Hand Dyed Silk Cords/Strings Revisited

Last week was such a busy week but there was some fun involved too.  :)  I am not complaining cause I like to stay busy but we all need a break once in a while right ?  So I think this coming week I'll slow down a bit.  Get caught up on some rest but do what needs to be done too. 

Ok so what kept me busy last week and actually the last 2 weeks - hand dyeing silk cords/strings.  Yes indeed.  I've gotten back into it once again.  Left doing that some time ago mainly because I had enough to keep me going for a while.  Recently, I looked at what I had left of those colors, I decided it was time once again to start dyeing.  :)  So far, I've done 30 skeins with more in mind.  I manage about 10 a day with single colors.  When I start painting the cords it will probably take longer.  Painting the cords can be fun too.  Still I want to expand on the single colors before I start painting them.  :)  What I managed to get done I have listed in my Etsy shop which you can see to the right of this.  Just click on any photo to go there and see all the colors.  More will be coming !  These cords are perfect for Kumihimo braiding.  You can use them on either the Marudai or the foam disk.  Either way works.  I use them on my Marudai which is what I'm use to using with fibers and keep my disk for beaded kumihimo. Also would be great using them in Friendship bracelets.  

Below are a couple of samples of the 8 strand braids using my silk cords.

The first one is a square braid using my sky blue silk cords and hand dyed satin cords.  The square shape is very distinctive.   

  
The second braid is made only with my hand dyed silk cords - Red and Black.  This one is available in my Etsy shop. 

I am anxious to try out some of my new colors just dyed.  They all look GREAT if I do say so myself.  lol ! 

I was able to finally finish up a couple of beaded Kumihimo braided necklaces as well.  I'll show those next post.  :)  I need to get back to work.

Thanks so much for coming by !  Come back again soon to see what's happening.    

Titles - Naming Your Pieces - How Do You Do It ?

I find it hard to come up with a title to these posts.  Sometimes as I write, something will come to me.  Rarely does anything pop into my brain in the beginning.  Like now.   :)  I usually know the subject I'm going to blog about but never the title.  I wonder if writers of books and articles do the same or have problems coming up with titles ? 

As a lampwork bead maker, jewelry designer, etc, etc, I have never had luck coming up with names/titles to my pieces.   I sort of envy those that the titles/names just seem to flow off their tongues.  lol !  Does it really work that way for those folks ?  I even tried a baby book of names.  A couple of times I got paint color sample cards from the local paint store to see if THAT would spark something in my brain to make it easier.  Nope.  lol !  Eventually I just gave up.  If, and that's a BIG if, something pops in my head at the time I post the photo wherever that might be, then I put it up with the photo.  That is a VERY rare occasion to be sure.  lol !  So, on that note, here's what I did all this past week or so.  Enjoy.

I ended up doing 2 beaded Kumihimo necklaces for the focal piece shown below.  I couldn't decide between the two which looked best.  They're basically the exact same pattern and same seed beads HOWEVER one color was changed.  The one on the left has silver beads and the one on the right has gold beads.  All the rest of the beads are the same colors.  I've pretty much decided on the one on the left.  The one with gold beads actually looks perfect with another pendant I've had for many years !  lol !   Hopefully both pieces will be finished up by today.  :)  And yes, that pendant is a shell with artwork added to it !  This artist is on Etsy and this is her shop link  Sculpted Windows  Tell her Debbie sent you. 

  
I finished another beaded Kumihimo necklace before the one above.  Gotta say, I STILL can't make up my mind if I'm going to keep it or sell it.  lol !  I LOVE LOVE LOVE this little dragon !  Something about her just calls to me.  I have more coming because of her.  lol ! The artist gave no name in particular so I hope to come up with something - someday.  lol !  

                                

I had one more project I worked on last week and will be continuing that project into this week so will blog about that next time hopefully.  :) 

If you are interested in a dragon necklace, please let me know by posting a message below.  I get the messages via an email so they are not posted automatically.  This keeps spammers off my blog.  I then post them here if they are appropriate to the blog post. 

