Whistle Stop Bracelet

I feel like I have been working on this bracelet forever.  I gathered beads for this bracelet sometime last summer and put it in my drawer of projects to make and finally started it in March.  The main part of the bracelet worked up fast, but, man, the embellishment seemed to just take a lot of time.  Lots of weaving up through the base before starting the next group of embellishment. 

This bracelet design is called Whistle Stop Bracelet by Marcia L. Balonis from Beadwork magazine October/November 2014.

And at the very end I noticed that on the very first embellishment, for some reason, I had strung the top seed beads on the outside of the 2-hole lentil beads.  Ugh!  Well, this one is for me since it's a learning bracelet...  and the error is not too noticeable.

Here's the result:

What a difference great lighting makes.  The picture above was taken in the shade with lots of ambient light.  The ones below are  in direct sunlight!  In the ones below, you can really see the greenish/yellowish Picasso hues on the 2-hole squares.  Really, this is not as apparent when just looking at the bracelet.

 

Overall, I really like the way the bracelet came together.  It is built nice and solid with the extra reinforcements after the embellishment beads were added.  I felt it was very difficult to choose colors!  Maybe because of having to look at different sources for the different shaped beads and not being able to purchase all the beads from one source?  Or maybe because there is a limited variety of these beads?  Or maybe because I was as much as possible trying to work within the confines of what I already owned?

I ended up using mostly beads that have speckled or mottled or Picasso finishes.  The Czech glass beads are called 'mushroom' and are a matte muted lavender.  The seed beads used on top of the lentils are a crystal lined clear through seed bead with a slight amethyst hint to them.  The look of this bracelet could have really gone in a completely different direction with different colors!

Would you like to learn wire-wrapping?

I have a new Michael's class coming up next Tuesday, April 12th from 6:30-8:30. 
You can learn wire-wrapping and make an awesome very on-trend bracelet in the process.
And the class is FREE!!!  (You do have to purchase the materials, but that just means you can customize the jewelry to your liking.)

Click here to sign-up this class:  http://www.michaels.com/classes-and-events/classesandevents

There is also an Open House on April 16th, from 11am-3pm at the Michael's store.  I will be there showcasing some different jewelry techniques.  I am still deciding on showing how to make either leather and bead wrap bracelets or a long tassel necklace with knotting.  It should be fun!

Stringing, Spring 2016

This post is a long time coming - its been sitting in the draft folder for awhile. 
I got published in Jewelry Stringing, Spring 2016 issue!  It is so fun to see my handmade items in a glossy magazine! 

A dainty, Spring inspired bracelet.  This bracelet was inspired by the magazine's 'Secret Garden' theme.  That flower focal is a real flower bud encased in resin in a sterling silver bezel. I actually obtained another one of these focals and can't wait to use it.  So pretty!  The clasp is also sterling silver with a small garnet in the center.  The sides of the bracelet are accented of different Czech glass beads - the silver ones with a matte AB finish and the crimson ones with a gold sheen to them.

The idea of wearing flowers is pretty awesome - a reminder of the Spring bounty of flowers (that will hopefully not shy away from this sudden cold weather in the Midwest!) .