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Sunday, February 28, 2016

Purple Painted Turtle - The Flurries Continue

Still thinking about that beaded bead, I wondered if the structure of it could be made into a domed covering for a cabochon.  Something that would mostly hide the cab, but just allow a hint to peek through.


I had some purple oval Lunasoft cabs in two sizes, and those seemed like just the right thing.  So I used purple beads.  Plus I have a new purple, gold, coppery, scribbly tunic, with some flashes of white.  I really like designing for clothing.  And this was supposed to be time to play without thinking too hard about perfecting my designs.  "Just do it" time.


I'll show you the bracelet first.  
The cabs covered in the structural dome reminded me of painted turtles, and this picture shows that the best.


 I am pleased with my rope.  :)

Earrings?  Well, I had the two little cabs left, and part of the Flurry plan was to leave no leftovers.


My two favorite takeaways from this exploration are the little fringe finials, which I would love to use again...


And the loop for the toggle, the shape of which I adore.  I will further explore this idea for sure.


I am pretty happy with the structure of the bracelet too.


But after all that, I felt really guilty that I had not made any of the little beaded beads.

So...    I used the free beaded bead pattern from Crystals and Ice to damp down the guilt. I tried to keep the work sketchy, like my tunic from Art of Cloth.


 It is a really cute little bead.  Here's the tunic of inspiration.


And the accessories.


I worked to finish supplies off, and this was all of the SuperDuos in this color I had.  (Which by the way looks awesome with the tunic, but not so much in my photos.) There were just the two leftover 8mm rounds of Crazy Lace Agate, and I am more likely to wear those than the beaded bead ones.  I forgot that stringing is its own special challenge.  Nice to be reminded.

What did I learn?  Well, when I am not trying to be really proud of the whole, it's easy to crank through a lot of beading.  And in the mix, are some bits I am pleased by, to futher explore.  But nothing that really sings.  Except maybe the one that is not done and needs lots of frogging and some serious design effort.  This is not what I want to do with my time generally, but it was an interesting experiment, with some mine-able results.  

7 comments:

  1. How cool!! I love each piece! The thing I like best, though, was your willingness to play and just let the beads lead where they would. I think that's the most fun ever with beads. I know you like to work in a more structured way, but I bet it was fun to play with!!

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    1. Thanks for reading and commenting Nancy. It WAS fun, but I am underwhelmed by my results. I guess the best result it knowing that. Play is good, and there were some cool insights and finds, but I prefer being more thoughtful, I think... :)

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  2. You may not have made your muse sing out loud, but I can hear her humming a nice tune. There is place in the world for the big operas and the popular songs and we enjoy some of them a very long time :)

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    1. And I think that you are simply more happy when playing in the "Verdi" category. <3

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    2. Cath, you are very kind. Thank you! <3

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  3. I really like your first necklace. Sometimes it is fun to just play.

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