I'm Enjoying Sweet Lilacs, Margaritas, and The Tangerine Tango

The somewhat mysterious and yet to be revealed Driftwood, Sweet Lilac, and Cabaret necklace is done.  It is so gorgeous and so elegant that it is now my new favorite necklace.  

Now I'm moving on to Sweet Lilac with hints of Margarita andTangerineTango in what is about to be my new favorite bracelet.  Up above is a paint chip sample palette of the colors and below is a picture of the beads in action.

I really like the way the orange and green are popping away from the lilac, giving it an almost 3D effect.  

This is the first time I've used Fireline for simple seed bead weaving.  I don't like its crispy, crunchy texture so I only use it occasionally when I'm weaving with lots of crystals.  But, I decided to creep out on the limb a little bit and use it along with something else I'm not a big fan of;  four bead right angle weave.  And guess what?  I'm really loving the results.  

And then there's Cockatoo

Here are the three main colors I'll be working with for the Spring/Summer 2012 Color Report.  From left to right we have Driftwood, Sweet Lilac, and Sodalite Blue.  

A visit from the Snot Monster at the beginning of the month followed by a 10 day migraine cluster have left me woefully behind on my projects so I haven't had time to photograph the project I'm working on.  I'm using Driftwood, with Sweet Lilac as the secondary color, and accents of Cabaret, a deep rich fuchsia.  I'm making a slightly modified version of Beki Haley's "Twinkle, Twinkle" necklace.  If you click on the link it will take you to Beki's kit page and that will give you an idea of what I'm making.  


This link will take you to the Pantone website where you can see all the Spring/Summer 2012 colors and take a brief color survey.

I've always said that I like and can work with all colors.  Not true.  I don't think I'll ever be able to work with Cockatoo.  I absolutely hate this color.  Hate it!  In my mind this is the color of sickness and fear.

When I was 4-6 years old my Mom was in and out of hospitals having all sorts of scary, hush-hush, and mysterious surgeries.  My brother and I would come home from school and she would just be gone.  One of my Grandmother's widowed sisters would be there to take care of us; my Dad would come home late from work every night after visiting hours were over and then spend most of the weekends at the hospital, but we would never allowed to visit her.  Even after she came home we weren't allowed to see her, the bedroom door was always closed.  And every time she came home from the hospital she would have all these plastic bedside accessories;  a small water pitcher, soap box, toothbrush holder, etc. and they were this exact color.  

I find my own reaction completely astonishing; four decades later and I still can't look at this color without getting upset.
  

On A Journey

This is just a quick post to let everyone know that I finally split this blog into two;  one devoted mostly to beading, and the other to my journey as a belly dancer.  Please give it a look see:  SaraBeth's Belly Dance Journey.

I was in a hurry to get the new blog up and running so I'll be tweaking it every now and then, whenever I find the time to play.  I've also decided to keep the same name for this, my beading blog, since there will be some cross posting and mainly because I like it.

I've started my next round of color report project for Spring/Summer 2012 and will be talking more about that later in the week after I've got myself caught up on a few things here and there.

What's In A Name

A rose by any other would name would smell as sweet, right?  Of course it would.  But this isn't about roses, this is about splitting my belly dancing bead blog into two separate blogs in preparation for the changes that are to come in both my beading and belly dance life.  

I'm going to keep the name "SaraBeth's Belly Dancing Bead Blog" for the beady part of my life simply because I like it, but I do need a few suggestions for the belly dance blog.  So don't be shy!  Speak up and throw a few ideas at me!

 

I'm still going strong with my 365 Days of Dance practice and I have something new and exciting planned for my 365 Days of ??? in 2012.  There will also be some interesting and fun things happening in my belly dance life very soon.  

I recently came to the conclusion that having my life speeding along at Mach 1 was no longer acceptable, so I've decided to rev things up a bit by remodeling the house.  I'll be temporarily giving up my bead closet for a bigger and better one, storing my stash in different parts of the house, and doing most of my beading for the upcoming Spring/Summer 2012 color report in the kitchen.  That, in turn, means we'll be eating lots of take-out and delivery on TV trays in the living room.

It's possible that I may be completely, totally, and utterly insane by December.
 

Margie Is Doing A BOGO

Beautiful lampwork brooch by Kristy Nijenkamp

My bad!  I forgot to mention in my Sept. 7th post that Margie is doing a BOGO with the most recent color report.  

When you buy a copy of the Fall/Winter 2011 report she'll send you a link to a free copy of the very first ever color report, Fall/Winter 2008.  But hurry because this is for a limited time only.

Click here for the link to her website.

Seeing The World Through Indigo Eyes

A few weeks ago Jennifer VanBenschoten asked the artist panel for her "Beading Daily Blog" the following question;  "What are your favorite colors to work with?  What are you least favorite colors to work with?"  You can read my answer, as well as what other bead artists had to say by clicking on the link above. 

Any combination of purples, violets, greens, yellows, and golds have always been, and will probably always be my all time favorite, and I've always found palettes that are sophisticated, bold, elegant, or sensual to be the most exciting for me to work with;  something magical, like this:

Have you ever heard the expression that motherhood changes everything?  Trust me on this, it does, and in ways that you can't imagine if you don't have children.  Color preference was something I definitely never considered, but after my daughter was born the range of color combinations that I liked started to include subdued, romantic, delicate hues, like this:

Same colors, different moods.  


I love that having a daughter named Indigo has helped me to see everything, not just color, in an entirely new way.    

I'm seeing the world through Indigo eyes.


