News and Ramblings...

Hi all!  I've made two new pieces that I think are a bit different than my normal style, and I have a new listing in my shop that I am very excited to share.

I have been asked to participate in the Battle of the Beadsmith (BOTB to most, B of B to me), a large single elimination tournament, which has been put together by Beadsmith Steven Weiss, to celebrate the art of beading, and to me, it's one huge party.  The group is fun and the works of the artists involved are just mind-blowing!!  I stop in every day to see what new wonders have been added to the photo albums.  I was going to blog some about the tournament, but so many folks who are involved already have that I feel it would be redundant.  I'm honored and excited to be involved, and if you'd like more information on it - or would like to see some incredible eye candy - please come check out the Facebook page HERE.  In the meantime, I'm working on a biggish project but I can't share any details or photos until the tournament reveal.  I think that some of the pressure to create might be getting to me, as I have been fighting with the piece almost constantly - I have always had issues with deadlines.  In order to move on and get to a place where I can work on my big project again, I went rummaging in my stash for something smaller to do.

My husband and I occasionally get the polymer clay out and play.  I have to wait until he feels like playing too, because conditioning the clay is just too much for my hands, and using the pasta maker to crank it to condition it does the same thing.  Thank goodness he likes clay!  Awhile back we were messing around with some face molds, and we came up with a cabochon that we both actually liked - as opposed to the 'playing' ones where we just sort of mushed some colors together to see what happened (mess - sludge - smudge are the results of those usually, but they're lots of fun).

Digging around the other day to try to find some inspiration, I ran across our cab again and decided to bead it up.  I think this particular face mold is very peaceful and dreamy looking, and we had added some gold foil and crystals to it, so I chose my matte gold 24kt plated delicas to dress it up - another unusual thing, as I hoard expensive seed beads as 'too nice to use.'  (A shout out to my friend Cynthia here, who blogged about using up her own 'too nice to use' beads at long last this year - and inspired me to get mine out!)  I had some 8mm rivolis that I had hidden away in Pacific Opal that I thought would look nice with the face, and grabbed those too.  Here is the result - Serene.

I was really happy with how Serene came out, and thought I was ready to go back to work on my B of B piece... nope.  A few hours worth of staring, a few more hours with maybe one line of beads stitched down... nothing.

A friend had asked me to put together a bead soup mix for her, as she was working on some freeform right angle weave and while I was putting hers together, I got mesmerized by the beads and decided I really wanted to try working on some freeform myself.  It had been awhile since I had tried it and maybe it would knock that muse off the block!!  My friend's palette was denim and silver; I decided I wanted to try denim and copper.   I threw in some sunstone, some lapis lazuli, crystals, freshwater pearls and came up with Coalesce.  (And almost ripped it up in frustration near the end; in fact, on FB it's known as The Doo Doo Piece, lol.)  It is 3.5" wide and 8" long.  It has an overlap for the closure however, with two rows of snaps to secure it - it can be worn at 6.5" or 7" and it looks odd laying out flat because the ends are wonky, but it looks quite nice ON!  

My final bit of news is - I'm offering Custom Bead Soup Mixes in my shop now!  I had several ladies ask me if I would make up bead soup mixes for them after the freeform bug bit my favorite online group of beaders, and then they suggested that I might offer them for sale.  The listing I've made is for approximately 15 grams of mixed beads, and it works like this; if you purchase the listing,  you convo me on Etsy or send me an email to let me know what palette you are looking for in your mix, and I will hand pick beads to make up the soup.  Each mix has a large variety of size 11s, 15s, 8s, bugles (or not, if you don't care for them), shaped seed beads (cubes, triangles, drops, etc), fire polish crystals, Swarovski crystals, freshwater pearls, glass and/or semi precious stones, and whatever I have on hand that looks like it belongs in there.  To me, this is a ton of fun.  I love playing around mixing beads together, and I think the mixes work wonderfully for both free form and bead embroidery (cuffs!!!!!!).  If you'd like to have me create one, here's the link to my shop, and I've posted a few photos below of some soups I have made for myself in the past.