Thanks much for coming by.  I hope you come back again soon !  Have a great week !   

Kumihimo

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Beads Have A Strong Hold On Me

Still recouping from pneumonia (at last, I got the spelling right ! lol ! ) so another slow week but I did manage to make it a bit productive.  Still no torching but kept my hands a bit busy anyway making some jewelry pieces.  Funny but once I started torching I swore off making jewelry (which is where it all started) and never thought I'd get back to it.  lol !  I actually never left it.  Just went in different directions with it. 

When I first started beading more than 10 years ago, believe it or not, it was Joan Rivers (RIP Joan) that actually got me started.  Yep.  I was flipping channels on tv when I came across Joan presenting her jewerly on QVC.  I watched because it was a beaded dangle bracelet or charm bracelet or whatever you want to call it.  It had ALOT of beads on it.  I watched and bought a bracelet.  Decided hey, I can make one of those and began my quest for buying bracelets then how - to books,  beads and etc.  So VERY long story short, I have quite a collection of my own and others lampwork beads, crystal beads, some gemstone beads, metal beads, shell beads, ceramic beads, wood beads, pressed glass beads, polymer clay beads and so on and so on, etc, etc etc.  lol !  Thing is, I've actually sold a whole bunch of beads too.  Not just my lampwork beads but alot I collected over the years and yet I still have an abundence.  :)  This past week one of my projects was putting together a new series of jewelry pieces.  I call it - " I Have So Many Damn Beads That I Have To Do SOMETHING With Them !"  I'll be showing pieces here from time to time and possibly some will go in my Etsy shop.  Which is a mistake as there are literally THOUSANDS of jewelry pieces on Etsy !  lol !  Anyway, I'm having fun putting these pieces together and seeing beads again I haven't seen in a while.  lol.  The trouble is, I keep buying beads.  Could be the draw is in my past from my former Hippie days ?  I don't know but whatever it is, it keeps me in and I just don't think there's an escape !  lol !  Could be I don't want to escape anyway.  :)

My first piece in that new series is this necklace.  It's soooo long it can wrap around your neck 3 times if you want it to.  :)  I'm so happy with it I might of kept it for myself if I wore necklaces.  It might go in my Etsy shop, I might gift it.  Can't make up my mind.  There are crystals, gemstone beads, cheap beads, glass beads, seed beads, metal beads and shell beads in this.   I love it !  :)   

More of what I did this past week was play with another necklace/wrap bracelet pictured below.  I really enjoy how these look !  This one is done is pretty pastel colors.  Will be in my Etsy shop soon. 

I have one kumihimo braid on the Marudai I'm working on, a beaded bracelet I'm not quite ready to show yet and a necklace I'm working on also for my niece.  So again, a bit of a productive week.  :)

That's all for now.  Thanks so much for coming by.  I hope you come back again next time.  :)

I'm Baaaaaaack & Already Beading

Yessireeee, I'm finally feeling human again.  Took a long time and I still have a few residual affects but slowly working on those for a full come back.  Just takes time. I still have a hard time believing this all came about because of a legal perscription drug.
On to beading.............

Since it's still too hot to be at my beloved torch to melt glass, I revisited beaded kumihimo.  I got the braid done but the bracelet is still waiting to be finished.  Just couldn't get into it fully.  Figured why not bring out the new loom again, so I did.  :)  Found a lovely pattern to work and began two days ago.  My take on the loom has not changed.  Even though it was pointed out to me that my novice take on this loom was unimportant I stand by my original posting of the pro's and con's.  See post below "Sick" post.  I LOVE this loom, no question about it.  It works great for my needs but I'd still make the changes.  I still used it as I did before and it worked perfectly - FOR ME.  I did learn that with it propped up on the roll of shelf liner, as I got closer and closer to the top of loom, I actually found myself sitting up better.  It stretched my lower back.  I tend to slouch so this is another "pro" about me adjusting this loom to fit ME.  It might not work for anyone else.  I don't claim this is for everyone but it works FOR ME.  If any of my suggestions work for anyone else, then yay !  :)

One thing I see now.  The strand itself has ripples in it.  It lays flat but not perfectly flat.  I'm thinking that's because I probably pulled to hard on the weft thread as I weaved through the beads.  

