new in blue

I listed my newest button embellished right angle bracelet this week.


I got on a blue kick a couple weeks ago. There will be a few more very blue pieces listed in the next week. I've challenged myself making jewelry to not make blue jewelry all the time and explore a lot of other colors. I love blue and tend to reach for it first when choosing clothes and beads. But I love a lot of other colors, too, and it's good for me to branch out. Every once in a while I have to indulge, though! My blue button charm bracelets like this one have done so well; I'm hoping this little number will get picked up at some point, too.

I'm planning on making a dark red with a little dark purple mixed in button embellished bracelet next. After that, I'm thinking about a yellow and orange one. I'm open to other suggestions, too!

I still don't have pictures of my wedding jewelry yet. I will most likely wait until I have a couple other new creations to photograph as well, which will be at least a few more days. I'm also going to have to rework my spring challenge bracelet...again *sigh*. It's considerably heavier than most of my pieces and my normal weaving is not holding up. I think I'm going to double the weaving for each layer and see if that will be sturdy enough. I really don't want to take out any of the beads. I did make improvements weaving it the second time. Hopefully the third time will be the charm!

I think I finally have all the leaf beads that I'll need to make several more similar bracelets. It's really a good thing that I ended up keeping this first one for myself so I could perfect it before trying to sell it. In good news with collecting all of my leaf beads, I did end up ordering some from Fusion Beads. The transaction went very smoothly, and I'm pleased with the beads. I highly recommend the site to fellow jewelry makers. :)

Art Beads!

I got my first Blogging for Beads freebies in the mail yesterday. I got 7 Round Aquamarine Buttons and 7 Round Burgundy Buttons. Gorgeous! I'm thinking about making an embellished right angle bracelet with them like this purple one. I'm still undecided about what beads to use for it. Any thoughts are welcome!

Also, the Dollar Days Sale is going on right now at Art Beads until April 28. Over 2,000 items are only $1.00 each. I am trying very hard to resist this very tempting sale, as I have a handful of different beads from my last Art Bead's orders that I have yet to touch. But there are lots of great deals so if you are looking to buy, I highly recommend checking it out.

I finished the peyote cuff and triangle pendant that I'll be wearing for my cousin's wedding next month. They don't look much like I originally envisioned of course (most of my projects end up this way), but I'm still very pleased with the results. I will be busy the next couple weekends with other wedding related events for my cousin so picture taking and posting will be a little delayed the next couple weeks but I'll will get pictures up at some point. :)

Please check out Art Beads for any beading supplies that you need!

fringed

I snagged a treasury in West tonight. I made the poster sketch for it quite a while ago and am excited to have it up finally! Ever since I made my Chocolate Temptation cuff, I've been into making bracelets with fringe. I am not planning to make anything that elaborate again any time soon, but I have enjoyed making bracelets with smaller fringe like my turquoise and red fringed peyote cuff. I've spent a lot of time admiring fellow Etsy sellers' fringed bracelets and wanted to feature some of them myself. You can see the "fringed" treasury by CLICKING HERE. It will be up until Tuesday, April 21 4:46 AM EST.

Time Machine winner, new listings

Congratulations to beadsbyvezsuzsi who won the April EBW Time Machine Challenge with this beautiful time machine piece! She also has a beautiful triangle bracelet in her shop that I love. I apologize for not including it in my last post with the other triangle creations on Etsy.


I listed a couple new pieces today - another peyote triangle pendant and a chain links bracelet, the first chain links that I've made in quite a while.



Has anyone ordered from Fusion Beads? I usually order from Art Beads when I order beads online, but they don't have any large glass leaf beads. I have ordered some from Oriental Trading before that I'm very satisfied with, but would like more of a variety than they have. I have a large variety of small and medium leaves and have not had any luck finding bigger ones in bead stores thus far. Fusion looks pretty good, but I would appreciate any and all feedback that anyone else has about it.

first triangle pendant listing

I listed my first triangle pendant today! I have a new section in my shop for the pendants and will be adding more in the very new future. This is one of two that I've made using the same colors as my color explosion peyote cuff. I had so much fun making it that I couldn't resist revisiting this color combination.


