Back on the Blog

Good Morning, It's been quite a while since I have blogged, but I have decided to try and post once a month or so. Not sure whether any of the previous followers will still be interested, but time will tell. 2014 has been a very eventful year. During the Year I was involved with three new The Bead Show events, two in Sydney and one in Melbourne. Volunteer work for the Melbourne Bead Expo also continued, with many Facebook updates promoting the Bead Expo in November. There didn't seem to be time to Blog as well. My class at the Melbourne Bead Expo, Arrowhead Bracelet, was well attended and more than half of the students completed their bracelet in class. This is one of the sample pieces:

This year promises to be equally exciting, with a class at the BSV Members' Retreat in mid January, plus more The Bead Show involvement and the Melbourne Bead Expo in November to look forward to. Caged Pearls bracelet is the project for the retreat.

Add to that four gorgeous grandsons to dote on and you will understand why I don't blog quite so much anymore.

Byzantine Bauble Bracelet

Back when I was making Cynthia Rutledge's Honeycomb bracelet (Bead & Button magazine, April 2011)I fell in love with a whole swag of different coloured rondelles and managed to purchase quite a few strands of them. Well, one can only wear just so many Honeycomb bracelets, so there came a day when I had to think of another use for the rondelles. The Byzantine Bauble Bracelet was the result of playing around with a couple of strands of beautiful beads purchased from Beadglass (Sydney) at the Melbourne Bead Expo a few years ago. After receiving quite a few compliments on the bracelet, I submitted it to the Bead Society of Victoria Workshop Committee for consideration as a workshop for the Melbourne Bead Expo 2012 and am pleased to say it was accepted. The workshop is scheduled for the afternoon class on Sunday 11th November 2012 (1.30 to 4.30 p.m.) You can see all the classes being held on the Bead Expo weeekend by following the link. If you have a large stash of rondelles, this may be just the class you need to give you some different perspective on the rondelle shape.

Designer Quest 24 - Australian Beading Forum

The beautiful autumn toned beads supplied by Australian Beading Forum sponsor, Cranberry, tempted me to get involved in making a piece for the Designer Quest 24 which started back in March. I thought I would be able to make something whilst on holiday but unfortunately, the muse did not go to Tasmania with me. Once I returned home I spent some time mulling over what to do with the beads. I did manage to get the focal bead bezelled while I was away, and it was a matter of "what else". Eventually, inspiration hit, keeping me awake one night with visions of beads flashing through my brain. The results are here and I think it has worked out OK. Now for the judging. There are some very beautiful entries so I don't think I've got much chance of winning, but it has been an enjoyable competition and seeing the wide variety of entries is amazing. No two entries are exactly the same. How do we do it. Now I just need some inspiration for the BSV 2012 Bead Challenge!

Lady Charis Necklace

Had a lovely beady day on Saturday, tutoring some members of the Bead Society of Victoria. The project was my "Lady Charis Necklace" which is a beginner level project combining brick stitch medallions joined together with small strung sections. It always surprises me how many variations come from the class as people become inspired to "do their own thing". Just the individual colour choices make the project look completely different in each case.

The first image is my sample necklace for the class, in a colour of beads which I particularly like from Miyuki. The beads are limey green with a purple lining and they are quite stunning.

The black bracelet is one using the same technique with the medallions, but turning them into a bracelet instead.

These earrings have been brick stitched using round instead of oval beads and it makes quite a difference to the look of the medallion.
Just love those seedies!

Veroque included me in her Treasury.

How exciting! Haven't been included in a treasury for such a long time and this morning there was a convo from Veroque letting me know she had put my Maui Wedding head band in hers! Thanks very much Veroque, I was pleased to be included in such a lovely treasury.

Take a look here.