Fordite Falcon

I LOVE BEAD EMBROIDERY!!  I often say that it is the beading that I do for myself.  Not that I wear it often, but it is my "sanity" refresher when my business beading gets the best of me.  I use it to refresh my "muse".  Here is the latest piece I have created.

I used a piece of Fordite for the focal which I purchased from a distributor this summer.  Not familiar with Fordite, also known as Detroit Jasper? 
From Wikipedia:
Fordite, also known as Detroit agate, is old automobile paint which has hardened sufficiently to be cut and polished.^[1] It was formed from the build up of layers of enamel paint slag on tracks and skids on which cars were hand spray-painted (a now automated process), which have been baked numerous times.^[2] In recent times the material has been recycled as eco-friendly jewelry.

This picture was taken in process, when I was stuck.  Obviously, thanks to the gals in my Bead Embroidery Forever! group on Facebook, I became unstuck and was able to finish.  You can see by the orientation, that the layout shifted also.  I had planned on the layout here being a pendant, but things went a different direction.  That is what I love about bead embroidery.  I start it and it just "happens".  My style is more freeform.  I rarely have a finished idea in mind when I start.  I also love that it becomes almost a treasure hunt or hidden picture by adding in the bits and bobs as I go along.

Here are a few other pieces I have created:

Center piece from an Artbeads Blog Partner challenge

Bead Soup Blog Hop piece with partner Shirley Jones Moore

Beading Challenge from The Jade Dog

design using Chris's lampwork cabs and leather

Beading challenge with Pine Ridge Treasures

Swarovski Fancy stone with vintage cup chain

My very first project!  Only one that I knew what it would look like when I started.

My second piece, Frankly My Dear.  Jen Martin, made the polymer face.

Can you tell it is my favorite beading technique?!

The Universal Language of ... Beads

Art is not a treasure in the past or an importation from another land, but part of the present life of all living and creating peoples.

Franklin D. Roosevelt 

 

 

Last Saturday, I had a very fun experience of which my husband encouraged me to share with you.  I work at my part-time job on Thursdays and Saturdays at Julie's Xpressions in Hastings, Nebraska.  I list my occupation there as "part of Julie's Bead Posse"!  As we are preparing to move to a new building two doors down from our current location, I was working the shop on my own Saturday.  Julie has a crew of friends and contractors working on the new building to finish prep work so we can get started on moving all of those BEADS, yarn, and fabric.  Yikes, it gives me a backache just to contemplate it!  Anyway, as I was working to organize and pack some things in the shop, I had some customers come in.  The two gals and guy were very intense on browsing, and I approached to give my "schpeal" on how to write down the loose bead, give them a basket, etc.  Turned out that they were from Puerto Rico!  Consequently, the one younger gal (I think she was the daughter of the other gal) was interpreting for the other gal.  Strangely, we could not speak the same language, BUT we could speak bead!  She had very lovely earrings and a fabulous bracelet that were made with Super Duo beads and as soon as I said, "this is where we have Rizo and Super Duo beads", she completely understood what I was telling her!!  I pointed out the seed beads by size, and let her go about her bead shopping.  A bit later I checked on her, and just had to get a better look at the bracelet she had made.  It had a bezeled Swarovski rivoli which sat on the top of her wrist as part of a toggle clasp and the Super Duo bead were made into the bracelet which had double loops to connect to the double bars on the rivoli piece!  Very clever and lovely!  She communicated that she and her friends had taken a class at one of the several bead stores where she lives.  Then, while we were "cackling (as Chris would say)" about our bead love, she starts rummaging in her purse for another piece that she had made!  Too funny, because I as many beaders I am sure do, have beads rolling around in my purse at almost any given moment!  The bracelet she extracted was gorgeous, and then she pulled out a tiny delicate flower petal made with size 15s, Delicas, and Swarovski crystals.  So lovely!  We then started discussing our love for all things bling, Swarovski crystals, and cabochons! Before departing, we swapped names so we can connect on Facebook and Pinterest! Amazing the words that can be universal...in the language of BEADS!

New Swarovski Colors & Styles for Fall/Winter

I got an email from Merchants Overseas today with the release of the new Swarovski items for fall and winter.  If you are not familiar, Swarovski Elements new colors/designs are released in September/October and February/March (spring/summer).   Here they are!  Photos from the Merchants Overseas website and can be reached at the highlighted link above.

Light Turquoise

Crystal Blue Shade

Crystal Grey Pearl (which I thought was already in the product line)

Crystal Key Pendant (I LOVE this!)

Pure Leaf Pendant

Victory Pendant

There are a few other new additions and updates of styles of the crystals and components which you can see at the link above.  The blues and grey do invoke feelings of winter, but I am a bit disappointed that it wasn't more vibrant.  The light turquoise is pretty and I was impressed with the Crystal Bronze Shade introduced last year (amethyst and topaz blends too).  I am sure they will be gorgeous, Swarovski crystals always are!  Who doesn't need more BLING in their life?!!

