I HATE it when life gets in the way....

It's been weeks since I've updated this blog. I keep saying "when I finish the necklace, I'll post." However, life keeps getting in the way, and I haven't gotten back to the necklace . So I thought I'd let you know that I'm still alive, I haven't given up on the blog, and that the necklace will be posted soon.

Hope you had a good Halloween, and are enjoying the Fall weather.

Kelp necklace progress

I finished all the danglies today. I have to wait to go to the bead store to get some silver jump rings tho. I hope to get the final wire wrapped necklace posted in the next few days. I'm pretty excited since this is my third attempt at wire wrapping, and it turned out pretty well.

I also decided to do the woven necklace also. I like the idea of the kelp being more "sway-y" with thread. I'm doing the base necklace is shades of turqouise blue, from light at the back of the neck, to dark in the front. I'll then add some silver sea life charms, and the kelp after the base is done. I'm sure this one will take a bit longer since there is a fair amount of stitching to be done.

Hmmm, I'm rethinking that design

After seeing how the kelp leaves hung on the chain, I'm not so sure that is the effect I want. However I really like the way the green beads and silver chain work together.....

I'm thinking of doing something I've never done before. Up until now, I've always worked in small necklaces using stitches like double spiral chain and right angle weave. Very contained pieces. But this idea doesn't like to be contained. It wants to wave around all over the place.

So my current plan is to do a base necklace of freeform brick stitch in ocean blues. To mimic the waves that are near the kelp beds. Then string the kelp leaves randomly off this base. And add some more Hill Tribe silver and maybe some pearls.

Maybe I'll have to do the necklace two ways?

For me, designs are sort of fluid. They can change radically as I'm working on them and see how the various parts are going together, or not LOL.

Where my design ideas come from

Designs come to people in different ways. Some people get an complete design in their head, and then buy the beads. I generally get my designs from the beads themselves. Here's an example of how a necklace design came about.

I was at Shipwreck Beads with a friend of mine, and I saw this bead. It's the exact color of kelp. I had to have it, so I bought a strand and took it home......


A few weeks later, I found the matching leaf. I tried to figure out how to combine them... Thread would be too noticeable, so I decided to wire wrap them together. They looked like this

Definitely on it's way to kelp LOL

Now I had to figure out how to make them sway like kelp.... I decided to hook them onto a dangling piece of chain, so they would move with the wearer. I also decided to finish off the end with some Hill Tribe Silver charms, so the kelp strand would look finished.


I am in the process of making 5 of these strands to hang from a silver chain. I'll post the necklace when it's finished.

Technorati Tags: bead, beadwork, how to bead, design, inspiration

Beeswax vs. Thread Heaven

One question I see in the forum a lot is "what is the difference between beeswax and Thread Heaven?" I got the best answer for this in a class with Diane Fitzgerald.

Beeswax is sticky, and is used when you want multiple threads to behave like one. So use it when you are using your thread doubled. It will save you from having to reposition your needle all the time at the end of the threads.

Thread Heaven helps keep your thread from tangling. It puts a static charge on the thread so the thread acts like your hair on a very dry day -- the pieces move away from each other. This keeps the thread from wrapping around itself.

My favorite gemstone supplier

I'm going to share with you my "secret" gemstone seller. Her name is
Szarka, and she sells at her ebay store "turquoise magpie"
http://stores.ebay.com/Turquoise-Magpie_W0QQssPageNameZstrkQ3amefsQ3amesstQQtZkm

Szarka is immensely helpful, has absolutely wonderful prices, and ships quickly. She has the nicest gemstones I've seen. And she tells you what you are buying. She's well versed in the different types of stones, and will check her beads(as in, test them with acid, heat, stress) to make sure that they are what the wholesale vendor claims they were. You can buy from her with complete confidence that you are getting what you are paying for.

If you are looking for gemstones, definitely check out her store!

