One of Harold's beads

I took a class from Harold Cooney about 3 years ago.  It was 30 techniques in 2 days, and I learned a ton!  He is working on going to Bead and Button which is a huge show, and has put a ton of stuff for sale on ebay.

Lovely!

You will need to go and see his new work on ebay, since I can’t link to pictures of his work there.   These pictures are some of his older pieces, and they are stunning, but his new work is just out of this world.  I have a couple of his beads, and I’m waiting for just the right design to use them in. A lot of work go into his new beads.  Beadmaking, lapidary work, and sandblasting!

My button!

The button for this bracelet is a glass one I made myself.  I like making them, but I can only use so many.   This is a wide cuff bracelet, and the purples in the button bring out the purples in the beads.   Want to know how big it really is?  Well, the button is about 1.5″ in diameter!

The whole piece.

During the Middle Kingdom period of ancient Egypt (around 2000 BC), a popular member of their pantheon of gods was the crocodile headed deity Sobek.  He personified military strength and power as well as the fertility of the Nile and was, not very surprisingly, the patron god of crocodiles.  In some temples the priests of Sobek would keep crocodiles in pools, feeding them prime cuts of meat befitting Sobek’s earthly form.  I imagine the feeding and care of the temple crocodiles was a position of great honor, or so the elder priests probably told the initiates assigned to the duty.  One can at least dream that as a benefit to that office (in addition to being hissed at regularly by your wards) was this ceremonial necklace.  It is made with copper chains (a metal valued by the ancient Egyptians for its spiritual connections) and set with semi-precious green stones the color of the fertile Nile delta, the clasp perhaps suggesting the form of the sacred pools containing the crocodilian form of Sobek himself. Admittedly a small consolation for having your god occasionally try and eat you, but I suppose any faith inevitably requires some level of forbearance.

The lampwork clasp.

I used copper chain, copper seed beads, epidot, lemon jade, and swarovski crystals.

Metal beads with handmade button bracelet

As much as I adore how this bracelet worked out, I’m going to have to redo the clasp.  The glass button I made is just a little too big for the hole.  Drat!  I used metal hex beads for this one.  With so much color from those, I didn’t think it needed any extra embellishment.  A while back I made a whole bunch of glass buttons, and I saved them for bracelets.  That way when I pick out a metal bead (or other fun beads) I know I’m going to have a toggle that matches.  Between the ones I made and the vintage ones my mom gave me, I’m set on buttons for ages!

Glass Glitter Mushrooms

I was playing around online, and found this stuff I’d never seen before called “glass glitter”.  Evidently it is being used to make cards and mushrooms like you see in the picture.  It was on the Meyer Imports site, and this is what they had to say:

Welcome to the world of Gorgeous Glass Glitter! Packaged conveniently in Take and Make packages, this finely ground colored glass is silver coated for extra sparkle and shine. Over time a beautiful patina ages the colors, to give you a really authentic vintage glass glitter look.  Available in a rainbow of colors and blends, German Glass Glitter also offers 4 different grit sizes. Ranging from the super fine 100 grit, to the super chunky 70 grit.

Produced in Europe by fine art glass glitter artisans, available exclusively from Meyer Imports.
Project suggestion: Use with our Craft Tac Glitter Adhesive to embellish any greeting card, scrapbook or paper art project!

Frit bead with spirals on top

Now anyone who makes glass beads knows this stuff by another name, frit.  We use it to make cool color patterns on beads.  In fact, it is what made the pattern on my bead here. Lots and lots of bead makers use frit, and lots of places sell it.  It tends to have sharp edges, and often has powdered glass in it that is bad to inhale.  So I can’t quite see using it on cards.  Has anyone out there done this?

Oh, and to see fancy frit beads, take a look at the Glass Diversions web site.  The center column is all frit beas, and they are delish!

Oh, purple… how do I love thee? Let me count the ways ♥

Necklace itself: 18″ around
Pendant & chain: 2 1/4″
Pendant: 32mm x 28mm x 12mm

So check out her etsy shop and see lots of cool jewelry!  Clicking on the picture will take you to it.

THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF GLASS BEADMAKERS ANNOUNCES

My piece is done, Chris wrote the story, and now all I have to do is submit it.  When will you see it?  Well, the submission deadline is Feb 24, so I plan to post it on that day exactly.  Until then you will just have to wait.

Sylvie's Dolly

Covering up boo-boos

I finally finished the dolly I started in Sylvie’s class.  I made her into a decoration instead of a bracelet.  The sleeve’s are different from the ones we learned to do in class too.

I did have a few problems with the neck, mostly because I didn’t measure how far around it was first.  So the neck didn’t fit in the dress.  Which meant I had to add around the neck, which gave her a really lumpy neck.  So I covered it all up with bead loops, and now you can’t tell at all!

I also had to redo the arms because I didn’t measure right for the hands.  Starting to see a theme here?   I think next time I will measure better.

Overall, she turned out really cute.  However I am not a cutesy person, so I think I’ll be making some skull beads to try the beading techniques with next time.

Sylvie's Head over Heals bracelet

Yes, Sylvie has class.  She also teaches classes.  I took one of her classes over New Year, and we learned to make a cute little ring and a bracelet.  Sylvie is a great teacher, and you can see more of her work at her web site. The ring was super cute… i.e. not me.  So I gave it to my friend Heidi, since she is super cute.   The bracelet you see here is one of Sylvie’s, and mine is so not like it.  I’m not quite done with it yet, but as soon as I get it done I will post a picture.