Variegated Peyote Bracelet

Time and time again I come across the statement "Oooo I would love to work with seed beads, but don't know where to start" (or similar), and it really really shouldn't be that daunting. Once you have made your first bracelet you will be addicted and ready to try new designs.

The beauty about working with seed beads, is that they are quite portable, you can put a few in a little tin, with some thread, a needle and small scissors and carry it in your handbag. (this might annoy your partners, parents, children, but who cares?)

I have even taken projects on Planes with me, you cannot take the scissors for obvious reasons, but 'Airline Safe' nail clippers (£2.99 from Boots in the Airport) cut thread beautifully.

Most beaders begin with Peyote Stitch, and continue to use it forever as it is so adaptable. It is really simple to learn, and once you have it you will be churning bracelets out in no time.

With this in mind I have developed a starter kit, with step-by-step, very easy to follow instructions with photos, and all materials needed (except scissors)

The nice bit is I have also added a little bit of design, the kits will come with 5 numbered bags of beads, you start with Bag 1 - working through to finish with Bag 5, this means you will end up with a prettily patterned variated strip with very little thought :)



Also included are the bead for the clasp, and instructions on how to add it, so you will finish up with a wearable piece that you can show off and be proud of. And the price is only going to be around £4.00 (plus p&p)



The sample one I have done is in lilac, through to purple. I have loads of other colour variations in mind though.



What do you think? A good idea?

Chevron Necklace

I have a little sketchpad by my bed, and often scribble ideas in it, or rip things out of magazines like the patterns on a dress, or an interesting neckline, to see if I can translate it into some jewellery.

One evening I had just driven 300 miles up the motorway, and spotting the Chevrons on the road around Birmingham, got it into my head to try and play around with the shape to make something. I sketched some Chevron designs in my pad when I got home.

So, this is the first attempt, three decreasing Chevrons. Made in Delica beads in Clear, Pale Blue and Iris Blue, sorry about the bad photo, I find that these colours are the worst to photograph.

Then I had to work out what kind of "chain" to put it on, nothing seemed to match the very straight design, in the end I did a play on the original Chevron and decreased and increased as necessary.

I don't like it at all (The chain part, not the pendant part), everyone who I have shown it to actually do seem to like it, but it's just not me. Whether it is because I generally prefer softer edges, rounds and swirls, and this is just a bit 'straight', I don't know.

But moving on, I have now taken the original design and adapted it into bracelets. So watch this space, hopefully I will be finished them very soon.

Earthy Twist

When my Mother-In-Law was visiting from Oxfordshire, she spotted a necklace I was making for my Mum, and as she was admiring it I offered to make her one too.

She chose her colours and I set to work.

I was a couple of inches in when I decided I didn't like it, it just didn't work for me. So I simply swapped a chocolate brown bead for a smokey grey one (the smallest bead you can see in the design) and it looked totally different.

I ended up doing a necklace, bracelet and earrings for her, adding a button as a fastening. I like buttons as fastenings, they are so easy to manage when taking the jewellery on and off.

Luckily she didn't mind the change at all, and loved it.

Result ! :)

Stained Glass at School.

I was asked to go into my daughter Shona's 6th Form Art Class at school to let the students learn how to make some Stained Glass panels.

It was quite bizarre going back to the school that I left 26 years ago !

There was 6 students, the teacher and an assistant wanting to play :)

I bought some lovely packs of mixed glass, and the colours were bright and vivid, perfect for what we wanted to do.

The students drew a plan, and cut themselves some glass to match the patterns.

Then they used the grinder to take of the sharp edges, taking care to use safety goggles, hats and aprons,

...in fact I think they enjoyed the "dressing up" part a little more than they should have :)

Next they stuck copper tape to all the edges,

then it was time to face the soldering iron.

They all did incredibly well, even the teacher, and some lovely pieces were produced.

I had a great time, it made a lovely change.

Project Tins

Thought I would share this genius idea.

A Bead Buddies Forum friend Mary, suggested a cute little tin that came free with "Lady Products" to use as a project tin. What a fabulous idea I thought, but the tin looked a little too small for my projects.

After some searching about I came across these Tobacco Tins.

They turned out to be the perfect size for what I needed.

I cut up a bead mat to line the lid and the base.

The lid now makes a perfect little working area...

...and the tin can hold quite a lot of bits, including my thread scissors.

You could have a different little tin for all your various projects :)

Perfect for travelling and sneaking into your overnight bag ;)

If you want to buy your own little tin, here is the link where I bought mine from.

http://www.golliwogg.com/?id=1163675&page=home&search=tobacco%20tin

Safari Cuff

This piece was invented for the Bead Buddies Forum "Africa" Challenge, which was set by Caroline Harvey.

The brief was...AFRICA - landscape, costume, flora and fauna, art, culture....anything inspired by Africa.

The first thought that came to my mind was "animal print". A peyote cuff with Delicas seemed to be the best option, so I sat down and fiddled with some colours and came up with this.

Tiger, Giraffe Aligator and Zebra prints.

Teamed with a big black wooden oval button for a clasp.

Africana Twist.

I started this necklace for the Bead Buddies June Colour Challenge, which was Orange, Brown, Black & Cream.

I used 4mm Cats Eye Beads in Orange and Cream, 4mm Glass Beads in black, and an AB coated brown seed beads to make the twist. It is the same pattern as the Twisted Bracelet from a previous blog.

I was planning to make the clasp a button and a loop, as I often do, but here comes the mistake. I sewed a button onto each end !

Now, rather than cut it off and repair it, I took it as a challenge to adapt it in some way and make it different. So I made a double loop from seed beads which attaches the buttons together. Then I made a matching dangly to thread on between the buttons.

