Kumiwho??

Recently, I got new jewelry making toy!  Kumihimo wheels!  I love them!  I have a round and a square wheel.  I haven't used the square wheel yet (it makes flat braids) but I'm excited to try it out.  Kumihimo is a beautiful uniformed braiding technique.

Where to start?! Braiding silk and thread has been part of almost every culture throughout the ages. Specifically, the Japanese began braiding cord and silk for Samurai warriors to lace & decorate their armor and scabbards.

It further developed into a decorative way of fastening kimonos around 550 AD. The Japanese developed particular styles that allowed for braids of superior intricacy. With more delicate methods came more decorative braids, until each braid was so unique that it became a symbol of a Japanese warrior’s status.

You can read more about Kumihimo at "What Is Kumihimo?" - Click here & learn!.  Really great website.

I've pretty much "mastered" the very basic technique but even with it, changing the threads, with or without beads....The possibilities are endless!

My very first braiding project.

It reminds me of corn on the cob! hahahaha!

I was completely intimidated by the wheel but really, once you get the hang of it....and a rhythm to the thread patterns, it's really easy.  Well.....let's put easy in a quotations....hahaha!  I still have to learn how to measure out the beads and string for projects.  I really did use wwwwaaaayyyy to much string and strung too many beads for the first project.  So I'll have to get that part down pat AND I need to understand how to place the beads in the specific pattern to get spirals.  I don't know why that's been a challenge to understand....me and numbers don't always get along.

So here was my next attempt. This time I used seed beads and drop beads on nylon. I wanted the drops to spiral but I loaded the beads wrong and it came out to look like "flowers".  No problem....I'll take it! Just one of those "fails" that actually work.

So of course, I'm no quitter....I tried it again!  This time, I put each color on a "like color" string (I've been using embroidery thread) and put the same colors warps adjacent to each other. 4 colors, 8 warps...so 2 white, 2 blue....etc....etc.

Well, I managed a spiral and the smaller beads fell in line next to each other, which gave the look of a core for the white and peridot bicones to spiral around! So I'm on to something! 

After I finished this bracelet, I looked at another that I previously made using the flat spiral stitch....and what do you know....going for a spiral look with humihimo....there wasn't much difference!  Hmmmmmm.....

Flat Spiral Stitch

The only difference....to me...with a flat spiral....I know exactly what the "core" will be!  They both are pretty simply and easy to learn techniques. They both accept just about any bead you want and offer the ever changing appearance of your projects....just by changing the beads!  Oh, and they both build up quickly!

All in all...I'm more than pleased with the kumihimo techniques.  I know the patterns get more advanced and I'm excited to take some on soon!

Truly Blessed.....in every way!

After pulling out my supplies and looking at what I had.....I realized I had some really cool things.  Alot of things I've forgotten about because.....I keep getting stuff!   I have to "go shopping" in my stash more often!

I have had these turquoise two hole bars for a l o n g time now and I just couldn't figure out what to do with them.  I actually forgot I had them....until I pulled out my things and spread them around.  So I started pairing up colors and I saw the pendant.....and then I thought.....hmmmmm.....lets see.....

I was a little unsure how I felt about the finished piece.  I felt, "Flintstones".....but it's growing on me.  And if it is prehistoric....I can live with that.

It's a three piece set, with necklace, earrings and bracelet.  I used green jasper and transparent green agate with silver spacer.

I've come to really love inspirational pieces....those sweet reminders of the greatness of life!

Beads, Wires and Organizers! Oh my!

So the other night, I was in a bit of a creative void and as I've said before, I will put myself in the craft....EVERYDAY.....no matter what! So my bright idea was to pull out all of my organizing trays and let the beads speak! It actually worked! I'll post the outcome after this....

Here are a few snaps of my stash.  I SO hope for a crafting room again one day.  Just to make it cozy and comfortable, bright and inspiring.  When I first got started, I had a small room.  I think I wrote about it before so I won't bore you with how quickly I out grew it.

Here's my tall cabinet that I keep my containers hidden in when not in use.  I'm a minimalist so I like things hidden.  I don't like open faced shelves.  I mean, I can tolerate them but the mental stimulation of seeing everything is overwhelming.  So this cabinet has doors!   As you can see....I keep my books, patterns, photo albums of my work, shipping supplies, containers and everything jewelry making here.

BUT - I always feel like (and this is completely a contradiction of my "phobia" of too much visual stimulation) but I always feel like, if I can see my beads and their easy to get to, I'll be able to design more.

