July's Pretty Palette

Hi Everyone,

I splurged on some beads in July from the Pretty Palettes selection from Halcraft.  I just needed some new beads... right!

And, a month before I bought some copper sheets that I have been cutting up and hammering.  It's a good way to get out your frustrations!

Here's the copper piece before polishing and darkening:

I have a long way to go on my metalwork, but I was happy to get a hole in the center of the heart.  This was all with shears.  One of these days I'll get a saw.  I'm sure that would be much easier.  But, I did learn how to use my Dremel that I got last Christmas!  The radial polishers were very good at polishing up the scratches.

Here's the necklace I created with the heart and the beautiful beads from Halcraft.

Now for a bracelet and earrings!

Update:

Love these aqua hematite beads!  I made a tree of life pendant.

And, a pair of earrings:

Can't beat that color combo!

Pretty Palettes Reveal for November

Hi everyone!

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  We celebrated with part of the family out at the old ranch house.

This month the Pretty Palettes from Halcraft and Molly Schaller is full of beautiful fall color and pumpkin spice.


I chose a few of these yummy beads for my own.  Ok, almost all of them!

Here is one of the necklaces that I created from zebra jade nuggets, some rosewood tubes and the stag pendant.  I added a hammered antique copper ring and spacers from TierraCast and a leather tassel and tied it together with brown waxed cord.

Stag Talisman Necklace

I imagine some ancient hunter wearing this necklace in hope of a successful hunt.  I love the primitive look of this combination of beads and fibers.

Here it is showing the way I made the clasp:

I drilled through the bead crosswise so that I could secure it as a toggle.  Then, I tied a loop in the waxed cord for the other side of the clasp.  I also wrapped the loop on the pendant with cord before tying the tassel.

Then, with the beautiful seed beads, ceramic squares, fire agate and imperial jasper rounds, I created another necklace.  This one reminds me of colorful Indian corn and pumpkins.

Corn Tassel Necklace

I love the seed bead mix and wish I'd bought some more of them!  Such a fun combination of colors and shapes!  This photo doesn't do them justice, but it was too rainy outside for an outdoor photo.

Here's another photo that's a little brighter:

Be sure to check out the Reveal for this inspiration and see what Molly Schaller and all the other members have created on the Halcraft facebook group page. And, go here for Halcraft's great selection of beads.

Pretty Palettes Challenge for May

Hi there!

Today I'm playing along with the Pretty Palettes challenge on the Halcraft site.  This Last month our inspiration was peacock feathers.



Here are the beads Molly Schaller chose for this month:


I ordered some of these - the purple dyed agate round, the green matte fire crackled agates, and the aqua dyed quartz stone drops.  And, of course, a few more that struck my fancy!

Well, I've been working on this for about a week now, trying to come up with something that I like.  I thought alcohol inks would be interesting, so I played with those for awhile.

Fun, but not exactly what I had in mind for a peacock.  It looks more ocean-inspired to me.   I need some purple ink!  So, I decided on a tassel.  I've been making lots of tassels lately - one of which will appear in Beadwork later this summer.

Here is my peacock-inspired tassel.

Peacock Tassel

These are fun and easy to make and I love the sari silk and sari yarn mixes.  (I got these at Darn Good Yarn.)  This is a little long to wear (for me), so I might just hang it on something for a fun splash of color - maybe under the umbrella on the patio.

Here are the steps to create your own tassel:

Cut lengths of sari ribbon and sari yarn.  For the above tassel, I cut 7 pieces of ribbon and 6 of yarn in 12" lengths.  It's a messy tassel, so you don't have to be exact.

Fold the strands of yarn in half and wrap a piece of 22 gauge wire about 7" long around the center of it.  Cross the wire at the top leaving one end longer.  Make a wrapped loop where the wires cross wrapping with the short end.

Slide on a large bead cap or two and a bead(s) and make another wrapped loop.

This bead cap has been painted with alcohol inks.

