22.6.10 Scottish Thistle Spiral inspired by "Charming Things"

This too was one of my unfinished projects that I didn't gave up on on one hand, but couldn't finish on the other. Nevertheless, I managed to accomplish it after 2 years!
On one of my beadwork net exploration, I encountered the amazing Flickr of Natalia, nicknamed as Charming Things. She has this gorgeous "My Sweetheard Necklace and Earrings" (1,2,3) that I really felt a urge to reproduce.
I knew the flower was similar to Diane Fitzgerald's Scottish Thistle (in her book "The Beaded Garden", pp.47-49) and thus made a bigger flower and a small flower bud.
For the spiral, I didn't make a RAW, but experienced with the Primary Twist Spiral By Beth Stone, from B&B August 2005, pp.82-83. There exists a free version called "La résille tubulaire", written down by Océanie Créations, here.
As for the clasp, this is a secret.

1.6.08 - 19.6.10 Lisa Scelsi Amphorae and Bead Infinitum double daisy chain

I once saw the Little Urn Necklace of Lisa Scelsi, with Bead Infinitum "Double Daisy Chain" and really wanted to have such an amphora of mine.
I beaded the Amphora almost exactly 2 years ago, mainly with 15/0 seed beads, based on the pictures (1,2) from Lisa's website (Liliad Bijoux) and partly based on Mimi LG's round beaded bead tutorial (used to be free on Mimi's blog, but unfortunately no longer available on the net).
At that time I also started the daisy chain which is a free pattern of Bead Infinitum (p.1,2, 3, 4) . However, I just got stuck with this chain and tried several times to come back to finish this project without success. Recently, I was in a mood of finishing old projects and unbelievably managed to finish this chain. Not that I am satisfied with the combination of the amphorae and the chain (I find it too much of the same color and the amphorae doesn't receive the right attention), but for the moment, there is a BIG progress.

6-10.6.10 Brussels & Bruges

As mom told me, indeed the Brussels' "Manneken Pis" is very small and disappointing:
The big chocolate one is much more impressing...
This time I was especially interested in the famous Bruges' Lace, or "La dentelle de Bruge". The following picture was from a shop in Brussels:

After several working days in Brussels, I was lucky to be able to take a half day off in Bruges to better explore "La dentelle de Bruges".
Bruges is AMAZING!!! I really want to come back with Omer. It is a beautiful beautiful city with plenty of nice places and elegant shops.



and the Belgian chocolate, how can we resist it?
The "market square" at downfall:

the small bridges:










The calm and beautiful Beguinage:
some lace work demonstration from the Beguinage tiny museum:

I also visited the Lace centre/kantcentrum (at Peperstraat 3 St, near the "Eglise de Jerusalem") and must admit it was very disappointing. The lace creations are very poorly exposed and this is ashame. I also expected to see live demonstration and discovered it was only in very specific timings.
Finally, I did some craft shopping at the beautiful scharlaeken store, near the market square. They hold such amazing threads colors and variety, that I have never seen as such till now.

9.6.10 Pinwheel Earrings for Milda

When we were in Sion and Milda saw my turquoise pinwheel earrings, she really liked them.
I proposed to make her a pair and she knew exactly the colors she wanted these earrings to be!
That was great fun, because she did half work for me :-)
Milda imagined the exact order and colors of the earrings as follow: coral, chocolate brown, coffee cream and black.
I had to try this strange color combination that I would never thought of.
I started one earring immediately after I came back to Israel and then it took some time to move to the next one. When I got to Brussels, I knew I would meet her, so I took the opportunity to keep the second earring in the hotel there (from which the first 2 pictures were taken).
Milda went back to her home country one day before I had the chance to finish the pair.
So the earrings waited for her in Israel till she came to visit.
I must say I never saw someone as happy and excited as she was when she saw the earrings.
Honestly, this combination came out to be superb (instead of the coffee cream that I didn't have in seed beads, I used a half transparent peach color) and amazing on her! I was very happy too.

For the convenience, I put below the links to the previous pinwheel earrings I made:
1, 2, 3 (based on a June Huber's Peyote Pinwheel Earrings motive).