Dionysus

This is my entry for the SRAJD May 19th Greek Gods & Goddesses Dionysus challenge...


Dionysus is the god of the grape harvest, wine making, ritual madness & ecstasy. He is the son of Zeus, patron of the arts, also known as Bacchus.


This abstract brooch features a vintage Italian cabochon, Howlite sticks, Czech spikes, cultured freshwater baroque pearls, Swarovski pearls, and Japanese seed beads.



You can find the actual listing HERE.

EBWC How Unusual

Here is my entry, Entangled, for the Etsy Beadweavers May challenge, How Unusual! You can view the actual listing HERE.



For this challenge we were encouraged to, “use at least one unconventional item”. I have seen plenty of modern jewelry made with nuts & bolts, toothbrushes, straws, coins, etc. so I tried to find something that had never been used before. Looking around my house I saw some old cork coasters and thought hmmm, might work. So off I went to do a search to confirm no one had used one before - nothing came up on Etsy, so I decided to use a cork coaster for my unconventional item. Not to worry - this is an unused one straight from the box. Since it was quite large, I cut off the top for a more visual pleasing shape and to create a pair of matching earrings.



Keeping in line with the “unusual” theme, I chose my least favorite stitch which is unusual for me to use (I find it quite fiddly and tedious and learned bead weaving via other stitches so it just never grew on me), and hard as it may be I did not incorporate any black into this piece. And trust me, this was a struggle! Several times I picked up black beads than put them down, trying to create a more feminine piece but still in my style. I am drawn to the color black and most of my jewelry has some black in it!



This was not my original design. I found that cutting the coaster with a smooth edge was difficult no matter what I cut it with and the shape I wanted was to intricate and the way I wanted to attach some beads just didn’t work out. But it would be perfect for a future bead embroidery project!



This is my very first attempt at freeform. I’ve always been attracted to this style since I am obsessed with asymmetry and hate “rules”. Freeform just seems so rebellious & fun and has been on my beading bucket list for a while now. I will definitely do more freeform soon –but with some black in it! 

Satellite

Here is my latest creation, Satellite. You can view the actual listing HERE.



I decided to create something a little more versatile and unisex. This can be worn on the included neck wire as a necklace, or you can wear it on any choker, rope, chain, necklace of your choice, slip it on a leather wrist band as a bracelet, slide it on a purse or bag strap, slide it on a belt, whatever floats your boat.



This is a substantial piece triple woven for durability. Features rubberized matte black cabochon, ribbed spikes, natural Serpentine beads, Hematite beads, and Japanese seed beads in matte olive green and matte and opaque black. Pendant measures 2 1/4" in diameter and projects outward one inch. Black steel neck wire is 1mm, 18" long, and closes with a secure twist clasp.

EBWC Am I Blue

Here is my entry, Nebulous, for the Etsy Beadweavers March challenge, Am I Blue? You can view the actual listing HERE.


For this challenge we were encouraged to use the March birthstone Aquamarine, a/o Turquoise, a/o Tanzanite, individually or together, the more blue the better. Over 16 different shades, finishes, and sizes of blue beads were used; matte, pearl, metallic, silver lined, bugle, triangles, cubes, turquoise, teal, aquamarine, zircon, navy, royal, sky, etc.




Please visit our team BLOG between the 9th and the 15th to see all the entries from the wonderfully talented artists in this team and vote for your favorite entry!

Coming Soon...a New Necklace!

I have unintentionally taken a year off. Life has been so busy for me. But I am happy to report, although I have tinkered around and started a few smaller projects, I finished my first piece in a year and will be listing it for sale on Monday! I have been struggling to find the time to bead and have been doing half an hour here, an hour there to complete it. I know it has been a long time coming and I hope it is well received. I tend to like things dark, uneven, unusual and this is no different. I would post a sneak peek, but my new browser is not supported by blogger so at the time I cannot post photos unless I link to them elsewhere online. I will post it here once I list it in my store.

~Happy Valentine's Day!~

TGIF!

CONTEST

Enter to win a $100 gift card from Etsy. Enter HERE.

EBWC Misty Winter's Dawn

Here is my entry for the Etsy Bead Weavers October Challenge, Misty Winter's Dawn; Wintertide. You can view the actual listing HERE.

This months challenge was to use a winter color palette to achieve a pale, pastel, foggy, subdued look.

Here are a few beautiful photographs I drew inspiration from...

Found here.

Found here.

Found here.

I chose to work with the pinks and purples found in the sky as the sun rises to meet the horizon and light bounces off snow & ice in the early morning.

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

Vote for your favorite Lunar Obsession!

Time to VOTE for your favorite Lunar Obsession. This months challenge was to be inspired by the moon. Many great works from talented artists. Be sure to check them all out!

 

My entry is #23, La Bella Luna.

You can read more about my necklace and view more photos HERE.

EBWC Lunar Obsession

Tonight will be a Blue Moon, rumored to be very auspicious. What perfect timing to list my entry, La Bella Luna, for the Etsy Bead Weavers September challenge, Lunar Obsession. You can view the actual listing HERE.

Often when perusing local bead shops I will purchase beady things that are ugly or weird, just because I like things that are unusual. The focal of my necklace, a grey resin cabochon, is just that. It caught my eye because I have never seen anything like it. I picked it up on a whim, not having any idea of what I would do with it. When I got it home and looked it over a second time, I thought I would never use it, that it was a little too ugly for jewelry use, and would join my overwhelming stash of going nowhere soon beady “stuff” that waits patiently for its birth.

 

For this challenge we were to be inspired by the moon. I often look to the moon; wondering, awed, captivated. Cloaked in darkness and full of mystery, constantly changing and often lacking symmetry. When viewing the moon even from such a great distance you see craters, shadows, texture, the beauty of light reflecting off of its surface.

 

The focal is representative of the moon’s surface. Also used in this piece were Picasso and metallic finish peanut beads, textured metal sequins, Hematite beads, matte cube beads, a cat eye cabochon, bugle beads, matte & opaque seed beads, and a gunmetal tube bead, backed with Ultrasuede, and finished with a gunmetal toggle closure.

 

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

*Enjoy your holiday weekend and be sure to look up tonight and behold the Blue Moon!*

Treasuries

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 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