Flower Series Focal Beads

I am pleased to present my new Flower Series Focal Beads.

I have had such fun designing and making these. Using the wonderful Donna Kato's Composition Technique I have developed this entirely new series of beads.

Each bead is hand shaped with a variety of skinner-blend backgrounds and then covered on all sides with tendrils, leaves and blossoms. Each one is completely individual and no two are alike.

I have not made a series of beads before and am very excited by them. The ideas for more series are swimming around in my head, and the next series will be fish!

I have a few more colour-ways for the flower beads still to create and I hope that when they are all ready they will be well received at my weekly craft fair at Cirencester. I am still undecided as to whether to put them up for sale in my Etsy Shop or not. I am being asked more and more at Cirencester if I will make some beads for sale and decided that now was the time to do so. Beading and Jewellery making has become increasingly popular here in the UK over the past two years, and unusual handmade beads are always in demand. I would love my beads to become part of someone's design, or maybe to inspire a design because of the theme of my bead - that would be fantastic.

I hope you like them as much as I do.

Carnival

Carnival
Originally uploaded by Pips Jewellery Creation

I posted this photo on Flickr yesterday and got so many lovely comments on it, I thought I would share it with my blog visitors too.

There are 95 individual beads on here - each of which I hand sanded and polished! It took a very long time as you can imagine, but even longer to put together - 95 wire wraps take forever!!

It is the fullest bracelet I have ever made and I wondered if maybe it was a little too full, but when it is on it looks fantastic and makes such a great sound too!

The technique for the beads comes from Donna Kato's book, "The Art Of Polymer Clay - Millefiori Techniques". I can recommend this book 100% for anyone who works with Polymer Clay - it is a constant source of inspiration to me.

The colours I have used are quite muted, which I wanted because with so many beads I thought that brighter colours would make the overall effect too "busy".

I would love to know your thoughts on this. Would a bright one be something you would like? Would it look good in lots of shades of one colour? How about a sort of rainbow effect, starting with one colour at one end and then working its way round the spectrum to the other end? What do you think - I would love to know!

New Year - New Work

Sea Pod
Originally uploaded by Pips Jewellery Creation

A belated Happy New Year to you all!

The Christmas period was so busy for me that I did not have time to blog at all, or take photos, or do anything apart from make jewellery and try to fit in all the normal Christmas preparations for the family!

At last, it is January, which is cold, extremely snowy and most importantly a time for a little breathing, calming and experimenting. I have been playing around a little at the clay table and enjoying having extra time to just think and spend some time on the computer and catching up with all my friends on Flickr, who I have been missing like mad. It has been good to start reconnecting with them and seeing all the new work that is emerging in this new year.

This new necklace, which I have called Sea Pod, was a happy accident. I was planning on making one sort of bead, but somehow, it morphed into something completely different, with no seeming input from myself. The clay sometimes has a life of its own and will go it's own way! I hope to take this design further and already have some idea of other things to do with it, as well as make some more like this in different colours.

These pod beads remind me of something that you might find on a coral reef.

I hope that 2010 is a wonderfully creative year for all of you!

Evolving

Black and White Bracelet
Originally uploaded by Pips Jewellery Creation

I was invited to a friends 40th Birthday Dinner Dance this weekend and the dress code was Black and White.

We had a wonderful time, with good friends, good food and good music. A chance to catch up and exchange news and relax a little in this busy time.

I pondered for a time on whether to get a dress with both black and white in it, but decided in the end that this was a wonderful opportunity to make a piece of jewellery in the theme.

However, after several weeks of trying to come up with something completely new - I was still drawing a blank. Why does my muse disappear at the most needed moments?

So I decided to try something new with an existing design. Here is the result. A faceted silver bead threaded into each cockleshell with looped wire. It took ages to make, but the ends justify the time spent I think. Extra Texture and extra shine and reflected light.

I love it when something evolves!

The Sweetest Thing

Madame Butterfly
Originally uploaded by beetreebyme

I wanted to share with you all the work of one of my fellow Polymer Clay Artist Guild of Etsy members, M.E. of BeeTreebyme.

She creates the most gorgeously detailed and intricate pendants and beads. This little beauty, titled Madame Butterfly, is one of my all time favourites. I love the colours and the wonderful details in her dress and wings.

This attention to detail is evident in all her work and is quite astounding. From incredible petals, to tendrils of vines and tiny fans held in the hands of her delicate Fairies. Amazing.

You have to have a look at her Etsy Store :http://www.BeeTreebyme.etsy.com and just lose yourself in her garden of delights.

Flowers, fruit, tiny pumpkins and beautiful Fairies all abound there.

Enjoy!

A Little Of What You Fancy....

...Does you good!

I really felt like doing some Mokume Gane with silver leaf, simply because I had not done any in ages.

Sometimes it does you the world of good to revisit an old favourite and I was really happy with the way these turned out.

Lovely shades of Lilac, Teal and Aqua with the silver leaf just showing through. The colours went really well with each other and after masses of sanding and buffing, the beads just glow!

Hope you all like them as much as I do!

Normal Service Will Be Resumed......

Curve
Originally uploaded by Pips Jewellery Creation

......as soon as someone sends me a few more hours to add to each day!

Well August is over and the children are back at school again. The house seems overly large (not an easy thing as it is very small!) and very quiet without them.

Now it is time to get back into the routine of work again. Trying to spend more hours at the clay table, get my stock levels up ready for the Christmas rush and trying very hard not to play!

I have needed to develop more of a "production line" attitude to making the jewellery, which I hate doing, but I need much, much more stock if I am going to get through the next four months. I have 19 Craft Fairs between now and mid December - yes NINETEEN!!!

That is a lot of stock! So playing is definitely not on the agenda. January will be a time to have a rest and play with some new designs, but for now I need to just work, work and perhaps do a little more work!

The picture is of my Curve Necklace (more on Flickr if you want to see the matching bracelet and earrings). This is using Dan Cormier's Cutting Edge Technique. The man is a genius in my humble opinion!

Now, must get back to the clay table....