Oh my goodness! I forgot how tiring it is to get up to an alarm and spend a full day at school! The last two days I helped with testing the incoming Kindergarteners and working in my own classroom. Last night I got home around 6, made dinner and crashed while watching a little TV. I could hardly move this morning! I keep forgetting that I'm not a spring chicken anymore and shouldn't be moving around classroom furniture. Today was spent running errands and meeting with another teacher for a few hours. That means no jewelry making so far today. :( I will probably work on a few of the bracelets I need to make for an order and then off to bed! Tomorrow will be a better jewelry day!

Before I leave you, I want to share a site with you that I came across while browsing BeadStyle Magazine on Pinterest. There are times where I can mix colors with the best of them and then there are times when I have no clue. I'm sure you can relate! So if this is you or you just want some inspiration, hop on over to http://design-seeds.com/  and check it out. Here you will find TONS of color combinations to help when designing new pieces. The creator of this site, Jessica, uses a wide variety of pictures and Photoshop (I think?) or a similar program to create these stunning combinations. If you need more, here is the link to her blog http://blog.seed-designs.com/ . So what are you waiting for? Go hunting for that perfect color combination and create something beautiful!

Cya around and Happy Beading!

Whew! I'm ready for bed! Today was the first day back to school after a wonderful summer off! I helped with Kindergarten testing this morning, caught up with friends and worked in my room for awhile. Should not have moved those shelves by myself...a hot shower is on the agenda for tonight or perhaps a soak in the tub?

Talked with one of my co-workers after testing and she wants me to make jewelry for her Bridesmaids for her upcoming wedding! Yea!!! I also have a friend who contacted me a few weeks ago and she is having a beach wedding this fall. I'm making her and her Bridesmaids barefoot sandals. Have not made those before so I will need to hunt for directions online and start working on a demo to see how it fits and looks once it's on. She wants a floating beads-illusion style for herself and girls. If anyone out there has made them before or knows of a good tutorial, please let me know! :) So between the 2 weddings and Kumihimo bracelets I have to make, I should be able to stay out of a little trouble. Don't you think?!

Arrived home after 6 (a very long day indeed for someone who had absolutely no schedule for 2 months!) and checked the mail as I pulled into the driveway. What to my glorious eyes did appear??? My package from Hobby Lobby!!!! More end caps for my Kumihimo bracelets! I picked out some Magnolia shaped ones as well as some low domed bead caps to try. After I finish the seed bead ones for the current orders, I want to do some in Czech fire polished crystals and a few in pearls. I don't think any beading is in order for tonight, just plum tuckered out. I will however package up my bracelets that I made for my 1st Grade team and take them to school tomorrow and put in their mailboxes. I will post a pic tomorrow of the bracelets. :)

Cya around and Happy Beading!

Happy Wednesday! My last day of summer vacation...it seems like I've had forever off yet it also seems it just got started. Way to much on the "to do" list that didn't get done so now it's moving to the Christmas vacation "to do" list! Worked on 2 more Kumihimo bracelets for orders. Finished one and have to go and finish the 2nd in a bit. Took a break to make something for dessert. We don't eat a lot of desserts or at least things I have to make. But I had a hankering for something sweet tonight. Took down the ol' cookbook to see what I could find with the ingredients that I had available. Fried dough rolled around in cinnamon/sugar it is! aka doughnut balls! Turned out quite delicious though definitely not a food you can eat and type with at the same time.

Ok, you've heard me mention all these Kumihimo bracelets I've been working on so I thought I would take a couple of photos to show you what they are. After I finish the others needed to complete my orders, I'll work out a tutorial and post that for all of you. I'm not an expert in this style but after all the bracelets I've done so far and those that are coming...I'm pretty darn close. :) I'm using a Kumihimo disk, C-lon cord in lavender, size 8 seed bead mix, end caps, wire and a handmade clasp. From start to finish it takes about 2 hours per bracelet. So they do take a bit of work, but I LOVE the end result and plus it keeps me out of trouble! ;)


I use a round glass dish when pre-stringing my threads. I press my index finger over a few beads and then thread them on the cording.

