Chains and competitions

Summer vacations are over and I didn't even had the time to realize it!
Been working non-stop for 2weeks and I hardly had the time to bead.
But I do had the time to go to the library, and saw the latest issue of Beadwork magazine...I fell in love with Cristie Prince's Chain of Jewels Necklace.
I went back to the library 3 times and finally decided to buy it.
Now I'm super busy making it:



It's a thread(and time)-eater project, but the result is so beautiful that you might want to make one in each color of your stash.
I will surely make a silver one as soon as I have the time to go and buy some new beads!

Meanwhile I'm working on the piece for Etsy Beadweavers September challenge, the theme is "Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!"
Just starting my brick road, hope to finish it on time!

Rondelles, anyone?

On vacation from 2 days, yesterday I went to the usual thursday market to buy beads.
I also burnt my back cause I was so eager to find them, I totally forgot to put my sun screen on - and that's something I've never forgotten since I was a child.
I found a lot of new colors and sizes of rondelles!



If anyone needs rondelles of these sizes, feel free to contact me!
I'm going to make some more Honeycomb bangles for my mom and myself, with the right size of beads this time!

Her own necklace

Some days ago I fell in love with Marcia De Coster's "very own necklace", so I tried to make something similar and asked her permission to post the picture



Yeah, VERY different result but I love it and hope to have the time to wear it soon!
I'm working at some sporting club receptions right now, so I have to wear their polo shirt and don't really feel like wearing any jewelry, but as soon as I'll slow down a bit I'm going to put on all my latest creations!

Finally, the honeycomb bangle

After my last moving I pledged not to buy beads until I have enough money and space for them, so I'm using my stash for everything. This means I can't always make what I want because my beads are not the right size or shape.
That's why I tried several times to make the Honeycomb bangle by Cynthia Rutledge with miserable failures as results.
Then I found some small rondelles I bought this winter and decided to give it a try, modifyng the scheme a bit.
Here's the result:



I'm happy I managed to make it! I didn't know there was a free pdf with explanation on how to use smaller rondelles.
But the tutorial was easy to adjust.

My precious!

Don't you ever feel like Smeagol in the LOTR movies...you buy a lot of beads (or crystals, like in my case)and never use them.
Every time you have an idea you take them up, look at them and feel like you're wasting them on such a simple project. They're so beautiful! Sparkling!bright colors!
So you think your precious deserves a better project. My precioussss!



Ok, let's get serious. After collecting a lot of crystal bicones in different shades of color, and after looking at them with pride and joy every time I had a project in my mind, I finally took the courage to use them!
I so had to make this.
A rainbow capricho:



I know, nothing new. I have been looking at it for almost a year and finally I made one for me only!



And for the record, even though I'm pretty sure everybody knows that, you can find the original tutorial on Unicornio website.

Ikea beads

Sometimes your eyes just need some rest from those tiny, naughty beads.
But that doesn't mean you can't keep on beading...
I made this pitaya bead with Pyssla beads from Ikea:



I had this huge jar of beads (a friend of mine was throwing it away!)and didn't know what to do, so I started experimenting...



I'm trying to make some sort of beach bag with these peyote triangles, and will make some more pitayas to decorate my balcony - and maybe recycle them on my next Xmas tree!
So if you want something different try them!

Earrings!

Lately I made a lot of earrings. I think it's because the temperature is rising and I can't help but imagining myself on a beach, with a colorful bikini and a pair of even more colorful (possibly matching) earrings.
Started with the tab earrings



and couldn't resist to make some stars in the same colors



and then tried a purple color combo


but this metallic violet is impossible to catch with the camera.


I tried and tried, but the picture is very far from the sparkly metallic finish they have in person.

I have so many half-finished works that I feel ashamed every time I open my bead boxes and look at them...first of all there are other 2 beaded stars which are waiting to become SOMETHING.
We'll see...

EBW June Challenge - Heal the World: LET'S VOTE!

Here is the mosaic:



You know what to do!
From June 9th to June 15th, 2011 you can choose your favourite and vote for it!

Heal the world

Finally I started beading again after a long break!
This month's EBW challenge was so interesting I couldn't avoid to partecipate!
The theme was "Heal the world" and, being a Michael Jackson huge fan, I really wanted to make something. There was a lot of choice...

Since this is something we deal everyday with, I chose the recycling/reusing theme.
What if we indulged ourselves with, let's say, a coke only if we take the pledge to re-use the bottle for another purpose? What if, in our everyday life, we tried to produce less garbage not only by buying loose stuff (food, water, cleaning liquids) but also by reusing everything we can several times?

Sounds stupid but I don't see many people doing it.
So I used a simple item, can tabs, to make this:



Can tabs are washable and versatile, there are thousands of ways to use them!



Thay also give a silver-y sparkle to the finished piece.

Do you know how many things you can make with tabs? Just look on youtube for tutorials and you'll be amazed! And take a look at this gorgeous website!

I also amde a pair of red earrings Bollywood inspired



That's all for today!
Can't wait to see all the entries for the challenge!

Pavlova

I love baking cakes.
Waking up in the morning and seeing a beautiful "ciambella" waitig on the table for you is the best beginning for a day.
But to bake a perfect cake, it's necessary to have a good relationship with your oven.
And here come the problems.
In this new house I'm still tring to understand it, the heat seems lower than it should be.
So I decided to make something easy and fresh - not that I need any sweets after Easter: I came back home with a lot of chocolate eggs (yeas, I still get chocolate eggs at 28!) and 5 boxes full of cookies made by aunt Annarita...

I was curios to try a recipe I had found on one of my favourite blogs, Jul's kitchen.
So I chose the pavlova:



It's not "good looking" like the one on the blog, but it tastes terrific!
It's soft and sweet and then you get the slightly sour taste from whipped cream and strawberries.



Please visit Jul's blog and try some recipes, you won't be disappointed!!!