Denim Rosette

Last week saw a terrific heat wave hit the Highveld and everybody wilting under the heat. The hot spell was then broken by pretty much continuous rain all weekend - which we sorely needed. Of course I had planned to visit the Bryanston Organic Market, which I have never been to on Saturday, since with the new show coming up it might be my last opportunity for a while. But that never happened. Saturday was however highly productive as I spent the whole day beading, giving me the opportunity to finish this fabulous bracelet!



This bracelet developed in an interesting way. I was using Jamie Cloud Eakin's book, Dimensional Bead Embroidery and I was trying out the different techniques she uses. I decided to try the lace ruffle edging technique. I figured it would make a nice and simple pair of earrings. So I pulled out the Sand coloured stone beads glued two of them down to little pieces of Lacy's Stiff Stuff and started to bezel the one. I then created the lace ruffle edging using Jamie's technique, which is a variation on netting. As you can see the ruffle came out very well, but my only small problem was that the bead with its ruffle was now almost 5cm wide. Too big to make earrings out of. So not I was a little stuck. I had this lovely piece of bead embroidery and did not know what to do with it.

A couple weeks went by when I picked this up again and decided to make a band for it and turn it into a bracelet. I used hex-cuts in a herringbone stitch for the band, I wanted something simple that would not detract from the focal but was not itself dull. I love the way the hexes catch the light at different angles. I chose this denim blue to compliment the bright colours in the focal. I also added a little bright blue on the edges to bring the two pieces together. 

So finally we have my Denim Rosette bracelet.  

This Saturday I will also be starting at a new show the Walkerville Farmer's Market in Walkerville, South Joburg. This will be the first of their Christmas Markets so for any locals out there reading this why not come out and try this market. 

Im looking forward to a productive market, but I will let you know how it goes.

Cheers 

Caribbean Net

Ok I know I am probably boring you with all this talk about the wedding, i think it has appeared on everyone of my blogs for this month but it is now finally over! I completed the last design on Tuesday evening and delivered it yesterday. The necklace is for one of the bride's sisters (not a bridesmaid) and she had a good idea in mind of what she wanted.

She wanted a beaded netting collar something like the picture above (sorry I dont know where she sourced this image). She picked out of my stash a gorgeous blue colour seed bead to match her dress and I started from there.
After a bit of playing around with designs I finally settled on the blue beads which were a 15 with silver contrast beads. I also used a similar pattern to this one, where two beads are used in the contrast, it really make the rows pop.
Of course you already know about the difficulties I had in making this necklace but I think the final design well worth all the effort, what do you think?



 I called it Caribbean Net. Cos the colour makes me think of the ocean.





Blue 15 and silver delicas with Preciosa crystals


There is no greater feeling after pouring blood, sweat and tears into a design to see the excitement on the client's face when they get their jewellery.

PS I have found another market for Saturday a week in South of Joburg - The Walkerville Farmers Market. more info on that next week.

Show troubles

What a weekend!
First there was the show on Saturday which was a complete disaster! There were a whole of FOUR stall holders there and about as many customers! I sold not a damn thing and wasted my whole morning talking to a bunch of ... . Lets just say it wasn't a fun day.
On the plus side on getting back to the farm and unpacking the Crafty Ladies Club was still going strong, so it was real nice to sit with then and unwind and chat with friends and crafters.

On Sunday I then went to a bead weaving class given by the Legend Manie Kriel and hosted by Petro v. Rensburg in Eldoraigne. I chose a lovely peyote stitch lariat in purple and gold. I seem to be gravitating to wards purple lately, I don't know what that says about me ;). I cant wait to get back to this project, although I have a box of Manie-kits that are all half started, something else always seems to come up! I have decided that rather than make a lariat I am going to turn the design into a kind of wrap-around bracelet. It will be nice to make something for myself. Lately all my creations land-up becoming stock - not that that stops me wearing them ;)
We are talking about hosting the next Manie class at the farm which will be really cool, it is such a peaceful setting.

I spent all of last week plus Saturday morning at the "show" working on the last piece for the wedding. A netting collar in blue. Only to realise on Saturday having spent a good four hours on the necklace and reached halfway that the design was not working and that I would have to restart! That was a little soul destroying. My problem was the bottom rows were not expanding enough so the collar was coming out as a straight strip of netting which was not going to fit around the neck.This is a BIG problem as the wedding is on Friday - I have to get this necklace finished before then. So I spent the later half of Sunday restarting. I even took yesterday afternoon off to work on it. This time I will take pictures of it, even if I have to stay up late in order to do so!

