Triz's Beading Mania

Tribal Dance – take 2

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 17:40:00 +0000

Remember my post not long ago about a soutache piece, Tribal Dance, where after I had finished it and taken photos the beads peeled? Well, I was so upset about it (and still am) and I wanted to make another piece using the same colours… and this is what came out:

Tribal Dance – OOAK Soutache necklace

Although it didn’t come out anything like the first one… I love this one just as much if not even more!!! Really happy with how it turned out and how it looks on!!!

I’m really loving this soutache technique!!! Still learning… and trying out different things with it…. but am definitely loving it!!!

And now… back to the beading table!!! have a wonderful weekend!!!

Enchanted Forest

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 18:47:00 +0000

In keeping with my non-procrastinating attempts…. I locked myself in my room… I made three new soutache pieces… but not only did I make them… but I also pulled myself away from making any more so I could take pictures, post them and blog about them!!! I’m determined not to procrastinate!!!!

These pieces were inspired by childhood memories of being in a forest and pretending that it was a magical forest…

Enchanted Forest – OOAK Soutache and Bead Crochet Necklace

Enchanted Forest - Soutache Earrings

Enchanted Forest – OOAK Soutache Pendant

I’m so please with how these pieces turned out… can’t wait to get back to the beading table (or in my case the beading bed :-D )… I want to make some more earrings… I really love the look of soutache earrings and NEED to make a few pairs for myself :-)

Procrastinating….

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 04:47:00 +0000

I don’t think there is anyone who is more guilty of procrastination than I am!!! I’m not into new year’s resolutions, but if I was… trying to stop procrastinating would definitely be on the top of my list!!! While writing this post I’m forced to look at myself and try to understand why it is that I do this? I’m not lazy… I enjoy what I do (of course I’m not talking about putting off cleaning the flat… which is the only time I forgive myself for procrastinating!)… so why do I find myself constantly putting off stuff? am I easily distracted? do I have so many ideas floating about in my head that I constantly jump from one to another?… am I too overwhelmed? I think that maybe all apply!!! So this year I will attempt not to procrastinate as much as I usually do… and in an effort to do that I’m now posting pieces that I made in the last few months and just didn’t get around to photograph, list, post, etc. …

Ocean Flower – OOAK Necklace

Ocean Flower – OOAK Cuff

Arctic Lagoon – OOAK Earrings

Arctic Lagoon – OOAK Bead Embroidered Leather Cuff

Crowning Glory – OOAK Silver Leather Cuff

All the pieces above were made quite a while ago…. but somehow I didn’t manage to post until recently… and now for some more recently made pieces… all soutache!!! Did I mention that I'm really enjoying this new technique?!?! ;-D

Burgundy, Wine, Lilac, Pink & Silver Soutache Pendant OOAK

Emerald Dream – OOAK Soutache Necklace

And now… I’m finally all caught up!!!! :-D

To celebrate the new year I’m offering a 13% discount on anything in my shop (including sale items and tutorials). To receive the discount enter coupon code HAPPY2013 (valid till 13th January 2013) at checkout in my etsy shop!

Wishing you all a healthy, successful, prosperous and happy new year!!!! ;-)

Tribal Dance… gone wrong!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 12:26:00 +0000

This post is not what I was expecting to write today…. in fact, completely the opposite. I was going to write all about my new soutache necklace and how it took me two and a half weeks to make it… how the design developed… how I felt as though I was giving birth throughout the process… and the excitement of having given birth to this piece… and how happy I was with how it turned out.

Well this morning as the sun came out I took photos of my new piece… worked on them… and was just about to write a description for my listing… when I noticed some of the turquoise beads peeling!?!? At first I thought it was a bit of fluff… so i tried to wipe them gently with my fingers…. and then the realization that two and a half weeks of intensive labour had just gone down the toilet!!!! Upset???? that would be the understatement of the year!!!! I’m literally fuming!!!! I guess my only comfort is that they peeled before it was sold and shipped… I would have been mortified to have sold a piece and found out that the colour of the beads had peeled off after the customer had received it!!!

So here is the necklace (prior peeling):

I was so, SO pleased with it…. and here is a close up of the part that started to peel (see turquoise rectangular beads, bottom 2 have peeled to white):

I guess what I will do is peel off the rest of the turquoise beads, so that they are all white and keep this piece for myself :-) at least I’ll get to use the necklace… and it will look great on me this summer :-) as for those pesky turquoise beads…. the dustbin seems like an appropriate place for them!!!!

as for me…. I’m calling it a day and am going to hide under my duvet!!!

