Light Clusters Kits and Jewelry

There are two color choices for Light Clusters beaded bead kits on my website. First up is a pink pearl color scheme; I've sold several pairs of earrings and a few pendants using these beaded beads, and the kit will make both.

The other choice is in hematite and silver; a shiny scheme that will go with just about anything.

Both kits are available at my website, and include all the beads needed to create two small and one large version of the design, a beading needle and the appropriate thread, and the pattern for the design delivered electronically in the PDF format.

I've also listed two pairs of earrings in my Etsy shop using the same kit materials. First is a pair of pink pearls earrings:

And next is a pair in hematite and silver. The seed beads used for this pair are slightly more subdued than those in the kit.

Both pairs are available in my Etsy shop, and ship in a handmade origami box folded by yours truly.

Jewelry for the Craft Show: Old and New Designs

Between weaving beaded beads, forming a few dozen pairs of earwires, and folding origami gift boxes, I'm almost ready for the craft show tomorrow. I took the time to re-create a few popular pieces which sold out from my Etsy shop a while ago, such as this Light Clusters beaded bead earring and pendant set:

I also decided that I could part with this springtime-themed necklace that I created this past year, featuring a Balloon Box beaded bead and two smaller Double Bubble Jacks beaded beads:

Finally, I made earrings out of the extra Pagoda Charms that I made for my Ice Queen Necklace. I've also made a few new Pagoda Charm earrings that I haven't had the chance to photograph, and I think I'll bring the materials to make more at the show if anyone is interested in a demonstration. 

 

The knit-one-one holiday craft sale is on Saturday, December 11, from 10 AM to 4 PM at the knit-one-one studio in Berkeley, CA. Check out the knit-one-one blog for more information about all the artists participating in this show. I hope to see you there!

Craft Show on December 11

I'm participating in a craft show at the knit-one-one studio again this holiday season. The show is on Saturday, December 11, from 10 AM to 4 PM at the knit-one-one studio in Berkeley, CA. I really dig this little show; it's an intimate gathering of about 12 local artists featuring everything from textiles to jewelry, papercrafts, ceramics, and even chocolate! Check out the knit-one-one blog for more information about all the artists participating in this show. I can personally vouch for the ceramics from KoideStudio - I have two of her kitty mugs and they are the cutest mugs ever :)

Here's a sampling of some of the items that I'll have for sale: 

If you're in the area, I'd love to see you there!

New Earrings and Pendants in the Shop

I finally got around to listing a few new pieces that I've had sitting around for a while. First there's this pair of earrings in a Disco Ball variation, woven with Czech glass and some interesting matte seed beads:

Next I have another pair in the same design, but in a dark blue color palette and with freshwater pearls:

Then there's a Light Clusters pendant with more freshwater pearls, in red and silver...

...and in red and gold:

All of these pieces can be found in my Etsy shop. I also have tutorials for these designs as well if you'd like to make your own.

Accomplishment is...

A freshly-made pile of sterling silver earwires. I make them in big batches every so often, and it's not exactly my favorite jewelry-making task, so completing a batch always makes me feel so accomplished :)

Speaking of completing jewelry, here are a few more pieces that I've made for the upcoming Craft Sale this Saturday:

While I was digging through my stash over the past few weeks, I found the this piece, half-completed, so I decided to finally finish it. The greener beaded beads are made from Japanese seed beads and large aquamarine chips, in a style that's not too uncommon but it's not a beaded bead style that I usually dabble in. Unlike most gemstone-chip beaded beads, these ones are not constructed on a peyote tube core. The smaller purple beaded beads are simple drop cubes, and the larger ones are a precursor to my Bubble Box design. The piece is strung with additional aquamarine beads, Czech glass, and rose quartz.

Here's the flyer for the Craft Sale - click on the image for additional details. I'd love to see you there!

White Pearl Set and Craft Sale!

I finished another set of pearl jewelry. I originally meant for this set to follow a snowy winter theme, but it looks somewhat bridal too...

First, a pendant, in my Bubble Box beaded bead design:

Next, matching earrings, in my Double Bubble Jacks beaded bead design, with a slight modification that I've discussed before.

