Checker Circlet Earrings and Bangle Inspired by Ally's Hair

I've been escaping into color lately, anything that draws me in and sticks with me. Ally's mohawk is half bright dark pink and half bright orange right now and whenever I see her selfie posts I can't stop thinking about the color combo and how much joy it gives me. So I decided to mix it in with checkers since I know her from the Michigan Ska Scene, and well, checkers are part of that. 

Shop these earrings HERE

I got to see Ally yesterday at the Splish Splash Bash and her hair was still these colors, it was nice to see her and her hair in person. Despite the heat it was a really fun show with lots of awesome bands, some we know and have seen before, some totally new to us. 

While I recuperate from yesterday's long day outside I'm actually getting everything properly photographed and posted. You can shop the bangle on my website HERE and the earrings on my website HERE. 

Shop for this bangle HERE

For those of you who follow along on my personal social media...Bryan's car became no longer repairable and, somehow, his dream car was within our price range in AWD. It's a 2023 Dodge Challenger in a custom pearlescent blue. We're both very color oriented and didn't think the blue was great until we saw it in person. So now whenever we peruse online shopping we compare it to see if it matches the car. I've missed having a fun car to drive, but I personally need something I can fit doors and looms in, so I'm glad we have a fun one now too! I suspect my next color influence will be towards this blue: 

(And yes, he was pulled over less than 24 hours after we purchased it for no real reason)

Bright Fuchsia and Green Stripe Mix Bangle and Earrings

When I don't have an outfit or a specific inspiration it's sometimes difficult for me to come up with what colors I want to play with. Green and purple tend to be my go-tos, but, apparently I keep gravitating towards bright pink/fuchsia combined with green also. I did this a few years ago, which I forgot about until I started beading this combo. 

Shop for this bangle HERE

Life has been...a lot lately. So not thinking too hard about my beading, just letting the colors play is both satisfying and relaxing. When I pulled these 4 bead colors I thought I was going to do checkers but I hadn't done stripes in a while and they seemed to suit these colors better.

Shop for these earrings HERE

The brightest pink bead in these is a stunning galvanized pink color that feels very summery. I had a difficult time getting the color with my cell phone but the light box and better camera does it justice. 

I actually finished this set just in time to wear out to the show we're going to tonight, we managed to get tickets to another sold out show at the Pyramid Scheme in Grand Rapids which will be fun and hopefully not too hot in there. We're looking forward to seeing IDKHOW (But They Found Me) live. I'll pop it up on my website shop soon too. 

Pantone Color of 2024: Peach Fuzz Bracelet and Huggie Earrings

I usually like to do something with the Pantone Color of the year when it comes out, this year is Peach Fuzz, which doesn't feel very exciting for me but I like how it's being paired with lavender so I decided to try it out on some jewelry. 

I made these a couple of months ago and just couldn't get back into the colors. When I think of pastels along side my artwork it just doesn't fit and they tend to end up in my jewelry stock for a long time. When the artist is uninspired, it tends to show. So I stopped after this bracelet and earrings. Maybe something else will come to me, but my bead palette seems to have already moved on from these colors. (See: Golden Boundary Bangle) Oh well, I tried. 

The last 2 years' colors were much more fun for me, 2023 was Viva Magenta and 2022 was Very Peri. 

I will admit that taking the photos and editing them for this post is making me like this set a bit more. I'll also blame the season changing. It's finally starting to get green and bright, I'm noticing more people wearing these colors in particular as the sunshine begins to promise us summer. Maybe, just maybe I'll try again if these colors call again.

Sequin Circle Chain Earrings

Sequin Circle Chain Earrings

1.25W x 2T x .4D

When I finished up the blue/purple versions of my original Open Circle Chain Earrings I was on to a beading project that involved sequin. That project is for a friend's wedding so that will remain a surprise. Now I have a bunch of sequin in my stash and I didn't want to stop playing with them. I had gotten some really big ones and they called to me. 

I woke up at 4am one morning and it dawned on me that I should try putting them in the middle of my beaded circles (basically mini bangles). I didn't have my sketchbook on my night stand, I haven't needed it there in quite a long time so I was up and drawing out ideas before it became a fleeting dream. 

