Work in Progress: Collar with Claws

I’m a little behind in this week’s project, because it took several tries to find just the right pattern. For the fierce and sometimes violent Egyptian goddess Sekhmet, I wanted to include a lovely brown bugle beads in a collar, along with vibrant red vintage white hearts. Things just didn’t go as planned.

As you can see from the mess, I’ve still got one failed attempt to undo. At first I wanted to incorporate the bugles into the main netting, but they take up so much room that the nets were a lot wider than I would have liked. Scratch that, and I discovered they looked really great as fringe.

Unfortunately, something was still off. The white hearts were a little too vibrant. Against the cream and brown, they had a tomato hue, and made everything clash - not to mention that they didn’t give the impression of Ra’s pomegranate and ochre ‘blood’ potion from Sekhmet’s legend. I switched the white hearts out for some transparent garnet 8/o’s, and then everything fell into place.

Last week's magatama collar is complete, but I've been so rushed this week with assorted things that I haven't had time to photograph it yet. Schedules are going to continue to be squeezed over the next few weeks, and it looks like this year's challenge is going to run overtime, though I am determined to finish and get started on a brand new approach! For 2014's theme, there will be lots more room for bracelets. I'm eager to work on some inspired cuffs!

What are you working on this week?

Copyright 2013 Inspirational Beading
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Wear It Twice: Harvest Gourds

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my American readers, wherever you may be! I’ve been saving this month’s jewelry and fashion collage for today - the colors of a fall dinner table are just too beautiful to resist. Gourds and pumpkins are especially charming, with warm, muted shades of green, yellow, orange and brown.

I started this collage with a beautiful multistrand necklace is the soft yellow of creamed corn. After that it was just a matter of finding some beautiful fall colors like pea green and russet brown. Naturally, knits and long sleeves were ideal for late fall outfits.

Gourd Gorgeous by mortira featuring shiny pants

I couldn’t resist a generous helping of leaves as well. Both outfits feature very different approaches to leaf earrings, each with their own appeal. I love the color and silhouette shape of the orange filigree, and the natural look of brass dangles. Which one is your favorite?

Multistrand necklaces are wonderful pieces to make and wear - they are the perfect way to showcase gorgeous beads or a wonderful color combination. Here are some fun tutorials to try:

Multistrand Seed Bead Necklace or Bracelet Project from How Did You Make This?

Fabric Wrapped Mulistrand Choker Tutorial from Jewelry Making Journal

DIY Seed Bead and Chain Necklace by For the Love Of…

Creme de la Creme Multistrand Necklace Project from FusionBeads.com

And for the earrings, here are some great inspiration projects using lovely leaves:

Swinging Leaves Wirework Earrings Tutorial by The Real Leopardstripes

DIY 10 Minute Leaf Earrings from My Girlish Whims

Micromacrame Leaves and Pearls Earrings Tutorial from Raquel’s BeaDesigns

And finally, my favorite Polyvore collages featuring this month’s picks:

Untitled #671 by quitabaity featuring a moonstone ring

Tomato and Mustard Fashion by shisaling featuring a wool coat

Issa Wrap - effect silk-jersey top by fantasiegirl featuring Brunello Cucinelli

Are you enjoying the fall colors right now? What combinations are your favorite?

Copyright 2013 Inspirational Beading
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Desert Fringe Lariat

Things are finally getting back to normal in my workspace after a great craft show weekend. This means that tons of new ideas are piling up, while fresh designs are slowly making their way into my shops. I finished my latest Egyptian Gods piece just in time for the show, and although I didn’t get to see it find its owner yet, I’m happy to be able to share it now.

I’ve created several chevron lariats throughout this year’s challenge, each with their own unique variations. One thing that tied them all together was the presence of blues. It was very refreshing to try the design out on a totally new color palette, with some interesting accents as well.

For Set, the god of chaos and barren deserts, I started with a simple black chevron chain, with accents of opaque pepper red. Red is Set’s color, but I didn’t want to overdo it. I had already decided on using some African Christmas beads in the fringe, and a neutral background was just the thing to bring out all the colors and lovely stripes.

I ended up pushing back a design for the sun god Ra in order to get this lariat finished in time, and I’ve decided to put it off yet again. I’ll be moving through some of the other gods first, and saving Ra for the end of the challenge. I already have a design in mind, and as it’s going to be a big one, I think it will make a great finale.

Copyright 2013 Inspirational Beading
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Treasury: Winter in the Woods

The winner of last week’s winter bead giveaway is Linda - congratulations, and thank you so much to everyone who entered! This month, I asked about your favorite holiday color palettes, and as always the results were varied and full of inspiration.

Linda’s picks were sparkly white with sky blues and the greens of a winter forest. With these color inspirations in mind, I set out in search of some pretty winter inspirations. The bead and jewelry picks especially put me in the mood for snow!

Frosted glass and soft mossy greens do make a gorgeous combination - and one that is easily achieved with beads. May all of your holiday projects be full of cheer!

Copyright 2013 Inspirational Beading
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November Bead Stash Favorites

Yesterday morning all of the puddles in the neighborhood were frozen solid - winter has arrived. I suppose that means it’s time to start thinking about festive bead colors and holiday jewelry designs. Although I love a good red and green combination as much as anyone, I often find myself drawn to the more elegant and fancy holiday palettes, like burgundy and frost, gold and emerald, or plum and cobalt.

This month’s bead picks include two new favorites, and some beads that I’ve been neglecting lately due to so many other ideas and designs vying for my attention.

First we have a lovely bunch of shiny, gold dyed freshwater pearls. I love the organic shapes - not only are these slightly imperfect pearls very affordable, but they have a primitive quality that I adore for ancient inspired designs. Although I’ve added a lot more pearl and shell to my stash this year than I usually do, I couldn’t resist snapping these ones up.

I’ve been so busy with Egyptian Gods and craft fair goodies these past few months, I keep forgetting that I’ve been eager to make ladder cuffs using my new selections of Czech bugles from Shipwreck Beads. These opaque white bugles are perfect for Egyptian and tribal pieces, but would make for lovely frost and ice designs in winter as well. I’m looking forward to seeing what they can do.

Finally, I have some transparent cobalt 8/o seed beads that I can hear calling to me daily. I recently started keeping a list of bead styles and colors that I wish for when designing pieces, so that I can remember to add them to my purchases and bead shopping time. I don’t know how I ever got by without one of my favorite colors in this size, but it’s been remedied thanks to these beauties from Fire Mountain Gems. The large boxes that Dyna-Mites come in are a little too big to fit in my usual storage bins, so they’ll soon be heading for some baggies.

Do you have a new favorite bead to work with this winter?

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