wooden beads and a little rit dye

 while wondering the CHA floor in January

i came across the Rit Studio booth

they where dying wooden bead

wow! why didn't i think of that?!

i picked 2 colors and a variety of sizes

and last week i finally got a chance to

create some fun necklaces

my friend carmi gave me some wax cotton cord by dazzle-it

which worked great for stringing the beads and as always lead me to thinking

what other ways can i use this cord?

so out came the clip board and using a basic square knot i created my first strand

it has been a long time since i worked on a macramé project and really enjoyed it

the second strand i repeated the the half square knot to get the spiral effect

and finally , after some inspiration from pinterest i found this double knot

 

 

 i can't wait to work on some more projects

encaustic

 

this painting was inspired by the first frost back in the fall

( one I forgot to post)

now i am hoping for a change in weather soon

i need some new inspiration

------

below the progression of the canvas and a detail of the texture

seed bead ring

 another challenge from my friend carmi

which is always fun to try new things

and it was  a really simple and easy project

it has been a while since ive used seed beads

and now i realize that my eyes are not what they used to be

 in  this wonderful kit from dazzle-it

instruction booklet --Rings by Giovanna

tons of Czech seed beads and beading needles

and thermally bonded bead weaving thread

which i have never used (not sure why)

and totally love!

 

 

check out the dazzle-it blog hop

and all the participants

Cyndi Lavin Post linked here.

Marissa Decipeda-Wong linked here.

Tammy Powley linked here.

Jennifer Tryon linked here.

Lisa Pace linked here.
Eileen Bergen linked here



i love resin challenge

my friend carmi hosted this wonderful project for valentines

a few months ago i received an envelope filled with these tiny heart bezels

first i thought , what could possibly fit in this?

 

once i started going through my stash i found tons of stuff

so I started making piles

everything i could find that was red, white or pink

and a few things I hadn't seen in a while or even knew i had

i love collage, so i played around with several ideas

mixing and matching

until i found combinations i liked

good thing carmi gave me more than my share

ideas just kept coming

at first it was a bit hard to work so small, but that's what i love

a challenge!!

i would have never tried this on my own
thanks carmi
to see all the projects visit her
I love resin blog
she will be posting all week

this one is my favorite

a special gift for my friend who inspired the words

encaustic

 I started this painting months ago but with the holidays

and a few other projects on the go

I just found the time this weekend to finish

the soft color palette was inspired by my friend horse

"Barbie" below

encaustic

"manny"

encaustic on wood panel

12 x12

 

a special project for my friend Elizabeth

this is her "baby"



soutache statement necklace

"midnight leaves"

(statement necklace made with soutache cord, tilapia leather ,

vintage  cabochons, beads, pearls and rhinestone chain, all from john bead )

 

last summer my friend carmi gave me a preview copy of

 Fernando DaSilva's soutache book

asking me to create a few small samples

well little did she know that I would become addicted!!

a few months ago I was commissioned to create the a showcase piece for John Bead

using their  fabulous line of soutache cords

The necklace was displayed in their “New Innovations” booth at the

 Craft and Hobby show earlier this month

it was a pleasure to work with Fernando, 

at our first meeting I presented my ideas and

 with his guidance and materials selections i immediately got to work

  with his  full confidence in my artist abilities it was easy to get carried away

"the bigger the better"

I started out creating individual pieces, once I had about 20 components made

I started "collaging" them into groups

moving them around constantly until I found a combination I liked

every day I would work on a few pieces and whenever I walked by

my work table I would stop and rearrange

it took me a month to complete using over 50 yards of soutache cord!!

 

i am so grateful to John Bead for giving me this opportunity

( I would have never made anything this big)

thanks carmi for introducing me to Fernando and soutache!