Southern Lady

The bead project du joir is called The Southern Lady Bracelet.  I admit I made this one exactly like the bracelet by the same name on Fusion Beads.  I loved it too much to change it, and I had to make it.

I love turquoise and coral together whether it is salmon coral or red coral.  Turquoise and red are a Southwestern tradition.  

This beauty is made with size 8 Matte Opaque Variegated Turquoise Round Japanese Seed Beads, (Not real turquoise) 4 mm Red Round Czech Pressed Glass Beads  (Not coral, either.) and Size 5 Dark Olive Baroque Pearl Seed Beads.

The nice thing about this bracelet is looks like a stack of separate bracelets, but it is just one bracelet to fasten on your wrist.  Can someone invent a way to put a bracelet on your own wrist?  Husbands are not handy at it because their fingers are too big.  Long fingernails make it nearly impossible to fasten Lobster Clasps or Round Clasps that require opening the clasp by pushing down a little tiny opener. This bracelet has a Toggle Clasp that is the easiest one to operate by yourself.  The only problem with them is they sometimes come unfastened and whoops, lost another bracelet.  I have lost several--I almost hate to wear them out of the house.

I really love this bracelet.  If you are a beader, click on the Fusion Bead link above and order the beads.  It is a fun bracelet to make.

HAPPY BEADING

BLOG'nGRAM

PS:  One of the prettiest summer wedding receptions I attended used the colors red and turquoise.  I loved it.

Western Ways

The beads du jour is the Western Ways Bracelet from Fusion Beads.  For instructions go to Fusion Beads.  I love the bead combination and the attractive style and made it as shown in order to learn the technique of the wrapped cord bracelet.  I did change the button fastener for one I had that was saved from a dress I made in the 90's that was too faded and tight for me. 

Western Ways is a beginner level bead project.  It is very simple to do and great for combining with other bracelets for that stacked boho or friendship bracelet look.  

It is made with Swarovski Light Turquoise Crystal Rectangle Mini beads and size 8 Metallic Gold Japanese Seed beads.

The other bracelet is one I ordered months ago for a dollar from some place that I don't even remember and it just arrived via slow boat from China.  Some email orders are slower than others.  This has been so long I forgot about it.

Hope to have a craft project later today or tomorrow for Valentine's Day.  

HAPPY BEADING

BLOG'nGRAM

Back To Beading

I am anxious to start beading again.  Last summer I made many pieces of jewelry to sell at the Sandy City festival at Bear Park, but I was unable to attend due to a late summer trip.  On that road trip I beaded in the car for miles after long miles across the states of Wyoming, Nebraska and Iowa.  It was better to be beading instead of sleeping through my book.

  There is so much more to do, but I cannot run downstairs to do it.  Last trip to the clinic I checked out my craft room before going upstairs.  It is topsy-turvy with Christmas sewing fabrics and November through December totes of decoration storage waiting for the big sorting I always want to do before putting them away in the black hole storage space under the stairs. Before surgery I injured my back and couldn't even move the totes, and now after surgery I cannot lift over 10 lbs or be running up and down stairs, and am not sure  how long that indictment will last.  I am chomping at the bit to get back to my craft room to work.  The body governs itself and lets you know when to stop or suffer the consequences.  I have noticed that already this week. "You think you can do this, Nemo, but you can't". 

I did gather some recent bead orders to sort through upstairs when I am 'resting'.  It is time to enlist a photographer--you know who that is--the man with the fancy camera, and start posting jewelry on my blog.  After all, the name of my blog is about daily beads. Let's put some beads on here.  These are not his.

All the beads I ordered that came in December.

You may notice a lot of Swarovski crystals and pearls.  They were on sale at 30% off.  I like those sales and I love Swarovski Crystals.  

I made this simple stretch bracelet with 10 mm Swarovski pearls and a Stirling Silver bead.  I plan to make more to sell.  I love the combination of colors.

To the orthopedic office today to discuss what to do about my deteriorating back discs. Poor me. 

HAPPY BEADING


BLOG'nGRAM

All that was October

 I would like to finish up October before I begin moving forward.  I had a lot of October stuff that I wanted to post, but my time was taken up with personal things and vacations.  I neglected my blog.

HALLOWEEN:
     

Attempted Selfie

Halloween Pillow Covers:

I had some remnants of Halloween printed fleece and decided to cover my sofa pillows;  one is black with ghosts and the other is crazy yellow.   There was a little more fabric so I made some small pillows, too, that fit the leftover fabric.    
They all have velcro openings so they can be stored easily in the Halloween totes and I can make other covers for other seasons.


