I've made earrings

I have short hair and I love earrings, to making my own was kind of a natural.  I love that I can play with color in a small place, as well as different stitches and with just a little bit of time I can have something new to wear.

Sometimes I'm motivated by a new outfit that has nothing to go with it.  Sometimes a pendant or bracelet I've made would like the appropriate companion piece.  I seldom so a complete match, but occasionally the same component shows up.

Santa Lucia's lacy component also makes a great earring.

I added a bit of a triangular romantica medallion for the bottom and surround the top of the pearl with seed beads so I could attach the ear wire.  I don't actually wear these two together, they're too matchy matchy for my taste, but individually they look great.

 Here is the sprocket pendant and you may recognize the earring

In this case I do actually wear them together since the pendant is worn long the earring is far enough away.  

This earring is one of my go to's for simple when I want to wear a beaded earring that has similar colors to another beaded piece of jewelry but isn't a design match.

What do you look for in a beaded earring?  Do you like them to match your piece, or just use the same colors.   Do you like long and dangly or small and subdued?

TOHO Bead challenge

Every year TOHO, one of the Japanese seed bead manufacturers, invites a number of bead people to participate in a challenge. The challenge is to bead a piece using only the beads sent to you with the addition of one focal of  your choice if desired.

Each of the artists is given the same assortment of beads.  That makes it especially fun to view the results which will be in a display case at the Bead and Button Show in Milwaukee.

The is the first year I participated as I am trying to challenge myself to make time for a little out of the ordinary beading.  Though called a challenge, this is not competitive, the work will be displayed, photographed and then travel to Japan to be on display for a year.

You might imagine my delight with the dark green and raspberry matte metallic beads, with a hint of bronze, some coppery fire polish  and some bright accents of purple thrown in.

I chose as my focal, a wooden finial from a hardwood store in Tucson.  I covered the finial and suspended it from a large mesh rope.  It's a tad large for wearing, for my taste at least, but it would make a great room bauble.  Thanks for asking Rochelle of Bobby Beads, it was fun!

I can't wait to see the other creations.  Two weeks until bead and button 2015!

What's in a name?

Naming is just not my strong suit, so when I recreated the little teardrop pendant at the bottom of the sprocket pendant (one of my better names!) I was of course tempted to call it the sprocket earring.

Simple enough, right ?  I must have gone to a group of friends for guidance and all I can imagine is that one of them came up with 'walking in tandem' and I said, sure, sounds good.  I have no other explanation for that name.  I don't remember anything about the thought process or who named them.  I'm not complaining, it's a fine name but I will most likely always refer to them as the sprocket earrings!

Dancing lights was a good name, Romantica has certainly stuck, I always liked spirit flight but the one that makes me cringe is ripplestiltskin!  That was a Mark name.  It happened as I was filling out paperwork to teach it and it needed a name that minute.  I've retired that project, could be the name…..and Liz reminded me of Mark's brilliance in naming Under the Mast.

Rainy Days and Fridays

Rainy fridays are made for bead play.  Especially in San Diego in May where it's clear this will be close to the last of the rainy days until next season.

I rose to a long list of things that need to doing to prepare for both a home wedding and the following weeks Bead and Button trip.  I puttered about with a kit that needed finishing but I couldn't work up the enthusiasm for more kitting or printing of directions or hemming of table runners.

I realized only beading was going to settle me down.  Is it like that for you too?  When I'm antsy, creating something with my hands is what is needed.  While moving things about in the studio I came across the aqua and green medallion I had completed maybe even months ago.  I don't know what caused it to be abandoned.  Perhaps I was try ing out a color combination, or time got away from me, but there it was and I decided I loved it.

I pulled out the beads, sat down with my bead board and finished it into an earring.  The perfect drops were in my stash and I had two.  The second ear ring was easy enough to finish, especially being motivated to wear them. I'm pleased with this pair.  They are a little fancy for the hardware store, my personal test of everyday vs. fancy pants.  These will be part of the Going Formal collection for next years cruise.

Now back to wedding preparedness.   You know when you invite company over and you clean the house a little more diligently?  Well hosting a wedding creates that dynamic times ten.  Mark and I are busy every day doing things that have waited years to be done!  Off to Home Depot.