Soutache Fever

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 18:54:00 +0000

I’ve been infected!!! Yes, I also have caught the soutache embroidery bug!!!

After years of not knowing what to do with the soutache braid that laid unused in one of my many boxes containing bits and pieces that I may, or may not use one day… I finally broke down and bought a soutache tutorial! :-)

First of all, let me start by saying that I probably would never have even thought of trying this technique had it not been for my dear friend Miriam Shimon who not only inspired me with her stunning soutache work but also encouraged me and shared some of her secrets with me. If you are not familiar with her work, please visit her shop, you will not be disappointed!!!

Here is one of my favourite souache pieces that Miriam designed:

So armed with inspiration and all her support and encouragement I bought a beautifully explained tutorial by Jodi Horgan, who also makes superb soutache work:

and as I’m unable to follow instructions (in terms of design, not technique) this is what I made from the tutorial… my first soutache pendant:

It’s not perfect…. but I love it and it’s the perfect winter pendant for me and I’ve been wearing it non-stop! :-)

As I said… I caught the bug… so I started making more pieces… these are my first (well made) earrings:

Can’t wait to make some more pieces!!!! so stay tuned!

Indian Summer

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 15:27:00 +0000

It’s November… not that you could tell by looking at the weather we are having here… the temperature has dropped slightly… about 3-5 degrees… it’s so unbelievably hot still!!! but at least the nights are cooler than they were in the summer… and thankfully it isn’t as humid!!!

Don’t get me wrong, I’m NOT complaining… I love the summer, and am not too crazy about the winter… but it would be nice if the temperature would drop a little bit… I don’t know, down to maybe 20-22 degrees.

The thought of Autumn but the reality of what we actually have makes me think of Indian summers and inspired me to create this necklace and matching cuff.

Indian Summer OOAK Necklace

What I’m most proud of in this piece is the beaded caps and closure. I love wearing leather necklaces but don’t really like how they are usually finished, so I tried to improve on the finish by creating beaded end caps, I think they smarten up the whole look and I’m really pleased how they turned out!

Indian Summer OOAK Cuff

I really love how this cuff turned out! I love using the metallic silver leather!!! and I love the edging, it came out so pretty and the cuff looks amazing on!!!

More silver leather cuffs to follow as soon as I get around to working on the photos!
Till then… happy beading!

Peacocks… my version :-)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 02:55:00 +0000

It’s 4.23 am… and I’ve been up for over an hour!!! I wouldn’t mind, as I usually wake up around 4 am every day…. check my e-mails, facebook, etc…. and I’m usually out the door by 6.15 am for my run with the dogs… but tonight I’m teaching and have no idea how I’ll be able to stay awake and sound coherent! :-) I hope I can mange a nap at some point during the day… so I thought… I’m up… I have a blog to post… so here I am! :-)

In the last post I mentioned I had loads more pieces to show you and here are some!

These pieces were inspired by the colours of peacock feathers (or at least the way I see them in my head) :-) The peacock colours are represented in my choice of the Swarovski crystals I used.

Peacock OOAK Necklace

Peacock OOAK Asymmetrical Cuff

Peacock OOAK Earrings

Yesterday, as I waited for my son to finish his swimming training (2 hours), I had the bright idea to take all my almost finished pieces with me, and instead of going for a run or reading a book (which is what I usually do when I’m there), I managed to finish 4 pieces!!!! Hopefully today, weather permitting, I’ll be taking photos and hopefully should be posting them around the weekend… so stay tuned! :-)

Till then… have a great one!

Belt Buckles

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 11:05:00 +0000

I’ve been very quiet… and absent… just finding it difficult to be a fulltime single mum and manage the rest of my life at the same time… I think it was easier when my son was little and had naps during the day but he’s 8 now and between homework, taking him to his extracurricular activities, dealing with the mountains of washing and dishes… and lets not forget simply loving him and being with him… there comes a point when I just can’t do more… so this year I guess I reached that point and although I may not have been terribly active on my blog it doesn’t mean that I have not been beading!!! :-)

During the summer I managed to make quite a few pieces and I have finally gotten around to taking photos… and here are two of my newest pieces!!!

I’ve been meaning to make belt buckles for the longest time…. for two reasons, first, I love them and wanted to make some for me to wear with jeans and second, because they are fun quick projects to make and best of all I can use all my left over beads and don’t need to worry about quantities… I have a lot of leftover beads… so expect some more belt buckles in the future!!!

