Created During WWWC

I created this crystal bracelet during Wild Wild West Con. I suspected there would be some down time, so I made sure to pack a few bead projects. I love the rusty color of Indian Red Swarovski crystals for steampunk beadwork, and they're perfect with bronze iris seed beads. The star clasp gives it a nice Victorian air. I call it Star of the Machine Age. I know the Victorian era wasn't called the machine age, but I think it would have been in an alternate history where mad scientists made steam-powered devices, don't you?

Anyway, much of my time at the convention was spent either beading or dancing. One of my favorite memories of the show was when I was hanging out in the booth with my brother's girlfriend, and we were both dancing along to some Beats Antique that was coming from the bellydance show on stage, and a man in the aisle was also dancing a little bit outside our booth. So I said "Come on! This is the dance party booth!" and he got really into it and danced his way in, and we were all rocking out... until the song ended. Then he looked really embarrassed and shuffled away!

Well, random dancing guy, there was no need to be embarrassed. We all get carried away by the music sometimes, and any booth that I am in is a safe space for dancing. No judgement, my friends, no judgement!

Crystal Restringing Project

It's kind of weird to get back to normal blog posts after what I wrote this weekend, so I'm going to ease into it by blogging about things that I've made for friends (and for myself?) before getting back to business.

My friend Fonda asked me to restring/lengthen three vintage necklaces that belong to her mother, and also to swap out the clasp for magnetic ones so her mom can fasten them herself. Now, I don't normally do this sort of work because I don't have a big stash of vintage beads and clasps and the right sort of stringing material, but she wasn't worried about authenticity, her mom just wanted to be able to wear her necklaces again.

Two of the three were easy-peasy, because they only needed a couple of inches added and I happened to actually have the right beads on hand. But this last one... Well, it's the only thing her mom has from her great-grandmother, and it had been broken and restrung with whatever beads they could salvage for years, until it had shrunk down to this tiny 12" necklace with a chunk of icky plastic beads in it. Those poor vintage crystals!

I kind of hate that I had to use modern beads on this, but I figured since I was already putting a modern magnetic clasp on it, I might as well go with something that I could easily get more of in case it ever needs more repairs. I added Czech firepolished beads in two sizes and and Chinese crystal rondelles, all in crystal AB to match the vintage beads. I feel like it still has that elegant vintage look, but now it's long enough for her to wear and easy to take on and off with the magnetic clasp.

Pastels for Spring

I've been seeing a lot of pastels at the trendy mall stores for the past couple of months. I'm not going to lie to you, this doesn't make me super happy. I just can't wear pastels! I guess I'll coast along on last year's fashions and buy a few new neutral pieces. But for those of you who look great in pale colors, I have a few items to add some sparkle to your Spring wardrobe!

Peachy Keen crystal earrings (shown above) feature white opal Swarovski crystals flanking vintage dusty peach faceted glass (or maybe crystal) beads. Can you believe that I salvaged these from a necklace that was otherwise made of bright orange beads? Crazy, right?

Peach Melon crystal bracelet is a good accompaniment for the brighter shades of coral and light peach. You can probably even match your lipstick to this bracelet, if you have the skin tone to pull it off!

Mint Blossom crystal bracelet is cool and clean and topped off with the prettiest clear flower-shaped vintage button. Oh mint. You're the one shade of green I can't wear! I'm seeing so many pretty little mint blouses in the store that would be really sweet with this bracelet.

If you're looking for other pastels, the Crystal Jewelry section of my shop is probably the right place to look. I've got crystal bracelets in baby pink, pale purple and more!

Purple Crystals

 I finally managed to photograph and list the last two crystal bracelets. These two shades of purple were being especially camera-shy, always showing up too dark, or too fuzzy in pictures. But I captured them at last! Above is Grape Sorbet and below is Velvet Queen.

Both crystal bracelets have sweet vintage button clasps because I have such a button addiction! I love how they make each bracelet even more unique. I think they add a lot of personality, too. The pink striped button on Grape Sorbet is really playful, while the one on Velvet Queen is super glamorous.

More crystals!

I am still adding more crystal bracelets to my shop! Only a couple left, though, so I should be completely done with them this week until I decide to make more. I think my focus will first be on other styles of bracelets, however. My stock of spiral bracelets is quite low, and I could use some new strung bracelets, too.

