2012 Battle of the Beadsmith

The Battle of the Beadsmith is about to begin...

It's going to be a real hot summer in the bead land! 

Join this Facebook group to read all about it and
to stay updated with all the happenings!

Out of the Frame Cuff Bracelet

I felt like working on something that I usually don't do much - design a peyote pattern and bead from it, so I came up with this two-drop, odd count pattern of rectangle "frames" in bright colors. 

I must honestly admit that following the pattern was hard for me and I kept stringing the wrong colors in every few rows. After too many times I had to unpick the work because I hadn't noticed the mistake on time,  I almost lost my patience and I had to push myself real hard to make me finish it...  ;D 

I salute beaders who can bead this kind of bands time after time and even on a daily basis! You are my beading heroes! ;)

This beading pattern is listed for sale on my Etsy and Artfire shops.

Twin Spades Necklace and Bracelet

This is a new set of necklace and bracelet I designed with Twin beads. The pattern created by the arrangement of beads reminded me of the shape of spades, so Twin Spades is the name I gave to this project.
A tutorial for both necklace and bracelet is available in both my Etsy and Artfire shops.

I purchased some Twin beads not long ago, without knowing that actually there are two different brands of this bead with two holes - Twin beads, manufactured by Preciosa-Ornela and Superduo beads, manufactured by Jablonec (both are Czech copmanies). I haven't tried Superduo beads, but thanks to Sabine Lippert posting an image on Facebook, I learned that Twin beads are a bit non-uniformed, compared to the Superduo beads (which are much more expensive than Twins) and that there is a larger selection of colors of  Twins compared to Superduos.

I can tell from my experience working on this new necklace & bracelet project, that in a pile of 50 gr of Twin beads I found a few beads with irregular shape, but there were not too many of them - most of the beads were fine. But what really turned into a nightmare was finding out that I can't continue working and pass the needle through the free hole of one bead, simply because it was blocked! I tried to open the hole, but had not succeeded. So the only thing I could do was to break the bead using pliers and replace it with a new one. Breaking a Twin bead seemed to be a challenging task - I had to use great force and to try different angles before it finally broke. Then I had to re-fill the two spaces the removed bead created (that was the easiest part..).So I know that I will be sorting and selecting my Twin beads before I start the next project, in the hope that I will detect and take out any beads with blocked hole...

But except all of the above, Twin beads are really beautiful and fun to work with I love the texture they add to the beadwork!

It's Passover Eve today, so I wish all who celebrate it Hag Sameach! 

Passover means that spring had officially sprung!... I love the smell of spring and the warming weather is doing wonders to my energy. :) And to those who celebrate Easter - Happy Easter!