Here are some of my favorite triangle creations from fellow Etsy sellers. :)

Elegant Silver and Black Peyote Triangle Choker by sandfibers

Sky Blue Gems by time2cre8

Triangle Fever Necklace by MyMoms

3D by AnnetteMackrel

Good Things Come in Threes by beadsforever

Patchwork peyote bracelet by annabeads

Triangle Twister Bracelet by ambrosianbeads

exciting sale, Blogging for Beads

I had my first sale this weekend to someone that I don't know! All of my sales thus far have been to family and friends. I have traded to a few random people on Etsy but no sales until now. The women contacted me wanting a size adjustment to one of my button bracelets. After I'd made the adjustments, she also bought one of my button charm bracelets! Very cool. :)

I was invited to join the ArtBeads.com's Blogging for Beads program this past week, which was also very cool. Basically ArtBeads will send you one of their new products in exchange for you blogging about it. I chose some Swarovski Buttons. The order is being processed right now. Hopefully it will be shipped soon. I can't wait to see them!

spring garden fringed peyote cuff

I listed the second fringed peyote bracelet that I've made this week. I finished a third one last night. I will have time tomorrow to take pictures outside of this weekend's creations. The weather is supposed to be beautiful and sunny so hopefully I will have some nice shots.


One of my favorite fellow beadweavers, Mary Lou, just listed a new spring bracelet this week, too. Gorgeous!


I took a bunch of pictures of downtown Iowa City yesterday, including a picture of the bead shop that I go to called Dawn's Hide and Beadaway. If you're ever in Iowa City, you should definitely visit it!

I hope that everyone has a wonderful Easter tomorrow!

EBW April Challenge

The voting has begun for the EBW April Challenge Time Machine. I didn't enter this challenge, but you should still check out all of the amazing entries. You can view them and vote on the EBW blog. There are so many great creations; I haven't been able to decide which one to vote for yet myself! :)

peyote triangles

I finally have some pictures of my first peyote triangles! My individual shots of the black ones turned out pretty blurry so I will have to reshoot those at some point. The multicolored ones came out decently, though, so I will be listing those over the next week. I'm actually keeping the two on the right in the first picture for myself and listing them as made to order items. I have a couple other new bracelets that I photographed tonight and will be posting about and listing soon, too.

purple button embellishment

I decided to call my pink, red, purple, and white cuff Whimsical Manicure. It is now listed in my shop. You can see it here. Thank you so much for those of you who offered suggestions!

I also listed a new button embellished bracelet today. As anticipated, the next one that I made is purple. I'm thinking about blue for my third one.


I'm still having a lot of fun with peyote triangles as well. I may end up creating a new section for them in my Etsy shop. It would be nice to have something in there besides bracelets. Of course I actually have to finish a few more and photograph them before that can happen haha.

I ordered a new selection of beads from Art Beads today, thanks to the money I got for my birthday from my dad's parents. I may stop by the bead store in Iowa City when Jake and I are there for his Frolics' rehearsal this afternoon as well. I've enjoyed the leaf beads that I've gotten over the past year so much and would like to look for a few more there.

March Top Droppers

Thank you once again very very much to all of my regular Entrecard droppers! I am so grateful for all of the support that support that you give me, my blog, and my jewelry. Here are the Top 10 Droppers for March:

1) Alteredevents
2) BeadedTail
3) A Rose By Name
4) Basketball Daily
5) Gems By Jerri
6) Laane Loves
7) Zero
8) Tips and News on Healthy Lifestyle
9) West of Mars - the Meet and Greet
10) Alterity Art

Check out these awesome items from the Top 10 Droppers who are also Etsy sellers:
Gypsy Bride - Nature Goddess - Fantasy - HAIR WREATH by Alteredevents

Lucky Lady - Black Faceted Beaded Bracelet with Red Ladybug Charm by BeadedTail

Orange Squiggles Cuff by A Rose By Name

Pearl Bracelet by Gems by Jerri

Blue Jeans Vintage Plastic Button Bracelet by Alterity

I have a tentative name for my new cuff that I've been posting about this week. I'm going to sleep on it tonight. If I still like it tomorrow, I'll go ahead and list it. If not, I'll go back to the drawing board. Thank you for those of you who have offered suggestions!

I made my first peyote triangle last night. I have wanted to make one for a long time. I got some advice from one of my fellow Etsy Beadweavers and took a shot at it. I'm very pleased with the results. I will get pictures soon. :) I will also be making more of them in the very near future!