I do believe the winter is giving up here… I know, I shouldn’t jinx it. And yes, it IS the end of April. To celebrate a little I made the robin cane that has been on my to do list for most of the not-spring. This is the unreduced version of it. You can see them as beads in my shop, too!
There are always beads on my table.
Sometimes there’s LOTS of beads on my table. Especially when it’s a bake-more-than-one-pan day like today…
Mostly all of those beads get holes or a little paint or varnish or sanding but I did actually turn a few of them into a daisy chain bracelet.
When I first started beading I used to make miles of daisy chains. Years later I made the first of these tiny little flower beads (they’re 1/2″ or less across). They’re cute but I don’t use them for much except as dangles on bigger pieces. This is a prototype because I’d love some simple “wrap” style bracelet with these. This one is strung on memory wire with a firm hook loop to help it keep it’s shape. The leaves dangle from part of the clasp.
What’s on YOUR bead table? Have a look at the rest of the BTW group.
My partner Michi sent me such a package of pretties I had a hard time actually buckling down and making things! Luckily a friend solved the issue of what to do with the focal because she claimed it and ordered a necklace. Phew!
She had an example necklace for me to measure from – a long chain necklace with front pendant – and away I went! All orders and requests should be that simple!
Not that the studio is bare or even slightly empty but my bead table – ie: the project pile – is a little barren right now. I’m still working through the backlog of cleaning, organizing and planning from the bead show. Up there is a snapshot of some of the big wholesale order of metal stuff that was waiting for me when I came home.
This is what I baked up this morning. I’m hoping to run my slightly belated spring sale soon (coincide it with the BSBP reveal on Saturday maybe?) and trying to top up all of the crowd favourites in my shop before it goes on.
These will be thicker flat flower beads. They work great for simpler stringing than the dangle flowers. I often antique and distress them a little when I use them in pieces. Once these guys are done I’ll photo the whole collection I have left from the bead show and list them all.
How’s your bead table look? If you want to share, check out the Bead Table Wednesday group on Flickr.
Part of making a lot of polymer clay beads is making a lot of polymer clay scraps. I mean a lot. I tend to get sick of the stack once or twice a year and roll it out or make swirlies. This time, I grabbed a friend and we pulled up a few tutes.
We started with a few Stroppel canes. We did them in cool colours, warm ones, neutrals, earth colours.
Then we moved onto some scrap mokume ganes. I have a lot of scraps!
Here’s the group shot of a few of the stacks. I figure we used a quarter of the pile I brought up which is just a dent in the stack on my work table…
Here’s a couple of the heart pendants (one of my staples) from the scrap craziness:
