And the Voting Begins!

To vote for your favorite Entry for the July EBW challenge, Sizzling Sunshine and Soothing Water, click on the link on the right hand side of the EBW blog between July 9 and July 15.

Happy voting!

Sizzling Sunshine and Soothing Water

My Etsy Beadweavers July Challenge piece is done!

Most of my beadweaving incorporates the peyote stitch to some extent. But this was my first crack at designing a peyote pattern and I must say, I'm pretty proud of it. It was inspired by a picture that Sam took from a helicopter when we visited Australia in 2009.

The only thing disappointing is that I just can't get this new camera to work. First I had to buy a new battery, and now I can't get the software to upload to my computer. So I feel like the colors in these pics aren't quite as pretty as they are in real life.

Interim Report!

In the past, I've gotten super excited about beading and then school has gotten in the way and my beading ambitions have fizzled out. Well, I can safely say that my July EBWC piece is still underway! I've also said in the past that I love these challenge pieces because they force me to stretch myself and use techniques I haven't used before, whilst staying true to myself and my own style. This remains true. This piece is taking a little longer than I thought it would, but I'm about two-thirds to three-quarters of the way through with it. It's really fun to work on, but I still can't wait to photograph it and show you pictures!

Some Beady Things

Now that the semester is over, I have some time to work on my Etsy shop. (I seem to recall having said something to that effect last year, but this year I'm really going to do it!)

When the semester ends, I get a little crazy experimenting. I usually want to knit and bead as much as possible before my free time tapers off again. This summer, I'm determined to experiment with color and shape. I've always experimented with different shapes of peyote stitch, and I have some new shapes in my mind that I'm working on. I've been making a bracelet with tapered ends. It's turned out to be thicker than any bracelet I've ever made, so it should be a great addition to my shop.

I'm also entering the July EBW Challenge: Sizzling Sunshine and Soothing Water. I like the way my entry is turning out, but it's going to take a while - I had almost forgotten just how long these pieces take to make! Since I'm starting my internship next week and I still have a couple of things to keep up with for school, I'm pretty sure I'll need the whole month.

Oh and also, I got a new camera!!! I'm super excited about it! I got it when I was in Canada, and after the salesperson had me set on the model that was perfect for me (good for photographing jewelry AND good for adventurous travel), she realized that the only one left was the display model! I was going to get that one, but it was missing parts! So my dad and I ran through the mall and down the street to get to the camera place's sister store before it closed. The only one that place had, too, was the model, but it appeared to have all the parts, so we bought it. WELL, as it turns out, the battery wasn't just dead, as they told us it was in the store - it was broken! (In hindsight, I really should have ordered a new one online, but hey, I got $20 off!) But then I ordered a new battery online and this one seems to be working!

I've definitely noticed that my pieces that sell are the ones with the better photographs. This makes sense because good photographs (a) show the pieces' true beauty, and (b) look more professional. So I can't wait to use my new camera! :-)

Feeling Crafty

A requirement of my Etsy Team, Etsy Beadweavers, is to enter one monthly challenge a year. Since I started it's been difficult for me to enter these challenges, as I have been up to my eyeballs in work and other school activities. However, when I do enter the challenges, I always feel re-energized about beading and more creative. The challenges make me think about my craft in new and exciting ways, while still staying true to my own style.

This month's EBW Challenge was "Autumn Leaves." I chose to make a choker in autumn colors, which I call Falling Leaves. I actually came up with the color pattern as I went along, which was new for me, and as close to freeform as I've ever come.
To see all of this month's entries and vote for your favorite, please visit the EBW blog from today until October 15.

Quick Entry

I have my last exam tomorrow, which is why I've been MIA for a while. But before it's too late, I wanted to let you know about the December EBW Challenge, "Peace Piece." Here is my entry for the challenge, Peace, Love, and Beautiful Hair (Clip):

So the pictures of this hair clip aren't great because I wasn't able to take them in the daylight. (In real life, it looks much prettier!) You can see this and all of the other entries on the EBW blog. Vote for your favorite until December 15th!

