Sorry for the picture quality

I have the next couple of weeks off.  Well sorta.  I don't have an art show for a few weeks and our friends just had their baby boy, so J's band has a little hiatus for now.  We finally have some down time that we can just relax and maybe catch up with some things around the house.

I finally got around to using the gift certificate I got for my birthday, back in April.  I bought two really great books.  It was so difficult for me to pick just two books, but I finally made my choice.

One of the books I bought was Seed Bead Fusion by Rachel Nelson-Smith.  I love this book.  The projects are so colorful and creative.  I've just been drooling over it since it's arrived.

So since this is my "vacation" time, I thought I would work on something new.  I really love the cuffs in Rachel's book, so I'm working on one that is inspired by the book.

 

I know it's an awful picture.  For some reason I decided to leave the real camera at home today so I snapped a quick pic with my phone.  I tried to clean it up in photoshop, but to no avail.  But you get the idea from the picture.

I love RAW (right angle weave).  It's one of the first stitches I learned.  It's just so pretty and can take on so many looks when just altered a little bit.  I've even started using it to make three dimensional items.

So one of the bracelets in the book is RAW and the little circles are filled in.  Now I've filled RAW with crystals and pearls and etc, etc.  But I just love how the little holes look with little seed beads.

I altered the project a bit.  The base is a bit different and I'm not filling in every row.  I like the more open look as well as I may have used to thick of thread to be able to go through the beads that many times, but we'll go with I like the open look as the main reason :-)

I'm really happy with how it looks and  I can't wait to finish it up so I can wear it.  I don't really make myself that much lately, so this is kinda a little present to myself.  A new sparkly bracelet.  I'm hoping to finish it tonight and get pictures soon.  I know I'll be wearing it as soon as it's finished.  And if you're looking for a good book to inspire you're bead work check this one out (no this is NOT a paid endorsement, I'm just really happy with my book).

I also missed the deadline for the EBW challenge, but I should have pictures of my cuff that was intended to be included in July's challenge.

And I also want to remind everyone to vote for Beads of Courage at the Pepsi Project website, the link is on my side bar.  This is a great program that helps kids with cancer.  To find out more about it check out their blog and vote today!