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Showing posts from October, 2005

No, I didn't forget what I was supposed to be doing...

I didn't get much done on the new neckpiece this past week. I got sidetracked by other more pressing matters, like painting more watercolor and acrylic background papers to use in my collages and mixed media quilts . Anyway, I did at least decide upon a theme and color scheme, which is a good step (I hope!). The rest of this is just going to have to unfold in its own time. I'm not certain what comes next... Technorati Tags: wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace

Next!

I feel quite revived from the torture of making the little teeney pouch and am now ready to start in on the next big neckpiece. I usually feel like I need to alternate between types of pieces, or else I get...I don't know, stale? Anyway, I picked up this neato bead at the last show I went to. Yes, I know it looks like a huge cabochon, but it's actually drilled top to bottom. It was tempting to use it as some sort of choker-pendant, but I was afraid it would throttle whoever wore it! It's a heavy sucker :-) For those who have asked in the past, I use the outer rim of a cd stack container to draw the inner edge of the neckpiece. Technorati Tags: wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace

Berry Juice

Berry Juice After getting lots of wonderful suggestions on how to finish off my little peyote pouch I finally chose to use garnet, brass, and crystals. Even the name for it was the suggestion of an online friend! It's such a tiny little thing that a couple of my first ideas just seemed too heavy. I'm really happy with the decision :-) Technorati Tags: wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace

What do you do with it?

I got a great question on the little peyote pouch that I made ~ what is it used for? My answer was that, if you are me, absolutely nothing!! Some people use them to house a worry stone, lucky piece, or amulet, but this isn't my schtick. I simply like the way they look hanging around my neck :-) I had two good suggestions so far for how to finish it off. Chain interspersed with crystals, or thin seedbead strands. I'm not sure that I can face any more of those teeny little seedbeads right now, so the chain suggestion is looking pretty good! Technorati Tags: wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace

Oh my poor eyes!

I finished this teeny tiny little peyote pouch today. It took me all week, in between other projects, because I've started having problems with my close up vision, finally. I use one of those great OTT lights, otherwise I don't think I'd have been able to do it at all. This bag uses mostly vintage seed beads, the equivalent of #15's, and the whole thing is only one and a half inches tall, excluding the fringe. How could such a tiny little thing take so long? :-) I've got to decide what type of strand to put on it now ~ chain, beaded, cord, ??? Any suggestions? Technorati Tags: wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace

Donuts, anyone?

Turquoise donut I finally figured out what to do with the beautiful turquoise donut that I bought at the last bead and gem show. I've never really been a big fan of tassels, but when I saw the style that Angela Sawyer demonstrated in the October issue of Bead & Button, my heart went *zing*! I modified her instructions quite a bit to do my own tassel, but I still have to credit her with the idea. So if you don't like the way this looks, don't blame Angela ~ blame me! Technorati Tags: wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace

Custom pendants

Optical lens pendant I made this pendant from an old studio card shot of a girl with her beloved dogs. The card was scanned so that the original image wouldn't be damaged. Can you picture one of these featuring your sweetheart, child, or pet? Contact me to find out how! Technorati Tags: wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace

Twisted tubular peyote - the Indespiral by Aleta Ford Baker

There's a great set of directions in this October issue of Bead and Button for tubular peyote with a twist which allows it to remain rigid without any armature. The article is by Aleta Ford Baker. I tried a small segment, shown above, just to see if it truly would turn out rigid. It does! The directions are easy to follow, and mostly consist of alternating two different row patterns. Now that I've got the hang of it, I'll probably take this piece apart and redo it to correct for tension errors. This basic tube took me all of 20 minutes to feel really comfortable with it. An investment well worth it, I'd say :-) Update 2014: Here is where you can purchase instructions for the Indespiral stitch directly from Aleta

Furlough over

Our son Nate is leaving tomorrow morning to return to Guatemala. That's him, in the white shirt, back row, right in the middle. He came home on Thursday, carrying two empty suitcases and a single change of clothing. Although Guatemala is spring-like all year round, it does alternate between early spring and late spring. When he originally went to the children's home this summer, it was the late spring weather. Now, however, it's getting cooler at night, and he was more than ready to collect the rest of his things. The suitcases are now full!