I have lots of pillow forms from my days clerking and store managing at House of Fabrics.  The small 12 x 12 is supposed to be a gift and the narrow one I filled with a used pillow that I brought home from the mission and washed up. [See link on washing pillows: washday whites on February 2, 2015.] I cut one of these former Walmart pillows in half and sewed it closed then used it as my filler for the narrow yellow pillow.  Voila--recycle, reuse, repurpose.

Crazy Yellow pillow cover with velcro

This was a last minute project I threw together just before Halloween.  I have more to make next year.  See next October.

Halloween Jewelry (a small sample):

Gravestone Bones from Fusion Beads.com

Nightmare Before Christmas Tree Earrrings and Black Swirl Necklace

Fang You Very Much Necklace from Fusion Beads.com

Pumpkin Earrings

Swarovski Skull Earrings

Dare to Scare Bracelet from Fusion Beads.com

Dare to Scare Bracelet from Fusion Beads.com

Halloween Wreath:

And finally, my Halloween Wreath that was hurriedly put together from my grape vines late in the summer

fresh grape vine wreath

when I was supposed to be picking elderberries.  Dan spray- painted it black for me and I hung some Halloween stuff on it quickly including one of my necklaces--Halloween Bones.

Remember my little spiders, kids?

It was not that impressive, but it is all mine.  Perhaps I can fix it up more next year.  I love the black leaves on it, but they keep falling off.  Oh, well.

That is all the pix I took, but there was so much more.  It is all put away now.  See  you next OCTOBER. 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

BLOG'nGRAM

Home Again

The long summer of travel across the nation back and forth pretty much wore me out.  I was gone most of August and September with harvest time in between trips.  All the visits with family were great beginning with a 25 hour each way road trip to Illinois to attend a baptism of my grandson.  The time we spent there was priceless, but the time on the road was too much.  I thought it would be fun for a change, but it is not so fun.  After continuous mountains of Utah and Western Wyoming came the near desolation of Eastern Wyoming.  Then the road went nearly straight across Nebraska and Iowa.  It was one continuous road as far as you could see.  At least it got greener the further the drive eastward.  Although the end is not entirely flat, it goes slightly up and down, but on and on in a straight line.  It was totally dark when we hit Illinois so I had no idea where we were or what it looked like outside, but there were continuous toll roads.  We ran out of change fast.

Bowling With the Grandkids.

Coming home was the reversal.  We opted out of the toll roads in Illinois.  Iowa and Nebraska ran straight across the country in descending greenness and Wyoming and Utah were depressingly smoggy due to the number of forest fires in the west--especially in the state of Washington.  Yes, the smoke does travel that far.

Three days home and I get an emergency call from my youngest in tears because she needed helped after surgery so it was off to Maryland for two weeks.  Guess the garden will have to wait.

Grandkids and neighbor kids at the Great Falls, Virginia

I came home the second time in the middle of a bountiful harvest: tons of beans to freeze, tomatoes and peppers to make into salsa, dead ripe green grapes, cucumbers by the bushel and a waning zucchini crop, pears and apples falling on the ground and a tree full of large Asian pears. It was continuous preservation for a week and then off to Pocatello for my granddaughter's birthday.  Whew.  

Home again to more harvest which continues each day because of the warm/hot weather.  Busy busy, busy.

Now my attention is turned to cleaning and organizing my home after my mission and summer extension of that mission.  More on this later.

End of a great mission--Salt Lake City South Mission Office.

Altogether it has been a busy summer.  The blog went into arrest and I now plan to get it up and running once again.  Hold on.  I can get this all together once again.

By the way, I spent many captive hours making jewelry while on the road--one benefit of a long, long drive.  Lots to show.

Teaser

Back to basics once again.

HAPPY DAY!


BLOG'nGRAM

Day 60: Ruby Go Round Bracelet

The bracelet for this Ruby Go Round set came much later.  I just had to have a set (sorry, Oprah).  I used up the last bit of chain, the smaller size Ruby Graphic crystals and some small Sterling Silver round beads and small Ruby bicone crystals.  With a tiny toggle clasp to complete the circle look, it fits delicately on my wrist.  I do like this.  I like all my jewelry and beads.  They are so pretty.



They match!



