Funky Pendants - Get Down!

I love going to classes not only because I learn from the teacher but because I learn from the students too.  A few months ago, I attended a class and one of my bead friends showed me something she learned in another class.  Essentially it is another use for scrap clay.  You take your ball of scrap clay and roll it into a teardrop shape but rolling in only one direction. Then cut it down the middle so you have matching sides and a heart (ish) kind of shape.  It was one of those techniques I couldn't stop doing.  Here is the result.

Rattled!

A few months ago, I went to a class called Petals and Rattles taught by Dayle Doroshow. The class jump started me back into polymer clay and well, that's what I have been doing 100 percent.  I have a bead embroidery class in August and my guess is that will jump start me back into that.  Or maybe, just maybe I will integrate the two.  Anyway, I thought I would share a picture from the class and some of the petals/leaves  and rattles I made since the class.

From the Class

Rattle mania takes hold

One for my guy.  This was actually made in class

I just couldn't leaf things alone.

Funky pendants.
 A fellow classmate showed me a cool technique she learned from another teacher.

Mother of all leaves.

A flower I recently made

My latest rattle.  

Making mandalas

If you looked through my jewelry collection, one thing you would quickly notice is that I am not big on making earrings.  I am usually drawn to make bigger pieces like bib style necklaces or cuffs even.

Lately however, I am in love with all the variations that can be had in designing earrings.  I love weaving different patterns and beads and figuring what I like best.  It's not for the impatient beader as I can't tell you how many times I rework an earring after putting on a row and not liking it.

One thing I discovered, however, was to trust my instincts.  As I am adding rows, sometimes I want to stop after a couple.  Sometimes it's because I love how the earring looks already.  Sometimes, it's because I hate how the earring looks.  But, I have learned to force myself to go on and make a game of it.  Can I add something that will make me love an earring I hate or can I make a pretty earring even prettier?

I am often quite pleased with the results.  Here's a sample.  To see which of these are for sale, Please visit my etsy shop at:  Shanty Chic Beads

When you really dislike a piece --- Fix it!!!

I wish I could show you the original piece but Irma took out my computer.  I think the hard drive is still good so maybe some day I will be able to transfer pictures and show you how this all began.  Unfortunately, I did not think to take a new picture before I began the makeover.  For now, all I have is the final result.  This started as a simple centerpiece with only two color, all light shades.  It was boring as hell.

I recently took a private lesson on color with a local artist who paints landscapes.  I knew about the color wheel but really did not understand how to apply it.  I was afraid of using too many colors and didn't understand how to add interest with color and with shades of color.  In just one lesson, I feel as though I learned a lot.  I wish there were more classes on this directly related to bead artists.  I have books but I am the type of person whose fingers have to learn how to do something before my brain  fully understands the book knowledge.

I consider myself still in the infant stage of this but my  teacher has really pushed me into thinking about dusting off the cobwebs on my wings, spreading them wide and flying into the unknown.  Hence the butterflies in this piece.  A transformation is beginning.

Making Waves

I was in the mood to make big waves.  I didn't know how to do that.  I liked the idea of learning but I got diverted time and time again.  Carol Huber Cypher is a master at making waves and she was willing to show others.  I was profoundly affected by the waves she made so much so that I dove in...deep.  Once I reacquainted myself with herribone stitch I was ready to give it a go.  Turns out making waves is rather easy.  Almost meditative I would say.

My wave pattern, while similar, uses a different color palette and different bead pattern.

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Bead Weaving in the Keys - textured patterns

Loooove creating textured patterns.  Lately, I have been popping in a larger size bead every so many rows just to make things curvy interesting.  And, with my rings, I have given my brain full access to stream of consciousness designs.  Now, that's just a fancy way of saying I am doing my own thing and loving it!  These items are mostly a mix of peyote and brick stitch.  A couple rings are right angle weave.

After I created the turquoise one, I realized it looked a bit like the design in my bathroom rug, except the rug is more random.  Maybe next design.

The two rings on the right have a right angle weave base.  I added the embellishments after  making the base.

These are all a combo of peyote and brick stitch edges.

Sputniks!!!

I guess you could say I am a curious person.  If I learn something in a class or from a book, my brain starts whirling.  What if I did this?  What if I used that?  I get filled with a driven passion to adapt the techniques or apply them in a new way for me.  So, it was inevitable that once I learned a few patterns from  Anna Elizaeth Draeger's book, I would begin adapting them and making them my own.

In this case, I used a bunch of dagger beads that have been feeling very neglected.  They were up for the experiment and so was I so I used them to create Ms. Draeger's bauble bead and then I embellished them using a technique I learned from another of her patterns.  Here's the result.

I absolutely love how these just stand up on their own like little R2D2's.  I am naming this series "Sputniks".

I liked them so much I created this set next.