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.  :)

The Kumi Keeps Coming ! :)

Since I joined a couple of kumihimo groups on Facebook, I have pretty much become obsessed with the whole thing again.  I mentioned that before so sorry I'm being repetitive but it needed to be said.  I can't seem to get enough of it lately.  This past week I worked with beads and without.  I have been experimenting again with beads which I've shown below.  So many shapes, sizes, colors from many manufactures it can be a bit overwhelming.  Lately, I've been working with Czech seed beads which is a first for me and discovered how much I truly enjoy them.  So far I've tried 5 different sizes and lots of colors.  :)  I need more.  lol !

Another fact I found from being in these groups is that there are soooooo many blogs about Kumihimo it's incredible !  So much information out there and it's mostly free !  So I've come to the conclusion that I will only post about what I'VE discovered, learned and/or how much fun I'm having doing Kumi.  I have never "invented" a new braid nor have I even tried.  I rather enjoy using what's already out there.  Is that a cop-out ?  Some may think so but I am not a designer by any means and that's perfectly fine with me.  I enjoy just making the braids - with or without beads.  It's fun, it's colorful and keeps my old hands from locking up !  lol !  There are plenty of others out there that can design for me.  :)  In fact, I recently bought 2 Kumihimo tutorials using beads that look interesting IF I can figure out the pattern.  The designer did not write it up like I am use to seeing - seeing being the key word.  I am a visual learner.  We shall see.  :)

This past week I managed to make one fiber flat braid, 4 beaded bracelets, 1 experimental strand and 1 beaded wrap bracelet !  Whew !  lol !  I was on a roll and having a blast !  lol !  I love playing with new things.  lol !  The photo's are below with a bit of explaination where needed.

                       Neon colors in a simple round braid pattern.  LOVE it !  :)  The cord shows thru but that's something I personally don't mind unless it looks sloppy.

                         More neon colors, different size beads.  Unfinished. Again, the cord showing thru a bit so am figuring it's the type/shape of bead being used.  The cord on this bracelet to be are all matching colors to the beads - NEON !  :)  Found HERE  

 
            MORE Czech seed beads I LOVE LOVE LOVE !  I'm getting more.  These are a larger bead so the thread does show.  I used the Omega #2 as usual so next time I will use a thicker cord.   

I love how this bracelet turned out !  It's ICY !  I am a winter person.  Will be in my Etsy shop soon.  I will also custom make a bracelet for you in this style.  Contact me thru my Etsy shop.  ;)

This is one of the test pieces I did.  Done with supposedly medium size shell chips and chunks !  lol !  It's HEAVY and towards the end of the braid, it loosened up ALOT.  Very noticeable.  You will notice also that on the beaded ends, there are red seed beads.  I was testing something else which would of worked had one end not gotten so loose.  Oh well..............................another time, another piece.  :)

This piece is also a bead test.  These beads are very large but again they are Czech seed beads, matte transparent so the cord really shows thru.  Not happy with this one at all.  Maybe a heavier cord would work ?  Not sure.

Last piece, the wrap bracelet.  I love the colors on this one.  It will fit up to a size 8 which is what I wear but depending on how many wraps you do around your wrist it can go higher for a smaller wrist or lower for a larger wrist.  I'll custom make one for you as this will be listed in my Etsy shop.  The clasp is a regular lobster claw clasp.  Can also be worn as a single strand necklace.  

  
So there you have it.  These are just a few of the pieces I've done in the last 10 days.  lol !  There are more but will keep for another time.  :)  Thanks so much for coming by !  I hope you come back again soon.  Please, leave me a comment below and tell me what you think.  :)   Please note:  Your message will not show up unless I "ok" it. 

Kumihimo

Updated and Edited Page


Necklace made with seed beads and my own hand made lampwork focal bead.

                     

 My beads are available here  https://www.facebook.com/AllMyBeads   My hand dyed silk cords are available on my Facebook page also but are in my Etsy shop.  If you click on any of the photo's to the right, it will take you there. 



  

Kumihimo Necklace

EDITED

ALL MY BEADS FACEBOOK PAGE


This necklace is in my Etsy shop.  Come on over for a look at hand dyed silk cords, my lampwork beads, jewelry and braids.  

    

Weekly Update

This past week was about getting house repairs, remodels, re-do's and cleaning done more than anything else.  It's been busy to say the least.  :)  I didn't have time to torch however I was able to do a little something.  More on that below.

I put together one necklace.  Yeah, that's pretty much it for the week.  sigh.  The Greek ceramic beads in bright colors had been sitting around long enough with nothing ever being done with them.  It was time - even though my hand/thumb was hurting.  At least there was no twisting or hard grabbing of any kind involved.  I had fun constructing it to.  I LOVE bright colors in jewelry so that part made things a little easier for me.  I added some of my lampwork spacers to it as well.  Gave it a different look than the other Greek ceramic beaded jewelry I've made.  It's in my Etsy shop now but also pictured below.  I REALLY like it alot and thinking of making a set for myself.  Also, if anyone buys the necklace and wants a pair of earrings to match, all you need to do is convo me and I can do that too.  :)   So that was fun putting that together.  I have sooooo many of the Greek ceramic beads in all shapes and colors I have extra for sale in my Etsy shop on sale.  Check them out.

