Search This Blog

Friday, April 28, 2023

Spark Kits in Stock Tomorrow!

 



Many of my Fall Flame necklace kits allow you to make the rope with either the A beads at the center, or the E beads, as the tutorial is written.  To accomplish this feat, you can simple re-label the A beads as E, and B beads as D.  C remains C as usual. I believe you could also change the leaf around if you prefer, but honestly, I like the contrast between vein and leaf, and I think that would be lost if you made that switch.  BUT it's YOUR CHOICE, to make.  

For the next week, I'll mark the tutorial for Fall Flame down 25%, so if you want to try your own colorway, please feel free.  Many people have done so, very successfully, and enjoyed it.  

What I love most about this colorway is it's Spring into Summer look.  And it looks great with many different clothing options.  I had to do a little styling for you!

I love it on my favorite little black summer dress, as well as with citrusy lemons and limes.  It also looks great on deep avocado, since the vein is a complex bead that features that color with a pinky glaze, and this year's Viva Magenta was made for this lovely leaf.  

If you want to try the beautiful shapes and ripples of this leaf, and you don't want to wait for any of the more Autumnal color versions, this is for you, right now!

I'll put the listing in my Etsy shop tomorrow morning, April 29th, 2023, at 9am CST, and pop back here to drop a link for you then.  I have nine of these kits, but if you miss getting one, I could make a few more, so just drop me a convo.  

I'll leave you with this above closeup, and this side view, which reveals it's shapely natural curves.  

Saturday, April 15, 2023

Bermuda Dragon Kits Re-stocked

I had a request for a Bermuda Dragon kit, and making just one is just insane, so I made 10.  Then I put them in my Etsy shop today and now there are 4 left.  Yikes!  Just when I was thinking it was time to fully retire.

I imagine it might be nice in the summer.  I have always imagine it breathes frost, or at the very least a cool breeze, so I suppose it might be a good portable AC unit, lol!

I used the last of these cobalt blue crystal rondelles, so had to substitute a 6mm X'waro round for the last couple kits, but I think the result will be equally lovely.  I also think the charm painting was some of my best this time around.



It's a pretty kit, with a yummy result, and it's going fast.  I thought I was past needing to post a a pre-notified time, but if you want to snag one of these, best move fast.  

Here's a link:  https://www.etsy.com/listing/1357803903/kit-only-for-bermuda-dragon-necklace

OH!!!  And I put the tutorial on sale, 50% off through next Sunday the 23rd, 2023, so if you don't already own it, grab it this week.  https://www.etsy.com/listing/555566974/tutorial-only-for-dreamscape-bermuda-and

Hugs and happy Springtime, wherever you are in the world.  

Saturday, March 11, 2023

Fall Colors for Caramel's Claws Necklace in Cinnamon


I was asked for kits in both the Sage and Cinnamon colorways, and have been out of them for ages.  It's really hard to find viable focals, but I have a set of each colorway now, and I am happy with the choices I have gathered together.  Here's a quick rundown in a larger scale than I can show you on Etsy.  These will go live in my ETsy shop tomorrow, Sunday, March 12th,  at noon CST.

Some deep jade greens, with cinnamon swirled throughout.  Deep and mysterious.

The most old-school Red Creek Jasper in the group.  Spectacular, and the last of its kind that I can find.

Also quite a classic collection of Red Creek markings and colors.  
Predominately cinnamon, with golds, greens, and deep, dark veining.

Nut brown with jagged deep green veining, and just a few hints of gold.

Various shades of brown and copper with a quartzy lightning strike.


The simplest of the group, in deep rich chocolate.  
This focal would feature the pretty curves and details in the bezel.

Some interesting dark inclusions in this focal bead, with creamy highlights.

The dark tones in this focal are almost purple, maybe best described as midnight.  
It has a petrified wood quality.  Unique and unusual.

For this week, I will leave these kits priced as they are at $52.  A kind of sale, because as I calculate my kit cost each time, it seems to go up, just like the cost of housing and groceries.  Then, on the 18th, they will go up to $55, so if you are interested, grab your favorite by St. Patrick's Day, to take advantage of the old pricing.  Caramel's ancestors demand to be fed, and the cost of peanuts has gone up...



Wednesday, March 8, 2023

Fall Colors for Caramel's Claws Necklace in Sage

 Three different people have recently requested kits for the original colors of the Caramel's Claws Necklace.  I have Berries and Honey, but Cinnamon and Sage have been sold out for quite a while.  So I decided it was time to try and make a final few more of each colorway.


The SAGE kits are done, and will be posted in my Etsy shop tomorrow, March 8th at noon.  It's a challenge finding respectable focal beads, as the Red Creek Jasper vein appears to have been mined out, but I am happy with my choices, and hope you will be too.  So without further ado...

I love the markings on focal A.  Those slash marks have their own highlights!

Dark and dreamy.  And it looks as though it has been dipped in chocolate.  
Would really feature the bezel nicely, as do all those with darker markings.

