Wednesday, February 29, 2012

EBWC Destinations


Here is my entry, Oceanic, for the Etsy Bead Weavers March challenge, Destinations. You can view the actual listing HERE.


For this challenge, we were to pick a destination and design our entry around it. My favorite way to travel is via cruise, so my destination of choice is on a cruise ship in the middle of the Caribbean Sea.


I’ve always been drawn to water; the smell, sound, sight of it. I enjoy being so far away from everything & getting away from the chaos of our modern world. We are getting ready to book our next cruise (to Belize & Honduras) so this was an especially fun challenge to design a piece for.


I've included some photos of our past cruises to the Caribbean (British & US Virgin Islands and the Bahamas), in which I found inspiration for this piece.


In the Caribbean, the water is so clear and can range in color from turquoise to teal to sapphire and the nights are so black. All is peaceful, warm, quiet, and calm.



The focal is a stunning teal Lucite cabochon I happened upon in a local bead shop. It is bead embroidered with black & tropical green seed beads surrounding it and backed with soft faux suede. The straps contain turquoise, green, and black seed beads and represent gentle waves.


Over 750+ tiny beads were stitched to create this lightweight and flexible necklace.


Please be sure to visit our team blog, between the 9th and the 15th of March to see all the entries from the wonderfully talented artists in this team and vote for your favorite entry!



Monday, February 27, 2012

Monday, February 20, 2012

Blog Hop

Link to your blog homepage & network...


Monday, February 13, 2012

Update


Just a brief update...I'm taking a slight break (from Etsy, blogging, etc). I will be back sometime next week (hopefully) with more treasuries, Saturday Shops, promotions, and listings.
We've received some very sad news and I've been kinda lost in contemplation and haven't been feeling up to much other than pinning (boy has Pinterest been a much needed distraction! Anyone else on Pinterest?).
I have started a new project; a necklace that is both bead embroidered and beadwoven. It should be finished within a day or so, I will post a preview when it is done. I'm trying a new type of embellishing and it is a very fun piece.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Voting now open!


Please head over to our team blog, sometime between today and the 15th of February to see all the entries from the wonderfully talented artists in this team and vote for your favorite entry for this months challenge, Nest! My bracelet, Cocoon, is #26.
Read on to find out what inspired me and to view more pictures...


Here is my entry, Cocoon, for the Etsy Bead Weavers February Challenge; Nest.

You can view the actual listing HERE.


The idea was to come up with our own interpretation of nest. One’s first thought of nest would probably be a bird’s nest. Upon Googling nests of birds, animals, and insects I was inspired by some of the wasp nests I came across.



To be honest, I hate wasps. They freak me out. I hate being stung and I run, duck, and emit squeals of terror anytime they come near me. But something about their neatly constructed homes drew me in. I think the repetitive pattern appeals to the part of myself with OCD.


I decided for this challenge I would make a bracelet since I’ve always made necklaces for my challenge entries. I had a vision right away of two very different bracelets. The first was more bird nest like, the second what I have created here. The first I thought wouldn’t be best beadwoven, so I went with my second idea, but wasn’t sure how to create the “tubes”. Even-count tubes are very easy to make when stitched flat then rolled and ends sewn together. But I didn’t think that would look right, I wanted something more organic and flexible versus stiff and perfectly even. After reviewing stitches, I decided to use 3 types; circular, tubular, and odd-count flat.


According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, other than a bed or receptacle made by a bird or animal for its young, nest can also be defined as a place of rest, retreat, or lodging OR a group of objects made to fit close together. So my vision seemed to fit well and to tie in to both of those definitions, as I choose to do a single line of “tubes” one right after another and to use the colors of my very own place of rest, which also happen to coincide with Pantone’s Spring 2012 Fashion Color Report; Bellflower, Sweet Lilac, Driftwood, and Cockatoo.


Each “tube” contains 258 tiny Delica beads stitched one at a time & passed through multiple times, taking over an hour to create just one tube and anchor securely to the base. The base took a few hours to stitch and then embellish with purple metallic drops. All in all 4,700+ Japanese seed beads were used. It took 19+ hours over 2 ½ weeks to complete. For the clasp I used gunmetal jumprings and an oxidized silver toggle clasp.
I decided to title it Cocoon since that is what the tubes remind me of. A cocoon offers protection, and since I used the colors of my own safe space, I thought it appropriate. I was tempted to stitch a pearl “egg” in each, and even considered a pearl talon so it would look like something clawing its way out, but thought it might look too busy or complicated, so I chose to leave them empty.


This is totally my style; modern, a little weird, probably unexpected, and includes my favorite colors of purple, green, & black.

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Saturday Shops

Here are my favorite items from some of the amazingly talented & supportive shops on Etsy that were so kind to feature me in a treasury this week (thank you!). Feel free to browse the following items and click on each shop name to see what other beautiful creations they offer. ~Have a wonderful weekend!

wulfgirl


twinsoulartstudio


eleanors


BSerene


RareSpecimens


Michaelangelas


FuriousDesigns


PaintBrushedBoutique


Toozoo


EBBeadandMetalWorks


reddesertrose


faeriewickets


HappilyRandom


seno


Mystarrrs


marinalubomirsky


xxyz


montezumamudd


TheBeadedBead


Lusmysticjewels


Patchworkcrafters


PaperHarlequin


Shelly6262


ElephantBeads


TableTopJewels


TheUrbanLady


4TasteofShabbyChic


saburkitty


ArlenesBoutique


wulfgirl

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