As for the thread.  I used C-lon thread and for some reason, as I was going back thru the beads to hold them in place, the thread actually unraveled.  I've never seen this happen before.  I was totally surprised.  lol !  I had a heck of a time getting it straightened out and thru the the beads at last.  I re-threaded the needle afresh after that.  Geesh.  

I have no other bits of wisdom about this loom.  I feel like I'm sort of starting from scratch again after being away from it for a few weeks.  I had alot of fun putting together this "strand" I did make.  I didn't want to stop.  I could of made it longer but why ?  I really like this last pattern ALOT !  This is supposedly a Native American pattern and it does remind one of that and I LOVE IT.  I love the way the colors work so beautifully together.  The white outline accentuates the whole thing.  The black makes everything pop in my opinion.  The only thing I would change is the green.  In my opinion I should of used an emerald green I think.  I still like this mint green though.  And of course red just brings it all together.  Gorgeous !  I want to do more Native American designs and have been on the search.  Have found some beautiful patterns free and for sale.  

So what am I going to do with the strands I do make ?  I am still unsure.  Will have to wait and see I guess.  lol !  The pieces I have made could be made into bracelets but they would be loose on me that's for sure !  lol !  Oh well.........
                   
                                    

                               
That's all for now.  Thanks so much for coming by !  I hope you come back again soon ! 

Has My Muse Re-emerged ?

I have wondered about that this week since I got going with several projects at once.  It's not my glass muse unfortunately .  Four of the projects were beaded kumihimo bracelets and one is the loom weaving.  So nothing new really.  Well, the loom weaving is pretty new actually.  So here we go..........

Pictured below are 3 of the 4 bracelets I made this past week.  The forth one, I had to take apart even after I was about to put the end caps on !  I found a missed bead and I actually KNEW it when it happened but thought no, it just looks loose so I'll tighten it up.  Yeah, right.  lol !  These are the 3 that did make it.  :)  So happy with all 3.  The red and black one is now in my Etsy shop & the other two will be there sometime over the weekend I think.  I had a lot of fun picking colors to work with.  The silver and gunmetal together is also in a necklace I made also in my Etsy shop.  Beaded Kumihimo is so much fun to do !  I'll ALWAYS enjoy making these little gems.

I used the magnetic clasps on all 3 bracelets simply because they make it soooo much easier to get the bracelet on and off.  They might not look as pretty as some of the other clasps but hey, in my opinion, what's easy is best !  lol !  Especially as we get older right ?  Yep.  :) 

 

The second part of my week began when my brand new BEADING LOOM (pictured below) was delivered !  :))  I FINALLY picked one out and ordered it.  It arrived Wednesday and I've been "playing" ever since.  Since I feel I need to devote a whole post about this loom and what I've done on it, I'll just show the photo's below and in the next post, I'll get into lots of detail.  You won't be sorry if you come back next week to check it out.  Lots to tell and I've only been working on in for a day and a half at this point !  lol !  

 

 

So, has my muse re-emerged - I think in a way it has.  Not for melting glass, it's too hot anyway to be at that torch right now. :(  But for other fun stuff - yep, it's here and I'm glad.  :)  I really needed a distraction this past week. 

Since I have a very early appt. this morning I gotta go for now.  Thanks so much for coming by !  I hope you come back again soon. 

 

I'm Still Here - Somewhere

Amoungst everything that's going on in my life right now, yes, I'm still here - somewhere.  lol !  Hopefully everything will "come together" soon and I can get back to normal - whatever THAT might be. 

