Bead Art Originals Beauties

I'm awed every week when I see the compilation of Bead Art Originals items of the week. This week is no exception, with eleven (11) members participating. With such a variety of goodies to choose from, how can you resist?


Visit the BAO blog to see the details of the special deals offered by Anna, Cathy, Triz, Smadar, Mak, Dee, Sarah, Lisa, me, and Carol Dean -- a talented bunch of bead artists and people I'm proud to call my friends! :-)

BAO Item of the Week... and More Collaborative Pieces

When you're getting ready to move, it's easy to let some things slide while you're wrapped up in making sure you're getting everything related to the move finished.

So that's my excuse... er... reason. The reason I haven't posted to this blog in about three weeks! Good grief.

I've posted here before about the Bead Art Originals Items of the Week (although I don't do that as regularly as I should -- did I mention that it's a weekly event?!?!). This week we're altering the schedule of the items of the week, so this is a short week. Rather than ending on Sunday, the Items of the Week will now run from Friday through Thursday. That means that my special for the item of the week for this week ends tonight at midnight!

This week's special offering for me is Cybele, the collaborative necklace I made using one of Lisa Peters' gorgeous raku cabochons and some driftwood I culled from the shores of Lake Michigan. The special deal on it is pretty good: 10% off the regular price of $179, PLUS a 10% coupon good on your next purchase! Check out the BAO Blog to see the rest of the items of the week offered by the participating members - all of them end tonight at midnight, so grab 'em while you can!

Even though I've been quite busy with packing and trying to eliminate a substantial amount of stuff before we move, I have managed to spend some time working on more collaborative pieces using Kristie Roeder's (aka artisanclay) beautiful beads and cabochons (you can see the first two I finished in this post).

I decided to do something relatively simple with one of Kristie's smoke-fired clay beads. I've had a piece of bead crochet done for a long time, but I had never found the right finishing touch for it; and as I was looking for something to do with this beautiful focal bead of Kristie's I realized it was the perfect match! I also had some recently-purchased agate beads (from the Bead and Button Show) that coordinated with the focal bead and with the bead crochet. All those things combined to make Earthenwear, a very earthy-looking bangle. Isn't Kristie's bead gorgeous?!


The other piece I finished is a necklace using one of Kristie's clay and glass cabochons. I've been ogling these cabs for a long time, but this is the first opportunity I had to work with one of them. The lime green in this is so deep and beautiful, and I decided to pair it with the brightest red violet delicas I could find. I'm strangely attracted to green and purple together...

This piece is named Lilavati, which means "playful, amusing, or charming" in Sanskrit. It's definitely playful!


I'm in the middle of working on one more piece which should be finished tonight. I have to get these all packaged and shipped off to Kristie so she can display them at the Philly Bead Fest next week!

I've done some other pieces too, but you'll just have to wait to see them. I have to get some more packing done. Now's a good time... my husband's gone fishing!! Isn't it amazing how you can get more done when your significant other isn't around to provide commentary??? :-)

Work in Progress on Lisa Peters' Cabochon

The subtitle for this post should be "beadwoven carcasses." Because that's what I've created. Two of them. Two dead little bits of beadweaving that will be deconstructed.

I don't often deconstruct, but I just wasn't happy with what I was getting; and when you're working with something as gorgeous as this cabochon sent to me by Lisa Peters, you just can't accept something less than perfect! I'm a perfectionist anyway (just ask any of my former coworkers), but I usually have a better idea of how I'm going to do something before I start.

I have to admit that I was a bit stymied by the shape of this cab. Why, you ask? What could be easier than a hexagon? Ha. That's what I thought. It's a geometric shape, after all, and I'm a big fan of geometry. Adding the beadweaving around it? That proved to be a whole different animal.

Not to be outdone by a simple piece of geometrically-shaped clay, however, I kept at it. And here's where I am now. Happy with the direction, and busily beadweaving away because this has to go to the Bead and Button Show in Milwaukee on Thursday night! At least I know what I'm doing with the rest of it (that part hasn't changed).

I'm so excited about being able to attend the show, and I'm even more excited and thankful to Lisa for sending me two of her cabochons so I could make something for her to display in her booth (#1213, in case you're attending). My work will be there beside the incredible pieces created by Carol Dean Sharpe (who you may know as SandFibers). Although I'm racing against time now to get this piece finished, I have to say I was happy to see that Carol Dean finished hers so I could make sure not to create something similar. We have pretty similar styles and tastes (we're cosmic sisters, don't you know), but we're also unique. Trust me on that. Unique. (And for those grammarians out there, you'll be happy to see that I didn't say "very unique." hehe.)

You can visit Carol Dean's blog to read more about her pieces, but I just have to show them off here:


Okay, back to beadweaving! I still have a lot to do before Thursday night. Now I can breathe a sigh of relief that I figured out a way to conquer the hexagon and create something I like. :-)