So here are my first two belt buckles:

Southwestern Belt Buckle Bead Embroidered in Silver, Black, Turquoise, Coral and Ivory

Large Boho Belt Buckle Bead Embroidered in Brown, Turquoise, Orange and Ivory on Brown Leather

There are loads more pictures of new jewellery to post (and loads I still have to take)… Hopefully after the weekend I’ll be able to put some more up.

Wishing all a fantastic weekend ahead!!!

Fiery Warrior

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 07 May 2012 15:36:00 +0000

Where to begin… seems like…. feels like… I'm being pulled 1002 ways… don’t know why!!!! I stopped smoking almost 5 months ago…. and I somehow feel like I’ve lost my mind and replaced it with 10 kg!!!! shocking!!! but I digress… again… which is why I can’t seem to get anything done lately… my mind is just everywhere!!!… did I tell you I just turned 45!!!!!!!! 45??????? almost as shocking as the extra 10 kilos I put on since I stopped smoking!!!! so before I change the subject… again… here is what I manage to finish and photograph… these are the pieces where I tried to combine my newfound metalwork skills with my less new beadwork skills :-)

Fiery Warrior – OOAK Necklace

Fiery Warrior – OOAK Leather Cuff

The photos really don’t do these pieces justice…. but after 3 previous failed attempts due to massive sand storms which blocked out the sun for about a week (on and off)… this is the best I could do….

I sawed and textured the copper myself…. I’m soooo proud!!! :-)

If you want to read more about materials used and see more photos, click on the titles or pictures….

Ok… if I can keep my head straight for the next few days I should be able to work on the photos of my new metal pieces and then I’ll hopefully post them here ASAP!!!

In the meantime… let me know what you think of this metalwork/beadwork combo… happy beading!!! :-)

Metalwork and Diamond & Pearls Ribbed Bracelet

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 18:14:00 +0000

Lately…. I want to spend less and less time on the computer (hence my sporadic blogging) and more and more time in my studio… I’ve become addicted to metalwork!!! and LOVE spending the day in my studio sawing, soldering and filing!!! who would have thought?!?!?

I showed you my first pieces in my last post… but I’m happy to see improvement since then! :-)

Here is one of my favourites I made that I’m keeping for myself and LOVE to death!!!!

I’m so proud of this piece and wear it almost every day!!! :-)

So I started making loads of pendants… some didn’t come out so well but went to good use anyway… some have found new homes… and some are waiting to be photographed….

Here are some that aren’t quite right… the bezel was too high for the stone… I now worked out the right sizes :-)

These didn’t go to waste, I wear the left one and my friend the right one :-)

This is a piece that went to my lovely neighbour Ella who looks after my doggies when I go away overnight :-)

I really love how these pendants are turning out… I love filing them into shape… and love how the sharp metal turns into soft curves… I’m really enjoying this medium… a big step away from beadwork but I have actually made two pieces incorporating both metal sheet and beadwork… unfortunately my camera’s batteries died just as I was about to take the photos this morning… so will have to take them tomorrow… and post them at a later time :-) I’m really happy with how these turned out so make sure you come back and check them out in a few days….

I’ve done very little beadwork this year… partly because I felt uninspired and partly because my metalwork is occupying most of my time…. but I did make this bracelet a few months ago… I just forgot to post it :-)

Diamond & Pearl – Ribbed Bracelet

This bracelet is bead-woven into a rib texture. Made with over 350 Swarovski pearls, the bracelet was designed around a gorgeous gold-plated clasp that I got from The Beadsmith and the bracelet ended up in one of their adverts!!!!

Hopefully, I’ll take more photos tomorrow and then show you some more pieces… till then… happy beading! :-)

Silence….

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 12:12:00 +0000

A long time… a long time indeed… since I last posted… what can I say… I’ve been in a really funny mood… winter? life? I don’t know… I just didn’t feel like talking… or writing… I can’t say I was depressed… I just needed to have silence in my life.

Very little beading happened during this quiet time… I couldn’t find myself…. so I occupied my mind (and my creative craving) by redoing my son’s bedroom… painted it, bought some new furniture… (a desk, a cupboard, some cool wall stickers)… updated it and reorganized it to fit his age…

I’m really proud of myself because I managed to do everything on a really tight budget!!! The paint was about 300 NIS (c. $80), I found the cupboard on sale for 400 NIS (c. $108), the desk, also on sale for 200 NIS (c. $54), of course I had to build them, which I did all by myself!!! :-) The rest of the furniture I already had, I just reorganized it and gave away a ton of toys that he had grown out of… bought some wall stickers, that he chose himself … and voila’ :-) I’m so glad he finally has a proper cupboard to keep all his clothes in and places for most of his toys… plus, most importantly, a desk!!!! to do his homework on, draw, do whatever he wants (instead of on my dining room table) :-) I wanted to paint the old wooden furniture white, but Ethan didn’t want me to… so I left it…

My lovely (and talented) cousin Bettina made him this gorgeous ceramic Mezuza cover for his new room and even made me 2 more for my bedroom and my workroom. Aren’t they gorgeous!!!