This is the disk I use. As you can see I'm working with 4 strands which gives you the 8 points on the disk. You work counter clock wise around the disk, moving the strands down and up, left to right. (This was the way I was taught. I know there are other ways of doing it.)

This is what your beaded rope will look like as it's being made. It comes out the bottom of the disk, through the hole. I use 2 binder clips as my counterweight to help keep the tension tight.




This is the finished bracelet. This has 5 inches of beaded braid and is 7 in. total in length. It will fit a 6 in wrist. The main thing to remember with this style is to measure your wrist and add an inch or so to make up for the thickness in the rope.

Same bracelet, but I add a dragonfly charm to dress it up a bit more.

  



What a dreary, dreary day here in SW Florida! I know we're in the rainy season, but I would like to see the sun before it starts to rain! Yesterday we had rain and thunderstorms off and on all day so hopping on the computer was a no-go. Instead I putzed around the house, did some reading and finished 2 of the 7 Kumihimo beaded bracelets I have on order. I'm patiently waiting for my order of new seed beads and findings to finish the others. On today's beading agenda...clean off the top of the dresser in the spare room so I can put the TV in there. I'm working on setting up that room as my studio so I don't have to put away all my materials when it's time to go to bed. Work in progress, but the table is clean and you can see the floor! So I guess I better get in there and work for awhile before Ellen comes on! Cya around and Happy Beading!

OK, figured out how to add a gallery page and pictures, but starting to think I need different pages for different type pieces. So I will putz around with that for awhile and see how it works!

Well, today I figured I would mess around and figure out this blog thing. I have tried to add a picture to the main page but it's too big and takes up the most of the window. I'll have to have it resized so it will look nicer, but for now, I guess it can stay. I hopped online to joanns.com and hobbylobby.com and ordered more seed beads and end caps for more of the Kumihimo bracelets I have orders for! Yes,I could have headed out to the actual store but was in a lazy mood and saved myself drive time and gas. They should arrive by the end of the week! In the meantime I'll start making the base of the bracelet with the supplies I have in stock. Next on the agenda is finding out how to post pictures so you can see the creations of these bracelets and starting a gallery type page for my other pieces. Off to figure that out now....Cya around and Happy Beading!

OMG! It's been a LOOOONG time!!

I have completely forgotten I had created a blog! I've been on summer vacation and crusing the interent getting new ideas for both school and jewlery making. I've seen lots of different blogs and figured I might as well give it a try! Except I just realized today...I HAVE A BLOG!!! Now I need to figure out how to use it,keep it updated and have it create a buzz about my jewelry!So here it goes... I recently took a class at a local bead store here in Fort Myers, The Potomac Bead Co. I've wanted to learn Kumihimo braiding for about a year. Kumihimo braiding is an ancient Japanese brading technique dating way back. Kumihimo means "gathering of threads." I've seen other meanings as well, but all pretty much mean the same thing. Anyway...I saw a lady at a Farmer's Market in West Palm Beach last summer weaving a gorgeous necklace. When I got home from my visit, I immediately ordered the disk and bobbins. Well as you can probably guess, it sat on my work area till last week!! I noticed that my bead store was offering a class for only $10 (plus materials) so I signed up. The actual making of the bracelt went pretty fast and I left with a finished bracelet! The downside? Prestringing seed beads! I usually do wire wrapping and regular stringing so working with seed beads was frustrating as they didn't want to string themselves on my cord!! I figured that perhaps a glass of wine while stringing would calm my nerves and gave it another shot when I got home. I ended up making 2 braclets that night! Since then I have made almost a dozen more and posted them on my facebook page. A gal from school loved them and ordered 5 with earrings to match! Once I figure this blog thing out, I'll post pictures or create a gallery so you can see the finished pieces. I also have other blogs and websites I've found this summer and will post those as well! Well, I think that's about all for now. Thanks for coming and cya around! Happy Beading!