Creativity has been set aside for other important happenings this past month but now, I'm in NEED of my so called muse to pay me a visit.  Can't torch right now due to health issues and the darned heat and humidity so will be doing other fun things as stated in the last post.  Yep, more kumihimo - beaded and regular.  Also some jewelry making of some sort.  Maybe need to use some of my own beads for that.  I'm also going to dive into another fun venture I haven't tried as of yet.  Won't give that away until I take that dive though.  lol ! 

I have made up a couple new items recently - two bracelets and a new flat kumihimo braid.  The bracelets were actually necklaces at one time.  I had to take them apart for one reason or another.  Instead of taking off all the beads, I thought I'd try and save at least half of each necklace.  It seems to of work ok.  :)  The end results are the two bracelets below. 

I found these incredible snake clasps and had to get a few.  I love them !  I want to make a snake pattern kumi bracelet and use a pair for the next one I make.  This black and white beaded kumi bracelet was a necklace I made for my niece that she didn't want.  lol !  I like it better this way !  :)

 

This blue bracelet was part of a necklace I got in a jewelry exchange.  The person that was my partner made it with beads I sent to her and I made one for her with beads she sent to me.  The necklace broke by accident but I was able to save half of it and this is what I made with it.  I love it  ! 

 

The kumihimo braid I made the other day using some new multicolor satin cord I got.  I like how the colors blended.  I had no way of knowing where the colors would end up and that was fun !  It's a flat braid and would be great to use in a handfasting ceremony.  I've sold several out of my Etsy shop just for that reason and so far, my customers have loved them !  :) 

 

That's all for now.  Thanks so much for coming by.  I hope you come back again.  Have a great week ! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's Been Too Long - Again and Now With More Kumihimo

Yes well, that's pretty much all I had been able to do in the past couple of months.  lol !  With a broken foot, there's not a lot that one can do or is suppose to be doing.  lol !  The doc said stay off it so I did.  I saw the doc this past Monday and the foot has about another 3 to 4 weeks of healing to go but at least the darned boot is off !  Yay !  That said, he gave me a funky looking shoe to wear until we meet again in a few weeks.  That "shoe" hurts my foot worse than the injury itself.  :(  Onward and Upward as it were. 

First of all, I never did find out what is the actual cause of that previous issue I was having.  The end part being "loose".  It seems to come and go.  Doesn't happen with every necklace.  I made another necklace since and it didn't happen with that one.  Hopefully I'll be able to figure it out in the future.

I did manage to make a few things and finish them up last week.  Photo's are below.   A necklace for my niece in spring colors.  Which I should of mailed this past week and for some reason it's still sitting on my desk.  A bracelet which was fun to make.  I used three sizes of seed beads including 8/0's, 6/0's and magatamas and three colors.  I really like how it turned out.  It kinda reminds me of a dragon's back.  :)  Then the wire wrapped earrings.  I saw some like these on a glass forum, searched the web to find the tutorial (it's a freebie), found it and made these two pair.  Of course they are FAR from perfect but they were kinda fun to make.  One pair is copper and the second pair is made with rose gold color wire.  These are the last kumihimo items I've made.  I'll make more I'm sure.  I have ALOT of seed beads in all shapes and sizes I can use but the magatama's are the ones I like using the best in kumi.  They just make the pieces more dramatic and prettier I think.  

With those pieces done, I took a few days and did nothing as far as jewelry or any crafts are concerned.  Needed a bit of a break.  Then it was time to get back to something.  So I have begun a foray into something new to me - beading on a loom !  lol !  Why not ?  I've tried many things using beads. This is one art/craft I had never tried.  I will write more about this new adventure in an upcoming post. 

Photo's of the last couple of kumi pieces I did and the wired earrings.

 

 

 

 

So until next time, thanks so much for coming by !  I hope you come back again sometime soon.  If you have a couple minutes, check out my Etsy shop.  There may be something in there you like.  :)  Also, I will be posting some new items in the next couple of days. 

