Healing Colours

I had a very bad day.
Usually, bead weaving relaxes me. But today, I wasn't able to start my work, just because I couldn't decide what colours to use for a new bracelet I intended to make.
I decided to give up colour matching. I randomly picked colours and forced myself not to think about matching them.
So here is the result - multicoloured Potawatomi-weave bracelet.
I truly felt much better after I finished it. I think that from now on, this is the way I'm going to use to overcome blue mood and pessimism -the use of lots of colours!

St. Petersburg Stitch

I saw this beautiful stitch on the April 2007 Bead & button issue.
At first, it took me some time to grasp the technique and I had to unpick the work several times. After I succeeded to make a little piece of work, it just fluently progressed.
I made a few jewelries by this stitch, and then I decided to try something new.
I made only one side of the pattern and used large drop beads on the edges, instead of seed beads.
I like this new look of the St. Petersburg jewel; don't you?

St. Petersburge bracelets with drop beads

A necklace with a lampwork focal bead

A bracelet with 6/0 seed beads, round glass beads 

and picots on the edges

A bracelet with 8/0 seed beads and faceted 4mm beads

Free-form Peyote Bracelet

Free pattern Peyote Bracelet

Why Waste Good Materials? II

A ring made of small pieces of leather cord

A ring made of a small leather strap

Why Waste Good Materials?

I had a lot of leftover pieces of nylon coated beading wire in three different metallic colors, which I couldn't just throw away. I kept them in my drawer until I had an idea of using them.

Jewelry made with metal hoops is very fashionable now, so here is my idea:
I braided three pieces of wire in 3 different colors, strung some bicone beads and rounded it into a hoop, closed by using a crimp bead.
I then made few more, each one in a different diameter and connected to another one, until I had a long piece. Finally I removed the sharp wire edges with a small side-cutter.
That's it – I have a very light long fashionable lariat!

I think it worth not to throw away good leftovers, don't you?

Round Lace and The Saraguro Hojas Bracelet

Few weeks ago I visited Sandra D. Hapenny's web site.
http://www.sandradhalpenny.com/FreeDownload.html
I found there a free pattern for a bracelet called "Round Lace", which I really liked. The technique was new for me.

The Round Lace Bracelet

As I was weaving the round lace, I suddenly realized that this new technique was probably the same technique used in the Saraguro Hojas bracelet – a bracelet that I really wanted to make but I didn't have any instructions or scheme for it, and didn't succeed to figure out how it was made.
I decided to give it a try and it worked!

The Saraguro Hojas Bracelet

I made the Hojas bracelet, but instead of using seed beads, I used bugle beads.

My first freeform beaded bracelet

My First Freeform Beaded Bracelet

I had so much fun making it! I first discovered the joy of beading this way, without almost no limitations - my own free design.
So, this is my first freeform work.

Few weeks later, I made the bracelet i first intended to make.
It was quite boring to make. The main work included nothing but counting and threading the specific number of beads and switching colors of every loop, as they crossed from side to side of the bracelet.., but I still like it.

The "flames" Bracelet