It's not at all intentional, but there must be something about my wanting spring to show up that's making me think of flowers. Because I'm normally not a flowery person. No flowers in our home decor, no flower prints on my clothes. And even though I like looking at them in other peoples' gardens, I never really got into planting flowers around our house (perennials were much less trouble!).
Nevertheless, there are more flowers this week for my newest peyote cuff design, Daisy Chain. Two rows of little daisies, one going one way and one the other, reminiscent of those chains I used to make when I was little (mine were clover flowers, but you get the idea).
I thought it might be fun to create just a single daisy chain, too, so this narrow version will be listed in my Etsy shop sometime later today. As much as I like wide cuffs, I like this little bracelet with its single row of daisies (or in this case, some fictional turquoise flower).
I was a little speedier than usual in getting the pattern ready for publication, so if you're a beadweaver and want to make your own version of Daisy Chain, the pattern is listed in my Etsy shop (and through the end of the month, you can still get 28% off your entire purchase!). The pattern includes both versions of the Daisy Chain design.
Lest you think I'm focusing all my attention on coming up with new peyote cuff designs, I have to show you this latest freeform peyote cuff. The colors I used for this one were suggested by Lisa Peters (aka LisaPetersArt, on Etsy), chosen to comply with the Art Bead Scene Color Challenge: Turquoise.
I hadn't really thought of entering the challenge, but when I reached the point of finding a closure for the cuff (freeform means I don't really plan the beads or closure out ahead of time -- so I had to go on a search for just the right button when I got to the end). And just look what I found! I freely admit to having a collection (hoard) of Lisa Peters' beads, buttons, and cabochons; and here was this raku shank button that fit into my bracelet perfectly.
This piece, called Sunshine on Water, is almost 3" wide at the widest point. You may think the blue colors are what inspired the "water" portion of the name; and while that's partly true, the main reason for it is the ruffly wave I incorporated into the top of the cuff. This one is WILD.
I think I have freeform out of my system for awhile... What to do next? I think I should probably finish the necklace I made, using another one of Lisa Peters' pieces, and my newly learned technique: right angle weave (RAW). Yep. That's what I should do. :-)
Time for more beads... and some Pillsbury cinnamon rolls with latte. YUM. :-)
5000 sales on Etsy!!! Woo hoo!!!
That deserves a celebration, right? So in honor of reaching 5000 sales, I've decided to continue my Super Duper Special Sale through the end of this month... with a bit of a change. The Super Duper Special Sale was previously a 28% discount on any one item from my Etsy shop.
The NEW Super-de-Duper-de Special Sale will be a 28% discount on your entire purchase FOR THE REST OF THE MONTH of MARCH!!!It's way too tedious for me to go and edit all my listings, so to receive the discount you can send me a convo on Etsy to tell me which item(s) you'd like so I can change the price for you; or you can go ahead with purchase/payment and I'll refund the discount to you via PayPal.
Thank you to EVERYONE who helped me reach this milestone!!In other news, I'm still on target with my resolution to create a new design every week. This week's design is called Poppies. I'd really LOVE to see some flowers outside instead of this new pile of snow that landed on us a couple of days ago. It doesn't appear to be melting yet, so I'll just have to look at this new bracelet to get my flower fix. :-)
I get so wrapped up in making new jewelry and cards that I don't do a very good job of keeping up with everything else. I'm always scurrying from room to room, making new things, taking photos, updating spreadsheets (I live and die by spreadsheets!), moving files around in the computer (I have quite the folder structure). Part of the routine is supposed to be uploading the new pictures to my flickr photostream and writing a quick blurb for this blog; but those are the parts that wind up being missed. I put them off, thinking I can do them at night when there's nothing else to do. Ha. There's always something else to do.
And so I wind up doing what I'm about to do now. Posting about three new bracelets I've created and listed. They weren't all created in a day. They weren't even all listed in my Etsy shop in a day. But here they are, all being written about at the same time. Oh well. That's what happens when you're as obsessed with creating things as I am. Writing about the finished projects just isn't all that exciting.
This first bracelet was inspired by my need for spring. Seriously. It's soooooooo cold outside, and I've been shoveling way too much snow over the past couple of weeks, so I just wanted a flower.
