EBW Ocean Challenge

This necklace is my entry into the Etsy BeadWeavers' Ocean theme challenge. I happy to say that I've finally had enough time (as well as inspiration) to participate in the challenge this time!

The colours I used are reminiscent of the colours of a stormy ocean, here where I live on the West coast of British Columbia, Canada. The ocean is my muse in most things, most days and my favourite time to view it is when there is a good storm blowing. The necklace sparkles as the ocean would when the wind whips it and sun glances off. The three circular pieces are meant to represent the ever changing tidal pools which teem with life.

It was fun to create and I'm working on a variation on the theme in gold, with pearls. Watch for it!

It's available for sale in my Etsy shop.

Necklace for Keely

My granddaughter Keely sent me this pendant and asked for a necklace for it. I had four false starts before I decided on this design. I think it complements the pendant nicely. It measures 36 inches end to end and the closure is (guess what?) a Swarovski crystal 10mm square button. I beaded the bail to match the closure. Just hoping it's not too much 'bling' for her! The 'sparkle' is my favourite part!

A New Year Begins

I was surprised when I realized that it's been such a long time since my last post. The holidays were a bit of a busy time for me and probably one of the best things about them was the time I was able to spend with my granddaughter. She stayed with me for five days. We took a ferry trip to a slightly larger city than the one where I live. Our purpose was to do some shopping. When looking around in a great yarn shop, she spied a pair of fingerless gloves and asked me if she could learn to knit them. That was a pretty exciting request from my point of view, so we bought wool and got her started. She's doing quite well for a beginner though the project isn't happening as fast as I think she'd like it to. Hopefully I can keep her moving forward on it.

I haven't been doing a lot of beading but I do have a few projects in progress. Here's my proof:



I did finish one smaller project...a necklace. And I finished it again with the Swarovski square button. I think this has become my new favourite closure. The hex beads I used in this spiral necklace sparkle quite beautifully. I have an order for this necklace in greens.

Three Piece Dark Denim Set

The inspiration for this set was the colours of the beads themselves. When I looked at them together, I envisioned them worn with jeans, heels, a tailored wool or leather jacket and a mannish white shirt. The juxtaposition of the feminine and masculine elements feels balanced to me. You couldn't wear this set and not be feminine, no matter what you wear with it.

I've been toying with other sets of beads and thinking about another set.

The closure button is a 10mm Swarovski crystal button in a colour called Montana Sapphire that I bought online at Artbeads. The way it finishes the necklace and bracelet is exactly what I wanted.



Three types of beads make up the spiral rope; triangles, Toho hex beads and seed beads.

Finally Back to Beads!

Colour me happy! Happy to get back to my beads! The bezel for this stone had been done for a while. In between all of the other things I've been working on I took little snatches of time to work on finishing the pendant. Then the neck piece got done and today I started the day with finishing the toggle for it. It's going into a Christmas sale this weekend.

Being in my studio with the beads has all kinds of things running through my head. I'm happy to say that after Sunday, I'll be able to indulge myself in making whatever the spirits move me to make.

Just Done & Sold

I've been working on this necklace for a while and a friend saw it while it was in progress. She said it would be a perfect birthday gift for her daughter. The necklace portion includes fresh water pearls that I picked up while on my road trip this past summer along with the gold charlotte beads. The pendant is different on both sides and can be removed from the necklace giving it lots of versatility for ways to wear it.

On A Roll!

It looks like I'm on a roll! I'd done the bezel on the glass pendant some time ago and it's been waiting for inspiration to finish it. A couple of days ago, I finally came up with a design for it and started working away at it. The rope part was pretty simple and straight forward. When I got to the time to work on the branch fringe I prepared to be at it for a while. Since the last branch fringe pendant I did took a whole day, I was expecting this one to take as long or longer. As it turned out, I discovered a technique that made the whole process a lot quicker. And I finished it last night.

Let It Be - Turquoise

There is no denying that I'm loving the combination of the colours turquoise and copper. Not long ago I posted a necklace that I thought might be mine. When it was finished, I had yet another turquoise stone that I wanted to do something with. This is the "something" that I did. I named it Let It Be for two reasons. It's one of my favourite Beatle songs and also, I was thinking, "if I could have only one necklace - Let It Be Turquoise!" And it's quite an accomplishment for me to be completing things now as summer is here full force with temperatures up to 38C on my deck late afternoon. I just want to be out in the sunshine, working in my garden!



This necklace is available for sale in my Etsy Shop.

Kokopelli Howlite Necklace

This necklace got it's name after I photographed it and the following shot reminded me of Kokopelli. As the deity of agriculture, his flute playing chases away the Winter and brings about Spring. This is very appropriate for the necklace as I've been watching my garden burst into bloom as I worked on it and I'm sure I'm not alone in being ready for winter to be over.





The necklace is available for sale in my Etsy Shop.

Summer On My Wrist Bracelet

I've just completed and listed this fun and happy bracelet. It's the second time I've made something similiar but it's still quite different. More colours of flowers were added as well as a pressed glass butterfly near the center. Swarovski crystals give it some sparkle.

