It’s no secret, I love skulls. In any shape or form. In fact I’ve collected quite a few skull pendants and I thought it was about time I actually did something with them! And as I love using different materials together, combining them with beadweaving seems the perfect answer.

Punk Rocks features a fantastic skull & crossbones pendant made from pewter suspended from a spiral rope necklace in black and purple.

I’ve also made this man-in-the-moon brooch using seed beads, fresh water pearls and one of my polymer clay face cabochons. This is the first time I’ve used real pearls and I’m really pleased with the subtle rainbow effect these potato pearls have given.

Both are available in my Etsy shop.

Heart of the Volcano

I love making spiral rope bracelets but I feel I’ve got stuck in the same old routine of using just size 11 seed beads for both the inner and outer sections. While I love the slim twists this gives, I decided this time I would inject a little oomph into my project. I’ve used size 8 beads in a gorgeous red mix for the core and added some matching drop beads to the size 11 beads on the outside.

I finished it off with one of my beaded beads and a loop as the closure and I’m really pleased with how it’s turned out, satisfyingly chunky with an amazing texture but still with a fluid feel. I was very very tempted to keep it for myself (it fits perfectly!) but that would just be greedy wouldn’t it? So instead you can find it in my Etsy shop ;)

A Couple of Commissions

Here are a couple of commissioned pieces that I made over the weekend. I can’t tell you how much fun I had making this Rainbow Moonbaby! It was made to hang up and has a beaded face on each side. I can see a few more of these being made very soon ;)

You all know how much I enjoy making spiral ropes and this bracelet with it’s lovely combination of Toho apple green and Miyuki Evergreen mix was no exception. For the closure I used a handmade lampwork bead from Rob Johnson.

Made to make your mouth water!

I went a little fruity today! Not only did I paint my nails with my new apple green nail polish, I also made this mouthwatering spiral rope bracelet. I’ve used a Miyuki seed bead mix called Sunshine which is twisting around a core of transparent orange. For the closure I’ve used an artisan lampwork bead handmade by Rob Johnson and made a little beaded loop. I had fun making this bracelet, it really brightened up my day!

Of course, for those of you who aren’t the least bit interested in how it was made and just want to get your hands on this zesty little number, you can find Orange With a Twist of Lemon on my website and in my Etsy shop ;)

Easygoing Bracelets

A few days ago I realised that I only had two bracelets on my website so I thought I’d better do something about it! I’m in the mood for something simple at the moment so I’ve chosen to make some spiral rope bracelets. They’re easy to make, very easy to wear and I’m having fun combining different colours.

Turquoise Delight is in yummy shades of turquoise blue and chocolate brown and features a handmade lampwork bead closure…

 

…and Anne Boleyn is in rich royal shades of deep ruby red and metallic gold with a glass bead and loop clasp…

Both are available on my website and in my Etsy shop.

City Nights

Issue 22 of Bead magazine is out today so I can finally show you the necklace that I gave you a sneak preview of in this post a while ago. It kinda reminds me of a city skyline so I’ve called it City Nights.