This first pair with only 2 sequins in the middle was definitely a learning experience, I broke a few beads trying to place the sequins. They didn't dangle quite like I had expected, but on the other hand they are so tight in the middle of the circle they stay put even when circle spins and they jut up from the bottom. 

Dress print for this set

I went with this color choice based on a dress I purchased that I thought I would wear to the wedding mentioned above.  Then I found a second dress (which is the color scheme from the first round of Open Circle Earrings), so we'll see what pans out for that. I like to have options 

Sequin Circle Chain Earrings

1.6W x 3T x .4D

This second, much larger pair I did want to dangle and see what more sequins would do. To keep them towards the top of the circle the next chain sets in the middle of them. I'm thinking about working with some of the smaller sequins but they are much more lightweight and static-y so they will function in slightly different ways and now I have to go sketch out those ideas that are popping up as I type!

All of my most recent circle chain earring (from this post and the last) will be at my Artist Pop-Up this Saturday, March 18th, at the Gutman Gallery, 118 N. 4th Ave, in Kerrytown Ann Arbor, 11am-5pm

Retro Fade Earrings and Bracelet, 2 versions

I picked up a new dress for Brian and Rion's 20th anniversary party so, as usual, I decided to make something to go with it. I was planning on wearing my new John Fluevog Star Trek Boots with the dress, so I tried to shape the tip of the earring to mimic the toe of the boot.* 

I made one large earring and one small. I've been into off-centered things lately. I'm not sure if I'm feeling off-centered or if it's just a way of playing with my designs. I roll with how I'm feeling a lot when I make things, some pieces work and some end up hidden away forever in the studio. I ended up deciding to wear my wedding earrings to the event instead of these!

The bracelet followed the earrings. I wanted to make something large but quickly since it was time-sensitive for an event. I did the bracelet in 2-drop peyote (2 beads at a time instead of my usual one) and I'm not sure it was any faster. 

This is the sort of visual reminder I often leave myself in my camera roll t

o remember how long my pieces take!

Then I liked the bracelet design so much that I made another one with my chosen "Fall 2022" colors. This led to some different earrings than where I started in this process. Creating odd shapes in my beadweaving is usually more tedious than straight lines in my work so I didn't match the original earring design. Instead, I mimicked the bracelet in a smaller pattern for the earrings which created a diamond pattern. The first set got...really big. They measure 3.5 inches long from the tip of the earwire. I knew this bracelet was headed to Angelwood Gallery so I made a slightly more "normal" sized earring set and am keeping the very long pair in my personal stock. Which means you can still purchase them off of my website HERE.

The bracelet and slightly shorter earrings can be found at the Angelwood Gallery in Grand Rapids, Ohio (if they haven't already sold).

The fuchsia and black version of this set will be available during Midnight Madness at Bløm Meadworks in Ann Arbor on December 2nd from 5-11pm.

*On a personal note, I love that Star Trek and Fluevog came together to make a beautiful boot. I ordered the boots on preorder when Star Trek: Strange New Worlds was airing. Every time there was a closeup of the boot on the show I would go "there's my boots!" Which I plan on continuing to do because, lets face it, costuming is 75% of the reason I even watch TV.

Pink Blend Fishnet Bangle and Earrings

When I finished the first "fishnet" bangle (the "Stained Glass" look one) I felt like it wasn't what I was going for. So I decided to create one with just the pink blend of seed beads.  I like this one a lot better thus I made earrings to match.  

The earring ideas took all different shapes but as I tried different layouts nothing was working.  On the day before Capital City Film Fest's Red Carpet event I created a larger diamond to be the bottom drop for the earrings I ended up finishing and liking. 

I also made a pair of small diamond earrings in the red blend, just so the original bangle design had another color option to go with it. 