So once the room was done you would think I would get some beading done, right? well… no! still waiting for my muse to return from her extended hiatus!!!! So…. I started doing some origami… and started checking out things one could do with origami… came across this amazing artist (who happens to be in Israel too) Ilan Garibi…. you have to check out his amazing origami lamps!!!!

Design by Ofir Zucker and Albi Serfaty in collaboration Ilan Garibi.

Photo by Albi Serfaty.

Then after a bit of origami…. some crochet!!! :-) I started making a blanket for Ethan's new room… some angry bird hats… anything to avoid the frustration of sitting in front of my beads and having nothing to say…. my beads are silent….

Then, the other day, a friend came round to show me how to start on my metalwork… I’ve had the equipment for almost a year and all I made was a pair of earrings which I posted a while back:

I simply had this fear of the torch and the unknown… so my friend Penny came over and kindly spent the morning showing me how she makes her lovely hammered copper bangles – see below her lovely work and check out her etsy shop - PenelopeStern!!!

And here is what I made!!!!

Couldn’t have done it without Penny’s help!!!! I made one with her, then spent the next day making 2 more 1/2 round ones and 2 flat hammered ones! and I LOVE them!!! I’ve been wearing them ever since!!!! :-)

Armed with this new knowledge, and having got rid off some of the fear of using the torch, I thought I would use one of my books and try and make one of the projects, a ring… here is the result… not perfect but not bad for my first attempt and good enough for me to wear! :-)

It feels really good to be making again!!!! and I look forward to playing more with my torches… so stay tuned and see what I come up with! :-)

Leather Cuffs – Special Offer

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 05:04:00 +0000

I’m having a pre-holiday SALE on all my bead embroidered leather cuffs.

From today till the 27th December 2011 I’m offering 20% off all leather cuffs in my shop!

In addition…. exclusive to my blog readers… enter code WORLDFREESHIP at checkout to receive free worldwide shipping on ANY item in my shop!!!

This offer expires on the 27th December 2011!

For the Leather Cuffs SALE, please see: http://www.etsy.com/shop/triz?section_id=7653830

For other SALE items also check out: http://www.etsy.com/shop/triz?section_id=5361311

I LOVE Turquoise! :-)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 08:23:00 +0000

OK… so I absolutely LOVE turquoise…. and I usually purposely try to stay away from it, because otherwise all I would ever wear, use, think about is turquoise!!! But every so often I indulge myself and allow the turquoise to take over my life! :-)

I mentioned in my last post that I made some jewellery for my cousin’s daughter’s Bat-Mitzvah…. and that with her permission (which I got) I would post the photos of the gorgeous Bat-Mitzvah girl wearing the jewellery I made for her…. so here she is my gorgeous cousin modelling OOAK Triz Designs :-)

Note, she’s wearing a turquoise dress! :-)

For the Bat-Mitzvah party I bought myself this gorgeous teal satin top… so of course I wanted to wear something to go with it… and the ideas started flowing!!!! here are some of the pieces I made to go with that top…

Around & Around – Bead Embroidered Necklace

Around & Around – Bead Embroidered Silver Leather Cuff

Around & Around – Bead Embroidered Earrings

There are more… but the pictures didn’t come out too great so I want to retake them… unfortunately two weeks ago, if tripped over, fell down, somehow landed on my chest…. either cracked a rib or bruised it really badly and hurt my left hand pretty badly too… so I spent the last two weeks feeling very sorry for myself :-( + I was in quite a bit of pain, so didn’t do more than I had to… walked the dogs, looked after my son, helped with homework, did the washing… you know daily chores… and any spare time I had I spent it laid out flat on my back trying no too move too much to try and give my ribs a chance to heal… and just as they started to hurt less… I get a bloody stinking cold!!!!! So I thought before it gets worse and I end up in bed again, I would quickly post this…. the other pieces will have to wait till next time…

Till then, enjoy your weekend and carry on beading! :-)

Rust can be beautiful!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 17:30:00 +0000