Commission Finished

When I completed the black and silver commission and delivered it to my friend, she mentioned a "beaded fairy" that her granddaughter had made that she'd like turned into a necklace. When she got the "fairy" to me, I told her I thought it is a mermaid. Anyway, based on that idea, I wanted a neckpiece for it that felt...waterish. I delivered the piece today and she told me that she may give it back to the granddaughter as a graduation gift this year. Sounds like a great idea to me.



I also made this pair of earrings that I thought she might like to have. She decided not to take them so they may end up on Etsy.

More Spiral Earrings Plus...

Last post I mentioned making some pink ones for my granddaughter. Here they are...one pink and one in her favourite colour combination, pink and lime green:





I also completed a new freeform peyote bracelet which is listed in my Etsy shop. Similar to one I'd made in the past but a bit simpler.

Spiral Earings

I actually made these several days ago and have made more since. They are fun to make and the two pictured here are available for sale in my Etsy store. I'm planning a pink pair for my granddaughter and I have some ideas for a few more too. The dangling dagger really finishes them.





I'm not sure which pair I like better!

Finally, It's Done!!

I finally finished the commission I've been working on...for...seems like forever! Finished it today and delivered it. My friend (and customer) was very happy with it. We had dinner together in a local restaurant and before we left, she was showing it off.

Just before she asked me to make her a "honkin' big" necklace, I'd bought a pair of antique silver garland links that would accept three strands for the neckpiece. I really wanted to incorporate it so I made three strands of spiral rope. Each strand is different. Two of them incorporate the faux pearls she had given me to include. Then I added a pendant that can be removed so that the necklace can be worn more than one way.

These photos are not the greatest but the piece has gone to it's new home so they'll have to do.

Variation on Scalloped Triangle Pendant on Spiral Rope

I really loved the silver and black version of this but I was thinking that not everyone prefers silver jewelry to gold as I do so I decided to make the necklace again using gold in place of silver. The rope is slightly different as is the triangle. Might just be me, but I still prefer the silver one!

Two Quick Bracelets

I enjoy doing both the Russian Spiral and the Spiral Rope and often when I need something simple to work on, I make a bracelet using those stitches. Here are the latest couple of results.

There are three different shades of blue in this one, combining with the silver center spine.


Too bad I wasn't able to photograph well, the shine of the silver lined grey toho beads in this one.

Scalloped Triangle Pendant on Spiral Rope

Because I really enjoy beading the spiral rope stitch, I've made another necklace, this one with a triangle pendant.  The rope has been done for a week or more and I was uninspired about making a pendant for it.  Last night I began to visualize a triangle pendant that I'd intended to embellish.  I had the triangle mostly done before I went to bed last night and got up this morning, ready to complete it and get started on the embellishment.  The first three or four things I tried I pulled out before I finally stumbled upon using the rondelles and creating a scallop to encase them.  I'm very happy with the result.  As always, the pendant can be removed to wear the rope alone.  This piece is listed for sale in my Etsy shop with more views of the piece.

Where's The Orca - Necklace

This one-of-a-kind piece was created for the Etsy BeadWeavers' October Challenge with the theme Animal Instinct. So "Where's The Orca" necklace was created with Orcas in mind. I live in the Broughton Archipelago off of the west coast of Canada and it's home to both Resident and Transient Orca. I've been out whale watching several times and never lose the thrill of seeing these magnificent animals in their natural habitat.

My colour choice for the necklace is meant to represent the Orca's colouring of black and white. My representation is black and silver because when you see them in the ocean with the sun dancing on the water as they frolic in a group, there always seem to be flashes of silver glancing off of their shining flesh.



Check out my Etsy shop to see more views of the necklace.

And if you're interested here are some photos I took on a whale watching trip.

Summer On My Arm Bracelet

This pretty little bracelet was the result of wanting to experiment with the spiral rope stitch. I have a collection of glass beads that I haven't been using so I sorted through them and decided that some of the bell flowers and leaves could create a summer garden feeling. There were also some bright green seed beads that I've been trying to find a use for and I love the viney look they give to the bracelet. The other elements that I couldn't resist using are Swarovski crystals in a variety of colours just to give the piece a bit of sparkle. The bracelet is for sale in my Etsy store.





This bracelet has been sold.

Bead Shopping in the Big City

I'm away from home this week and today I went to a bead shop that I enjoy, hoping to find some interesting and/or exciting beads to inspire me. What I ended up doing was buying a couple of tubes of seed beads, a gorgeous oval jasper donut and a new beading book. I bought Seed Bead Stitching - Creative Variations on Traditional Techniques which is published by Bead & Button Magazine.



Though the book is pretty much beginner level, there are several variations on stitches that I haven't yet managed to teach myself. There are chapters on peyote stitch, brick stitch, right-angle weave, daisy chain, spiral rope stitch and Russian stitches which include three fabulous rope type stitches. I've been getting a little bored with only having the spiral rope to make necklaces out of, so this will provide a welcome change! I can hardly wait to get home (tomorrow) and get beading again!