Bib Necklace Update

Well, I finished the beading on the necklace last weekend. I made a trip to the bead store to look at chain and decided it just wouldn't do. So instead I bought three strands of pearls, chain and a clasp. I'm thinking that there will be three strands of pearls on each side that meet at the top together at the clasp. I'm going to add some chain to the clasp so that they necklace will be adjustable. Unfortunately, I haven't had time to go back and finish the necklace, but the picture shows how it might look when it is done.

So, what do you think? Did I make the right decision with the pearls?

A Trip to the Bead Store

Wednesdays are one of my favorite days of the week. It is half way between the "work" week. This year we don't have any activities so I'm home in the evening which means I can sometimes get some beading done. Additionally, my youngest goes to school a full day on Wednesdays so I can plan mommy only trips or appointments for those days.

Well, today was a trip to my favorite bead store - Crystal Bead Bazaar. I haven't been there in months so it was nice to catch up with the owner and check out all the new items she has added to her stock.

I picked up some seed beads, pearls, and glass drops. She has added a beautiful array of antiqued silver chain, so I got some of that too. The last time I was in the store, I was checking out this beautiful raku ceramic cabochon. I was so glad it was still there. So I got that too.

Now I'm full of new ideas and can't wait to get to work on some new pieces.

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).

Then Suddenly It Came to Life

A few months ago, I was reading the Etsy forums and I came across a delightful post. Another Etsy seller (Natasha) was starting this blog project called "Thursday Sweet Treat". The basic plan was that each Friday she would post a theme and then on the following Thursday she would post what artists created based on that theme. I followed for a few weeks and finally decided to participate. Since then I've submitted many pieces and have really enjoyed see how other artists interpreted the weekly theme. In addition, Natasha has shared interviews with other artists, support, and inspiration. 

So... this weeks theme was "Then Suddenly It Came to Life". She asked us to take our favorite childhood book to life with one of our creations. I chose the book "Magic Friend Maker" by Gladys Baker Bond. The story begins with a lonely girl in a city neighborhood who longs for a friend. She finds a friend after sharing a special stone she's found. The girls share many fun times together, often playing with the rock, the "magic friend maker". When the owner of the rock must move, she shares the rock with her friend so that the magic can work all over again with a new friend.

In the story, the girls discover that the rock changes color when they put it under water. The piece of abalone I used for the centerpiece of the cuff reminded me of that stone. I created the cuff around the abalone's colors and the colors from the picture on the front of the book. The one little girl wore a green dress and the other a purple one. The bead embroidered cuff is embellished with seed beads, Swarovski crystals, pearls, glass beads, and bugle beads. I used black ultrasuede on the underside of the cuff.

Purple Passion Cuff

The Purple Passion Cuff is finished. This cuff came together really quickly. Sometimes I lay out all the beads and I just instinctively know what goes where and what bead comes next. All the beads found their spot and settled into place.

The cuff is 1/2 inch wide with a purple cat's eye as the centerpiece. I embellished the cuff with lots of different seed beads, bugle beads, pewter beads, pearls, Swarovski crystals, semi precious stones, and glass beads. I used various shades of purple, pink, gray, and silver. As always the underside is backed in ultrasuede and of course, this time it is purple.

Finished

The project I showed you last week is finished. I found a little time on Sunday to complete the pendant. I used four different colors of seed beads on the top and bottom sections. The top is enhanced with gold glass pearls. The bottom was embellished with cranberry colored pearls. I backed the pendant with black ultrasuede and attached it to black leather cord. I'm pleased with how it turned out. I hope that my friend is happy too. 

What do you think?

Progress and a Pens Game

Last night was a great night for hockey and beading. The Pens and Capitals played game 7 last night. While the Pens played, I beaded. It was a good combination. The Pens had to win last night's game in order to move on to the next round. I admit I was a little nervous so it was good to work at the same time. Fortunately, the Pens won and I made some progress. It was a good night.