Last minute inspiration

They say best ideas come at the very last moment, and this month's EBW challenge is the perfect example. After struggling for days with sea shells and bead embroidery attempts, which went better than I'd thought, I was stuck and had a bit of a beader's block. Too many ideas in my mind, but none of them were quite my style, and I didn't want to create something just because it was ok for the challenge. Sea shells are gorgeous, and have an elegant look, but when I think about nautical I always remember Jean Paul Gaultier "Le Male" ads: the sparkling white, the blue stripes, the (gorgeous!) tattooed sailors. It was past midnight when I finished listing my item, and my eyes were almost closing...but the result is exactly what I was looking for:

something simple but classicly nautical: blue and white stripes, sailors' knots, and -of course- a star to remind a little bit a wind-rose

Remember to go on Etsy Beadweavers blog and vote for your favorite piece of nautical art from 9 until 15 may, spread the word!