New Jewelry Designs - Part 2 Favorite Artists

DON'T FORGET WE WILL BE AT PRAIRIE LOFT IN HASTINGS FOR THE FLATWATER MUSIC FESTIVAL FRIDAY EVENING AND ALL DAY SATURDAY~ PLEASE STOP BY AND SWEAT WITH US IF YOU COME OUT TO THE FESTIVAL!  GONNA BE VERY HOT THIS WEEKEND!

Two of my very favorite bead artists and suppliers are Lisa Suver (FanceeThat)and Yvonne Irvin-Faus (MyElements).  Both are talented bead makers, jewelry designers, and suppliers on Etsy.  I "met" Lisa when I came across her design in Bead Star Magazine.  She had a gorgeous cha-cha charm bracelet published and I loved the design and the beads.  When I contacted her to tell her how much I loved the bracelet and "where could I get some of those beads?", I found that SHE also made the beads.  I have been hooked since and have several colors stashed in my bead horde.  Here are some recent designs I made with Lisa's beads.

 These are one of my favorite new designs.  The earrings have Lisa's beads with pale peach Swarovski crystal starfish dangles.  ABSOLUTELY one of my favorite colors and just love this pair of earrings.  If they don't sell soon, they will be mine!

 How fun are these beads?!!!  I love Lisa's beads, gorgeous colors, well made, and lightweight polymer.  They are perfect for all sorts of jewelry designs.

This bracelet actually combines things from both artists!  Lisa's beads and some of the retro/funky bits that Yvonne sells in her shop!  I could spend a LOT of money at her shop, and not only does she have retro finds and all sorts of fun do-dads that add whimsy to a design, she also makes "My Elements", handpainted plexiglass pieces that are also lightweight and GORGEOUS!

 These fun and festive earrings showcase both Yvonne's hand painted pieces and her spinning discs.

Aren't these fun?  They look like something from a very fun planet in outer space!
I came across Yvonne several years ago in Step by Step Beads magazine and have been a big fan since!  Sadly, Step by Step Bead magazine went away when the economy tanked and I still haven't recovered!  It was my VERY FAVORITE beading magazine, and there is still a lingering resentment (2 or 3 years later)
that I can no longer receive it!

Hope you have enjoyed this installment to the new designs.  I hope the next installment will be all of the new crystal creations I have added!

Stephanie Recommends

It has been awhile since I did one of these posts (or any posts for that matter, SORRY!) so I thought would update you on some wonderful shops which I LOVE to shop at here on the internet.
UnkamenSupplies on Etsy:

On Edge Square Bronze and Stainless Steel Bracelet

 Ralph, Karen, and their family are fabulous to work with and they make top quality jump rings for chainmaille designs.  Their kits contain everything you need (and isn't this new design amazing?!) and they are above and beyond fabulous in the customer service department.  We have worked with them many times on many projects and we couldn't be happier.  There are plenty of places to buy supplies for chainmaille, but this is our favorite and first go-to spot to start.  Tell them we sent you!

ikandiclay on Etsy:

Mini Kaleidoscope Cane (Polymer Clay)

I came across the ikandiclay shop on Etsy last year when I was looking for small, pretty polymer beads to make earrings with.  Ivy (who lives in Omaha) makes gorgeous polymer beads and canes and what amazes me is that while the picture above shows you the beautiful details of her work, it is only part of the story.  This picture shows you the actual size and it is indeed MINI!

You can learn more about Ivy's beautiful work at her website ikandiclay.com and she also shows you how she makes her canes and how you should bake them to make them into pieces or beads.

Mimi's Gems 
I came across Mimi's when I was hunting for glue in Tierracast bails for Chris's new pendant beads he is making.  Then I fell in love with her prices, selection, and fantastic service!  She has a huge amount of Tierracast at some really awesome prices (and you can order the full package of the style).  She has a wide variety of Swarovski crystals in colors and styles I hadn't seen before too.  They are getting ready to move their store from California to Nevada (I think) so their shop will be closed for a month starting in May.  But these are some of the fabulous pieces I have purchased from them:

I have a weakness for LARGE Swarovski stones and rivoli.  Mimi's has some really cool colors of rivoli!  Stop by their website and check them out!
Good Quill Hunting and Bead Dreamers are a couple of seed bead pattern sources I have purchased from lately.  Good Quill Hunting owner and design artist Christina Neit has some really fun patterns, kits and finished jewelry.  I purchased this pattern from her:

and I made it using terra cotta and turquoise Tila beads resulting in a very Egyptian bracelet!  I added a Tierracast Ankh charm to complete the design.  Would love to show you, but can't find it at the moment to photograph it!
I met the gals behind Bead Dreamers last weekend at the Grand Island Bead Bazaar.  They are from Minnesota and these are the patterns I purchased from them!

