Happy New Year!

I wanted to get one last project finished before the end of the year.

 This cuff has been sitting half finished for weeks and now that Christmas is over I finally found the time to finish it. Making it my last piece for the year.

I've spent the last week getting the last of my Christmas gifts ready.

One last set of magnets and a few pairs of earrings.

I also had time to just play around and finish some projects that have been kicking around my studio for a while.

A beaded cuff that just needed the backing attached.

  

Making crazy big rings may become my new obsession for 2012.

Tray of goodies

Here are some of the beaded buttons & magnets I plan to give as gifts this year.

I also made some rings out of some of the smaller ones.

Autumn Cuff

I made this cuff bracelet for my mom for Christmas this year.

We had one of the most beautiful and mild autumns this year. Very little wind and rain meant the changing leaves stayed on the trees longer. I couldn't not be inspired by them.

These also happen to be some of my mom's favorite colors, so I know it's going to a good home.

I'm trying to make most of my Christmas gifts this year. So far it's going pretty well and I hope to be able to post a few more things I've made in the next couple of days.

Well it's been a long cold wet May here in the great Pacific Northwest, perfect weather for sitting inside and beading. With my trusty DVD player and a thermos of hot tea I've been keeping myself busy and making a mess at my table.



For the most part I've been making buttons, to either turn into pin or magnets. I like to keep a few on hand for last minuet gifts, but after all the birthdays this month and last I found my stock was running a little low. So I've challenged myself to make enough to fill this tray with, 50 to be exact.

  Here is a shot of one of my favorites, orange & green is such a springy color combo. If you want to see them all so far you can go to my Flickr page.

Happy Belated Birthday Willie!

In honor of his 78th Birthday here is one of my very favorite Willie Nelson songs.

I love the Spanish influence in this song and if I'm in the right mood it will make me cry.

Gold and Teal Cuff

I had such a good time making the first cuff, I went ahead and made another.

This time I chose teal and gold for my color palette, I love how the warmth of gold is tempered by the coolness of teal. I also used some of my gold charlottes for a some sparkle.



Moon Light Cuff

I can't tell you how long I've wanted to make a beaded cuff. After coming across the bracelet blanks I must have bought years ago, I figured, why not?  

 I wanted to work with a simple color palette, so I went with silver, grey and black.

This was so much fun to make and it really didn't take that long to make. Now I can't wait to wear it!

What I'm Listening to

I downloaded Adele's second album "21" when it came out in February and it has been on constant replay ever since. There is something about her voice and lyrical phrasing that just resonates with me. That and I'm a sucker for a good break-up song.

Enjoy!

Some would call it noodling

So this started out as a simple ruffle, but I just kept thinking "What would happen if I just kept going?".

Well this is what happened. I don't know what I would ever do with this, but it does make for a pretty sweet bead sculpture.

It's actually kind of cool. You can fold it and twist it into different shapes.

And it looks pretty from all sorts of angles.

I also got inspired to whip up a pair of snazzy earrings for my self.

 

Moving Update & I Get To Bead!

Well, It's done.

Or at least I'm calling it done.



The shelves are almost full.



The bead table is ready to go.



One of the benefits of moving, aside from having my own space, was going through my collection of beads and supplies. As I reacquainted myself with my stuff, discovering beads I bought more than 15 years ago, all I wanted to do was stop and make something. I hadn't felt like playing around for awhile and I had a hard time keeping myself focused on moving in.

Officially these earrings are the first thing I made.



Earrings for Spring.



Lately I've become kind of obsessed with the colors of peacock feathers. Usually, I would make a button when I felt inspired by a color combination, but I didn't feel like messing around with fabric. I hadn't done peyote stitch in a really long time and I love that is just needle, thread and beads. So simple and easy to get started.

These are some ruffles I made. I think they would make great embellishment for bead embroidery or a bracelet. 



Experimenting with flat round peyote stitch.



 After awhile, I started thinking about the Czech beads I have and how I have always wanted to try freeform peyote. Why didn't anyone tell me how much fun this is? I don't have a clue what I'm making or what I'm doing. I just know I having a good time.



My first attempt at freeform peyote.



I'm having fun not knowing what I'm doing.



Trying to incorporate the Czech glass has been the most challenging.



Moving right along

The move into the new bead haus is going about as smoothly as I had expected. It poured down rain most of the last weekend which made it even more of a challenge. But all in all, I got a lot of work done.



The wall of shelving



The first thing I needed to do was a thorough cleaning. Dusting, vacuuming, sweeping and scrubbing from top to bottom

Window corner

J.P. put these lovely shelves up at the last minute.



Look at all that shelf space!



Then the actual moving in started.

I love the shelving J.P. installed. My beads all have a spot and I can see what I have more easily. 

My little bead table.

 



My bead table with the lights on.

By Sunday afternoon my collection had a new home.



That wall filled up pretty fast!

 

The rest of my collection of crafts supplies will go into the rolling drawer units. I have room for a total of five, hopefully that's enough room.

I have been having a fairly easy time purging stuff as I go along, but I could probably do better. At this point I just want to get it all in the haus so I can see what I have, then start going through stuff and rearrange. Hopefully that is when I can do a little more throwing out. Oh, why am I such a pack rat?  

Small shelves for mugs of seed beads.

A little alter for little things.

Working on a building

It's been a long time coming but my little bead haus is almost ready to move into. J.P. is installing the heater this weekend and putting the finishing touches on the shelving. In the mean time I'm boxing up beads and getting ready to do a major reorganizing of my beads and craft supplies.