Quite possibly the best Christmas bangle

I have stitched up a stocking full of these bangles for Christmas gifts. They’re really comfortable on the wrist, appeal to all ages, and would add instant holiday sparkle to everything from a flirty party dress to jeans and a t-shirt.

The gold and white bangle with Aurum 2x crystals is boxed and tucked into a Priority mailer, and will be on its way to my sister this afternoon. It’s guaranteed to coax her into the holiday spirit, even if she’s just bundling up on the couch for a night at home. I love the art deco look of the right-angle-weave band before it’s zipped around the rubber tubing.

The green bangle really stands out despite its muted palette and matte hex beads, with the addition of crystals in Black Diamond AB. It’s the chameleon of the bunch and looks great with anything.

And the season’s traditional red – that bangle’s staying with me! It’s the only sparkle I’ll need this holiday season. The pattern is Tamara Scott’s Infinity design, which can be found here.

Parsley. Sage. Rosemary and Chocolate?

The kids are coming home next week, and in preparation, my kitchen is filling up with the sweet and savory spices of fall. Parsley. Sage. Cinnamon. Allspice. And, last night the fragrant notes of rosemary and chocolate were wafting from the oven! Oh, we enjoy all the traditional Thanksgiving dishes, but this year I wanted to serve up a few things that were a bit less conventional. And when I’m looking for an occasional sweet treat that I know will still be healthy, I turn to my favorite food blog, 101 Cookbooks, where I found this recipe for Rosemary Olive Oil Cake.

I knew it was going to be a hit when I sampled a bit of the batter before baking. Mmmm - olive oil (I used an organic extra-virgin), mixed with chunks of bittersweet chocolate and fresh rosemary! Last night, warm from the oven, it tasted to Dan like an exotic chocolate chip cookie. He left with a fresh slice this morning to savor with his Starbucks. I had a piece for lunch and found the texture was even lighter and the flavors more developed today. Rosemary and chocolate – a successful marriage in this cake, and definitely a new addition to Thanksgiving at our house!

October Challenge Reveal

When Andrew Thornton put the October Challenge together, he envisioned crisp, clear autumn skies. When I tore open the package, I saw stars. Sirius. Polaris. Fomalhaut. Fomalhaut? Sometimes called the Autumn Star, Fomalhaut is best viewed in October and November where you will find it shining bright, silvery and alone near the southern horizon. You can track its nightly progress here.

The base of my Autumn Star pendant, in silver and nickel delicas from my stash, incorporates a square and four elongated triangles from Diane Fitzgerald’s Shaped Beadwork. A simple star washer, embellished with the smallest silver-lined seed beads, tiniest rondelles and pearls from the challenge mix, adds an elegant layer, using techniques I learned in a Laura McCabe Master Class earlier this year.  

I loved that the luxury mix of beads embraced the spectrum of blue from lavender to sapphire to navy and inky blue-black. I chose a few in all those shades to highlight the artisan beads in my simple neckstrap, which uses another star washer as its toggle closure. (The gorgeous glass headpin by SueBeads and Andrew's silver skull bead, this month's mystery component, are being reserved for other pieces.)

Click over to Andrew's blog for links to the designs from all the October challenge participants.

Maven Meld

What a lovely contest the Bead Mavens offered up, enticing those of us who are new to creating our own designs to take a step in that direction by melding two or more of their tutorial patterns together to create something new. I love pieces that are component based, and the Mavens offered some exciting ones. Do you ever see something and just know you have to make it? As soon as I clicked on Heather Collin’s Cactus Drops tutorial, I knew I’d found my focal. I was equally captivated by Cynthia Newcomer Daniel’s treatment of side-drilled beads in her Woodland Treasure design.



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On to colors! I chose chocolate brown and bronze, paired with delicate red violet tones, inspired by the mystique and majesty of night-blooming cactus.

My first attempt with this color palette was dreamy and delicate, but after stitching up a few sample components, I realized it didn’t convey what I was striving for -  the mood of a desert garden at the moment that day changes into night. 

Reversing the colors, using a warmer shade of violet as the accent, and switching from iridescent stick pearls to faceted nuggets in smokey quartz gave my design the glow and the feel of a moonlit garden.

The drops are stitched in cubic right angle weave, which was new to me. Drops finished, but still fascinated with the stitch, I continued it into the neckstrap. Heather Collin has a definitive basic CRAW tutorial, which helped me master this stitch, and you might also check out Gwen Fisher’s video if you want to take your CRAW skills to the next level.

The deadline for entries is tonight at midnight. Click over to the Mavens’ challenge page to see some very amazing work.

Two are Better Than One

That’s true for cookies, chips, chain-nose pliers, and most definitely for Tamara Scott’s new cuff, Othello. If you’re familiar with Tamara’s popular Circle of Gems bracelets, Othello is a chunkier, more textured version of that bangle.

A few hours spent right-angle-weaving and netting the base, then zipping a couple of embellished peyote strips over that core, and in an afternoon, you have a colorful bangle…or two…or three.

Stack up a jumble of textures and colors to create your own unique look. Bet you can’t stop with just one!

Click here to see more of Atlanta-based artist, Tamara Scott’s designs.

Bead Soup Blog Party Reveal

Today is the day all 362 participants in Lori Anderson’s Bead Soup Blog Party (BSBP) reveal the pieces they’ve created with the bead soup they received. Here is another look at the collection of beads I received from my partner, Heather DeSimone of Beadin’ Path.

The 1960’s brass focal sent me on a tour of vintage clothing shops and collectible markets to get a sense of the era. At a shop in Nashville, I met a couple of stylish sisters who were selling their collection of vintage Hermes silk scarves – iconic pieces that would have adorned the necks of the likes of Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn or Jackie O. Too dear a price for me, but one in their collection, still wrapped in its original tissue paper, inspired my color palette (black, gold, cream and silver) and my design element – graceful leaves. 

Black and gold are always sophisticated, and I find that cream, often thought to be a cool color, can warm up a palette, the way these Swarovski pearls (in light rose cream) help to showcase the intricate design and detail of the lily focal.

After investigating several dozen leaf designs I settled on a Russian-inspired variation from Sheila Summers. Her free tutorial is precise, well-written and very easy to customize.

I wanted my choker to be as easy an accessory as a scarf – just wrap it around your neck and instantly brighten your day – without having to think about it again. To that end, I needed to ensure that the peyote tubes, supported by a 3mm buna cord, would stay put – no shifting or twisting or spinning of leaves. So I zipped the tubes on the cord, and found that if I switched to a size 10 beading needle, I could stitch right through the cord, anchoring each tube in place. The necklace is finished with Heather’s fabulous carved jet beads and silver clasp, making the closure as elegant as the focal!

Warmest thanks to Lori Anderson for hosting this extraordinary online party! You’ll want to check out what Heather and the other 360 party guests dreamed up by clicking here.

Sun Glinting on Sea

I found this faceted focal bead a couple of months ago on a trip to the Georgia coast with my son. Chase was on a job search, and I took the opportunity to hang out in an area bead store while he interviewed. When The Sea surfaced as this month’s Inspired by Nature challenge, this lampwork beauty was an obvious choice. The pattern and colors of the pendant are straight from nature, and the center features what might be a treasure of the sea, scooped from the shore and enclosed in glass forever.

 I decided to focus on the yellow-greens and deepest blues for my neckstrap. Hollow netted tubes encase more than a hundred Jet AB2X crystals, creating an ever-changing glitter pattern as it’s worn – moving points of light, reminiscent of the sun’s reflection on the changing surface of the sea.

You can see more sea-inspired accessories at the Inspired by Nature Flickr group.