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.

Kyohou Globe Earrings

These are named for the best grapes in the universe.

They're another attempt at 'simple' earrings: simple meaning created out of only one headpin (and beads, of course). They feature size 4 double AB'd swarovskis (I'm not sure what color they are precisely-- the double ABs fade together for me) and my simplest beaded beads. The beads are size 11 seed beads right angle woven over a base of 6 Japanese drop beads. These earrings are about 1.75 cm, again sans hooks.

I'm not sure when I'd wear these, but I do like them.

Wisteria Window Earrings

These are my attempt at 'simple earrings'. They're small and kinda vintagey-- not really my style, but not bad either.

They are composed of seed beads, Czech flower beads, Czech Picasso finish window beads, and little yellow faceted stones of some kind. They're about 2.5 cm in length without the hooks.

Netting Tutorial

I am pleased to present the latest in what is rapidly becoming a series of tutorials on the basic beadweaving stitches:

Just like with peyote and right angle weave, netting is a versatile stitch that seems complicated but is actually quite simple. It's a good stitch to have under your belt, and even the simplest version can be used to create a pretty lacy collar or a sparkly bead-draped Christmas ornament. 

So: on to the tutorial!

Spheroids; Cuboids

My new geometric creations in their completed forms. The interiors use dagger beads or reasonably-sized seed beads; the exteriors, size 11 seed beads and small Japanese drops. The red one is about 1.5 cm in diameter.

Of these four, three are the same design, but the gray one's slightly different.

I find these things strangely compelling.

The Makings of an Army: Beaded Beads

The Japanese know their Right Angle Weave. What's problematic for me is that they do most of it with two needles. I'm relatively steady of hand and eye, but the idea of having pointy things in both hands at once for any length of time sounds like an emergency room visit waiting to happen.

So I've been admiring their tradition of Right-Angle-Weave spheroids for a while (this is a good tutorial!) but I've been hoping for a way to do things with only one needle.

The good news? I've derived one. All the kusudama that I've made really helped me understand the construction of a cube. The bad news? It's more star-like than spherical. I ended up filling in the spaces with 11s, which works... and I've ended up pretty happy with some of the dealies that I've designed and constructed.

Now the question is: what do I do with them?

Sekai, Suspended Earrings

I finally got these working! I played with chain and jump rings for a long time before they all finally fit within the rings and suspended the wrapped loops in a stable way.

Sekai means world in Japanese, and these earrings are so named because the little blue Picasso-finish beads (oh, the beautiful, lovely, delicate, gorgeous beads... can you tell I love them? Because I do. Mine! All mine!) remind me of the sea and a coastline, and these micro-worlds are suspended within the big copper circles.

I suppose you could probably work some serious symbolism in there-- didn't the circle represent the spiritual world to the Ancient Greeks?-- but for me they're just an intersection of two of my favorite things- circles, and these beads.

The copper circles are about 4 cm in diameter. The wire is copper, 22 gauge, the beadcaps, chain, and little copper beads are (what else?) copper. The beads are Czech glass.

These are big, but they're so simple I find them very wearable.

Peyote Stitch Tutorial

Peyote stitch is another one of those beadweaving stitches you see everywhere. It's got a fancy name and seems kinda daunting. The good news? It's really, really simple. And once you get the concepts you can create all sorts of things, like tubes and flat circles and sculptural geometric shapes.

This tutorial is for the most basic, flat, rectangular peyote stitch: but even with this stitch you can create all sorts of awesome designs. (Peyote: Advanced tutorial forthcoming).

You will need:

Beads (I usually use size 11 seed beads but I'm using size 8s in the tutorial)
Thread
A Needle

Lilac Cluster Earrings

Another beading project heavily influenced by my partner. He was bored and wanted to do something with wire-- I told him to look through my bead stash and find pairs of purple beads. Once found, he put them on headpins and made simple loops, which I then put on jump rings and strung into lines. So this was a joint venture, really.

These guys are about 4 cm long. The beads are primarily glass, though I'm not sure about the big shiny trefoils.

Queen Bee Earrings

I have always loved jewelry that gives off an 'evil queen' vibe. Not that these do-- but the bright red and spiky oxidized copper aren't the most inviting of design elements. Neither are bees.

However, these earrings aren't so bad. They're kind of cute, stylized and odd, and I think they would add an element of playfulness into an otherwise austere red and black outfit.

They're about 3 cm long, and the bees and wire are copper, as are the bead caps-- the beads themselves are Czech glass with a pretty AB finish.

Geology Pendant

I used to want to be a geologist, and glass (even picasso finish glass...well, maybe picasso finish glass...) doesn't hold a candle to real stone to me. I made this pendant, and, as with so many pendants, I still don't know what to do with it. (Hey, I just thought of something! Pendant <--> pendulous... there must be some kind of etymological relationship. Does 'pending' get involved too? I bet they're all from Latin. Yep, they are. Actually, seems the jury's still out on 'pending'-- it may be from French. Which may ultimately be from Latin anyway.)

This pendant is based on a design from a wirework magazine-- I don't have it with me at the moment, so I can't tell you whom it's by-- but I've added some design elements (particularly the curled wire). I really do like this thing and all its earth tones, oranges and yellows and coppers. Its focal point is a picture jasper bead (ha, try googling 'picture jasper' and see how many stone images you come up with... There's a preponderance of young actors named Jasper or playing characters named Jasper, it seems) with more jasper, size 4 and 6 swarovskis, picasso finish glass and non-picasso finish glass, and lots of 26-gauge copper wire (with a little 22). It's about 4 cm in diameter.

Carmine Blossom Earrings

I like a lot of my earrings. They're cute, pretty, or fun. But I really like these because of how they stand out. Also, I feel like I can wear a green shirt and these earrings and have a floral outfit, which is kinda neat.

The large flowers are glass, and everything else is copper, except for the fire opal and gold shadow swarovskis. These earrings are 4.5 cm long and the flowers are about 1.3 cm in diameter.

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.

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.

My Favorite Earrings

I honestly don't know why I love these so much. I wasn't crazy about them when I first made them, I thought they needed something else to them. But they don't. They're swingy and wonderful and I love the way they look. Plus, I feel like I can wear them with just about anything. Maybe it's the asymmetry that makes them awesome.

They're about 5 cm long, they're copper chain and glass beads, with one copper bead cap on the largest bead.