As I was getting ready to go to the event I liked both bangles with my outfit so I said screw it, I'm wearing both. Too much? There are never too many beads or bangles for me. Of course, they didn't end up in any photos, but that's how it goes.  :)

Valeta and I back at it at CCFF Red Carpet

Earring detail after I got home

Fishnet Stained Glass Bangle Bracelet

I'm always inspired by fashion; it flows so easily into my process of creating new designs for my jewelry. I have so many clothes and should be buying more but every once in a while a fresh dress for an event is nice to get.  Lately I've been picking up some great pieces on Poshmark that are really inexpensive. (Like 2 dresses for our wedding for under $100 for the two of them...seriously).  I was so excited that the Capital City Film Fest is back on this year that I purchased a dress I've been eyeing in a color I rarely wear; red. It still has purple in it (my go-to color), but it feels like it's mainly red.

I have been leaning into styling more punk rock looks and decided that this dress would be fun with a pair of fishnets and my new tall purple John Fluevog boots. Planning this outfit led to what jewelry I might make to go with it. Fishnet. I have been integrating fishnet tights into my regular non-work wardrobe a bit more lately.  I decided it's time to try to work fishnet patterns into beads. 

I decided that the fishnet should be the feature and I haven't done a fun bead mix in a while. So once the dress came in the mail, I took it into the studio and matched some colors to mix together. 

This is the first bangle I made with this base idea. It didn't turn out quite how I wanted it to.  It's not very fishnet-looking. Bryan suggested that it looks more like stained glass and I agree.  So I'm working on another one and I'll decide next week which one to wear. I'm simplifying the idea on the second version of this bangle, but I may ultimately need to dumb it down to just 2 colors. Boring to bead but can often looks very sharp. Like my Classic Cuff Bangle bracelet, all the white got so boring to bead but I absolutely love how the piece turned out at the end of the day.

Metallic Pink and Black Jewelry

After I made myself some jewelry options with metallic pink, black and white checkers for NYE I couldn't seem to put away the extra shiny pink 15/0 seed beads. I wanted to use them in a gift for a friend, then I just kept going. I made a few pairs of earrings and then felt like the pink needed to be a "stripe" in a netting bracelet. Above is the base set that I feel goes together.

Lately I've been saying that jewelry just kind-of falls out of me and that's what happened with these.  My attraction to these metallic pink beads mixed with blacks just needed more attention. I keep saying that I'm trying to focus my time on my larger woven pieces but I always end up making some jewelry in between. I bead while winding down watching TV at night with Bryan  

I hadn't made a netting bracelet in a while and one of the cool things about this design is that it can be adjustable to whatever length I make it and smaller.  The loops for the design are also the loops for how it clasps.

My tiny pod earrings have been popular with both sales and I'm wearing them at work a lot.  They have a little bit of pop but don't get in the way of the masks, and they don't fight with patterns in outfits.  I love how these tiny beads allow for every stitch to look so delicate.  

I started thinking about stitches that I have used over the years...all the way back to the very first stitch I taught myself; the Daisy Chain. I recall grabbing a "how to" tear-off paper in the bead section at Frank's Nursery (remember that store chain?).  I was always attracted to beads and I was stuck on a thing I had stitched on a bead loom.  Not knowing how to get my first beaded piece off the loom I just kept playing with the beads I had.  I was in elementary school when I started teaching myself beads stitches.  I always recall the daisy chain to be simple because it was the first one I learned. I later tried to teach it to some girl scout groups and it wasn't as easy for them. Now that I really get into the stitch again, it's not that simple.  In this little stitch I learned a lot about the importance of bead and thread direction.  It turns out that stitching tons of daisy chains as a young person gave me this amazing base for my ongoing beadwork.  

So I decided to make a daisy chain from this bead combination and I'm in love all over again.  In the 15/0 seed beads it is much more delicate and will layer nicely with other bracelets and bangles.

Metallic pink earrings! These beads just look so wonderful stitched together.  I wanted some silver accent beads to go with them and the above and below pairs of came about.  I am always attracted to interesting-shaped polka-dot beads. In the above earrings I think the pink frames the center beads nicely.

Below I found these white and silver disc beads which I hadn't ever used. I started stitching around them thinking that the pink band of beads would hang vertically around the disc but it looked much better when I rotated it to have the pink band horizontal around the disc bead.  This was harder to bead then I thought it would be but I really like how they turned out.

I think I'm about ready to change up my evening beading to some other colors, but I have to say after taking the photos of this set today I may keep the pink out a bit longer and see what else comes about.