More Necklaces With Beaded Beads

The saga of beaded beads continues... as well as the tube beads! I used my recent acquired tube beads for these necklaces, 35mm. The necklace below is a short lariat with a "past, present, future" theme in mind, comes with matching earrings.

The beaded bead on this necklace is made of agates, bicones, Czech E and seed beads. This is my fave amongst the beaded beads I made so far, though it's kinda heavy.

Don't worry, bead happy!

Necklaces With Beaded Beads

I'm still enjoying making beaded beads, but thought I'd better finish them up into something. Here are some of my recent finishes. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves!

Don't worry, bead happy!

Just Beaded Beads

All I did yesterday, beadwise anyway, are just beaded beads! They're made of glass pearls aside from the center piece wherein I used wooden beads. The glass pearls range from 4mm to 8mm! DH calls them christmas ornaments. LOL

I've always wanted to make a series of bridal jewelries with beaded beads so prepare yourself to see "white on white" in the near future. I'm still making beaded beads today in different colors.

Don't worry, bead happy!

Vintage Finds

I got these a while back from old ladies in a yard sale. Though they're made of plastic, they're so heavy. I specially love the crooked hot pink ones and the dark blue nuggets! Whenever I try to dismantle them, my plans change. I would love to put them into good use soon, so if your have ideas to share, please leave a comment.

Don't worry, bead happy!

Dark Chocolate Obsession Necklace

I enjoyed doing the bracelet and earrings (from June 18th post) that I thought I should complete the set with a necklace. I whipped this necklace starting this morning... worked on it on and off, and finally got it done around 5PM. I love how it turned out and the copper pendant that DH got me last month fits perfectly on this design, IMHO.

Don't worry, bead happy!

Beads, Books, Etc.

Did I mentioned before that I traded (which I enjoyed tremendously) 6 of Linda's quilts for my bead stash? Well, I did... and as you all know by now, I love handcrafted stuffs particularly beaded, fabrics and embroidery. Anyway, I had to re-stock as most of my beads were gone after the trades. Here are some of what I purchased online last month and to-date:

CHINESE GLASS RONDELLES

Sizes: 5x8mm, 6x8mm, 4x6mm

ASSORTED AGATES

Sizes: 8mm, 6mm, 4mm

MOTHER OF PEARL ASSORTMENT

ASSORTED CHIPS

And here are some of the beads (the ones with tags only) I got from Hobby Lobby last time we went there. The cat's eye and abacus rondelles were from other source.

Walmart just started carrying copper findings recently, at least in our area. So I had to grab some last week to give their product a test!

I can't afford the sterling silver or gold-filled noodle beads so I have to settle with plated for now. I'm enjoying these beads to the max! I love how the necklaces turn out with them, though I've never tried the gold-plated ones yet. I have them in both sizes, 2mm and 1.5mm diameters while the lengths are all 25mm.I did some ebay book shopping weeks ago and here are some of what I got... aside from Mastering Beadwork and Creative Bead Weaving which came from SEllen and Lois respectively. Thanks so much ladies!
Went to MIL's this afternoon and she gave me some fabric remnants and DMC perle cotton threads from her stash. Fabbies are mostly fat quarters, which are perfect for my needs, i.e. backing for bead embroidery pendants. As for the threads, I'll use them for sure on my counted thread embroidery projects, particularly hardanger... and bead embellishing works on quilts.
I won't be able to do some stashing for a while due to some issues, but I'm sure glad I managed to re-stock. Happy beading all!

Dark Chocolate Obsession Bracelets And Earrings

We've been having terrible storms lately so going nowhere is not an option. On the positive note, more beading time for me! I started working on these sets around noon-time while watching "Legion". Come dinner time, I finished 2 sets... one of which will be a surprise gift for a dear friend! The sets are made of beaded beads, black agates and chinese glass rondelles. Bracelet on the first set has a toggle clasp for closure and the agates were wrapped with (stamping) beadcaps, while the other one has loop and beaded beads closure.

From our house to yours, happy beading!

Edited: The second set now resides in Canada... Tamara was my SSE-15 (July '10) mark and the bracelet was a surprise gift.:)

Another Netted Bangle With A Twist

Similar to my previous bangle, but I added another link to form the twisted connection. This will be a gift for a stitching friend whose birthday is next month!

Hope everybody's having a great beading time!

Netted Bangle

I've been busy exploring "Mastering Beadwork by Carol Huber Cypher", thanks to SEllen! It has been my companion in the last 2 days, a great resource book!

Here's a bracelet inspired by a netted project from the book. Since I'm still indulging myself with beaded beads, I decided to incorporate some on this piece. This bracelet was supposed to have a toggle clasp but I wasn't satisfied with the look so I inserted a copper wire on the rope and decided to finish it as a bangle. I had to add another set of beaded beads at the ends to hide the wire loop inside them. I'm pretty satisfied with the result and now working on another bangle, but the piece will be overlapped for extra security when worn.

Me and MIL did some volunteer works at a retirement home this past weekend and had a great time helping out. I wonder how many people do things like that... it is fulfilling! I wish I can do more volunteer works, specially mentoring kids or teenagers alike!

Have fun beading all!

