Pearl's A Singer

I made this bracelet in about two hours and I think it is really pretty. I used freshwater pearls with gold lined 11° beads.

Twisted Bracelet

This bracelet is made using tigertail and then twisting the strands. I then threaded ribbon through, and this has the added bonus of acting as a safety catch in the clasp.

Cream Double Rope Stitch Bracelet

On my shop. It is lovely and light on the wrist and is making me think of summer. We even have that big, yellow shiny thing in the sky today (if my memory serves me correctly, isn't it called the Sun?)

Four of My Bracelets

All together - don't they look lovely! The pink/purple one is sold but the others are in my Folksy shop. Sorry to keep banging on about the shop - I am trying to get some sales, to make it worth my while using Folksy. Ignore me if you hate blogs touting their wares!

Bracelet in Silvers

It isn't really possible to see how glitzy this bracelet is, but it really shines on the wrist. The 4mm glass pearls are in a lovely metallic grey, with silver fire-polished beads adding the sparkle. This is going in my Folksy shop (see link at the side of the blog) and I am hoping to sell kits to make the bracelet soon too.

For FRAN...

You asked for 'pinky purples' and this actually works, despite me saying it wouldn't! I really hope you like it - if not, I'll put it in my shop and make another one for you.

Tudor Style Bracelet

This bracelet comes from a pattern in Bead and Button magazine. I would never normally put these colours together, but I think they look stunning.

A Second Cable Bracelet...

This is the same pattern as the original bracelet from The Bead Merchant but I only did two rows, and used different colours.

Herringbone Bracelet

This bracelet is an old favourite and you will see lots of other examples if you care to look back far enough. It is a herringbone base which have made in 8° seed beads. Then, you work in all the gaps with 11° seed beads. I thought that this colour combination with the texture looked a bit like the back of a crocodile!

I am also happy with the loop and toggle. I am finding it almost as easy to whip one of these up now than to use a metal toggle. I do think that the finished effect is a little more 'hand-made' than chic but I do like to see it sometimes as toggles don't always suit the look of the beading.

Seed Bead Encrusted Bangle

This is the same as the Ndebele bracelets that I did last year, except that it has no fastenings and looks like a bangle. The work involved is exactly the same though. I used 8° beads which were stiched with a herringbone weave. Then I worked in 11° beads in a slightly brighter colour, to catch the light.

The top picture is where I had done the base and just started stitching on the smaller beads. The second photo is of the bangle on my wrist. Please excuse the dry skin of my hands - well, it IS Winter you know!

Egyptian Style Necklace/Choker

This was made from a pattern I bought at the bead fair at Five Lakes yesterday. The necklace takes about 6 hours to make but I think is worth every second. I bought some bulk beads from GJ Beads too and wanted to use them, so made it in green beads. Not normally my colour but I might be persuaded after this!

I have tried it on and it is just longer than a choker and sits in the hollow of the neck. It will go into my Folksy shop soon, when my fingers have recovered!

Another Netted Spiral

This time in pinks. Really pretty!

Teal and Aqua Netted Spiral Bracelet

This bracelet is from a Minerva Spirals calendar - November 2009 page. It was easy to do but looks really effective in the colours I chose.

Necklace To Match the Oat Sphere Earrings

The design is very simple because the earrings and necklace tassle are quite fussy. The necklace slips over the head and sits around the cleavage, so would be perfect for polo necked tops. I deliberately made the necklace longer so it wouldn't clash when the earrings were also being worn.

This necklace is going to be one of my final projects on the C&G Course. Part of the final requirement is 6 sets of necklaces and earrings.

Week 2 - C & G Course - Oat Spheres

Despite sounding to the contrary, oat spheres are not a breakfast cereal! They are beads made from 'oats', which are little plastic oval beads. This week we had to make several spheres and incorporate them into a necklace and earring set. I used a very simple design for the earrings, with a couple of Swarovski crystals on each to add a little sparkle.

I then used the earrings to inspire me for the necklace design. Because the spheres are fairly obvious, I wanted to keep it simple. So, I imitated the earring design and mounted the oats on eye pins, with more crystals and some seed beads. I am now thinking of a subtle but pretty way to link them up. Watch this space!

Chickadee Design Necklace

This necklace is all my own design (proud moment!) It started with the bugle twist that I did on my course last week. I wan't overly keen on it and started wondering how I could change the pattern to make it more my thing but still fit the criteria of a 'seed and bugle twist'. This is what I came up with - a peyote and bugle twist with a hanging embellishment.

Daisy Beaders Day - Netted Cabouchons

This was SO easy to do and looked really different depending on which cabouchon was used. There were some fantastic finished pieces on the day, including my friend's black onyx and gunmetal bead mix. I used a small labradorite stone and moss/black crystal seed beads. The larger beads around the edge are 'Black Diamond' Swarovski crystals. It was hard to capture the utter beauty of the finished stone on the camera (blooming Winter light!) but I hope you can see that it is stunning. I was really pleased with the finished article and am now considering whether to make it into a brooch or necklace.

A Kit Bracelet from Pandorion

I bought this last week, along with two other kits (my Christmas present to myself). I really like it although I would not do the picot edging on future bracelets as it is too dainty for my taste. The facet beads really catch the light and give a little 'bling' to the wrist.

Twisted Tubular Herringbone With a Special Bead...

This chain was made from a pattern in Bead & Button. I didn't want to make the whole lariat, so I made a short necklace and used one of Hollingdale Design's beads - the ones I had made for me - as a toggle. I think the colours of the lampwork bead complement the seed beads perfectly. I decided that it would be a shame to hide such a beautiful bead at the back of the neck and so made the toggle into a feature. I will wear it as a pendant at the front.

Smaller Earrings From the Pattern in Last Week's Class

One of the ladies in my City and Guilds class had made another pair of last week's project earrings and was wearing them this week. I really liked them in a smaller version (although I would always wear the larger ones), so I decided to make a pair for my Folksy Shop. These ones use 5mm bugle beads and size 15 seed beads. I changed the ear-wire attachment loop to something a little more dangley.