Well… as always I find time slipping away and the next thing I know… weeks have flown by!!! Ethan was off school for a couple of weeks… Succot holidays… my parents were here… for the holidays and for my cousin’s bat-mitzvah in Jerusalem, which was a lot of fun!!! I made the jewellery for the gorgeous bat-mitzvah girl! (if I get permission from my cousin I will post photos at a later stage)…

Whenever my parents are here they take my car (ok, their car seeing that they paid for it) I become even more of a hermit than I usually am and become almost house bound… well what can one do when stuck at home???… bead of course!!! and bead I did!!! :-) Apart from the necklace and earrings I made for my cousin, I made 2 necklaces, 2 pairs of earrings and 3 cuffs… would have made 4 cuffs and 3 pairs of earrings had I not been busy with family festivities and had I not got my car back today :-)

Here is the first necklace:

Diamond Rust – OOAK Bead Embroidered Necklace

I’m so in LOVE with this necklace, the photos don’t do it justice!!! it’s a really long piece and it was hard to photograph it all without making it look really small (which it is not)…. I was inspired by the colours of rusting metals… I used a gorgeous MAKUstudio raku cab (the square top one) and lots and lots of gorgeous burgandy Swarovski crystal pearls… I really need to take this picture on a body to show it in it’s best light… will get round to it! :-)

For now got to go and work on the photos for all the other pieces… hopefully I will post them all during the week… so come back and check them out! :-)

Barrettes!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 15:42:00 +0000

A few weeks ago I was asked to teach a bead-embroidered barrette workshop… so I got busy making a few barrettes to show the class different variations and of course to write the instructions… These instructions are now available as a tutorial here:

For a better look at the actual barrette, see the photo below:

Silver & Turquoise Bead Embroidered Beaded Hair Barrette

So I made a few of these, one to leave as a sample where I teach, one for my shop, one for myself :-) and then started making a few variations, here is one:

Blue Lagoon - Hair Barrette

You may have noticed that I'm back on the turquoise!!! I’m not apologizing for it… I LOVE turquoise!!! It is by far my favourite colour… so I’m sure they’ll be more to come! :-)

On a personal note, my best friend went back to London… it was great having him around… and Ethan had a ball with him!!!

Here’s a couple of pictures taken of him & Ethan goofing around (hmmm good job he doesn’t check my blog too often cos I know he’s not going to be happy about the ones of him diving at the pool… honestly he can dive, I just had a really hard time catching him in the act… poor lighting as it was raining + using my mobile camera)

A few minutes before the rain…

A few minutes after the rain…

and although the temperature here is still pretty high… I guess him going back to London marked the end of the Summer for Ethan and I :-(

so now… back to work… and back to beading!!! :-)

Almost 3 Months!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 15:47:00 +0000

I cannot believe it’s been almost 3 months since my last post!!! Shocking! Shameful!! Terrible!!!! and for some of that time I have some excellent reasons (excuses)… I went to London in the summer, stayed with my baby sister and her family – had a great time… the highlight of my holiday (apart from spending time with my sis and my lovely nieces) was going to the Lollibop Festival where I was picked out of the crowd whilst watching the AMAZING performers Osadia… and this is how I looked afterwards :-)

Photography by Size Barnes

Bare in mind that I had to ride the bus through London and go to Friday night dinner at my parents looking like this!!! :-) What an amazing experience!!! if you ever get the chance to see Osadia perform… go and see them!!!

Also, whilst in London my son and niece celebrated their birthdays… so I made cakes, of course! :-) Ethan wanted a ghost castle and my niece a beehive

and whilst there… and because I don’t have any nice pictures of my son and I together, my friend Dawn, who is a photographer, took some gorgeous pictures of us, here are two of my favourites:

Photography by Dawn Aitman

and then we did come back home, but Ethan was still off school… so I spent lots of time with him at the pool… summer holidays ended… school started again…

and I went back to teaching workshop…

So, through out it all, I found it hard to sit down and do some serious beading… but somehow managed to make (and finish) these two new piece:

Tropical Waters – Necklace

Tropical Waters – Cuff

I have a few more pieces on the go… and hopefully as soon as my friend Michael, who came to stay for two and a half weeks, goes back to London (yes, yet another wonderful distraction)… I will bury my face into my beads and get some more pieces finished… till then… HUGE apologies for not having been around for so long… but sometimes life takes over and thankfully this time it was all good! :-)

Happy beading everyone!!!

