HAUTE ICE BEADWORK: kit

Showing posts with label kit. Show all posts

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.

Thursday, August 30, 2018

Vintage Jasper - Verdigris

Verdigris is a patina that forms on copper exposed to the elements. It is usually bluish-green. Me trying to explain the chemistry of it would have to be pure plagiarism, but I did read somewhere that it was originally a French term, vert de Gris, which means " the green of Greece". I love that idea! Since I am going for a vintage quality in this project, it seemed the perfect name for this set of cabochons, and their supporting beads. I hope you'll enjoy the GemDuos especially. Without further ado...

And here is a photo of my sample for this colorway.

Now, I'm off to start writing listings and making sure I get them all right.

Releasing Saturday, September 1st, noon, central time.

Friday, August 10, 2018

Vintage Jasper

Well, I still have work to do, but tomorrow at noon CST, I will release the kits for my new project, Vintage Jasper. I want to use this post to just quickly introduce you to the two colorways, and the 14 available cabochon sets. You get to choose your own. You might want time to think about it.

Here is a quick peek at the two colorways. You will also notice that it is possible to put either one or two links between the large cabochon and the smaller ones. If you are taller and plan to make a longer necklace (the kit accommodates up to 22") you might prefer two links, and if you are shorter like me, one link might be your choice. Both are given in the tutorial, and a chart for number of links needed for sizes 17" - 22" are given. FYI, I have to double check all my numbers and calculations, but I think these kits will be $75. Actually... $73. Here's a link.

So without further ado, here are the yummy Red Creek Jasper cabochon sets for your perusal! You'll notice I used a GemDuo with color variation and hints of warmth in the Heirloom Silver group, with a link to those here. And the bezel is my favorite of all the Aiko colors. It's called Oceanic Metallic, and is a mix of silvers, with bits of gold and dots of copper. Here's a closeup for reference. The bezel embellishment really adds color and merges the cabs with the GemDuos.

I did the same with the GemDuos in the Antique Bronze group, and some are almost coppery. Again, for reference, here is a closeup. The bezel is simple Bronze Metallic, because most of these cabs have dramatic patterning and I did not want to distract. Here's a link for the kits.

Enjoy!

Saturday, June 16, 2018

Blue Morpho

I have a new offering today in the beaded silk butterfly bag series. I'm calling it Blue Morpho. It creatively represents a female of the species, with a really yummy color gradation from the palest turquoise to a deep and rich cobalt, accented with black and white edging.

One of my sweet buyers asked some questions yesterday about the project, and I want to answer them in detail here, for everyone.

I will release the bag and bead kit together, in one listing, and here is a link for you.

First, some bag information. This bag was produced in two sizes. Each piece of this quilted silk fabric varies in terms on how large the quilted squares are, from under an 7/8" to 1-1/8" and multiplied by 8 squares, you can see how large a difference that makes. It also affects how many bags can be cut from a width of fabric.

Consequently, there are 10 bags available, and seven are about 9 x 6 x 2.25" and three are 8 x 6 x 2.25". So you can choose your preference. These bags are essential light capacity, and comfortably hold my wallet, big cell phone, sunglasses, keys, and lip gloss. They are really not suited for carrying much more, although I have added a little packet of tissue and some tubes of beads at various times.

The bead kit includes a spool of black One-G thread this time, and I stitched half of my sample all in black which looks no different from the side where I carefully matched colors. Below is a snap of the assembled kit, and the entire bead list.

Then, there were some questions about the tutorial. Like, if you already own one of the other project tutorials, so you need this one too? Again, here is a link for you.

I have tried very hard to make this project easy and painless. I have done many samples and ripped repeatedly to get my own results, and I have tried to show you what I figured out in a simple to understand way. Do I think you NEED each tutorial? No, but I know for a fact that it is lots easier with these guides. So I am putting in chunks of two pages from the tutorial for you here, so you can judge for yourself. They are .png files and a little fuzzy in this format, but you get the idea.

SO you can judge for yourself, whether you wish to purchase the $10 tutorial. The bag is priced at $47, and the kit at $18, combining to $65, and if your purchase the tutorial, the total bag price is $75.

I don't know if I will do another series of these bags or not. I have fabric, but I also have another interesting idea that combines fiber and beads, and may pursue it next.