I'm probably going to be a double fisted blogger this weekend, and hit you with a book review tomorrow or Sunday.  The book I'm going to review is wonderful and I really hope you'll take the time to read it and look at the scrumptious pictures - even if you don't work in the medium, you will be inspired by this artist, and the artists he has included in his book.  And that's all I'm sayin' for now!  ;)

Giveaway Winner and Castles Bracelet

First let me sincerely apologize for my tardy post - this was supposed to be up yesterday, but I was dealing with some horrid pain and wasn't near the computer long enough to compose the post.  (Much better today, thank you!!)  But a winner was found, picked by my husband from a bowl full of slips of paper - congratulations to Saturday Sequins, who won a copy of Heat, Color, Set & Fire by Mary Hettmansperger!!  Please get in touch with me when you can, and I will mail your new book to you this week!!!

I have added a new bracelet tutorial to my Etsy shop, as well, a design that came about while I was playing around with the stitches from Runway; Castles is available now in my Etsy shop, and is a really fun piece to make.  I had wanted to bring the twin units together closely, and even have them sharing seed beads if I could, but when you get them that close, they tend to arch out and make circular shapes, so I stuck with the beads surrounding each twin bead - but I've used different sizes, so that they can lay next to each other snugly.  I was thinking of crenellations and turrets the whole time I was stitching, lol - so that's where the name came from.  It's also a great tutorial for those of you who may have just a few twins or super duos hanging around from a previous project, it only calls for 56 of them.  For those of you who have been asking, you can now find some of the Superduos and Twin Beads at BeadStalkers, a new online shop co-owned by my friend Christina (Good Quill Hunting), as well as some other fabulous goodies.   Castles brings my tutorial count in my shop up to nine - so I best get to working on number 10!

Happy Mother's Day to everyone who celebrates - wishing you love for the day and always!

NEDbeads Reviews Heat, Color, Set & Fire by Mary Hettmansperger

When Lark Books sent out a call for book reviewers for their Jewelry and Beading books, I was so excited to answer - not only am I passionate about jewelry (and beads in particular, of course) but I adore books and reading.  I am self taught in many ways, and books have shaped my life.

The first book Lark sent to me was a little daunting, due to the fact that I have never worked in metal jewelry at all, but I was transfixed by the images on the cover of Heat, Color, Set & Fire and dove in eagerly.

Mary Hettmansperger, a 28 year veteran in fiber and metal arts, has done an excellent job of showing the way in this book, showing the novice techniques such as how to start off by cutting your metals, beginning wire working, cold connections, and riveting, and then taking you by the hand to show you the wonderful textures you can add to bring your materials to life.  My favorite part of the book is where she shows you how to use and add color to your metal designs - and even uses colored pencils to gorgeous effect, a method I never would have connected with metals!

Mary has a unique, celebratory and primitive style all her own that I really admire.  Working with beads, I have found that an organic, free style can be almost harder to achieve than a set, finished and uniform look.  She describes her work as being a conversation between materials, techniques and creative desires... I can see all of that in her projects and finished work, and what conversations they are!

Below are just a few of my favorite projects from her book, and she shows you step by step how to achieve these beautiful results yourself:

Dots and Loops Necklace and Variations (pg. 56); this project features balling wire, punching, wirework, heat patina and forging, just to name a few techniques.  I think the result looks like dragon or fish scales and I love it!

The Embossed Pendant & Earrings project (pg. 60) uses cutting metal, embossing, stitching and wirework to fabulous effect.

Green Enamel Necklace (pg. 108) shows glorious torch fired heat enameling as well as tab bezeling, and I just love the texture she achieved in this.

My all time favorite from this book is the Grout & Silver Pendant (pg. 85) - you have never seen grout look this good!!!  The variations show how differently you can make this look, all it takes is your imagination!

If you're thinking of turning your hand to metals, or have already started to work with them and want to add color and new techniques to your metals skill set, I highly recommend this book.  It is comprehensive and well thought out, and the directions are very clear and well illustrated.  My only wish, as someone who has never worked with any metal at all, was that there had been a tiny bit of a glossary of terms in the beginning, as I sometimes had to read on for a little while before I found the definition of several things.


Click HERE to take you to the Amazon listing, or read on to the bottom for a chance to win a copy of this fabulous book!

All you have to do to enter the book giveaway is leave a comment below about one of your goals with metal work (even if it's wirework) or a comment on some metal work you have already done - I'd love a link to check it out!  One comment only, please, to make it easier for me to pick the winner, and I will pick that winner and post on Saturday, May 12.  Comments on my review are welcome too - I'd love to know how I did for my first one!  :)

(Disclaimer: this book was provided to me free of charge with the understanding that I would give my honest opinion of the material presented.  I receive no recompense for my opinion.)

