Chrysanthamum Bracelet

Recently I have been more & more drawn to nature as themes for my beadwork including flowers and bird feathers. I was playing with looping seed beads around a bezeled pearl and realised that it looked like a chrysanthamum. I grew up with these flowers in my aunt's garden and constantly in vases at my nan's house, while they aren't my favourite flower they do bring back a lot of happy memories for me. In other news I finally got a daylight task lamp today which I used to light my photo, I am quite pleased and am looking forward to improving my photography!

Going Around in Circles

Hi everyone, its been a while!

It's been pretty busy around here so I have neglected blogland a bit. I'm spending some time catching up with everyone while my son has a playdate with his friends and thought it would be good to show some of what I have been up to.

I have moved from an obsession with circular netting to an obsession with circular peyote! I am also trying to work more in series and so far have 2 series. The Camelot series inspired by the ladies of King Arthur's court and have so far beaded designs in colourways inspired by Viviane, Ygraine, Guinevere, Morgan and Nimueh. The second series is based on birds and so far I have peacock and Raven with Dove, Flamingo and Robin to follow soon. Here are a few of the pieces for you to see;

Viviane Necklace

Peacock Earrings
Nimueh Earrings

Wordless Wednesday

Thinking Ahead to Christmas.

I am currently in full on making mode as I have a jewellery party this Friday, a sale in my work's coffee shop and two craft fairs before Christmas. I have quite a lot of stock already but it's always nice to have new stuff.

I made this bracelet using some of the lovely chunky, black and silver beads that I bought at the fair last week. I think it's perfect for the party season.


I had a few beads left over, so I made this trapeze style chain necklace.



While I was working, my 6 year old son asked if he could do some wirework! So I cut up some lengths of copper wire, handed him a pair of round nose pliers and he dug through his bead box (yes, he has his own) and he decided to make some Christmas decorations for the tree. I think he did a pretty good job as I did not tell him what to do (other than not to poke himself in the eye with the wire) but left him alone to freestyle.

Sarahx

The Welsh Bead Fair.

Well, I know I am supposed to be tackling the bead stash, but bead fairs don't come around that often here and I have got a lot of events to show at before Christmas, so I needed new stock, honest ;-)

The Welsh Bead Fair was held today st the Village Hotel in Cardiff and I was lucky enough to meet up with an online beading buddy, the lovely CraftyCarol. The event is quite small but enough to do some damage at, I purposefully left the plastic at home. The only thing I was disappointed at was the lack of chains and sterling silver findings but I did keep some of my budget back so I can stock up online this week.I left my camera at home so could not take photo's at the fair but I thought you might like to see the goodies I brought home.

First up are these lovely ceramic beads from Moon Beads,


I bought some beautiful and funky focal beads from The Beads Nest,


The stall I did most damage to my Budget at was Anita's Beads, I got some fabulous glass pearls,



Some lovely glass including some honkingly big black rondelles,


More glass beads and some fantastic pendants,

These beautiful lampwork beads are from Debbie Dew,

I tried to contain the seed bead buying but could not resist these three tubes,

And last but not least are two Stringing magazines and a fabulous book by Laura McCabe.

That lot should keep busy for a while!

Happy Sunday everyone!

Sarahx

Wordless Wednesday

Adventures in Freeform Peyote - Part 2

Once I had decided that I was going to make a freeform bracelet, it was then time to choose my colours and try and pick a theme. I started by rummaging through my collection of size 11 seed beads. I started with the box that seemed the fullest, it contained blue beads, so I pulled out a few shades, teal, royal blue and a dark matte ab aqua, I then chose turquoise to add as an accent, galvanised gold cube and size 8 beads also looked good with this collection.

As I looked at the tubes lined up together, I realised that the theme was pretty obvious, they are very reminiscent of peacock feathers. I love peacock motifs so I was more than happy to go with this theme, I also think that these colours will be perfect for a late autumn/winter accessory. All that was missing was purple, so I dug out some violet size 8's. I have quite a few accent beads in these colours too, but I will leave them out for now and we can discover them together as the cuff takes shape!

Now my colours and theme are sorted, I need to start thinking about what approach I am going to take & what kind of techniques I am going to use.

See you soon,

Adventures in Freeform Peyote - Part 1

Recently I have been focused on making small, relatively quick pieces in order to get a large amount of stock for sale. While I am still only making things that I really enjoy, I have been hankering after something a little more involved. I thought it would be fun to start a bigger project that I could talk about the design, techniques and the process over the space of a few weeks. Since I am still rather busy with a few fairs, a jewellery party and a fledgling Etsy Store to stock, I had to think quite carefully about what project I committed to in order to fulfil these goals without impacting too much on the time I need for making new stock.

I ruled out netting straight away, although it's a favourite stitch of mine and works up quickly. I have been using it a lot lately and feel like a change. I did consider brick stitch, as some of my favourite pieces have used it, but I am quite slow at it so that's out. Eventually the answer came to me, freeform peyote would be perfect, it works up fairly quickly, is a lot of fun to do and can pretty much go in whatever direction you want it to.

I have made a number of freeform projects over the years, some were successful and some weren't but all were lots of fun to make and I learnt something from each one. The last project that I made (picture above) using this technique was a necklace inspired by the Winter Olympics. This time I have decided to make a bracelet, this should allow me to have fun with the technique and create something interesting and unique.

In preparation I have been browsing the web to familiarise myself with some different approaches to freeform peyote, I'll share some of my favourites later. Next I am going to rummage through the stash and decide on a colourway and theme. I don't often work with themes and it may seem at odds with the idea of freeform but I think it will help me focus on where I want to go with the project and will hopefully stretch my creativity.

Sarah

Folksy Friday - In Honour of the Ryder Cup.

