A co-worker of a friend asked me to make my Birds Nest necklace for her, using pink beads instead of blue. I finished it last night, and am quite happy with the way it turned out.
I really like the pink colors with the copper. My 11-year-old, Katie, said she didn't like it because "that pink pearl looks nothing like an egg". Gotta love the bluntness of a child. I sent a pic to the recipient this morning and she likes it. That's all that really matters!
The plumbers finished up yesterday, and while the problem is better, it's not 100% fixed. We're thinking now they may have to dig up the main line, which I'm sure will be a big mess and even bigger expense. Guess that's what we get for living in a 74-year-old house. It's charming, but problems tend to arise. I'm thinking about a big etsy sell to offset the plumbing expense. I know one thing--judging by their fees I'm in the wrong business!
I love the color orange. Maybe it's because the school colors for my high school were orange and black. Maybe because it reminds me of pumpkins and Halloween and fall. Maybe it's because I look pretty good in it. Whatever the reason, it's always been one of my favorites. Last night I chose an orange scarf to wear today, and decided I needed to whip up some orange beads for a new pair of earrings to match. These are the newbies:
I'm pretty pleased with the way they turned out. The shapes are much less "wonky" than the ones I made Monday night. I made the orange ones into a cute pair of earrings that match my scarf perfectly.
We've had plumbers at our house all day. Travis has been home with them. I had to come to work--there's no way I could stand being there while they tear our bathroom apart. Hopefully this will solve the problem. If not, I may have to check into a hotel!
I was able to get on the torch last night for a while, and made several new beads. If I learned one thing, it's that I don't have much arm strength! My arms were so tired they were shaking at one point, which may explain why some of these beads wound up with a pretty wonky (yes, that's my technical term) shape.
I had high hopes for this bead. I had hoped it would be a pendant, but it wound up with a bit of an odd shape. I'm blaming the tired arms!
These little gray beads were to be the earrings to match the gray and yellow pendant. They turned out okay, so I'll probably use them.
This was my first time making hearts since the bead class. It didn't turn out too bad. The shape is slightly off, and the third heart (not pictured) is a little off. Hannah really liked it, though.
I designed these beads to go with a starry night pendant from Round Rabbit that I've been hoarding for months. They're not perfect, but may be usable, since I'm not necessarily going for a perfect look with the necklace I have in mind.
All in all, not a bad night. I definitely need to practice and build up my arm strength, but it was still a lot of fun. Someday my beads will be good enough to list in my etsy shop.
The March issue of Bead Trends magazine is now out, and I have this necklace on pages 18 - 19.
Naturally, the magazine's pictures are a lot better, but this at least gives you an idea of what the necklace looks like. I'm so excited! I wondered if being published the second time was as good as the first, and I have to say it definitely is!
This is the necklace I made the other night, using a glass bead I made (!), and a Jade Scott pendant I've been hoarding.
It's my new favorite. I found the chain at Michaels and fell in love with it. I'm very happy with the way everything came together.
I made these earrings to match, using a bit of the same chain, and some small ivory glass beads I made.
I wish everything would come together so well!
I completely forgot to blog yesterday! Good grief! We had another snow day on Friday (woo hoo!), and I think these 3-day weekends are throwing me off. I had to actually stop and try to remember what day it was yesterday. Makes me feel old and I'm only 38!
Anyhoo, I finished the rest of the pieces from my friend Suzie's grandmother's beads. First are the earrings I made to match the necklace I did in silver.
Next, the necklace I made using gold chain.
And, finally, the earrings I made to match the necklace done in gold. I apologize for the blurriness!
Suzie was thrilled! I love making people happy!
I made a necklace and earrings last night using glass beads I made. I'll post pics tomorrow...
I finally finished the necklace I was working on for my friend, Suzie. If you remember, I posted a few weeks ago that she had asked me to remake a necklace of her grandmother's. This is the before shot:
And the after:
There were several beads left over. Some of those have a lot of gold in them, so I plan to make her another necklace using those beads and gold as the metal instead of silver. One necklace turned into two completely different necklaces. I'm also going to make her some matching earrings.
We're having a major cold spell here. We typically have pretty mild winters, but the temps have been in the teens, with even colder wind chills. I can't complain, though. It's winter--it's supposed to be cold, and with any luck, snowy! These cold temps have made my house feel like a petting zoo, though, with a dog, a guinea pig, and two cats inside. The cats live outside, but when it's this cold I can't stand the though of them being out there!
I hope you're snug and warm where you live!
