Sunflowery Days

I'm so tired of cold weather - I really don't like it all.  And definitely did not move south enough because even our Cincinnati winters get to me. 
But, in the midst of this cold weather, we had a Sunflower growing in a cup on our windowsill.  My daughter planted the seeds during a field trip last Fall and it finally blossomed...

Grandmother Bracelet

I know a lot of people make grandmother bracelets and I think everybody makes them differently.  Well, this is my version.  I made one for my mom  - and it turned out very Christmas-y - with 3 of the kids/grandkids born in July (Siam crystals) and a May baby (Emerald). 
My Mom asked me to make this one for my Aunt.  The middle section has Swavorski crystal birthstone colors for kids and grandkids but can be edited to just have the grandkids colors, depending on the size of the family.  The little Swavorski crystals on the ends are the kids birthstone colors.  It's very sparkly when worn and not so obviously Grandmother-ly.

Beadweaving #2

My awesome soup partner, Kristen Stevens, shared her tutorial for the Pop Up Pearl Bracelet with me and it is...so cool!

I jumped right on the chance to do it - to prove to myself that I can do more complicated beadweaving.  The tutorial is written very well - there were many pictures to guide me along the way.  The first component took me awhile to figure out, but after that I flew (well, that is a bit of overstatement because I'm still pretty slow with it, but I definitely was quicker with the remaining parts).  I used 8mm blue goldstone beads instead of pearls and only used 8 of them (my wrist is smaller) and it turned out spectacular - so pretty.    Especially for this beginner.  :)

My Bead Soup for My partner

Well, I know that my partner has received her bead soup, so here it is....
Stay tuned on March 30th to see what she does with it and what I do with mine (last post)...

The focal is from JeraLunaDesigns
And an added focal, made by me :)

Yah!! My Bead Soup Arrived!

Look at these awesome beads from my partner, Kristen Stephens at My Bead Journey.  I can't wait to get started on them....
The focal is from Suburban Girl. 

And I got an extra bonus - a whole set of beaded beads, beaded focal and a beaded toggle, made by my partner!  How awesome is that?  They look so pretty and even feel so awesome.  

Learning from Others

Whe I can't think of what to do with my beads, I turn to others and try to make something that I really like that someone else has made - maybe to learn a new technique, maybe to figure out what to do with certain beads - and so that's what I've been doing a little of lately.
A bracelet - from a Lorelei Eurto design - she makes the loveliest mouthwatering funky jewelry.

 And some cluster earrings from a tutorial by anthology27

New Techniques

A few posts back, I was showing a new technique I was trying to learn - bead crochet ropes, afterall I already crochet.
Well, it didn't go well.  I finished one that ended up being 6 inches - you really cinch it together at the end and I'm done - not big enough for me.  This is one technique that is not for me.  But at least I tried.

Earrings I fell in love with..

I really like all of the jewelry I make, but sometimes I find pieces that I just really, really love and can't wait to wear and it happened this week.  I was making some earrings for my store and these just came together perfectly - so one pair for the store and one pair for me. 

Golem Beads, Vintaj brass findings and a dyed jade beads.

Beadweaving

Sigh....This is what I would like to grow into.  Actually, taking the time to do some beadweaving.  I will be doing the Lori Anderson bead soup blog hop coming up and just got my partner yesterday - Kristen Stevens.  She does some amazing beadweaving - just beautiful stuff.  Here's her blog - My Bead Journey.   We talked on the phone today - its so good to talk to someone else with a beading passion (my husband just doesn't cut it or qualify, and only lends a deaf hear to my beady topics).  And I have questions that I've liked to ask other beaders and now... I will finally have someone to talk to about.  So we were talking about beadweaving - here is my start to beadweaving - simple projects I have completed.  I hope that these are a beginning to more challenging pieces in the future....

 2 peyote stitch bracelets - the first two projects in Mastering Beadwork by Carol Huber Cypher.  I really like the triangle one and wear it frequently. 

And some beaded beads - the pattern is from Beadwork magazine.  Not sure what I am going to do with them yet - that's why there are still strings hanging from it.  I actually made another pair of these - but gave them as a gift.