Do I need a vacation?

Not a lot of time today for a long post, but I wanted to share some other new pieces I've finished recently.

The first is a bead embroidered ring made with a handmade cabochon of a sea shell print.

The second is a bead embroidered cuff using another handmade cabochon of a sea shell print.

Do you see a theme here? Or is just me. I think I need a vacation.

New Turquoise Pendant

I've given myself a personal challenge this week. I'd like to post a new item to my etsy store every day this week. I've been steadily working on pieces for the last few weeks and really need to get them photographed and posted. I only have a few more weeks before my kids head back to school. The first week or two is really crazy. Making sure everyone has what they need and getting back on schedule is really difficult. I wanted to make an effort to pay attention to my shop while I can.

So here's the first piece...

One of my favorite color combinations is turquoise and brown. With that in mind, this pendant came together without much effort. The pendant is actually three separate sections connected by Swarovski crystals in between. The top section is made from a turquoise bead. I surrounded it with seed beads and then added the Capri Blue Swarovski crystals for detail and texture. The center section is a Mocha Swarovski rivoli this is surrounded by seed beads and turquoise colored glass beads. A coin pearl embroidered with seed beads makes up the bottom section. The pendant hands from gold neck wire, but would also look great on a piece of leather.

If you'd like to see more pictures you can check them out here.

Have you given yourself a challenge this week?

To Fringe or Not to Fringe?

Last weekend was rainy and rather cold for mid July in Western Pennsylvania. With that in mind, I created this one-of-a-kind art pendant. The piece was inspired by large raindrops. You know the kind that are huge and make a huge splat against your wind shield. 

Although I am really happy with how it turned out, I can't decide whether or not I should add fringe to the bottom. To fringe or not to fringe, is the question. So what do you think?

Black and White Cuff

I love this dramatic black and white cuff, but it didn't start that way. When I first started work on it, I was extremely frustrated. I usually work with a larger palate of colors. I wanted to try my hand at working with only black and white. I pulled every black and white bead from my ever growing stash. I had acquired the two quartz stones awhile back. I figured that they would become the centerpiece of a neckpiece or cuff, but would be surrounded by a rainbow of colors. As usual, I didn't have a specific plan when I started the cuff. I arranged the cabochons and started beading. Well, after only a few rows of beads I quickly decided that only black and white was not going to do. I was going to have add another color. Focusing only on the black and white, the cuff had no depth and no character. Gray was the natural choice. The addition of gray gave a pleasing step between the black and white beads. The cuff was also embellished with pearls, shell beads, glass beads, and hematite beads. 

So after, a rather dissatisfying start, I was over the top at the finished piece. It is truly a piece of art to wear. 

You can see more pictures of the cuff at my Etsy site (www.jodihorgan.etsy.com).