Focal C has two interesting curved markings and they mesh nicely with the bezel curves.  
Each focal has two sides, and sometimes I like both, despite mild pitting.  
Which side to use is always your choice.
Similar to focal C, this D focal has a dark ground with lighter shadowy markings, 
so also simpatico with the bezel.
Focal E is soft, milky green-grey, with warm caramel.  An interesting stone.

Focal F has three distinct zones, and the warm chocolate brown relates nicely to the wood beads.

If only I had turned the G stone the other way, you might have seen a Mocha Frappuccino with a hint of mint! And this mocha also compliments the beads, and the hints of gold 
in the bezel edge of Oceanic Metallic 15/0 beads.

I also have a final set of Cinnamon kits underway.  I am waiting on a few final beads, 
and I'll keep you posted.

Find this listing at the link I will post here tomorrow.  For now, it's just a link to my Etsy shop.  

https://www.etsy.com/shop/HauteIceBeadwork

Saturday, November 5, 2022

Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pie and Cranberries

 Maybe it's the month, but as I worked on these kits, I kept seeing Pumpkin Pie and Cranberries!

I recently attended a local bead show, "Bead Bazaar" and was sad to see very few of the 30x40mm ovals used in these kits still available.  I visited Dakota Stones this week to pick up dome wood beads to finish the kits and asked about that.  One of the things I was told, specifically about Red Creek Jasper, is that the stone is just no longer available in good quality.  So sad.  Anyway, I have these Sunset Mookaite cabs in my stash and they feel very seasonal to me, so here are the last of the Honey and Berries kits.  You might think of them as  "Turkey with Cranberry Sauce"  or "Pumpkin Pie and Cranberries"!

This A cab might have some whipped cream swirled on the pumpkin pie.  And please note, I changed out the wood beads in my sample for Sandalwood I found at the Bazaar.  It has a smell that I love, a little spicy and tangy, but in my kitting experience, not everyone finds it appealing.  Also to let that scent shine, the wood is bare and discolors in time.  So I am making these kits with the more neutral Bayong wood in the upper right corner.

A more traditional Sunset Mookite B stone, with the swirls of burgundy wine in its caramel.

A very light, simple C stone with an interesting vein.  Almost turkey color!


The simplicity of this D stone will make the bezel edge stand out.

The E cab is deep, rich and spicy pumpkin color, with a few Mookite markings.


 F is the deepest in color, with some cranberry swirls.  

They all look yummy on complex cool reds.  Burgundy, fuchsia, and cranberry are all great backdrops for this little beauty, as are beige and tan.  





Happy November!  Find these in my Etsy shop HERE!

Friday, October 28, 2022

Visit Blue Hawaii on a Dreamscape Dragon!


 After a long, lush summer in the garden, and a fall about a remodel (still not fully done), I am back to beading. I am starting with re-kitting projects that have been out of stock for a while. Like Blue Hawaii Pineapple Blossom Necklace.  It's an exploration of Chenille bezeling, and how Chenille expands to make a bell connection. Plus great with faded blue denim, and all soft blues.  Find the kits here in my Etsy shop.

I got a few Dreamscape Dragon kits finished last week and they sold out in a hurry, so more are now back in my Etsy Shop here.  They are vibrant, with great harvest colors.  I love my dragon on matte black, so it really shines!  I managed to locate some of these jewels, and I hope my source will provide a solution to the missing jewel for the Paradise Dragon as well.  I have samples ordered, and will keep you posted! 

I was honored to be featured on the wonderfully curated "Seed Beads and More" Facebook page last Saturday.  I showed a lot of my competition work, which is how my beadwork design developed and matured.  If you'd like to take a look, here's a link to that post.

In the meantime, I'll be wearing my Dreamscape Dragon for Halloween festivities. Seems reasonably magical and spooky.  Happy costume holiday to you all.  ENJOY!

Next up, some Honey and Berries Caramel's Claws.  They always remind me of pumpkin pie!


Friday, October 7, 2022

Vintage Jasper Kits on the Way

 I am slowly working on getting the materials I have in my studio into kits.  Here are the last of the Vintage Jasper Cabochon sets, in the original size, done in the silver colorway, with a few descriptive words.  They will be in my Etsy shop on Saturday, October 8th, around noon (Central Daylight Time), for those of you who like to pre-consider your purchases and get exactly what you like.

Set A is a soft sage green with hints of warm salmon and a slash of gold glow.

Set B is very typical Red Creek Jasper with hints of green and gold, and an umber arc.

Particularly vibrant patterning with lots of sandy fawn and deep sunset pinks.

For me the most pictoral of the group.  There's even a partially occluded moon in the autumn sky!

Nicely patterned with lots of color variety.  Flaming treetops against a stormy sky?

And here are images of the sets themselves, because I have them to show you...  Keep in mind you can choose any orientation for this cabs that you prefer.  Some are beautiful more than one way up!






Here's a link to my Etsy shop, which I will point at this listing after I get them up.

Thanks for reading, and Happy Autumn!!!