Sunset Mookaite Jasper "Honey & Berries" Caramel's Claws Necklace Kits Back in Stock

I think I mentioned in my last post that I had moved my beading supplies out of my kitchen bay window.  In the process, I discovered many partly finished kitting projects.  This one was put on hold because I could not locate the Aiko bead in the bezel, one of my all time favorites.  Magically, this week, that bead is available.  I love this acorn especially, it is luminously transparent.  I will also get some matching earring kits done because they make especially fine earrings, dangling in the light, looking a lot like honey!

I have assembled 8 kits of both the necklace and earrings to offer for sale in my Etsy shop on Saturday February 29th at noon CST.  I don't expect there to be a rush, but some of my buyers like to know in advance, so here you go!

Please click here for a link to the listing for the Caramel's Claws Necklace kits.
Please click here for a link to the listing for the Caramel's Acorn Earrings kits.

The Sunset Mookaite Jasper focal beads are SO lovely and so varied that I have made images of them for your shopping pleasure.  In each case, the front and back have a different look, so I am showing your both. If you wear taupe, khaki, beige, and muted golds, and like soft berry and purple accents, these are for you.

Lots of purple accents here! A has a small nick at the edge of the bead, which you can see in the upper right of the Side 2 pic, but this would not be visible and would not affect the bezel shape. 

B is mostly soft gold and taupe with a river of berry juice running through it. Like a wheat field.

C is soft gold with a purply taupe swath on Side 1.  Side 2 is mostly gold and beige, 

with a little berry colored cross.  Reminds me of petrified wood.

D is very similar on both sides, with just a small purple swath along the edge of one quadrant, which would be half covered by the bezel.  This stone would let the bezel be featured.

E is a very graphic stone with loads of interesting markings, almost like a desert landscape.

In the F bead, the markings stripe from top to bottom.  A very nice, smooth surface for all the drama.

G Side 1 has a lovely variety of colors and markings, and lots of purply grey on Side 2.

  Nice dendritic, Japanese tree-like markings on Side 2!

H features nice berry patterning throughout, and both sides are quite similar.

I am always interested in how jewelry is worn with clothing, and when I got the Honey & Berries necklace sample out, I had a great time matching it with various pieces in my wardrobe! This is my favorite pairing, with a long Liz Claiborne cardigan, Conceited jeggings (order a size up, they run small) from Amazon, and a masterfully delicate gauge wool sweater from Vince at Nordstrom Rack.  It would be swell with soft, smokey purples too.

Spring Acorns for Caramel

Teaching Caramel's Acorn Earrings at the Upper Midwest Bead Society (much better than my first teaching effort, but still not what I would consider to be flawless) wiped out my stock of Acorn Earrings kits, so I have begun re-stocking.  A wonderful friend has volunteered to help with these kits, which are crazy labor-intensive!

I have a new color way, called Spring!

  I had hoped that by the time I was ready to publish these new acorns, there might be some real ones to shoot.  Some oaks set acorns early in the year to mature slowly through the summer.  I had hoped to have some photos to show you when I published these, but the Oaks here have only just stopped shivering. They really are amazing, and flower first, with long dangly catkins of golden green pollen-producing tassels.  I promise to add some images to this post when they finally appear.  EDITED TO ADD here is a starter! I found the twig of new oak leaves blown down on the path during my walk yesterday and the color was so fresh and similar to the acorns!

It has been a very slow Spring in Minnesota!  Yesterday, I dragged the deck chairs up from storage through my house, because it was finally warm-ish!  And the Best Man Ever put on his snow boots and brought the table around the house through the melting drifts for me.  I am so starved for sunshine!  And all my outdoor critters, including Caramel the squirrel, are very hungry  I keep my feeders full to meet demands.

In the mean time, you can check them out here.  My personal favorite acorn is from this site:

https://montereywildflowers.com/tree-fagaceae-quercus/

Scroll down to the Valley Oak/Roble, and check out the color in that acorn!

  

Or take a look at a range of images of catkins and Spring acorns here.  

The Canopy Melon beads in this colorway have a pinky sheen, and the colors I used are both from nature, and in support of that sheen.

If you want to duplicate my results, here is the bead list, and if you want a kit, visit my shop through the linked photo below, and choose "Spring"!  

A - 12 pcs CzechMate Crescent Opq. Rose Gold Topaz Luster

B - 12 pcs Toho 8/0 Hex #262 Light Bronzer Lined Crystal Rbw

C - 25 pcs Toho 15/0 #764 Rose Chalk Matte Opaque

D - 38 pcs Toho 11/0 #764 Rose Chalk Matte Opaque

E - 38 pcs Toho 8/0 #169 Light Rose Transparent Rainbow

F - 24 pcs Toho 11/0 #PF551 Peach Galvanized PF

G - 14 pcs Toho 11/0 Demi #PF551 Peach Galvanized PF 

(plus 2 pcs #994 Bronze Lined Crystal Rainbow)

H - 2 pcs Czech 14mm Melon Bead Canopy

J - 2 pcs Toho 8/0 Demi #PF551 Peach Galvanized PF

K - 2 pcs Toho 6/0 #PF551 Peach Galvanized PF

3 yds One-G Thread 

3 pcs Copper 2” Headpins

2 pcs Copper Fishhook Earwires

2 pcs Earring Nuts

Find the new kits here, and the tutorial here.  I am in the process of getting most of the colorways re-stocked, so I'll keep you informed as they appear.  And the Silk Butterfly Bags are in process!