So now you can wear this necklace in two different ways. As a simple rope with the button fastening at the back, or as something a little more detailed with the dangles at the front. :)

Just about to start a matching bracelet, will try and not make the same mistake this time :)

Abstract Wall Hangings.

A little experiment fresh from the kiln.

It does need a little tweaking, as most experiments do, but quite pleased with the outcome.

So, a selection of glass rods, chosen in complimenting colours and arranged (or should I say balanced) in the kiln and left to slump down.

The beauty about these is that you can hang it in whichever way you prefer, so if you like things square you can have it straight on, and if you prefer it diagonally you just hang it from a corner.

This is the same piece, just photographed from a different angle, as you can see it looks quite different.

They measure approx 15" x 12"

What can I make?

Picture the scene.....

Sitting in front of the TV, trying to complete a beaded necklace and you run out of black beads !

Well, unlike other people, I am lucky enough to have a "shop" at the bottom of my garden, but could I be bothered to walk 13 steps down the path, turn all the alarms off, unlock the doors and get a new pack of beads? NO...

Instead, I grumbled and mumbled and sat back on the sofa in a sulk.

Then, not being one to sit for long doing nothing, I picked up the box of beads I stash indoors, and tried to work out what I could make without trailing out to the shed.

I had some clear seed beads and some sparkly acrylic faceted beads. So I made a twisted bracelet. It is a stitch I have used many a time, but this time because the beads were slightly bigger so the design was stretched out a bit.

I added a gorgeous acrylic sparkly heart button, as this was all I had in the house that matched - but a good match I think :)

Anyway, if you want to have a go, try this....

• Take a length of thread and string on 12 seed beads, tie in a circle with a double knot.



• Thread on 3 seed beads and a 4mm bead, and sew into the 5th bead in the circle.



• Thread on 3 seed beads and a second colour 4mm bead and sew into the 10th bead in the circle.



• Thread on 3 seed beads and a third colour 4mm bead and sew into the first bead before the first 4mm bead.



• That is basically it, thread on three seed beads and a 4mm bead each time, alternating the 4mm colours, and sew into the bead before the next 4mm bead. Round and round in a circle.
  
  

I still have not collected those black beads from The Shed, every time I go in I forget !

A few new glass pendants

Had a little play, I fancied trying different shapes for pendants.

So using some bits of glass left over from a stained glass project which were already in quite pretty shapes, I just simply added some Dichroic bits for sparkle and these were born.

This one was a triangle of glass with some millefiori chips covering the whole surface. My Mum claimed this one :)

And lastly, I played about with some old cuts off from headpins, formed them into letters and sandwiched between two layers of glass. The wire caused bubbles inbetween the glass as it melted which I think makes quite an interesting effect. It makes the whole "name" pendant, look abstract and not immediately noticeable as a name. I quite like it :)

It says "Julie" just in case if is totally abstract :)

Julie is my sister, and this is, strangely, for her.

Quirky Grapes.

Another one of my Quirky designs. A bunch of Grapes !

Why Grapes? Well as a lover of Red Wine, I felt I should honour the humble grape - red ones of course :)

Made with Delica beads, the actual Grapes section is very flat and smooth to the touch and measures around 3" long.

I added a St Petersburgh Chain in green & purple, to look like a vine. Finished with a peyote tube as a toggle clasp, so no metal parts.

I love doing these Quirkies, I have another few ideas in mind, so watch this space :)

Frilled Garter Bracelet.

You know when you pick something up and wonder what you can do with it?

Well, that happened with a Crystal Clear open square I had. I pondered and turned it, and wondered and scribbled ideas, but nothing seemed to fit.

So I decided not to be too adventurous, to try and keep it simple and classy.

I got some sz 8 Seed beads in the most gorgeous matte mixed grey colours, and using the square as a centre piece, added a Peyote stitch band to each side. I made a Peyote tube with crystals on the end as a clasp, and a loop to fasten.

But I still wasn't sure, it need something else, so I added a delicate frill in crystal seed beads, each loop overlapping the previous.

It ended up looking quite 'garter' like, hence the name :)

I have another one of those squares, so I might try one in a different colour, and write it up as a tutorial if anyone might be interested :)

Bookmark Swap

Over on the Bead Buddies Forum we had a bookmark swap.

We got paired up with another Buddy, and we had to make each other a hand-made bookmark, especially for them.

My swap partner was Sandie from Jewels Of The Dales.

For her bookmark I decided to try and make some Foxgloves, as she helps out with the Foxglove Covert Nature Reserve.

I made them from Delicas with a 24k Gold Delica inside as stamen.



I was quite chuffed with how they turned out, and Sandie seemed to like them too :)

......and I got the most magnificent bookmarks from her - two of them, which is great, as one I shall use, and the other I am going to dangle out of a book on my bookcase and admire it lots :)

The first one was a silver hook with the cutest Lampwork Sheep bead, teamed up with two real wool balls, gathered from the fields around Sandies home in the Yorkshire Dales.

The second was this amazing beaded treasure, I must apologise for the photos, they do not show just how gorgeous it really is, but I love it. This is the one I will dangle out of my book and admire.

Dichroic Glass Donuts.

I had the urge, as you do, to play with glass.

So off to the shed I trotted, glass cutter in hand, and set to work. I wanted to produce Donut Shapes, simply because they can be used in many different ways.

You can, of course, add a simple bail to hang them. You can bead around them like a Cabochon. You can thread a cord through and simply hang them around your neck. You can wire them and make them totally unique....and the list goes on.


I used lots of different coloured Dichroic Glass, layering it up for a very textured look. I cut different sizes and shapes, and I have to say, was quite chuffed with the turn out.

These are just a few, didn't want to bog you all down with images, but if you would like to see the rest, here is the link :)

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