Wearin' O' The Green

One of my most vivid childhood memories is of one St. Patrick's Day long ago when I had no idea that wearing green on that revered day was a mandatory tradition. Especially if one attends St. Patrick's Elementary School. Imagine my dismay when arriving at school without so much as a thread of green on! OUCH!!! By the time I arrived home that day, there were not many spots where I had not been pinched. Needless to say, I learned my lesson and to this day I adhere to the tradition of wearing something green on March 17th.





Why do we associate St. Patrick's Day with green? Is it because St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland - the Emerald Isle? Or that the symbol of St. Patrick's day is the shamrock, which is green? My favorite legend states that if you wear green on St. Patrick's Day you are invisible to leprauchans who pinch those they can see. Whatever you choose to believe, you don't want to be caught not wearing any green on March 17th. For those of you who need something green to wear, I have assembled this treasury of wonderful green items for your viewing pleasure. Visit the treasury at: http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d63150198b26d91cdd8283e.wearin-o-the-green?index=0.

Two Treasuries Featuring Beadweavers

I have been spending a great deal of time looking at the wonderful items available at ETSY and was surprised to find a number of Beadweavers using money as focals. I decided to find other etsy sellers using currency in their work. This treasury features wonderful items created using various forms of currency. Please visit the treasury at http://www.etsy.com/treasury/74c1e4a33b6136d91c32e3aba/the-color-of-money and check out these wonderful ETSY artists!

This lovely treasury was curated by Lorraine of TrinityDJ (http://www.etsy.com/shop/trinitydj). Thanks to Lorraine for including my Easter Egg Earrings. She has selected some lovely items to include and I am sure she would appreciate you stopping by to comment and browse. http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c1f885dbd2f8eefc5704668/sweet-whispers#4c1fd637d0556d914754abe5.

Some New Friends at EART

I have recently joined the Eclectic Artisans team and I am proud to share some of my new friends with you. These artists are very talented and you will find some wonderful work in their shops! Thanks to the EART team for welcoming me into their group!

EDCCollective

EDCCollective began as a family of artisans/craft persons/collectors. My mom, our main collector passed away in Nov. of '09. So while the mix of items listed may change some, I will continue to offer quality hand crafted items as well as some vintage collectibles.

BeautifulSchlopp

I am a glass artist. I work with glass in all methods from stained glass to fusing to borosilicate. Every piece is custom made by hand. No two piece are ever the same! I also take orders, so if there's something you want but don't see, please never hesitate to contact me!

PnkGeeni

I love handmade papers of all kinds. I have books of handmade papers just sitting around. I have been creating scrapbooks since 2007 and since then, have stuffed four 12x12 albums, and a few mini albums, this is how I began card making. We decided to emigrate from UK to NZ and all my scrapbook stuff was packed up. I keep a few pieces out to make cards and get my creative fix that way.

MichellesCharmWorld

Hi there! My name is Michelle and I am a Stay at home mom to 3 awesome kids!I am also a wife to a great man! I love to make all kinds of stuff and love even more sharing it with the world! My stuff is not the 'norm' and I like it that way! This is the place for unique and wild creations!

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Etsy Beadweavers Challenge Time!

This week marks the beginning of the May Challenge of the ETSY Beadweavers Team. The challenge entries are wonderful as usual and are pictured in collage to the left. The challenge theme for May was chosed by Isabella at bead4me http://www.etsy.com/shop/bead4me, colors embedded in the world of insects. My entry in the May challenge is my Ladybug, Ladybug Bracelet. I have taken this month's theme literally and the fun peyote bracelet pictured below is the result. The beadwoven spots "float" on a two-toned red peyote base, and this is only one of the many entries. To more closely view the lovely pieces entered in this challenge, please visit http://www.etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com/s.blogspot.com/. While there, cast your vote for your favorite beadwoven piece. The voting begins today and runs through May 15. Our talented members have created these pieces for your pleasure and would appreciate your vote of approval. You won't be disappointed by the beautiful and intricate pieces on display!


