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!

Beadwork Challenge

A month or so ago I was contacted by Beadwork magazine to let me know I was chosen to be the reader participant in their beadwork challenge. I was just tickled! They sent me the kit, which was provided by fusion beads. The day I received the kit in the mail we had our first snowfall here in Michigan, so it was a surprise to open the package and find lots of bright flowers and springy colors.
I instantly thought about gardens, and when I think of gardens, I think of ponds of water! I knew that I would need some water to bead around so I thought up a design and took it to work(Purple Sage Beads, Saginaw, MI) and had one of the owners, Vicki Hubbard, make me some custom fused glass pieces. They were perfect(and exactly the way I drew them)!

The finished piece actually turned out different from what I originally planned, but it worked out all the same. I bezelled the glass pieces with seed beads, and knew I needed fringe with leaves to cascade below...

I planned a flower sequence that I liked (leaving out some of the brightest orange flowers) and then made fringe with leaves for all three sections.

I added the metal branch pieces to all three sections. I was amazed that the curved pieces on either side fit so perfectly considering this is not where I had planned on putting them when I ordered the glass.

Next I connected the three pieces with swarovski crystals in blue zircon, lime, and mocca. To each connector strand I added a jump ring which holds the flat backed, sew-on, mocca, leaf crystals.

The hardest part of this piece was trying to decide what to make the straps like. So many choices...so little time! I finally stumbled upon something that I thought worked. It is RAW, 4mm blue zircon swarovski crystals with some of the seed beads for embellishment. I added some wire guardians to the ends of the strap so that I could have a nice sturdy connection with the toggle from the kit.

I was told that this challenge will be published in the April/May issue of Beadwork magazine, so keep your eyes peeled! It was so much fun to do, I encourage every serious beader to apply to participate in one of the future challenges.

Cubic Zirconia, fish, and going in circles!

Have you ever heard of blogging for beads? Well, its a program put together by Artbeads.com where they let bloggers try out their products (free of charge too! woohoo!) in return for their opinions of the beads. I have lots of opinions...and they asked me for mine! So over at Artbeads, the declared November and December "cubic zirconia months" and asked what I might like to try out...I fell in LOVE with the stars that they had, and for good reason. I really liked them, before I even saw them, but boy oh boy, when they came in the mail, I was thrilled! They feel nice and heavy, more like a natural stone then a crystal. I liked them so much, I bought some more with my own money to finish this necklace off!
I whipped up this nice beadweaving lace pattern by Sandra Halpenny, using the stars in place of 4mm crystals (like the pattern called for).

I added the teardrop cubic zirconia in the center for a focal piece. What a nice hunk of "laboratory grown crystal created to be a diamond substitute" as they say on the website. Very clear, and faceted nicely too, I might add!

The stars are 10mm and 5mm, and again are faceted, and the clarity is amazing! All I needed to do was to add the beadweaving, some seed beads, and a few swarovski 4mm crystal AB bicones! I'm thinking of entering this necklace into the Etsy-Beadweaver December challenge as a "peace piece", I just need to consult with some beady friends first!

Now this next bead, was a present from my very talented glass blowing brother, Anderson Coats of "Like a Moth to a Flame". He went through a period were he was making fish, and they are so realistic you can just about feel the scales on their sides! This fish is a female Rio Grande Cut Throat, and although I haven't done my research, I imagine it looks just like the real thing!

Now, when making a fish necklace all I figured I needed to add, was some waves! So I did this necklace in Oglala stitch, with 4 shades of blue...

Then I added some 6mm pressed glass rounds, and this is what it looks like! Its a bit longer then I planned, but I haven't figured out how to properly guess how long the oglala stitch will come out in the end.

I added a beaded toggle, because I feel that a beadwoven necklace should be finished, in the same manner it was started! With seed beads!

This last one was a necklace I made when I recently had an obsession with square stitch. I have a skirt that is pink and brown tie-die, which was the color inspiration. I started with round swarovski crystals, and square stitch medallions around them.

The rest of the length of the necklace is done in daisy stitch. And of course again, finished with a beaded toggle. This time it is a beaded ball with a loop.

Sorry I save up so many things to post at once, but I will admit, photography is not my favorite part of beading. I like to get it all done at the same time!

Stay tuned for an upcoming contest I plan to run...I just need to think of a theme!

What a Good Weekend I'm Having!

I'm having such a fabulous weekend, I thought I would share with you why. I had a contest entry due yesterday. A Haute Couture Contest where you had to make a piece of jewelry that was inspired by one of the many photos posted on the site. All the photos were giggle worthy, the kind of "fashion" photos that make you say" who on earth would wear that?" I picked photo number eight, which you see here...
Isn't that a lovely outfit? We were to make a piece of jewelry that was inspired by the outfit, not necessarily to be worn with the outfit. This photo made me think of a weird pod type thing, so I made a "fringe pod" for my necklace. It has three shades of green in it, splattered with crystals, also in three shades. The bail is done in yellow, with amethyst highlights, just like the dress. The necklace is done in herringbone stitch, also done with the same color graduation. Darkest green in front, fading back to yellow with amethyst highlights. It also has crystals in coordinating shades scattered throughout. It measures about 19 inches in length, and hangs very nicely.

I think I will list it on etsy, so if you are interested, pop on by to my etsy store and check it out.

I also got some very exciting news yesterday evening from the staff at Beadwork magazine. I'll tell you more in a week or so....but Im excited! YEAH!

Pink Ribbon Turtles

The Pink Ribbon Turtles or now on eBay, for your viewing and bidding pleasure!
Of course you've seen pictures of my "Basking in the Sun" from a few weeks ago. Here are some pictures of the other things that are available for auction, with the proceeds going to the American Cancer Society for breast cancer research.

"Swimming for Freedom of Fear" was created by Karen L. Cohen. It is a 5.5" X 9.5" wall hanging that is bead, machine and ribbon embroidery on cotton.

"Bubbles" was created by Maria Teresa. It is a professionally framed bead embroidery picture in a 6" X 6" shadowbox frame.

"Fiona" was created by Jena Tuntas. She is a teeny beanie baby that is completely covered in bead embroidery.

And "Montees in Pink" is made by Bev Moon. An original design made with pink swarovski montees, and sterling silver beads.

There are only a few days left for the auctions, so I urge you to run over to the pink turtle website!