EARRINGS CRAZE

These are just few of the beaded bead earrings I made recently. Can you tell I had fun with them? I needed to satisfy my curiousity as what they would look on different color combos, so here are the final results.Most of these will be given as gifts, but I'll gonna start listing some jewelries on my online store and the left-overs will be there.

Don't worry, bead happy y'all!

BOTM Challenge: June 2010 Block

Here's my 2"x2" block for this month's Block-Of-The-Month Challenge. I gathered the materials the other night and managed to embroider the center part, then completed the block yesterday. The bail is made of peyote which I then stabilized with a curved metal tube bead for extra strength. The PC rose was part of the surprise beads Linda sent me along with the quilt trade. More of those beads will come to life very soon as they're too pretty to just let them sit around. The purple mini-flowers were from BD's Spring Challenge Swap, while I got the seed beads from my last trip from the Philippines.

I was hoping I'll make a spiral rope for the chain but since I received my noodle beads yesterday, I just used them instead. So here's the finished necklace!

As requested, here's a full view of the entire piece! The rounds next to the peyote bail are 7mm freshwater pearls, while the rest are chinese crystal (4x6mm and 6x8mm) rondelles in amethyst and mahogany shades. The inner chain is 2 inches shorter than the outer chain.

And here's a glimpse of the prep work! Though obviously, I changed my mind on the color theme.

If you wanna partake on this BLOCK-OF-THE-MONTH Challenge, don't forget to send me a photo so we can showcase them all.

Don't worry, bead happy y'all!

New Stash From Various Sources

DH had a check-up last week and the hospital we went at was close to Hobby Lobby & JoAnn's. Since we left home early, we dropped by at Hobby Lobby first to get me some supplies. MIL was with us so we had to visit JoAnn's too. Who would leave embty handed with those stores? LOL Anyway, I did some online shopping as well for suffs I'm running low.

I got the brown #26 wire and Blue Moon fancy rolo chain at JoAnn's, brass chain and #20 wire at Hobby Lobby, suede cords at Walmart and waxed cotton cord online.

I drool over these "Explorer Traditions" whenever I visit Hobby Lobby, and I think DH saw the drool so eventhough I'm not satisfied with the price, he asked me grab what I want... he even grabbed a couple pendants that he thinks are cool (next to the toggles). I got the toggles (set of gold, silver, copper & brass - all in antique tones) to match my new brass chain.

And of course, I can't leave Hobby Lobby without grabbing Czech seed beads. I even managed to put some delicas in my basket.
I'm having fun with metal tube beads lately so I had to stock up on them in various colors - bright silver plated, gold plated and plain silver (unplated). Lengths varies from 20mm to 35mm, while diameters are 1.5mm and 2mm. I ordered some noodle beads as well but I'm still waiting for them in the mail. All of these are online purchases coming from China, from various stores... and I have my fingers crossed whenever I order from there.

And lastly, here are some findings I was running low as well. The ebadcaps are plated copper and plated bronze, while the french earwires are plated bronze and steel leverbacks.

I also got myself some new (but actually old) books online but I'll save that post for later... along with beads I got from Hobby Lobby and semi-precious stones from various stores.

More Colour Challenge Pieces And Some Donations

19I was about to make a bracelet and a pair of earrings for the other 2 color combo by Tamara's Colour Challenge but I ended up with 2 pairs of earrings. I gotta admit I struggled combining green/orange/hot pink (CC2) and yellow/blue/hot pink (CC3) combos, though I enjoy the finish products. CC2 is made of beaded bead usng 4mm kunzite stones and emerald czech seed beads, I then finish of the earwires with orange beads. CC3 is made of peyote tube (in hot pink and yellow czech seed beads) suspended on brass chain & jump rings, and 8mm rounds aquamarine agate. I didn't realized they look like swings until Tamara mentioned it. Thanks for a great challenge Tamara!

When I read Billy's post about his cousin's accident, and their plan to have a silent auction plus Poker Biker Chic event, I knew I had to participate. So I whipped up some simple things as donations - a necklace and earrings set (made of tube beads, chinese crystals and metal beads) plus 3 pairs of earrings. Ready for mailing today... Hope the silent auction will be a success!

Don't worry, bead happy!

Earrings Swap (SSE 13)

SSE 13 is my first sign-up for the earring swap at Beading Daily. This exchange is a challenge so participants has to rely on their partner's info for a challenge word. My receiving partner is Briggs from Canada and her challenge word is "YELLOW", while mine is "SURPRISE ME" wherein my sendee partner is Inca.

Anyway, I made a couple pairs for Briggs though I have to admit I don't have much yellow in my stash. Glad you like them Briggs!

And here's my new pair of earrings all the way from Norway... Thank you so much Inca! She was also my sendee partner on April's bracelet swap so she made me something that would match that. I'm now a proud owner of a kumi set.
Don't worry, bead happy! Have a great day everybody!

Colour Challenge By Tamara

Tamara organized another great challenge at Beading Daily. Needless to say, I had to participate. For this challenge, she provided color combinations which participants must use in their creations.

I chose the Green/Brown/Ivory combination and I came up with a couple necklaces made with fancy rolo silver plated chain, beaded beads, opal rounds, jade and filigree copper pendants. Me and DH prefer the first one... How about you?

Thanks for another great challenge Tamara!I can't wait what you'll come up with for the next one.

Don't worry, bead happy!