Bloomin' Turtle

So for the first few months, I felt like I was keeping on track, and would be able to pull these things off in a timely fashion. WRONG! This is March's Bead Journal Project...and although it has been done since the beginning of April, I am obviously just getting around to taking the pictures! I still haven't finished Aprils, and now its May, and I don't even have a clue as to what it will look like this month, let alone when I will get to it. Oh well, at least there is no BJP police, to track me down and make me feel guilty, even though I rationally know that I shouldn't.
So this little turtle is bloomin'! Of course March is the time when everything starts to turn back to green, and come alive. It also happens to be the month that the Beadwork Challenge that I participated in hit the news stands! I used a lot of the left over beads from my challenge kit to make this months project. I just added a turtle (still have lots more) and a few seed beads. The leaves and flowers, and a majority of the seed beads came in the challenge packet. I was especially happy to work in the olivine, flat-backed, leaf shaped swarovskis , because I have no idea where else I could have used them!

I am trying my hardest to get more done, and post the finished pics! Stay tuned (probably this weekend) for my finished Beading For A Cure piece. I'll admit that April and Mays BJP will be on the back burner, while I create something for one of Margie Deebs Color Reports (I'm super excited to get started on this )! Bead on!

ABS Turquoise Challenge

Again I finished just in the nick of time! I put the finishing touches on this piece today, and its deadline for contest entry is today. This is my entry to the Art Bead Scene Turquoise Challenge. The challenge was to use these four colors in anything you want, in any proportions you want.
I don't know why, but for some reason, I immediately decided to do a bead embroidered collar. The first beads I found were the turquoise pieces, and then went to town picking out the rest of the seed beads and things. Of course I used many sizes of beads(adds to the texture), 15's , 11's , 8's in seed beads, and I also used some czech glass.
It did take me a while to find the big donut in the middle, but once I saw it I knew it was the one! I think its pressed turquoise because it looks like chunks all smashed together and then polished up. Its still pretty though! Then I bezzelled 2 swarovski rivolis, one of which I placed right in the middle of the donut, the other above it.

I think the whole thing looks kind of "Aztec" or like a kaleidoscope. The colors remind me of lilacs, and summertime.

Its pretty light weight, and actually adjusts in size so it will fit every time (no matter what your shirt neckline is)! I wrestled with the idea of putting fringe on, but after a few failed attempts, I decided I was satisfied with it, even with out fringe.

Now all I need is a name for this piece. I actually find that the hardest part about making things. I usually can only come up with really silly names...

I also think I am going to enter this one in the etsy-beadweaver April challenge "light as a breeze". Its very springy, and with the right title, and story line, I think it will work! Check out the rest of the entries between April 9Th and 15Th at the etsy-beadweaver blog and pick your favorite!

Artbeads and Beading for a Cure

Artbeads* declared the months of February and March as 'the beauty of spring' months for their blogging community*! This was such a hard choice, considering I could choose anything to blog about! After giving it some thought, I decided I needed to try out some more wonderful swarovski crystal. Having already loved the fancy pear, and the fancy oval, I decided to pick the 37mm fancy octagon in light colorado topaz. And again, I love them! So big and fantastc, I cant wait to bezell them! I also choose some cyclamen opal bi-cones in both 4mm and 6mm (which is a very interesting color). And last but not least, a nice antique gold awareness ribbon charm (I'll explain this choice in a minute) which is just perfect.
I picked these things, because I plan to add them to my Beading For a Cure Project for 2011. Kits have just gone out, and after some thinking time, I decided what to make and thought these Artbeads pretties would make a nice addition!

So the kit this year (as seen above) is composed of seed beads of many sizes (8/0's , 11/0's , 15/0's and drops) in both purple and bronze. There are also some swarovski crystals in 4mm and 6mm in cyclamen opal. Some fresh water pearls and some 4mm fire polish round the kit out.

If you look here, you can see how nicely the light colorado topaz goes with the bronze, and I plan to attach the ribbon charm at the clasp because of course Beading For a Cure is to help with colorectal cancer research. I still have a week or two before I can get started on this new project, but I wanted to share these pieces with you now because I am so excited to get started!