Anyway, I just listed Dark Gloaming Gothic Crystal Bracelet. Tanzanite is a great color for Fall and Winter, it has a bit of a grey undertone that goes well with more understated colors. Not that the Pantone forecast for Fall is very understated, but if you're a Goth, you're probably going to stick with more muted shades like this.

Personally, I'm starting to get excited for Fall. Maybe it's because I remembered that I have green faux suede boots. Maybe it's because I just ordered an awesome new hoodie. Maybe it's because Autumn is the busy season for belly dance performances. Either way, I am ready for Summer to make its exit!

The Last One!

This Alexandrite Crystal Bracelet is the last one from that batch of photos! I need to re-photograph a few that didn't turn out, but I think I'll take a break and get some new necklaces or earrings listed first. I also need to sit down and design some new anklets since I am almost out. A jeweler's work is never done!

They Keep Coming

Ok, I really need to photograph something other than crystal bracelets this week! I love them, but it gets boring to list multiples of any type of item -- there's only so much variation I can have in the descriptions while still adhering to the dogma of SEO.

This beauty is called Spring Snow and it brings my shop up to 95 items! I should hit the big 100 this week, unless a lot of items sell. Please note, I will not complain if I do not hit 100 this week due to sales. Don't hold back on my account! Buy as much as you want. Heck, buy it all. I will happily refill the shop while buying new dance costumes with the proceeds.

Celtic

As I was listing this Knotwork crystal bracelet on Etsy today, I realized that I don't really work with Celtic themes a lot. I don't know why this is. I love knotwork, and I've certainly purchased focals and other buttons with Celtic designs, I just don't seem to use them very often. I should definitely change that, as I feel it's a good fit with the fantasy theme of a lot of my other work.

Warning: Crystal Bracelet Invasion!

 I think a while back I mentioned on this blog how I had found a stash of crystal bracelets that I had never listed on Etsy. Well, I got distracted by a few things, like needing to make a new costume bra for a troupe performance and then going on vacation, but today I finally tackled those bracelets! They're all in the image above, as well as a few that were already listed. I wanted to show a wide variety in the updated listing for a Custom Crystal Bracelet.

Taking the photos was so time-consuming that I was only able to list Picnics and Sunshine Crystal Bracelet today. Consider it the harbinger of the incoming crystal bracelet invasion!

A gift

After my friend Marilee bought the Orchid Rose bracelet, I decided I should make her a crystal bracelet to match. I had these new purple iris seed beads that I'd purchased at the gem show -- they look kind of blue in this photo, but they're actually a very dark purple. They're a great compliment to the Cyclamen Opal crystals, which are the same color as the ones I used as an accent in Orchid Rose. I topped it off with a hexagon-shaped pewter button.

In the meantime, I discovered a secret stash of crystal bracelets that has never been listed on my Etsy shop, so I should be photographing those on Monday.

Allegory Gallery May Project

Whoops! I fell a little behind on Allegory Gallery projects. Well, in May I was supposed to create an item and write a tutorial for it. I chose to do one of my crystal bracelets because it's a good way to introduce people to beadweaving, it can be done in any color, and it has a button clasp for an extra special touch. However, Andrew decided to postpone the tutorials for now, so I can share the pictures in my blog instead.

I decided to get a little fancy playing with different angles, to get some nice artistic shots that say "gallery worthy" to me.

This bracelet uses Dark Turmaline Swarovski crystals from Allegory Gallery, woven together with brown Nymo beading thread also provided by the gallery. I added some Japanese seed beads from Beyond Beadery and a button that I picked up somewhere along the way. I buy buttons wherever I find them. I chose red-orange as my accent instead of going with a complimentary color, as I am forcing myself to work more with contrasts, and I have a skirt with these colors in it.

Disclaimer: Some items in this blog post were provided for promotional consideration by Allegory Gallery.

Yellow! Yes, Yellow!

