Peacock Power!

I have really been intrigued by the peacock feathers I've seen in fashion, and jewelry lately.  Recently, while my sister was visiting from out of state, we went to Old Sacramento and had a really fun day.  When passing by a shop, I noticed a pretty top that had peacock feathers on it and little rhinestones.  Not overdone at all, but fun looking!  So after some well needed coaxing from my mom and sister, I ended up buying it.  Little did I realize that it had made a bigger impression than I thought.

Just The Feather So Far. . 

One day I sat at my beading table and thought, "I wonder if I could somehow make a free-form beaded version of a peacock feather?"  So I Googled some images of peacock feathers to see which ones I would like to use as my color inspiration.  They were ALL so beautiful.  Nature is always the best in the way of inspiration!  No wonder - It comes from the hands of the best artist!

So after playing around with color combinations from beads in my stash, and combining a few stitches, such as herringbone, St. Petersburg chain, and brick stitch, I had my feather!  It was so much fun and such a challenge at the same time!  The rest of the necklace was woven in herringbone and then surface embellished with dark colored gold-stone chips (a beautiful man-made stone).

Incidentally, I also made it for the December 2011 Challenge for Etsy Beadweaver's - Arabesque Style.  This style usually includes paisley patterns, interlocking vines, and motifs.  Granted, the style of this necklace is much less busy-looking than most Arabesque-style artwork, but I positioned the peacock feather in such a way as to evoke the image of a paisley pattern as well as attaching the crystal encrusted pendant which is in the shape of a paisley.  Additionally, the clasp reminded me of a curling vine that interlocks with the loop side when attached.  If you'd like see other bead artist's rendition of this style, go to Etsy-Beadweavers.blogspot.com between December 9 - 15, 2011.

So here's the final result - The Peacock Necklace.

 

The clasp is positioned on the side, with my tag - a new addition which I am pretty excited about!

The Whole Set!

Now every time I look at this necklace I will think fondly of the time I spent in Old Sacramento with my family - especially my sister!

Swirly Buckle Bracelet

 Here's the latest - the Swirly Buckle Bracelet!!!  This is kind of a fun and funky version of the original Buckle Bracelet!  The pattern on it reminds me of the illustrations of swirling windstorms in ancient drawings.  I designed this "swirly" pattern especially for this bracelet.

The swirly design is mimicked in it's clasp (shown above - made with non-tarnish square wire).

This design works pretty much like a belt (but for your wrist)  The smaller end is threaded through the opposite side, through the buckle, and the metal clasp hooks onto the 

Swarovki crystal at this end of the bracelet.

Which ends up looking like this!!!

To get a better perspective, here is the entire bracelet laying out flat.  I used various textures and finishes of Delicas in this creation - silver-lined, matte metallic, to opaque.  So even though there are two variations of greyish-silver in the background, it's still loaded with visual interest and impact.  So what does everyone think?  I'm already working on another slight color-variation to this pattern.  But what do you want to see next?  Blues?  Earth tones?  Just metallics?  Yellow/black?  Let me know - I'm all ears!

SOLD

Diamonds are Forever

This bracelet is absolutely my newest creation!  The inspiration this time was directly out of Beadwork Magazine.  The three-dimensional design really caught my eye.  I changed it, but only a little.  The beads I used are all slightly larger than those called for in the magazine, which made it more bold!  (I used size 8 seed beads, size 10 delicas, and size 11 charlottes.)  Also, I "strung" it using two strands for more stability, and went with a flashy hot pink and black for the high contrast.  This was a lot of fun to make, and even more fun to wear!  ***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.)

Wave Bracelet

This is the second progression in my fun with cabled bracelets. These are also done in herringbone, cable style, but in this design I added increases in the center to accommodate swarovski crystals and used delicas. The drape of this bracelet style is fluid and can work for casual fun or dressy occasions. It was fun to play with different color placement in each of the bracelets which slightly changes the effect! This is the design I taught at the local bead shop, Envy Beads. Is there a custom color combo you'd like? Remember - I do custom work!

Twilight Bloom

This was the first of a few bracelets that stemmed from a new technique I learned from Beadwork Magazine! The herringbone twist on the body of the bracelet came from the project called Cabled Bracelet. This was my first attempt. However, I added a snap closure and this little bloom that's colors are like a fiery sunset just about to drop off the horizon. I love this little thing! **AVAILABLE** (This new technique really fired my imagination!! My next couple of posts show how I tried varying the technique, and what it produced.)

Denim Rose

This bangle was made using spiral herringbone in different sizes of beads, 11 delicas to 8 seed beads around a memory-wire core. It doesn't need a clasp - just pop it on and go! The indigo matte beads in this set are reminiscent of denim and would be fun on a casual day. **SOLD**

Melange

This was fun free-form bracelet to make! The beads (a mix or "melange") were randomly stitched together creating this kind of wavy edge, and the texture just calls to be touched. The more serious earth-tones balance out the haphazard style of construction perfect for the office or a night out. **AVAILABLE**

Moonlight Sonata

The colors of the pearls in this bracelet remind me of the moonlight - thus the name! The pearls and black goldstone chips (a deep purple, man-made stone with shiny flecks) are "caught" in a circular-netting of silver-colored seed beads. This is a very open feeling bracelet - the netting shifts and you can get a whole other view - sometimes goldstone sometimes pearls! **SOLD**

Antique Rose Set

This 22-inch necklace was worked from the middle, starting with the open-work double helix. From there it evolved into a herringbone twist. The earrings are also a type of spiral with swarovski crystals at the bottom. (The earrings look much better when worn - laying down doesn't do them justice!) The bracelet has a snap closure and contains seed-beads, pearls, and crystals randomly embelishing the surface. The earring kidney wire and the clasp for the necklace have silver-plating for those who are sensitive to other metals. Because I used hex-beads for this, it reflects a lot of light, and is very fancy! **AVAILABLE**