Lets not forget the March is national colorectal cancer awareness month. The Beading For a Cure auctions are now underway, and will continue on through-out April until May 9Th. Please stop by the site and make a bid on your favorite beady design!

*disclaimer - all beads received from Artbeads.com are free of cost to me in exchange for trying them out and giving my honest opinion of them good or bad.

Turtles in Love

Boy am I behind, but I'm only behind in taking photos! I actually got this finished on the last day in February, but haven't gotten around to taking the pictures and posting since then. This is my February bead journal page. This month I used two stone turtle fetish beads. One is rose quartz, and the other is a pale shade of yellow...and I think it might be a quartz also. Ive had the big crystal heart for forever (have no recollection of where it came from). The two little "candy" heart beads that say "kiss me" and "cutie pie" I got from a woman that was in the nursing home with my Grandmother many years ago. Seems Grandma and Aunt Nancy would talk about me making jewelry and such and the woman collected together some old jewelry and other beady things she had and gave it to my Aunt to pass on to me! They are actually so convincing that they are candy, that both of my children wanted to know where I was hiding the rest of it! I added "be mine" and a whole lot of pink and yellow beads. Amazing how many pink beads I have, considering it is probably my least favorite color to bead with.

The Queens Jewels

Ive just finished my latest creation that was sparked by some Swarovski crystal that I got through Artbeads blogging for beads program*. I was sent some fabulous crystals in the crystal red magma color, which is one I hadn't seen in person yet. What a fabulous color! One of the crystals I chose was a 30mm fancy oval, which captured the color beautifully. A lovely crimson/brown color is how I would describe it.
So for this necklace, I bezzelled the 30mm fancy oval with delicas in both size 11s, and size 15s(which are fairly new). I surrounded it with a spray of 4mm round crystal fringe, and then suspended it from 2 leopard skin jasper teardrop beads, and hung a 3rd from its bottom. The teardrops are also bezzelled with size 11 and size 15 delicas. I also had some 22mm cosmic ovals which I attached to the top of the 2 teardrops and then attached the strap to the other side of the ovals.
The center part of the pendant measures 3 1/2 inches from the top of the crystal fringe, to the bottom of the teardrop. The necklace measures about 19 inches long.
The strap is made with size 11 delicas, and 4mm round crystals in the herringbone stitch. A pattern was created in the strap using the same burgandy delicas used to bezel the stones and crystal, and a gray delica which matches the color in the leopard skin jasper teardrops.
The toggle is made up of a sparkly wheel (pattern by Nikia Angel), and a bar. the sparkly wheel uses 4mm bicone crystals, 4mm round jasper beads, and size 11 delicas.I have to say, after trying the size 15 delicas, I am impressed with their shape, and uniformity. They blended so well with the size 11s that it looked seemless. I also will add that they break very easily because of their size, so I think I will stick with my size 15 seed beads, becase they will be better for multiple passes through the beads.

This necklace will be going on to my etsy store, for I am entering it into the March challenge whos theme is "fairy tales". Voting takes place between the 9th and the 15th of March at the etsy beadweavers blog, so stop by my etsy store to purchase this lovely, or drop on by the blog between those dates and vote for it!

*disclaimer - all beads recieved from Artbeads.com are free of cost to me in exchange for trying them out and giving my honest opinion of them good or bad.

My first Bead Journal Page! (and a necklace I made)