Trim any ends and you are done!

Check out the Halcraft site for more beady fun and join the community.

I'm so late with May that June's Pretty Palette is already out!  Looks like another yummy palette just right for summer!  Happy creating!

Spa Day - April Pretty Palettes

Hello!

The inspiration for this month is a cool, calm palette to go with the Spa Day theme.  The colors are muted and soft.



Molly Schaller picked some lovely beads from these colors.


I love natural beads whether gemstones like the amazonite here or wood or shell.  And, those painted agate pendants are calling loudly to me!  Halcraft's new diffuser pendants will add a soothing aroma to any creation.

Unfortunately, I waited too long to order some of these beads, and they were sold out.  So, I used some of the stash that I already had.

Here's what I created:

Spa Day Necklace

I used faceted, round and stick amazonite beads, aqua agate rounds, some white star-shaped lava beads, pale pink shell rounds and some howlite in different sizes.  To make the pendant, I drilled a piece of driftwood and hung a shell from it.  The beads are strung on white waxed linen with brushed silver chain and clasp.  It's a very relaxing color palette - perfect for a day at the the spa or the beach!

Check out the other designs inspired by this palette on the Halcraft Collection facebook page.

Pretty Palettes for February

Hi there!

This is the inspiration for this February's Pretty Palettes challenge - recycled plastic mosaic tiles by BOPE.

 

Above is the palette and below are the beads Molly Schaller chose.

I love these.  I've used some of these in previous designs - particularly the turquoise windowpanes.  In fact, I used pretty much the same selection of colors in this necklace, which was in the Fall issue of Stringing, 2014.

Here's the selection of beads I picked up at Michaels:

Molly says this collection is like a sunset beach celebration.  Having just come back from Hawaii, I'm ready to go back!  So, I'll use these to get ready for more summer celebrations.

Here's what I created.  I ended up substituting some coral chips and flat rounds instead of using the dyed imperial jasper I bought.  And, the lava sea stars and white howlite rounds will be another fun summer necklace!

I'm ready for a summer fiesta now!

See the Pretty Palettes inspiration here and stop by the Halcraft Facebook page to see what other beaders have made.

Pretty Palettes December 2017

Hi all!

I'm sure I should be doing end-of-the-year bookkeeping, but I'm choosing to steal a few minutes to bead instead!  I just love the color palettes on this month's  December's Pretty Palettes Challenge.



And, now, I've put the Biltmore Estate on my wish list of places to visit.

You can see why!  Here's another photo that Molly took of the beautiful decorations for the Christmas season.

Just gorgeous!

In this season, it's hard to find time to shop for beads, so I took advantage of the new online store from Halcraft!  And, Molly set up this challenge with a couple of extra weeks - yay!  Otherwise, it just wouldn't be possible for me to participate.

I got my order yesterday (1/2/17).  Here's how it looked with packaging to show how nicely it arrived.  I also got one strand free (thanks!).

And, here they are out of the packaging, except for the brass beads.

Halcraft Collection Order

From left to right, I have Red Coral Faceted Round Beads (6mm), Dk. Red Faceted Rondelles (3x4mm), Oval Hollow River Shells (18x30mm), Glass Faceted Teardrop Green Iris (8x12mm), Ocean Green Luster Faceted Bicones (3mm), Aqua Dyed Crackle Agate Faceted Oval Pendant (40x58mm), Antique Brass Plated Round Beads (3mm), Malachite Chips and my free Green Glass Faceted Rondels (4x6mm).

When I ordered, I had an idea of what I wanted to create.  So, I'm saving the pendant, malachite chips and the oval shells for another project.  Besides the green glass drops, red glass rondelles, green bicones, brass rounds and red coral beads, I added some brass filigree beads and brass chain.

I wanted to create something in keeping with the time and season of the Biltmore, so this necklace and earrings represent something that might have been worn when the Biltmore was first built.

