Caribbean Sands Bracelet

I had had the two seed bead-and-swarovski strands sitting around, ostensibly for a necklace. I finally broke down and combined them, along with raku and tigers-eye beads, into a twisted little bracelet. It reminds me of the tropics, but kinda of the desert. It reminded my partner of Davy Jones' ship from the newer Pirates of the Caribbean movie.

Hence the name.

As previously mentioned, it's glass, crystal (swarovski 4s and 6es), tigers-eye, and raku ceramic beads.

The Izzet Queen Bracelet

So named because I'm a big ol' dork.

Seriously, though, the Izzet guild rocked the M:tG Ravnica block, which, in turn, rocked the M:tG world.

Equally seriously and not nearly as fannishly, I've been really inspired by the images on the Izzet Magic cards. Theoretically the Izzet guild combines red (fire) and blue (water) magic, resulting in some pretty funky and steampunk-y combinations. Check them out!

The fact remains, though, that the Izzet Queen Bracelet was named after its completion. Its initial inspiration was pretty red wire, 22 gauge (yay!), some pretty blue glass beads, and a couple pairs of pliers. This piece was basically my initiation into the wire-wrapping world-- I just strung all the beads I'd practiced on along with some small Japanese drops.

I don't wear it every day, but I kinda want to.

Cyclamen Interlock Bracelet

This is what happens when someone has size 8s, size 11s, size 4 crystals, and a lot of time to play with Right Angle Weave. It's a slightly modified RAW-- only the size 8s connect the squares to one another. The swarovski cyclamen opal bicones sit right on top. Aren't they a spectacular color?

A word of warning to anyone trying Right Angle Weave: too much shiny? Yeah, looks tacky. Matte is your friend.

Don't ask me how I know.

Crystal Chaos Bracelet

This is my first (and only serious, at least so far) foray into free-form peyote stitch. It's pretty fun, and it suits my chaotic nature.

It's all size 11 and size 8 seed beads, with a few glass beads and the occasional swarovski (6 and 4) thrown in and some copper 20 gauge wire to shape it. I found the basic idea in a beading book, but I have since returned the book to the library and I forget the original author! Good stuff, though.

It's really fun to wear.

RAW Part 3: Yggdrasil Blossom Bracelet

This is one of the coolest things I have ever made. I love it. I designed everything for it myself, too, with the exception of the RAW two-level base (in size 11 seed beads).

Besides the seed beads, there are two glass beads, some copper chain, and then there's the wire, 22 gauge copper. 22-gauge is the best, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. I love the little leaves. Have I mentioned that I love this bracelet?

The flowers are made out of these little plus-sign-shaped copper bits I bought at the hardware store. I colored them myself, holding them with pliers over a flame. Yeah, yeah, I know, that was safe. But it worked! And then I bent them using pliers, and superglued the double-petaled flower together. They're held on the bracelet by the center beads and the seed beed stamens. The leaves and thread are sewn onto the RAW base.

I need to make more stuff like this.

Simple Pink Bracelet

I seem to be in a Right Angle Weave mood today, 'cause here's one of my other RAW bracelets. This is about as simple as you can get. 3 x 3 RAW base in size 11 matte raspberry seed beads, embellished with size 5 swarovskis, with no AB for once.

I did have a hard time finding 5s in a nice gradient, though-- I went into the bead shop planning on green, and I left with pink. Ah well, I have grown to like pink over the years. And it is a nice smooth gradient.

Did you know that AB stands for Aurora Borealis? I didn't, for the longest time. I'm a huge fan of AB, though. If you left things up to me, I'd buy out the bead shop and embellish a floor-length dress in 2xABs. Then I'd wear it. Everywhere.

Shiiiiiny.

Spring Blossom Bracelet

This is an example of what one can do given enough microscopic bits of glass and string. Oh, and a few shiny yellow size 6 swarovskis.

This bracelet utilizes two major off-loom beadweaving techniques. The first is right-angle weave. RAW is really a remarkable thing, once you get the hang of it. It can cover a lot of space very quickly, and, if woven with appropriate tension, the finished fabric is supple and perfect for embellishing. The base of this bracelet is one long strand of RAW made out of these lovely subdued yellow matte beads.

The other technique was a nemesis of mine for some time: herringbone, or ndebele weave. I've grown to really like ndebele, as it creates very strong structures and is good for sculptural work. The flowers start with tiny 10-bead ndebele cylinders (no love for the brick stitch required to start ndebele, though. Mrrr.) and then branch off into little petals. I'm very happy with them (I engineered them myself, though they're such a simple structure I'm sure other people have, too,) and they look particularly great with the sparklies in the middle.

I really like the combination of colors for this bracelet-- I'm all about combining blue and yellow.

Constructed Angel Bracelet

This has the same clear-and-copper theme as the earrings of the same name. It's all chain, randomly strung copper beads, size 6 (and one size 4) Crystal AB bicones, bead caps, and just a few moonstone-like Czech glass drops. It's about 20cm long, which, I guess, says more about my wrist than anything.