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Friday 26 March 2010

The weekend beading starts NOOOOOOOWWWWWWW!

I think I will do something green

A yummie mix of sari silk ribbons - the colors ...
Green Coral beads ....
more ...
more ...
and more ...

Humblebeads Blog: Sisterhood of the Traveling Beads Giveaway



What a great way of swapping beads between beadlovers.
Hurray for Heather Powers for being so creative!

Thursday 25 March 2010

I enjoyed reading this

New Inspiration by Fanciful Devices. Interesting thoughts about design and what makes a piece extraordinary instead of just ok. And very nice photos too as I am a big fan on Lorelei Eurto.

http://fancifuldevices.blogspot.com/2010/03/new-inspiration.html

Bracelet - Can't Keep It In

Bracelet for my best friend Caroline. A passionate and wonderful woman. So wise, so good and so marvellous in all possible ways.

Materials:
Red silk strands from recycled saris - Objects & Elements
2 enameled flowers & 3 enameled round beads - Barbara Lewis, Painting with Fire
Green & bordeaux enameled shiny ceramic bead - Bijoux Beads
Black beach stone toggle - IhsBlack
Waxed linen cord & chain - Panduro Sweden
Some seed beads and antiqued metal beads


Cat Stevens - Can't Keep It In

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Thursday 18 March 2010

Bracelet - Blue Rondo a la Turk

I've tried a for me new style. And I was inspired by the ABS Color Challenge. Might participate with this one. Anyway, this is the first piece I am naming after a piece of music. It has been an idea of mine for a while now ... to name all my jewellery after music I like ... and voilá ... this is the premier one. I have also added a link below so you can listen and see for yourself. Enjoy!

Materials:
Handmade goldy-brownish bead in polymer clay - Malin de Koning
Beach stone toggle - made by Kara at IhsBlack on Etsy
Three strands of silk from recycled saris - Objects and Elements
Silvery circular chain - YukiDesigns on Etsy
Waxed linen cord, metal buttons and lilac ceramic bead - Panduro

Check this out: Dave Brubeck Quartet plays Blue Rondo a la Turk live on an American TV show. They are flying on a magic carpet over LA whilst playing. In the end they get a ticket from a police officer ...


Thursday 11 March 2010

3 Bats for Kata is almost ready!

I am very happy now!

Almost there!

Slowly but shurely!


Now we are in the middle of march. And it all started way back in the beginning of december. I knew then I wanted to do this necklace for my friend Kata. The 3 adorable bats are from Green Girl Studios. I ordered them from Fusion Beads just before X-mas, and they arrived at my home just after New Years'.


But I didn't have any idea at the time of how I would hang them. Upside down of course! But would they sit on a bulky chain, a thin chain, a beaded strand, a braided leather cord, a velvet ribbon or what? No, I wasn't pleased with any of those ideas. Too hard, too unbalanced, too robust and so on. And what colors?


And although I knew they would have the best place in the world just under Kata's neck pit I wanted them to have the perfect environment all in all. I wanted it to feel like the bats has it cosy where they are sitting, because they do look so content. And you have to believe that. Slowly but shurely the final design has taken form. The black Dupioni silk ribbon from Ornamentea arrived last week. And last night I sat for 2 hours trying many various ways to hang the bats so that they would sit the way I want. It wasn't the easiest considering the way they are constructed with a very big hole right through. How would I do to create a strong reliable connection to the silk, but yet it should seem the bats are actually kind of holding on to the ribbon with their feet. It musn't be lots of wire or string there to disturb the illusion. When I know what I am looking for expressionwise I do not want to give up on that idea. I think I have found it now!


Just a few more details left and it will all be finished! I have all the material I need at home, which is great.

Monday 8 March 2010

Mine and my daughter Arabella's (6) first attempts in Polymer Clay earlier tonight





Just taken out of the oven. Arabella made that really nice set of two-colored ones.

The Polymer Clay I bought on saturday

I also bought some tools. Will try it out now ... and then I will let you know how it went. Primararly I will try to make things for the 2 current challenges that ABS has right now.

This just makes me happy!

Lovely and playful inspiration from Burkina Faso.

Friday 5 March 2010

Necklace blue-green-gold-white 2009


Eat with Tombstone live around 1990

When you are in the mood to go to a rock concert:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tC9EN7lbwOY&feature=PlayList&p=68E0308AE3F0ABE8&index=2

David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust - Live 1974

Great inspiration! I just wish I had been there to see it in real life.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dQWzdUVMbI&feature=PlayList&p=68E0308AE3F0ABE8&index=0

Timo Raisinen covers Creep by Radiohead live on Swedish TV

For all you music lovers out there! Timo Raisinen is a Swedish singer song writer. This is a clip from a live performance on a Swedish game show. It is a cover of Creep by Radiohead. I can watch this over and over again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMRcle9kmeI&feature=PlayList&p=68E0308AE3F0ABE8&index=1

Bracelet - Copper & Lime

Copper rounds
Copper wire links
Lime green triangular glass beads

Necklace Ivory-Orange-Green 2008


This is one of the first jewellery pieces I made, in 2008.

Ivory seed beads I have had for more than 20 years ...
Orange magnesite puff squares
Lime glass chips
Glass beads
Copper beads
Twisted hex matte forestgreen iris very wonderful seed beads (same size as the ivory ones, and hardly visible on these pictures)

Photographed against a dead tree right next to our back garden.

Thursday 4 March 2010

Challenge for March at Art Bead Scene Blog

The challenge is to make jewellery inspired by this van Gogh painting, Almond Blossom. It has to include an art bead, read what that is on Art Bead Scene. I feel like I want to try to make an art bead or two myself for this one. Thought I would try polymer clay. I have never worked in that material before, but why not start now. Have already watched some tutorials on YouTube. Might go and purchase some clay at Panduro tomorrow (the swedish equivalent of Michel's in the US). And opposite on that street, Kungsgatan in central Stockholm, is that amazing shop that has about one million ribbons and buttons. I will most likely pop in there too. Lunch at Nalen restaurant perhaps?

Stuff that arrived in the post today

I bought these coloured chains and earhooks from www.beadsisters.co.uk.
I do not yet know what to do with them, but they are pretty and make me happy.

Monday 1 March 2010

Help me, who made these?

I am on the hunt for the name of the person who made this group of lampworked beads. I saw them on a site almost a year ago, and I liked them, so I have saved the picture in my inspiration folder ever since. In this folder I add, swap and alter pictures more or less daily. But this one has stayed there all the time. I think I really really like these beads, and I realise I should try to buy them. But I had just started surfing for inspiration at the time, so I didn't make a note of who made them or where I saw them. So now I am asking all of you out there for help. I believe it was a UK site and I have a vague memory of that the lady who designed them described how she had squashed the glass before it cooled.

Please make a link on your blog to this post, and let me know.