More Pineapples

I love pineapples. Seriously! If you know me, I'm from Hawaii, hate wearing Aloha attire (too bright), don't like coconut (except haupia- YUMMY!!!), and pretty much don't like most Hawaiian music (unless it's an original or traditional Hawaiian song... most popular Hawaiian music is really just country or R&B with a ukelele... think about it). But I can't get enough of fresh Maui gold pineapples! Not that junk you get in a grocery store, but one that's sun ripened and freshly picked. *Slurp!*

Anyway, was making a bunch of these pineapple earrings and realized they would make great stitch markers... they're smooth- no sharp edges, weighted enough to lay nicely but still light, and just really pretty. So, I did up a set. I don't knit, but Sara turned me onto making stitch markers. I enjoy the wire working aspect of making stitch markers. It's really challenging to make round loops and even wire wraps... even harder to make a set with all of them the same. But each of these is neatly done with the ends tucked in AND all with the same number of wire wraps!

Leftovers?

Ok, so I started out the year saying I was going to blog daily and post lots of pictures. You know, I'm usually pretty good at sticking to New Year's resolutions. But, life is what happens while you're making other plans, right?

Here are some keshi pearl hair pins I made last night. I bought this particular strand to make my own bridal hair piece, and it's really beautiful. Since you pretty much have to buy pearls by the strand, I have tons of beautiful creamy keshi pearls. It seems a shame to call them leftovers, because they really aren't. Well, maybe they are. Here's a blurb on keshi pearls which I paraphrased from a couple different websites:

Unlike regular pearls, which are formed when something (called a nucleus) is embedded in a mollusk and coated with a substance (called nacre), keshi pearls are formed in one of two different ways. Sometimes, the mollusk rejects and spits out the nucleus before the development of the pearl is finished. The second way is happens when the nucleus fractures and forms two separate circles of nacre that do not have nuclei.

What this means is that keshi pearls are especially bright and lustrous. Their highly unique and irregular shapes ensure that no two are ever alike. Due to advances in pearl culturing techniques, keshi pearls are increasingly rare and now very difficult to find.

Well, I love them! The luster on this strand is just incredible. When it comes to pearls, you just can't cheap out and get the low end ones. They just don't compare.

Blogging for Beads with Artbeads...

So, I signed up for this program called Blogging for Beads with an online bead store, Artbeads. It's an interesting idea in that they offer bloggers the option to receive one of several new products for free in exchange for blogging about their program. I opted for an copper enameled pendant, with the Chinese symbol for Faith on the front. (It's written in English on the back.)

Honestly, I've had a bit of beader's block with this one. Originally, I envisioned something like this project, which is a copper necklace with freshwater pearls. It was pretty, but I wasn't quite satisfied and pulled it apart. Then I thought I would try making my own wire bail (similar to example #2 shown here) and string the pendant between pearls. That was pretty too, but I wasn't too sure when anyone would wear something like that, so I pulled it back apart. Then, I saw a facebook update from a friend whose mother passed away several years ago, and another idea popped in my head.

I scored a great deal on some hand dyed silk ribbons (again, on Artbeads- I swear they are NOT paying me to say this, but I do get a lot of my beading supplies there!!!) and decided to make a choker/yoga style bracelet with the pendant. Not a whole lot of beading going on here, but I did buy some 8mm sterling silver ribbon ends to finish the ends of a lightly pressed black silk ribbon. The pendant itself is hung on the ribbon with a sterling silver Awareness Ribbon bail. I tried a light pink ribbon first, since her mother passed away from cancer, but the look was just too whimsy for what I was going for. I also wanted to incorporate chain as part of a focal piece, but with the vibrant color of the pendant and the relatively large bail, it was better to keep it simple.

This piece was finished using a sterling silver infinity clasp and delicate silver chain as an extender with a Swarovski crystal drop in black diamond and jet. Anyway, rather than attempt to sell this on Etsy, I am going to send this to my friend. I hope it inspires her to have faith that even grief and loss are part of "the Plan," and that her mother is in good hands.

Mothers' Day sale

I scored a couple of really nice strands of pearls at Bead It! Best part is that the pearls were 50% off due their Mothers' Day specials. :) Can't pass up a good deal, now, can I???

For some odd reason, I've been on a sewing kick this weekend, so I haven't actually finished anything with these pearls yet. We'll see. :)

Something different

Maybe it's a mom thing, but I have no idea where April went!!! It's almost Mothers' Day, and Bead It is having a sale on pearls... all their freshwater pearls are 50% off until this weekend. So of course, I stopped by and scored a few really nice strands of colored/dyed pearls I've been eyeballing for a bit, and another strand of irregular chunky ones with an incredible luster. I also picked up a small sterling silver hoop with 1+1 loops to make a Mothers' Pendant for myself. (Swarovski crystal in birthstone colors.) And a pair of faceted semi-precious briolettes... the precise stone escapes me at the moment. I guess today's project is to take some photos, huh?

So what on Earth is this picture of a card doing on a beading blog? Well, those are the wedding invitations!!! (Thanks to Myra at Kassidy's Kreations for the help with the red sakura seal/focal piece. Sorry, I have no idea what you would call that in paper crafting terms!) Anyway, by doing some comparison shopping, I found Taylor's Paperie on Etsy, who did a spectacular job printing the flat invites (see the Cherry Blossom branch?), matching RSVP cards, and mailing envelopes with return addresses. Her service was absolutely incredible, shipping was the fastest I've ever experienced, and proofing the invites was the LEAST STRESSFUL part of the wedding planning by FAR!!! (Naturally, she also has some wonderful samples of invites for a multitude of occasions...) The price was very VERY good for such a small quantity. Perfect for the DIY destination bride!

