Bermuda Blue Bling

I am in love with this Swarovski color Bermuda Blue! Cobalt blue, sapphire blue, a hint of emerald green, blue zircon and gorgeous purple - all these beautiful colors are iridescently dancing in the light, mesmerizing... Outrageously beautiful! ;D

I created the pendant first and working on it went fluently and quite quick. But then I got stuck on the necklace design. After a few experiments (read: irritating construction failure designs; over 10 hours of work and half a spool of fireline wasted), I decided that 'simple', like in many other cases, will work the best for me... ;) So, embellished RAW necklace it is, made with just seed beads.

Dangling Drop Earrings in Perlen Poesie Magazine

These drop earrings are published as a project in the latest issue of Perlen Poesie German magazine. They are quite simple, easy and fast to make, so they can make a great project for beginners.

I haven't received my contributor's copy of the latest Perlen Poesei magazine (No. 5) , but I think it's on the market already... I am curious to see this European version of bead magazine and also to see the editor's take on my design. Hope it gets here sooner or later...

Anna Karenina Necklace - BAO Challenge

Bead Art Originals first ever Challenge was "A Novel Idea" - we had to create a work inspired by a written work or fiction. I chose Anna Karenina by Tolstoy and created this necklace for the challenge. I was inspired by a painting of Anna Karenina, wearing a heavy dress with high ruffled collar, which was very fashionable back at that time. I used plum purple beads and burgundy crystals and highlighted the necklace with gorgeous 3-cut rose gold seed beads. These 3-cut s/b really sparkle!

Please visit the BAO blog to see all other entries for our first challenge. You can leave a comment and place your vote until June 22. A random reader will be selected to win a prize.

You may also want to check out what some of BAO members created for the Color Inspiration - a color combination suggested by our blog readers - this time it was turquoise and brown.

The past week was crazy. Except these two BAO challenges, I also had to finish writing instructions for a necklace for B&B magazine, and another project for Beadwork magazine is still in the works. All these and the regular "challenges" of life, which makes me a crazy juggler... ;) The kids' vacation from school is only a few days away and I have to find a good way to keep them busy.. If they'll choose for themselves, spending long days on the computer and watching TV will be their favorite to pass the time, and I can't let it happen... Maybe we will do some beading together, or go biking again...we didn't do it for a long time. OK, now back to work!... ;)