Mary

My workshop went really well the other day… it was nice teaching again after a really long pause and I’m looking forward to teaching more in the future! :-)

The students made some beautiful variation of the leather cuff in lots of colours; khaki, black, red on black leather, brown… it was really nice seeing everyone pick their favourite colour and come up with a totally different look for their cuffs

Here is the tutorial for that class:

PDF Tutorial - Bloody Mary Bead Embroidery Leather Cuff - Instructions ONLY

This tutorial will show you how to embellish around a cab using Swarovski crystals and pearls. Here are two versions I made:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The cabochon used for this tutorial is a vintage (c. 1940s) glass cab.  I have a few of these cabs available for sale (contact me for details) if you want to make the exact cuff, but you can substitute the cab with any other similar sized cab.

I think I’m going to make another colour today…. hmmm maybe a black version…. :-)

Wishing everyone happy beading and a great weekend ahead! :-)

Bloody Mary!

I was introduced to a Bloody Mary on a plane journey on the way to Las Vegas with friends who described it as the best drink to have for breakfast! :-) I wasn’t convinced, as I really don't like tomato juice… but I took one sip and I was hooked!!! My first a.m. drink… and now every time I fly it’s the drink I ask for! :-)

The richness of the reds used in my new cuff reminded me of that drink and a great time in Las Vegas! :-)

Bloody Mary – Red Leather Cuff

I will be teaching this cuff at the workshop tomorrow… so excited!!! and will be making kits for this as soon as my order of Swarovski crystals and pearls arrives… so stay tuned!:-)

Happy beading!!! :-)

A Touch of Royalty – EBW February Challenge

It’s that time again…. time to go and check out the beautiful entries for this month’s EtsyBeadWeavers Challenge!!!

My entry for this challenge is # 31 on the list:

Marie Antoinette – Pink Leather Cuff

There are 62 incredible entries for this challenge, so your challenge will be to pick just one as your favourite and vote for it before the 15th February!!!

So don’t put it off, go and check out the amazingly talented EtsyBeadWeavers Team and vote for your favourite entry!!! http://etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com/

Happy beading!!!