Here in South Wales, Ryder Cup Fever is in full swing, so my theme for this week's Folksy Friday is Golf.



First up is this beautiful brooch by Teasemade http://www.folksy.com/items/813217



I Love this card by Accidental Vix http://www.folksy.com/items/520621

This Shoe Bag from LifeCovers is the perfect gift for a Golf loving dad http://www.folksy.com/items/567053

Some lovely bright and funky notecards from Crafty Mushroom http://www.folksy.com/items/523485

Wordless Wednesday

A is for Autumn & Acorns.

Here in Wales the weather is decidedly autumnal, chilly mornings and evenings interspersed with bright sunshine in the day. I love September, we very often have have beautiful weather this month and I work in a building surrounded by trees which are a treat to look out of the window at.

I like to bead the seasons and have made flowers for spring and summer and icy crystal necklaces for the winter. However, apart from one choker with a Russian leaf centrepiece, I have never beaded autumn, until now that is. I was playing about with the technique that I use for my tulips and bell flowers and realised that I could make a pretty little bead cap. I then figured out that if I popped that bead cap on top of a bead that was a just too big for it, it made a perfect little acorn. Once I made one, I couldn't stop! Here are three of the necklaces that I have made so far. I have also made a little green and silver one but I haven't had a chance to photograph it yet.

Folksy Friday - From Little Acorns, Mighty Oak Trees Grow

Well, August is over and the weather is already turning Autumnal and I have been busy designing some items for the new season including a little acorn necklace (pics later). In honour of Autumn, this weeks Folksy Friday theme is on Acorns and Oak's.

How sweet is this little Amigurumi from Cute Designs? http://www.folksy.com/items/337157
I love this window hanging by Amy Orange Juice http://www.folksy.com/items/715197

These buttons by Magasin are so adorable!http://www.folksy.com/items/444394

I wish Santa would bring me this jewellery box from Tree Gems. http://www.folksy.com/items/711645

This lamp by Jane Blease Design is just beautiful! http://www.folksy.com/items/711645

Folksy Friday - I See Robots.

This week my son discovered re-runs of Robot Wars Extreme and Robots are now the hot topic of discussion in our house! We have spent several hours this week on You Tube and Google looking for instruction on how to make your own. The deal today is that if he sorts out some of his old toys to go to the charity shop, we will take him to Hobbycraft to buy a kit to make his own robot. So in honour of kiddo's latest craze my Folksy Friday this week is all about robots.

I love this milkshake carton print by Papercake Print and Make http://www.folksy.com/items/664425
These robot gift tags by Swirly Arts are perfect for a little boys birthday http://www.folksy.com/items/546485

As is this card by Crafty Mushroom http://www.folksy.com/items/645444

And this costume by I Wish I Was A would be the perfect gift http://www.folksy.com/items/448054

This woolly hat from Helen Makes is so cute, such beautiful colour work, http://www.folksy.com/items/406029

Fire Drop Pendant - A Personal Favourite

My listing for the Folksy August A-Team is one of my favourite things that I have made recently. It is another flower in my 3d experiment with circular netting which has included a tulip, a harebell and a soon to be acorn! I made this one with the very beautiful fire opal crystals and the new (well to me anyway) miyuki duracoat galvanised seed beads.
You can see more pics here http://www.folksy.com/items/688345-Firedrop-Bell-flower-Pendant-Chain-Necklace?shop=yes

The Folksy August A-Teamers

Following on from the Folksy July Jesters listing club are the August A-Teamers! We have had a lovely day here with lots of gardening so I have chosen a selection of items with a nature theme to showcase today.

Cute Flower Fabric Buttons from http://www.folksy.com/shops/cwtch

A stunning Sunflower print from http://www.folksy.com/shops/JULIEMPHOTOGRAPHY

The Daydream make Up Bag from http://www.folksy.com/shops/lonelyhearts

Oak Leaf Felt Purse from http://www.folksy.com/shops/grannyruth

A Christmas Robin Sun Catcher from http://www.folksy.com/shops/DiomoGlass

Folksy Friday - Lovely Lace.

This is a short Folksy Friday because Blogger is playing me up and will not upload any more photo's in this post.

This week I have been making a lot of needle tatted lace so I have chosen lace as my theme for my 1st Folksy Friday.

I am addicted to buttons at the moment, and this lace imprinted heart button from Amanda Mercer http://www.folksy.com/items/252453-lace-imprinted-heart-button?shop=yes is on my wishlist.

A very beautiful cuff from Pavlova's Art Loft http://www.folksy.com/items/335013-LACE-AND-PEARL-WRIST-CUFF?shop=yes

A statement necklace from TwinklySpangle http://www.folksy.com/items/359569

Weekend Treats from the Jesters.

I find the creativity of the Steampunk trend fascinating and these cuff links from Steampunk Storm are lovely http://www.folksy.com/items/652302-Golden-Steampunk-Watch-Movement-Cufflinks-?shop=yes

I'm not a big fan of Paris (disastrous school trip with the teacher from hell) but this necklace from Fairly Girly is so gorgeous that I would wear it and pretend http://www.folksy.com/items/652734-Parisian-Love?shop=yes

I don't know much about cars, but I think this Morris Minor Breakfast Set from HWR Designs is gorgeous http://www.folksy.com/items/652390-Morris-Minor-Breakfast-Set

This mini top hat by Imogen's Imagination almost makes me wish kiddo was old enough to get married http://www.folksy.com/items/653446-Gold-Sinamay-and-Cream-Ostrich-Feather-Mini-Top-Hat

This elephant card by Top Cat Corner is adorable http://www.folksy.com/items/653288-Elephant-card

I love this red upcycled bag from Mirribeads http://www.folksy.com/items/653230-up-cycled-big-red-mini-bag?shop=yes