Beading with Friends

Are you lucky enough to have a group of beaders you can bead with, who encourage and support one another, provide valuable feedback, have good laughs and can help you out with stash when required?  I am that lucky and in recent months I've been missing in action.

Although 'retired' it seems my 4 engagement per year rule got all heaped into the first part of the year, along with planning a wedding and purchasing a new airstream…and life once again became to busy.

Ever notice it's easy to say 'too busy' but then we wast time with this or that and piddle a good part of the day away.  I remember hearing the term, weapons of mass distraction and the internet can certainly be that.

Well today I decided that I'm going to go bead with friends.  Part of what I need to do is bead so it will be perfect.  I'm never quite as productive while socializing, but it's always worth it.

First up is finishing the head piece for my daughters wedding.  It's within  inches of being done and it's so pretty!

Then I need to finish a second sample of Ancient Bells.  These kits will be at Bead and Button, so I need a sample.  I find people really like to see the actual piece and not just a photo.

Speaking of Bead and Button, I've finished all the kits I'm teaching and am working on extras for Meet the Teachers night.  All classes are full with the exception of on lonely seat in the Tuesday Sprocket class.  I hope some takes it because I love sprockets, one of my all time favorite pieces to wear.  I won't be selling class kits, but I will have some Ancient Bells, some Duomos Romanticos, some Laylas, and the infamous silver white  Romanticas.  If I'm lucky there will be some Touch of Whiimsy's as well!

And now off to pack my beads for Beading with Friends day!

Bead Dreams

Every year in early spring there is a deadline to submit a competition piece for Bead and Buttons Bead Dreams.  I have previously completed two different collaborations, but this year I wanted to submit a piece entirely of my own imagination and hands.

To follow through on my intent, I labeled a box, selected colors and labeled bits and pieces that I would consider contributing to the design.

mmm…..bronze, fuchsia, purples, greens, golds, a nice mix of my favorites.

I added a nice dose of Swarovski crystals

And then I ran out of steam….I got busy, I gave up, I resigned myself to not finishing, there was too much to do and it all needed to be done and then…….

I gave myself a good talking to and decided that it would only get done if I put in the work, lots of work and if I gave myself permission to let everything else go.  It meant a couple of things got later then was comfortable, but you know in the end nothing earth shaking happened, and guess what?  I finished, I made a piece that I love.  It had the usual ups and downs of any design process, loved it, hated it, wasn't sure about it, and then it was done and I'm very very pleased.  I created photos and I did the paperwork and I submitted it but really the real reward is that I finished.  If it's not accepted I will be more than happy to wear it, maybe not to the grocery store, but I will make Mark take me to fancy dinners weekly and I will find as many appropriate occasions as I can to enjoy wearing it.  The name of the piece is journey as each bit of beadwork came form a previous part of my bead journey.

Now my focus returns to the rest of what needs doing and…..the new airstream.  That story is for another day, and maybe another blog.  In the meantime, where should I have dinner?

Rings!

At Beading by the Bay this year we decided on rings made of Cerulan clay and crystal for our make and take.  Who knew how much fun it would be!  I made several prior to the event so I would be 'practiced' but Susan did the actual class.

Melissa and Heather joined in the fun as well.  Mine is the whimsical one with the lime green sprocket. There were many glittery ones.  Pigment powders really fancied them up!

You also see quite a few wonderful bracelets in this photo.  Bonnie Morris is sporting the green and pink one which has it's roots in contemporary geometric beadwork.

Kate used pop beads and sprockets to make a tall one, and Heathers is the one in the forefront that looks like it might have a martini olive on it.

Liz Thompson gifted me this gorgeous pendant.  Apparently I did bead beg the first time I saw the photo on line but since it's reasonably shameless behavior I had forgotten about it, so it was a nice surprise.  Sadly she is not teaching this one at Bead and Button

But she is teaching this one and three others.  I love how ornate and delicate her pieces are.  You can find her teaching schedule here.

And to leave you with a smile, the lovely Layla Joy who is just learning to enjoy yogurt.

I'm off on a knitting retreat, preceded by a stop in Asheville NC then up to the mountains.  Should be a grand time, I'll keep you posted.