This year I decided to join the Bead Journal Project. It was started a few years ago by Robin Atkins, I think this is the third year were doing now. So I spent many months trying to figure out if I wanted a theme, and what shape and size I might do. One of the rules is to keep the same size/shape throughout the year. I thought about doing a dodecahedron, one side for each month. I thought about artist trading card size...I even contemplated doing goddesses for each month. After much thinking I decided I would do circles, and they are 4 3/4" across. To be exact, I am tracing a tin that I got from my Aunt, that is shaped and decorated like a Big Mac(yes, from McDonald's) which humors me greatly (I'm amused easily). I also decided that for every month, I will use one of the many turtle beads that I have in my collection. I love turtles, and I have LOTS of turtle beads. I am currently not able to part with them, or think of anything I would make for myself with them, so I thought this was a perfect excuse to use them, and keep them! So here is January's page...
It is all done in white, and with the feeling of snow because it is cold and snowy in Michigan in January! Ive decided to call it "Turtles in the Snow" for obvious reasons. I made some swarovski snowflakes in crystal 2xAB and then attached them to the pellon. I haven't even cut this out because I am not sure if they will need the extra fabric when framing it(which I intend to do when I am all done). I had such a good time making this one (which I finished on January 31st) that I dove immediately into February's page. I haven't finished "Turtles in Love" yet(but I'm close), because I had to put it down and try to finish my etsy-beadweaver challenge piece.

Which brings us to my next set of pictures! I didn't get it done in time, but I did get it done! The etsy-beadweaver challenge that was due on February 5 had the theme of "inspired by the ocean". I had these great beads, that reminded me of the ocean, and the colors reminded me of the sand and the surf.

I decided to make a lariat, with the beads on either end(because I only had 2) and a double spiral rope for the length because then I could swirl the "sand" and the "sea" together.

I could have finished it on Friday night, when it was due, but I wouldn't have been able to make it quite as long as I wanted, so I decided to skip the late night photo shoot. I finally finished it Sunday night, during the Superbowl, and it is a whopping 54" long! It could be used in so many ways...for a necklace, or even for a belt (if your waistline is small enough).
So all I need to do now is go and list it over on etsy. And while I'm thinking about it, the voting for the people that DID get their creations done on time is going on now at the etsy-beadweaver blog, until the 15Th of February, so go on over and vote for your favorite!

A Turtle and some Christmas presents

For those of you who don't know, I am lucky to have a brother who is kind of in a related field of work. My brother, Anderson Coats, is a glass artist. He can make all sorts of beautiful things out of glass, including (my favorite) beads and pendants. So being the "nice guy" that he is, he made me a turtle pendant because I stomped my feet and told him I wanted one since turtles are a passion of mine. Anyway, here is the cute little guy that he made, and the necklace I made to go with him!
His head, flippers, and tail are a nice dark, sparkly green. His shell is a fabulous swirly pattern of greens, golds, and even a hint of a dark shade of orange/brown. And of course, because he is glass, he has a wonderful shine to him (when hes not covered in my fingerprints from fondling him).

I made this design up myself, trying to figure out how to use some beads that I got from entering the Beadin Paths Ugly Bug Ball last year. I added some indian red, and some tourmaline swarovskis for added sparkle. And boy does it sparkle! The clasp is a beaded toggle made with matching seed beads and crystals.

Next for your viewing pleasure, is a Christmas present I made for my Mom. I was inspired by Marcia DeCosters "Ka'iulani" pattern from her new Beaded Opulence book. I just added a little extra embellishment (some crystals) to her design and then my own toggle. Its a great book by the way, if your looking for a new beady book to add to your collection(lots of good projects)!

The toggle is a sparkly wheel (pattern by Nikia Angel), and a beaded bar. I love to use these as toggles. It makes the back of the necklace just a pretty as the front!

And of course I had to make a matching set of earrings, so that her ensemble would be complete! Who wants naked ears, right?

Last but not least, it has been a tradition for me now to make members of my family and friends beaded Christmas ornaments every year. Because I got bored always beading around glass balls, I have been trying to get a little more inventive with shapes, and variety. This year I made stars, which were inspired by the wedding tiara I did last year with stars on it. I got inspiration for how to make these from Diane Fitzgeralds Shaped Beadwork book. I combined her pentagon shape, with 5 elongated triangles, and zipped them all together. Viola, you have a star!

I made a bunch of different colors (not all shown here) so that everyone could have a personalized version. Thanks heavens crystal AB swarovski rivolis go with just about every color!

Now on to new beading, for the new year. I am currently working on my first Bead Journal Project, so we'll see how that goes. Hopefully I'll have pictures by next weekend!