Thursday, September 23, 2010

New Work

Well, our CCBS Bead Show has come and gone once again. It seemed to be successful. All the vendors looked busy most of the day. Putting on a bead show takes many people and the cooperation of all. Our CCBS President, Jennifer, headed up the show committee this year. In addition to our annual raffle, this year we also had a silent auction. There were some beautiful pieces of artwork in it. I must say, I'm glad it's over for another year, but will look forward to next year's show.

This first picture is a pendant I made for a friend's birthday. It started out to be a bracelet. lol. It just wasn't working for me so I turned it into a pendant. I haven't done any brickstitch for a while, but it made a nice bale with a little embellishment.


This is also a pendant. It was hung on a Kumihimo cord I made using the colors in the pendant. This work was part of a Kit Challenge in CCBS. We each buy a kit with all of the same beads and go from there. It's always fun. This year's kit was a bit too pastel for me, but, oh well. It's good to get out of your box once in a while.
This last picture is a soft bead embroidered cuff. Jamie Cloud Eakin challenged me to do one with just seedbeads. This is the result. The major lines are done with back stitch and the rest with moss stitch (or random picots). It was kind of fun to do this one.

Now to get back to my BJP pages. I haven't totally neglected them, but they had to take a back seat for a while.
Posted by Picasa

Tuesday, September 07, 2010

Summer Vacation- Not

I didn't really have a summer vacation, per se. I did spend three days up in the Sierras on a Bead Retreat with the Central California Bead Society. It was great having Marcia DeCoster all to ourselves. As always, she was a delight. The weather was warm, but beautiful and the food was wonderful. Joy brought up some awesome wooden cigar boxes for those of us with a fetish for boxes. We also had an impromptu bead sale. All in all, a great Retreat.
This first picture is a necklace similar to one seen in a UK beading magazine. I fell in love with it and made it. Haven't decided yet whether to embellish it.

These are just a few of the earrings I have made this summer, so far. I have been on a roll with them, for sure. Many of them are made with Peacock Beads. They come in many shapes, sizes, and colors. Definitely a find for earrings.
The bracelets are a recent addiction. Russian Spiral isn't new, of course, but me working with this many crystals certainly is. LOL I remember a time when I thought crystals were "the dark side". I would seldom use them in my work. Ha! Boy, has that changed! The top bracelet is in multi shades of green. Had to go buy a top to wear with it. LOL
The second bracelet is in pinks, teals, and purples. These are colors I wear a lot.
The next one is in two shades of purple. Couldn't pass them up.
The fourth one is in all the fall colors. This one and the above were made using only two stitches around instead of three. Love the way they feel.

The last bracelet is done with three stitches around, but I found it tends to stretch a bit even when using double thread. I reinforced it by going through the spirals of seed beads. It was done with Fuchsia crystals and #648 seed beads. Gorgeous combination!

Have tons of plans for the next few months, including three bead shows, and a Retreat in Tahoe. Going to be a busy Fall.
Posted by Picasa