A feather, a flower, and a window

a feather: pattern source (in French)

feather with charms

flower blossom: link to original post

blossom lariat

Blogger has gone a bit crazy on me, but I'm trying to keep up my glacial posting schedule and crank out one post per week so I'm just going to write below the photos and not log off and plan to come back later. Later seems to have a way of eluding me.

This week I've got a feather pendant which I made from a French pattern from L'atelier de mimi.  Her blog is linked in the photo caption and has some beautiful examples of her plumes.  The little butterfly is a charm from Gardanne Beads and the quatrefoil bead is turquoise dyed magnesite.  The pattern uses 11/0's and 15/0's of the same color.  I pulled out some dark bronze Toho beads that had been rolling around in the bead cabinet for some time.  I got to whip up a fun piece and tackle my stash at the same time.

The final photos above are shots I took in the light box which my mom gave me a few years ago.  This is fitting because I made the Blossom lariat for her.  I wrote all about the piece in an earlier entry, but I will repeat that the blossoms are a pattern from Leslie Fraizer (Trumpet Flower Necklace, Beadwork Aug/Sept 2012).  These flowers have captivated me.  I just finished another lariat in a completely different (and very Pantone Spring 2013 colorway), but I still need to photograph it.

Finally, my husband has continued to build onto his mother's house in Mexico.  A few years ago he had a bedroom/bath room suite built, and now he has bumped out the living room.  He wants to make sure that his sisters' families will all have plenty of room to visit their mother during the year when he can not be with her.  Unfortunately, all this building has really taken a toll on her beautiful garden.  I have a feeling we will be working on that next.  Below is one of the new windows in the living room and some calla lillies growing next to nopal cactus.

nopal, callas, and roses

Summer Lovin' Challenge

At the end of May, just before school was out, Amy Severino of Amybeads announced she was hosting the Summer Lovin' Summer Chanllenge.  This was perfect timing for me because I was looking for a few projects for my summer free time.

the start

As soon as I saw the Summer Lovin' Challenge Kit I knew I wanted to participate. I love the Tree of Life pendant from Penny's Lane Polymer Clay.  I thought I was going to stitch little herringbone ropes with little fluted ends to hold pearls, but somewhere along the way I purchased some gold leather and Jamie Cloud Eakin's book Beading with Cabochons.  So the piece became bead embroidery.

The pendant is just under 2.5"

the result

This is my first bead embroidery piece.  I've played around with stitching on leather before, but never have I actually seem anything through from beginning to end.  My edge stitching is a little wonky in a couple places, but I think that I'm getting a feel for how to better space beads so that I don't finish and need to leave a gap or squeeze a last bead into a space.

Take a look and see what the other participants made:

Amy Amybeads --- our hostess
Renetha LampLightCrafts

Lori B.

Kepi A little of this, a little of that...

Shannon Falling Into the Sky

Maryanne Zingala's Workshop

Shirley Beads and Bread

Dawn Designs by Dawn Marie

Therese Therese's Treasures 

Vimala The Bead Diaries

Ginger lilmummy likes...

Linda Lindy's Designs

Kristen My Bead Journey

Lois ¿Que Onda Q'town? ----- you are here

Lucy K. -------see Amy's blog

Debbie Beechy Beetique

Tanya A Work in Progress

Audrey Dreams of Absolution

Sandra Stories from the City of Brass

Mary MLH Jewelry Designs

Dragon scales

Ode to Puca

stack o'bangles

If you follow just about any European bead stitching blog, then you have seen these bangles derived from a pattern by Puca at Les Perles de Puca.  Actually, I found details about how they are assembled at the French bead forum Histoire de Perles.  They are also very similar to Sabine Lippert's A Square and His Friends pattern.  [Her English language book will be realeased in May 2012 by Lark!].  These bangles and Cynthia Rutledge's Honeycomb Bangles seem to be in every French or Italian blog.  I'm not usually into so many crystals, but I was drawn to these bangles particulary since I could stitch each with just Delicas, 11/0 seed beads, and some 4mm bicones.

three different colors of Delicas

What do you do with the ends of your thread?

3-link pointed oval chain

I have been working on a custom order piece this week, but took some time out to play with the pointed oval from Diane Fitzgerald's book Shaped Beadwork.  I made this little chain as well as an embellished link.  I used Fireline and Toho Treasures.  A thread burner is on my wish list, but in the meantime I've been playing around with various methods of achieving the same result.  I've heated a metal skewer, a toothpick, and tried using an old heated eyelash curler.  Nothing really worked.  I did not, however, melt my cord ends with a lighter as suggested in Shaped Beadwork.  Just thinking about this gave me anxiety.  What do you do with the ends of your threads after you cut them?  Should I shell out the $25 for a thread burner?  Do you have a better way?

Accidental Peacock

I tried out the Russian leaf earrings in the latest Beadwork.  I was wearing this bracelet around the house and remembered that I bought a few extra 6mm crystals when I made it.

Medina Bird

I'm not much of a crystal girl, but I do like a little sparkle here and there.  I started stitching with delicas left from the Medina Bird, but I used deep purple thread because I wanted to give the pale, pale 4mm bicones a little more color.  For some reason I was a little surprised when I came up with peacock feathers.  I mean, I saw the pic in the magazine - what did I expect?  Little may you know, but I'm a big fan of peacocks.  One of the highlights of my day is driving by the farm that has dozens of the birds and seeing them roosting in the trees and on the roof of the house. When the leaves fall from the pecan trees, I get a great view.

Last winter

Peacock Paisley

I think I need to make these without the dangly at the bottom

I tried it with Japanese seed beads and no dangle at the bottom

¿How cute is that bunny butt?

Blue Moon

honestly, you can't see the thread with the naked eye...beaded balls are best shot with macro and not super macro!

The moon faced charm hangs at the back

this is beaded on a 10mm bead and is about 12 mm across

Sakura

In early spring when the flowers were bursting I found this pattern and finally got working on it last week while watching a marathon of Doc Martin episodes.  I purchased this drop-one even stitch peyote pattern, but when I started on it a few things combined to prevent me from starting the project.  First, I could not find some of the Delica colors needed (later it turned out that the European studio who put out the pattern had access to new Delica codes that were unheard of by Fusion Beads or Art Beads for a few months).  Then when the beads arrived I found the colors to be rather garish, but I decided to go ahead anyhow because frequently they look different when in place.  The colors are much better in place.  I love this pattern and bought more beads for another - this time the translucent background is more of a pearly cream and the flowers lean toward peach blossoms.  Oh, Georgia on my mind.  I love the little toggles I added.

Although I'm not really a pink girl, I do like the results.  I'm going on a little trip and will look for some more subdued and botanically correct cherry blossom colors which I can select in person.