First Commission Necklace Finished and My Web Site

First, I have to say thank you to all the lovely comments I have gotten on my bracelet and a BIG thank you to bead maven Linda Jones for introducing me to everyone!!!!

Then I have to put down that I finally finished commission necklace #1 (there are five now), and that I had a great time making it. I also finished #2, but do not yet have pictures, that will be coming soon. I am calling it Caramel Cream for now; when it finds its new home, they may well call it something else. This rope is a version of three drop peyote, using 15s and size 11 triangles. The lampwork focal bead is from Milminedesigns, which has plenty more lovely creations in there if you visit Etsy.

I have put a link to my web site on here, so that if anyone would like to see more of my work, they can just click to visit! Please come and look, let me know what you think, and I love feedback, email me if you have suggestions!

Commissions aside, I have fallen completely in love with making these embroidered cuffs, and see many in my beading future - as a matter of fact, my husband is really starting to worry about the cost of cabochons about now! Off to bead...

Coral Romance is done!!

Well, it took a week and a half, but the cuff is done!!! I am thrilled with it, and hope that everyone else likes it as well. It had a fossil coral centerpiece and some smaller peices of fossil coral on the sides as well, with freshwater pearls and crystals, and mostly size 15 seeds - boy did THAT take awhile!!!! This one was harder to compose than Gypsy, and gave me some challenges along the way, including redoing the center and redoing the edges twice, but I really do think it was worth the frustration. When I visited my favorite local beadstore, the owner commented (it was in progress at that point) that he thought it looked like royalty; but when I finished it, all I could think of was that it looked romantic, as if it belonged on the arm of some lovely in a period novel, hence the title.

I have also just completed one of my custom ordered necklaces, but my husband said I should wait to post the pictures, as the lady that it is eventually intended for (they will be Christmas gifts from my friend to her family) might see it before she should! It is quite nice, even though I felt that it was a little too like one of the necklaces I had already made. I am hoping that they will be quite pleased with the result.

So now I am on to the next of the five commissions, and thinking (of course) of the next cuff or necklace to embroider...too many projects, not enough time!!!!

Commissions!! Mighty Oak Focal!! Heaven!

I am not planning on writing every day, but I had to post today, HAD to. My best friend has commissioned me to make FOUR necklaces for her to give as Christmas gifts this year, and the necklace she chose is one that I love to make. Even better - each one is to be different, so there will be NO boring repetitive colors, etc, and we are looking forward to sitting down together to shop on Etsy for some gorgeous focal beads to get started with. What more could a beader ask for??

A focal bead that she has had her eye on for herself for weeks now, of course!!! I have purchased one of Lloyd Osborn's beautiful focal beads; it is titled Mighty Oak, and has the most beautiful tree on it, which wraps lovingly around the bead. I have a special love for all older trees, especially the really gnarled and ancient trees that you see with huge trunks and limbs that grow every which way but straight up. This is definitely one of those trees, but it is still young enough to be full of greenery, bursting with life, so majestic. I seriously cannot wait until this arrives so that I can begin designing with it (and fondling it, of course).

Now i have to bone up on focals and the best way to use them, as it has been a long long time since I did any stringing...but maybe it won't be strung...maybe I should weave something to set it off....lots of fringy things, some leaves - hey, maybe Lloyd would make some leaves to go along with it!!!!

Blogging? Me? Nah....

Well, that was how I started out. But then, after the website, and the facebook page...well, I started to think that it might be a good idea after all. I saw some really nice blogs by other bead artists, and thought to myself, "Self, that looks like it would be great, and not too hard to do!" On the other hand, would it take time away from beading??? Because that is the main focus of my world most of the time, when I am not taking care of my home and my family - which includes four dogs. The website took some (not a lot, as I do not do all the work on it alone), then facebook took some; maybe this would take too much...? I decided it could not hurt to try it and see how it went. So, I will foray briefly and see how it all goes. At the very least, I should learn something (and no day should ever go by without learning something), and have a chance to show off yet more photos of my passion - BEADS!
So I have started with a photo of my newest cuff as my 'portrait' and am going to add in here the in progress photo of a peyote stitch bracelet that I am test beading for the lovely and talented (and funny and wonderful) Linda Jones:

Linda designed this pattern and posted it on her blog and I fell in love with the colors and the way that it works off itself. I am looking forward to finishing it so that I can post the picture on facebook with kudos for her.

In the meantime I am thinking and pondering the design for my bead embellished purse, which I think may be the next project to start on, since all the Christmas ornament gifts are done...but I could start another cuff like Gypsy...or make a necklace...or go through my whole bead stash...