How TOTALLY 2020!

 This won't be easy to explain.  It should have been simple.

Someone fell in love with the Vintage Jasper Necklace which she found on Pinterest.  She asked if I would still sell the tutorial, and I said sure, so I turned on the listing.  Then I thought, "Gee, I still have some of the materials for those kits.  What if I just buy some new cabochons?"  The buyer was enthusiastic, so I contacted Intrinsic Trading, (via telephone, I usually see them in person at the G&LW Show, but we all know how things like that were eliminated to keep us all safe) and bought 16 new rectangle cabochons and enough of the barrel pairs to allow me to make up some nice sets.  

The sales person mentioned that the rectangles were not all exactly the same size.  She showed me a photo.  I had designed the bezel to be largish, in order to make for easy fitting and finishing, so I thought and extra mm here or there would not be a big deal.  

An extra 4 mm however, is quite a big deal.  And 4mm in width, plus another two in length is an even bigger deal.  

There were two Millenial pinkish cabs.  Usually I choose the least worthy cabs to make my samples, leaving the best of everything for buyers.  But this time, (it being 2020 and all) I took one of these yummy pink ones.  I started with the basic bezel base to try to estimate what I needed to do.  Then I made my first try at an enlarged version.  I could tell it was too small by Row 8. So I made a third effort, all the way to the end, with a very thready corner which I found deeply unsettling.

 I thought the third one was good until the last couple bezel rows, and illustrated as I went along.  But I was wrong. 

So, time for a fourth effort.  Which was nice, and fit beautifully!

I created cab sets and allotted a few of each to the four colorways I had designed, and then faced the big dilemma.  There is simply NO WAY to show you the size and scale of what the kit will make, without making a sample in each color, and I already have 5 of these necklaces, and only 15 possible kits to sell.  Hence this long blog post.  I will try to write a more succinct version of this 2020 epic tale to put in each listing, but bottom line, I chose to show the cab and the color over making 4 more samples.

SO...  in a separate blog post to follow, I will show you the cab sets available, which I will post at noon, Saturday the 5th of December, CST, in my Etsy shop.  The new tutorial for the larger bezel will be a freebee if you already own the tutorial, and included with the purchase of the tutorial if you are buying now.  

PLUS there is a final page which explains how you can weave 6 possible rectangle bezels in a range of sizes from the tutorial.  It does NOT diagram them past the third row.  But it is possible, after setting up the framework at the right size, to use the tut to finish the bezel by just paying attention to what happens at the corners. 

Here's the chart of possible bezels.    

"You can increase or decrease the width or length of this bezel by the simple addition or subtraction of 4 beads, 2 on two opposite sides.  I think of these sizes in terms of the number of up beads on a side after Row 3 is woven.  The original bezel is 12 tall by 7 wide, and the XL above is 12 tall x 9 wide.  I’ll make you a little chart for your own use."

Original Bezel 34x20mm 80 beads in Rows 1&2 12 x 7 up beads in Row 3

Possible Bezel 34x22mm 84 beads in Rows 1&2 12 x 8 up beads in Row 3

XL Bezel         34x24mm 88 beads in Rows 1&2 12 x 9 up beads in Row 3

Possible Bezel 36x20mm 84 beads in Rows 1&2 13 x 7 up beads in Row 3

Possible Bezel 36x22mm 88 beads in Rows 1&2 13 x 8 up beads in Row 3

XXL Bezel 36x24mm 92 beads in Rows 1&2 13 x 9 up beads in Row 3

 You might notice there is an XL Bezel size mentioned.  That is because two of the cabs are smaller than the rest.  They are these:

I am not going to list these sets, because I believe the confusion factor will be huge, and I don't want someone buying one of these sets and then not having the exact illustrations they need to make them.  If you have already made this necklace, I think it would not be difficult to make them.  But as a first go, maybe more challenging.  But if you want to try one of them, I will make you a special listing and even give you a little markdown for the effort you will need to spend, choosing how to create your embellishment rows.  There are plenty of beads and rounds to play with.  The designer in you might enjoy that.

OK.  Enough already.  Stay SAFE and HEALTHY!  2020 is almost over, and next year promises to be better!

Back In Stock Fall Flame Leaf in "Singe"

Yup.  Singe is back in stock.  It's been a long time since this one was available.  Find it here in my Etsy shop:  https://www.etsy.com/listing/484089195/kit-only-for-singe-leaf-rope-and-bail

I was planning to restock this using the new Toho Permanent Finish gold beads, but Covid seems to have robbed me of that opportunity.  There are few to be found and the kit requires 11 grams.  So it's back to the original 24k gold finishes.  This makes it a more expensive kit that the others, but honestly, it is also REALLY elegant in person!

I love the rope in particular with the real gold shimmer guiding the eye through all the color transitions.

I have also made one change in the leaf beads.  I was never best pleased with the D bead, which was a soft gold transparent rainbow bead.  It's the one next to the smoke topaz at the edges of the leaf above.  All the other beads have a silver lining and this one did not, so I have replaced it with a silver lined topaz, which has better presence and punch.  You will have to take my word for it, since I did only a scrap of sample to be sure I would approve.

