Ronit's jewelry set, based on "Doodles" pattern

I few entries ago, I posted a note about taking time out to enjoy doodling and what it can do for your pattern design. I also posted three faces I had doodled and played around with, after being inspired by the online program Scribbler.

Ronit Florence went into a whirlwind of inspiration with the pattern and came up with an awesome set. She sent the pictures posted here.

I love the way the little face beads pick up the same colours in the pattern. I also LOVE the stitch used for the necklace portion - it adds lots of texture, movement, and a sense of fun to balance out the serious expression on the face. And as with all of her work, Ronit is great about taking the basic pattern and turning it into something more. Kudos!

In a Whisper: When I grow up, I want to be a beader like Ronit! (grin!)

Gypsy Jingles

I love "OOOh Shiny!"

The only thing I love more is when the shiny jingles!

This charm bracelet was quick and easy. A handful of jingles, some jump rings, and a purchased charm bracelet is all you need to recreate this look. Make sure you have a couple of pair of either chain nose pliers or needle nose pliers for opening and closing your jump rings.

In thirty minutes or so, you will be ready to flash and shine!

NOTE:

The key to success with this project is to not rush, and just make sure you take your time. Otherwise you will end up with one jingle hanging all by it's lonesome on the wrong side of the bracelet.

Lemon and Lime time!

A great necklace for a hot summer day at the beach. Don't forget the to accessorize with ice cold lemonade!

I used one strand of graduated chalk turquoise, and dyed mother of pearl 6mm rounds. A simple toggle clasp finishes this one off. The beads are stung with 12 lb Beadalon, and secured using tube crimp beads

When it comes to the chalk turquoise in green, fuschia, and purple, I have to adnit, at first, I had my doubts. It just looked kind of "off" in the catalogue pics and on-line. BUT! Once I saw it in person, I was hooked.

Yes I know it has been dyed and stabilized, and it really isn't "natural." But how could I resist all that eye popping colour in three of my favorite shades?

With that note, I hope everyone is starting off their summer healthy, happy, and surrounded by family and friends. Wearing this summer bright necklace, you can be queen of the B-B-Q! (Just make sure it is Eastern North Carolina vinegar style Bar-B-Que!!)

stitch markers

I have to confess I am a fiber nut.

I got into beads the round-about way from bobbin lace. Seriously.

I found that I was much more fascinated by the beaded anchors on the English Bobbins, than I was in making the bobbin lace. Finally I admitted to myself that I was truly hooked and had crossed over to the beady side!

Even though I never really got into bobbin lacing, I still love to crochet, knit, felt, tat, needle lace, embroider, hand sew, machine sew, quilt, hand dye fabrics, yarns and threads ... pretty much you name it, and I probably have tried and love it -- if it involves fibers. (Let's face it: My first born teethed on a Tatsy!)

To that end, I went to a fiber show last weekend, and picked up some glorious stuff. I also had one of the wool suppliers (Puff the Magic Rabbit) suggest that I make some beaded stitch holders.

So, without further ado I want to share some of the ones I made over the week in little minutes here and there.

These are pretty quick and easy to make:

I used fossil beads in 4mm and 6mm, glass pearls 6mm, and black enameled glass beads 4mm for the first set.

I used some of my torch worked beads for the next two sets. I purchased the cat bead at a local store: Stones and Bones.

For the jump rings I used 6mm split rings. The larger stitch markers are 10mm jewelry links with decorative work on the face. (The jewelry links are normally used as elements in necklaces or bracelets, but work great for this.)

I also used a couple of sizes wire - mostly 20, 22. (The exception: size 18 for the projects worked in blue wire. Be sure to check if it will fit through your beads, if you use this grade wire.)

NOTE: The awesome buttons are from Wild Hare Fiber Studio. I love these!!

Be sure to check out some of the scrumptious fibers and yarns supplied at Wild Hare Fiber Studio and Puff the Magic Rabbit: Both ladies have awesome products, fleece, yarn and colours to dye for!!!

simple and sweet for spring.

This simple little cuff came about as an experiment: I wanted to try an alternative to the purchased cuff blanks normally used to make this type of bracelet.

The purchased blanks are great, but they are one size fits all. They are also a bit wider than I prefer. And even more importantly - now that I live in the wilderness, it's pretty hard to find the cuff blanks, unless I special order them.

I love to poke about in the hardware section, and came across some metal "ribbon" used by plumbers to hang pipes. It is perforated with holes and about one inch in width. It's pretty heavy duty, and has to be cut with extra-heavy tin snips or metal shears.

I cut two pieces the same size. I bent one to fit my wrist, then bent the other one to nestle just inside the original one. I wanted two pieces for extra weight and reinforcement. Then I covered the metal with a piece of heavy pellon. I used a needle and thread to secure the pellon in place.

From that point on, I was making a cuff as usual. I went for something quick and easy and bright. The butterflies are each made from four pressed glass "crystals" and delicas, (size 11). They were stitched on using size D nymo. The printed fabric was a scrap from my daughter's latest skirt, and the inside lined with white handkerchief linen.

If anyone is interested in a more detailed tutorial on how I made the cuff blank, please let me know.

Circles in a Pinstripe World

While doodling this bracelet, I was thinking about one of my husband's old ties he used to wear while he was a medical student years ago. It was bright yellow, matched nothing he owned, and had diagonal pinstripes in blues marching sedately down it.

I think the tie went the way of the world many, many moves ago, but the thought of that tie and its colours made me want to play with something that evoked a similar feeling of colour, with a bit more dynamic feeling in the design.

It's good to try and change things up when designing. You want to give yourself challenges.

Try to make a design with lines (as above), and yet have a sense of movement to the image. Rather than have the eyes follow the same path over and over again, as it did in the original tie, aim for ways to make the eye move up and down, back and forth.

Try to get the eye to be arrested on one particular element, using bold blocks of colour (see the big yellow triangle?) or by introducing something unique to the design, that is unexpected (little circle dudes!).

Look for ordinary items in your home that have patterns and ask yourself how you might use them in your designs. Look for ways to change the ordinary into something new and different.

Twisted Apples and a Couple of Squares

Some days I'm just in one of those abstract kind of moods. A couple of days ago - while the rain was finally pouring down I got a chance to sit down by the computer and indulge in some abstract designs for fun.

For some reason, as soon as I took a good look at this design I doodled, the title for this piece (see above) popped into my head. I think it's the apple leaf and all the swirls, juxapositioned with the two squares just hanging out, that appealed to me from an artsy point of view.