Finally, a bracelet, very similar to the gray bracelet I posted last time. This one has a Light Clusters beaded bead charm:

All three pieces are available at my Etsy shop, and you can also find them at the knit-one-one March Madness craft sale one week from today! Check out their blog for info on the other neat local artisans exhibiting at this show!

Pinks and Pearls

It's February, which means it's time for lots and lots of heart-focused jewelry. To be honest, I'm not much of a fan of Valentine's Day, but I am a huge fan of freshwater pearls and working in pink. So when Artbeads.com declared January as their month of Valentine's Day for their blogger program, I headed straight for the pearl section to begin fawning over their pink pearl choices. I chose three different strands for these pink projects.

A word about pearl purchasing - I usually buy my pearls at bead shows for a few reasons. First, the bead shows offer some fabulous pearl deals. Second, I get to examine the pearls in person for the best size, shape, luster, and color quality that I can find. There is just so much variability in pearl quality out there that it's really hard to know what you're getting when you order them online.

That being said, I was very impressed with the pink pearls I received from Artbeads. The shapes are very consistent from pearl to pearl, which is a big must for my beadweaving designs. This is evident in the first necklace I made for this post:

This pendant is in my Disco Ball beaded bead design, which is also available as a tutorial in my Etsy shop. The pearls in the pendant are pink rice pearls, and have the best luster of the three strands I sampled from Artbeads. I had to increase the number of seed beads in the overlay to make the Disco Ball from these pearls, since the pearls are closer to 5 mm in length than the 4 mm called for in the tutorial.

I strung this pendant on a necklace with alternating rice pearls and fuchsia potato pearls. The dye job on these fuchsia pearls is very consistent:

I also managed to have enough of both pearls left over to make a matching bracelet:

For the next necklace, I used more of the fuchsia potato pearls and some pink large nugget pearls from Artbeads, combined with some larger magenta rice pearls from my own stash (although these pearls are a close substitute). I wove five Light Clusters beaded beads from 11° Japanese seed beads and the larger rice pearls, and strung them with the other pearls to create this necklace:

I love how the Light Clusters beaded beads look like fresh berries!

In all, I'm quite happy with how these pieces turned out and with the quality of Artbeads' freshwater pearls.

Full disclosure: The pink rice pearls, pink nugget pearls, and magenta potato pearls used in these projects were received as a gift from Artbeads.com. No payment was made for the review of these products.

New Pearl Pieces

I added a few new pearl pieces to my shop today:

A pair of earrings, this time in a blue/grey shade:

A miniature purple pendant:

And a larger pearl pendant, this time in pink:

All of these pieces are done in my light clusters beaded bead design, which is also available as a tutorial.

Did I mention that all of these items are on sale?

News Update and First Tutorial

It's been a busy few weeks and I haven't had much time to post some of my newest beadwork. I haven't had the time because I'm traveling across the country to attend a huge national meeting. No, not that one, although I hope to go there some day. This meeting is related to my doctoral work.

A few weeks ago I posted some images of my light clusters earrings to the Jewelrylessons.com project gallery, and then I received multiple requests for a written tutorial for this project. I had thought about writing tutorials for my work for while, but this time I finally made the plunge and wrote one up. I think it was because I have made this beaded bead hundreds of times since I frequently use the basic octahedron in my beadwork. After lots of research online, tons of pictures, and hours upon hours of tinkering with Illustrator, I submitted my tutorial to Jewelrylessons.com last week. Writing a tutorial for a 3-D beaded object is really tough! It felt like it took forever.

I'm happy to report that this tutorial was accepted and is available at Jewelrylessons.com at this link. I'm very excited, not only because this is my first tutorial, but because it was accepted quickly and without any revisions! So I must be doing something right :)

Now I'm imagining up tutorials for my other beaded beads; I had better get to work!

New Earrings and Pendants

I made a few new pendants the other day to put up on my Etsy store. I think I like this one the best out of the new set:

I'm also experimenting with earring designs and made some simpler octahedron earrings. I like how light and versatile these earrings are.

I also forged the earwires by hand; these one don't poke you behind your ears!