My Niece's Wedding Jewelry

Well, I've been very busy beading lately. My fingers are tired! Not really. I am surprised how much I like beading and how quickly it seems to go. I've found a couple of good online (and free!) tutorials lately and when I found out my niece was getting married, I decided I wanted to make her some jewelry to wear. My husband said that kind of thing is very subjective and she may not like what I've made, but I told her that and she said she loves it all...I ended up making several different things because I wasn't sure I liked the first ones I made. Still working on a couple of other ideas, too! But here are a few items I've completed. I'll just bring everything with us when we go up for the wedding next month and she can decide what she likes - or doesn't - then! Thanks for looking. Please comment if you like what you see here. I am pretty sure you can open these pictures in a bigger window by clicking on them!

These bracelets are all made using a tutorial I found here. Very simple and quick stitch, but very effective!

Link to the tutorial for this necklace after the next photo, which was also made with the same stitch. They look quite different because the beads were different. I used round pink glass pearls above, and a Bead Treasures Czech tiny glass pearl bead for the white ones. They are very uniform and seem to lay better than the ones below which were an off brand.

Closeup of necklace made with glass pearls and bicone A/B Swarovski crystals from tutorial here. Tutorial is a little hard to follow, but I figured it out! If I can do it, you can too! :) This one was a little pricier to make than the one above, but I think I like the other one a bit better! 

Same as the necklace closeup above. I used larger stones on the middle row, which I think was a mistake. They lay differently than the others. It looks okay when worn though, which I guess is the important part...

Made this necklace with the same stitch as the bracelets above. I like this necklace a lot. I ended up buying a purple (!) dress for the wedding and I think this will go with it!

This is an older style but I hadn't published it anywhere and just finally put the finishing touches on it. Swarovski A/B crystals with heart toggle clasp.

                                                            Thanks again for looking. 

Bead Star 2013

I've always liked to make things, and I use many different mediums to do it. In no particular order, I love paper, polymer clay, glass (mosaic, stained, and fused) and recently I've discovered my love for wire.

It started with the fused glass pendants that I make in the microwave and my embossing technique. My technique works on clear dichroic glass so putting a bail on it that won't be seen from the front is a little difficult, and one day I discovered wire wrapping. Which led me back to my polymer clay fascination - I hadn't used it in a few years but thanks to Pinterest, I'm trying new things and techniques that have developed since the last time I was into it. And a couple of years ago, I found directions on how to make these beaded 3d hummingbirds, and tried beading. I was surprised that I liked it, because I HATE sewing :) by hand or otherwise, but it seems to go by fast with results I really love. The hummingbirds (I made three) are really a beadweaving technique (two ends of the wire are used, no needle), but then I found out how to do spiral Peyote, and made a few bracelets.  Yes, I flit around like a freaking hummingbird, myself.

             I made this one so it could be removed from the neckchain and made into an ornament for the Christmas tree.

Then I was watching one of my favorite jewelry shows, Beads, Baubles, and Jewels, and saw Sherri Serifini's beautiful beadwork. If you don't know who she is, please Google her work. Go ahead, I'll wait! She's fantastically creative and it inspired me to try her style...or my own version of it, at least.

While browsing through Joanne's one day, I found these necklace bases on clearance for about a dollar apiece. it's just fabric with a gauzy ribbon closure, with a piece of felt to stitch to cover the back once your piece is completed, but I bought several of them because I'm a hoarder and I love a bargain! :) They're kind of a bib shape...the one I have made so far is a sort of shield.

I started this piece last year and then made myself put it down so I could concentrate on paying the mortgage instead of indulging my lifelong learning quest! After I started playing on Pinterest recently, I decided it was time to finish this project. The entire piece didn't take as long as I thought it might, maybe a few days. I posted a few photos on Facebook of it but I have no idea what else to do with it...I am still Etsy-challenged, and no one I know would ever have an occasion to wear anything like this!

But I got an email from Beading Daily and it mentioned the Bead Star contest for this year, and I decided to enter this piece. In my usual fashion, I got it in one day before the cut-off time...it ended yesterday. I thought I'd post a few pics of it here and see if I could get some opinions of it. I believe they eventually will have photos of it and the other entries on their site, but none yet. Here is the first of the two I submitted.