Okay its tea time and I definitely need a pick-up.
Cheers

Wedding Jewelles

I would like to start this blog with "here are pictures of the wedding jewellery as promised" BUT I cant.
And the reason I cant is a case of classical stupidity. I finished the wedding jewellery I have been working on a few days ago and have been telling myself for a few days that I need to take pictures of it to show you guys on this blog. So last night I finally get around to it. I get out the camera, and make space on my seriously overcrowded desk and then realise. I cant take pictures of the jewellery because I gave it to the customer on Tuesday! Really how stupid can one be? So it goes to show you dont have to be old (as I keep telling my mother) for these things to happen to you.  Any way here are the Bridesmaids and Flower girls bracelets which I took pictures of to show the bride before I made them.

Bridesmaids Bracelets. Pearls, Swarovski sliders and crystal

And here are the Flower girl bracelets. They come in three sizes, small, tiny and mosquito!

Flower girl Bracelets. Pearls, Swarovski rondelles and crystal.

The remainder of the jewellery I made for my sister-in-law so maybe I will persuade her to lend the stuff to me to take pictures of after the event. She has also promised pictures of them wearing their jewellery on the day.
I have one more piece to finish for this and that is a netting necklace in a gorgeous blue, which I am stressing about as the wedding is tomorrow a week so I need to step on it!

In other news there will be no more Fat Olive Markets this year which is a pity. But very fortunately just as I heard this I got good news. I have gotten a place in the REEA River Market in Craighall, Joburg! Starting this Saturday which is good. Hopefully there will be lots of people there and we will have a great market.
So if your looking for some new entertainment  on Saturday why not come along to the River Market on the corner of Richmond Rd and Marlborough Road, between 9am and 1pm. See the link for all the activities offered.

This Saturday is also the next meeting of the Crafty Ladies Club on the farm. Unfortunately I wont be there but we are expecting plenty of Ladies to bring their crafts and chill out and chat. See you there!

Breathing Space

Ok, finally last week I got  (another) draft of my chapter to my supervisor, which gave me some breathing room to do some non-thesis related work. I finished a bead weaving piece that I have been busy with for a while. This necklace is one of Manie Kriel's (Manique) designs called Symphony.

At the Centurion Craft Show a customer bought the kit, as she wanted the necklace for a function, to go with her outfit,  but she did not want to make it, so yours-truly got roped into making the piece for her. It was actually kinda fun to work on. A nice easy herringbone pattern and using the Swarovski rondelles in it gave me some ideas for the wedding jewellery, which is almost finished.

I spent then my day off organising my beads, cos its gotten to the stage I cant find anything and cant remember what I have got or where I have put it, and when you are beading for a few hours in the evenings it is seriously irritating to have to spend hours searching for mislaid beads and findings, but I still got a long way to go.
Today I spent trying to find other show opportunities, especially with the holidays coming up, when people want to spend and are looking for interesting presents.
Ok I have got to go and take pictures of the wedding stuff to show you but here is a taster.

Reconstruction

A friend, a few weeks ago, showed me a gorgeous necklace of large Jade rounds with matching earrings that she owned. "Jeannette.." I said to her "please put it away cos I am not going to give it back to you!". And seriously I wasn't! It was just sooo beautiful. Good Jade beads is not something I have seen much of in SA, which is a pity. In the end this friend gave me the earrings and asked me to remake them. They were made up of a 8mm, 10mm and 12 mm bead each and were therefore quite heavy so she found she couldn't wear them. I remade the earrings using just the 10mm, which left 4 beads over.



Earring redesigned

 I was going to just give the beads back to her but the more I looked at them, the more I  fell in love with them. I just had to make something out of them so "Reconstructed" them into a pair of bracelets.

 I did the first one in a silver finish, I always go to silver first and then remembered that the earrings and necklace were finished in gold so then I made the gold bracelet.

 I have been wearing the latter all day and just love the look and feel of it. A subtle but brilliant burst of colour. I cant wait to show Jeanette how it all cam out!

I am making some wedding jewellery and the bride has just given the designs the thumbs up so Ill be busy with those in the next couple of days, I will show you all soon.

PS for the South African crafters the publishers of Craftwise and Stitches magazines have created a cool crafters forum/creative online community for people to share ideas and get advice and inspiration check it out at in2crafts.

Cheers for now