I know...

I haven't made shit in forever...... soon, soon.... I never posted this pic and have needs to show it to someone... The pic is crappy, taken with my cell in poor lighting, but it's the only one I've got.... Sorry. This is a Japanese Lattice chainmaille bracelet that I made a while back... My first attempt at chainmaille and I LOVED working it.. can't wait to do more.

Weddings

So I finished one more bottle collar. I really need to find some more beads that work. I love the aventurine and the little violet seed beads.. but I'm getting a little sick of them too. This time I mixed it up with a little bit of moonstone.

I've started the bracelets for my bridal gifts... I think I'm liking them.. I'll look at them for a few more days and then close them up once I'm POSITIVE!!!.
The first one is for my sister, getting married in a week. She picked out the green (can't remember which kind) jasper months ago. I added some kiwi green rice pearls, opalite, and tanzanite rhinestone roundels. I think I like it. I think she'll love it.

For my cousin Tiffany. I kept it simple, indigo potato pearls and crystal roundels. I think it looks glamorous.

 

Now my most important projects for the month are just about over... I just have to get ready and go camping, have my son's birthday party, get through his swim meet, pay for his next swim session, find something to wear to the wedding, go school clothes shopping, find time to work, and figure out how I'm going to pay rent next month. No problem.... yikes!

Wine Bottle Collars..

Now that the fundraiser project is finally done.. I have two weddings to get ready for. I decided to try wine bottle collars..... not as hard as I thought....but not easy.

This is the pattern I found. Unfortunately, it gave bead measurements in the 1/4 inch-type measurements and if you've bought beads in the US in the last few years, they use mms. So finding the beads was a challenge in itself. This was my first attempt.

Not bad I must say. Here's a closer look.

I took it to work to show it off, and instantly got orders for 6 MORE! My co-workers are always saying, "You should get a booth at the Saturday Market", "You should consign in the gift shop", "You should sell on eBay". The truth is, they keep me busy enough and I never really build up a stock of anything.!
So, this is my second attempt. I only slightly changed the design.

I know, not a great pic. Sorry. I really wanted to do one in a sapphire blue and black diamond-type crystal, maybe with a little bit of opalite or moonstone, but I can't find the beads in the right dimensions. Pisses me OFF!!
Anyway, this is a fun and interesting change from bracelets and earrings, and it gives me some new ideas for those too! Actually, one girl I work with is starting to talk about having me do a glorious, over-the-top necklace designed after one of these (I'm not really excited about something of that magnitude. Holy fuck, that would take forever!)... She's also in the process of remodeling her kitchen and we're talking about doing pendant lights made from wine or champagne bottles with glamorous collars on them.. (That was my idea, I think it ROCKS... I just gotta figure out how to cut the bottoms off the bottles!)
I find myself really wishing that I had a craft room or a workshop.... There's so much stuff I want to try! Kinda wish I had the money to try it all too!!..............!!!!

Judy's Africa Fundraiser

So a nurse I work with does medical mission trips to Sudan with Helping Hands. The group she goes with has decided to do fund raisers to donate to the women's schools there. Judy asked me if I would make some stuff to sell for it... I have to admit that I started out totally amped.... she had some awesome stuff that I was dying to work with.. But I kinda petered out pretty quick. It's actually really hard to be creative with stuff that you didn't personally buy with a specific vision in mind.. But here is some of the stuff I made for her.

Unakite

Dichroic

Breast Cancer Awareness

Amazonite

Amazonite

Larimar