Czech spike beads

OK so sometimes it is essential to stop stashing beads and start working with them. It is also really cool to support a great idea and I love the story of Perry Bookstein's creation of these Laura McCabe inspired deliciously spiked beads.
So there I was hopping from foot to foot in the bead shop when I went to pick up my Czech Glass spikes last week. But guess what, I was way too restrained and only bought two packets...  definitely need to go back for more as the ideas are jumping about... what was I thinking two packets!!

Time Traveller's compass

You would imagine that I spend most of my time sitting and playing with beads, but actually it's not that often I get to just bead, so as a special treat this weekend himself watched the cricket and didn't mind a bit that I spent two whole days under a tree in the garden with my bead tray...bliss.

OK so this design I'm calling the Time Traveller's compass... it's part of a series of new pieces based on a story and really the next stage in my ongoing fascination with treasure and talismans. I will get around to posting about this properly one day, it's something I love researching, exploring, and working with as a form of creating adornment...

Meanwhile my design is reversible and uses some adorable Czech crystals along with some swarovski ones too. it's a kind of Talisman for a modern age, a beady compass for navigating life, for me it's also part of some new works using Albion Stitch.. whispers quietly... maybe for book three!! Buy the kit, more materials or instructions only here.

The cord is a beady rope I'm calling honeycomb, it is a variation of netting and works up really quickly.
No more time to blog... I need to go order some more spikes!

ooh! on the cover!

I love creating designs for magazines, it's so lovely when an editor asks for something special and I get excited when I come up with new ideas, so it is Soooo hard to keep quiet until the design is published!

Chantilly Tassel

I loved designing this Tassel for Chloe at Bead magazine. This was my first go with the Swarovski Chaton (8mm), I used a simple right angle weave variation to create a layered bezel... Then just added lots of romantic strands of flowers. I even got organised and have a materials pack for this spicy coloured one and a lovely pale pink version here. So it's always lovely when having created the design, then kept really mouse quiet about it for a few months, they go and do something lovely and put it on the cover. Thank you Chloe!
Once I'd started it was utterly tempting to keep on experimenting with the Chaton stones, which is how Bella's Charm evolved too. I also realised that I could finally get on with the dragonfly design that I'd been promising for so long.