Progress

Coming Along
The piece is coming along, although I've hit a stopping spot because I'm not quite sure what comes next...I find if I just leave it alone...sitting here next to me...eventually I'll see what I need to do...in the meantime, I've found a few shadow boxes and framed a couple of pieces....not sure about them either, so I'm living with them, as well...one day I'll look at them and see that they're fine or see what I need to do instead...I know some folks can push past such slow spots, but it's never worked for me, so I just practice patience a bit more...

Bead Faire

New Stuff
Last weekend was our local bead faire at the coast and visiting with friends and finding some great vintage stuff and stone cabs kept me pretty busy...however....
I did manage to get a bit further on the faux tortoiseshell piece and also make a bracelet with vintage czech nailheads...

slower yet

No Hurry
good thing I'm not in a hurry...

A little hiatus continued...

Sloooowly
Well, I'm beading slowly....did sneak in a little beaded bead this morning, but am now resting my hands again...luckily my chiropractor appt. is this afternoon and I sure hope he can help! I'm going to be very disappointed if I come home un-improved...;(

A little hiatus...

Rest
I've been cutting back a bit on the beadwork due to some carpal tunnel symptoms, although I've still kept up on some small pieces...the bag is stalled due to lack of inspiration about halfway through the design process...so I'm pulling out some older bits that I've been collecting for years to see what they say now...it's only july, but I'm already thinking fall, I guess!

In process...

Beginning

Applique Bag

New Project
I was on the beadwork website yesterday to check out the newest issue and I found they're having a juried exhibition of bags...well, I've done the small amulet pouches in several techniques but haven't done a large bag....I've got an antique bag handle that I've been saving, so now seems the time to dig it out and play with it a bit....I put it on some fabric and added a couple of my small hands (they will need to be beaded) and a face....I like what I have so far, but need to get an actual design figured out before I start building the bag....I like a challenge!

Vintage Sequins

Earrings
I've been collecting vintage french and belgian sequins for years but I don't use them a lot since sequins are so disdained in the "art" world...but a friend gave me a few of hers and I went back through mine and have started a series of mixed media earrings...fiber, glass, sequins...here's a few, including one that isn't quite done yet...

More Fun

Fun Stuff
A friend came to visit yesterday, so we met at our local bead shop and played all day...in trying to figure out how someone made a particular piece, you often end up with a whole new look that barely resembles the original piece...and that's when it's really fun!

Playing with Peyote

The Curl
There are lots of ways to make peyote curl....this way I learned years ago from the peyote book by Vicki Star and Jeanette Cook...seems to take forever to make it curl, but every now and then I take the time to play with it....this time I added a funny little bird-headed bead I made from sculpey...

Done!

Now for some smaller pieces...

Getting closer

Wall to wall beads!

Playtime

Experimentals
I saw a few classes at the Beadfest website that looked interesting but I can't go there so I set myself a challenge...how close could I get to what I see without instructions and only going by the photos? It's been fun experimenting....most of them took more than one try before I got close! and of course, unless I changed them substantially, I won't be selling them....these are just playtimes for me...
I also designed a couple of new business cards for my jewelry biz...
And the cuff is coming along....I'm already liking this one much more than the last one which means to me that I'm learning as I go...

Palette

In the Beginning...
This is my beginning palette for the cuff...there are different sizes of seed beads, nailheads, sequins, rose montees, freshwater pearls, tiny abalone buttons and crystal thingies....I won't use all of them and I may add something else as I go since it is a improvisational process, but this is where I started from...thanks for asking, lone beader!

A bit further along

I like this so far....
but I've had to stop for a while to get some other work done....a little experimental stuff for future classes....I'll post them when they're presentable....
Thanks so much to everyone who's taken the time to post and ask questions...I do appreciate your interest!

Second Cuff

Deep Breath
I started this second cuff yesterday afternoon...this is about 4 hours of beading. Like the first cuff, this one already had the mirrored flatbacks double-sided taped onto the pellon-backed fabric (I did that months ago) so the 4 hours is just the beading around the flatbacks....

Suddenly Done

Finished
Yet another 6 hours and it was done! I used a heavy duty clasp since this is the heaviest bracelet I've ever made...but the ultrasuede back makes it very comfortable anyway...

Closer

Almost there
This is feeling like an endless project, but I suspect that's just because there's so much else happening right now so I don't have the endless hours I'd like to just bead...oh well, it will be done when it's done!

Working...

Closer
I got to spend another 6 hours on the cuff yesterday, so it's looking much further along to me now...of course, I always forget how long it takes to do the finishing work...backing, adding the findings and the edging stitches....

Working

Slow motion
Feels like I'm doing this in slow motion...had hoped to be done today...oh well...next week probably...