I love Halloween. I love dressing up for the day, decorating the house, seeing all the kids in their costumes and, of course, all the candy. Each year I make a piece of jewelry to go with my costume for the year. This year I knew I had to make this necklace when I saw it at the Heart of Texas Bead Retreat. Nora Pero was there and this is her design, called The Dark Side. She's also a polymer clay artist - I may have worn her out getting some amazing tips from her, but that's another story!

This design incorporates a bit of bead embroidery and a bit of beadweaving - the perfect combo. I did decide to do a RAW necklace instead of a metal chain, but other than that I followed directions (I know - unusual for me!).

I'm super happy with this, as well as how quickly it worked up. Nora's instructions were great and her polymer clay cab was perfect.

Happy Halloween my Spooky Friends!

Care'

A few weekends ago I attended the Heart of Texas bead retreat. While the retreat has been going for a few years, this was my first time to go. I really wanted to take a class with Amy Katz, and it was awesome. In her class we worked on the Treasure Bracelet, pictured above. It was a lot of fun to make the different elements, and I can see how easy it would be to take the components and build a larger piece. The pearl components work up super fast, and I think a bracelet full of those would be gorgeous. HINT HINT if you are looking for something quick for holiday gifts.

Happy beading!

Care'

A girl has to have her bling!

In our Dallas Bead Society meeting this month we worked on a Bling Ring pattern (pictures below). I loved this so much I decided to make a bracelet. Several members of our group made bangles and I knew I had to have one. I love it and I plan to make a few more in other colors.

Happy beading!

​Care'

Okay, I broke my rule - the rule to finish up UFOs before starting something new. But, sometimes you come across something you HAVE to do RIGHT NOW! That was the case with the Ouroboros Dragon Cuff designed by Michelle Leonardo. You can find the pattern in the August/September 2018 issue of Beadwork if you'd like to make your own.

This was a lot of fun to make. The main part of the body was a breeze to whip up - especially once I finally managed to get the correct dagger beads after ordering three sets that were one-hole instead of two-hole - but that's another story.

The head was tricky and really pushed me with freeform peyote, but it was fun to make.

Okay - back to UFOs . .. 

Happy Beading!

​Care'

Sometimes happy accidents are the most fun. That's the case with this piece. The focal is made from polymer clay where I was trying to learn a new technique. I was about half way through conditioning the clay with the pasta machine (trying to make gray) when my mom stopped me - the marbled effect was fantastic! So, being a clay newbie I shaped it and baked it.

Well, as expected - and as all clay newbies learn the hard way - clay not properly conditioned will crack. I also managed to get some bubbles in this one too. Even with all the imperfections, I still loved it so I knew I had to try and save it. I covered those imperfections with the dots. I even added glass seed beads to some of the dots and baked again. YAY! Happy results.

The piece then sat around for MONTHS trying to decide what it wanted to be when it grew up. After a few months of thought, I decided to use bead embroider techniques and then add a CRAW chain. TA DA!

I'm very happy with how it turned out. What do you think?

We all have them. Those Unfinished Objects that taunt us from their respective corners, begging us to pick them up and finish them for once and all. It's funny because, when I first started beading and crocheting, I swore I would never do that. Fast forward a few years and they are everywhere. Some of it stashed so long ago I don't even remember them.

This particular one is from a class I took a few years back with Shelly Nybakke called "Robust Rendezvous." Shelly is an amazing teacher and fun to be around, so if you ever get a chance to take one of her classes I highly recommend doing so.

During class I managed to do about three of the "loops" you see on the front of the necklace. I had a different class the following day so this was stashed away to be worked on later. A few weeks ago I found this again while looking for some projects to finish up at a bead retreat I attended. I was super excited to see this one as I really wanted to finish this. While Shelly's original design is stunning, I knew I wanted something a bit more simple, so I made some modifications to suit my taste.  I call mine "A Simple Rendezvous." since it's much less complex than Shelly's.

What was really cool about her instructions is I picked up several components from it that I plan to use it future work. In fact, I used the clasp for a piece I also finished up this week (more on that later).

Hope you like it. I'm off to tackle some more UFOs this week!

Happy Beading!

Care'

Another year is in the books! Once again, I had an amazing time. Normally I take a million classes while I'm there and come home with a ton of UFOs, but this year I decided to focus a bit more and try and knock out some of my already existing UFOs. As usual, I took three projects with me, but managed to add four more. BUT, I finished two! YAY me! That may be a record.

Here's what I did this year. First up is the Il Braccialetto della Marchesa bracelet designed by Helena Tang-Lim of Manek-Manek Beads. I've made this one before and gifted to my mom. She was wearing it this past holiday season and I decided I needed one too. Isn't it awesome? I've done a few of Helena's patterns (and own several more) and her designs are simply  stunning.

Next up is the Le soleil beadwoven bracelet designed by Edwige Denyszyn. This was part of a class I took with her Friday evening. I always loving trying out stuff that Edwige dreams up. She has a unique approach and eye, so working through her designs is always fun. And, I usually learn something new from her. Plus, she's just a blast to hang out with.

I decided to try something new this year - PMC (Precious Metal Clay). I've always wanted to give it a try but the amount of equipment and supplies you need is a bit much if you aren't sure you are committed. This class, taught by Barbara Bessire of Almost Matching Designs, gave us an opportunity to do all the fun stuff while she did the heavy lifting. Under her guidance, we made our pieces in class, then she took them home to fire and tumble overnight. The next morning we were all like little kids opening up our packages to see how our stuff turned out. She also brought a ton of her own designs with her for inspiration, which was great. I really liked her style. Her stuff is more organic and it made the whole thing very approachable. I made a cross, a pendant, and five tiny little stars. I'm already working out what I want to do with them.

If you think this looked like fun - it was. And, if you are a beader looking for a fun, affordable, and relaxing retreat, check out TexasBeadRetreat.com. We meet every year in January in Temple, Texas. And, if you happen to be in the Dallas area, you can always com hang out with me the first Saturday of the moth with DBS - Dallas Bead Society. You can check out their website at DallasBeadSociety.org. Both groups are also on Facebook, so you can check out what everyone has made.

Today my plan is to rest, rest, and rest some more. 

Happy Beading!

Care'