The Need to Create

I've been watching reruns of "So You Think You Can Dance" and something that one of the judges said has stuck with me. 

 

One of the dancers from last season had no formal training but was able to hold his own with all the other dancers and in all the styles he was asked to dance.  And one of the judges said that one of the things that made him stand out is that he "had" to dance. 

 

   As any business owner can identify with, it's discouraging when sales are slow.  But every time I start to think that I need to just put it all away and close up the shop, I find myself doodling new designs.   And looking how I can re-design a necklace in a more modern way. 

 

I guess its true...I just have to create. 

 

  So here's my latest "creation"...bracelets created with a simple peyote stitch and various sizes of beads to create a wave effect.  I want to try to work on this design as a necklace, but it's going to take some work for it to lay correctly.

 

 

This first bracelet is named "Sand and Surf."  I showed a friend of mine and she said that it had all the colors you see at the beach so the name seemed appropriate. 
 

 

I really liked how the colors I used in this bracelet give the design a whole different feel.  It reminded me of walking on the beach at night...dark water broken up by the reflection of stars on the surface.  I named it "Midnight Walk on the Beach."  

  

 

 

I decided to go a different direction with this bracelet and use earth tones as the inspiration.  I like how the dark and light beads help create movement along the waves in the design.  I named this "Golden Elegance."

    
I love how just changing something as simple as a bead size can create such dramatic results!  And when you add in the color combinations, it truly is amazing!
 
These bracelets are all available for purchase in my Etsy shop...here are the links!
 
Sand and Surf 
 Midnight Walks on the Beach
 Golden Elegance



On the 16th and 17th Days of Christmas

On the 16th and 17 days of Christmas

My true love gave to me...

Nature-inspired jewelry!

 

It never rains but it pours at my house!  Last week I almost ended up with bronchitis (and missed singing in our Christmas program at church).  Yesterday, I slipped walking up the stairs and twisted my back.  I guess it's better than falling down the stairs--I always manage to do things backwards it seems!  And everything always happens at the holidays!

 

So since, I missed posting yesterday's featured item, you have two to choose from today!  The first necklace is a copper butterfly I made by coiling copper wire and then wrapping it together with thin copper wire and black Swarovski crystals.

 

  Copper Butterfly Necklace

 

 I love butterflies and this simple design  showcases the beauty of a butterfly perfectly. 

 

 

The second featured necklace was inspired by the glass beads that reminded me of the jungle cats.   

 

Jungle Cats Necklace

 

I used black wire to create free-form links and to join the beads together.  It adds a bit of drama and mystery to the design. 

 

 

So, I have been relegated to the couch to rest my back for the next few days.  Now if I can just find the bell so I can ring it when I want someone to wait on me...

 



On the Tenth Day of Christmas

 On the tenth day of Christmas

My true love gave to me...

Artisan lampwork and sea glass earrings

(You can view the listing HERE)

 

Ocean View Sea Glass Earrings

 

I love earrings with a little sparkle and swing!  I paired two pieces of white sea glass with these blue and green metallic lampwork beads to create these fun earrings.

 

It takes hours to sort through the sea glass I've collected to find two pieces that are similar in shape and color. And each trip to the beach yields more pieces to match!

 

 Ocean View Earrings

 

When I wrap the sea glass, I have to be sure that the pattern is similar on both pieces and that pattern needs to hold the glass securely as well as look beautiful.  These smaller pieces are more difficult to wrap than the larger ones!

 

We're still working on getting the tree decorated, but this year we're not rushing just to get done...we're enjoying the time together!

On the Seventh Day of Christmas

On the seventh day of Christmas

My true love gave to me...

A gorgeous green sea glass pendant on a beaded necklace

 

 Sea Glass Necklace

 

I love the green sea glass I find on the beach...the color varies with each piece.  And I don't know why, but the shapes are really interesting!

 

 Green Sea Glass Necklace

 

I found these beads browsing in a bead shop and had no idea what I was going to do with them when I bought them.  But as you can see, they accent this gorgeous pendant perfectly!

 

 

I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season and are making sure to spend lots of time with family and friends.  The special memories are created in the time spent together, not planning the "perfect" party.

 

Tomorrow's featured item is one of my first creations and one of my favorites!

 

On the Sixth Day of Christmas

On the sixth day of Christmas
My true love gave to me...

A pair of winter white sea glass earrings with a blue frosted glass bead cluster

Now that was hard to fit into the song, wasn't it???

 

Cloudburst

 

A few posts back, I mentioned that there is a difference between genuine sea glass that is collected off the beach and man-made or faux sea glass. 

 

Sea glass that has been collected off a beach has a unique frosted appearance.  When you see it side-by-side with man-made sea glass, it's very easy to tell the two apart.  Man-made sea glass also is uniform in its appearance, while authentic sea glass may be similar, it is never exactly the same.    

 

 White Sea Glass Earrings

These earrings are a beautiful combination of white sea glass I collected over the past year and man-made sea glass beads.  This sale is a great way to start your sea glass jewelry collection or add to your favorites!
 

It's almost a week into December...how far have you gotten with your decorating and Christmas shopping?  

On the Third Day of Christmas

On the third day of Christmas

My true love gave to me...

A custom wire wrapped sand dollar lampwork bead bracelet

 

I started my jewelry journey with wire wrapping.  It was the best way to create pendants with my sea glass.  And it was only natural that as I started looking at the work of other artists, I would became interested in learning various wrapping techniques. 

 

Sand Dollar Dreams

 

Although simple to create, these links add visual interest that would be missing if I used something mass produced.  They give this bracelet a special touch that makes it truly one of a kind.

 

Lampwork Beaded Bracelet

 



This bracelet is constructed of handmade lampwork sand dollar beads, small glass green beads and my handcrafted links. It's a fun bracelet, especially in the summertime.  And I used a super strong magnet instead of a clasp so that it's easier to get on and off. 

 

 

I love the way this photo turned out...I was experimenting with different techniques and props at the time.

 

I wonder what to put on sale tomorrow?