Lunar Eclipse

I finished a new necklace this week. The main component is the gorgeous stone donut hanging from a butterfly bail.

The rope is a filled net with twisted herringbone on the ends:

The bail is removable, so I can wear the rope alone:

The round jet crystals sparkle lots more than you can see in this photo:

I hope to have the tutorial for this necklace available soon. My To-Do List keeps getting longer and longer, but the kids go back to school the day after tomorrow, so hopefully, I'll have more time to check things off! :)

FREE Twisted Herringbone Bangle Tutorial

Finally finished! The FREE tutorial for a seamless twisted herringbone bangle is finally posted on my website here. As a thank you to me, please post a link to my website on your blog, Facebook page, Twitter account, etc.

Happy beading!

Birthday Giveaway

My birthday is in two days, and to celebrate, I'm giving YOU a free gift! I will be giving away tutorials for my Herringbone Twist Bangle, which features an invisible join instead of a ladder stitch start. Stay tuned for more information and to find out how to get your own copy! :)

Curves & Cages Necklace Tutorial Available

I spent two days straight (about 24 hours total of work) writing the tutorial for my latest necklace series (Tropical Sunset, Blue Lagoon, Sedona, and Jungle Fever). I finally finished it and it is now available on my website and in my Etsy shop. Happy beading!

Tropical Sunset Teaser

This is the clasp to the necklace I just finished last night. I'll post pictures of the rest of it (and the matching earrings - gasp!) later today. :)

Nuit d'été

When Artbeads asked me to make a project for their Summertime gallery, I chose nice bright summery colors... then when I started beading, it turned into a summer's night! Nuit d'été (Summer Night) is its name:

I used a Bermuda Blue Pendant and 3 Bermuda Blue Cosmic Rings

The beads are Toho 3-cut 12/o gold-lined blue - lots of sparkle!

The roundels used in the bumpy sections of the rope are Czech crystals I got in Andrews at the last bead retreat. I love the color.

Artbeads posts all of the contributor photos on their blog. Check it out here.

*Please note: I have received the above items (the Bermuda Blue crystals and the 3-cut seed beads) free of charge from Artbeads. This is my honest review of the product and I have not been paid for my endorsement as it pertains to the products received.

Work in Progress

Here's what is on my work table right now. Herringbone and Swarovski... what more could a girl want?

Feature

My good friend Aryd'ell just posted this bracelet (named after me!) on her blog: http://gypsysramblings.blogspot.com/2010/02/kassie.html

I couldn't figure out how to link the photos to her blog directly, so please go there and show her some love!

Netted Rope - more pics

I got some better photos of my netted rope today. :)

Better Photos

This was taken before I put the final "belt loops" on, but it's hard to tell here.
I really like the way the clasp is attached. The spacers are used as stop beads.
I first saw this pattern ages ago on June Huber's website www.junipercreekdesigns.com and finally made one for myself. Used the light box to get better photos.
This ring is embellished right angle weave over a plastic o-ring. Not sure what I'll do with it yet.

Retreat... and some UFO's finally finished!

I just got back from a 4 day bead retreat in the mountains. A friend hosted it at her home and there were 13 of us there (packed like sardines... but happy ones). I got these earrings from a friend, who made them by hand using poly clay. She has an etsy site and more pictures on flickr.

This bracelet was originally designed by June Huber and I finished it this weekend. I am making our hostess another one with a volcano Swarovski rivoli button and blue pearls.
This bracelet is from the latest Beadwork Magazine, called Forever in Blue Jeans. I couldn't find the buckle finding used in the magazine, so I used a charm I found.
This herringbone spiral rope is woven in white-gold plated Delicas I got from ArtBeads. The clasp is platinum plated. I hope to sell it to a customer soon... and then make another one for me!
I have a couple of other things started... a bracelet in bright orange, lime, and blue as well as a RAW covered o-ring that needs more embellishing. I hope to finish more things soon!

Even More Bangles

This bracelet is the third in a set made for a customer. She requested matte beads in a herringbone twist. I made two, not knowing which she would like better, and she requested a third to go along with them. The first was brown and green, the second was brown and blue, so this one I made in green and blue.Triangle beads in straight tubular herringbone look very slinky! I love these Toho triangle hybrids I got from Artbeads: I also got some jewelry cleaner for some tarnished silver components I have sitting around. I also have white-gold delicas that I am going to (surprise, surprise) use in a spiral herringbone necklace. It will be the backdrop to some embroidered pendants I plan on making soon.

More Bangles

I had a request for a herringbone bangle made with matte beads instead of the metallics I have been using, so I made this one from matte brown beads with green accent spirals:

I wasn't sure it was exactly what she was looking for, so I also made this one out of matte bronze and blue iris delicas:

I'm sure she'll like one or both of them... in the meantime, I made two of these (one for me and one for a friend's birthday present):

I am having so much fun with these bracelets! Now I am starting work on a neck piece that is a combination bead embroidery and herringbone rope (for the strap). It's called "Northern Lights" and will use colors similar to the blue bracelet above.

Snake Bracelet in Purple & Pink

Here's another herringbone bangle. Twisted this time, which is easier to do because it is mindless... just keep going and no worries about stepping up at the end of each round! As a matter of fact, it's so mindless that I had to remove about an inch worth of rounds because I made it too long. :D

I am working on another one in dark blue metallic and silver lined teal. I like these, so I might make several more.

Herringbone Snake Bracelet

Made this bracelet last night while watching Harry Potter 2 w/ the kids. Simple but oh, so slinky! Made with size 11/o Toho Treasure cylinder beads and Fireline. Custom orders available in different colors/patterns. Contact me for details.

Reversible Cobblestone Bracelet

I got some new Toho Hybrid beads from Artbeads.com (an online retailer of beading supplies) a few weeks ago and made a bracelet (for sale on Etsy). It's herringbone stitch on both sides with 3mm cubes and 11/o beads. The hybrids are regular Tohos with an added coating. I wish the packages were a little larger because I did not have enough squares to make the bracelet quite as long as I wanted. I ended up using an adjustable clasp, anyway, which worked out fine, but I would have rather made the woven part of the bracelet longer.

The darker side of the bracelet is made with metallic purple squares and marbled hematite ab seed beads. The lighter side of the bracelet has pink "apollo" squares and metallic purple seed beads. It fits a wrist from 6 1/2" to 9".

The Many Colors of Herringbone

I am working on four herringbone ropes right now. All are tubular. Two are spiral and two are straight, but one of the straight ones is going to end up as a flat reversable bracelet. The rest are necklaces. Almost all of the colors I'm using are variations of purples and greens. I love herringbone and I just have a bunch of ideas right now, I guess.

I am also working on a new bead embroidery cuff. This one will have a cuff blank inside it... I prefer using blanks because I don't have to worry about clasps or sizing. It will be for sale on my Etsy site soon, I hope. As usual, I am using greens and browns. The next one will have to be something wild like orange or pink, because I really need to offer my customers some variety.