Sinai Glitz

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 19:02:00 +0000

Anyone who knows me well knows that I LOVE turquoise and love ancient Egypt art & jewellery… a while back I bought two lovely turquoise vintage glass cabs depicting an ancient Egypt figure… so I had to use them… and this is what I made:

Sinai Glitz – OOAK Cuff

The colours remind me of the landscape in Sinai… turquoise skies, copper/red mountains, scorching hot sun (gold) and the cuff of course inspired me to create these earrings (which I absolutely adore!!!)

Sinai Glitz – Earrings

I started working on the second cab… supposedly to make a matching necklace… but no ideas have come to fruition yet…. we’ll see… and a week ago I had the pleasure of meeting a fellow BAO member, Janice Abarbanel of Naftali who is visiting Israel and who makes the most beautiful polymer cabs and jewellery… we met in Tel Aviv and we went bead shopping of course!!! I got some beautiful coral and turquoise beads as well as some gorgeous dark blue and copper Cryscholla cabochons (which I'm yet to decide if to use with my metalwork or with my beadwork)… I had so much fun!!! it was so lovely meeting Janice!!! and look what she gave me from her own jewellery line…

This pendant is soooo beautiful… my photo really doesn’t do it any justice… and it looks even better on!!! So very sweet of her!!! My only regret is that I didn’t take pictures of our meeting… I forgot I have a camera on my mobile… Janice however did, and I hope it comes out, as I would love to have a memento of our meeting in Tel Aviv. If you are not familiar with Janice's work, I would definitely recommend heading over to her website http://janiceabarbanel.com/ and her etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/Naftali (although at the moment her etsy shop will look empty as she’s on holiday and her shop is on vacation mode till 14th July).

Ok… now lets see what I can do with that second cab…

Till the next time :-)

What’s Been Going on + New Tutorial

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 16:28:00 +0000

Where do I begin???? I’ve been busy doing bits and pieces… some custom orders… some classes… some metal work… and a new tutorial!!!

First of all let me show you how my first pair of metal worked earrings turned out! :-)

Not bad, considering I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing!!! :-) These earrings are made of copper, sawed, filed and textured (battered) with a hammer and then shaped with a wooden thingy majiggy (don’t you just love my technical jargon!) I think it’s called a dapping die set :-)

What I learnt from making these? well… I’m not very good with the saw… I am very good at breaking the saw blades…. it’s going to take me a much longer time than I expected to make things… I guess my learning curve is pretty abysmal… I wish I could go to some classes :-)

Then… I got really excited because I found instruction for how to make those really cool leather wrap bracelets… I've wanted one for years!!! and now I have about 7!!! :-) I’ve been making one after another, some for me, some for friends, some as gifts for my son’s teachers for the end of the year…. some still have to be made… but in the meantime here are some of the ones I already made.

These are soooo much fun to make!!!! and I just can’t stop!!!! I even started making buttons for the closures out of copper…. with my newly found metalwork skills :-)

And finally I taught a workshop last week for my Rosette Earrings and now the tutorial is available in my etsy shop:

I think that’s it for now… I’m still working on finishing a bead-embroidered bag… I think I’m about 5 or 6 months into it!!! It will be finished soon… I hope! :-)

Wishing you all happy beading! :-)

Reflection & Resurrection

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 29 May 2011 18:04:00 +0000

In the last few months I have not been the most productive… between an operation I had to have at the beginning of March, the 6 weeks convalescing that followed… and my dad being in hospital for the last month… well… lets just say my mind hasn’t been where it should be! :-)

I'm all healed up!!!… my dad is still in hospital but he’s doing much, much better… the hard part for me is being so far way from him… he’s in London… and I’m not :-( I did manage a quick trip to London for 4 days to visit him… and it was really hard leaving him there in hospital… but since I got back home his health has improved tremendously!!!

During my time convalescing, when I wasn’t allowed to drive, exercise, pick up stuff, do housework (which I really didn’t mind), basically was supposed to rest and heal… I found it quite hard to bead, as unfortunately beading does require a sitting position and for the first month I wasn’t able to do so for more than 30 minutes at a time… this gave me lots of time to reflect on things… life… and everything else… and as soon as I could, I created these two pieces.

Reflection – OOAK Necklace

Reflection was created around a gorgeous MAKUstudio OOAK copper raku ceramic cab.

Resurrection – OOAK Necklace

Resurrection was created araound some gorgeous polymer clay beads that I purchased a really long time ago from Valerie Aharoni.