So I have a table of organizers (which I love) that are easy to get to and I can see my "stuff".  I've been working so the table's a mess.  In a jewelry makers world, this IS a good thing.

The organizer on the right are big storage drawers that are great for holding my wholesale purchases and larger beads.  The one on the left is where I keep my smaller beads.  The two 3 drawer towers are for pendants, connectors, bracelet forms and other odds and ends.

The red storage bins, on the top are miscellaneous beads, some charms and one full of gold jump rings!  I bought wholesale! I'll never need another gold jump ring ever in life! hahahaha!

And here's the piece de resistance!!

I love my beads! *sigh*

Every Little Bit Matters....

Wholesale is great!  ALOT of beads, connectors, findings and whatever else you need in BULK!  I love bulk!  The only downside is that, when ordering online, with wholesalers - especially when their in another country - can be tricky!  You never really know the quality or the actual size until you get the products.....after waiting weeks.

So, that pile of silvery mess in the bottom left hand corner of the picture above, is only a fraction of connectors that I ordered from one of my favorite wholesalers in China.  The shape was so unique, yet simple but I knew I had to have them and I think I got 1000 for like $0.85.  Who could pass that up??

However, when I finally got them.....I had no idea what I would do with them....I had so many!  They were thinner than I anticipated so I was afraid that my heavy hands and inexperience would ruin them some how.  They've been sitting in their designated organizer tray, collecting dust.  I had to do something with them.

So I looked at the number of jump rings I had available and started connecting the dots.  Next thing I knew, I had chain.  In between each grouping, I wire wrapped 3 czech glass beads, 2 have RB coating, which gives the turquoise a darker color and shimmers of purples and gold and also a plain turquoise color.

Alternating the groupings, I made my way down the chain.  I took so much longer to complete than I anticipated but alas, finally finished after 2 movies and a bathroom break.

I really need to get bent needle nose jewelry pliers.

As a jewelry designer, you're probably wondering why I don't have all the necessary tools, but they just seemed like one more thing I could do without.  However, working with alot of jump rings in a project, I can definitely see how they would have been handy.  My poor little finger tips ached badly by the time I was done!

Surprisingly enough, I used fewer rings than I thought but I definitely need to re-up on my supply.

Voila!

Here's the final piece.

I think more or less, I'm satisfied with the end result.  I have it sitting on a necklace display stand because I just don't think it's quite finished.  There's something missing for me.  *thinking* ......*shrug*....I don't know.  Maybe not.....*thinking*......no, I think somethings missing.  I'll just have to let the piece decide....because I can't put my finger on it.

What do you think?  What would you add, if anything at all?

Shangri-La

Hahahahaha, I don't know why I titled this post "Shangri-La".  I just looked at these earrings and tried to describe the shizzam, the sparkle, the sexy and feminine feeling that they give me.....and some where in that..."Shangri-La" came to mind. hehehehehe...

So, do you know the story behind Shangri-La?  I'll have to admit, I didn't.  It was just something I heard as a kid.  And I like the way it sounds.  It always sounds fun and makes me "shake my shimmy" when I say it.

So I googled (I'm the google master) and here's the WIKIPEDIA skinny on "Shangri-La":


Shangri-La is a fictional place described in the 1933 novel Lost Horizon by British author James Hilton. Hilton describes Shangri-La as a mystical, harmonious valley, gently guided from alamasery, enclosed in the western end of the Kunlun Mountains. Shangri-La has become synonymous with any earthly paradise but particularly a mythical Himalayan utopia — a permanently happy land, isolated from the outside world. In the novel Lost Horizon, the people who live at Shangri-La are almost immortal, living years beyond the normal lifespan and only very slowly aging in appearance. The word also evokes the imagery of exoticism of the Orient. In the ancient Tibetan scriptures, existence of seven such places is mentioned as Nghe-Beyul Khimpalung.^[1] Khembalung is one of several beyuls ("hidden lands" similar to Shangri-La) believed to have been created by Padmasambhavain the 8th century as idylic, sacred places of refuge for Buddhists during times of strife (Reinhard 1978).

The use of the term Shangri-La is frequently cited^{[by whom?]} as a modern reference to Shambhala, a mythical kingdom in Tibetan Buddhisttradition, which was sought by Eastern and Western explorers; Hilton was also inspired by then-current National Geographic articles onTibet, which referenced the legend.^{[citation needed]}

A perfect and fitting name for these snazzy little joints, right?