I was shopping yesterday at my local big box store and found some cord very similar to the Omega cord I use for my kumihimo !  In fact, it's EXACTLY the same but on a smaller roll with much less in yardage.  It's size #2 just like the Omega and also made of 100% nylon.  They had 8 colors available.  The price was expensive compared to where I buy my Omega which is Creative Yarn Source  The price at the box store was almost $2.00 for only 100 yards compared to Creative Yarn Source where they sell it for $2.80 for 300 yards with LOTS of colors.  Go figure !  lol !  Still I wanted to compare it.  The name of this cord that's on the label is Sizzle by Red Heart.  I'll stick with Creative Yarn Source whenever I need more.

So comes the fall weather finally.  I need to be at the torch as much as possible now and restock my shop.  Still with so much that's been going on it's been rough to find that free time.  Am thinking maybe this morning if I'd get off this computer and do what I need to do first !  lol !

Time to get my day started.  Thanks so much for coming by !  Come back again next week for an update.  :)

OPB's For Sale  Come on over to my Facebook page where I have other artists beads for sale.  I need to destash these beads that I bought long before I started making my own beads.  Come on over and take a look.  :)  Just click on the link "OPB's For Sale" at the beginning of this paragraph.  Thanks so much !







 

All Kinds 'a Flowers

Yes, it's flowers week at my house and I'm enjoying it even though I can't breath.  Sigh.  Allergies are still really doing it's thing on my nose and head and something moving on down into my chest so I'll be calling doc - again.  Anyway........onto more fun stuff..............

Flowers have been the theme this week at the torch !  Yay !  I was able to get on my torch and melt some glass into some flowers of some sort.  lol !  The photo's below only show a few I made.  There are more that are waiting to be cleaned so will show those next time around.   I was a little shaky with the first one, which was the red rose but got right back into it.  lol !  The thing about making these types of flowers is there are extra steps while assembling them in the flame.  The petals are made first and kept warm on a portable burner.  Then comes the stamen or the part to attach the petals to which is made seperate on the mandrel.  While adding the petals one must remember to keep all parts warm or cracks make an appearance !  Not good.  :(   Once all together, pop into the kiln.  :)  Sometimes those cracks won't show up til after they come out of the kiln which is just a bummer.  lol !  It happens.  If all goes well though the flowers will be pretty cool in the bouquet that comes together.  Speaking of which, I am offering those bouquets once again in my Etsy shop.  You can see samples of some of the bouquets I've made in that listing.  Check it out.  :)

I was cleaning up my work space where I put jewelry together and discovered a little something I just never thought about before.  There are some that use the bell flowers for making jewelry with and they have wondered if there were any bead caps that were small enough to fit on the tops of the flowers.  Well, quite by accident, I found some that work perfectly.  They are pictured below.  Tiny, yes but they work beautifully.  The red bell flower is the 20mm size and the pink is the 14mm size.  I don't have the 12mm size but if the bead caps fit the bigger sizes they'll fit the smallest size.  :)  Yay !  These are not sterling silver but silver plated and come in 3 colors - silver, gold and copper in one bag and are available at Fire Mountain.  I bought them a long time ago and just forgot about them until the other day.  lol !  So if you need some bead caps for your bell flowers or whatever, check out Fire Mountain.

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

Please check out my Facebook page that has OPB's (other peoples beads) For Sale.  Just click this link  https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100005964946289  

Just Beads

This past week was not productive at all as far as my creative brain goes anyway.  My muse flew the coop as it were and I do believe it's due to the pain in my hand/thumb !  Geesh.  The question is - do I consider the dern shots to help reduce or eliminate the pain ?  I don't know.  The thought of someone sticking a needle in a hand that already has MANY issues other than just pain really scares me !  :(  I can handle having a baby alright but sticking a needle in my hand - ewwwww sends shivers up and down my spine.  So hopefully the week ahead will be better.

As it is, I've been working on a new page on Facebook.  I have ALOT of OPB's (other peoples beads) that need to find new homes.  These are all beads that I bought mostly before I began making my own beads.  Before I made beads, I made jewelry therefore needed beads to use.  I had a blast making all the jewelry but once I started making my own lampwork beads, I stopped buying others beads.  No need for them anymore.  So they just need to go.  All are priced right.  Lower than what I remember paying especially for the dichoric beads.  Which that artist still makes and sells her beads at a higher price.  So come on over to my new facebook page and have a peek.  If you see something you'd like to buy, just message me over there.  Here's the link:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100005964946289  You have to sign in to your facebook acct. to get it to open.

Since I have nothing new to show, I've added a few pics of goodies I made in the past.  Enjoy  !

Thanks so much for coming by !  I hope you come back again next time.  :)

Check out my Beads For Sale Facebook page.  It has lots and lots of destash lampwork beads up for grabs !  https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100005964946289