Complimentary Contradictions

That is the theme for the Etsy Beadweavers September Challenge. For once, I wasn't scrambling to finish at the eleventh hour, and I had so much fun with this one! My piece is called, "Black and White - A Story in Color." It's made up of six hexagons woven together. Three of them are made up of different colors, and two of them are black, white, and different shades of gray. It's finished off with a real silver chain and a red glass bead. I'm really pleased with the way it turned out. These colors were so fun to use, and I'm also really pleased with the final proportions. I have a feeling that this piece will be my inspiration for many pieces to come.

You can vote for your favorite September EBWC Entry on September 9th on the EBW blog, http://etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com.

I've only been a member of the Etsy Beadweavers since May, but it's been such an awesome experience so far. And the three challenges in which I have participated have truly influenced the way I bead, for the better! Lately, I haven't had much time to bead, because I've been getting ready to move apartments, and I've also begun the law school application process. I have finished a gift and a custom order, and I finished two more bracelets a couple of weeks ago, but I haven't had a chance to photograph them and get the up on Etsy yet. But I will soon! All in good time...

Guilty Pleasures

I've developed an addiction to reality TV shows on Bravo. In the past, I would never had admitted to this, but we're all friends here, right?

My all time favorite, of course, is Project Runway. I've also really gotten into Shear Genius. I love watching the challenges and the wonderful and awful things that these people come up with. I love choosing my favorites and least favorites and imagining myself wearing those outfits and haircuts. My favorite "character" is Stella, the wonderfully ridiculous designer of all things "leatha."

I rush home every Wednesday to watch these favorite shows of mine. If I can't be home to watch them, they'll always be on the next day. And the day after that. And pretty much every day until the next Wednesday, the next episode. But then, all the episodes are on that day too...

This all got me thinking. What if there was a Bravo TV show about the type of designing that I do? What if there was a show just about beadweaving. Or about knitting and crocheting. The camera focuses on me. I'm beadweaving, and you hear a voiceover. "I decided to do a peyote cuff. So I started with some beads. And then I put on another bead. And then I put on another bead. And then I put on another bead. And then I decide to change colors." Or "I did a row of knit. And a row of purl. Then I did an intricate lace. Yarn over..." Maybe it's just that I've been watching too much TV and frying my brain, but this concept makes me laugh! Just imagine how entertaining that would be to the outside world! (Not!)

But it also got me thinking about the people I design for. I always design with a little piece of myself in mind. After all, who could love something I make that I don't even love? In their own way, the Etsy Beadweaving challenges are kind of the same concept. The last challenge in particular got me out of my comfort zone, but I was determined to make something beautiful within the guidelines that was still true to my own sense of style, and I'm pretty sure I pulled it off.

And of course there are the people who wear my jewelry. I just love opening a package in which there is something wearable that I ordered from Etsy. (Lamp work jewelry is another guilty pleasure of mine.) And when I put it on, I feel amazing and beautiful. That is exactly how I want people to feel when they wear my jewelry. I want them to feel like the powerful women they are, or to feel like princesses. Whatever makes them feel best, that is how I want them to feel. Whether I give pieces I make away or people purchase them or even have me custom make them, I just want my pieces to be loved, and I want the people who wear them to feel just that little bit more amazing.

Art Deco

Once again, I listed my EBW Challenge piece at the very last minute, but I listed it!

This piece was inspired by colors and geometric designs of the Art Deco period. It's an adjustable peyote cuff with rectangular windows ascending (or descending, depending on which way you look at it) across the bracelet. I'm very happy with the way it turned out.

When I started this piece, I had a vague idea that I wanted it to be red, with maybe some black and or white, and preferable with some sort of window. It evolved as I continued with it. As geometric as it is, this piece is the closest I have ever come to free form. Perhaps it is time for me to give real free form a try! :-)

Starting August 9, you can see all the beautiful entries on the EBW Blog, and vote for your favorite!