The four round stones are made from polymer clay, a technique I call "Buttefly Wings" because of the iridescence and crackled appearance. They have a nice domed effect from some UV clear coat by Lisa Pavelka. The rectangular stone is a crackled agate.

Closer view. Sorry about the clarity of the photos, they were taken with two different cameras! Neither of which takes very good photos. Sigh. This is why I don't have anything on Etsy yet. 

This is the second entry. I have many items I could have entered but the categories were rather hard to apply to my work. As it is, I entered the Emerging Artists category. The rest weren't applicable to anything I wanted to enter. The rose pendant is made from polymer clay canes, that is, the design colors are not painted on the surface, the clay I used to make the flower is that color. The photo above is the side I consider the front. The back of this pendant is below, a different kind of rose from a different cane. The fringe on this is Swarovski crystals. 

I guess now, I wait. I have no idea who my competition is, but I can't wait to see it on their site! Thanks for visiting, please let me know what you think!

Pinterest Update

Things have changed a lot since I first started a blog, and Pinterest didn't exist when I had my old one up! So I figured I'd add my address on there, because I have a lot of photographs there of my jewelry. Click here to see some of my other creations! Thanks for your interest in my Pinterest! :) Please leave a comment either here or on the page, if you have any questions or want to know more.

Welcome to Karmic Confetti!

Welcome to my blog! Here's where I intend to feature my latest jewelry creations, perhaps some of my other crafts for inspiration, as well. Please come back often to see my latest offerings! I make fused glass pendants, right in my microwave! And I've come up with an original technique that I've not seen elsewhere in home fused glass...embossing. I can put almost any image inside my pendant, and let the dichroic glass work it's magic! (Dichroic glass is gorgeous, every color of the rainbow, and looks like metal has been fused to the glass, usually covered with a clear layer to magnify its beauty. In reality, it has been coated with different chemicals to give it that hard to emulate luster and metallic gleam.)

I also make polymer clay jewelry. I love this medium, because there are so many things it can emulate! Ivory,  opals, turquoise...sometimes so perfectly that it's nearly impossible to tell from the real thing. There are so many cool techniques to try with it, it never gets boring!

And then I like to wire wrap my glass and clay pendants. Recently, I discovered beading, too. I thought I would find it so boring, but I really enjoy it. So I've been making beaded bails for my pendants, as well.

Well, now you know what to expect. I'm going to put a few of my recent creations on this post. Please comment if you like it and if you'd like to purchase something, please contact me! Thanks for taking a look.

This double heart is an example of what I meant when I said I embossed the glass. 

Here's an embossed star. The wire is tarnish resistant silver plate, cut square and used with half-round wire for the wrapping.

Tree of Life, I believe the stone is Labradorite.

Same stone, different shape. Pictures don't do any of these justice!

This one is a double emboss...a postage stamp shape with a flower. The colors of the clear dichroic glass just don't translate well to photographs!

This is also dichroic glass, but this one has several different colors and patterns in it. Love this glass! 

This is one of my Christmas jewelry sets. These are so cute in person!

The rose beads are my own design. One of my favorite styles.

This is faux ivory. Love the character these guys came out with.

Another dichroic piece. Isn't the blue gorgeous! :)

Swarovski crystal pendant. This one is sold.

This is a technique I borrowed from master cake decorators. I kind of like it with the clay.

Faux ivory with brass and faux wood as a border. I used a stamp to make the dragon.

Copper and Swarovski crystal pendant.

Tarnish resistant silver with Swarovski crystal dangly. It catches the light beautifully when you wear it!   

Faux ivory and brass in a bead of my own design...I call them Nautilus beads.

Red Swarovski heart with brass wire. I like the movement in this piece when you wear it.

I call this a Celtic wrap. The stone is faux Lapis Lazuli. I use the Lisa Pavelka UV resin to dome the piece. Love that stuff! Looks just like glass.

These are his and hers wire bracelets. Reminds me of a bracelet a guy made right on my wrist years ago...some kind of sailor trick done with cotton cording. The wire is much easier! :)

This is my own take on "string art"...remember, from when we were kids? Faux ivory with a Lisa Pavelka transfer in brass.

Faux ivory with my tiny Swarovski spider hanging on, in brass.

This one is faux picture jasper. Very happy with the way it came out!

Another one of my Christmas sets. I like this way to wear it.

Well, this is a good start. I have lots of photos to put up, so come back soon!

Karma