Murmuring Lake Choker

Murmuring Lake Choker
Originally uploaded by satyridae

Here's the necklace that was giving me fits last night, finally finished. I was having a bit of trouble getting all the strands pulled together in a cohesive way, but ended up doing large peyote endcaps, and that worked out fine.

Another Betsy-Tacy themed piece, this one is really intricate and ornate. It's listed in my etsy shop, and there are larger photos on flickr as well.

Giannini Mia (Betsy's Venetian Necklace)

Giannini Mia (Betsy's Venetian Necklace)
Originally uploaded by satyridae

Here's another in my Maud Hart Lovelace series, now for sale in my etsy shop. I love the way this one looks, with the crystals and the embedded bits of sparkly in the focal beads. It's the one you want to hang up in your window when you're not wearing it.

I'm just about finished with the next piece in the series, based on Murmuring Lake- but I'm wrestling with the dragonfly bead. And I have to come up with some end caps.

I can't adequately express how much fun I'm having with this particular project.

Betsy's Herbarium Necklace

Betsy's Herbarium Necklace
Originally uploaded by satyridae

Now available in my etsy shop!

When Betsy, Tacy and Tib were juniors at Deep Valley High School, the evil Botany teacher Mr. Gaston assigned herbariums early in the year. They were to collect plant samples throughout the school year, dry and label them, and turn in the completed herbariums at the end of the school year. As you may have guessed, our heroines were too busy having fun to bother with any old herbariums. Until the night before they were due. Although they did collect some interesting samples, they did not have any fall plants in their herbariums!

This necklace was inspired by the early green shoots which comprised the vast majority of Betsy's herbarium.

Created with crystals, seed beads and pony beads, it sparkles with many shades of green and is every bit as unusual as Betsy's Herbarium.

Betsy's Pink Silk Necklace

Betsy's Pink Silk Necklace
Originally uploaded by satyridae

I've begun listing my new Maud Hart Lovelace collection- jewelry inspired by the Betsy-Tacy series! Here's Betsy's Pink Silk necklace, now available at my etsy store. The idea for this came from Betsy and Joe's honeymoon in Betsy's Wedding. Betsy has a pink negligee, and when she wears it, Joe calls her his pink silk wife. That always seemed so romantic to me, and the more I thought about it, the more I felt compelled to weave together all sorts of soft pinks and pearls and sparkly crystals. It's a real standout when it's on.

Betsye's Dramatic and Mysterious Necklace

Dramatic and Mysterious Necklace
Originally uploaded by satyridae

The newest entry into the Maud Hart Lovelace inspired jewelry collection.

Betsy Ray came back from a trip to the metropolis of Minneapolis in the winter of her sophomore year resolved to be Dramatic and Mysterious, and spell her name Betsye. Part of this plan includes the color green, and clouds of Jockey Club perfume. You will have to supply your own perfume.

Seed beads, Swarovski crystals and sterling silver findings.

Finally learning RAW

Close up RAW
Originally uploaded by satyridae

Thanks to Linda, of Wild Wicked Beads who generously gave me a PDF of understandable, easy-to-follow instructions, I've finally started to understand Right Angle Weave! I like the geometry of it- it squares up very nicely after the little beads get put into the corners of the stitches.

I need more hours in a day for beading.

Purple and Dove Grey

Purple and Dove Grey
Originally uploaded by satyridae

Here's a photo of the first bracelet in what I plan to be a series of pieces loosely based on the works of Maud Hart Lovelace, who wrote the Betsy-Tacy series of books. There is going to be a Betsy-Tacy convention in Mankato, MN this summer, and I've been invited to sell some jewelry there. I thought convention-goers might like some jewelry that ties in with the books.

Carney Sibley, who is a year older than Betsy, Tacy and Tib, thinks of her family as sort of "dove grey" and when she meets Sam Hutchinson and his extravagant family, she thinks of them as "purple". This color scheme is revisited throughout the book.

If you haven't read these books, you should. If you have read the books, you should come to the convention. Read more about it here: BT Convention.

New Line of Jewelry

New Stuff
Originally uploaded by satyridae

Here's a look at my latest project- my friend who is a doula thinks her clientele will dig the goddess beads. The blue one on the beaded strands is for her, as a thank you. Here's hoping!

Sagenitic Crazy Lace Agate Necklace

Sagenitic Crazy Lace Agate Necklace
Originally uploaded by satyridae

Here it is, put together! This is the second iteration of the bail- the first time, I tried two loops, one on each side of the bezel but I didn't like the way it looked. So now it's one longish tube bail. Click through to Flickr to see more detail.

The New Project

The New Project
Originally uploaded by satyridae

All I have to do now is put it together!

Cloak and Dagger Dangles

Cloak and Dagger Dangles
Originally uploaded by satyridae

My dad was here for a visit last month, and he plaintively mentioned that he would like to have some of my beadwork for his windowsill. I gave him the bowl of lampwork beads, and he picked some out. Well, he actually picked out about 25! I picked 4 from within that grouping, and worked this bottle around them. It had to be relatively open, as it will be in a windowsill catching light, so most of it is netting. I had all the netting and peyote done, but the netting on the shoulders spoke very firmly to me last night and would not shut up till it was embellished with another layer.

It's not exactly what I had in mind, but I like it. I suspect my dad will too.

Speaking of Obsessions

Mixed Blues
Originally uploaded by satyridae

There's this lovely rod with many blues mixed all together in it, such that you never know what color you are going to get, exactly. It seems to want to be discs and barrels, though. I love the randomness of it, and the lovely swirls that happen. Some of the beads make me think of Jupiter, with all the swirling colors.

Disc beads

Disc beads
Originally uploaded by satyridae

I've made several disc beads lately. The first one was kind of a mistake- I was winding glass onto a mandrel and broke the bead release, so just popped it in the kiln for fun. But once it was out of the kiln, I started looking it with different eyes. I've used one for a clasp already, and have visions of these being focals on necklaces, or clasps, or decorations on the tops of bottles, or... well, lots of things.

It's funny how obsessions come out of nowhere in particular and take root.