Silver and Gold Freeform Cuff - Finished

Well I was going to post new pictures of day three of my beaded vessel. I know what happened to day two, I just didn't get pictures taken.  I was excited to get more work done on it, you can't blame me.  So I packed up everything so I could go outside at lunch and snap a few pics of my progress.  But that plan came to a screeching halt when I got to work only to realize the point and shoot's battery was dead and I didn't have a charger.  Booo, but wait, I did have the computer cord, I'll just charge it through my computer.  It will take a little longer, but should work.  No, no, my computer isn't even recognizing that the camera is plugged in, so I guess a progress report is out of the question.  But I promise to get some pictures tonight before I start working on it a bit more.

Finished Free Form Cuff

But I don't want to not post any pretty pictures.

Here is the final outcome of my free form cuff.  As you may remember I wasn't sure if wanted to embelish this cuff or leave it as it was.  Now I got a lot of feed back both on the blog and on Facebook, so I decided to leave it be, sort of.

I changed out the button.  Not that I didn't like the button before, I just wanted something a little different.  I took the center part out of the button and created my own button.  I used a dark blue swarvoski bicone to hold the button in place and then created a little bead garden around it with the silver and gold seed beads and those great vintage beads.

Old Button

Here's a crappy phone picture of the old button.  It was nice, but just not what I had in mind.

I'm pretty happy with this outcome.  I like how the new button toggle really finishes the piece.  It brings everything together and it's kinda fun.

This is my entry in the August EBW challenge Silver and Gold.  I wasn't missing out on this challenge.  So I got my challenge piece done early and got the pictures done as soon as I stitched the last bead.  No more lazy me.  I'll post something as soon as I get it listed (see I still might miss the deadline) and I'll post a link when voting starts.  I know I'll be up against some stiff competition with my simple free form cuff.  But I'm happy with my entry.

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And just because I wouldn't be a very good GF if I didn't say anything.  J and the guys have a gig this Saturday in Madison.  They will be at Legends Sports Bar & Grill on the west side.  It's free cover and $1 beer and brats.  Check out their facebook page for more info.  If you like ska and live in Madison, you better be there.

Also they have T-shirt preorder going on right now.  If you want a shirt get me or one of them the info by Thursday. 

Too Embelish, or Not

I have finally finished my free form bracelet.  I'm still not super excited about it, but I do have to say it's better then what I expected.  While I was working on it, I kept thinking it looked like it was a fish.  I'm not sure why that was stuck in my head, but I was convinced the bracelet looked like fish scales.  But now I don't really feel that way. 

I finished it off with some fringe around the borders and the with a button I've picked up along the way. 

I do love the black beads in this bracelet.  I received them from my aunt, well she's not really my aunt, but that's what I've always known her as.  She is a professional organizer, so she's always sending me little treasures.  These were a nice little surprise.  I found a little bubble envelope in my mailbox one day and all that was in it were these beads.  I fell in love with them immediately and I've been adding them to projects here and there.  They're very pretty little imperfect hex beads with a AB finish.  Just beautiful.

So at least I love one part of this bracelet.  Now I have to decide if I want to do some more embellishments or leave it as is.  This is going to be something I'll have to think about, so I'll get back to you with that answer ;)

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On other bead news, I've decided I want to try......now wait for it........sculptural beadwork.   I know really, you want to try and make a little basket or vase out of beads, are you crazy?  I just feel like I would really like to push myself and give this a try.  I'll make something little to start (unlike the first time I tried bead embroidery and then I didn't want to pick up an embroidery project for years after that, but I digress).  So stay tuned for crappy iphone pictures of my progress with this new project.         

My Humor Cuff!

This cuff was created for the June 2009 Etsy Beadweaver's Challenge. This month's challenge was HUMOR.

This free form cuff was stitched using tiny little glass seed beads, cube beads, larger seed beads, and a flower bead. It is then finished off with a beaded toggle clasp.

I was excited when the June EBW theme was announced. I was just starting to experiment with free form stitching; I thought 'what a great way to show some humor. I'll show everyone my attempt at free form.' And this is what I came up with.