Don't bother me! I'm reading my bead catalog!

I went to the mailbox today and found my new copy of Fire Mountain Gems' bead catalog!!!! I am always sucked into the pretty pictures and the designs that they have. It gives me a whole new set of inspiration!

Have you ever looked at the artwork in the catalogs? There are many first class jewelry makers and artists whose work is showcased in both the Fire Mountain Gems and the Shipwreck Bead catalogs. If you are looking for good eye-candy or places for new ideas, try these out!

Play with your beads!

The easiest way to get more creative with your beading is to play with your beads. Get them out, touch them, string them, weave them. The really nice thing about beads is they are reusable. Hate what you've come up with? All you've wasted is some thread. You haven't even wasted your time, since you've learned something. Even if what you've learned is what not to do, it is still valuable.

For some reason, I feel like I can play with my beads, but I can't play with my embroidery. I shudder at the thought of changing a stitch, a color, of making a MISTAKE!!! I get paralyzed when I try to think how to change an embroidery pattern. Does this sound familiar? And this is true even after I've become playful with beads. It just doesn't transfer over. So I'll make you a deal.
You agree to play with your beads, and I'll agree to play with my embroidery?

How to change colors in a design.

How often have you looked at a piece of jewelry, and loved it--except for the colors. You know just what you would wear it with, if it came in yellow instead of blue.

Here, I will show you a few designs that are available for free on the web. We will take a look at how the colors are laid out, and figure out how to substitute colors that will match in the same way.

It helps if you have some idea of how to work with a color wheel. Here are two websites for you that will bring you up to speed.

For a basic overview of color theory, go to this website http://www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-theory-basics.html and for a discussion of how these color schemes look, go here http://www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-schemes.html Print out at least the first one so you can see what I'm talking about.


The first piece we're going to look at is "Egyptian Sunset Necklace" by Julie Walker. It can be found on Beadwork Magazine's site at http://www.interweave.com/bead/projects/Egyptian_Sunset.pdf This is a free pattern, however you will have to sign up to access the web site. They do have lots of nice free patterns tho. This is what the original necklace looks like


Ok, lets say we really want a moonlight necklace instead of a sunset necklace.... Looking at the, you can see that the beads are amber and topaz colors. This means that this color scheme is monochromatic--all yellow. So to change it to moonlight change that to various shades of blue. Here's a picture of what it would look like. Due to lack of time, I only made the middle of the necklace.






The next one we're going to look at is the "Flamenco Braid Necklace" by Linda Arline Hartung. This is also on Beadwork Magazine's web page. You can download it at http://www.interweave.com/bead/projects/Flamenco_Braid.pdf



This is a split complementary design, with purple being the key color, and yellow-green and yellow-orange (the light tan color) being the two other colors. So to change the design, pick a different color as your key color, and then find the two complements. Make sure that you are keeping the same intensity of color...the purple and green are fairly dark and the yellow is very light. This keeps the design interesting.

Here's what it would look like with red (really pink) as the key color. Again, due to lack of time, I only pulled the colors together












Another way to change the colors in a design would be to choose the complementary colors of every color in the necklace. Again, make sure the keep the intensity of the colors the same, to keep the design interesting.

Take a look at your favorite pieces of jewelry, and see if you can recognize the color scheme. It will take a little practice, but soon you'll be seeing color palettes everywhere.

For a look at more color palettes from professional graphic designers, go to http://www.colourlovers.com/

First experiment

I'm working on a piece on how to change the colors of a design to suit your tastes. Please allow me a week to get this up, as I need to do a lot of beading
to show the results.

Joann

Let the experiments begin!

Hello there!

I'd like to share my explorations of beading with you. I am working on mastering beadwork, and as a result, I'm doing a lot of experiments with the beads. I'm trying new design techniques, color ideas and various stitches. I'll be posting the results of my experiments, and show how you can try them yourself. Please join me on this adventure!

Joann