bead soup party challenge finished!

I finished my bead soup party bracelet last night, it is "interesting" it has a very 80's color way
blue greens and purples......but then those have always been some of my favorite colors, I seem to be kind of stuck in a free form frame of mind lately. I made my first free form bracelet a few months ago, and got kind of addicted to them, I'm still having a hard time knowing when enough is enough, so this latest bracelet might be just a bit too much. Its kind of odd that I have taken such a liking to free form, because it can be kind of " out there" and a bit outlandish, and I tend to be kind of conservative myself, but I think maybe my mind set is changing.........I do know when I wear my more unusual jewelery, it gets noticed more, and I have actually sold a few pieces off my wrist.......and also, I am getting to the age where I am feeling more free to be a bit more quirky for lack of a better word......guess I am just a crazy old bead lady

ocean adventure challenge

I had my ocean adventure challenge necklace semi finished, when I decided that it was too fussy, so out cam the scissors and I removed all the fringy parts.........now its very simple, an ogalala necklace in ocean blues and greens with an edging of frosty white for the foam on the wave edges
plus a lamp work sea shell bead that I have been hoarding for a while, with just a little bit of coraling fringe as an accent and I think it is done! will post a pic when my hubby removes my memory card from the inside of my computer, ( it fell down inside when I was trying to download some pics)..... And now I just had to start another ocean themed necklace to use some of my stash I bought to make the first one, but didn't like on that particular necklace...... this one is going to be free form, with a small sea biscuit focal, some natural sea shells and pressed glass shells and maybe another lamp work shell bead, and a few pearls and fire polish beads....... I'm liking it already!

well.........if they hadn't rescheduled my appointment, I would be in the middle of a laser treatment on my eyes right now, I am diabetic and haven't taken care of myself as I should have (no job, no insurence) so I have damaged my eyes, and now must pay the price monetarily as well as surgically. I don't know what I would do if I went blind, a scary thought. recently when I had just gotten started back on my meds, my blood pressure went way out of control, and I was like leagally blind for about a month, all I could see was pretty much a blur, it really scared me, to say the least. I really hated being so dependent on my hubby for the smallest things, like doing laundry, I couldn't see to put my washing machine on the right setting, and worst of all I couldn't bead or read, two of the most important things in my life.........
I have been beading like crazy lately, I am involved in the bead soup party, a beaded cab swap, and a challenge with a sea theme for one of my beading groups......got the cab finished last night and I am quite happy with it, it was my second attempt at a beaded bezel, the cab is some kind of agate, I think, in lovely fall colors, so the beaded part is in similar colors as well I need to take a pic of it today and send it on its way ......
I recently bought a "poison bottle" on Artfire, it is bigger and heavier than I had thought it would be, but it is very beautiful, and I love it, I am making a spiral rope to hang it from, with dark blue pearls and kind of golden greenish seed beads and mulberry purple seeds as well, all colors that reflect the colors of the bottle, think it will become one of my favorite pieces of jewelery.
I have added some new books to my beading Library, one of my favorites being "Enchanted Adornments", not only does it give me lots of ideas for making jewelery, that is a bit out of my usual style, as it deals with wire, metal clay and mixed media, and I am usually more of a bead weaver, it also has a charming little story to go along with all the projects, that is right up my alley, as I happen to love a bit of fantasy! I also bought Bead Fusion by Rachel Nelson-Smith, and Diane Fitzgerald's Shaped beadwork, both books are a bit advanced for me, but I would really like to try and advance myself, and maybe try things outside of my usual comfort zone.....
with that in mind I also got a book on wire work, oh I also got Marcia DeCostner's Beaded Opulence........I can spend hours looking at all the eye candy in these books!
I didn't mean to write a book .......still not used to blogging

bead soup party package arives

I recieved my package of beads from Maria Greene for the bead soup party a couple of days ago, I was excited that she included beads that she had made, she does enamel on copper and she sent a big round filagree bead as the focal and two smaller solid round enameled beads and several tubes all done in muted turquoise and lavender and dark blues, plus a few random glass beads as well......of course I had to start playing with them right away, I started a bracelet thinking free form peyote, but wound up taking sissors to it, because the copper beads have bigger holes than I am used to working with, so had to figure out something to use on each end to prevent my seed beads from hiding inside the copper beads.......so now I am about half way done, but won't beable to use all the beads in my bracelet, probably just the enamel ones, but I am liking what I have done so far

bead soup party! ..........freeform bracelet

New Year........freeform bracelet

well its a new year.......hopefully this one will be better than the last one.
I've alreays made my first bead project of the year, well almost finished it, its a freeform bracelet. I used an odd shaped doughnut thingy for the center piece its kind of carmel and olive green colored stone, along with various shapes and colors of stone beads and size 8 seed beads in earthy colorsI think I like it, but as with any freeform thing I make, I'm never sure when it is really done........or over done