Cheeri-O Bracelet

 

Chinese Coin Bracelet

I have started on my Chinese Coin pattern and it is pretty quick to put one ring together, so hope to have the bracelet done by the end of the weekend.  I plan to play with my seed beads all weekend while we visit with Chris's family for Easter!  See you here next week!

The Wait is Over! Here it is!

It began here, with a post from October 19th:
On the new front, I am one of ten participants taking part in The Hole Bead Shoppe's Day of the Dead Bead kit challenge.  Here is a picture of my kit supplies:

My kit fee was $50 and I got a $120+ value!  Crazy the amount of items that were in the kit, and WOW do I feel the pressure to create an over the top, fabulous piece!  The kit has a wide variety of Lucite flowers and leaves, Vintaj keys and blanks, fresh water pearls, Czech daggers and fire polish, Swarovski crystals, a variety of seed beads and Tila beads, gunmetal plate spacers, Tierracast beads and spacers, and a Palmtree Queen Day of the Dead lampwork focal.  Here is a picture of the skull beads the Hole Bead Shoppe added to our kits:

Mine is in the second row, second from the left!  They are AWESOME!


It continued in this update from October 25th:
Last week I told you about my newest Challenge project.  As I am sure you have noticed, posts have been a bit thin the past couple weeks.  All of my time is being spent at work at my two jobs or at work at my beading table.  To date I have worked about 13 hours on my project piece.  I have done a right angle weave using Tila beads, fringed with Lucite, pearls, crystal, and LOTS of seed beads, and now I am working a spiral herringbone tube that will at this point wrap around the fringe section.  Next (once the tube is done) I plan to finish the rope hanging the piece using some 8mm Chinese crystal rondelles accented with a netting stitch.  I am amazing myself!  I haven't seeded beaded this much all year, but it is looking amazing!  Stay tuned for further updates!

At this point I sounded very optimistic until... this post on Halloween.

Day of the Dead Bead Challenge update:
After adding an additional 6 hours of time to my project Monday and Tuesday evening last week, I had a thread break on the herringbone spiral I was stitching, and it ALL FELL APART!!  I must say, that put me off the project for a few days, and I believe I muttered a few "bad" words.  Consequently, on Friday night I spent time with those beads doing wire crochet instead.  I think I have that portion done now except for attaching it together.  Stay tuned!

This was the sneak peak I gave you at Thanksgiving:
Now I promised you all a sneak peak, and here it comes.  In a couple weeks, my Day of the Dead Challenge project is due for submission to The Hole Bead Shop for judging.  I finished it at the end of last week, so that I could get it to a professional photographer to do it justice in a single photo.  Amy Sandeen helped us out and did a terrific job.  I would love to show you how great the photos are, but that would give away the design before it is time!  So here is a morsel to tide you over!

And now without further adieu...My piece for The Hole Bead Shoppe Day of the Dead Challenge Kit:

 I am so pleased with the end result!  

• Lampwork focal by Palm Tree Queen,
• Loads of Lucite flowers and leaves 
• Crystals (Swarovski & Chinese)
• Seed Beads (size 11, 15, and Tilas)
• Tierracast charms and pendants from the Viva Mexicana! line
• pewter and sterling spacer beads
• Czech glass dagger beads and Fire Polish beads
• sterling silver skull toggle
• my beading wire, crimps, crimp covers, and Parawire for the stringing, wire crochet, and wire wrapping.
• 20 to 25+ hours (I honestly lost track) of my hard work and a few bad words (the herringbone incident)  

So now what?  Let the judging begin!  I am going to ask you to stop over on Facebook and vote (for me PLEASE) as there is an additional prize to be awarded for the vote of the public.  I will get that link posted here shortly!  


Thank you for following my journey through the largest design I have ever undertaken!  Thanks especially to Kelli, Michael, and Tarlee at The Hole Bead Shoppe for coming up with this wonderful challenge and to Debi Cogwell for the beautiful and fun focal bead to design with!

Swarovski New Colors!!

 I love when the new Swarovski colors are released!  I am a big fan of Bling, and if you want the best Bling, Swarovski is definitely the way to go.  Their quality and selection are hard to beat.  These are the new color releases for the Fall/Winter selection.  The new crystal pearl color:

Petrol- (deep blue/teal)

Denim Blue

Antique Pink

My favorites of the Swarovski line are the pendants and shaped beads.  I love to make suncatchers and using the Swarovski crystals and Strass leaded crystals on them is wonderful.  One of the new items I am excited about is the diagonal drilled Wild Heart bead.

Wild Heart

Having the bead drilled this way, you can hang it on the diagonal of a necklace instead of just hanging through the pendant drill.  I love all of the heart beads, and am very excited to have these come into stock in the various bead suppliers so that I can get them in time for Holiday designs.  I only wish they had added a new color in the "opal" lineup.  I love all of the opal colors, and they add a different dimension of color to the design.  If Swarovski is listening, might I suggest a lovely lime green colored opal or a bright orange opal!  Imagine the Khaki or Peridot or Hyacinth in the opal line!  That would be awesome!