Sunday Update

 I know I promised you an update yesterday, but I just didn't have the time, so I'm bringing it all to you today....

First up is a new bead embroidered bracelet which I created to trade with a friend of mine who does knitting. She made me the most gorgeous scarf in the brightest purple colors and this is her bracelet for all her hard work.

Okay, the next thing is technically my Margie and Me challenge piece, but I am in love with it. I just finished it yesterday, and now I want to wear it everywhere.
I've wanted to create a brooch for a while, but I like things that multi-task, so it's also a pendant.

As a pendant it hangs vertically....

but, if you remove the cord, you can pin it on vertically or....

...horizontally. I love options, and Rusty Autumn Brooch Pendant is in my shop. I really like this design, and I can see more of these coming.

I also listed some new bobby pins. These are called Aqua Blue Stars...

 and I also put my Bird's Egg Bobby Pins in the shop.

I also put Heather's Ring in the shop. I've been wearing it all week to test it for durability and just plain gorgeousness, and she's held up nicely.

 I also added one of my long-chain medallion necklace that I'm calling Golden Fall. It's just a tad smaller than...

my Mosaic Turquoise Medallion necklace which has been in the shop for a while, but I updated the length of the chain to give it a more modern feel.

Last two things...it's time to vote on the Etsy Beadweaver's challenge for the month, and if you haven't, you need to read this, it will make you smile. It made me very proud to be American.

Margie and Me - #167 The Badlands

I realized just as soon as I chose this palette that it was a lot like Mammoth Springs. So, here's how it's different in Margie's book. Do you see that lovely mustardy yellow color? That's Margie's base color for this palette, with the greens, blues, and reds, toned down. Think of this palette as it would look in the evening, and you've got Margie's palette.

These are Margie's colors, but you gotta turn down the saturation level.

Okay, some stuff that I got done over the weekend....
First, this is my nesting bracelet in a lavender version. I know, it's a little springy, but it just came together and I couldn't stop myself.

The rounds are Moss Agate, and I just went through and chose the light lavender rounds.

I've got to tell you, these bracelets are sooo comfortable to wear. I think the nesting idea is really obvious when you add the birds....hhhmmm...do we need a necklace?!
Lavender Beadwoven Nesting Bracelet is in the shop.

The next is what I'm calling  a Peek-A-Boo ring. This is, believe it or not, a version of the components I used for the nesting bracelet. It leaves a little hole in the center so your finger shows through a little.

I like it so much, I wore to bed last night....no, seriously.

It's in my shop in two colorways. Light Mauve and Soft Green are both in there.

Oh, and right after I changed my blog background, my Autumn Raindrops Pendant sold, so, if my background is different every day of the week this week...you'll know why!!

Enjoy your Labor Day!! You've earned it!

Margie and Me - Winged Lions of the Ishtar Gate Part #2

I've had this ring in my mind for a long time. I've wanted to do this really epic ring stretching from knuckle to knuckle with some really sharp angles and arresting colors.
So this week's Margie and Me was perfect, this is the Ishtar Ring and it's epic.

The colors from the gate were perfect, and I enjoyed layering them to create the look that I wanted. The version you see here was actually my 2nd attempt, the first didn't have enough color variety, so I added some blue here and there and edited a little bit of the creamy white. I really wanted it to reflect the painting.

I've put it in my store as custom order, so it can be made to fit the buyer.

Okay, I know I promised the big reveal of my Fall Collection, but it's not done yet....it's just not ready, but I'm really not sweating it, it just means you'll have to wait a little longer. :)
In the meantime, I thought I'd give you a sneek peek, just so you know I've not been slackin'.
The first is a necklace I call Nesting Necklace. It reminds me of three little birds' nests all lined up in a row.

It's made with picasso jasper and seed beads, and has such a gorgeous drape.

The next is a bracelet made with the same little beaded components. I call it the Nesting Bracelet. It's also made with Picasso Jasper rounds and seed beads.

This time I've used copper to highlight the intense reds and bright purples in the stones with a monochromatic nest so that the stones really pop out. I'ma lovin' the picasso jasper and this design really shows off the beauty of the stone.

Okay, last but not least, is a Carnaval Pendant in some really intense fall colors. This would look gorgeous with a black V-neck sweater. Just a punch of color on your neck.

