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. 

MORE Blueberries!!

The last two sets of kits I posted sold pretty fast, so I have re-kitted both to serve my reserve list and add hopefully a few to my stock.  This blog post has images of the Blueberry Caramel's Claws necklace.

I will contact you if you are on my reserve list, and do my best to see that you get a kit before they go live, sometime this weekend.  I'll update to an actual posting time for this weekend by the end of the today, Friday the 13th of May.

So here are the Blueberry Caramels' Claws kits.  One was from the first posting and the other four are new.  

A was in the last batch, and has some slight pitting, but nice light aqua color.

B has some dramatic patterning with a little light and lots of dark blues.  Both sides quite interesting!

C is very soft and a has some neutral color, along with lots of the lighter blue.  Amoeboid!

D has lots of the paler blue, and looks like a water depth chart to me, with maybe sandbars.  :)

E has substantial taupe neutral color, which I think nicely justifies the copper bezel. 

I'll keep you posted about when these will go live in my shop here, and on my Facebook pages.

Blue Sage Caramel's Claws

When I was at Dakota Stones shopping for focals, the Red Creek Jasper had a very different look than previously, with very little copper, ochre or olive, but I did find some nice pieces that work well with the Sage colorway.  I am sharing those focals here, because I can provide larger, clearer images than in my Etsy listings.

These particular stone beads are mostly usable on both sides and some are completely different on each side, a bonus for you.  You can choose your preference, based on your own wardrobe needs, or just fall in love with one side or the other.  I show you both sides of each piece below!  There are just 8 of these kits.

Here goes:

A lighter side (with a few silvery clouds in the sky) and a darker side!

In this case, both sides are very similar.

The first side mostly dark (nice bezel contrast), with a second side that has interesting landscape color and markings.

These two sides are totally different.  The first is similar in color to my sample, kind of khaki,
and the second side is deep teal and midnight dark.

Both sides have a little patterning, the first more, and the second a little less, It has a small, flat spot on the upper right edge at the back side, but im my experience, it would not affect the bezel shape.

Both sides have a little fiery patterning, and remind me of the sky above a forest fire at night.

Beautiful patterning on both sides of this bead, the first bold and the second more soft.

This final focal bead is soft and pale, very sky-like to me.  An almost perfect match for the bezel beads.

I really like the range of options here.  Choosing a dark or contrasting focal means the bezel is a featured bit in your composition. Selecting a lighter bead means the piece becomes more an organic whole.  Both can be lovely!

Available in my Etsy Shop on Saturday, October 13th, around noon CST.

Wintery Blueberry Blues

The last kit of the season will release today!  The missing bead arrived yesterday afternoon and I am busy filling the final bags and assembling the many, many components.   These Teakwood beads smell DELICIOUS, and it's sad stuffing them into their baggies, but I promise they will still smell awesome when you open the packages.

This is the final kit for Caramel's Claws Necklace that I have planned.  There are quite a few of these kits, and I cannot reserve any this time.  I have too much work left to do, but I believe there are MANY great choices, and I hope you'll find one perfect for you.  I will post them for sale at noon CST on Saturday, December 9th.

Aa always, each focal bead is unique, and this blog post will serve as an introduction to each one.  There just is not room in the Etsy listing to let you see them all.  So without further ado...

FOCAL A is SOLD OUT

FOCAL B IS SOLD OUT.

FOCAL C IS SOLD OUT

FOCAL D is SOLD OUT

FOCAL F IS SOLD OUT

FOCAL G IS SOLD OUT

FOCAL H IS SOLD OUT

FOCAL J IS SOLD OUT

FOCAL M IS SOLD OUT

FOCAL O is SOLD OUT.

FOCAL Q IS SOLD OUT.

 Most of these focal beads are similar front and back, but two of them are dramatically different on each side, and either side could be chosen as the front.  I have shown you both sides of these focals.

FOCAL S IS SOLD OUT

 Caramel is fat and fluffy in the icy temperatures here in Minnesota.  She shows up every morning for her peanuts, and never misses a chance to hop up into my beading window and entertain me.  I hope you have enjoyed the necklaces inspired by her clever claws!  She, and I, wish you a happy holiday season!