While perusing the lovely works available on the ETSY network, I stumbled upon a piece that is both whimsical and beautifully crafted. Aleta Ford Baker of takingshape https://www.takingshape.etsy.com/akingshape.etsy.com/akingshape.etsy.com/) has created this wonderful sculpture based on the works of my favorite author J.R.R. Tolkien of Lord of the Rings fame. This particular beadwoven sculpture is based on "The Hobbit". I know the work well and have read it more than a dozen times since I was a teen. I love her interpretation of this fantasy and strongly suggest that you take the time to view it more closely.

Freeform~I'll Try Anything Once

As most of you know, I am relatively new to beading and have been very impressed by some of the freeform pieces I have seen in various places. While I was impressed by the creativity of others, I was intimidated, no make that terrified, to try it myself. This week I got brave and tested the freeform water. The result was this pair of drop earrings. I still am terrified by the thought of undertaking a larger freeform project, I guess I am a teeny bit less intimidated now that I have my first experience in freeform under my belt! See more pictures of these beauties here:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?.listing_id=40856871

This necklace is another first for me, although it was certainly not as intimidating as attempting something so random as freeform. This is my first bezel that I have ever beaded. I fell in love with the natural stone bead, bought it, then didn't have a clue what to do with it. I finally had the idea of creating the bezel and after that was done, I struggled with how to hang it. After many tries, I finally created the spiral rope that it is shown with. It is a multi-functional piece that can be worn with or without the pendant. The spiral looks really nice when worn alone. Check out more pictures at my etsy shop: http://www.marytdesigns.etsy.com/om/ytdesigns.etsy.com/

Remember the little circles that I was making a couple of weeks ago? I looked at them long enough to decide what to do with them. I am making a netted cuff to attach them to. It is really neat because of the beads that I am using. I can't wait to get this one done. It is going to be a fun one!

Finally, a stitch that I am comfortable with - peyote. The first item I created was peyote and from then on I was hooked. Hooked on peyote..hooked on beading..hooked on creating! Now I am trying to get creative with designing patterns. This is my latest creation. You can see the pattern along with the beginning of the cuff. I just love to use peyote stitch. I can get lost in a piece and the hours just slip away. Where does the time go????

Have a great week everyone! I am off to bead.

EBW Challenge Time!!

I am a proud member of the Etsy Beadweaving Team. The team is currently in the midst of our monthly Challenge and your vote for your favorite piece would be terrific! The collage depicts all of the entries in our current Challenge - Ocean/Sea Inspired. With so many gorgeous pieces to vote for, the choice is a difficult one. I keep changing my mind, so I am postponing my vote until I have more time to study the pieces. The voting is open February 9 - 15 at http://www.etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com/. Our talented members have created these beautiful designs for your pleasure. You won't be disappointed.

Breaking Waves



This is my challenge piece, but there are many others to choose from as well. Choose wisely!

Superbowl Sunday??

It's here - Superbowl Sunday. Why the hype?? Sure I love to watch football, but this would be just another game without all the media frenzy - and the commercials. Aren't they great! Did you see the Doritos comercial where the dog put the bark collar on the guy - Loved it!!

But I digress. This is about art and creating. Here is the bracelet that I will list as my weekly item. I love the clasp that I have used on this piece, and recent others, with the drop beads accenting it. I think it adds to the quality of the piece and is worth the extra time. The body of the totally black bracelet uses square beads and seed beads to create texture. I hope you like it.

I also will finish and list the necklace that I posted last week as a work in progress (the spiral herringbone rope with the really cool pendant). Thanks to the suggestion of Christine of Christine's Beadworks to make this a multi-function piece, the pendant will be removable and the spiral herringbone necklace will be a piece that can be worn alone. Thanks Christine for the suggestion. Visit Christine's wonderful shop at http://www.christinesbeadworks.etsy.com/

Now to the difficult part - asking for help! I am totally at a loss as to how to finish this necklace. I really love the spiral rope, but I can't come up with a way to finish it. I posted it last week as a work in progress and it still is. I have the concept of a short lariat with the circle as the focal piece, but what next?? Any ideas?

Finally, I have created circles. While I really enjoyed creating them, they are currently just circles. Not unlike crop circles, they don't have any current value. I am trying to determine where to go with them next! I will give this dilema some thought and report my revelations in next week's blog.

Until then - enjoy life!