I'm gonna keep working with the bird's nests this week and see what I can come up with. Weaving them together in different shapes and at different angles.
Meanwhile I've put the Nesting Necklace and Carnaval Pendant in the shop along with the Ishtar Ring.

Thanks for your time this morning and if you played along, drop me a note and I'll update this post with your link!
Enjoy your Saturday!

UPDATE!

This week Elisabeth of Beads for Busy Gals challenged herself with Margie's color palette that I picked out! She's lucky enough to have actually spent time in the part of the world where the challenge palette came from. Check out her blog and her necklace, it's perfect for the challenge. Thanks Elisabeth!

I'll pick a new challenge palette tomorrow...ya' know, in case anybody else wants to play along....

New Rings and a Guessing Game

It all started this weekend when I went dancing and I saw a girl with the most gorgeous bead embroidered ring on her finger.
First thing that went through my mind was, "How beautiful!".
The second thing, "I bet she bought it at a department store, and I bet I could make one!"

So, here's my newest endeavor and the result of my bead embroidered inspiration.

I call it Blue Concentric Circles, and as you can see below, it is completely lined on the back and is adjustable like all of these rings. It's super comfortable to wear if I do say so myself!

The second I call Rustic Turquoise and this one has a much softer not-so-modern feel. It sports some gorgeous little turquoise rounds with soft yellows and burnt siennas thrown in for some color.

The last one is River Rocks Ring. It's a gorgeous little bead of ocean jasper surrounded by the warmest autumn greens and browns that I could find in my stash. (I'm so ready for fall!)


Okay, and here's the Guessing Game for today. Last week I sold one of my Egyptology Pendants, and I loved it so much I had to create another. And then I was inspired by it to create this treasury. Think movies again and leave me with your guess....

Okay, last thing...I'm thinking about opening a new shop for some destash. I've got a ton of gemstones and some gorgeous cabochons that I just don't see myself using and I'd love to pass them on to someone who will. Has anyone opened a destash shop before? How did it go? Did you have to use another e-mail or will Etsy let you have two shops on one account?

Have a good Wednesday!

Guessing Game and some newbies

It all started when I purchased 4mm faceted czech rounds in the color Amaranth from ArtBeads.com. I honestly thought the color was different than it was (read: less pink). Well,
it wasn't so the next challenge was to create something with these little boogers and a color that is normally a BIG challenge for me.

The first thing I managed to crank out was (of course) a Tidepool ring. The second was a bracelet that I'm calling Ruby Quatrefoil. It's a repeating pattern that closes with a beaded toggle clasp.

It has a layered quatrefoil look and each little component reminds me of a starburst or fireworks (since it was just previously the 4th of July).


Instead of trying to keep the pinkish hue of the faceted czech glass, I used a lot of deep maroons and burgundys and a color called red wine to "force" the beads to go red. (I picked up that term from my mom the artist who taught me that colors change when surrounded by other colors.)
The finished product, I like, and so...Ruby Quatrefoil made the cut to my shop.

I'm also putting this little ring called Field of Poplars in my shop. I made it by cutting teeny tiny pieces of paper into small shapes to make a landscape. It's 1" by 1" and I'm still amazed that I don't go blind after playing with little pieces of paper that tiny!

Okay, finally, the Guessing Game. Here's the latest. This one is hard, so I'll give you a hint: think old Hollywood. Good luck, and leave me a comment with your guess, I'll post a link to the treasury tomorrow.
(By the way, you've got to read the titles on this listings before you make your guess, sometimes they give you a clue!)

Margie and Me - Lady of the Lake - Part 2

This week I decided to go with Margie's Lady of the Lake color palette. It was just this absolutely gorgeous mix of greens with a little silver thrown in. So, when I started the project I knew I wanted to incorporate this beautiful fairy charm that I had received from Green Girl Studios and I decided to use some of the millions of beaded beads that I had lying around, so here's the result: Lady of the Lake

In this shot, you can really see the gorgeous little charm. Each bead is hand beaded and strung with little hematite rounds to match the pewter charm. I also added some gemstones for a little more color. You can find Lady of the Lake in my shop, and until Monday, she's also part of my big Thank You Sale.