Checking In

I've had various things going on for the past couple of weeks, and I've been kind of absent from the blogosphere. A few weeks ago, Sam and I had an amazing time visiting friends in Ithaca. And the Thursday and Friday before last, I had jury duty. (Yes, in New York, federal jury duty lasts two days!) I spent all of Thursday in a court room, but in the end, I didn't get picked. It was pretty interesting, though. I started my Art Deco challenge entry that night, and was able to work on it a lot on Friday in the "Jurors Lounge" and then at Starbucks as I waited for Sam to get out from work so we could head off to a Ween concert, which is one of his favorite bands.

The next day, Saturday, was Sam's birthday, and we walked from his apartment in Astoria to Peter Luger's in Brooklyn. It was lots of fun, but I wasn't wearing the right shoes. We finally took advantage of his back yard that night, during Sam's big birthday bash. When I excused myself to "nap" (i.e. go to sleep) at 2:00, the party was still going strong.

My big endeavor for this week was to finish my August EBW challenge, Art Deco. Sam and I had planned to go hiking upstate with a few friends yesterday, but a few hours into our drive, it started to thunder and pour. So we took a tour of an old mansion for an hour or two and then got ice cream before the long ride home. But today, at 1:00 p.m., I finally finished my piece! I took my pictures, but I haven't had a chance to list it yet, or even put up the pictures (a very late brunch in Sam's neighborhood took priority) so I'll get them up tomorrow before the midnight deadline. But...Woohoo! Done! Yay! :-)

Art Deco

On my way home from the subway today, I was thinking so hard about the next EBW Challenge that I overshot my turn by a whole block. For the last challenge, I knew exactly what I wanted to make right away. But this one is taking a little more planning. There are so many facets of the art deco movement that I just can't seem to pinpoint what I want to make or even which part of the movement I want to use for my inspiration.

I am very drawn to the delicate jewelry of the period, and I've sort of designed a bracelet and a necklace in my head. I would really enjoy these things, but they would not exactly be my most complicated or time consuming creations.

From the little internet research I've done, the art and architecture of the period seem to be much bolder than the jewelry. I could also have a lot of fun exploring shapes, and I've also cooked up some ideas for a bracelet cuff that would do that. I've even been (half seriously) toying with the idea of creating a tiny mini-building out of beads.

And then there's the ever-present real life getting in the way. Today, I had leftovers from a chicked and eggplant dish that I made on Sunday night for dinner. I'm beginning to realize that I haven't cooked a meal in literally months. (Not including Lean Cuisine and Campbell's Soup! ;-) ) For a Manhattanite, that's very normal, but it isn't normal for me. I love eating my own cooking almost as much as I love eating my mom's cooking! If only there were more hours in the day!!

This and That

This is my friend, Dave, his awesome girlfriend, Nicole, and me last night at a comedy show. Dave and I went to high school together in Sydney, and he's doing a PhD in theoretical particle physics at Cornell, and Nicole is a med student here in New York City. They're both on summer break now, so it was awesome getting to see these busy academics. (The show was cool too!)

This weekend, Sam is partying it up in California with his brother, Dan, so today is my lazy day. It was going to be my cleaning day, but I think it's going to be my lazy day with some cleaning on the side. This morning, I've been beading and watching Project Runway reruns. I'm finishing up a bracelet that I started last weekend. It's inspired by my EBWC Challenge piece. Here it is, not quite done. (There are still loose strings hanging off of it.) It's definitely a piece that needs to be photographed in natural light, but you get the idea:

The bracelet turned out a little bit smaller than expected, so who better to wear it than yours truly! I'm keeping this one for myself! :-)

Speaking of last weekend, I just have to include this photo of Sam's mom, Cheryl, who put this choker that I made with this adorable outfit, worn to dinner last weekend in Sag Harbor:

They're all so Dreamy!

The entries for the Etsy Beadweavers Midsummer Nights Dream are up on the EBW blog! And they're all so dreamy and beautiful! Drool over them all and vote for your favorite! :-)

A Midsummer Nights Dream

I'm meeting Sam in an hour to grab a quick dinner and then see the fireworks, but for now, I'm doing some of my essential chores...like writing in my blog!