I also got some pre-made pocketfolds and pre-cut mats/inserts at Cards & Pockets, an online store run by a mother-daughter team. The best part about Cards & Pockets is that once you hit the minimum quantity (usually 10 units), you can order odd numbers of items. We made 40 invitations and ordered a few extra pieces just in case. Could you buy the paper for less money? Sure, but I've got other things to do with my time... like bead! HAHAHAHAHA.

Recycling beads

I'm one of those people that needs an ID badge at work. In a previous life, my options were somewhat restricted in that I also wore a uniform which meant very little opportunity to be creative. I mean, people commented on my hot pink retractable reel and I didn't even bling it out!

So now, I'm working on some lanyards to go with various work outfits. Originally, I made just this simple spiral lanyard, which will probably end up being my "everyday" lanyard. However, I got bored (surprise!) and pulled apart some old Christmas stuff to make this adorable red, white, and black panda lanyard.

Unlike the first lanyard I made, this one is adjustable in length. The idea is that when you're short like me, you want something long enough to reach the card swipe but also something that doesn't hang so low it gets in the way when you're working. The other interesting thing about this lanyard is that it's weighted down on each end instead of making a closed loop. One end is the adorable panda, and the other is a blossom made of fire polished Czech beads (can you tell that's my favorite type of glass bead?) as a counterweight.

It's totally different than anything else folks will be wearing at work, so we'll see whether or not I succumb to peer pressure and conform!

Carried away...

As you probably noticed, whenever I learn a new technique, I go nuts with it, make several variations on it, then move on to the next thing. Here are some of the woven style bracelets I made based on the kit I bought last month...

You may recognize the purple one. I made up another bracelet like the "purple princess" that I have listed on Etsy, then added dainty little pink Czech pressed flowers to it. (They reminded me of cherry blossoms.) Each is anchored with a tiny 15/0 Toho seed beed. After putting this one, my son joked that it would be a great collar for a toy dog. Actually, I can see his point, but it would have to have a magnetic clasp for safety. I think I'm going to play with a different weave pattern and make a similar choker for this bracelet.

The black/gray one is really different. The backbone of this design is a line of Swarovski crystals in "black diamond," which I love. However, instead of using smaller bicones on the sides, I used 4mm two tone, fire polished, faceted Czech beads. One side of the bead is black, the other is gray. I originally made this only 5" long as a keiki bracelet, but decided to add an extender chain to it for added versatility. I really like the feel of the rounded beads on the edges, as opposed to the bicones. Don't get me wrong- bicones throw a lot of light, but the feel of this bracelet is smoother in my opinion.

Bargains for Beaders...

Sorry I've been neglecting this blog thing for the past month or so. We've been a little busy here because I got a job offer with the government and the amount of paperwork involved is just as bad as it was when I was searching and applying for jobs. The other part of it is that we're doing some wedding planning on the fly. And the baby is fairly mobile. Needless to say, I haven't actually done a whole lot of beading in the past few weeks, other than a few hours at the local bead store last week.

However, I do get these great emails with deals on bead sales and whatnot and thought I'd pass them along for anyone wanting to build up their stash. :)

The first one is the Dollar Days Sale at Artbeads. It starts on April 21 and runs for a week. (If you click this before the sale goes active tomorrow, it'll say it's over.) Artbeads has a large variety of things in manageable quantities at reasonable prices. I use them to stock up on seed beads and smaller Czech beads which I use for spirals and embroidery projects. They also have a decent selection of findings and a great deal on shipping... free, even to Hawaii! I would definitely check this out first thing tomorrow morning!

Not to be outdone, Fire Mountain Gems is also having a week long dollar sale on select beads and components. Fire Mountain Gems does tiered pricing so bulk orders get the best deals. I frequently find a lot of their products hanging in the local bead stores. Shipping isn't free, but it's still pretty reasonable, and the service is great. They do have other ongoing specials, but I always try to consolidate orders to get better pricing.

And last, but not least, for those of you on Oahu, today is the last day for 50% off of crystal and 25% off of chain at Bead It locations, island wide.

Purple Princess weave

Here's a slightly different version of the bracelet with some different bead sizes and proportions. It's slightly thinner and has more beads per inch, so it's a little busier but scaled better for someone like me with smaller wrists. I may actually make up something like this as a dressy headband. We'll see. Actually, I'm having a lot of fun with this weave pattern, and variations thereof. Last night's project incorporated two-toned fire polished Czech glass beads instead of all Swarovski crystals.

Bracelet kit

Here are some photos of a bracelet kit I purchased from Artbeads. The kit itself was a bit on the pricey side, considering that it also came with an extender chain instead of using more Swarovski crystals. Basically, my guess is that the markup is probably around 60-70% on the kit. But, it's a stunning pattern. There were enough beads in the kit so that I could omit the extender chain and still get a bracelet long enough to go around my 6" wrist. I think I would be upset if I bought this kit and had an 8" wrist, which is pretty standard. So anyway, I took the basic loop-through technique and played a little bit with different size/color combs. Those will be listed on the storefront once I decide on the clasp type. :)

This one is going in the personal stash.