I have been spending my energies on finding a new colorway for this fall.  And yesterday, I thought I had it.  But when I finished the first half of the leaf, I noticed the Raspberry finish was rubbing off the bead, leaving some pale pinks and some flat silvers.  GAH!

See the Raspberry beads near the black edge?  See how some of they are pale pink?  There's one at the bottom center that has lost almost ALL of its color.  Sigh.  I looked the bead up on my favorite Toho suppliers website, and sure enough, there is a color stability warning.  So I have made another choice and a new sample is underway.  But I think you can see where I was going.  It screams October to me, and I think it will be good worn on black.

Yes, I do still have other design ideas, but the fall Gem and Lapidary Workers show was again cancelled like the spring one.  Until I have better access to unique and beautiful component shopping, I am kinda stalled.  Plus every other bead I decide I need seems to be impossible to locate.  SO... hang in there.  I am not done with beads, but the struggle is real, as they say.  If everything goes well and nothing is impossible to buy, this kit should be ready for next weekend.

OH!  And the 12mm Pearl Acorns are back in stock.  They went fast!  THANK YOU!! That tutorial is also half price again for this long weekend, through Monday.  I bet you know how to get there, but just in case:  https://www.etsy.com/shop/HauteIceBeadwork

A Lovely Variation of Caramel's Claws Necklace From Cheryl

At the beginning of 2020, I moved most of my beading supplies out of my kitchen.  In the process (of course, and no surprise to fellow beaders) I discovered a few things I had forgotten about.  Among those were some bags of maybe 30 stone focal beads from making kits for Caramel's Claws Necklaces.  I buy those beads in groups of five, and usually find at least one of the five that does not meet my quality and/or aesthetic criteria for use in a particular kit.  But some of them are interesting and beautiful in their own right.

In a happy accident, Cheryl bought a Caramel's Claws kit just at the moment I had those bags of extras sitting on my desk.  So I added one of them to her order that I thought might be a possible alternate to the focal she had purchased.

She was very kind and wrote a sweet thank you message.  After making her original (mostly) as the tutorial suggested, she used the second focal and her own very good design skills to make several changes.  She turned the stone to a vertical orientation, used Delicas instead of Aikos, adapted the pattern to suit the slightly smaller size of the Delicas, and arranged the strung portion in a more interesting pattern to reflect some unique properties in her focal.

I like her result so much that I am sharing it here with you.  But first a reminder of my original, horizontal Caramel's Claws orientation.

And now, please say hello to Cheryl and her beautiful necklace!

As you can see, this focal stone had quite a bit of several shades of pink.  Cheryl said she wanted the piece to be "pretty, but not sweet" given the pink in the stone.  I really like the crescents she chose, as well as the coppery 6/0 beads she used in her stringing.  They give the piece a look of antique bronze and support the warmth in the blue grey stone. and I love the pink quartz in the stringing too.  For me, perfectly pretty without the sweetness.  And I love that there is just a hint of it, instead of many repetitions, in nice sympathy to the focal bead.

Now to the modifications Cheryl used in the bezel.  She knew Delicas to be just slightly smaller than Aikos, so added 4 beads to her base row.  Wow!  Perfect, because given this large a base row, bead size could make a substantial difference to the fit of the bezel.  I have done the pattern with Delicas, and it works alright, but I must focus on loosening my tension throughout, and this bezel already is a snug one, and must be woven with a light touch to begin with.  You all know that she had to add a pair of beads, not just one, because this is Peyote.  But she also could not have added just a pair, because of the mirror symmetry.  No matter which way you divide this bezel in half, whether vertically or horizontally, both sides must be the same.  (Hmmmm... well MAYBE, you could have the top different from the bottom, but it would be a challenge, and instead of 6 crescents, you would likely need 5 or 7. But even then... I'd have to chart to be sure.)  So clever Cheryl added 4 beads, but then found her bezel a bit loose.  So she took advantage of the fact that this focal is a bead with a hole, and ran her thread through it to stabilize her work.

I am always so pleased when beaders do something unique with my patterns, and this is an excellent example.  My kudos to Cheryl for her neat adaptation of my Caramel's Claws pattern.  Caramel, my sweet squirrel friend, was impressed too, and asked for extra peanuts to celebrate!

Final Rose Hips Kits

You bought me out twice, so I have pulled together one last set of 10 kits for Rose Hips Necklace. 

I am NOT complaining about sales!  But I believe I may have purchased all of the Czech drop beads in the neck strap that exist.  So, this is likely the last chance, if you want the kit.  

I have considered replacing the hips with buds and an opening rose flower for a springtime version...  but my next year is a little in limbo just now.  More on that later.  But if you are one of the many who have the tutorial in their shipping cart, and were waiting for kits, here they are!  

I will be vending at the Upper Midwest Bead Society tomorrow, December 2nd, in the evening and hope I might see some of you there.  

Happy holidays to all!