Twisted Herringbone... with Twins!

Feel like doing something fun and a little different this lovely spring day? I did - I made a bracelet this morning using twisted herringbone stitch and some lovely Superduo beads... and don't have a photo to show you yet as my wonderful photographer husband is at work... but hopefully I will have something to show you later on in the way of finished work. Superduo beads are like Twin beads, but they are made by Jablonex and are much more uniform and there's a lot less culling going on while you bead. I like them both - and use them both!

In case you would like to try it too, I've made a mini tutorial here on the blog. It assumes prior knowledge of herringbone stitch and twisted herringbone as I haven't included all of the steps to start you off.

I started off with a regular twisted herringbone rope in all size 11 beads to get comfy, and then began adding my twin beads to it. This is a three spine piece, so there are six beads around total. So, coming down through one 11 and up through two 11s for the rope so far...

Pick up one twin bead (or Superduo bead) and two 11 beads. Go down through the second hole in the twin bead and down through the second 11 in your spine. Go up through two 11s in your next spine. Repeat this twice, and step up by coming up through your two 11s and then the twin and the first 11 added in this round.

Pick up one twin and two 11s and come down through the second hole in the twin and the 11 underneath it. Come up through the first hole in the twin bead in the next spine, and the 11 above it. Repeat around. When you step up, you will be coming up through a twin, an 11, a twin, and an 11.

Just keep on going, adding a twin and two 11s per stitch, coming down through an 11 and up through a twin, and your rope will spiral nicely!

I went back to the start and took off the beginning spiral in 11s, so that the whole rope bracelet was in twins, but I can see how this would look fabulous as a center for a rope, with regular or twisted herringbone in seeds to show off the twins in the middle. :) I finished off each end by adding one 11 per stitch - so that I had a picot of sorts on the ends of the spines, and then went round those three 11s in a circle to cinch them up, and then added a crystal rondelle and a clasp half. Once the crystal and clasp were attached firmly, I came back down to my circle of three beads and added one 11 between each of them to make it look less pointy, and voila I had a bracelet!! I hope you have fun if you decide to try this out too!

Seed

The other side of nature; away from the blooming flowers and emerging buds. The darker side, where spores are spreading, insidious and creeping, rooting in anything they can, overtaking and blighting. Alien and strange.

I have never, in my entire beading life, had such a hard time creating a piece. Not only struggling with the concepts and the visuals, but fighting with the beads, the Fireline, the stitches... broken beads, tangles that would not come undone in the thread, false starts, ripped up edges... but it's finally done. To be honest, I have really disliked working with the long magatamas - but I think it is because I use my beads as building blocks in a lot of ways, and the long magatamas only seem to work as toppers for me - not as a place to begin. Many of the artists asked to participate in The Beadsmith challenge came up with lovely, flowing, graceful pieces that made me drool, and I think that some artists would have a lot of fun using them - but for me, they acted awkwardly and did NOT want to be where I wanted them to be. Lisa Peters provided another lovely focal cabochon, handcrafted with incredible skill. I also gave myself more of a challenge with this than I could have, choosing to bezel with matte Delicas, which are notoriously thin walled due to the process they go through when manufactured, so I shouldn't have been surprised by a few broken beads.

No matter how much I disliked, or downright hated this piece, it ended up meaning a great many things to me during the process. Which is perhaps why it was as hard as it was. Lisa's focal is fabulous, but when I looked at it I saw spores... and everything came from there. The more I worked and struggled with this, the more I realized what I was 'journaling' about. Not just the focal, or showcasing the magatamas, but things that are happening for me and around me. This month marks the anniversary of my mother's death 13 years ago; today, in fact - we had a difficult relationship, and I found her when we went to investigate when she hadn't answered her phone. My friend, and inspiration, and more to me than I know how to express, is suffering from an aggressive form of cancer, which came in as one tumor, then two; and then more and more, spreading itself wide. Rooting, if you will, sporing, taking over. I hate Auntie C as much as I love you, Linda. There are places in my life when a seed was a lie; and of course that lie leads to more, and more - and spreads. One deceit is enough to plant that seed of distrust, which will overrun a relationship and smother any love or respect it finds growing there. Then there are the seeds that are planted in us, early on, bringing self-respect and self-image issues, anxiety and depression, which can grow to huge, overshadowing things.