Day 50: Retro III

Last in my series of "already made jewelry--help I need to fill in a bunch of days" is the matching bracelet.  Oprah would never approve of the 'matchy-matchy' stuff but I am rather OCD and like my jewelry to match.  After all, what's the point of making your own if you can't make a matching set.  

This was my first attempt at a two strand anything.  Whoa!  Again I used up more of my red plastic or resin beads. (The package didn't say, and I thought they were glass at first.  What did I know?)  I had two of my mother's gold beads left so I used them.  This is an okay bracelet, but I never wear it.  Too plastic or something.  I have become a bead snob over the years.  I keep it because it was a first project.  It is pretty.  

Here's the whole shooting match:

Oprah, eat your heart out.

Day 44: Birds of a Flower Bracelet - Gold

This is the gold version of the bracelet yesterday.  I am not sure it is the prettiest combination so I dawdle with it.  I will post a picture if I ever get it done.  Soon.

Day 43: Birds of a Flower Bracelet - Silver

Another Fusion Beads bracelet--copied just as it is.  (Acknowledging the source--I love Fusion Beads' jewelry.)  This is such a cute bracelet with flower dangles and La Paloma squares and La Paloma bird dangle.  The colors are so much a part of my summer wardrobe.  It goes with everything I wear.  Love it, love it, love it.

One little caveat:  the flowers are attached with a simple loop and they keep falling off.  I would wire wrap them in the future.  Also the silver squares are attached with a jumpring and they slip off the wire wrapped beads they are attached to.  I am tired of this happening and now I use two jumprings when I can--especially if they are thin.  That little gap doesn't stay closed very well especially if attached to a 24 ga wire.  Be warned.

Day 41: Carico Lake Turquoise Bracelet

Carico Lake Nevada a pretty natural spring green turquoise.  It is this color because of zinc in the stone.  It is not dyed and is beautiful.  I bought one strand this year from the Nevada Turquoise Company at the Bead Faire.
I wanted something special so I made a three strand bracelet with gold-filled beads and a special clasp that I bought at the Bead Faire with 14K gold plated sterling silver.  The three to one connector and the three holed dividing links are gold plated.  That's all I had and I couldn't wait to order gold-filled and probably couldn't afford it anyway.  One day I will replace them.

I am very pleased with the way it turned out  and love the way it flatters my wrist.

Day 39: Caribe Bracelet

Another fine and fun bracelet from Fusion Beads.  I wanted to use some of my different clasps so I chose this one to cut my teeth on.  It took some time to even it up and make it fit.  It used every bead they called for, too, because I didn't make it like they did with a lobster clasp and extension chain. 

I used the size 8 Caribe Mix seed beads like they did, but bought gold plated five hole spacer which saved a lot over Sterling Silver.  I also used a GP slide type clasp with 5 loops instead of a SS 5 to 1 connector which made mine much shorter.  I am pleased with it because it fits snugly on my small wrist.  It is a pretty bracelet.

Day 36: Bracelet Baubles

The matching bracelet for the RW&B Bauble Necklace is composed of the same three beads:  14mm white Mountain Jade, 10mm red glass, and 13x9mm blue and white bumpy rondelles strung together with heavier elastic cord -- about 1mm.  These are heavy beads and need the support.

Stringing beads on elastic cord is easy.  Fastening it so it won't come undone is tricky.  Arrange the beads so the knot will be next to a bead with the largest hole.  Tie a square knot and tighten as much as possible without pulling your bracelet too tight.  Add a dab of clear fingernail polish (my choice) or jewelry glue.  Hold it out to dry a little (you can blow on it).  Let it dry overnight before wearing.  Then cut the elastic tail off fairly close to the knot and slip the knot into the large holed bead to hide it.  Voila'!  These knots never come undone for me.

Day 34: Independence Day Bracelet

A true winner just for the Fourth of July. This fun bracelet comes from Fusion Beads. I loved it, I had to have it. The chain is a premade bracelet from JoAnn.com. I bought a bunch of them to save time and energy. You can make it yourself, but it is easier to have it premade. A toggle clasp would be easier to put on than the lobster claw clasp.

The beads are various sizes of Swarovski pearls in Bordeaux, Navy and White. They are attached randomly by the wire-wrap technique and dangle and jiggle nicely on the arm. I do love this bracelet.

Day 24: Turquoise and Gold Bracelet

The final piece in this set is a bracelet made of turquoise colored magnesite and gold embelllished glass. The original design was made with stretch cord.

I'm not satisfied with this bracelet. It stretches too far on the wrist as in pix 2, so I may put it on a wire with toggle.