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!
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!
