A chronicle of the meanderings, false starts (which in retrospect, while sort of embarrassing turned out to be highly instructive), epiphanies, selective apathy (still evolving), wild mood swings, opinions (subject to frequent change), and life lessons of an inveterate dabbler (and her latest dabblings).

Sunday, June 19, 2016

A Picasso Bender

Yes, I've been binge beading. Look:
Mad. MAD, I say, for that Czech Glass
I have the most fabulous stash of Czech Picasso finish glass beads from Stinky Dog Beads. They look like stone. A stone formed in heaven. By Czech angels. And wouldn't you know, they go with all the other Picasso finish glass beads? It all works together, regardless of color. (Those cursed Czechs and their infernal bead sorcery!!! I am enslaved.) This bracelet is formed almost entirely of Czech glass beads, and a whole whack of those are from Stinky Dog Beads--the dangling lentils (LOVE those), the big faceted turquoise rondelles, the seed beads, the little aqua three-cut rondelles, the funky little dark red baroque bicones, and the little turquoise birdie. The fat little copper spacers are from Afrobeadia on Etsy, and the toggle clasp is one of my own hand-forged elements.
I decided to make a coordinating necklace from some tiny Czech Picasso bugle beads I'd had for a while--the pendant is green magnesite and the little oval stone at the end is red creek jasper. Peaceful, no?
Serenity Now
And some earrings with a tassel technique I just learned (the beadcaps are mine, and the lampwork is from one of my favorite Etsy stores, which is now closed--BOOOO!!!!!!):
Shake Your Rustic Groove Thang
I also made these (also on a secondary bracelet binge, which I think I'm over). The first one is designed around some happy and fun striped Indonesian glass beads from Happy Mango Beads, seed beads and kyanite ovals from I don't know where, a sea glass nugget from Stinky Dog Beads, and a little yellow tulip from Afrobeadia (and one of my clasps again):
Summer Fun
This one has a gypsy flair to me. Again I started with Indonesian striped glass (these ones are very earthy and subdued) from Happy Mango, fashioned them into a rolo-type chain, and riffed off the colors in the beads for the remainder of my elements:
Gypsy
This one began with dark brick red Indonesian glass (yes, from Happy Mango), and I built off of those adding some translucent amber Czech glass, smoked glass seed beads, brown lip shell, and bronze and red pearls (my clasp again):
Red Planet
(sold)
(I'm actually thinking of adding a tiny dollop of turquoise to it--a good friend suggested that and I thought it would be spectacular.)

I also made another bracelet but I have grown to hate it so much (I only hated it a little when I first made it so I decided to take the high road and let it live), I think I am going to take it apart. It is an abomination of the Strawberry Shortcake variety (the worst kind). I can't even bear to show you.