I can’t begin to tell you how gorgeous these pieces are in the flesh… I found photographing them really difficult and I’m afraid I wasn’t able to convey their real beauty… and they look so incredible on!!! I love both of them so much and find it really difficult to pick a favourite!!!

As for other things… well I’m almost finished making another beadembroidered bag… but I lost my box of needles, containing my leather beading needles and as the back of the bag is leather I can’t finish it till I get some more needles… which reminds me… must do that today!!! :-)

I’m also working on some earrings for a workshop I will be teaching in the near future… apart from that…. just trying to get my life back on track…. still haven’t done any major housework :-) maybe if I did I would find the missing box of needles!!! :-) Nahh… I’m sure they’ll turn up eventually!!! :-)

Till the next time…. happy beading! :-)

My New Adventure!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 15:35:00 +0000

It all started when I was looking for a ring for myself…. I had some idea in my mind of what I wanted… so I started looking on Etsy of course… and there were lots of gorgeous ring… but not exactly what I was looking for… and then I saw that Belinda Saville, who I knew for making really pretty beadwork, had started making metal (silver) jewellery…

So I contacted her and asked her if she was interested in making me a custom made silver ring… she said yes! i was so excited because I really love her style!!! So we started e-mailing back and forth… she sent me photos of some of the stones she had and I fell in love with two!!! :-) One of the stones was already in her possession, the other was on the way to her, so she started sketching some designs featuring this absolutely gorgeous labradorite…. and finally we agreed on one design that I fell in love with and couldn’t wait to see finished!!! Belinda was an absolute pleasure to do business with!!! Apart from the fact that she is super-talented… she is one of the loveliest people I have “met” (through blogging)!!!

It wasn’t long till the ring was finished and not too long after that (seeing that I live in Israel and she’s in Australia) that the ring arrived!!! and oh my!!! the sketches, photos and not even my imagination could have prepared me for its beauty!!!! Absolutely gorgeous!!!!

And then came the second one!!! equally stunning!!!

I love… no, sorry… I LOVE both of them so much I wear them both every day, one on each hand!!! :-)

The whole experience was such a pleasure!!! and at the end of it I’m the proud owner of two stunning pieces of beautifully made jewellery that are so me!!!! :-)

So why am I telling you all this? apart from showing off my new rings and introducing you to a wonderful artist (in case you don’t know her already :-D)… well during the whole process I started talking to Belinda about making metal jewellery…. and she sort of gave me the courage to think that maybe I could try out this new (to me) medium… so I spent the last couple of months ordering tools to start me off… and oh my there are a lot of tools!!! Bought loads of books on metal jewellery design… I painted my spare room… folded up the futon… I managed to get myself a professional jeweller's bench (second hand)… and finally, yesterday I received the bulk of my tools from the US (birthday present from my dad, thank you daddy! :-D)… I spent all afternoon and half the night unpacking all my new toys and organizing them on my new desk….

Now all there is left to do is find the courage to actually turn that torch on!!! :-) Not an easy thing for me… first I’m petrified of fire and burning down my flat and the whole building (I bought myself a fire extinguisher, not that I know how to use it!)… second my fear is preventing me from thinking of any ideas!!! So I though, as I’m so clueless, I’m going to start working with copper and bronze (so much cheaper to make a mistake on than silver) and rather than jump in with my own designs I’m going to work through some of the projects from the books I bought… hopefully without burning the building down! :-)

I will be posting my progress… but in the meantime go and check out the beautiful work of Belinda Saville who started this mad adventure!!! :-)

Belinda’s blog: http://belindasaville.blogspot.com/
Belinda’s shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/belindasaville
Belinda’s FB page: http://www.facebook.com/BelindaSavilleHandcraftedJewellery

* Photos of Belinda’s rings by Belinda Saville, used with her permission

Glam Rock

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 15:59:00 +0000

I’ve been so quiet lately… but I have a great excuse… I was in hospital and had an operation a month ago… the recovery is six week… all is well and as I'm regaining my strength I started to bead again!!! :-)

During my time in hospital and for the first 2 weeks thereafter I read everything I could find on metal smith, soldering in particular and some hammering… yes, my next new craze!!!! I’ve decided to expand my jewellery making repertoire into including metals… I have no idea what I’m doing, but have ordered all the tools needed to get me started… they should be here in about 2-4 weeks!!! :-) I’m so excited… and nervous… a bit scared of the torch… but I’ll give it a go! :-)

So my mind has been occupied with metals… which would explain the new pieces I created… very bold, very geometric and very clean design…

Here are three new pieces I’ve been working on for the last few weeks… yes I’ve been working/beading at a snail’s pace! :-) but my pace is picking up as I continue to feel better with each passing day! :-)

Glam Rock Black Leather Cuff

Glam Rock Necklace

Glam Rock Silver Cuff

I’ve got another necklace… but just as i was finishing it… I notice a mistake, so had to chop off some of it to redo it… but it will have to wait… hopefully I’ll finish it off tomorrow… in the meantime… I’m happy to be “back”! :-)

Wishing everyone, happy beading!!! :-)

Fashion Colorworks 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 15:51:00 +0000

The second International Fashion Colorworks 2011 Beading Contest is being held by My Lovely Beads.

