Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Dragon Bangle tamed!





A great pattern by Nancy Jones in the Beadwork Feb-March 2011, but I don't do well with bangles, so....

This one stays on nicely without any clasp. Comfy. A bit fiddly to get the magatamas to lay right, and to get the first rows of the brickstitch done, but smooth sailing after that.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Makin' Faces



Way too much fun. Mica powders, acrylic paints (left over from a paint-by-numbers set my daughters had), Alcohol Inks- sealed with Future.

The round blue plate are those going to the Beaded Art Dolls yahoogroup swap, and the others are for my personal stash, though some of those might switch around. Not too many folks like the larger faces, so the golden sort-of-Oriental one and the blue one might switch over to my group, and the turtle woman and owl woman to the swap group. I can always make more of those.

Hope you enjoy looking.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Smaller Honeycomb bracelet




Using 2.5mm X 4mm faceted roundelles, 7 rows of delicas, and less 15s for the crossover. Otherwise, everything else is same as variation in earlier post.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Variation tips for Honeycomb Bracelet

These are the changes made to the bangle pattern, not the pattern itself.
Here are the variations as I found them to be useful. I would definitely suggest to folks that have not yet bought this current April 2011 issue of Bead and Button to do so, to have the full pattern at your disposal. It is well-written and easy to follow!
Make a flat peyote band the length you wish to have go around your arm, minus the clasp length. I did mine 9 rows wide. You could do it less wide, and use the smallest faceted roundelles, or wider, like in the pattern, and use the larger 6 X 9mm faceted roundelles, as in the magazine pattern. I think it would be 7 rows for the 3 X 4mm roundelles. Some folks like their bracelets tight, others loose, and mine is in-between and ended up about 6.75 inches long. I used the two needle method, so that the peyote strip, which is worked lengthwise, lies nice and flat. You can use whatever method you wish.
I find using a different thread from Fireline for the base, which doesn't get much wear and tear, to allow for a bit of 'give', so I used Sono Japanese beading thread- it is 1/4 the price of Fireline and lets me save my Fireline for where it is truly needed. I started with two yards, and ended up with two pieces about 5 inches long.
The outside was done just as in the magazine pattern, with the size 15s making picots, down both sides.
I changed the next step to using 3.4mm drops in place of the pearls on the pattern and completed both sides as instructed.
I now added a piece of about 36" (1 meter, for you metric folks)Fireline to add the roundelles- 6# weight.
Instead of putting all the faceted roundelles on a thread and making a circle, I came out through the drop at the end, picked up a size 11 seed bead, a 4 X 6mm (length by width- hole to hole by side to side) roundelle, a size 11 seed bead and went through the opposite 3.4 drop, then back through the last size 11 seed bead added, the roundelle, the first size 11 seed bead added in this step, and through the drop- this should have you going in the correct direction to go to and through the next drop, following your thread path down the side and continue to add roundelles all the way down.
ADD YOUR PICOTS BETWEEN DROPS, as shown in the instructions in the magazine pattern, before you go through the drop to add the next roundelle. I used a size 15, size 11, size 15 rather than three size 11 seed beads, because the roundelles are smaller than what was called for and were turned the other way, so my last picot beads had to be smaller as well.
I found it easier to add just one side of picots as I added roundelles- on the beginning side-and add the other side of picots after all the roundelles were in place. I had less thread paths that way.
At the ends of the bracelet, I used the end of the first threads to do brickstitch, bringing the piece to a point, and then added a clasp.
I hope I made all this clear- Happy Beading!

Monday, March 21, 2011

Honeycomb Bracelet





Cynthia Rutledge has a bangle on front of Bead and Button magazine, April 2011 issue #102. I am not fond of bangles, as by the time I make them large enough to get over my hand (which matches the rest of my 6' personage), they are WAY too large for my wrist and arm.
I wanted to make it with a clasp, but as she has the faceted crystal roundelles held onto the bangle with thread, tying it into a circle, that was not going to work for a clasped bracelet. (And I would use Beadalon or Acculon braided coated beading wire for that, with a crimp, before I trusted ANY thread, even doubled and going through the circle of crystals twice...those crystals are SHARP!)
Finally worked out on on a smaller base (9 rows, instead of 11 wide), smaller roundelles turned the other way, and less of those, size 15 seed beads on top and Miyuki 3.4mm drops on the sides, instead of 3mm pearls. It has a similar look, but the clasp makes it so much better for me.
Hope you like.
Click on any pic to make it full size.
Happy Beading!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

All Done!!


I realize beetles are not to everyone's taste, but I happen to like them; big, small, colorful or plain, beetles are always interesting to me.

This one began as a beetle-in-resin pendant, from the NC Childrens' Museum in Durham, NC. It came on a faux leather cord, and most folks ignored it when I wore it.

Try and ignore it now- he he he....

Happy Beading, Everyone!

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Just foolin' around with RAW


I like RAW crystal bracelets, but are too hard on them to
have the crystals at the corners, so this one is made with
the size 11 seed beads at the 'corners', to give the thread
a fighting chance!
Happy Beading!

Still Guessing??


Can you figure out what the focal is, yet?? Boy, fringe takes
a LONG time!

Tutorial-RAW and netted bracelet


A friend sent me this pic of a bracelet bit, and asked if I could help
her figure out how to do it...mine is done in all one color- a RAW chart
can help her, and you, figure out how to do the color changes.
Enjoy- just follow the steps below, and feel free to share. If you click on the
photos and save them to your computer, you can use the free pdf creator
cutepdf to make them into a pdf to save for future use, offline. Of course,
you can use whatever program you wish for this.











If you follow the steps top to bottom, making the bracelet as long
as you want with the first RAW steps, remembering that adding
the netting will 'shrink' it about 1/2" (and remembering to figure
in whatever clasp length you are using!), you should be able to
create a beautiful bracelet for yourself!
Happy Beading!

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Winters Queen





It is a wonderfully rainy day- great for the plants and us, but lousy for taking photos. Still, I wanted to share Winter Queen, as she is finished. Each of her snowflakes has a Sterling Silver spacer bead, inside which nestles a 2.5 or 3mm Swarovski bicone, held in place with a 13o charlotte, supposed to be silver plated, but the plating comes off with wear. Each snowflake is different, and is done with circular peyote stitch. Her bodice reflects the different colors of the dark we know in the Northern Hemisphere's Winter, as well as the phases of the moon, which stands out so clearly without leaves to obscure its faces.Dark blue swirls for the winds of Winter, swirling the snowflakes.
As always, click on any image to enlarge.
I hope you enjoy her.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

What is it?


Just playing around with some bits from the last wholesale gem show, and one from the NC Children's Museum in Durham, NC...can you tell what that is?

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Fun Trades and Gifties from the Retreat


1940s double-swirl center-hole button

Austrian Crystal Triangle pendant

1940s Heliotrope 18mm X 13mm Swarovski

early 1900s red glass hearts, transparent 13mm X 15mm
All the above were from a trade with Sherry Grove, for
a pair of crocheted wristers (fingerless gloves), plus she
gave me more yarn to make something pretty for her
and me!

Czech glass 2-sided hands (way cool!)

Harry Solly polyclay faces

And these were waiting for me when I got home;
18mm X 13mm Swarovski ovals, Tabac Golden.
From Ebay seller rystonesamanda- great price
and fast service!
Now, what to play with first??!!