For the past year or so I've been attempting to broaden my color horizons, both in my personal wardrobe and in the jewelry that I make to sell. Yellow is a color that I really struggle with. I use it as an accent sometimes, but in general I am not a big fan of it. Bohemian Summer Crystal Bracelet is my attempt to embrace yellow! I've accented the Swarovski crystals with some of those exciting new hybrid seed beads (Japanese seed beads with Czech coatings/effects on them) in brown-mottled turquoise green. I've seen a lot of this yellow and turquoise combo lately and I'm surprised by how much I like it!

I'm really happy to see boho styles maintaining popularity, too. Living in a hot climate, I really like to wear lightweight, flowing garments during the Summer, and the boho prints really go well with my collection of tribal jewelry and my long hair. Hanging out with a lot of belly dancers, I see a lot of creative ways of combining clothes that are in style, bits and bobs from our costume collections, and unique jewelry -- especially after a gig, when we've changed out of our costumes but we still have a few accessories hanging around!

Orchid Rose

The other night I felt like making a new spiral rope bracelet. I decided to go for purple so I could use more of those gorgeous matte iridescent purple seed beads (which I previously used in the purple beetle for MZ). I also added some Cyclamen Opal Swarovski crystals, but most of them are hidden in this picture. Note to self: more crystals next time! I call it Orchid Rose, because the colors remind me of orchids, but the clasp is a rose carved from a shell. It's quite lovely and feminine!

It's Steampunk Day!

 According to the Internet, today is Steampunk Day. And apparently July 10th is "Strut Your Steampunk Stuff Day" so I suspect we will be seeing a lot of unofficial steampunk holidays as various groups decide to announce their own day. Regardless of the validity of the day, it seems like a really good time to finally introduce the new offshoot of my line of crystal bracelets! They're still created with Swarovski crystals and tiny seed beads, but this series uses metal seed beads instead of glass, and I'm finishing them with steampunk clasps, too!

Shown above is Green Energy, a name that amuses me because there's really nothing green about coal-fed steam engines.

And this is Rusty Gear. The clasp is enamel over brass and I think it looks pretty awesome.

Of course there's plenty more steampunk jewelry to be found at Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs. Feel free to go have a look.

I made something pink!

Talk about stepping outside of my comfort zone! I made this for my friend Meghan, based on the colors of a little hip scarf she wears to dance class sometimes. It was very weird to work on, because these colors are so bright and there's no neutral involved. But I kept telling myself that Meghan would like it, and that plenty of bead artists work in color combinations like this, so they can't all be wrong.

The pendant is a large Swarovski crystal bezeled with Delicas and Japanese seed beads, hanging from a hand-dyed silk ribbon that perfectly matches the crystal.

The Difficult Pendant

I received the components for this pendant as part of the Artbeads.com Winter Enchantment promotion. That should give you an idea of just how long I've been struggling with it, since we're now well into Spring.

Honestly, I probably should have just sat this challenge out, but I can't resist the lure of free beads. It took me a bit to think of something to fit the Winter Enchantment theme. Let's face it -- I am not enchanted by winter. I hate it. Especially this winter, with its hard freeze and the need to replace my water heater and my furnace. But there is one thing I really love about winter... the February gem shows! My first thought was to get some stone beads, but I didn't see anything that caught my fancy. Then I figured, hey, why not get some nice crystals and make a fancy necklace inspired by the Swarovski party?

So I picked out some Rivolis and a Pendant from the Swarovski Elements section, and some super gorgeous purple iris 24k gold Delicas from the Seed Bead section, and figured I would make something pretty and fancy.

Once I caught up on my massive beady to-do list, I sat down to work on the necklace. Well, things kept going wrong. The first bezel I made for the large rivoli was too small, so I had to make a bigger one. I had two small rivolis, and the first one bezeled up fine, but the bezel was too large for the second one, even though I used the same number of beads! So I decided to just stack the two rivolis and hang the beautiful baroque teardrop from them, but I don't think I like the way it looks. Whatever, I just wanted to finish it and move on. So I decided to string a pretty necklace with faceted freshwater pearls, Swarovski pearls, Czech glass, and use the Delicas as spacers to tie the color scheme together. No, that didn't work either. I didn't have quite enough beads for any configuration I tried, and the SoftFlex didn't want to go through the Delicas at the top of the bezel. That is about when I gave up.

