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!

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!

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.

As always, digital e-tutorial sold separately at this link.

Thanks for reading, and Happy Autumn!!!

Caramel Goes Boating!

I am racing to get the kits for this colorway done for a Saturday, June 25th noon CST release!

 It's Caramel's Claws for the summer.  I think it has a nautical feel, but it also resonates with Independence Day, so I am trying to work FAST, so that you could possibly wear it on the 4th.  OR, if not, for any of the patriotic holidays, Labor Day, Memorial Day, Veteran's Day... you name it.  Or just anytime you are feeling "nautical"!

I found these pretty Dyed Impression Jasper cabs at the local Gem and Lapidary Workers Show, from Dakota Stones.  They have a bit of a Lapis feel, but the patterning looks both a bit watery, and like the smokey night sky at a fireworks display.  I have used Czech Fire Polish to give it a festive sparkle, and some bright silver Toho Permanent Finish Galvanized, along with some #713 Aikos, which have a real silver metal coating.  Those Aikos explain the slightly higher cost of this kit, along with the Czech bling.

I also adjusted the beads in the yoke just a bit, to get a striped red and white effect, and that's pretty fun and an easy adaptation.  And I used deep cobalt beads to edge the bezel face, which makes the little picots stand out and be noticed, almost like tiny explosions.

Here are the adaptations, just FYI.  I have to get back to kitting, but will add pictures of the 9 available cabochons by the end of the day.

As always, your kit will come with a charts and text to help you navigate the small adjustments.

Here's the acorn bead placement, worked around a 12mm Czech Firepolish bead.

And here's the bezel bead placement, broken out by row.  I got a little stripe in there, see it?  I'll add a bead key to both diagrams for you too.

Cabochon Images Below!!

I just don't have time to comment on each one right now, but are are good quality.  I am particularly fond of the lightning bolt (B), and F for its drama, but any of the tamer, more evenly patterned ones would feature the picot explosions of the inner bezel edge.  

OH!  And so you won't think I am making up the Squirrel goes boating thing,

I want to introduce you to 

Twiggy, the Waterskiing Squirrel!!!

More Peppermint and Spearmint Kits

I have a dozen kits to list tomorrow, Saturday May 28th, at 10 am CDT in my Etsy shop.  Eight are the bluer Peppermint, and four are the greener Spearmint.  I do have two previous requests to fill first, so there may only be 10, and only time will tell.

No sales to offer this time, and sadly, I will need to do a small price increase on all kits in the near future to reflect the cost increases in both materials, and Etsy fees. But for now the prices are the same as before.  Grab them now if you want them!

My garden really needs me, so I will pause a bit to catch up outside and then will have MAYBE a new 4th of July project I have been working on.  It just depends on how many weeds, and how many seeds...

Isn't it interesting that both my beloved pastimes require seeds???  

Enjoy the LONG WEEKEND, or in my case, WEEDEND!

 

Raspberry Caramel's Claws

COMING THIS WEEKEND, SUNDAY MAY 22nd, AT NOON CDT.

First I'll show you the oval stone focals for the LIGHTER GRAY BEZEL.

And then, the oval stone focals for the DARKER GRAY BEZEL

    

As you can see below, I have done a different bezel treatment for the darker stones, using a deep fuchsia 15/0 bead for the detailing on the bezel points.  I did a similar detail in the light bezel, including both the deep fuchsia and the French Pink.  All the stones contain both colors, in varying degrees.

 If you have made the design before, you will see that I have included an additional 15/0 bead in Step 15 where usually there is a skip.  I was just in love with the color pop, and you can choose to add or skip as you prefer.  Here's a chart for the two points, which I am also including on an info sheet in each kit.

I also have fiddled with the acorn itself, to get a color balance that I find appealing for each acorn, and here is that chart.  You will use the same thread path for ANY of my acorn patterns, only the bead size and color placement is different.  This chart is also included in each kit, with a key chart for the beads as well.  

I almost feel like I should apologize for these little changes, but I believe they are what maximizes the potential of the colorway, and I hope you can appreciate that although they are fussy, they have value. And of course, you don't have to take my advice.  Bead what makes you happy!

Finally, the 12mm wood bead used for the acorn has a BIG hole and our little beads wanted to slide into it, so the hole has been made smaller with a little nylon tube.  Most of them fit tightly, but just be sure you don't loose that valuable little addition.  

OK!  So I'll get back to finalizing my kits, so they can appear in my shop on Sunday!  

OH!  And....  More Mint jewels are arriving tomorrow, so hopefully those can be re-kitted next!

More Mint. Actually TWO kinds of Mint!

 

NOTE: EVERYONE ON THE WAITING LIST HAS BEEN NOTIFIED, 

AND I WILL POST THE REMAINING KITS AT NOON CDT IN MY ETSY SHOP 

TODAY, SUNDAY, MAY 15TH.  AND THEN I'LL ORDER MORE JEWELS

BASED ON FEEDBACK.  THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE!

PEPPERMINT contains the same Laguna Delite fancy stone as the original Mint, and all the supporting beads are the same, except for the accent beads around the bezel.  They are now Czech Pearls, which are match the shiny surface of the seed beads, and are substantially easier to locate. 

SPEARMINT is the original Mint, with a new fancy stone, Silky Sage Delite, which is just slightly more green than the Laguna.  Spearmint uses the original accent beads, also Czech, which are matte, and have a nice contrast with the shiny galvanized seed beads.  

So, mostly the same, but slightly different.  I was worried that the sweater I designed this colorway around would not work with the Peppermint version.  I was totally wrong.

The green-mint sweater was happy to be seen with either version of the necklace.  But the turquoise denim jacket mildly preferred the bluer Peppermint version.  I totally know how hard this is to see in a photo, because the color is so dependent on light, angle of view, and context.  But you could take my word for it if you chose.  

In any case, I am faced with a conundrum.  Which version should I make more of?  

I do have a waiting list for the original mint, and I am sending out convo's to all those on the list today.  If they want the original, I have one, so I will send my notifications in the order they were received, trying to be fair to all.  

Then, I will post what's left in my Etsy shop.  If you have an opinion, even if you do not intend to buy a kit, I'd be interested in hearing it, either here in a comment, via Etsy convo, or on my Haute Ice Beadwork Facebook page.  

So I'm off to start notifying my waiting list!  And contemplate what I should be ordering for the next set of kits.  

OH!!!  And coming next week, a pretty new colorway for Caramel's Claws!  This is Raspberry.

Same problem though, although a good one to have. I am torn between the lighter and darker bezel.  And I have two different acorn bead arrangements.  SO...  for now, I'll make half in the lighter bezel and half in the darker.  And purchasing interest will help me decide how to make the next set.