Learning New Things

I love taking classes at the local beads shops. But can't do that do often so I got when I saw a Groupon Coupon for a class at my favorite store, I got it and off I went. Turned out the coupon was for the basic beading class and I couldn't use it. But fortunately I learned that after the class because I loved the class and wouldn't have wanted to leave without taking it.

Remember all those rocks I showed you a couple of weeks ago. Well, I learned how to make them into jewelry. WOOHOO!!! The class was called Wrap Your Rocks, and I did it (not all that well but I did do it). It was very fiddly but not at all hard. I'm not crazy about the two examples I'm going to show but I am really crazy about learning a new technique. I will definitely do this with more of the rocks.

Here they are:



(Be kind. I'm new. I know they're not really all that pretty! But I did it all myself!)

Monday Wishes

Amy at Copper Diem started this idea of Monday wishes. I found that I had some wishes of my own!

I did a little chain mail over the weekend and my cheapo pliers didn't help! I realized that I really, really wish I had some ergonomic pliers! Like these:


Or a whole set! Heaven!



Or a whole HUGE set. OMG. This would be so great!

Also these would be nice, thank-you-very-much!

These are from Kristi Bowman's Etsy shop and I just love them.

That's enough from the greedy girl for this week!

Macro? I wish...

My camera seems to have issues getting too close so here's a shot of what the camera calls a macro!
and



This was fun and fast -- although my cheapo pliers killed my hands!

The Mighty Triangle

I am crazy about geometric beadwork! It’s why Jean Power is a superhero to me. She has that geometric stuff down and makes amazing and beautiful things that just appeal to me so much. It’s also why I’m so excited about the upcoming book that Kate McKinnon and Dustin Wedekind are working on. The pictures they’ve posted are just so fantastic. See both Kate’s blog and the blog for the book.

I don’t know why I love this any more than I know why I love one painting more than another. It just speaks to me is about all I can say. I tried and finally succeeded in making a simple triangle but, lordy, what a process. Bead, rip-out. Repeat over & over. But finally... Here are some photos of earliest incarnations: The first two are flat, two-dimensional beings. Not at all exciting (except for the fact that they actually came out triangular which amazed me).

The next two are actual 3D triangles. Whoopie! So exciting. Don't ask what I'm going to do with them. I have no idea. I just loved making them.

Finally comes the triangle on steroids! The Wavy Triangle. As soon as I saw it on Beads for Brains, I knew it had my name on it. It has lots of dimension and nooks and crannies and wraps around itself and was the most fun to make. I much prefer Mandy's colors to my own but c'est la vie.

I hope my color choices get broader as my experience does. I seem to be in a rut here. But I am having a really good time in my little rut!

Lori's Having a Book Giveaway!

Lori Anderson at Pretty Things is giving away a copy of a cool new book. It's called Hot Connections Jewelry: The Complete Sourcebook of Soldering Techniques, and what I love about it is that it's something I (a rank beginner) could really use.

It has chapters on the basics of soldering, forming metal, adding textures, patinas & other finishing techniques, how to add beads and stones to your work and more.

I'm hoping to win this one but if you'd like to take a chance, too, go on over to Pretty Things and put your name in the hat, too!

Bead Table Wednesday

My first (and maybe only) BTW post. This is the table next to where I work. It's usually an even bigger mess than now because I cleaned stuff up and away last weekend.

And in case you're wondering: Yes, those containers in the background are ones that meat comes in at the grocery store. The butcher gave these to me when I asked for one for a craft project. So generous and accommodating. I was grateful but now have enough for more projects than I'll probably ever do.

The little basket is nearly full of stones (tumbled and polished) waiting for me to learn how to wire wrap them and make them into something pretty. They're left over from the days when I dated a rockhound guy. I love all those stones! See why:


Here's a couple of close-ups of one of the really cool ones. I have no idea what all these stones are but they are endlessly fascinating in color and texture.

When Trying Is NOT Lying

A while back I was bemoaning my horrible wire wrapping skills on the comments to Lori's blog, Pretty Things. She gave me some really good advice. She said to just do it! And do it again. That's the way she learned -- just by repetition. Smack my head w/ my hand. So profound (?) it never occurred to me. I thought I was just destined to be unable to do this cool trick.

So, thanks to Lori, I sat down with a great little book from Kate McKinnon that had excellent photos and wrapped until my hands hurt (ergonomic plyers would be so nice!). Here's what I came up with.

A lot of the not-so-good wraps, yes. But also a lot of progress. I'm still not a whiz at this. I need to practice more but I'm less daunted by it. (This a practice bracelet, not meant to be worn.)

So here was a case where I was really trying and not lying about that at all!