Rainbow Connection

So this is officially my first post that includes knitting! I've really been into making socks lately. These were fun just because of the rainbow colors involved. The socks include a cuff that is done in a waving lace pattern and a short-row heel. These fit a women's medium (approximately 7 - 8) The yarn used is from The Deborah Norville Collection and is made of 100% Dralon Microfiber. I also made the set of beaded split-ring markers which I used while making the socks (on the right). Fun, fun, fun!

Tigress

Can't you just hear it roar!!! I love the fun, bold statement this bracelet makes! The ceramic beads just beckon to be touched - especially when paired with the tiger-striped pillow beads. You may not be able to tell in the picture, but the off-white beads used are a satin-finish delica - they really do look like a shimmery, satin sheet. The pairing of decadence & wild earthiness make this piece special.

Tigress is the result of trying out a new concept. I worked the top of the pillow beads in patterned herringbone and worked up the back and sides with a modified peyote, using the idea of short rows (used in knitting) to make the half-dome shape. It worked out beautifully! The beading on the toggle and bar finishes the overall look as well as physically balancing it. I know you'll have as much fun wearing this as I did creating it!!!! **AVAILABLE**

Trillium Trio

I hope you enjoy this necklace - yet another adventure in asymmetrical design! It was inspired by the Labradorite rondelles I found at my local Gem Faire. Once I got them home, I rummaged through some books to start up the idea process, and again the book Shaped Beadwork by Diane Fitzgerald did it for me. The project for Trilliums (the little flower in the necklace) really inspired me. It's very fun and fast to create. (Relatively - as fast as seed-beading can get!) I added the Russian Leaf off the side to offset the three Trilliums, and the pendant was off a necklace that I've loved for years! The metal components are sterling silver plated. Of special note is the clasp which is the vintage-style design (which works like a box clasp, but in an orb shape). This would be the perfect something old (recycled pendant), something new, something borrowed (maybe not), something blue (definitely!) for that special wedding!
***Available***

Hanging Gardens

This set captures the feel of a summer garden full blooms and vines! It was so much fun to create! It started with the flower - a project showcased in one of my favorite beading magazines. From there the design gradually unfolded. I went to the local Gem Faire in Turlock and found some beautiful tourmaline rondelles (The colors that naturally occur in this stone - a gradual change from mauve to green -just happened to match perfectly!) Then I found the cubic zirconia briolette that is at the bottom of the necklace. From there it just happened. The pearls and garnets just seemed to want to "drip" off the necklace. The floral toggle-style clasp is off-center in front - another escapade in asymmetrical design! (The french hooks on the earrings are gold-plated.) Perfect for a Garden Wedding!! **AVAILABLE**

Into the Mist

The pendant reminds me of mist rising from the ocean. I was discovering how fun it is to mix colors with polymer clay and made a few donut pendants. Then I added the peyote swirl (which is a lot of fun, and easy to do), which culminates in a cascading chain of glass drops. The metal components are entirely copper to keep the brown and blue color-scheme. The clasp is a filigree-toggle design that makes the length of the necklace adjustable - just drop the "T" part of the toggle through whichever part of the chain you like! SOLD.  (If anyone wants one of these, I still have one more pendant like this and can make another necklace - special order.)

Lantern Earrings

These earrings were inspired (like the Banana-Rama earrings) by Diane Fitzgerald's book Shaped Beadwork.  They are worked in peyote and strung with garnet chips.  The color of the delicas I used to weave this project are a really nice metallic neutral which would go well with many different colors.  These are a nice departure from your everyday earrings, but still good for the office!  AVAILABLE.

Waterlilly

This set started with a rare, vintage swarovksi crystal I found at my local bead shop! (I love the way the cut of the crystal looks like the surface of a still pond - like there's some mystery hiding at the bottom.) I bezeled it with gold-plated delicas. From there, it "grew" leaves and became the slightly assymetrical necklace you see here. The dangles are fresh-water pearls in olivine and purple to set off the colors reflected in the center crystal. The gold-colored elements in the necklace and the earrings are all gold-plated. The bluish-purples and greens of this piece remind me of Monet's Waterlillies. **Available**