Bridesmaid jewellery

Just a wee quick one for this evening, this late year has thrown up a few late bride's tying the knot in the later months of the year!

I have been working on a set for a bride, who has 4 bridesmaids, being a cash concious girl (which is understandable in this climate) she asked me to create a bit of bling without the heavy price tag!!

This is what I came up with for her featuring swarovski and pearl accents

Beaded Bead tutorial

I've always wanted to know how to cover wooden beads with seed's thus making the beaded bead, this is I feel a very useful skill to have when working with seed beads as they can add a lot of interest to a piece in addition you can make them however you like, meaning they can become a focal bead for your work.

Having had those wooden beads in my stash for ages I decided to scour the net for a tutorial on beaded beads, I have often admired other seed beaders work and wondered "how do they do that?" so after looking around on my favourite site for information and general chit chat about beads UK BEADERS forum and admiring work from a talented seed bead artist Liz Reed, I had a look at her website The Crimson Moon beaded jewellery. Liz has some very beautiful and interesting work along with some fab tutorials. I purchased her colossal beaded bead tutorial, this is the first tutorial I've ever actually paid for (usually I'm a skin flint, unless I buy a book I never usually pay online for the tutorials) but the beads looked so well made I just had to have a go.

After a couple of shaky starts, which mostly were due to me having no ink in my printer and having to keep getting up to look at the pc, I finally produced some pretty decent beaded beads (if I do say so myself!). The tutorial is very good, very easy to follow, the pictures are great, I'm rubbish at working out and calculating things, so even though I am pretty alright at peyote stitch I would never in a month of Sundays have been able to make these beads without this tutorial......highly recommended!

I've added a pic of my efforts.

Neighbours are feckers!!!!!!!!!!!!

Excuse the french, but I have been living in an apartment for 5 years in Ireland now!

Unlike ourselves in the Uk we have no laws or really as far as I can see guidelines governing apartments..... people in ireland are unused to apartment living. Basically it is a free for all!!! We have lunatics holding late nite parties, which could go on for days!!!!!!

anyway they seem to have quietened down for the moment so I should probably go to bed until they go mad again!!

Berny

Late night beading!!

It seems to be a bit of a that with me now, I never seem to have some early day beading.

Reading about other's beading adventures really makes me jealous when I read about them beading in the garden, or beading on holiday, or even simply taking a photo of their fabulous piece when there is daylight to be had!

The fact that beading is not my full time income means that I have to bead when I have the time, unfortunately for me that generally means late in the evening, after I have made the evening meal, sorted my daughter and my own clothes for the next day (hubby usually doesn't mind as long as the clothes are tumble dried as he works in manufacturing) sorted dinners and lunches for the following day, life is generally a bit hurried, so beading time is precious!

Recently I have been mad about the colour purple (no not the whoopi goldberg film!!) but just that fabulous lucious deep purple colour, I bought an outfit to go with some beads I had bought recently, I know it's supposed to be the other way around, but the purple was just so lush I couldn't resist clothing myself around it!!! lol!!

The first set is necklace and bracelet set, made with 10mm Swarovski bicone's, goldstone in a purple colour (or so I am led to believe) and glass in a gorgeous deep purple colour.

Second pic is of a beautiful cabochon, which I bezzeled with netting stitch. After capturing the cabochon (nope i didn't chase it down the street, it came of it's own free will) I embellished it using czech glass, 6mm amethyst rounds and lovely czech glass flowers, not to mention the mandatory ab swarovski's for effect. The bail has added crystals. To finish this piece I made a herringbone (ndbele) stitch necklace. So proud of this piece I was thinking of sending it in as a project to bead magazine. If you have any feed back I would be appreciative of it!

Happy viewing!

Maybe some pictures might jazz it up a little?

Here's some of what I have been working on recently, been making some tiara's,

these were made for a bride who will be tying the knot in October in Co Clare. The bridal tiara I have named Hilary, there are about 150 beads, swarovski crystals and freshwater pearls, it measures approx 2.5" in height, took me ages but was well worth it the effect is beautiful. The bridesmaid tiara is very simple, just swarovski's and freshwater pearls. The bride was absolutely delighted with the finished product.

Right! About time I started to take this seriously

Well, the blog has been up and running for a little while now.... not much to say, always think I have so little time, but I always seem to be on the pc...... I promise that I will update this thing a little more frequently.

Was thinking that I might start posting a few bead tutorials, basics for stitches and maybe a little of what I have learned about polymer clay. Need to sit down and think it through though.