Flowers on my mind

We're moving ever closer to the end of the year, but I seem to have flowers on my mind. It helps that I live in the tropics which means it's summer all the time. I don't generally make 'flowery' jewellery though and I rarely make pins/brooches. So this is a departure for me. I'd been meaning to make something out of the Czech pressed glass leaves for well over a year, and I finally got around to it. Talk about procrastination! I quite like how it turned out. And for all my talk about summer and flowers, I think the pin has a rather 'autumn-y' feel about it. It must be the colours, I think.

Back...

...with new loot :-).

Yes, I've been away for quite a while. Busy with work and with a certification course I'm taking - lots of readings to complete and papers to write. But I still have time for my beads. Well, at least for buying them LOL. Below are some new beds I couldn't say 'no' to.

As you can see...they're pretty much all ceramic beads. Did I ever mention I can get pretty obsessive over things? I fall in love with something and then spend the next few weeks, months wallowing in that something. Apart from reading - which is an obsession I've had since I was oh, about four years old - the only other obsession that's lasted is my love for beads and making jewellery. And right now, I'm all about ceramic and stoneware and porcelain. The beads pictured are from Keith O'Connor, White Clover Kiln, Earthenwood Studios and Marsha Neal Studio - aren't they just beautiful??

Re-purposing

These frog beads were part of a jewellery set a friend had bought some time ago. The larger bead - pendant, really - hung from a simple rubber cord while the other two were earrings. My friend, who has loved all things frog-like since she was a teen, found the jewellery difficult to wear - she said the froggies seemed to be too big for their hooks and cord - but wanted to keep the lil critters. So she gave them to me with a plea to re-use them in a way that would make it easier for her to wear them. So this is what I made.

A special commission

I don't talk about it much - here or anywhere else, but I believe in God and I practise my faith. With the Muslim holy month of Ramadan starting tomorrow, it was apt that I spent some time today making 3 sets of prayer beads (called the tasbih) for someone who wants to gift them to friends. I used rose quartz and blue goldstone beads, and I hope the recipients like what I made.

Yes! It's another giveaway!

I don't know what it is about bead artists, but they sure are a generous bunch! Heather of Humblebeads is having a great big giveaway. All you have to do is to head to her blog and leave a comment about your favourite HB bead. A winner will be drawn on Tuesday. Good luck!

Weekends...and something new

I wish 3-day weekends were the norm. There just isn't enough time on the weekends for me to do what I need/want to. Once I've done the cooking, cleaning and whatever chores that were ignored during the week, there aren't very many hours left for fun. I didn't do too badly this week though. I squeezed in lunch with friends, waded through most of the book I'm currently reading, visited the library and borrowed more books (including 2 on chainmaille) and best of all, made some jewellery. Well....just one bracelet, to be accurate.

You might remember the focal from my earlier post. It's a ceramic link from White Clover Kiln. I knew from the start that whatever I made with it would be strictly for me. And since I have very simple tastes in jewellery, I kept the design quite spare. Just some chain - I love how the oval links mirror the shape of the focal bead - a couple of dangles and a pewter clasp.

What did you do over the weekend? Did you make jewellery too? Or read a book? Whatever it was, I hope you had fun!

What I've been up to

I'm not a girly-girl, never have been. I wear way too much black and usually run screaming from anything pastel. But I like pretty things - my fetish for beads attests to that - and lately, I've been leaning towards designs that are...well, sweet.

This features ceramic pink hearts from White Clover Kiln on Etsy. I was going to keep it simple and just add ear hooks but then I got sidetracked by some Swarovski crystal pearls. So what was a girl to do? I took them, added some lead-free pewter frames and voila.

I'm working on a matching necklace. The heart charms were part of a set that included a larger pendant. I'm sticking to the pearls and pink hearts theme and will probably add some silver beads or chain or something. Or I might decide on something else. I'll let you know.

And then, there's this:

Purple's one of my favourite colours so I finally made something with these pretty lavender lampwork rondelles from a glass artist I found on Ebay.

Other WIPs:

The blue ceramic link is from White Clover Kiln again and I'm planning on making it into a bracelet for myself. The red glass bead with the Bali silver (and I actually got it in Bali - how about that?) bead cap is going to be a charm that I plan to string on either a chain or leather cord. Something casual and everyday that's still pretty. Maybe I'll do a whole collection of these simple everyday charm/pendant necklaces. The last is a beautiful focal bead from Etsy artist SKHolt. I've been hoarding it and 3 of its siblings for longer than I'd like to admit. But i think it's time to start making it into a piece of jewelry. It deserves to be worn instead of being cooped up in my bead box.