 

 

  

Beaded Kumihimo - Always Something

Or so it would seem.  I finished up a few necklaces and even added one more to the mix as well.  Altogether, I've made 6 beaded kumi necklaces and 2 of them, nearly finished mind you, had to be torn apart.  Such things happen.  I also put together a ceramic beaded bracelet featuring one of my own lampwork beads as a focal.  That is in my Etsy shop if you want to see.  :)  So it's been a busy couple of weeks - Thankfully.  If I didn't have all of those beads, I'd be pretty bored while my foot is healing. 

So the "always something" part is about to be revealed.  As I was making all of those necklaces, I noticed something in a few of them I had not experienced before.  The end of a couple of them were "loose".  That really doesn't say much so I will try to explain further.  I found, as I was moving along towards placing the last rows of beads in the braid, the beads were becoming loose for some reason.  They were "tucking" in underneath the cords as they were suppose to and staying there but the whole end part, about an inch or so of the braid, was becoming loose.  The beads were not as tightly "woven" as they were throughout the rest of the braid.  Why ?  I am still not 100% sure but I thought that maybe, it's due to the weight of the braid itself really stretching the cord at the end only.  Still, that doesn't make a whole lot of sense if the rest of the braids remained perfectly fine, it's just the end part.  I use Omega #2 cord as I have mentioned in the past and this has never happened before so I am uneasy to put the blame there.  It never happened to ANY of the bracelets I have ever made and only has happened to a couple of the necklaces I recently made.  It's a mystery to me right now and one that I need to figure out.  Is it something I'm doing that's the cause ?  I have changed nothing in the way I finish the braids so.....................

If you have any suggestions or can figure out a reason, please leave a comment below. 

In the meantime, a few of photo's of 3 of the finished braids and the bracelet I made. 

 

Thanks for coming by !  I hope you come back again soon ! 

Have a wonderful week ! 

 

Finally - A Little Something

It's been a very long couple of weeks with little to do - or so I kept telling myself.  A broken foot can be prohibitive afterall !!  lol !  Finally I've come out of the "funk" I was in.  Figured I could sit and mope about being bored or do something about it.  lol !  I did something about it and am having fun again !  I can't make beads right now but I sure can do other crafty things. 

I dug into my seed bead cabinet and decided it was time to start foolin' around with the long magatama's again.  They look so darned nice in jewelry any way one uses them.  I am fascinated with their shape to begin with.  This is an ingenious shape in my opinion.  lol !  Right now, I can think of a few ways to incorporate them into necklaces, bracelets and earrings and that's about it however,  I'm thinking they would look great in some bead embroidery as well.  I haven't tried that but it certainly would add some dimension to a piece.  I'm guessing someone somewhere has tried it although I haven't seen it yet.  If anyone out there has seen them used in a embroidered piece, please drop me a note and let me know cause I'd LOVE to see it ! 

Anyway, so far, I've put together 3 pieces using these little seed bead gems.  One is a finished necklace I think I'm going to wear at a wedding.  The other two are waiting to be finished.  I need a couple of supplies I had to order and am waiting on.  I found a new way to finish off the ends I want to try and need those supplies to do it.  I'll talk more about that in my next post.  :) 

In the picture below, the gold and silver necklace is finished and the perfect length for me.  It took me a little longer than "normal" to braid it because I hadn't made a beaded kumihimo necklace in a VERY long time.  lol !  I think it turned out very pretty.  I've always wanted a piece with silver and gold in it.  I intend to make earrings to match and possibly a bracelet that I'd wear separately.  

The other two are also necklaces but as I mentioned before, they're unfinished.  Don't ya just hate waiting on parts ??  lol !  I love the way both have turned out !!  I'll post full pictures of everything when they are finished and give details.  :) 

 I must say, it feels GREAT to be productive again !  I am enjoying beaded braiding again too after a LONG hiatus.  Thankfully, I had just about all I needed to get these necklaces up and running.  :)

Time to get my day started.  Thanks so much for coming by !  I hope you come back again very soon ! 

