in the works

One of my goals for 2012 is to finish a couple UFOs I've had for anywhere from 6 months to 3 years.  More on that later this week.  One of those UFOs is my neglected cross-stitch that I mentioned yesterday.  I've been spending a lot of time on it again the past couple weeks.  Of course I've still had to fit in some jewelry and card projects, too.

I sold a turquoise leaf bracelet back in 2009 before I could even list it on Etsy.  I got some lovely turquoise lamp work focals for Christmas last year (from Jen of blueserphim's shop) and have slowly been collecting blue leaves all year.  I'm finally putting it altogether for a new leaf bracelet.

Usually I make two versions of one design (often in two different sizes) while I have all my beads mixed up.  Unfortunately I only had enough leaf beads to make one bracelet.  Hopefully it'll sell quickly, and I'll have an excuse to keep looking for more beads.

As I've mentioned before, my card making is a little scattered.  I got inspired to start working on a Mother's Day set this month.

I went crazy with the little flowers and have enough for a whole bunch of projects now.

Back to more topical cards, as I mentioned in my Valentine's Day post earlier this month, I did finish a set of Valentine's Day mini cards.  I actually finished two very similar sets.

Here they are in the works.

Here's one of the finished sets.

They're available here.  They SHIP FREE to all US addresses.  No coupon code necessary.

I have been starting to research sewing with paper techniques this month and am very excited for all of the possibilities there.  I don't know if I'm going to get a Valentine's Day set with a sewing technique done for this year, but I may try a St. Patrick's Day set.

What are you working on this week?  Have you blogged about it?  Leave me a link in the comments so I can check it out!

Where else I linked up today:

I included this post in Michelle's Delicately Constructed Friday 1/27/2012 and Erika's It's a Wrap Link Party - 1/30/2012.

newest modern leafy design and a simple ocean bracelet

In between working on my August challenge entry and Kristie's design team piece, I've gotten a few more listings together.

It's available here.  Do you remember this leafy custom order?  I completed this bracelet while I still had that color palette going.  The custom one had purple leaves, which I left out.  I added more brown, too.  My original modern design from a couple years ago had neutral rounds, but I went with purple and green for this one, which I love.  It adds just the right pop of color.  I have a lot more leaf beads left in this color set so if you'd like a custom length, let me know.

I also listed this simple bracelet this past week.

It's available here.  I took the second picture just for you guys, in case you didn't already know how much I love turquoise.  I created this bracelet after I made my June challenge piece.  I love these simple bracelets.  I've said this before, but I keep making them because I love wearing them.  I hope that they start selling a little better at some point.  Otherwise I'll just have to make them for myself I suppose.

some final green for spring and a custom order

As you know, I've gone a little crazy with green lately.  I had to list one more green item this spring.

It's available here.  I sold my original green button charm bracelet last summer and honestly can't believe that it took me this long to make another one.  I'm really happy with the way all of my newest button charm bracelets have turned out this spring.  I know that you're probably tired of hearing about how much I like the tiny buttons and beads on them, but I am still enjoying that.

I have purple and black/white coming up in the next month.  I still have a couple green mixes to make into bracelets as well.  As always, let me know if there's anything else that you'd like to see.

My most recent customer orders have been going slowly because I've had to wait for new supplies.  It's tough waiting for new goodies!  I'm still waiting for some more leaves to make a new modern leafy bracelet (with a few color changes) and a pair of custom earrings to match this bracelet.  But I got one new leafy bracelet done this past weekend.

I should mention that the blue round focal beads are from alishawhite.  Normally I order lamp work from blueseraphim's shop, but she didn't have exactly what I wanted and Alisha did so I decided to order from her.  Very pleased!   The beads are great, as was everything else about the ordering process.  I'll be using some more of her rounds in the custom modern leafy bracelet, too.

This is longer than most of my bracelets.  I added an extra loop so the buyer will have some flexibility with the length.  The only downside with this piece is that I didn't have enough dark blue beads left over to make another one.  I would still like to make a lighter turquoise one sometime as well, but I don't have enough beads for that at this point either.  The leaf collecting continues!

periwinkle and black is back and other recent happenings

I sold the longer version of this design earlier this month.  I still have the shorter version so I took photos and listed it.

It's available here.  This bracelet has lamp work glass rounds from Jen (blueseraphim), leaf beads from Shannon (beadsandbabble), and a ceramic button from Kristie (artisanclay).  I love combining components from different artists to make my own pieces.  And I absolutely love the periwinkle color in this piece.  It took me a long time to gather different components in the same shade that coordinated for a single bracelet, but it was worth it.  I love the Czech glass in the middle, too.  It reminds me of the vintage blue/white china plates.  These were also components that I'd had for quite a while because they were awesome, but I didn't figure out what to do with them until I got serious about putting this design together.

I'm not planning to make any more bracelets with this particular leafy variations any time soon, but I do have two made to order leafy series bracelets in the works right now.  I'm waiting to hear back from one of the sellers that I bought some red leaf beads from because she sent a different set of red beads instead.  But I have all of my new blue leaf beads so I'm going ahead with that bracelet.