Watch for a new quickie video from me, in the next blog post, and on YouTube. I tie off really frequently when doing bead embroidery. I know may beaders carry threads a long way across the back of their BE, but in this case, since there is no glued backing, and minimal support for the embroidery, I recommend you tie off frequently and not carry your thread more than a quarter inch.

SO, I want to show you how to tie a professional dressmakers knot, which is super fast and stable. It also makes it really easy to remove a row or small section you might wish to change or improve, with out jeopardizing the stability of neighboring work. A nice technique for your collection.

In the mean time, back I go, to finish off the last 4 bag linings. I'll release these 10 kits around noon today.

Happy beading!

Saturday, May 12, 2018

A Happy Little Bag

I am close to releasing the first set of Butterfly Bag bead embroidery projects and tutorials! If all goes according to plan, I will post a few of them next weekend in my Etsy shop.

Carl walked past my bench yesterday as I was finishing up my original sample and said, "That's a Happy Little Bag!" I loved the Bob Ross reference, and so this sample has a name!

Making this little bag, helped me figure out what might constitute a good size, shape, and expedited construction. I carried it around with me over the last couple weeks, unfinished, just to test how it worked and felt, and I have made several design improvements as I worked my way along.

This idea grew out of wanting to pass along something I have enjoyed in the past. I began using fabric applique about 10 years ago in my dancewear, and the idea translated really well to bead embroidery.

A little history... Among of my first projects along this line was my "Falling" vest. If you want to read more about this project, you can do that here.

And after this, I made my Urban Safari Coat, again done with applique, and the same yummy quilted Dupioni Silk. This was a competition piece for Battle of the Beadsmith, and if you like, your can find more pictures here, and read about the construction and beading process here.

I have to confess, the idea of creating clothing in all sizes imaginable was overwhelming. So instead I decided upon a "wearable" handbag to serve as my offering to you to try out this technique.

I am planning a release for next weekend (June 19-20), and will continue to make these for a while, as long as there in interest, I have stamina, and until I use up the fabric I have for the purpose. I have gold, silver, and limited bronze and celadon silk.

First release will be bags made up in gold silk, with the two versions of the tutorial. One will include instructions and approximate charts for two options, a Monarch butterfly and a Fantasy butterfly, based on the applique.

Here is my sample for these two options, and I will assemble kits for these.

There will also be a couple different applique options, and a minimal guide tutorial for those who are experienced bead embroiderers and would like to try filling the printed lines with beads of their choosing. You are also free to add anything else of your want; flowers, scrollwork, or filling the ditch in the quilted fabric with beads as below.

So if you enjoy bead embroidery, or are interested in a gateway to the craft,

stay tuned for a more detailed blogpost, and keep an eye on my Etsy shop next weekend!

Friday, November 24, 2017

A Grape for Caramel!

I am not usually a big purple fan, but I have to admit I bought a purple t-shirt, AND a new sweater to go with this version of my Caramel's Claws necklace. Caramel herself is turning quite silvery gray in honor of the cold weather, and although she prefers nuts over fruit, I think she would like this one too!

Kits for this colorway will be listed Saturday, November 25th in the Haute Ice Beadwork Etsy Shop at 9am, as usual. The kits are $40 each, and there are 15 different beads in sizes 15/0 to 6/0, plus the focal bead, findings and stringing material. The tutorial is purchased separately. If you already own the tutorial for the Caramel's Acorn Earrings, then just purchase instructions for the Bezel and Yoke at this link. If you need both the Necklace and Acorn instructions, purchase both tutorials at this link. And if you already own both tutorials, you are on my "VERY NICE" list!

Each buyer will be able to choose their own focal. I chose one of what I thought were the "worst" focals of the bunch for my sample, saving the best for you! But despite the few pits, I think it's still lovely.

The oval focal beads range in color and markings quite a bit. Some are lighter, some darker, some have more pattern and some almost none. Some are more cool indigo, some warmer violet, and some have a bronzy glow or veining. The stone is Crazy Lace Agate, dyed to this yummy grape. Photos of the available focals follow, and if you convo me with your choice on Etsy, I can make you a custom listing. But move fast, as I never know how quickly they will sell, and once a stone is gone, it's gone. They have two sides, and I have shown you the one I liked best, but either could be used. Focal I has two beautiful sides and I have shown you both!