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

When Beaders Use My Patterns in Unexpected and Interesting Ways

I checked in at my Etsy shop yesterday to fill an order, and found a new review with a picture!  I just love it when you leave me pictures!

This photo is from Misty of The Wicked Queen Jewelry and More on Etsy.  The shop name is a link, but her shop name is mistythewickedqueen, just in case you want to Google or look her up on your own.

She purchased my Fall Flame Leaf tutorial, and had a great time playing with it.

It makes me so happy to see people exploring my designs with their own aesthetic and colors.  Stretches my own brain to see through other artist's eyes, and makes me feel like a contributing member of Planet Bead.

She generously allowed me to post her image and awesome work, plus left me a very kind review, and I am so very thankful!

Summer Fruit -The Raspberry Variation

This time, beading first, and the health stuff after.

Important information up front!

In "Raspberry" I liked framing the collarbone with the upper folded link set.  Those are pretty bones that deserve a spotlight every so often.  I also rotated the focal piece, and framed it with three folded open warped squares, to elaborate on the Y aspect of the form.

This variation is based on "The Sky is Falling" from last fall.  Here's a quick reminder.  It was the oval focal frame that looked so floral (alliteration unintended, lol) that I most appreciated about this work, and I wanted to write a tut for it.  I got carried away by the myriad possibilities!  I loved the Y-shape of "Sky" and it seems pretty trendy too.  Plus I like the variety of tassels I can include in this series.  I've always liked some movement in my work, but suddenly, it seems even more important.

SO... still planning the release of this tutorial, and set of kits, for around the Summer Solstice, June 21st.  Provided nothing too big gets in the way.  I have adjusted my priorities in my retirement.

Now on to the health stuff. 

I write this blog as much for myself as for you, dear readers. I want to remember the decisions I made here and I find writing helps me to understand how my choices and actions work out for me.  If you find it interesting, forge on. We left off near the end of January, with the purchase of my Apple Watch, in the interest of my osteoporosis prevention and reversal.  

In all fitness heart-monitor type gear, there are rings that visually display activity.  I went with Apple because I my electronic environment is all i... iPhone, iPad, Mac Book Pro, and I like how beautifully they all talk to each other.

Here's an image I find really telling. The 23rd was the day my phone was charged in the Apple Store, ready for sale on the next day.  I bought it in the late afternoon on the 24th.  Every single important thing in my life happens on a 24th, but I did not think about it at the time.

On the 25th, I just wore it, in the interest of a baseline.  For those of you who do not know, the Blue Ring in the center tracks sitting time.  If I am moving for at least a minute during any hour, I fill 1 1/12th of the ring. The watch will prompt movement at ten minutes to the hour, so this was the easiest of the rings to fill, but as you can see, I was not perfect right away. It's pretty easy for me to sit for hours beading or illustrating.  Nothing else in my life is quite that sedentary. I started trying to get that ring filled daily.

The Green Ring tracks exercise.  Apple defines that as my heart beat moving into the target exercise range for my age and staying there for at least a minute.  I can report various kinds of exercise, but if my heart does not confirm it, it does not register.  I can also park at the back of the lot and walk to the grocery store briskly and a minute of exercise records without my reporting it to the watch.  It just knows what I did by my heart rate, and the built in GPS.

My watch wanted me to exercise at least 30 minutes a day in my target range.  Sheesh.  SO on the 27th, I put on my coat, hat, mittens, thermal underwear, and boots, and walked at a pace that got my heart rate up, until I filled the exercise ring.  At that point, I realized I needed a better place to walk, preferably with no ice.  But jeepers.  It seemed like a big time commitment, to drive somewhere, in addition to the time spent walking...

So I started hunting for indoor places to walk that were close to me.  I tried a local HUGE BOX hardware store on the 30th, walking up and down aisles as fast as I could without being annoying.  I filled the ring, but still needed a better place.

Next, I became a mall walker.  Ridgedale Mall is quite close to me, but there is nowhere to remove a coat or change shoes.  So I drove to the mall, left my coat, hat, etc. in the car, and dashed through the cold to the nearest door, and walked.  I began to develop some consistency, but still put work deadlines and personal issues ahead of exercise.  Better, but no perfection, although there was the one week...  Here's a peek at my February.

With the next Summer Fruit variation, I'll explain my March, in which the Red Ring is a factor,  I find my gym, re-discover old injuries, and meet Adonis and Weight Training.

Teaching via Video

I do not think I will ever be much of a "live" teacher.  I am a terrible traveler, unless it is by car that I drive myself, and teaching seems to require mobility.  I also am introverted, and not comfortable for long in groups.  Plus there is the anxiety management for public speaking.  I will teach "live" for what I believe will be the last time on April 7th, at the Upper Midwest Bead Society Demo and Do event.

But I do think I have useful information and skills I would like to share.  So I have taken a page from Mikki Ferrugiano's book (I must say she has been kind and supportive!) and created my first video tutorial support.

I had a partial box of Volcano Triangle jewels, purchased to re-kit my very first offering, Spiral Damsel Dragon Necklace.  This project features a spiral Chenille stitch rope, and the scales follow the spiral around the rope.  As on all my dragon projects, the back of the rope is smooth, sitting comfortably against your skin.  I believe that with the video support, an Intermediate level beader could manage this project with reasonable ease.

So, my first video supports this project, and will be provided at no additional cost to purchasers of the E-tutorial.  It is hosted by Google on YouTube, and you must have a gmail address to access the video.  I am incredibly pleased that there is a way for me to store and offer this 90+ minute video to you, and it seems to me that a free g-mail account is not a huge price to pay for the experience.

I will explore other options as I learn more, but for now, YOU MUST PURCHASE THE TUTORIAL, AND HAVE A G-MAIL E-MAIL ADDRESS TO VIEW THIS VIDEO.

NOTE:  IF YOU PURCHASED THIS TUTORIAL WHEN I FIRST OFFERED IT, I WILL SEND YOU A LINK TO THE VIDEO SUPPORT, IF YOU SEND ME YOUR G-MAIL ADDRESS.  PLEASE CONTACT ME THROUGH ETSY CONVO FOR THIS PURPOSE.

Here is a link to the tutorial, which includes the 90 minutes of video support.

I am pleased with my results, although I have to say, it was a steep learning curve, and I know I will improve with time and experience.

I have 13 kits, which I will list sometime this weekend in my Etsy shop and I will list the newly polished tutorial at that time as well. Additionally, I have one original kit in the shimmering, golden Chili Pepper colorway available and will list that after the tutorial listing goes up. These dragon wings look like leaves in Autumn to me.  :)

Here is a link to the available kits in my Etsy shop.

I have also played with the beautiful new TOHO colors of Galvanized PermaFinish beads and recognized the fact that Butterflies Have Scales Too...

I have not make kits for this colorway, but if enough people express serious interest, I will put together some for you.  I love how the shape of the butterfly feels like a feminine little bow.

Next up on my video list, Pineapple Blossom Necklace.  I have SOOO many requests for more kits, and this seems like a good opportunity to get it filmed.  Also, although I have two other exciting projects in mind for the near future, but I think it's best I work on another video while I remember what I did to get it cemented in my mind.

As always, thank you all for your kind support and for reading my little blog!