Summer Time!!!

Center Focal Bead

Summer is finally here (well at least it is here in WI).  I have been waiting for summer all winter long.  Waiting for the sunny days and warm weather.  Waiting for the summer outings at the park and the beach.  Oh, summer, I'm so glad you're finally here.

And what's better, I finally finished my ArtBeads project; and it's summer themed.  This month we were supposed to celebrate summer using a wide selection of charms, pendents, and glass beads.  What fun.

Summer Time Beach Cuff

So what is one of my favorite things about the summer, well it's the water.  When I lived in Chicago we use to go sailing all the time.  I loved to just be out on the open water.  It was so much fun.  But sailing isn't the only thing I love.  I love to swim and I love the beach.  Next to biking, swimming is my favorite activity.  And once summer rolls around, I don't have to swim inside anymore.  I can go and enjoy the warm sun as I relax in the water or on the sand.  So I wanted to celebrate my love of the water by making a beaded cuff. 

I have been hooked on bead embroidery as of late.  I'm just having so much fun with it, I can't help myself.  I choose from a wide selection of Toho seed bead mixes to create the sand, ocean, and sky.  The mixes really give the bead embroidery a wonderful feel.  They just add a little bit extra.  I added little beaded clouds using a wonderful AB matte white size 15 seed bead.  Little, light, fluffy clouds in the sky.

Little Sterling Silver Crab

I chose a wonderful glass bead as the focal.  I used a wonderful Venetian Glass La Crima Ca'd' Oro Coin bead.  I started out thinking about playing with a big beach ball on the sand, but then realized that the large red coin also looked like the bright, hot, summer sun.

And to add a little bit of fun to the cuff, I used a couple sterling silver charms.  A small silver sand dollar waits on the sand.  It reminds me of our trip to San Diego.  While on the beach, we saw a whole collection of sand dollars.  And then swimming out in the sea is a little silver crab.  I choose a crab because J really likes them.  He use to have a small little red one he named Pinchy (I promised him when we moved, he could get another one).

I decided to use some super soft dark brown leather I had for the base of the cuff.  This stuff is like butter.  I also added two sets of snaps, so that it can be adjusted to different wrist sizes.  Then I finished off the cuff with some great silver lined red square beads.

Summer Time Beach Cuff

This is one large cuff, at about 2 1/2 inches wide, so it's not really for everyone, but is is a beauty.

Disclosure - I have received these products from ArtBeads free of charge to honestly review. I have not been paid for this post.