Rainbow Silver Back Gem

Today's bead is so colorful I just couldn't resist it this time, it was calling my name!

I have seen it many times before at the local Michael's store, but always resisted because I didn't have anything in the works that I needed it for. Well...today I saw it at Joann's and I am going to blame it on the lighting! Seriously though, it does seem to be brighter in the bead section there.

Now that I have it home I can't believe I fought it for so long. I feel like breaking into a little Elizabeth Barrett Browning..."How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height -My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight -For the ends of being and ideal grace.I love thee to the level of every day's -Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light..." :)

That might be laying it on just a bit thick, but it has so many great qualities. The unique shape, the multiple colors that change constantly as the light hits it and the holes on each side of the bead which give it a vintage look...just to name a few!

Have a nice and sparkly evening!

Handmade Fiber Beads

Hi there! I hope your week got off to a good start!! If not, once you see these fiber beads, you'll forget all about it! The colors and fun to read captions will turn any frown upside down!

I came across these fiber beads through mention on twitter and once I visited this etsy site, I must have spent a good 45 minutes there! There are 17 pages of items for sale, all fiber beads in a variety of shapes, sizes, colors and textures. Wow!

I had a chance to communicate with the creator of these fiber beads, Eleanor, and learned that they are made from natural and synthetic materials. She said when she finds a fiber or two she likes to try to 'marry' them and see how they work together. She has seen her fiber creations used by artists in a variety of ways including jewelry, dreads, wallhangings, as buttons on purses and clothing. She mentioned that some even found a home among pearls on a reproduction Ann Boleyn dress from the tudor era.

Eleanor also mentioned the beads are sturdy and washable and if they are wool, they will felt with washing. How fun!

FOUND: Pacific Opal Component (in my own stash!)

Question: Is it possible to forget you had a really great bead in only two months time?

Answer: I'm sorry to report, YES, it certainly is possible!

The only explanation I can find is that I posted the other swarovski component within a few days of purchasing them and must have been interrupted or distracted for a few days. When I found this one today it was already halfway beaded on some wire to make a ring. Wow, the power of the mind to focus on something new is amazing! I suppose that's the upside to this situation. The fact I was able to put everything else out of my mind to work on something new could possibly be thought of as a positive! Right?...

I hope you all had a memorable weekend and hope you enjoy this newly discovered pacific opal swarovski component as much as I have!

(In case you are interested here's the other one I posted a couple months ago.)

This Week's Jewelry: Art Deco Choker

This week's jewelry piece is an "art deco" choker made with the 27mm black Swarovski rivoli from Artbeads.com. The reason I wanted to use these rivoli's was due to their art deco vibe.

I first learned something about art deco when I started searching out antique stores and flea markets for kitschy pieces from the 1950's. While these two styles are vastly different, you can still see the art deco influence in the styles of the 50's. It's in everything from the double decker lamp shades to the plastic salt and pepper shakers. Interestingly, this design style began appearing in the 1920's and was greatly influenced by Egyptian design due to the fact that King Tut's tomb was discovered in 1922.

Since I mentioned these rivoli's in Thursday's post, I've had lots of ideas for incorporating them, but this is the one I liked the most. It is made on two strands of choker memory wire, with both strands going through the back of the rivoli's.

Let me know what you think! Have a great evening!

Featured Designer: Uniques - Handcrafted Jewelry by Lori

The weekend has arrived and not a moment too soon!

I came across this victorian inspired bracelet recently and was envious of the level of perfection on the weave as well as the finishing. I went through a period of using weaving techniques and loved working on the project itself, but when it came to finishing it off I lost interest.

The pearls in this bracelet give it a classic appeal and the woven sparkles with contrasting seed beads elevate it to a lovely conversation piece. The designer's artfire studio, "Uniques: Handcrafted jewelry by Lori", includes several other unique woven pieces which I've added below.

Thanks to Lori for allowing me to share her designs! Have a great weekend!!

More Blue Beads Please!

The sky this afternoon was such a gorgeous, deep blue with just the right amount of swirly white clouds. It was a joy to drive home on the freeway with so much blue to see.

As I was looking through containers of beads, I came across a nice deep blue bead and thought it would be fun to make a bead mix with blues the color of this afternoon's sky.

Well, much to my dismay and disbelief, I found that most of the blue beads in my collection are some variation of aqua blue! What a shock, considering blue has been my favorite color since childhood. At some point my favorite shade took a turn toward the caribbean! I guess I shouldn't be surprised considering how much I have enjoyed our tropical vacations.

It is clear that I need to do something about this shortage!

In the mean time, I will enjoy the blue beads I do have. Have a great evening!

Super-Sized Swarovski Rivoli

Please join me in saying, WOW! This swarovski rivoli in Jet is a whopping 27mm!!

This large and lovely bead/button is from Artbeads.com. It appears this larger size is more rare and difficult to find. If you aren't familiar with swarovski rivoli's, they are a sort of button with the hole going through the back. If you look at them from the side, you can see that they are pointed on the front and the back.

It's not noticeable in the Jet version, but in the crystal or crystal AB version, you can see the depth that these points provide for a wonderfully sparkly effect. I have used a smaller crystal AB version before and posted them here a while back. I didn't realize they came in many of the popular swarovski colors! (even aqua)!!

In the Jet version, the front facets are much more noticeable. There are 16 of them which make this rivoli sparkle every time it is moved in the light...gorgeous!!I have some ideas for using these and the best part is, I have a handful of them to work with. Once again, I find that my little drawings are on scrap pieces of paper which I'm getting ready to dig back out of my bag to see if I can successfully take one of them from paper to real life.

Please stay tuned!!