31.10.07 Nice surprise!

Looking for a new project, I tried to find some inspiration or an idea.
I had one, but choosing the colours is still a tough task for me and I still need to think of the technique I will use to realize it, which is even tougher.

So I told myself, why not go and visit some bead blogs?

However, about a month ago, Mali1 unraveled to me a new fantastic world of a talented artist, named "Svetlana Eltsova".
It was a discovery. Not only the artist herself but her wonderful blog and all the links she gives there.

I remember I had been there for 1 mn and told myself "I MUST come back when I have time" in order to visit it thoroughly. I then put the link to her blog in a special place, separately from the sea of links I accumulate without even time to arrange them by categories, hoping to come back sometime.
N.B. The blog link is: http://reijo.multiply.com/journal

Finally, today I thought to jump to her blog and start breathing some inspiration.

The funny thing is that I suddenly found myself there :), in the post of "Forget me not flower necklace" which was one of the pieces I fell in love from the first sight in my first quicky visit about a month ago. She brought there my margarita bracelet and ring I did in July 2007:

http://judith27k.blogspot.com/2007/07/i-offer-you-margarita-after-long-time.html

I had to share it!

I bring here a bad resolution picture which shows all the context of my "discovery".

By the way, Svetlana is specializing in floral beading and what I like so much in her blog (that I have only started to discover) is her writing that is so associative! She collects various artists works which tried to give an answer to a specific subject. Each one takes his own way and they often have a lot in common.

I recommend you to go there.

I think the universe had something to tell me. If you look for self design and creation, you can look outside, but finally the only place you will find it is in yourself. This is the real place where you should look for it. The problem is that it seems the most unreachable place in the world, too many clouds are hiding the sight, too many trees in front of the path, too many light blind your eyes and it is difficult to close your eyes, concentrate and still remain awake and creative.

"A Russian Style Batterfly with an A"

Thanks to Betybou for sharing with me this Russian style butterfly scheme.

The butterfly was designed by Varvara, in her book "My Beaded Garden", p.64-65.

On the scheme it was written: " Diagram for Batterfly Necklace", with an A instead of U.

I found it amusing.

I hope Nomnom will like it because this is for her.

She was complaining she was wearing all the time the same purple necklace with leaves I had given her.

She likes brown and didn't have a jewel to suit her brown guarderobe.

I hope it can suit, though I am afraid the colours are a bit special.

I felt bad with myself I didn't have time to make her a special jewel for her wedding, so I hope I can compensate just a little bit with this one.

In some moments I really dislike all this colours together and sometimes I find it nice. Brown dress with blue eyes. I hope it looks fine.

The necklace is made with Ornelia czech seed beads and took me about 6-7 beading hrs.

9.3.10
I am just so proud of my small sis :-), have a look:

26.10.07 "Little woman in the street" Hojas module, pine-needle bracelet (with a pinecone clasp) and Leaf drops!

I am so excited, there are already results from the workshop!

"Isha Ktana Barchov"- "little woman in the street" (strange nickname but it reflects her big modesty, she is exactly the opposite than a "small" person) just finished a module of the Hojas collar. It may become a bracelet. Let's wait and see.

It took her about six hrs, I think it is with ornelia seed beads and the picture you see is taken with different types of luminosity (including a scanning). It came out flat, like I like it. So maybe, the flatness also depends on the type of beads, but I also know that "little woman in the street" added few beads in the center of the drop, additionally to the edges, in order to adjust it to be flat.

I think the Saraguro women would be proud of us.

I am :)

24.10.07 The first workshop I taught, The Hojas drops earrings and fly bracelet

This is a very special day for me.

On the 20.10.07 The Israeli bead commune I belong to celebrated 2 years.

On the 23.10.07 I celebrated one year of beading.

I have discovered that also "Benedicte" has celebrated recently one year of beading.

When I saw her work, I was depressed :0). You are a genius Benedicte! You are a true artist!

Her stuff is just INCREDIBLE.

If you don't know who I am talking about, please visit this site:

http://benedicte01.canalblog.com/ "De perle en perle"

And I also recommend you to rush and buy in her new shop if you can allow yourself, because in a very little time from now it will be 10 time more costy and valuable, I can assure that!

Not to add that "p'tits cailloux" (Olga) - your last autumn collar - How do you do that??? It is A..m..a..z..i..n..g !

When I saw my first beading birthday was getting closer and closer, I decided I must do some special project for celebrating my first beading year.

This event is something which is so exciting for me, it is like a real birthday.

I have few projects in mind I would like to do, but I didn't have much time to actually do them and it requires also a lot of ongoing thoughts which are not here for the moment.

I uploaded some time ago in my bead commune the last two necklaces I did, including the second Hojas collar. I didn't expect that, but the Hojas took most of the attention. My friends asked me for a workshop.

Woow, a workshop to teach!

This was the best present I could offer myself for my first beading birthday!

Before I tell you about the preparations, I must tell you that it was fantastic! I enjoyed so much and felt so good. I couldn't slept after that, too much adrenalin.

For the first time in my life, I really felt I was teaching.

Now about the preparations:

I tried to break apart the collar to its principal motives, explain them and also practice them as much as can be done, in about 2-3 hrs.

I thought about making from the drop motif an earring or a pendant. I had three trials till I understood how I should make it. I even got it finally more flat then in the collar.

I also did the base of the earring with the daisy row, which is the base to the band of the collar.

Here, I cannot forget you Diane Fitzgerald for all your great help in my trial to understand how this band was made (and not only the band, but the main creation itself). Also thank you Chris Prussing, for your sharing and excellent explanations.

After the drop and the band, came the fly motif. I decided to make a bracelet.

Here you will see all the results.

The girls seem to have enjoyed. We had a great atmosphere and good food that each one brought. I don't have a picture of the event but I hope I will keep it for a long time in my mind.

If I get pictures from their work, I will upload it here.

"Bluemchen-collier " - A necklace for 2 brown dresses I bought this summer

I prefer the colors of the original necklace which is taken from the book:
Perlen spielereien, p. 44 "Bluemchen-collier".

However, this one suits very well to the two dresses I wanted to make for the necklace.

I feel my rythm of creating and crafting is just slowing down and down, but I hope it will change soon and that I will find time to do it more again.

My Ootheca cuff appears in Rachel Nelson Smith's site :-)

You can check in the student works category:
http://www.msrachel.com/

I just discover a new amazing creation of her: The "Sea star bangle".
I don't know how you wear that but it is impressing!

16.9.07 Saragura Hojas II - from Matsuno seed beads only

This time I could use my new stock of Japanese seed beads in order to create this collar that I like so much.
As the second one I did (see http://judith27k.blogspot.com/2007/03/hojas-saraguro-collar.html), I think I improved myself and learned from old mistakes - but only one thing remains as before. The collar is not flat, it is dimensional as oppose to the one I tried to reproduce. I still don't really know why, maybe a thread tension story.
Anyway, working with uniform seed beads - it is a complete other story.