Last night I thought I'd give it one last try before photographing it. I figured maybe the super-fine bead stringing chain would fit through the Delicas. But no matter where I looked, I couldn't find the last bit of that chain that I have. So I give up, evil crystal pendant. You win. And by win, I mean I'm going to put you away someplace where I don't have to look at you for a while, and eventually I will cut you up and use your components to make something else.

All difficulties aside, the crystals and Delicas were all great. I love the color of the Delicas, they really embody Winter with their soft, muted metallic colors. And I've wanted to use one of those graphical Swarovski pendants since they came out. The design is printed on the back of the pendant and seems pretty permanent -- at the very least it didn't rub off when I was working with it, and I can't scratch it off with a fingernail, so it should stand up to daily wear. One of the rivolis did have a small chip on the edge, but I don't know if Artbeads sent it to me that way or if I dropped it and chipped it at some point.

Disclaimer: FTC guidelines require me to mention that the Swarovski Elements and Delicas used in this failed project were provided to me by Artbeads.com at no cost in return for promotional consideration on my blog.

Preview for a new product line

This may look like one of the usual crystal bracelets that I make, but I assure you that it's something new! Instead of using standard Japanese seed beads between the crystals, I've used tiny metal seed beads. Yes, real metal! I made this one with silver, but I also have some beautiful brass that would be perfect for steampunk designs. Right now I'm giving the green and silver one a test-drive, and if it holds up well I'll be adding them to my selection of handmade bracelets at Erthe Fae Designs.

Go forth and bid!

The time has come, my friends! Salome's Dance is up for auction this week! This stunning crystal and seed bead necklace (with a few pearls) was lovingly woven by yours truly for Layne's Legacy -- Beading For A Cure. If I were to sell this necklace in my Etsy shop, I'd have to ask at least $200 for it. The starting bid is only $35, so I expect you to bid it up closer to what its worth ;) And remember, there are many more beautiful beaded objects up for auction this week, so have a look at all of the BFAC Auctions and bid on as many as you love and can afford! The proceeds go to the NCCRA, in memory of my late friend Layne, who was a wonderful friend to me during some tough times in my life. Even when she was battling her own cancer, she was also there for me. Making and auctioning off jewelry is the least I can do to honor her.

Wings of the Morrigan, Progress Post 1

This project is long overdue -- I got the Swarovski Pegasus pendants as part of the Artbeads.com Beads for Bloggers program last September, and the central piece of black kyanite at the neat little metaphysical gift shop in Squaw Village during the Tahoe Bead Retreat last October. After purchasing the kyanite, and seeing it with the pegasus wings, I knew it had to be part of my first bead embroidered collar. Then I procrastinated. For over a year.

Well, no more putting it off! I want to wear Wings of the Morrigan to the Swarovski party at the gem show this year, which means that I have less than 3 months to finish. The past two years, I've put off my gem show necklace project to the last minute, finishing it during the show. This time I'm giving myself more time, because it's a huge project and I want to do it right.

So I researched how to make a collar, and on Friday night I drew my outline (which I'll probably adhere to only loosely) and glued down the focals. Yesterday and today were spent outlining the focals with backstitch. The kyanite was really tricky. In the past I've always embroidered around nice round and oval objects -- this piece is a real challenge because not only is it big, but I'm working with weird shapes. Of course, from a design standpoint, that was the easy part. Now I have to decide how to fill in the rest of the space!

This project is going to involve a lot of different types of beads. Each progress post will include a list of beads/objects added so far.
-1 Black Kyanite specimen
-2 Swarovski Elements Pegasus Pendants
-1 Color of Czech size 11 seed beads
-3 Colors of Japanese size 11 seed beads, including permanent galvanized.

Future progress pictures will be nicer, as I'll take them at the same time that I photograph new items, with all my nice photo stuff, but I wanted to start recording this before I got too far into it!

More Progress

Don't they look so much prettier when they're all together, instead of spread out across my work surface? The two smallest rivolis aren't actually attached to the main piece yet, but they should be sometime tomorrow... then it's time to figure out the neck strap. No rush, it only has to be finished, photographed, packaged up and mailed by MONDAY! Oh yes, I've procrastinated quite a bit this year!

It's not quite as grand as I first envisioned, but I'm still pretty happy with this lovely grouping of rivolis.