The humor in this is twofold. The first is my feeble attempt at free form, and the second are the bright colors and patchwork. I envisioned a jester, with all the colors in a harlequin pattern. And this is what my mind came up with. Fun, colorful, and funky; that sums up this wonderful cuff.

This cuff measures approximately 1 1/2 across, and is about 6 1/2 inches long.

All items are made in a smoke free environment, in my small studio in Southeastern Wisconsin.

You can check out this cuff HERE in my etsy store. And don't forget to click HERE to check out all the other fantastic entries for this month.

Voting will begin June 9, 2009 and run until June 15, 2009. You can stop by the Etsy-Beadweaver's website to vote (voting is one the right hand side, and don't forget to click submit after you make your decision)!

My new Free Form

So I'm almost done with my newest free form cuff. It's for the Etsy Beadweaver's Monthly Challenge. This month's challenge was Humor.

My cuff is humorous because it's me attempting free form and because it reminds me of a clown or jester.

I'll post the full back story as soon as I get it done. I'm hoping to finish up tonight (but who knows I have a new order of glass that arrived today, so I might be too busy playing with that).

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Tomorrow is my last day in the Pathology lab, then I start my new position in the Pediatrics lab. I'm going to miss all my friends here. It's such a fun group to work with. I'll miss them so much :(

I'm Finished - WooHoo

I have finally finished my free form cuff. I'm so happy with how it turned out. It's very fun and colorful.

It reminds me of a gypsy. Fun, colorful, and a little wild.

I'm very glad I tried to do something like this. I'm usually attracted to things that have a set pattern, but this was well worth the try. It was so freeing.

I've already started on my second one. Completely different from this one, which is one of the main reasons I think I'm starting to love this stitch. You can sit down with the same beads, but come up with so many different possibilities. It's so fun.

I'm so happy with this cuff. It wears really nice too.

I wore it all day yesterday, while I did house work. and it never bothered me. I really didn't even notice it. Well I noticed it, when I would look down and see a supper fun cuff and it would make me smile. But it never interfered with me doing laundry or cleaning. So it super awesome.

I'll get some pictures of the one I'm currently working on. It's just as colorful and fun as this one. Then hopefully I'll be able to get one or two done and up on etsy. FUN! (but it will have to wait till after this weekend, it's J's birthday!)

Have a fantastic Friday and wonderful weekend.

My Progress - Day One

Here is a sneak peak at my progress with free form stitch. I'm really enjoying the freedom that this gives you (ha, duh that's right in the name). I just randomly add beads and somehow it seems to work.

Now remember that this is just a practice run. I'm using a bunch of my practice beads, so there really isn't a color scheme right now. But I still think it's pretty and I'm going to wear it with pride.

I have about 4-5 inches done so far, so just an inch or more before it's perfect for me to wear.

I've already been thinking about ideas for my next one, which will be a little bit more planned.

But I am pleased. I never, ever thought I could work free form. I like the feel of it, and I'm ready to finish this one up and start the next.

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And well it just wouldn't be a normal day in my house without Toonces doing something or hiding somewhere.

This is where she has decided to live now.

J fixes (and will soon begin building his own) guitar amps. And this is one that is in progress. All the innards are taken out and being worked on, so the box is completely empty. Perfect for Toonces to hide from Nacho.

Silly Cat.

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Well I'm off to clean our flooded basement. Don't worry it isn't a lot of water, but enough to soak the carpets and a few boxes.

I'm a Little Scared

So I've decided to try my hand at free form beadwork. I know what am I thinking. I've never ever done anything like this before. I have a hard time making anything that is not a multiple of 2 or 5 (thank you OCD). But I'm confident I'll be able to figure this thing out.

I've gathered a bunch of different beads. I'm going to let the beads speak to me. Hopefully they will speak a wonderful beautiful beaded bracelet (I'm gonna start with a bracelet and maybe work my way up to bigger items).

I haven't fully decided which beads I'm going to use, I'm just going to start and see where it takes me. I really hope this works out for me.

I'll keep everyone posted on my progress (it should be amusing).

Until next time

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I know I promised instructions for my new displays, but I had a killer migraine last night, so I didn't make any progress on them. I promise to post a how to soon.