Beading For Breast Cancer

Beading For Breast Cancer
Originally uploaded by satyridae

Shouldn't it really be Beading Against Breast Cancer? Either way, read more about it here:
etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com/2008/08/etsy-beadweavers-he...

The one cream colored bead in the square on the left represents the rogue cell that starts it all. The randomness of the hearts represents the randomness of cancer, and the nine hearts are about the 1 in 9 women who will be diagnosed with breast cancer.

The square on the right is less symbolic and is just random hearts.

Labor Day Blues

Labor Day Blues Freeform Peyote Stitch Beadwoven Bracelet
Originally uploaded by satyridae

Here's the latest freeform bracelet! This is my first foray into gemstone chips. It has turquoise and malachite as well as the pearls. Though this one doesn't look appreciably wider than the last few I've done, it's actually almost twice as wide but I seem to be compelled to pull the edges together to make a chunky look.

I've also been working on my charity squares, photos tomorrow (I hope!).

August Freeform Peyote Bracelet

August Freeform Peyote Bracelet
Originally uploaded by satyridae

This is the fourth freeform bracelet I've made in the last couple of weeks.
I made one as a thank you gift for a friend, another for a friend who saw the first and wanted a similar one, then two for etsy.

I like the process very much. It's entirely about color at first, then it becomes more and more about form as one goes. The options are limitless, and I don't feel the constraints I often feel when working with a pattern. Even if it's a pattern of my own making.

Expect more of this from me. :-)

Bee Cup

Bee Cup
Originally uploaded by satyridae

I'm back from a lovely vacation, and am thrilled to report that I sold a bracelet while I was gone! Several people I was with asked me if I made earrings. I was forced to admit that it was not something I'd tried yet, but that I would get right on it.

So I came home and started working on a pair of flower earrings. You can see from the photo that it didn't work out exactly. I got one flower done and then started the next. It didn't want to be a flower, it complained. Earrings are boring, it said. It was unimpressed about being exactly the same as the last thing I made.

I was forced to listen to the beads, and the next thing I knew, I had a cup. A cup which cried out for a bee.

Today? Earrings for sure.

Beading Week

I'm off to the Ashland Shakespeare Festival with my book group- and a big bag of beads, of course.

See y'all in a week!

Up My Alley

Doesn't this sound fun? Beadwork Magazine is having a contest called The Beaded Book.
Details here: Beadwork Contest.

Bead Art Originals Items of the Week (8/11-8/17)

Bead Art Originals Items of the Week (8/11-8/17)
Originally uploaded by Sand Fibers

My BAO item of the week is the little lamp in the picture. Read about the entries here: http://beadartoriginals.blogspot.com.

It's also my entry into the Etsy Beadweavers Monthly challenge.Here's a link to the http://etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com, where voting is underway. Please take a look at all the beautiful entries and vote for your favorite lamp. I mean your favorite piece. *grin*
Edited but the links still are wonky, so I'm just leaving the addresses.

True Confessions

We got rid of our love seat today. I used to sit in one corner of it most nights and bead. When the cushions came off, my darling called me in to see what he'd found. The beaders in my audience already know. I couldn't believe how many beads were down there! Easily 3 grams, maybe more. And to lend credence to my son's continual complaint about sitting on needles, there were 2 or 3 needles stuck in the arm. I salvaged the beads, of course, while my family mocked me. More bead soup! Pretty soon I'm going to have to make something out of all those widows and orphans.

Poseidon's Deep- My BAO item of the week

Poseidon's Deep 4
Originally uploaded by satyridae

The fabulous new etsy street team Bead Art Originals has a blog and every Monday will be featuring members' pieces. The piece I chose for this week is Poseidon's Deep. It's one of my most representational pieces, with fish and kelp-like fronds woven into the pattern. It is adorned with sterling silver, coral and pearls as well as beads. I worked on it for months, and am still very happy with the way it turned out.

Click on over to the blog and see all the other wonderful works of art picked by the team members- it's a treat for the eyes!

Flower Necklace

Flower Necklace
Originally uploaded by satyridae

I made a couple of these little flower necklaces for a pair of sisters. The older sister has a blue one with cream stripes, the younger chose pink and green. They have a simple beaded loop on the back for hanging.

I'm wondering if I should make some of these to sell. They are sort of cute.