Rose Gold Caramel's Claws

I have a rose gold phone.  I have a rose gold wallet.  I have a rose gold cardigan sweater. (There is one in every shop at the mall, I swear!)  So I needed a rose gold necklace.  I thought you might like one too.

I also admit, I did this because I wanted to make video support for this design.  So I filmed as I worked the sample.  I have not yet finished the editing.  So maybe, one day, I will do that.  But to be honest with you, I just want to bead, and I have a couple designs begun that are calling my name.  REALLY LOUDLY!

But I do love this necklace. I especially love how the contrast between the matte onyx focal bead and the vibrant rose gold makes the shape of the bezel edge pop!

In the process of designing this colorway, I also designed an acorn cover for a 12mm round bead.  I remember when I published this tutorial, there were questions about whether it would work with a 14mm round, and it did.  But I could not find a 14mm round matte onyx that I liked, and there are no black 14mm Melon beads.  So I re-designed the acorn cap for any 12mm round bead.  It's different enough that it requires new illustrations and instructions.  I really like the earrings because my face is small.  :)

If you own the tutorial for the Caramel's Acorn, or for the Caramels Claws Necklace with Acorn Component, I have added this new tutorial to my Etsy listing and you should be able to download it from your purchase receipt.  I'll include some specific instructions at the end of this post.  :)  Because those 14mm Melon beads will not be available forever. :(

I feel I should apologize for my fuzzy-edged photos.  My camera is glitching, and keeps re-setting itself to tiny Fstops at random, and I seem unable to remember to reset for each photo, so off it goes to the repair shop this week!

In the mean time, I am packing kits, to ship tomorrow and the new kit is in my Etsy shop at this link. 

Lots of parts in this one!  20 different baggies, (some inside others) and an insert to boot!

But it all goes fast when you are dressed for the job.  

And when I am done, I get to go the Gem and Lapidary Workers Show.  I'll stop at the Post Office on the way, with the orders to date.  I listed last night and co-incidentally one of my favorite buyers checked my shop, knowing I list on Saturdays and bought it immediately.  The little cash register noise from my phone nearly scared me off my chair.  But today I am prepared!

If you have purchased the Caramel's Acorns tutorial previously, and would like the 12mm Adaptation, just send me an Etsy Convo from your purchase receipt, and I will send it along to you, at no additional charge.  If you are just purchasing the tutorial, the 12mm adaptation is included in the available downloads.  :)  

Caramel's Claws Necklace

It started when I looked at a big, rectangular Chrysocolla cabochon, and thought, "That is just too pretty to cover up with a bezel."  Old prong set bezels flitted through my mind, and collided with Czech Crescent beads. This resulted, and Caramel's Claws Necklace was born.  I make that sound pretty simple, although it took a little testing, ripping, and finagling.

I think it is an idea adaptable to many shapes and sizes.   For that reason I created two listings for the tutorial,  If you just want to try the bezel technique, purchase just the bezel tutorial, available here in my Etsy shop.  If you want to make the necklace as shown, and do not already own the Acorn tutorial, purchase both in this listing.

Many cabochons are cut with sensitivity to the stone, and can vary dramatically in size and thickness.  As a maker of tutorials and kits, I recognize that I need to design for readily available focals. Plus, I wanted others to be able to use my pattern with something they could buy at their local bead shop or at the very least, online.  So I chose 30x40mm stone beads, sourced, cut, and sold wholesale only a couple miles from me, by Dakota Stones.

I used two different stones.  I did my first sample with Red Creek Jasper, and I just loved it.  But it's green, and in my experience, my worship of all colors from nature does not always apply to the masses, in particular my personal favorite green golds.  Sigh.  So I did not make this kit.

But I played with a warmer stone from the Red Creek strand, and on my second try was pleased.  I know the Bronze acorn earrings were the best seller, so here is a link to this listing...

The Patina Acorn earrings also sold really fast, so I visited Dakota with that in mind, and selected some Sunset Mookite. Patina is such a gorgeous Melon bead, with hints of gold, pink, and bronze in the finish.  I pushed the necklace a little into the rose, lavender, mauve and honey gold with supporting beads, and here is a link for what I call "Honey and Berries".

And finally, I got back to the cooler colors in the Red Creek strand, and supported the minty green with turquoise and silver with just a hint of bronze.  The Light Sage kits are at this link.

I did a second version of this kit with metallic teal prongs for the darker stones in the bunch, and a deeper Verawood bead.  Dark Sage kits are at this link.  I never made a sample, because each focal I use is one less for you to buy.

I released my first set of 32 kits last weekend, and I think there are 4 left at this point.

You know, it's a challenge as a designer, trying to decide how much money to invest in a design until testing the interest in it.  And the investment is not only in the materials involved.  It's in the time spent making and then rejecting samples, trying a slightly different bead color or finish, finding a "perfect" bead and discovering it has been discontinued or is back-ordered at the factory...  the list goes on and on.

But!  Apparently, you like this design!  So I will make more.  I may re-do some of these existing kits, but I have other ideas.  And while I think this design is timeless and durable,  the first set of kits has an Autumnal feeling to me.  And I have Winter ideas.  AND Spring ideas!

In the mean time, I have been asked for earrings to match the kits done to date.  So I am at work on those, and will release them as I finish them.  Two sets (Cinnamon and  Honey & Berries) are finished and in my shop at this listing.  Light and Dark Sage are on the way.  FYI, the Cinnamon is just one bead different from the original (and popular) Bronze kits.

SPOILER ALERT!!!

I think these are close to colorways for the Winter kit releases,
 coming soon-ish to Haute Ice Beadwork.