Spoke Bangle Finished!

Finished the Anna Elizabeth Draeger designed Tila spokes bracelet!  This photo is not the best - the Swarovski crystal pearls are deep purple and the crustals on the outide are smokey.

This was a GREAT project - cubic right angle weave (CRAW) with the two-hold Tila tile beads - very architectural!

More Sabine

Sheherazade.  This design is from Sabine's book, my colorway :).  Sold it at auction to benefit the Marjorie Kovler Center for Treatment of Survivors of Torture - I am thrilled to know that a Bosnian survivor is wearing it now, courtesy of her husband!

File under: Inspired by Sabine Lippert

So, I've been obsessed with Sabine since I took a class with her at the Bead Show two years ago - she is really a brilliant designer and.... architect, I guess.  And she is super nice.  And prolific, and generous with her designs.  Check her out on her blog or her web site.

I never have the patience to go all in with her designs, but I love making one little component then throwing it in a chain.  I am a huge fan of her method for bezeling rivolis and other items... elegant, quick(er) and clever clever clever.

A little "La Fleur" from Beaded Fantasies:

A medium "La Fleur":

In this case, I made a few adjustments and "downsized" her Amazon Jewel Pendant pattern also from Beaded Fantasies...

Hobo Glass Necklace a la Fi

For years, my friend Fiona and I have been big fans of glass artist Teresa Silbert at Hobo Glass.  I am an especially a big fan of her glass rings.  Fiona made a great necklace with them as well as her now much sought out "Fi Squared" bracelet.  I riffed off of her work with the below piece, using size 15 seed beads in a two-drop herringbone stitch as the chain, with random color bands to highlight the gorgeous colors Teresa brings out of the glass.

Here are some pictures that show Teresa's work better:

My Challenge Piece for Etsy Beadweavers in August is POSTED!

After being a member for months, I have finally entered by first Etsy Beadweavers Challenge!  The prize for winning is picking the next month's challenge.  There are 12 challenges per year and I am inspired to start entering more of them afte rthe fantastic experience I had making this piece.  There are about 250 beadworkers from all over the world on the team, which is moderated by several wonderful bead artists.

I am really proud to say I designed all of the beaded beads here save one, the red netted bead which is her "Easy Netted Bead" from Diane Fitzgerald's Netted Beadwork.  The rules of the challenge state clearly that I have to have designed the piece and not used any pattern or tutorial, but this is one easy beaded bead that I needed to balance the rest, so I thought that would be OK since the entire rest of the necklace is 100% Jobi (at least to my knowledge)!

The challenges really force me to create something "outside the box" so I hope to do many more in the future.

Let me know what you think!

A little sample of stuff that has sold

The above design was the best seller at the Trunk Show for earrings.  I made several in different color-ways and they all went lickety split.  They are just a right-angle-weave cube of 6mm Swarovski pearls with a netted embellishment.  Easy beaded bead!

Tried my hand at one of the popular "wrap" bracelets (above) and have since sold every one I have made!  They are very fun to wear and work up quickly, but I prefer my fiddly bead weaving, sadly.

I posted the brown embroidered piece above when I did it long ago, but it actually sold so I am posting it again.  I'd like to make another but am having a hard time finding the right stones.

These little butes sold to my lovely next-door neighbor.  I love orange and gun-metal.

Melissa's Necklace

37 inches of odd-count tubular peyote in.... candy apple red.  Cherry red.  Come hither red.  Naughty lipstick red.  Mmmmmmm.  My horrible photography does not do this color justice.  Sadly, bought this tube of beads from a sale bin years ago and have no idea what they are or if I'll ever see this awesome red again.

Bead Show Bests

I have been meaning to do my "Bead Show best of" post since about June 10, but alas, work and life intervened (and, I had a lot of beading I wanted to do).  Here are photos of my favorite items from Bead Show with contact information if you want to try to shop online!

Julie Miller, above, makes these gorgeous hollows.  She does wonders with metallic looks.

These are my favorite for earrings - lots and lots and lots of earrings...

Second annual favorite in the show, this artist has an eye for color that just kills me.  The bead at the bottom right of this photo is a re-buy from last year!

Fiona and I both got some stuff from Laura Schreiber, who also has my color number!

This is a lousy photo of some really wonderful beads - they are blue with fierce green tigery stripes.

We bought lots of Kim's beads at the Michigan bead artist booth.

Golum Studios, above, continues to have the most interesting designs in cabs, very modern and incredible color.

Our first stop at the show on Thursday night was Lisa Peters.  WE LOVE LISA.  Wow.  Every year her work gets more and more awesome!!

I love owls.  This year's owly purchase was from Mak at MAKU Studios.

We always spend a lot of time at Nikki's booth as well.  She has whimsy, this one does...

And the final haul.  The tubes on the right are seed beads, mostly from Beyond Beadery, which we annually spend an hour in line waiting to pay, but it is all worth it.  And on the bottom right are fire polished Czeck imports from our favorite Raven Studios.

Spring Swap Necklace

I participated in my first Etsy Beadweavers Swap this Spring, receiving a wonderful necklace from a beader on Florida and sending this pendant to a beader in Australia!  She said she liked pink and purple so I went all in.

This is a crystal pearl with one round of brick stitch, then lots and lots and lots of netting. 

There are some pinch beads on the back giving it some bones, as my new favorite author Joe Abercrombie would say!

Trunk Show May 6!

Please join Fiona Tranter and Jobi Cates for their first trunk show

Hand-crafted beaded jewelry, one-of-a-kind pieces, custom orders

Sunday, May 6th, 2012
Drop-in between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm

843 Judson #3, Evanston, Illinois
Need information or directions? Write to jobi.cates@gmail.com.

Pre-Colombian Party Dress

I started this piece after last year's bead show (!!!) and finally finished it.  It is inspired by Leslie Frazier's Crystal Pave Pendant - actually, it IS Leslie Frazier's Crystal Pave Pendant, folded in half and stitched across the bottom!  I got the inspiration when I was absentmindedly playing with the circular right angle weave disk.  I had just returned from Colombia where the shapes of the pre-Colombian gold-work at the Gold Museum were dancing in my head....

I could not resist the similarity of the shape and the feel from the bronze colored beads.

The little sparkle comes from 2mm Swarovski crystals in a milky lavendar.  The chain is just a single unit right angle weave, which gives the entire thing a rough and tumble look, like it was dug up on an expedition!  I love this thing.  Wore it to a work event last week and got loads of complements, which almost never happens when I wear my work (I usually get "huh, what is that?).

 

I heart Leslee Frumin!

I was super lucky to get to take Leslee's class when she was at Studio Beads earlier this winter.  I have been hammering away at her Crystal Elements and Crystal Lace and have made it through most of the patterns.  She is so brilliant and an excellent teacher. 

My big challenge is to develop a better sense of color.  Artists like Leslee have lovely designs, but what is most striking is her use of color. 

Awesome Cubic Right Angle Weave Necklace

I gave this one away the first time I wore it - a friend complimented it and I took it off and handed it to her right there.  Now it will always be "Rose's Necklace."

The focal bead I found at a Grayslake, IL craft fair before Christmas.  This was the only glassworker there, and he had some really nice beads.  "Pyroglasstic" Unique Glass Art by Jeff.  He does not have a web site or I would share it here, he used great color.  Keep your eye out for him...