Angela (AngelaDesign) included another one of my bracelets in a new treasury this week.  Beaded Cuff Bracelet - Embellished Square Stitch - Red/Purple is in her Purple and Red treasury.  Thanks Angela!

considering a modern leafy combination

A new customer contacted me last night about a longer version of this bracelet.  My current leaf stash is seriously depleted.  I have a few silver and gray/white leaves as well as a couple brown, but that's pretty much it for this color combination.  I browsed online and sent her new possibilities to consider.  We haven't finalized everything yet, but here are some of her favorites from my online list.  Of course I love all of these, too.  Click on the pictures to go to the listings.

She wants the silver with these neutrals as well as some purple.  It should be interesting putting it all together!  I love customer inspiration.

another garden for 2011

I sold the new red and white flower cuff that I just listed last week to Christina of AnnasAdornments over the weekend.  So I had to list my other new garden bracelet for this season.

I sold one with a button like this last summer before I could even get it on Etsy.  Now it's available for all of you right here.  The button is of course from Lisa Peters (LisaPetersArt).  I don't have any more of them now, but they were so much fun to use.  A bunch of the leaves are from Shannon (beadsandbabble).  My green leaf supply is finally dwindling.  Czech leaf beads are HARD to find, especially in bulk/wholesale, even from the best sellers/web sites.  I'm always on the lookout for new ones.  Right now I'm trying to collect enough to make another leafy modern piece, which is a slow process.  I'm also looking for small green and purple leaves for new items in my rock garden series.  I did find a string of lovely green tear drop shaped leaves over the weekend that I'll share tomorrow.

working with periwinkle again

Thank you much for all of the birthday wishes yesterday!  I had a bad cold all weekend but otherwise it was a very nice birthday.

I listed a new periwinkle and black piece last night.  It's available here.

 

I bought the periwinkle/black lamp worked beads from Jen (blueseraphim) back in 2009 simply because they were awesome.  I had no idea what I was going to make with them.  I got the ceramic button from Kristie (artisanclay) as part of a giveaway and bought the leaves (mostly from Shannon of beadsandbabble) back in June.  Then I had to find periwinkle seed beads and figure out what else I wanted to use in the piece.  I'd been holding onto some of the other glass components that I included for quite a while, too.  It was way past time to use them!  And I finally put it all together this winter.  I know that this is a very winter-y piece.  I WILL list some of my lovely new green spring pieces soon.  But the colors in this piece can work for other seasons as well.

I actually made two versions.  As you can see, this second slightly shorter version is nearly identical to the one above.

I'm not planning to make any more like this, but it was neat using the leaf beads in a slightly different way than I usually do my leafy and rock garden series.

starting new spring pieces

I have a couple new spring pieces in the works.  I have ideas for a few more as well, but this is what I have going on so far.

I laid out my next leafy bracelet, which will feature a lovely Lisa Peters ceramic leaf bead for the clasp.  I made one like this before for my spring 2010 Art Beads piece that sold at the Iowa Arts Festival before I could ever list it on Etsy.

I'll probably make another green rock garden bracelet after this while I still have all of those green leaves and seed beads out.

Over the weekend, I got my beads for my next EBW Challenge piece.  The theme is Spring Around the Corner.

It will be in this design with a brown base and all green fringe like plants just poking out of the ground.  I'm going to include some lighter green seed beads in the piece so it isn't too dark.  There are two challenges that I'll have for this piece.  Even though I've worked this design about a dozen times, I still haven't written the pattern.  (This is the one that I attempted recently but messed up partway through the process.)  I'm determined to get the pattern done so I can list it as the same time as the piece.  The other challenge will be that I'm using a metal clasp (the metal leaf clasp pictured above) for a beadwoven piece, which I don't usually do.  I'll include instructions in the pattern for both a metal clasp and a button clasp.

treasury love on Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!  Michelle (Iwalani79) included my Beaded Bracelet - The Leafy Series - Winter in her Ice Ice Baby BLUE! treasury.

Sonja (veryverdant) included my Beaded Bracelet - Olive Green Shell in her Olive Blue treasury with lots of EtsyBlogger goodies.

Jessica (ecofriendlyfreckles) included my Beaded Dangle Earrings - Pink Leaves in her Mademoiselle Stops to Smell the Roses treasury.

Sydney (sydneyalfano) included my Beaded Cuff Bracelet - Dagger Fringed - Pink Garden in her EBW Valentines Special treasury.

Sydney has a beautiful Etsy shop.  She makes lots of beaded flowers like this Tahitian Vanilla  and Berry - ivory and red-violet - handmade beaded hair flower.

(Is anyone else annoyed by how the treasury format keeps getting larger?  I couldn't fit the titles into my screen captures for these treasuries!)

in the right season

As I'm sure a lot of you already know, I don't always make jewelry pieces that coordinate with the current season.  So I'm really proud that I'm getting all of this together in the winter!

I got my newest stash from Art Beads through their blogging design program this week.  We were allowed to pick any items that we wanted to create a winter piece.