So here's where I get all "artsy fartsy" on you.....I believe truly, that when you have a talent or gift....specifically something crafty....it starts with a vision and it will evolve to become what it wants to be.  I'm just the messenger! *smiles*

For the supplies I used memory wire for the hoops and a small gold jump ring to attach the earring post.  I chose 8/0 silver lined, RB coated Hex beads in Dark Root Beer and Rosaline.  To create the fringe, I used Fireline beading thread in Crystal. To secure, besides the series of knots, I did a very light coating of E600 bonding glue.

I didn't anticipate that they were going to take so long to complete...and maybe if I had sat still with just this project, I would have completed them faster.  But of course, there's mommy duties to be attended and of course, work everyday (boy...I wish sometimes, I didn't have to punch a clock....but I'm thankful...THANKFUL for my job).....but honestly....I was exhausted while I created these.  But I LOVE how they turned out!  Now that I have the motions together....I'm sure I can get them done faster....and I'm looking forward to making these in different colors and combinations!

I'm in love with these sexy mamas!

Round n' Round

Sometimes just something quick and simple will get me through the night.  Although, I'm going to revise the wire work, so that it's more symmetrical to the disc, I like the idea of this earring....so I'll be taking this back to the drawing board.

What Are Little Girls Made Of....

Happy Friday!

One of my favorite, most versatile beading stitches is the SPIRAL ROPE STITCH.  This stitch is super easy and builds up quickly!   So if you're like me....(almost) instant gratification ALWAYS works for me. *smiles*

As you know, I've committed myself to "get in the craft" every evening; whether it's cleaning up, rearranging, reorganizing or creating, spending some time with my beads and my imagination has become very important to me.  Not only is it developing me as a jewelry designer but it's SO relaxing!

So, this (well, yesterday) evening - I wanted to do something that looked a little more intricate.  My evening creations (as you see) have been mostly earrings.  They're quick and pretty easy, even if it takes a couple of attempts before I'm happy.  I wanted to do something different so I decided on a bracelet, with the spiral stitch.

"Bubble Gum Custard"

The GREAT thing about the spiral stitch is that you can pick ANY bead, any color combo, any size and get ALL different looks!  This was my first time using multiple shapes and colored beads.  Typically, it's a two color deal and I'll have at it.  However, this bracelet was a combination of bubblegum pink (size 6o) seed beads for the core and the outer spiral consists of burgundy (size 6o), iridescent clear (size 6o), silver spacer balls (they are around 4mm), iridescent clear 6mm (maybe it was 8mm) bicone and another iridescent, translucent, peachy silver-lined size 6o seed bead!  *phew!*

I know that there are a couple of different tutorials available online that you can find (I've attached the link to one below that I thought was really easy to follow for a beginner....great pictures to help you out!) but for myself and this bracelet, I did the following steps:

1. Cut a length of Fireline (in the color: Crystal) that is comfortable for you to work with.  I used about 3 feet. I'm not a fan of tying off and on more beading thread so unless it's impossible to complete a project on one length....I try to estimate the length needed.  
2. Leaving about 6-8 inches for the tail, string on 5 core beads. Those would be the pink beads you see. *OPTIONAL* Before stringing on the 5 core beads, tie on a stop bead of a color COMPLETELY separate and easy to recognize as the one that "doesn't belong".
3. String on a random combo of 4 beads. Because I have the bicone and it's a little larger than the other beads, I did keep it consistently the second bead. 
4.  Now that you have 9 beads on your string, take the needle up through the 5 core beads, pull through the full length of string.  The random 4 will line up next to the core.
5. Pick up 1 core bead and 4 random combos and repeat the path of the stitch.  HOWEVER this time, enter into the 2nd core bead.  This is called "stepping up" - this will leave you to sew through the last 4 beads from the first unit)
6. Drop down the beads you just strung and well - look at that! A core bead!  Sew through the 1 core bead, that gives you the 5 core beads that you need to sew through to complete the unit.  ALWAYS REMEMBER THIS ---  *SEW THROUGH 5, 4 ON THE SIDE*. Pull through the length of FireLine, snug fit, 4 beads fall to the side.  
7. Pick up 1 core bead and random 4 combo, step up to the next unit, sew through 5 core beads, pull through the length of FireLine, snug fit, 4 beads fall to the side.

You'll start to quickly see the spiral happening at this point!  Easy peazy! 

I used the antique silver heart toggle clasp to finish it off and Voila!  

Very happy with the way it turned out!

Beading friends, what's your favorite stitch??

I didn't learn this stitch from the web site below but I thought it would be helpful to a beginner to take a looksie! 

Courtesy of Ruby's Bead Work - Spiral Rope Tutorial - Click Here!