27.4.08 Beaded Amphora

It's been a while that I wanted to make an amphora. Inspired from my atzec clasp, I came up with this one.
The spiral is like the one I made for Frida and the donuts are done with RAW ("Luscious Links" by Shelley Nybakke, Beadwork Magazine February/March 2008).
I incorporated brown 18/0 french vintage seed beads (!!! got from Nicole Campanella Etsy store) to the donuts done with Japanese 15/0 seed beads.
The full necklace contain beads from all over the world: Czech, Austrian, French, Japanese and Chinese! I am a bit disappointed with the pictures, but maybe I'll change them when I' ll take better ones...

19-20.4.08 End of Spring in Bat Shlomo

14.4.08 Hojas Bracelet Tuto and versions

I have been asked for the Hojas bracelet scheme that I developed few months ago for a workshop. I based myself on a repetitive motif from the Hojas Collar that I learned from Chris Prussing scheme together with Diane Fitzgerald's private collection and help. I call that repetitive motif "the fly motif" since it reminds me of flies wings. I taught this bracelet in several workshops and gathered here some of its versions. The clasp part remains a personal challenge and as you will see, each one took it somewhere else.

In the following small movie, you will see some versions of my students and also self-taught versions such as "Smadar's Treasure" 's ones.

1st slide: This slide is a close-up view of one of the sides of the bracelet. However, the work is done following horizontal rows, as on the second slide.

2nd slide: The black dots represent size 11 seed beads. The first row shown here in black is a ladder/square stitch row (3 beads height). Later, try to follow carefully the thread path.

I hope you will enjoy it and you are welcome to leave me any remark or suggestion.

You will make me very happy if you send me pictures of your own creations, based on this tuto!

Good Luck,
Judith

12.4.08 My first polymer clay jewel - "The red kiwi necklace for Rony"

For my friend's birthday (11.4), I spent part of last night making this necklace. I learned so much during the work, which is not clean and there is still much to learn and improve, but yet it was very fun.

I based myself on the excellent french book "Créer ses bijoux en pâte polymère" (Édith Maccotta-Soffiati). I tried the "Collier Kiwi" project (p.42-44) and ended up with this version.

I also found a use for those coral beads I got from Frida. Now I need to think what should I do with all these polymer clay leftovers...

Chapter IV – the Aztec Collar

The final collar.
I feel a relief.
I used for the first time the smoked Fireline thread (0.06mm, 6 lb), while attaching the clasp to the spiral. This is a magic thread!
Hope that you will like it. It is not so practical, but it has some sense of humour, 4 sides and even more….

Chapter III – the Aztec helmet, the playing toad and the monstrous fish head

I tried to get some inspiration from David Chatt, Valerie Hector, Kathryn Harris and I wrote down those ideas.
Only last week, with the encouragement of Varda and Omer, I had a turn in my story.
I started playing trying to make an Aztec Helmet.

It then became a jumping toad:

With all these turquoise and aqua colors, also this monstrous fish wanted to join the party (this is the clasp attached to only one spiral end).

Chapter II – the Aztec spiral

I was afraid thinking about the point when I will finish the spiral final length.
It took me few days to arrive to that point, while Omer was making fun of me – being so glued to my seat, playing with those beads.

I finally arrived to the point I wanted to avoid: THE CLASP ! ! !
I cannot detail all the ideas that ran through my mind for making this clasp and toggle – but there were many of them and in other words, none of them suited to my opinion. All the way to Eilat I tried to think about something with Omer – but nothing came out of it. Not to talk about the days after…
I got stuck.
That was frustrating.
I couldn’t start something else before finishing that collar and I had no idea how to do it!!!
Birgit Bergmann suggested I could use a snap fastener. I went to buy one and it cut my thread. She said it should be from plastic and I used one from metal….Grrrr….
For the first time in my beading life, I thought I would use a clasp from metal and I finally let it go. I thought it would take too much time to order it from the USA and get it.
Again stuck…

Chapter I – the Aztec bangle designed by Paulette Baron and deciphered by “Little woman in the street”

It all started when I saw “Little woman in the street” ’s Aztec bangle she has deciphered from Paulette Baron B&B classes. The bangle was Beautiful and I was impressed!

http://beadandbuttonshow.stores.yahoo.net/b08356.html Paulette Baron Workshop

The bangle resembles the jagged bracelet, but is made in a tubular form.
http://silvermistgarden.com/sculptbrace.aspx Jagged Bracelet Scheme

“Little woman in the street” explained to me how she did it, but when I came to do it, it took me some time to understand the next step to transform flat to tubular zig-zag form.
During that time (trying to understand), I changed 2 or 3 times the colors and bead sizes I was beading. Apparently, that led me to a good color combination, mainly taking into account my limiting factors: only three 8/0 size colors in my bead guarderobe.
I bought the “third” 8/0 beads, after I saw “Little woman in the street”’s bangle, when I thought to myself that I should also try one like this. These czech beads are very special to me. They are yellow with brown stripes and they remind me of butterflies’ eggs. I really wanted to incorporate them in the following project I intended to do.

The "second" 8/0 beads I have - were a present I got from my dear friend Varda and this is also an occasion to thank her.
When I found the way, the right color combination and I was into it, I was waiting each turn of the spiral to arrive to that special “butterfly egg” bead. I even did several mistakes, incorporating them more than once – but after a raw you can see it and unpick.
When speaking with “Little woman in the street”, I asked if a collar was possible and we both agreed that it won’t be such a good idea…I came back home with a challenge in mind:
Can I make this bangle? Can I transform it into a collar?
For the first question – the answer was the easy part.
I took a picture of the process when it arrived to a bangle size but was persuaded to keep on to a collar. You can have a look on both sides of the bangle (one of my friends who saw that thought I made two of them, but it is one bangle only!).

*The pictures are from the 28.2.08.

6.4.08 Finally, a positive experience with polymer clay :-)

I think that today I really overcame my rational. I succeeded to make plenty of mistakes and experiencing new techniques for the first time, without discouraging myself and even enjoying the process of creation which lead me to somewhere unknown.
This time, I baked the mixed polymer clay (Fimo & Premo) for 30mn in my old oven on level #3-#4. I discovered that if I let it cool after baking it doesn't break :)

For the first time,
- I used the pasta machine and discovered through Omer that you can condition the clay by passing it through the machine several times
- I did a degradation of 2 colours
- I did a millefiori cane in several sizes
- I made beads with the millefori slices
- I succeeded baking the clay in the oven
- I understood that my white "Fimo Effect" is in fact not white but transparent

You will laugh if you see where I took the idea from:

http://cristalline.blogspot.com/2008/03/1.html "Tuto petites fleurs en degrade 2" - Cristalline has great tutos, by the way...

But anyway, I am quite glad with the final result. I am sure that in few days, months and years I will be very critical about it, but for my first time - I feel it's a nice trial.

3.4.08 Beaded bead 15mm façon GPU

I started by following the instructions below for GPU Beaded bead, but I had to alter half of it, maybe because I used 11/0 Czech seed beads, instead of Japanese?!
http://www.hdps.be/forums/showthread.php?t=67372&highlight=beaded+beads
Original post with the scheme of "Beaded bead 15mm façon GPU" by Odette

Also see:

http://bijouodette.blog4ever.com/blog/index-34405.html Odette's Blog

http://www.hdps.be/forums/search.php?searchid=1932193 Plenty of beaded beads in HDPS Forum