It will be part of my new line that I blogged about earlier this month.  I'm very excited about it.  I used to maximize my number of choices for the blogging program and get lots of smaller items.  Lately I've been trying to splurge on some nicer pieces.  Thus, I chose to include the Swarovski button and sterling silver charm on the left.  I'll have more details about all of that in the near future.

I finally took pictures of my newest leafy bracelet: Beaded Bracelet - The Leafy Series - Winter.  It's available in two different sizes.  They're very similar and both awesome.  Both of these pictures are of the smaller version.

The clear blue and silver leaf beads that I used in this design are from Shannon (beadsandbabble).  I've mentioned her here before, but if you haven't checked out her shop yet, please go over there.  Also, the pattern for my leafy bracelet is available here.

Disclosure - I received my ArtBead's products free of charge through their blogging program. I am honestly reviewing their products and have not been paid for my endorsement as it pertains to the products I received. 

first pattern for 2011

I completed my third bead weaving pattern on New Year's Eve.  This is the first (but hopefully not the last) pattern from randomcreative for 2011.  It's for my leafy series bracelet.  As I'm sure many of you know, I have had a little (that's an understatement) leaf bead obsession since sometime in early 2009.  Two years later, it's still going strong.  I have 10 designs in my leafy series on Etsy right now.  I decided that it was well past time to write the pattern for the design.  And here it is.  Click on the cover picture below to go to the Etsy listing.

I used my newest winter leafy bracelet for the tutorial pictures.

I'm going to make a larger version as well before I update the winter listing on Etsy so watch for those shortly.  For now, those of you who bead can make your own whenever you like with the new pattern!

treasury features

Becky (miesmama) included my Beaded Cuff Bracelet - Fall Autumn Explosion in her Etsybloggers team - Fabulous Fall treasury.  Thanks Becky!

Lorraine (trinitydj) included my Beadwoven Bracelet - The Leafy Series - Fall Autumn II in her gorgeous Christmas COPPER treasury.  Thanks Lorraine!

continued leaf listings, treasury feature

I actually finished my newest purple/pink leafy designs before I finished the autumn designs, but with the challenge and everything else going on, I didn't list them until now.  I made the first purple/pink bracelet during the summer of 2009 and sold it before I could list it.  Now there are TWO new versions available to all of you who don't get to see me in person (or not very often anyway).

This is the shorter one.

And this is the longer one.  The exact numbers vary slightly but the bead mixes are almost exactly the same for both.  The biggest difference is the lamp work beads, but I like both.  So you win either way.

I still have a couple winter designs in the works.  I'd like to make another green/pink one like the original design at some point, too.  That is really it for leaf designs on the table right now if you can believe it.  Of course I'm always open to suggestions.

In other news from today, Sil (CloudNumberNine) included my Beadwoven Bracelet - Dotted - Red and Orange in her Pumpkin Orange treasury.  Thank you Sil!

October EBW Challenge piece

As promised, I listed my October EBW Challenge piece tonight: Beadwoven Bracelet - The Leafy Series - Fall Autumn II.  Voting will be on the EBW blog from October 9-15.  I'll have more details about that when it's voting time.

I'm really happy with the result.  I love all of my leafy pieces, but I've made more autumn pieces than any other color scheme so far.  Each one has been unique.  As I mentioned in my last post, I will have a shorter version available soon that will take the place of what's currently up for the original autumn listing (I sold the one pictured back in the winter).  I'm also reworking MY version of this bracelet, which was one of the earliest ones I made and honestly had some technical difficulties which I've since worked out.  While I have the fall seed bead mix, I'm planning to make some more fall leafy earrings.  I'm getting quite the fix of fall colors!  I certainly can't complain.

I'm going to list at least one more new item this week, and I'm planning to do my pearl reveal AT LAST on Wednesday so stay tuned.

the newest leafy design

I'm posting my spring Art Beads piece later than most people have been, but it's here! I've been wanting to make another spring version of my leafy design, and this was the perfect opportunity to do that. I have had a couple components for this bracelet for quite a while and pulled them together with some pressed Czech glass beads, specifically the leaf beads. It's no secret that I love Czech glass. These beads did not disappoint! Although I did not use any other Czech glass from Art Beads in this piece, in the past I have used Czech glass from their Limited Edition Glass Beads section. Some of the corner drilled cubes from the leafy series - modern that I posted yesterday are from one of the glass mixes in that section.

The other really neat thing about this piece is that I used one of Lisa Peters's ceramic leaf beads for the clasp. I still have one more leaf like this. I think it would be neat to use the other leaf as the clasp for a peyote cuff. I've been pondering what embellishment would work for a cuff like that all weekend.

I don't have my new leafy piece listed on Etsy yet, but here are the pictures of it. Enjoy! If anyone wants to reserve it now, please let me know. The original sale version of the leafy series - spring (the original not for sale version is mine) is also still available on Etsy here.




Disclosure - I received my ArtBead's products free of charge through their blogging program. I am honestly reviewing their products and have not been paid for my endorsement as it pertains to the products I received.