Christmas at the Biltmore

Here's another photo on a stand:

See the rest of the designs inspired by December's Pretty Pallettes on the Halcraft blog.  And, see January's elegant Pretty Pallettes challenge there, too.

Happy Beading!

Pretty Palettes November

Hello!

The Pretty Palettes inspiration on the Halcraft blog this month is a wonderful palette with blues and greens (my faves) with a touch of gold.  The inspiration is a beautiful piece of marbled paper.

Here's the palette generated from the paper:

I headed to our local Michaels, where all the strung beads were 40% off!  Woohoo!  Plus, I had a coupon!

Here's what I came home with~

I was going with more of the beads that Molly chose, but then I saw the turquoise dyed imperial jasper and it looked to me just like the swirly designs on the paper.  Plus, it was turquoise, and it looked like the ocean.  Can't beat that!

After I got home, I noticed some of my selections at Michaels were Bead Landing beads and not Bead Gallery.   And, somehow I missed that white was one of the colors!  Entranced by pretty, shiny things, no doubt!

Here's the necklace and earrings that I created:

Imperial Jasper Necklace and Earrings

I love how this worked up with the slabs and rounds of imperial jasper with the gold bicones.  And, I have extra beads that are calling me!  I was really inspired by the marbled paper, too, and can't wait to try that.  So many ideas, so little time!  Thanks for the inspiration, Molly!

Pretty Palettes October Reveal

Hi Everyone!

This month the inspiration for the Pretty Palettes challenge is a campfire with glowing oranges, black and gray embers with shades of brown and tan.

Here's the inspiration photo from Molly Schaller - a harvest party where they drank fresh cider and fried donuts over the fire!  Sounds wonderful!



And, here's the palette:


Here are the beads I chose from Michaels:

Beads from Michaels

I don't know if I'll use all of them in this set, but there were a couple of strands that were so interesting, I just had to bring them home - those black lava sticks, for instance.  They look so versatile; there are at least three different ways I want to use them.

This is the necklace I designed.  I used the black lava sticks, the fire agate rounds, some brown shell rondelles from a previous Pretty Palettes challenge and some 16-gauge copper wiggles that I hammered.  It's strung on necklace memory wire.  To cover the ends, I painted the silver with some Antique Copper patina.

Tribal Fire Choker

Now, for some earrings and a bracelet.

For the bracelet, I wrapped the black lava stick with copper wire to create a toggle.  The bracelet is strung on black waxed cord.

For the earrings, I wrapped the waxed cord around a lava stick and a jump ring.

I didn't use the white shell discs in this set, but I did use them in my Harvest Moon Earrings in my previous post.

See all the other designs in the Pretty Palettes Reveal.

Mixed Blues

Hi everyone!

This month for the Pretty Palettes inspiration, Molly picked an ombre selection of yarn for our inspiration.  This yarn fades from soft green to purple.


Here is the palette created from the yarn:


These are the beads she selected from the palette.

Since I am designing last minute (again!),  I decided to pull out beads from the piles and bins around the room.  Here's what I found - some sodalite, blue shell beads, turquoise howlite, blue quartzite and purple amethyst chips and a few blue ceramic rounds.

I didn't use the turquoise or the sodalite, but I did add some amethyst rounds and a few multi luster hematite spacers (also from the Halcraft lines).  It seemed natural to add some fiber since the inspiration was yarn, so I created a wrapped bead focal with some recycled sari ribbon and yarn and a wooden bead.

Mixed Blues

I don't often make multi-strand necklaces, but with a large focal and small chips, I needed more than one strand.  At the top of the strands, I needed a way to bring them all together.  I had some large silver cone bead caps, but they were too bright and shiny.  So, I marbled them with a two colors of some new ink samples sent to me from ColoriQue.  It's easy to create any color cap to go with your beading.

Stop over at the Pretty Palettes Reveal and see the gorgeous work from the designers that participated.  Amazing!

Thanks for stopping by!

Terry