Before and After

Well, my instincts were spot-on about this bracelet yesterday. I took it to work today, where we were under either a severe thunderstorm warning or a tornado warning all day long so we had no customers, but the bead shop owner agreed with me that now that the focal bead is attached, it no longer works. The focal bead is just to large and too heavy for this delicate peyote stitch. The bead is going to slide around to the underside of the arm. Too bad. So this is how the bracelet looked at 8:30 PM.

And this is the after shot, at 9:30 PM, and I strangely feel much better.

Orange and brown aren't my colors anyway.

This and That

I'm kind of bummed this morning. I have been working off and on for about 4 weeks on a peyote bracelet with a large focal centerpiece bead, and got about 12 rows worked past the focal bead last night, and decided that I hate the way the bracelet looks. That's a lot of work, folks! I'm talking single-drop peyote! I'm going to take it to work tomorrow and get some other opinions (I work at a bead store), and maybe they'll be able to talk me out of ripping it apart, but I am this close to ripping the whole thing out and scrapping it.

This is the newest addition to my Etsy shop. I actually made it one morning this week while I was at work - I know, isn't that sick! Can you imagine anything more fun that being a jewelry designer and working in a bead store! This bracelet is absolutely gorgeous; it just sparkles on the wrist!
Crystal Dreams Bracelet

I found a great tutorial for a wire-wrapped ring on the internet, and I had this perfect bead in my bead stash, so I sat down last Monday with the tutorial, the bead, and my wire, and started playing. I practiced a few (5, maybe?) times with craft wire, and then moved on to the sterling.

It turned out pretty well (on the second attempt), but it is certainly not ready for prime time! I am taking another wire-wrapping class in a couple of weeks, and will run this one by the instructor. I think I may just need to move to a bigger gauge of wire, but before I waste anymore sterling, I am going to get some guidance!

I got really comfy in bed one night last week, watching Netflix DVDs late into the night, after I finally logged off Etsy. Bailey can hear me unplug the laptop from anywhere in the house, and knows that is the signal for snuggle time. He got a little carried away that night, though, as I sunk deeper and deeper into the pillows, and he spooned deeper and deeper into me. I was already on the edge of the bed when all this started! After a few hours I had to get up to pee, and threw the covers over him, and he didn't even budge. Some people say I am too indulgent of my baby; some say he is spoiled. I say there is a word for those people: CRAZY.

The Jury's Still Out on This

So I took another class this weekend, this time to learn how to use Art Clay Silver. If you aren't familiar with this, it is an organic clay polymer in which silver particles are embedded. The clay is manipulated into the desired shape, then fired in a kiln, where the organic binder burns off, leaving fine silver (99.9% silver).

When starting, the clay is grayish white, an pliable. We rolled out it flat, like cookie dough, and then used cookie cutters to form it into the desired shape. The class project was a pendant, and I chose to make a starfish. Before we cut the shape out, we stamped the clay with a textured rubber stamp, to impart some texture to the finished design. I later found out how important this texture can be to the finished product!

A small caliber drinking straw was used to cut the hole for the bail.

After the shape is cut out, the clay has to completely dry before being placed in the kiln. We placed the cut-out shapes on mug warmers to speed the drying process.

After drying, there is a lot of sanding, to smooth out rough edges. The piece is then fired for a short time, and then there is a lot more sanding. The piece is then dipped in liver of sulfate, to impart patina. At this time, the piece is very dark in appearance.

The piece is then polished again, which removes the patina from the surface, and leaves it embedded in the crevices of the textured surface.

That's my finished starfish pendant to the right. The texture is a little flat around the top arm of the starfish, because my big ole thumb contacted the surface during the sanding process, when I didn't realize the clay was still soft. The fingerprint ridges are hidden by the texture I stamped into the clay, which is why beginners stamp textures into the clay - to hide these boo-boos!

This was a very interesting process, with a lot of variations, and infinite possibilities. The clay itself is very pricey, and the whole process is extremely stuff-intensive, as I call it. There is so much equipment involved that start-up costs could be prohibitive. I'm scheduled to take another class, and we'll see if I fall in love with it. So far, the jury's out.