 

Having More Jewelry Fun - Barn Owl Necklace

I'm still not able to torch so I'm still into making some jewelry pieces and just having so much fun doing it again !  I feel very much inspired with all these new beads and some new pendants to "play" with.  :)  This latest piece I ventured back into beaded Kumihimo again and may I say, I LOVE the outcome.  :)  So very pleased with this necklace I don't know if I'll sell it or keep it.  lol !  Still the pendant is the star in this piece.  The Barn Owl porcelain pendant made by artist Laura Mears.  Wow !  Fabulous work.  I want more of her pieces even though I have no idea what I want to do with them.  I still have an otter and a hummingbird I need to work with. 

It finally came to me in one flash of a moment what I needed to do with this owl.  Instead of doing the typical bead embroidery around it, it needed to really shine in whatever I ended up doing.  So the best thing I could decide on was to just leave it as it is.  I needed to add the bails to it to be able to attach it but that was all.  I made the right decision.  :)  

 

That's all for now.  Thanks so much for coming by.  I hope you come back again soon.  One of these days, I'll be able to torch again !  lol ! 

 

 

 

     

Just Another Christmas Post

The season is upon us with Christmas less than a week away now.  Are you ready ?  I am thankfully.  I hate being "behind" in things this time of year cause there's always so much more to catch up on in the end.  Yet, when it's all over, do you feel relief, let down or are you asking yourself," What just happened ?"  Or in other words, did I just miss something ?  It goes so fast and seems like every year it speeds by even faster than the last.  Yes, I am of the ages I see the years zoom by now.  lol !  It happens to us all but that's for another discussion.  :)  Onward and upward - as it were.

Since I did not torch this past week, I did manage to make a couple of bracelets for myself.  Yep, I was selfish and gave myself another couple of little Christmas gifts.  lol !  I had those fabulous purple beads to either list in my Etsy shop or make something with them.  I realized I might not get that edp to turn out so great ever again so I HAD to keep them and use them for me.  :)  Cool thing is, that color matches the colors in a new shirt I have so -  perfection !  I didn't have ANY jewelry with that purple in it so this worked out quite nicely.  It's a tad on the larger size but it still fits. 

I also wanted and needed a bracelet with Christmas colors.  I have snowman earrings and needed something to fit the holiday & to kinda match.  Beaded kumihimo was the way using these fabulous magatama beads.  I love the look !  And may I say, there is NOTHING like using a good, strong magnetic clasp.  So easy, so fast and secure !  Love it !  :) 

 

That's all for this week.  Thanks so much for coming by !  I hope you come back again soon ! 

I wish you and yours a safe and very MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY HOLIDAYS !

 

 

        

How Many Bracelets Can a Person Have ?

lol !  I'm gonna say as many as one can collect !  lol !  Since I started making the kumihimo beaded bracelets, I have added at least 12 to my collection if not more.  Where's the rolling eyes when I need them !  lol !  Anyway, eventually I'll be donating to the small local hospital gift shop. I just need to get over there.  It's a 30 plus minute drive so it's just a matter of doing it one day.  I have enjoyed making them and let's face it, I'll pick a few favorites and those are the ones I'll wear over and over.  Isn't that how we do it anyway with most everything we wear ?  We have those favorite things that we go to just about every time we step out the door ?  Plus I just bought a bracelet from someone that I'll HAVE to wear since I bought it.  lol !  That one I'll keep for sure. 

I have to say for the several weeks my jewelry making mojo just sorta flew out the door.  I do believe it's because I'm ready to get back to the torch but it's still too hot to do that.  In the meantime I did manage to put together  - you guessed it - a few more bracelets over the weekend.  This time, I went in a new direction on three of them.  The sad part is the forth one, even after 3 seperate tries, ended up not coming together at all.  sigh.  It happens and more on that in a moment.  

This is what I ended up making.  I am VERY pleased with the outcome on all three.  