Now done, I am exhausted. I need to find something to play with, something light hearted and beautiful.

Out of all of this... came this. I hope that someone, somewhere, will find something that speaks to them more positively with this necklace, and that it finds a home. I'm thinking it won't stay with me for long... or maybe that's just more hoping.

Winner!!

Yayyy, we have a winner in my cuff giveaway!! Unfortunately, Teddy wasn't able to pick names on this one, so I went to the random number thingy - and don't know how to show you the picture of it, lol!! By the numbers, Sharyl of Sharyl's Jewelry and Reflections is the winner!! Thank you to every single one of you for entering and sharing my links, or just stopping in and commenting. Make sure to keep on coming back, I'll have another giveaway soon!!

Sharyl, make sure to contact me with your mailing address! Hope you all have a fab weekend... :)

Long Magatama Beads and a Giveaway

A Happy Holiday to those who partook of Easter, and a happy Sunday to everyone who didn't...

I mentioned in my last post that I would have a new challenge coming up, using Miyuki long magatama beads from The Beadsmith... and have completed a third of the challenge! Lisa Peters Art provided focal components for the designers chosen to participate, and The Beadsmith sent each of us several colors of the long magatamas to work with; Lisa did an amazing job matching colors with her beautiful handmade focals.

I have to admit this has been a hard one for me, so far. Long magatama beads seem very bold and in your face looking to me, and the focal pieces are also large... and I am used to small little beads. I find the way that the bead itself is configured to be puzzling to work with, because the hole is drilled at a slant, and there is a definite front and back to each bead. I fiddled and futzed, I ripped apart, I tried three or four bead weaving stitches... and came back to embroidery. I immediately had fallen head over heels in love with Lisa's flower button component, and had to start with that. But I had no ideas on how to combine the magatamas with the focal! In the end, I decided that they looked like flower petals, and so went with that for my cuff. Although I made sure to use the magatamas on their flattest side for the embroidery, I did find that I had to add a little dab of glue to the tips to keep them flat against the surface of the embroidery.

The cuff itself was a challenge, as well, in that I didn't measure correctly when laying out the outlines, and so it wasn't going to fit over a cuff blank... and figuring out how to get the clasp to stay where I wanted it, and look good, and be secure all at once... this was a learning project for sure!! I also used crosshatching in the background, which is a first for me. The details on the cuff are mostly layers - the bottom layer of embroidery, and then crystals and beaded 'leaves' are made and attached over that. Make sure to stop by the gallery of work that Steven has provided on the Beadsmith Page here!! The clasp was gifted to me by my wonderful friend Linda Jones - and of course the focal and the magatamas came with the challenge. So, I want to pass the goodness on, and I will be giving this cuff away.

In order to enter for the giveaway, I am going to ask you to do a little something... please share my blog link for this giveaway, AND a link to my Etsy shop of your favorite tutorial or piece of jewelry that I have listed there, in two separate posts. It doesn't matter to me where you post, whether it is on your own blog, or Facebook, or Google+ or Twitter... any social media out there would be lovely. Come back and leave me a comment and a link to your post and you're entered! For those of you who follow me on Facebook at all, you will already know that our Chow Chow Sydney had to have some oral surgery this past month, and I won't even tell you how much the bill came to... yikes!! So if I garner any sales, tutorial or otherwise, from the giveaway, it will be awesomely helpful - but you don't have to buy anything to enter. :)

Details on the cuff; it took me around five days to make. It had Swarovski flower crystals, fire polish crystals, seed beads, and freshwater pearls in it, and the clasp is 925 silver, with a hook and loop. It's backed with ultra suede and entirely sewn and embroidered with fire line, so it WON'T come apart. It measures 1.75" wide and exactly 8" long - it will fit snugly on those with a wider wrist size, and more like a bangle on those with a more slender wrist, as it stays rounded when worn. The clasp is amazing - and it won't come undone on you on accident, that hook is quite long.

Thanks so much for following along with me, for sharing my links, and for taking the time to keep me company! Now, on to the next Lisa Peters focal and the next shade of long magatamas - shiny gunmetal/silver... :) Happy beading!

UPDATE! I forgot to add it in earlier - the giveaway will be open to entries until 5PM EST on Friday. :) :) :)