New Wire-Wrapped Bracelet

I took a wire-wrapping class yesterday, and made this great bracelet! I really enjoy wire wrapping, and my skills are expanding by leaps and bounds. Several different items are currently available in my Etsy shop, including pendants, earrings, and bracelets, and I have also made some rings (which sold quickly!) Custom orders welcome!

Some customers brought some Krispy Kreme donuts by the shop on Saturday, so I was able to have an extra special breakfast Sunday morning: Chocolate cream filled donuts, with that delicious icing filling, not that bogus Bavarian cream stuff. Breakfast of champions, is all I can say!

New Woven Bracelet

This is a beautiful new bead-woven bracelet, available in my Etsy shop ( http://sweetfreedom.etsy.com/ ). I enjoy tackling new patterns and stitches, and this one proved to be a bit of a challenge!

After stringing a row of core beads on SoftTouch, the beadweaving began. The base is multiple rows of size 11 seed beads, for which I chose seafoam green, one of my favorite colors. It took a couple of days to get all these rows laid down, what with having to deal with all the knots (I hate having to restart thread in a project, so I tend to use a really, really long thread!)

Once the base is finished, a sort of modified brick stitch is used to create a fringe (seen in metallic pink on this bracelet). This was where things got complicated. The opposing peaks of the fringe had to face opposite directions so that when the Swarovski crystals were sewn in, they would meet correctly. Not fun! Not only that, but the fringe had to be reinforced - meaning I had to go through all the 11s twice, so that they would stay on top of the seafoam green beads, rather than dropping below the thread bridges.

Now it was time to add the crystal embellishment. I had chosen beautiful sapphire satin Swarovski bicones, and I think the color combination is gorgeous. Each bicone was attached to the opposing fringe tips by going through these 11s for a third time - getting tight in there!

After embellishing, the bracelet was crimped, and a sterling silver toggle closure was added. The bracelet is surprisingly supple, for as many beads and stitches as it contains. And it surely sparkles!

I would be happy to re-create this bracelet in other color combinations, and to any length desired - just contact me through my Etsy shop.

Let's Meet Bailey

Bailey is my 8 year old golden retriever, and my (almost) silent partner. He gets quite vocal if there are squirrels in view, dogs barking on TV, or people walking by on the street outside the front door. He also issues throaty growls when he wants to go outside. Not in a mean way - in an "I have needs, too, way." Otherwise, he is a perfect gentleman, and the best dog in the whole world.


Sometimes he just cracks me up. Last week, he plucked this almost-empty popcorn bag out of the trashcan when I wasn't watching, and proceeded to get it stuck on his head. I couldn't grab the camera fast enough to capture that moment, but 30 seconds later he jumped on the bed with the bag, and went to town!

He is incredibly sweet and smart, and now has his own blog: http://bailey-the-goldenretriever.blogspot.com/ so pay him a visit over there, where he promises to be a better blogger than I am!

Here's What's New

Happy New Year!

I decided to try a new beadweaving stitch called netting. I had never even heard of this stitch until the Etsy BeadWeavers November monthly challenge featured this stitch - I joined the group too late to hop on board that month, so I began my own personal netting challenge the week before Christmas. I found a couple of tutorials that were of limited use - it was like they assumed prior knowledge of the stitch in order to understand their instructions! So instead, I just followed the complex diagrams in the pattern, and 2 weeks (and over 120 hours of beading) later, this was the result:

This gorgeous cuff bracelet is 2.25 inches wide, and fits up to a 7.75 inch wrist. It's available in my Etsy shop right now. I probably will never do this stitch again, so this is a true one-of-a-kind for me! This just took waaaay to much time!

Here are pics of the Christmas commission I mentioned last time:

I think they're fabulous!

The colorblock herringbone bracelet I posted last time sold within 48 hours of being listed on Etsy! Very exciting! I am designing some new patterns now, and will be making some more herringbone bracelets soon.

Check out my websites - lots of great stuff! And I am always happy to take custom orders, too.