The rest of my beads finally got here on Wednesday, and I spent Wednesday night, Thursday morning, and a lot of Thursday night (with a few hours dinner break with friends) furiously beading. And I finally finished!
Between scattered showers, I took some pictures of the necklace lying flat, and Sam took some of it on my neck, and voila!

Apart from the surprise factor, I've been a little mysterious about this choker partly because I didn't know how to explain how to describe the hearts. I also didn't want to take "in progress" pictures because at the time that I ran out of beads, I only had the three stars and a few of the strands connecting them.

Figuring out "numbers" for this piece was kind of difficult because each strand had to be a different length, and I had to keep this in mind while figuring out how to make the purple hearts. I also had to figure out how to make it look finished at the back. I went with brick stitch (which I had never used before, so I just taught it to myself out of the book Sam gave me for my birthday!)

I had originally wanted to add some embellishment to the bottom of this piece. I had a few different ideas going around my head. But when I finished the choker part, I realized that it was actually done! I don't think that any sort of embellishment would have done this piece justice. I'm actually very happy with the way it turned out! :-)

Thank you so much to everyone who left me kind words during the drama that surrounded this piece! ;-)

OH NO!!!

So as you may recall, as soon as I heard the theme of this month's EBW challenge, A Midsummer Nights Dream, I immediately got sketching. I worked out a pattern and ordered the beads I needed. I wasn't quite sure which colors would work best, so I ordered a few different colors in small quantities.

I actually spent a large part of this month working on gifts (more on that another day!) so my challenge piece got pushed back a little bit. I figured I could finish it this weekend.

A little while after having started the challenge piece, I realized that the colors I was using just were not working out. There was not enough of a contrast between them, so I started over, using one of the colors I had used for one of my gifts.

I don't know why this did not occur to me at the time, but I did not have enough beads in that color! Last night, I realized this, and immediately spent a small fortune on two-day shipping. They should be there by Monday or Tuesday. Problem is, I'm supposed to stay at work late on both Monday and Tuesday (tutoring is canceled this week because of the 4th of July holiday). With my job, that could have me home anywhere between 7:00 and midnight! It's not so much the beading that I am concerned about as much as the trial and error. While part of my challenge piece is in my comfort zone, part of it is something I've never done before, and it takes a while to figure out how to make it work! And then there is the photography part of it. I want to take my pictures in natural light, so I'll just have to hope that July 3rd or 4th is a nice day (for more reasons than the obvious! ;-) ) Plus, it's the type of piece that really needs to be photographed on a person. So I'll have to make sure that I'm with a person who can photograph me wearing it during bright daylight hours. The July 4th holiday might complicate things, because I'm also going to have access to my computer - i.e. be at my apartment and not a barbecue or the like, for at least part of the day. AND if this piece does not end up working out, I won't have a challenge entry at all...

Earlier this morning, I ran out of the color I needed. At least this will force me to do the seemingly never ending house work I need to do... That's actually a good thing. :-)

Anyway, this will probably all work out. I did work on the piece a lot last night, so it's not as if I have the whole thing to make. (If I hadn't already done so much work, I would have just used another color!) But this is my progress report. I have made a lot of progress - I'm just impatient and I wish I could make some more progress now! :-)

As soon as I finish the necklace and bracelet that I started last weekend, I'm going to have to put Etsy pieces on hold for a little while. I have some gifts that I have to start and finish working on. Why oh why do I always leave these things so long??!

I also need to start my entry for the Etsy Beadweavers' July Challenge, a Midsummer's Night Dream. I have something in mind, and the beads I ordered for it came yesterday. I'm so psyched!

Speaking of EBW team challenges, the entries for June challenge, Anything Goes, are now posted on the Etsy Beadweavers' blog. These are all stunning. I am not exaggerating. Seriously. LOOK AT THEM!! :-)

I didn't enter this one, but I am currently drooling over these pieces. It's amazing for me to see elements of the different designers in their work, and to see everyone's best. How one can decide which entry to vote for is anyone's guess, but voting begins June 7.



....yep, still drooling....