Fall Colors for Caramel's Claws Necklace in Sage

 Three different people have recently requested kits for the original colors of the Caramel's Claws Necklace.  I have Berries and Honey, but Cinnamon and Sage have been sold out for quite a while.  So I decided it was time to try and make a final few more of each colorway.

The SAGE kits are done, and will be posted in my Etsy shop tomorrow, March 8th at noon.  It's a challenge finding respectable focal beads, as the Red Creek Jasper vein appears to have been mined out, but I am happy with my choices, and hope you will be too.  So without further ado...

I love the markings on focal A.  Those slash marks have their own highlights!

Dark and dreamy.  And it looks as though it has been dipped in chocolate.  

Would really feature the bezel nicely, as do all those with darker markings.

Focal C has two interesting curved markings and they mesh nicely with the bezel curves.  

Each focal has two sides, and sometimes I like both, despite mild pitting.  

Which side to use is always your choice.

Similar to focal C, this D focal has a dark ground with lighter shadowy markings, 

so also simpatico with the bezel.

Focal E is soft, milky green-grey, with warm caramel.  An interesting stone.

Focal F has three distinct zones, and the warm chocolate brown relates nicely to the wood beads.

If only I had turned the G stone the other way, you might have seen a Mocha Frappuccino with a hint of mint! And this mocha also compliments the beads, and the hints of gold 

in the bezel edge of Oceanic Metallic 15/0 beads.

I also have a final set of Cinnamon kits underway.  I am waiting on a few final beads, 

and I'll keep you posted.

Find this listing at the link I will post here tomorrow.  For now, it's just a link to my Etsy shop.  

https://www.etsy.com/shop/HauteIceBeadwork

LILAC KITS!! Plus a 25% off sale on the Tutorial.

One of the first tutorials I wrote was "White Lilac".  And at the time, I thought I would make kits for the project.  As it turned out, making those kits was a substantial task.  Twenty bags (and this by  consolidated several groups of products into more eco-friendly single bags) and 27 different items were required!  At the time, I simply lacked the organizational experience to do this.  But now, older, wiser, and more experienced, I MET THAT GOAL.

I HAVE LISTED THESE KITS IN MY SHOP, AND THE TUTORIAL SALE IS LIVE AND LASTS THROUGH THE END OF THIS MONTH.    

The most common feedback I get for this tutorial is about how hard it is to find all the beads.  So given that I had bought many of the beads for the white colorway in 2016, (and more since, as I have run into them at what I consider to be kitting prices) I have decided it is time to remedy that situation.  

I also have a new colorway I am calling Lavender Lilac, plus the original White Lilac colorway and the kits are finally assembled, the tutorial buffed up, and a 25% off sale on the tutorial are all ready to go, just in time for the vernal equinox! 

The White Lilac is built from two different white Czech rounds and their organic shapes and subtle color shifts are so beautiful in these flowers!  They have a sharper, deeper matte green leaf, and are high contrast, with a subtly sparkly gilt-lined Ceylon pearl Toho bead in the yoke.  I wear mine with several different colors and always have people stopping me to look at the necklace. 

Love the way this upper leaf pulls away from the neck, and how the attachment allows for a V or a choker!

The Lavender uses Opal Silver Lined Toho beads, and a softer, rainbow finish bead for the leaves, for a generally springy and lovely look.  I did the gradation as it is done in the tutorial, but I am planning to do this one more time using a different idea.  I just LOVE the varigated lilacs that I recently discovered.  Here's a link!  Now, my flower pattern cannot really be used to create this edge detail.  BUT I think something magical could be done by using the kit beads in a slightly different way.  

You would likely need the tutorial to be able to fully understand this, but I think if you were to use the A and B PALE beads at the tips of the all or most flowers, varying them slightly, sometimes just the A, or just some of the A, and sometimes 1 or 2 or 3 or even 4 of the PALE B, it might just be spectacular.  Like that one little flower above!  I put an insert with info about that idea in the Lavender kits.  So if any of you decide to give that a try, PLEASE SHOW ME!  I'd love to share it here on my blog!

If it seems like a good time to take on a BIG project, (these take me about 25-30 hours) and you feel like celebrating the return of warm, sunny days, and sweet-smelling flowers, stop on by MY ETSY SHOP! 

Preview of all the New Vintage Jasper Cabochon Sets, in size XXL!

I have new cabochon sets for the Vintage Jasper Necklace!

 They will post to my Haute Ice Beadwork Etsy shop on Saturday the 5th of December 2020.

First a quick explanation.  These rectangular cabs are both longer and wider than previously.  It's how they arrived from my supplier, Intrinsic Trading.  I have made an additional tutorial for the larger bezel required, and am giving it to those who already own the tutorial.  Just send me a convo on Etsy so I can look up your purchase, and include your preferred email address.  If you purchase the tutorial from this point forward, the larger bezel instructions are included.

