I love this necklace!

The Moss Spirit is one of my favorite necklaces. Definitely one of those pieces that is really hard to offer for sale instead of keeping. But if you could see how much jewelry I have (which would require me to be able to fit it all into one image), you would tell me that I really don't need to keep anything, or make anything for myself. That would not stop me, of course, but you could try.

Olivine greens are my favorite, and I love layered jewelry, and the green garnet focal is just so beautiful. It looks great with the elegant simplicity of Rachel's black velvet choli. I didn't make it with tribal costuming in mind, but it works well, especially for fusion. Tribal jewelry doesn't have to be all kuchi and stones!

I'm definitely glad that I decided to include this necklace in the photo shoot. I have several pieces in this style and NONE of them are in my shop because they are so hard to photograph! They look so great on a person but just do not lay right on a neck board or flat background. They need to hug the real contours of a real body.

Dragon Queen's Cuff

Here's the other bracelet that I made to be included in Contemporary Geometric Beadwork. It's a series of "what-ifs" coming together to make a multi-layered, richly textured bracelet. The ribbon runs through a channel and can be removed and replaced with just about anything. I made it the perfect size to hold a crystal bracelet (like this one), but I could also make a peyote band, or a herrinbone rope, or a collection of chains. I could use Wire Lace and tease it into weird shapes. The possibilities are endless!

This bracelet also represents my attempts to start to play with my usual olivine and bronze color scheme. I used antique gold instead of bronze, and added some earthy yellow and a tiny pop of orange.

All of my Olives

Wow, I made this back before the gem show and I'm finally getting around to posting about it! This scrumptious bracelet is a slight variation on a design by Jean Power. The awesome thing about this design is everyone seems to do it a little differently. I chose to make each triangle one solid color, with a "spine" of one color that unified them all. Others choose to make each half of the triangle a different color. Some put patterns in the "spine." Some stick to a very simple color palette, others make every triangle a different color. Sadly I did not have quite enough shades of olive green Delicas to make every triangle different, but I did manage to get a good variety in there.

My main innovation with this pattern was the addition of 2mm Swarovski crystals! After using them as an accent on my triangle ring, and seeing this bracelet pattern, I began to daydream about a bracelet with 2mm crystals along the spine. When Kate McKinnon sent out an e-mail asking for test beaders to make variations on some of the designs that were going to be included in the upcoming Contemporary Geometric Beadwork book, I decided it was time to stop daydreaming and start creating!

So I am very excited about the fact that this bracelet, the coordinating ring, and another bracelet which I'll post tomorrow will all be shown as possible variations of the projects in the book. This is my first time having my work included in a book! Previous to this my only published beadwork was when a past LL-BFAC project was included in the article that Bead Unique did on the charity. And not only is it awesome to be included in a book, but it's a book that was largely dreamed up and created here in Tucson! I had some fun afternoons sitting in Kate's house or back yard, beading along with her, Jean Power, Gabriella van Diepen, and other lovely beaders who came to visit.

Remember the Muffin Tin?

I made this necklace as part of the Muffin Tin Challenge earlier this year and then never got it listed on Etsy. This was the only photo that turned out from the first batch so I had to take more. Then only one turned out from the second batch! So I'm still waiting to add a close-up to the listing, but if you like what you see from a distance you can make Green Guardian Dragon Necklace your very own.

And if you're wondering why I didn't keep this one, since I love olive green and bronze together, and I love dragons, the simple answer is that I already have necklaces in this color scheme that I like even better. It's pretty similar to my Garuda necklace, in fact, so I felt like it was best to put this one in the shop and let some other green-lover add it to her collection.

Just for fun

 It seems like I don't do a lot of beading just for the fun of it anymore. Everything that I make is either to sell, to use my beads from Artbeads, or to fill a spot in my wardrobe. But this ring was created just because I saw the pattern and I wanted to try to make a ring. I used five colors of Delicas, and by colors I of course mean "shades of olivine." The sad thing is this is probably not even close to all the shades of olivine I have. I added some 2mm Swarovski crystals in olivine to the edges and the center, because I felt like the design needed some embellishment and if I'm going to wear a giant cocktail ring, it should have some sparkles.

The pattern was posted on Facebook to promote Geometrics by Dustin Wedekind and Kate McKinnon. I'm pretty excited about the book, I think it will probably be just about everything that a bead book should be, and it's being written right here in Tucson!

Speaking of things made in Tucson, on the lefthand side of my blog you will now find a Kickstarter link for Autopsy Bears. This morbidly adorable (adorably morbid?) project is the brainchild of my dance teacher Fonda and one of her friends. I've already made my pledge and I really want my bear, so if you'd like to support some crazy Tucson artists, please consider singing up to be a backer.