I left this bracelet at Walmart in the Arboretum Shopping Center in Charlotte, NC, today. When I abandon a bracelet, I consider that a finish! I hope it makes somebody happy. Day 30, #the100dayproject2024, #fixandfinish
Mar5
Abandoned Bracelet
Tag Archives: beads
Dec21
Latest Bracelet
Unhinged, I think it looks like a snake skeleton! Thanks, again, to Tracy Proctor from Tierra Cast for teaching me this stitch.
May11
New Gemstone Beads!
These are from Emerald Hollow Mine in Hiddenite, NC. The rubies are more raspberry red than this photo shows, but still very lucious! 
The rose quartz have microfacets that make them look like they glow. 
The sodalite cubes are more royal blue than this shows, too.
I am very pleased with this purchase! These labradorite beads are from JTV. I am pleased with them, too!
Apr5
Nah
I’m trying to design a bead strand from which to hang my polymer clay butterfly. The scale is all wrong here. The beads are too fat! Back to the drawing (bead) board!
I think this 14k gold-plated chain and a jump ring might be all the butterfly needs. 
The bail is 18k.
Nov17
Look What Laura Made!
Laura’s lovely lariat made with leather, assorted beads, sewing charms and a Mardi Gras stone heart:
(She also made the quilt in the background!)
And here she is!
When Laura Sheaffer and I get together, we like to party, and by party, I mean create!
Apr9
Better than Expected!
Look what I made, a Black-eyed Susan! I used Susan Thomas’s instructions and added another layer of petals (6, 7 was too many.) I wired them to themselves for a few rounds to keep them from nesting directly behind the front layer. Because there is an even number on the back row, I had to wrap all the way around a petal and weave in the opposite direction to secure the beads.
The beads are all Czech glass from JTV kits. The wire is 26g and all one piece , about 4 ft. I had just enough to leave a little tail to attach it to something.
Mar18
Boho Bangle
I finally made one! Remember the video I shared on Feb. 4? Here’s my first attempt:
The quilts I use as slipcovers in Mama’s living room came tied in a long bias strip of fabric. I used it to wrap the wire base of this bangle.
The video called for Aileen’s Tacky Glue, but mine was so old, it had dried to a solid bottle of rubber. I used Modpodge for Fabric and did not like the way it felt when dry. I wrapped the wire a second time and just used the Modpodge on the underside of the fabric. Much better!
A little bird kept it all in place while it dried!
The fabric strip was colorful, but flat, and dull. I added a very shiny, bright purple ribbon with a metallic edge.
After I wrapped that around and secured it, I followed with a variety of tiny coordinated beads strung on 26 gauge copper wire. I swirled the ends and used those swirls to attach it to itself. Finished fun!
Feb4
Found it!
I have been searching for this video! I thought I’d added it to my playlists.
I found the floral wire at Dollar Tree, and I am looking forward to making some of these!
Apr24
Another Bright Spot!
Hobby Lobby had their lamps on 50% off last week, so I got this for Mama’s House.
I put it in the living room/library near where I store my beads. (The card in the foreground is by my sister-in-law, Pamela McLean, using one of my yo-yo’s.)
Apr2
Celebrating For Cynthia!
When I posted this necklace on Facebook, an old college buddy identified it as, “For Cynthia,” what her brother-in-law thought it was called. I’m still smiling. Of course I had to ask my daughter’s mother-in-law, (I call her my sister-in-law. We share grandchildren, after-all!) Cynthia, what she thought. She said that’s what she thought it was called when she was a little girl, and it still made her smile!
Good old forsythia, or “yellow bells” as it’s called here in Western NC, is one of my favorite harbingers of spring!
Inspiration was two-fold. The flower was first, of course, and the second was a cherry blossom kit I’d purchased form Elizabeth Girod at Fire and Fibers: http://fireandfibers.com/item_2578/Cherry-Blossom-Necklace-Kit–Pink-Flowers-Tree-Branch-Spring-Antique-Brass-Picasso-Czech-Glass.htm
When I saw Elizabeth at the Intergalactic Bead Show in Charlotte a week ago, I bought one of her branches and told her about my idea. I had tiny yellow flower beads I had purchased several years ago from Bead Lush, a shop also in Charlotte, NC. The green leaf beads I found at Joann’s recently. I used 26 gauge brass wire to secure the beads to the stem.
Even though, I’m not a “yellow girl,” I think I have to keep this one for myself!
When I wear it, I can celebrate, “For Cynthia!”