Here is an original necklace, next to my new sample so you can see the size difference.

Now, on to the yummy new Red Creek Jasper cabochon sets! If you like the soft pink in my sample, there is a similar set in the Antique Silver group. So we'll start there!

4 Heirloom Silver Kits

Love the energy in this set! Forest, gold, and taupes.

 

Blush-y, with bits of green and gold.

Almost raspberry, with taupe, and dark fracture lines.  

I gave this kit a Rainbow Burnt Sienna bead to hint at the warmth in the chain.

The other pink one.  I gave it a coral Rainbow Orange Sunset bead for warmth in the chain.

3+ Antique Bronze Kits

Mostly gold with soft greens and some red details. Uplifting!

Another one with so much energy!  Mostly gold with green and red accents. Symphony of neutrals.

Burgundy and gold symphony.  Especially nice barrel cabs.

This kit needs a smaller, XL shorter bezel that is not illustrated past Row 3.  If you are experienced with bezels, and want to try it with the guidance given in the tutorial, I will list it just for you. 

Let me know through Etsy Convo.

3+ Verdigris Kits

Light and dark greens, with a lovely red and gold edge.  More really nice barrel cabs.

Awesome red speckle pattern on a mostly green surface.  Hints of gold.

Taupe with speckles and fracture lines in dark grey.  Sunset barrel cabs.

This is the other smaller XL cab.  

If you love its blush sliding into mossy green, let's talk via Etsy Convo.

3 Copper Patina Kits

Yummy warmth with some forest green and gold accents.  Nice set of barrel cabs too.

All the wonderful colors of Cherry Creek Jasper in one stone!  Nice deep red edges.

Rich and deep coppery colors, with gold accents.

OK!  That is the parade of Jasper.  Hoping you enjoyed it, and wishing you a Safe and Happy end to this year of mayhem!

That Sweater Needed a Necklace

 It came from Target.  It's a color that is in the Pantone array for Fall and Winter this year. I had the Orchid Mist Pineapple Blossom necklace that worked with it.  But I had made that necklace shorter to wear on my skin with an orchid summer top, and it felt not long enough.  

Here's the original (but short) Orchid Mist.

So I made a new, longer one, with a silver demi bead.

I really like the result.  It has a dressier look than my original, because of the silver framing and the richer finish (Pink Metallic Suede) of the Czech round accent beads.  I designed the original colorway to work with a range from Orchid through Purple, but somehow, this lively Magenta wanted a different feel.  I'll show you the two together so you can compare and contrast.

This necklace sold out in all of its colorways last month after a kind gentleman posted his finished work in Seed Beads and More on Facebook.  Then another client posted her beautifully finished work and I have been scrambling to get some kits in stock! 

I now have all the colors available except Orchid Mist, and I am just waiting on the focal jewels to assemble those kits.  

Please visit my Etsy shop for the Pineapple Blossom Tutorial and the many kits available. 

Fuchsia

Blue Hawaii

Stormy Seas

Green Frond

Aqua Surf 

Stay safe in this crazy weird year of chaos and surprises!  

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

Blueberries in Season!

Holy Cow, my second post in a single day?  I have been working all week to collect supplies for more requested Blueberry Kits for the Caramel's Claws Necklace.  They are listed in my shop, although the last couple kits are still a few beads short.  Hopefully they do not sell out fast!  A reminder of the piece and a link below to the kit listing.

Link:  https://www.etsy.com/listing/564817224/kit-only-caramels-claws-necklace

In any case, I wanted to use this space to post the focal photos, so you can take a good look and fall in love.  This time I have kitted with both the Polished AND Matte focal beads.  You can also choose whether you want a Blue Laguna acorn bead, or a Copper one, which would look very acorn-y indeed.

Here are the polished focals!

A nice soft blue with a little cloudy grey.  A small pit on the second side. SOLD OUT!

Great texture on the first side and a sweet little color ombre on side 2.  SOLD OUT!

Soft color with a cool fracture line.

Nice textural blend of light and deeper blues. Like an arial view of waterways. SOLD OUT!

Storm clouds rolling in.  Maybe that fracture line is lightning?   SOLD OUT!

And now the MATTE Focals.  I've not used these before.  

The colors are really vibrant and YUMMY!

OMGee it's just so pretty.  That patterning!  I'd have a hard time choosing a side.  

There is a little geode-ish pitting in the dark areas

Subtle patterning would allow the coppery prong setting to really shine.  SOLD OUT!

I love the swath of turquoise on side one.  Maybe I am beach lusting? Tide pool craving?

Deeper, richer royal blues here, with interesting patterns on both sides.

This last one has awesome patterning, but there is a little ding missing on the right side,

 near the drill hole.  I believe the bezel would fill it out without a problem.  

I've worked with similar pieces.  I may steal it for myself!

Enjoy!