Books and beads, my two addictions

 I love to buy beads, and I love to buy books about beading. But too often, they sit around unused. So I've been trying to use more of my beads, and also to actually make some projects from books and magazines. Towards that goal, I made this bracelet from "Great Designs for Shaped Beads" by Anna Elizabeth Draegar.

This is an awesome concept for a book, because I know I'm not the only beader who has excitedly purchased a new style of seed bead, only to be totally stumped on what to do with them. Take the Tila beads that are in this project. I see a lot of designers doing great work with them, but I have not even tried. I took the easy way out and waited for a book project to grab me! It also let me use some size 10 Delicas (which helped dictate the color palette because I only had 3 colors, because I never use them).

The instructions and illustrations in the book were really clear, I was able to make this bracelet over the span of 3 nights while watching a DVD (I also worked on other projects, so I probably could have done it in 1 or 2 sittings if I'd focused). Another nice thing is that Draegar provides alternate options for a lot of the designs, so if you only have a few Tilas leftover, you can whip up a ring to match, or if you like a necklace but don't have enough beads, she scales it down to a bracelet.

I like this design enough that I might make more in other colors, but I think I should delve into another book first!

Operation: Buried in Beads III -- Code Name Muffin Tin

 I'm starting to imagine Operation: Buried in Beads as a series of really bad 1980s-style action movies. For those who are new to my blog, Operation: Buried in Beads is what I call my ongoing project to use up my ridiculous stash of beads. My efforts are thwarted by my own bad habit of buying more beads even when I haven't used or put away the results of the last few shopping trips.

The Muffin Tin Challenge was a really good way for me to use up a lot of those extra beads. For instance, the necklace above (called Whatever Faeries Think About, but not yet listed) used up an entire strand of black lava beads, and a polymer focal that I bought years ago.

 Catch of the Day, which I just listed on Etsy today, allowed me to not only use a really cute octopus clasp from Green Girl Studios, but also the rest of the black lava strand that I used most of the other week, and the last of some tiny green glass beads that I've had forever.

This necklace is neither named nor listed yet, but it allowed me to use up two partial strands of glass beads, the last of the chartreuse luster ovals, and the last of the golden bronze pearls that I've been nursing along for almost as long as I've been in business. Well, not quite. There was an odd number of the glass beads and pearls, so there's one of each left, but don't worry, I'm going to hang them from a hair pin, so they'll be used up soon. Oh yes, and the pretty olive and gold polymer dragon was also purchased years ago. I probably intended to keep it for myself, but let's face it, I have WAY too many necklaces and the other green-loving dragon-lovers of the world deserve some one of a kind jewelry, too.

I actually used up a lot of other stuff that has been around for way too long, but I ran out of time to edit pics today, so I'll get to those later this week.

Is that a muffin tin full of beads?

Why yes, it is in fact a muffin tin full of beads. If that doesn't make any sense at all to you (because it certainly wouldn't, under normal circumstances), then you should check out the Muffin Tin Jewelry Challenge over at Art Bead Scene. I decided to give it a shot since I do need to get some fresh new stock in my shop Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs, and it is way too hot to use this pan to actually, you know, bake muffins.

(Also, yes, that is Lira's tiny kitty paw in the top corner of the image)

Not all of this will actually end up in my Etsy shop, though. One necklace is a custom order for a friend, there's a necklace and a pair of earrings for me, and a few things for my secret new retail location.

I like how a lot of my projects are overflowing from their muffin cups! The beads refuse to be confined.

Tribal Lotus

 This is the first necklace I made as part of my ongoing Operation: Buried in Beads. Created as a gift for one of my belly dance teachers, it features a tribal-appropriate black and red color combination and a cool matte black carved stone lotus flower. I'm happy to say that she loves it. There's few things nicer than creating a gift that is well-received :)

For more handmade tribal jewelry, be sure to check out my shop, Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs.

The return of Operation: Buried in Beads

Last year, I had too many beads and I decided to undertake Operation: Buried in Beads to try to use up some of my massive stash. Well, I still have too many beads, and I still can't figure out a way to get them all properly organized and put away, and I still don't have a dedicated workspace, so I'm doing it again. It is time to make some friggin' jewelry, and hopefully use up lots of stray beads and components in the process.

I already started, but I can't tell you what I made because it's a present for somebody! So I'll post it after it's been given. I've also got the start of a few other projects laid out, but first I have to make a couple more presents. Seriously, why is everyone having birthdays in April? And Mother's Day is right around the corner, too! Plus my birthday is just over a week away on the 1st, so I need to make myself a present because hey, I deserve it.

Anyway, back to slaving away in the bead-cave.

Operation: Buried in Beads

Operation: Buried in Beads began when I decided it was time to clean and organize my bead collection. I quickly became overwhelmed by the amount of bead clutter that I had accumulated and joked on Facebook that it might be easier to use up all my beads than put them away. We all had a good laugh, but the truth is that I did have an awful lot of beautiful beads just sitting around, and it really seemed a shame. They needed to be made into jewelry.

So I've been quietly working on this goal, occasionally posting about it on Facebook. My latest Artbeads.com project (which I can't post yet because I need to mail it to someone and I don't want to spoil the surprise) kicked it off by not only using all of the things that I had just received from Artbeads, but also some nice stone beads, and then I put everything away right afterwards. This was followed by the two skull projects, and now today's two necklaces (which I'll talk more about in tomorrow's Etsy post).

The above necklace is one of two that I made today, and it serves as the perfect illustration for the importance of this personal challenge. The lampworked beads are from the first purchase that I ever made from MZ Glass, so they've been in my stash for years. They're accompanied by some glass from last year's NY trip and lava from the Rings & Things show in May. Old and new came together in a beautiful way, and I put a little dent in my pile of beads.