Bloomin'

Sometimes we just have to have flowers in our lives. I have collected glass and lucite flowers for some time now, but have been reluctant to use them. This version of Stacked Sparkle (April Bead and Button magazine) has a double stack of beaded leaves and glass flowers along both edges. I tried just one row on each edge, but it wasn't enough. You can see pearls and Czech faceted rounds peeking out here and there. This is going to be a fav of mine, I can tell already.

SPRING!

I so want to see green, all the greens, from the lightest yellow-green of the new leaves on the elms to the deepest blue-green of our mosses. I am tired of grey, white and black. I want blue, Carolina blue skies, not the misty half washed-out tired grey-blue they have been all Winter, when they weren't just nasty old dark. Not even a color, just dark.

So, as the weather is snowing yet again, and Nature has yet to hear my plea and respond, I decided another bracelet, in Spring colors, was needed.

Here it is!

Now, for some flowers...

Sparkle A-Bridged

Cindy of beadlady.biz fame had these marvelous copper penny 11o beads (#481), and I wanted to test their finish as to stability. Another Stacked Sparkle form bracelet was called forth, but put a 3 bead bridge over and between the crystals, as well as alternating a single bead with the 3 beads called for, in the final step of the pattern. These are the very outside beads. Having 3 beads in every space made it ruffle up, but alternating with a single bead lets it lie flat.

The 8 mm magnetic copper clasp came from Flamingo Beads in Florida, and are super strong.

PEARL SPARKLE

A varation of the Stacked Sparkle by Michele Skobel in the April 10 Bead & Button Magazine, I wanted something with a little less bling, so added glass pearls and matte 15o to the mix. Also am not a big fan of metal clasps, so did up a toggle and loop of the same beads.

I really like the results! Hope you do, too.