Posts

Showing posts with the label beads

My Fun at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show 2015

Image
 http://theafghangemjewelry.com/ Last week I was able to go to the last day of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show.  My two friends, Sandy and Jennifer, were patient as I walked through one hotel lobby.  My new knee is giving me problems in the bending/walking area and it will be quite a while before I am able to race through more than a few vendor's setups…..but next year watch out!   Eye Candy! One of the booths had spent some time color coordinating their beads. I spent quite a bit of time enjoying all that beautiful color.  At another booth, I found petrified bamboo.  I’d never even thought of what petrified bamboo would look like and it was lovely.  Sorry no photo.  http://www.manizone.co.uk/spiritual-exercises-understanding-spiritual-gifts-spiritual-p-1275.html The other excitement was finding Australian black opals.  My Dad always wanted to go the black opal mines and I thought it would be cool to have a stone since I've recently been to Australia.  S

Making Faux Glass Beads

Image
Glass Lampwork Beads are among my favorite eye candy.  When I saw this tutorial on faux lampwork beads I decided I had to try it!  This is the link for the tutorial:  https://www.etsy.com/listing/176555759/faux-glass-polymer-clay-tutorial-pack-3?ref=related-6 It is very well written, nicely illustrated and a pleasure to follow.  I recommend this! I love these beads and can't wait to make more with this technique First I started collecting the supplies and naturally I needed to order some things!  I did not have Kato liquid polymer nor did I have a heat gun.  I love tools so here was another excuse!  Now I have a heat gun!  I bought the Ryobi 11 Amp Variable-Temp Heat Gun that was suggested in the tutorial.  It is great – easy to hold and the temperature is easy to adjust!  The Kato clay I bought came in a bubble wrap envelop and the lid was loose.  Ick! What a mess.  Amazon refunded the money and I was able to salvage enough to do the project.  Finally ready! I m

Really Following Instructions

Image
I just took Donna Kato’s class CONTEMPORARY SQUASH BLOSSOM PENDANTS from Craftartedu.com As I was about midway through the video, I realized that this might be one of the few classes where I actually stopped the video to make the project at each step just the way it was presented.   The end result was very close to the class photo with a few exceptions to color shading.   I’m very happy with what I learned and with the piece.   While making my squash blossom, I followed the directions for mixing the colors, backing the cane slices and applying the canes, etc.   Copying a piece makes me feel uneasy and that’s why I tend to just watch the video or take classes that show a technique and turn me loose.   Could be I’m missing some of the finer points that way!   Thanks Donna Kato! After I finished the pendant, I decided to use some of the leftovers and make buttons and beads.   Sharing some with you. Buttons ready to sell! Might be my next creation!

Learning As We Go!

Image
Viking knit is the oldest method of chain making and I've become fascinated by it.  Once I conquered the single knit, I decided to add beads.  I could have googled or asked how it was done but it seemed like something I could just figure out.  And I've learned a lot as I proceeded first with tumbled turquoise beads and then with pearls.  I thought I'd share a few of the things I've learned.   Iif you want a great tutorial on viking knit technique, Trina Ann at http://blog.trinaann.com/  has written a clear concise easy to understand tutorial.  I highly recommend it.    Tumbled tuquoise beads in viking knit  I used tumbled turquoise beads in the first viking knit chain and I did not really know what I was doing.  But I went right ahead and as it turned out, I liked the end result.  Since the beads were irregular in shape there was a random quality to the finished product. During that process, I began to really understand the technique of viking knit.  Loo

Beautiful Beaded Jewelry by the Maasai

Image
I found a surprise on the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater.   Jewelry!   Beautiful beaded jewelry for sale made by the Maasai tribe in that area.   Somewhere around the 1900’s the Maasai and the Europeans met and began trading goods.   The Europeans had beads – glass beads- colorful beads.   So the Maasai became makers and sellers of their jewelry. The Maasai tribe in Africa numbers about half a million people.   Men herd the cattle and women make the jewelry to survive.   The traditional beads were seeds, copper, bone, wood and gourds. Today they use mostly glass. The women sit together watching the children and cooking.   They milk cows and build their homes and cattle pens.   They also bead their jewelry giving great attention to creating beauty with contrast and balance.   Not so different than jewelry makers everywhere. As in most cultures, the intricate pattern and colorful designs are indications of social standing. The more intricate and the more colorful the higher you are