The first International Fashion Colorworks 2010 Beading Contest was a resounding success for all its participants: the contestants, the sponsors, the judges, and the bead lovers. 83 participants from 20 countries submitted 132 entries!

The second International Fashion Colorworks 2011 Beading Contest is on its way!

There are three categories: Seed Bead Jewellery, Finished Jewellery, and Beaded Objects and Accessories.

The entries for each category should be created in one of the chosen three Pantone Colour Institute fashion colours for spring 2011 colour combinations below:

The 1st colour combination:

Russet (CMYK: 44-67-76-9; RGB: 92614C)
Coral Rose (CMYK: 0-63-86-0; RGB: F47D39)
Blue Curacao (CMYK: 63-0-22-0; RGB: 4AC3CC)

The 2nd colour combination:

Lavender (CMYK: 33-32-0-0; RGB: A9A6D2)
Peapod (CMYK: 56-0-51-0; RGB: 71C59B)
Silver Cloud (CMYK: 25-19-23-0; RGB: C0C0BB)

The 3rd colour combination:

Regatta (CMYK: 73-28-0-0; RGB: 3397D3)
Silver Peony (CMYK: 3-13-15-0; RGB: F4DDD0)
Beeswax (CMYK: 0-30-78-0; RGB: FDBA51)

For the official contest rules and more details please visit:
http://www.mylovelybeads.com/contest/

I would love to take part, but unfortunately I will be away from the 6th March till after the deadline :-( but I cannot wait to see all the entries… last year they were amazing!!! Let’s see what this year’s contestants bring to the table!!!

Wishing you all best of luck in the contest!!! :-) Happy beading!!! :-)

New Tutorial! Marie Antoinette and Bloody Mary

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 03:02:00 +0000

My workshop went really well the other day… it was nice teaching again after a really long pause and I’m looking forward to teaching more in the future! :-)

The students made some beautiful variation of the leather cuff in lots of colours; khaki, black, red on black leather, brown… it was really nice seeing everyone pick their favourite colour and come up with a totally different look for their cuffs

Here is the tutorial for that class:

PDF Tutorial - Bloody Mary Bead Embroidery Leather Cuff - Instructions ONLY

This tutorial will show you how to embellish around a cab using Swarovski crystals and pearls. Here are two versions I made:

The cabochon used for this tutorial is a vintage (c. 1940s) glass cab. I have a few of these cabs available for sale (contact me for details) if you want to make the exact cuff, but you can substitute the cab with any other similar sized cab.

I think I’m going to make another colour today…. hmmm maybe a black version…. :-)

Wishing everyone happy beading and a great weekend ahead! :-)

Bloody Mary!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 16:53:00 +0000

I was introduced to a Bloody Mary on a plane journey on the way to Las Vegas with friends who described it as the best drink to have for breakfast! :-) I wasn’t convinced, as I really don't like tomato juice… but I took one sip and I was hooked!!! My first a.m. drink… and now every time I fly it’s the drink I ask for! :-)

The richness of the reds used in my new cuff reminded me of that drink and a great time in Las Vegas! :-)

Bloody Mary – Red Leather Cuff

I will be teaching this cuff at the workshop tomorrow… so excited!!! and will be making kits for this as soon as my order of Swarovski crystals and pearls arrives… so stay tuned!:-)

Happy beading!!! :-)

A Touch of Royalty – EBW February Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 14:05:00 +0000

It’s that time again…. time to go and check out the beautiful entries for this month’s EtsyBeadWeavers Challenge!!!

My entry for this challenge is # 31 on the list:

Marie Antoinette – Pink Leather Cuff

There are 62 incredible entries for this challenge, so your challenge will be to pick just one as your favourite and vote for it before the 15th February!!!

So don’t put it off, go and check out the amazingly talented EtsyBeadWeavers Team and vote for your favourite entry!!! http://etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com/

Happy beading!!!