I've also got a couple of new things in the shop. I've listed a new Tidepool Ring that I call Red Wine. It's a very arresting combination of burgundy and maroon in different finishes and kind of heady with fruity aftertones. (okay, maybe not)

I'm also listing Phoenix Rising in my shop. It was my creation for the Bead Soup Party and I would definitely categorize it as a "statement" necklace.


Last is my Persian Rug Bracelet in this cool minty/ivory color combo. It's the second that I created for my tutorial and it's very light and airy, perfect for summer.

Don't forget! Everything in my store is currently %20 off for this weekend as a big Thank You to you guys. I've already had a couple of sales since I started the sale and I'm one away from 50, so I'm pretty sure that whoever makes the 50th sale is gonna get a little surprise!!
Enjoy your 4th of July weekend!

Margie and Me - Degas' Dancers Part 2

These week's Margie and Me challenge was a real um..well..challenge. Mostly because I just never could get inspired by the color palette, and I also didn't have a lot of time to dedicate to it. I had to make an unexpected trip out of town and I was busy selling two of my stone pendants! Jasper Flower and River Rocks just made one lucky buyer's neck that much more beautiful!

Here's what I was able to come up with. It's a beaded ring and I tried to recreate the frilly look of the girls' dresses. These colors are difficult to work with without it looking too much like I-just-had-a-baby jewelry.

I'm definitely going to keep this color scheme tucked under my hat and will probably revisit it later. I don't feel like I did Degas justice and I know I've got something better in me.

I was also in two treasuries this week that were made by someone other than beadweavers!

The first is a super-cute travel treasury featuring my Road Less Traveled Pendant you can see it here.

The second is a blue-green treasury with some super-intense blues and greens. (wow, that was repetitive) This one features my Layers of Blue Bracelet and it's here.

I'd also like to take a minute to thank you guys who commented on my Quantity vs. Creativity post. It was so enlightening to hear points of view from people all across the jewelry creating spectrum. I definitely plan on addressing this more tomorrow, so stay tuned.

Finally, Persian Rugs Tutorial will be available Monday if I do my job right and thanks to all who have made my tutorials such a huge success! I'm so honored that you like my designs! Have a great weekend!

Margie and Me - Woven is Me - Part 2

I know I said I was gonna give myself until Sunday, but I got this finished, so I figured I might as well go ahead and post it. This week's inspiration was Margie's color palette entitled "Woven is Me" and her inspiration was the beautiful colors in the persian rugs.

Using the picture of the rug that I gave you guys last week, I really wanted to use the shape and pattern as inspiration for this challenge. I decided to go a little more muted with my colors than Margie had, but I still included those great olivey greens and the splash of blue with just the hint of corally pink.

I call it Persian Rugs because I really feel like it looks like four persian rugs all sewn together.

I've also been playing around with ring designs lately. This is the first. Very rich, very royal. sparkly beads and faceted glass with a Marquis shape reminiscient of a French princess.

And then there's this one, kind of bright and very summery. Almost like Panetone was brought in to update Guinevere's wardrobe.

Beaded rings are so much fun to create. I can usually make a good one in about an hour and I get so many compliments when I wear them out. They're very unique and you're definitely not going to see someone else wearing your ring.

Alright, enjoy your weekend and I'll post the new Margie and me challenge on Monday!

Time to Vote!

It's that time again when El Reto for April is up and ready to be voted on. The challenge this month was to use some type of faceted bead to create a ring that is an original design.

My design this month was Esmeralda. All of the designs look great and I really encourage you to visit El Reto and vote for your favorite! I know it's in Spanish, but you can click to see the pictures and the voting is in the column to the right. Enjoy!

Under the Sea (Under the Sea!)

For the Etsy Beadweaver's March Challenge, the theme is Fairy Tale. I chose to do Ariel, the Little Mermaid. So...I walked around the house all day humming "Under the Sea" and "Kiss the Girl". The result was another tidepool ring in some Ariel-esque colors. (I call it Aqua Tidepool Ring)
And my entry for the challenge, Under the Sea Bracelet.

"...life is sweet here, we got da' beat here naturally, natura-lee-lee-lee..."

Have a good Sunday!