You might find that funny if you knew me. I'm not a "flower" sort of person. No flowery wallpaper, no flower patterns on furniture or drapes, absolutely no flowery clothing. Nope. I'm much more a stripe or plaid person. Whatever that means.
When I originally designed this pattern, it was in shades of white. You know, the traditional shasta daisy. I was going to call it that, but then I did a little internet research and found that shasta daisies are white. Since I had opted to make this one in a brilliant violet and hot pink, I had to come up with another name. I just knew I'd seen purple daisies out there somewhere! It didn't take me too long to find that the purple daisies are called Tahoka Daisies, or prairie asters. Now that I've listed the Tahoka Daisies bracelet, I'm sure I'm going to have to make the white version.
The second cuff I listed this week is a new color version of a design I created a few months ago - Damask. The original version was in opaque red and white, and ever since I finished the design I knew I wanted to do some other color combinations. This one came about when I saw these silver-lined purple beads next to the crystal clear AB finish ones. They're gorgeous together!
I don't know about everyone else, but I find purple to be one of the most difficult colors to photograph accurately. I was pleasantly surprised, therefore, when I took the pictures of this cuff because they're actually pretty good!
Of course, the beads always look better in person, but that'll just be a nice surprise for the person who buys this. :-)
The third bracelet I listed this week is called Venezia.
This one began with a whole different idea. I wanted to play with this bunch of size 15 rocailles (doesn't everyone want to play with the tiniest beads around?), and I had an idea for a modified caterpillar bracelet. I'd do loops instead of fringes, and I'd have a row of larger beads going down the center.
Well, I tried the larger beads, and I just didn't like them. I actually liked it better with the space down the center where the base beads, pearly bright white size 8s, show through. When it came to naming, the thought that struck me was that I had multicolored glass and a "canal", both of which immediately reminded me of Venice.
Sometimes it's just best to leave things alone, and this bracelet is proof. The large beads down the center just aren't necessary.
So those are the three bracelets I managed to list this week. I also finished some necklaces, but I haven't gotten good photos of them yet. And as I write this post, I have a bead crochet lariat sitting on the sofa next to me, just waiting for me to pick the crochet hook up again.
Before I get back to crocheting, I have to share a couple of nice things... First, one of my Etsy customers, Lorrie Whittington (aka Illusio), wrote a very nice blog post after she received the package of ACEO blanks she purchased from my shop. I wanted to give her a link back here when she published her post, but of course I'm late. And now I'm actually glad I'm late because I've gotten to read her later entry in which she shows off some of her newest art.
I'm a HUGE fan of pointillism. In fact, it's the type of art I most often do myself, although my version of pointillism is somewhat different than the "norm." When I saw the new ACEOs Lorrie listed in her Etsy shop, I was floored at just how beautiful they are! This Valentine one is my favorite:
The other nice thing is that a fellow Etsy seller (and customer of mine), Sydnei, is now offering mini greeting cards in her Etsy shop (SimplySentimental) that feature prints of some of my ACEOs! She has a few of the mini cards listed, and they're absolutely adorable! I love the treatment she's given my little bits of art, but when you look at her shop it'll soon become obvious that she's a very talented card maker and artist in her own right.
Check these out! These aren't the only ones she has listed, but I just thought these were so cute turned into tiny greeting cards!! Click here to see the rest of them.
Okay, that's enough writing. I'm sure there was something else I wanted to post about, but I want to get back to work on that lariat.
Voting is underway at the Etsy BeadWeavers blog for the April challenge, Fire and Flowers. I didn't create an entry this month, but lots of the other members of the team did. Just check out this mosaic:
It's really hard to tell just how gorgeous those are when you're only seeing them in that mosaic, so go visit the EBW blog so you can get a better look.
And while you're visiting blogs, check out Carol Dean's blog (after you've voted in the challenge, of course). She's doing another drawing! :-)
I thought it might be fun to create just a single daisy chain, too, so this narrow version will be listed in my Etsy shop sometime later today. As much as I like wide cuffs, I like this little bracelet with its single row of daisies (or in this case, some fictional turquoise flower).