 

The red one is made with multi color blue beads and my own hand dyed red silk cord/string.  I used a different pattern on it rather than the usual one done on these disks.  The middle/bottom one is made with multicolored hand dyed satin cording I've had for a while and amber colored beads.  There's alot of sparkle and shine in  those beads which is hard to see in the photo.  The last one is done with frosted rose green magatama beads and let me say, the color is stunning in real life !  The photo does them no justice at all !  I really like how they all turned out very much.  

 

The 4th bracelet I attempted to put together just didn't come together well at all.  I tried making a bracelet that all the strands were completely beaded.  It's a gorgeous look and I've wanted to do it for a long time.  So I tried it - 3 seperate times over the weekend !  I used size 11/0 delica beads too on all 8 strands.  The key is tension.  I have to figure out the proper tension.  If you don't get the tension right, it won't come together well at all.  Also, this is where my bead spinner sure came in handy !  lol !  Still, even using the spinner it took some time getting all those beads on those threads.  So I will not give up and will try this again soon.  I just needed to take a little time away from it before trying it again.  I mean, I didn't want to  have to pick up any tiny seed beads off the floor after I threw them at the wall !  lol !

 

Thanks for coming by.  I hope you come back again soon.    

 

Beaded Kumihimo - The Learning Continues

It's been one of those weeks that seemed to just fly by yet while going thru it seemed to move so slowly.  lol !  Does that even make sense ?  I don't know but that's how it felt.  :) 

I had time for only one beaded kumihimo project and that was a stretch.  Just so many other things happening.  At least some of those things were things I was able to accomplish something worthwhile.  ;)  So, on to the one bracelet I did make last week. 

I always wanted to do something in just yellow.  I love the color yellow.  It's a bright, happy color and has always made me smile.  Whenever I make bright color beads, yellow is the first color I reach for.  So it just made sense to do this bracelet.  I used yellow cording and clear beads.  I wanted the yellow color to come thru the beads.  A perfect match.  :) 

The second thing I wanted to do was add a slider bead as a closure.  This makes this bracelet adjustable to fit lots of different size wrists.  Pretty nifty idea !   This has been done before and I saw it on a forum I belong to and I've wanted to try it with a lampwork bead.  Evidently I didn't have the right size mandrel for that purpose so I bought some thinking they would work.  According to my calculations, they shouldn't work.  They measure too big but I will give them a try when I get back to making beads. 

 I decided to try something else for the time being - the little beads that fit onto those European bracelets.  That's the middle bead on the bracelet below with the tiny crystals in it.  The hole seemed big enough and sure enough they slide right on.  Problem is, they also don't hold tight enough.  That said, I began a search and found an insert that might help it to hold.   If that insert doesn't work then there is another one, different size and shape that might work.  So whatever ends up happening, I'll figure out how to make it hold.  Making a clasp type closure like this is pretty cool and less expensive than adding all the findings on the ends.  :) 

Two versions of the same bracelet.  First photo shows the bracelet with two of my lampwork beads on the ends.  The second photo shows it with what is called "stopper beads"  on the ends.  I didn't have any gold color stopper beads so had to use the silver color ones.  Both the lampwork and the stopper beads worked great ! 

So, what do you think ?   I love it.  :) 

That's all for now.  Thanks so much for coming by.  I hope you come back again soon for a visit.  Please leave a comment.  I love reading what you have to say.  :) 

A Week Later......................

Doesn't seem like it's been a whole week already but that's what the calendar says.  This past week sure went fast.  I've kept busy still playing with beaded kumihimo.  It's so addicting, alot of fun and can be very interesting too.  I explored using new to me types/shapes of beads.  Some fun, some not fun at all.  lol !  So without further ado, here's what I've been up to.................

