Latest Kumihimo Project

Since Kumihimo is one of my "Specialties" I thought it would be the perfect necklace to make my Mom for Mother's Day. I knew that I couldn't do just any Kumihimo since my Mom has been an artist for many years. The moment that I saw this pendant I knew that was her colors! Then I needed to pick the elements that I was going to use for my Kumihimo Braid. I chose Labradorite, Freshwater Pearls, Swarovski Crystals and 3 different colors of 8/0 Seed Beads. It turned out great! She loved it! Of course I had to make a second one for our store so that customers could get inspired by it too. Here is the second one that is in our store.

Two New Lampwork Bracelets

Everyone has been asking to see some of my new lampwork beads. I starting making lampwork beads in January and I still haven't burned my arm or the house down!!

Pink Crystal Sterling Heart

I have made many "Puffy Hearts" but I have wanted to make one by incorporating Sterling Brites with the Crystals. I used 4mm Rose Matte AB Bicone Crystals with 2mm Sterling Brites. It turned out nice and I will wear it today!

New Gemstones at Beads!

With the help of Cindy and Sarah we added a ton of new Gemstones to our wall. The store is packed with new merchandise! It looks awesome. Even Barley has a new favorite gemstone, "Lab"adorite!

Earth Day Necklace

A few months ago my friend Joan taught me how to make coils out of Polymer Clay with a clay extruder. I am hooked on this tool! Every time I load clay into the extruder and make coils, customers say, "There she goes squeeking again!" It is a lot of fun. When I made the beads for this necklace a couple of people thought that the front beads looked like the earth so I named this necklace "Earth Day." It is made with the two most popular Florida colors, Aqua and lime green!

Copper Etching Class

I have been wanting to learn how to etch copper for a long time. Sarah LeCompte and I tried to do it on our in the store but we didn't like the results so I took a class from Stacy Perry and this is the bracelet that I made. It came out great! Stacy is awesome. That was the first class that I took from her. She is very knowledgable and I am looking forward to learning more from her.
Now I will be teaching a Copper Etching/Copper Riveting Class on April 25th. We will be doing a pendant. I love working with Copper!!

My Newest Kumihimo Necklace

Well, I finally stepped into the world of Blogging. And, what better subject to start with then Kumihimo. Kumihimo, a Japanese braid, is one of my favorite things to do. It involves using either fibers or seed beads. This particular necklace is made with 8 strands of 8/0 seed beads, a Lampwork Focal bead and Bali Silver Caps.