The End of a big Nymo Spool

Last week, I did it.  I finished off my very first big spool of size D Nymo beading thread.  I purchased my first large spool in 2005.  I was beading more and more, constantly running out of the tiny spools so I decided to get the big spool.  3 ounces, approximately 1,584 yards.  If you like using nymo, I do encourage people to get the large spool because the thread is actually stronger than the small spools.  I only use black and white thread when I bead, but they have started making this size spool in more colors.

Pendants, Accent Bangles & Impromptu Sale

This is the time of year when I'm a bit all over the place and I forget to get organized and blog, update my website, etc.
So here's what I've been up to:

(Front)

(Back)

Marla needed something to go along with the earrings she ordered from me a year or 2 ago that were for her daughter in law.  The earrings are the color of the copper beads in the pendant and Marla helped pick out the other leaves and colors.  It includes a brown freshwater pearl accent. (Excuse the strings, I'm having her approve it before I cut them all off!)

I do make gifts for some people over the holidays and I love how this pendant turned out.  It is for sale, but if it doesn't move before Christmas, I had it in mind for a gift.  I'm really enjoying beading white pieces lately.  I don't wear a lot of white because it's so hard to keep clean but white glass seed beads don't stain!

(Sorry it's blurry, this girl needs a camera with macro)

I had forgot about these little accent bangles utill Alicia brought them up to me at our office Holiday Happy Hour so I whipped up a few to show off.  They're $25 each or 3 for $60.  Contact me for colors!  I have like a gazillion colors of delicas.

Also I am having an impromptu sale over at the Speaker Law Firm which is my part time job.  My bosses often ask me about what I have for gifts so I figured it's easier to bring it all in at once and Liisa invited me to open our doors to the public.  So if you're interested, swing on by 230 North Sycamore Street, Lansing MI 48823.  It's an older blue/grey house on the corner of Sycamore and Ionia. There is 2 hour street parking.

Geometric Holiday Bangle

We have a few holiday events to attend and I usually get a fun new cocktail dress that goes into a rotation with all the others.  This year's is from Jeanologie in downtown East Lansing.  I have really been into red this fall, which is a color I normally loathe, but I'm completely smitten with it right now!  The dress has some interesting angles and a tiny bit of texture. It is a simple, fitted, strapless design and I wanted to make a bangle that would mimic the angles of the dress.

Below is the dress on my form in the basement (sorry for the unflattering picture):

I thought about putting some LEDs into this bracelet design, and I still might dabble with that and place an on-off switch on the interior of this bangle.  BUT.  I used a matte delica seed bead for this piece as the main black and they break very easily.  I wouldn't try to force these beads to take any more thread and especially conductive thread.  

Thanks Michelle! (at Jeanologie)

You can also purchase this piece from my Etsy shop HERE.



Old-ish Pattern, New Colors

I drafted out this bangle pattern after a trip to Washington DC a few years ago and then actually beaded it a year later.  It promptly sold and I never made another one, until now.  I fondly call it "Our Forefathers" because I was inspired by the tobacco leaf designs throughout the buildings on our tours.  I think it's a little hard to see in the final piece, but that was the shape I started with when doodling this out.

Anne Flora purchased the original in blue/greens and fuchsia/purples.  This new piece looks quite different from the original with it's red, orange and purple coloration that I have been using for the fall/winter.
I will have it a available for sale at the Ann Arbor Fiberarts Guild Sale this Saturday at Washtenaw Community College.  Hope to see you there!

Jess's Sugestion: Pink and Green Leopard Print

If you're around #LoveLansing, then you've probably noticed that we have a roller derby team, the Lansing Derby Vixens.  Jess is one of their team members and had thrown out the suggestion that I make a green and pink one.  Sometimes I get stumped on what I should be making, so someone else's suggestion sounds like fun.  Last week was one of those weeks.  So it turns out I can really do leopard print in any colors.

More colors and price is listed on my Etsy Shop Here.  If you're close by, contact me about colors in a pinch!

Post Halloween Post: Freddie Mercury Accessory

My flash of brilliance for my Halloween Costume this year came while watching old music videos being shown on network TV.  There was a slew of Queen videos and Queen is my all time favorite band.  I decided had to be Freddie for Halloween.  I started a google images search and they make a costume from the Wembley Stadium Concert, but that's not really what comes to mind for me when I think of Freddie.  Something in spandex or white pants and a sweet leather jacket were more what came to mind, with a sash and a wife beater.

He wore a lot of wrist bands, and since I wasn't going to be making much of my outfit, I decided to bead one with him in mind, not just copying one that he had (normally solid or stripes).  I decided to keep it simple but use red antique beads and make a lightening bolt down the center of it.

(Me and Zack at our party)

I finished it off with black leather lacing up the back of it instead of trying to integrate a clasp.  This helped with the theme of the outfit.  All in all, I think it was a success!

(The dancing photo was the only one someone got without my leather jacket on! Thanks Megan!)

eTextiles: Pac Man bangle

This started with Betsy prodding at me to do a Pac-Man designed bangle, but she wants the LED lights in it too.  I needed to try out using conductive thread in solid beads so I went with this design.

Pac-Man, being a simple pixel-based game is not hard to translate onto a bead graph.  I drafted two designs.  The first (which you see here) has Pac-Man and all four ghosts, with 4 LED lights.  The second design has only 2 of the ghosts and 6 LED lights in the design.  We shall see if I get to making the second design.

I wanted this piece to look streamline so I didn't want to mess with putting Sparkle or an on-off switch in it.  During a night of insomnia, I sketched out how to stitch this bracelet to utilize snaps as an on/off switch.  I also created a battery pocket in all black to insert behind the red ghost.

Part of the issue I ran into on the first battery pocket in the original eTextiles beaded bracelet was keeping the pressure from the conductive thread, to the battery.  So on this piece I ordered Wire Glue from ThinkGeek.com and slowly built it up inside the battery pocket.  I also dabbed some onto the LEDs for a sturdier connection. I was fortunate that most of this design is black, as the wire glue is also black.  I'll have to keep this in mind with future projects. I'll talk about my experience with the wire glue in another post. 

Happily, the conductive thread seems to be working well inside of the seed beads, despite all of the thread that I already pack into the beads.  I only had one little incident of a bead breaking (this happens plenty, but it's more difficult to fix when it's with the conductive thread).

This was a fun piece to do.  I think I'll be offering Pac-Man in this design (with the 4 LEDs), and without the LED lights as a snap-on bracelet or a bangle (I made the design easy to adjust to each).  Probably by order-only. Keep an eye out for that on my website and Etsy shop!

Enjoy!

Want more?  Here's the Pac-Man Bangle's YouTube Video!