The first photo is of the three bracelets that made it thru to the end.  lol !  On the left, glass pony beads.  Yep.  I didn't know they exsisted and the ones I used are not uniform in shape at all which makes that bracelet really cool !  I love the texture of it even though it's hard to see in the photo.  And CHUNKY.  Pretty big in diameter measuring in at 13 mm !  And yet it's not heavy at all.  The one on the right - those are tiny glass lentil beads in sizes 6mm and 8mm.  I can safely say and promise right now I will NEVER use those 6mm lentils EVER again. What a pain to string.  The 8mm, maybe.  And that bracelet measures in at almost 15mm and it's not heavy either.  My favorite of the three, the yellow, orange and red one.  LOVE it !  It has 6mm, 8mm seed beads and square seed beads in it.  Reminds me of fruit salad !  YUM.   

I wanted to showcase this lampwork bead I made long ago and never had a chance to use it in anything.  Finally came up with this beaded kumi necklace.  I'm not a lover of green anything but this necklace turned out pretty I think.  :)  I'm happy with it. 

The last necklace was more a test than anything but I think it turned out pretty ok.  It's got 3 different size seed beads in it again with 6mm, 8mm and square.  All are clear and it's braided on multicolor cording.  Enjoyable.  :)   

Not sure what this upcoming week will bring but am looking forward to doing more playing of course.  Today though, I am off to play on my torch !!!!!!!!!!!   YAY !  It's finally just cool enough I can make beads again.  At least for a little while this morning. 

Thanks so much for coming by.  Please come back again soon to see what's happening in my neck of the woods - literally.  lol ! 

Beaded Kumihimo

This page has been edited due to the fact there is so much on the web now about Kumihimo that my information was a bit outdate.  Do a search and you will be amazed at what comes up.

Links to my Facebook pages.  First one is a jewelry destashing album which has kumihimo end caps and much more.   I WILL have MANY kumihimo making supplies listed so check back often. 
Second one is to my page.

ALL MY BEADS JEWELRY MAKING SUPPLIES DESTASH

https://www.facebook.com/AllMyBeads


Two of the first beaded kumihimo bracelets I made.  There are so many more I've lost count. 

    

 

 

ALL MY BEADS   - FACEBOOK PAGE

   

Beaded Kumihimo Part II

Since the weather just won't relent and cool down, there is still no torch time for me.  sigh.  My energies are still focused, intensly, on beaded kumihimo.  In between making those beaded braids, I did manage to put together a couple of necklaces using kumihimo braids and beads I made specifically for a necklace or two as mentioned in a prior post.  Oh it was so much fun making braids again on my Marudai !  Anyway, it's about time I put these up.  :)    

I did not make any more beads as I thought I might.  The heat wave was fast and furious around here !  lol !  I had alot of fun putting these two necklaces together.  The tough part was deciding how many beads to use on the first one.  The first one is the round braid. I used my new 2mm satin cording to make that braid.  I used two colors even though they are hard to tell apart. A  light blue and a very pale seafoam green.  It turned out great I think.
  
 A little background on this necklace.  The original tutorial I bought calls for a 9mm round, stuffed silk cord.  These are IMPOSSIBLE to find in the US ready made and I couldn't find anyone willing to make one.  I would of had to buy from over seas and the charge for shipping alone was ridiculous so I decided a round kumi braid would work just as well - and it did.

For the second one, I decided to mix it up a bit and made a flat kumi braid. It worked out just fine.  :)  I used more brand new 2 mm satin cording in a beige with a coral worked thru.  I love the pattern.  :)  All in all, the necklaces are something I personally won't wear but they were fun to put together.  It's not that I don't like them - I just don't wear necklaces.  Haven't for a VERY long time.  lol !  They get in my way.  lol !  Make sure to click on the photo's to get a larger view.  :)

So along with the necklaces, I have been playing with beaded kumihimo bracelets and may I say, I am so addicted to it !  I knew I would be since I loved making kumihimo braids from before.  This is just the icing on the cake or the tip of the iceberg or whatever cliche' would be appropriate here.  lol !  Point is, I'm really having ALOT of fun with it.  :) 

I'll save all that for the next post.  Which I know I won't wait a week to do !  lol ! 

Thanks so much for coming by.  I hope you come back again soon.  :)