Someone's Got a Birthday Coming Up

Wonder who it is...and if they will like their pressie??

Soha turns into earrings-voila'!

Great pattern- you can find it here;

http://centperles.canalblog.com/archives/2010/01/27/16696458.html

You have to use Rocailles- the thinner, donut shaped

seed beads, or it will buckle like made, instead

of gently curving to meet your wrist. I cannot see

myself doing 6 or 7 of these, so did one as earring,

and like it well enough to do another.

Tip; do not try adding the rocailles on either side of

the first 4mm Czech rounds you put on the sides,

but add them in the next row. Continue around,

then add the center 4mm rounds- add another

rocaille between the two center 4mm rounds, so

that when you tack it down to one of the first rocailles

added in Row 2, it lies nicely.

Be careful going through your delicas multiple times

if you have matte finish- they are a bit delicate. Just

wiggle your needle gently to make room, then ease

it on through. If it seems hard, get a smaller needle.

I used my beloved curved #10 John James beading

needle and 6# Smoke Fireline. The rocailles came

from a hank of beads I bought in the 1980's, at a

Pow-Wow. I also used a 4mm Margarite, not a 6mm.

Happy Beading!

Big Snow

About 6 inches worth, but then the temps warmed, and the rains came,

so it is slop city out there now...still, was pretty last night and I am glad

the dogs and I walked in it during the real snow.

Ending Turkish Crochet With Toggle n Loop

Just a few hints on what using a beaded toggle and loop look like
with the Turkish Crochet rope. Click on any pic to enlarge. Yes,
Google likes turning some sideways- rt click to save, then you
can fix it with your photo program, or just turn your head
to read it.
Full pdf with instructional photos in sequence would be 36 pics,
so will make available via Beaddreamz(group members only) or
you can contact me through the email function on this blog and
I will send it to you privately.
Thanks for looking! This has been alot of fun

A Flutterby By Any Other Name..

Would flutter as sweetly?

This kit for this lovely is by Miyuki, and part of the Bead Stitch series #BFK-100, Lazuline Butterfly.

It was to be done in peyote, but I found it easier in brick stitch.

I also hated the body, which I think was to be done in RAW and made it look like a demented bumblebee...so I just used a nice SS headpin, added the bicones to it in butterfly body shape, then used Fireline 6# Smoke to attach the wings between bicones. I curled the end of the headpin to represent the butterfly's curled tongue.

Thank you Betsy, for letting me play with this...ball is in YOUR court, now!

Ah think Ah'm in Luv

Turkish Crochet- what's not to love? portable, easy to add beaded toggle/loop combo, no spilling beads, fast, colorful, versatility as to bead choices/sizes....did I mention FAST!

Gotta love it.

if you try to teach yourself from the instructions in the Dec 09 Bead and Button Mag, try putting the beads you slide up on the OTHER side of the hook, not in front as shown in the photo- they will slide up completely and keep you from having alot of thread showing, plus be easier to hook and lock down with your next slip stitch- THANKS, Ingrid!

As always, click on the pics to make them full size.

Some Days Are Just Right For Stringing

Many beadweavers poo-pooh stringing as 'simplistic, too-easy, boring', but done right, it is an art form unto itself. These 3 got taken apart and redone several times before I liked the balance. All are black tourmaline, except the two smaller rectangles on the center piece, which are dyed black onyx. All silver bits are sterling, and they are strung on Accuflex platinum 0.24. The clasp on center and bracelet are foldover magnets and the other is toggle, but you can't see it.

Hope you enjoy....black tourmaline has the property of deflecting negativity in both the wearer and situations outside the wearer.

yes, a-NOTHER ring!

Same basic pattern as previous, Maria Teresa Ferreira ( gads, I hope I spelled her last name right- we email first names all the time...) but kept adding 3 bead picots to the top and one at the bottom, til it looked like a little flower. I like it best of all! As always, click to enlarge any pic.

Beaded Button- Northern Lights

This is for a really sweet friend in Michigan, who is bravely considering

going into bead embroidery to recreate the Northern Lights. This button

is one inch across, and the beads used are 14o seed beads (the round ones)

and 14o hex beads(the longer ones). The black part is meant to be a mountain.

Hope you like it, Judy!! Click to full size the pic.

Crown Ring

I can't blame anyone but myself, and the creators of this Delica color, for this ring. I wanted a ring that was more simple than any I have found on the internet, used a bead with a hole in it, and was comfortable, strong, and fast to make up.

I think this one, done in all peyote, fits most of the criteria.

The bead is a 12mm black tourmaline, grade C, from Firemountaingems' online catalogue. Hope you enjoy it. Click on the photo to enlarge

Medieval Ring

In trying to find an easy pattern to show others at the upcoming

private gathering in TN, I saw Maria Teresa's Medieval Ring

featured in the October 2009 Beadwork Magazine. Seemed simple

enough, but I work better from drawings, and it took me a couple

of tries to realize they were only showing half of a side of tubular

herringbone for the bits...snip, snip, and back to reading both the

written and drawn instructions. Finally got it put together- used a

12mm black tourmaline (repels negativity), transparent matte dk

silver and black delicas, and two 3mm Swar bicones at the sides.

It is very comfy to wear- I would recommend this pattern for someone

with some beading experience, or a beginner with patience and alot

of thread!Click on photo to full size.

Mysterious Mystique

She belongs to a friend of mine, who lives in VA. In an round robin

on a group I no longer belong to, she 'disappeared', or at least the

person who had received her (thanks to tracking, we knew THAT,

at least) would not return phone calls, emails,nor letters.

Surprisingly, after 3 years, Mystique showed up in a box with her

journal, and a note saying the person had found her and was

returning her! Hooray!

I asked to bead on her, and after her mom and I conferred, realized

the navy blue, white, and christmas green beads did not belong on

her branches...which the person who beaded her thought were arms.

Oh well, off the beads came, as well as the flower beads that were

scattered all over her form. You can see the beads in the bottom shot.

The flowers went to the great multi-colored flower field at the base,

on her back, filling that in nicely. The crystals are being reserved to

go in a dropped swirl by the pink curls at the side of her mask, when

the other bits are finished- nothing like swarovski bicones being pushed

back and forth while the rest is being worked on, to cut their threads!

I have pretty much filled in her face, and now have a sock on it while I

get to her branches....she is going home to Sherry on Thurs, and I want

her to be a good surprise!

Smart hands

I was really tired of cold hands....really, REALLY tired of cold hands.

We slipped and slogged down the icy roads to the local drugstore,

but they didn't have any of those cool gloves for arthritis, that beaders

find so welcome, but they did have an awesome pair of fake leopard

trimmed polyester gloves....that now have the ends off the thumbs and f

ingers, and are PERFECT for both beading and typing without getting

chilblains! woo-HOOOOOOO!

Sexy AND smart, and probably way cheaper than what I was looking for,

at $7 a pair!

New Cherokee Campus, early morn

Yes, the pic is small, so go ahead and doubleclick it, to open to a full size..done with 4 shots using my Panasonic Lumix, then stitched together with the Arcsoft Panorama Maker. 7am Jan 7, 2010.

another star pattern

This site has a few great free beading patterns, and one is another bugle star- a bit more 'pointy' than Lidia's, and I admit her directions are somewhat difficult, but worth the try.
http://keiserdesigns.com/KDC_Complimentary.htm

Have fun!

Julia's Sea Star

Julia of OZ wished for a Sea Star that looked real,

to go into a beaded aquarium...as she has a birthday coming up, her wish was

my command! Same basic pattern as the previous star, but not stuffed.