And before I close this post I must tell you that the "Fall/Winter 2011 Color Report" by Margie Deeb is now available for purchase on her website.  Take a look at the necklace I made for Deep Teal on page 11.  I'm really pleased with the way that it turned out since blues and browns is one of my favorite color combinations.  After you're done admiring my necklace take a look at Jamie Hogsett's interpretation of Deep Teal on page 18.  She created an amazing 2-strand asymmetrical beaded bead necklace in Deep Teal, Ember Glow, and Quarry.  

Isn't It Romantic?

N'est-il pas romantique?  Aren't all those random threads just lovely?  Here's some bits and pieces of the necklace that I've been working on in the orange, green, and brown colors that I blogged about earlier.

I'm combining 3 different components from Lisa Kan's book, Bead Romantique, into this one necklace.  I'm actually much further along that what you see in the picture.  Think crystals.  Oh so many sparkly crystals!  And one sweet little herringbone flower.  

A bit of fringe?  Perhaps.  Or not.  Even though I'm working within in the confines of a specific palette and project I'm still not completely planning this piece from beginning to end.  I very rarely ever plan out what I'm going to make.  I usually start with a "somewhat idea" in mind and go from there.  The second color that I'll be working with is "Deep Teal" and I have somewhat of an idea that I'll be using some components from Marcia DeCoster's Beaded Opulence.  Or not.  


I'm genuinely surprised by how much I like this necklace.  Like I said before, this is usually not one of my favorite color combinations because it's too classically Autumn. 

 

Take A Deep Breath And Hit "Send"

 I've been a regular contributor to a variety of bead publications for the past 11 years, but I found myself to be a little bit nervous and a lot bit excited today when I sent off the electronic portion of my submissions for the Fall 2011 issue of Stringing magazine.  

I submitted 4 bracelets to be considered for the gallery portion of the magazine.  I had plans for making a few necklaces and some earrings, but those ideas fell by the wayside while I did battle with the Snot Monster.  

Motherhood has been the main focus over the past three years so my nervousness comes from feeling somewhat out of touch with the beading community.  On the one hand, I've never been much of a trend follower, but on the other hand, I do believe I need to at least be aware of what the current fashions are all the rage in Beadlandia. 

Wish me luck!  

In the meantime, you can see some of my recent work in the Spring 2011 issue of Margie Deeb's Color Report for Bead and Jewelry Designers.  And just for this color report, with each purchase, Margie is including a free PDF of instructions for my lovely, lovely Dolphino beaded beads, as seen in the picture above.

Now for a bit of belly dance news:

Three days of rehearsal while doing battle with the aforementioned Snot Monster has left me exhausted, but I've still been able to keep up with my 365 Days of Belly Dance challenge.  I'm currently at 89 days and 3,520 minutes of dancing.  

Sadly, with all these extra rehearsals I had to give up my tribal class, at least for now.  I may be able to return to class in mid-April after the Mujeres 3 show on April 9th.  Happily, I did sign up for 6 months of on-line classes with Ansuya and I'll be doing those at least once and possibly twice a week.   

Just Like I Promised

Last week, when I told you about Pantone's Color of the Year "Honeysuckle," I promised I would post progress pictures of my final project for Spring 2011.

To start, I thought I would spark your interest by showing the colors I'm working with.
In the photo above you see Silver Cloud, Blue Curacao, Regatta, Peapod, and Lavender.  Nice, cool, refreshing, tropical, but a bit sleepy, in my opinion. 

So I decided to liven it up with Honeysuckle!  A little bit here and a little bit there has had a big impact on the bead embroidered pendant I'm making. 

I've got a super busy weekend ahead that includes brunch with my 92 year old Grandma and a trip to a few bead stores in the way of a belated birthday celebration for myself so I'll post progress pictures next week.

Until then, happy beading, and happy dancing.

P.S.  I'll also try to find some time to photograph and post my pending bead haul.

Pantone's Color of the Year for 2011 is.....

....."Honeysuckle!"  It's a fabulous reddish-pink, a geranium pink, and unlike the Color of The Year for 2010, "Turquoise", which was hugely popular, people either really, really like, or really, really don't like this color.  

I'm in the really, really like category as long as it's in small doses.  Paired with chocolate brown, or honey yellow, or as an accent to champagne peach this would be lovely.  It would also be stunning with olive, black, and hints of gold.  

So far, I've used this color as an accent with two of my color report projects.  First in a rivoli necklace of "Beeswax,"  a honey yellow, "Blue Curacao", a green tinged turquoise, and "Coral Rose", rich orange.  

Another project is a retro beaded amulet bag in "Silver Peony", a lovely champagne peach, "Silver Cloud", a glowing gray, "Russet", orange based brown, "Coral Rose", and good ol' "Honeysuckle."

Sorry, no pics available, but I'll be starting my final Color Report project soon so I'll take pictures of that as it progresses.  

In the meantime, click here to see "Honeysuckle" at work in the fashion world, read more about the Color of the Year on the Pantone web site, or click here to see how to not wear "Honeysuckle."

Moving On

Here's an almost, but not quite finished, photo of one of my color report projects. I debated back and forth as to whether this should be a pendant or a brooch until a FB friend mentioned wearing brooches with scarves and sweaters. Now that got me to thinking! If I make this into a brooch then I can crochet a scarf or shawl to go with it. It's the same as making a necklace then buying an outfit to go with it, or vice versa.

The brooch is finished, the shawl pattern has been found, now I just need to hunt up the yarn.....

My color report projects are at Margie's house waiting to be photographed and I'm moving on to my next beading project. Think fuchsia, chartreuse, gold, and black. Think Swarovski!

Project Progression

The Oyster Gray project is moving slowly along. At this point I can't decide if this is going to be a pendant, a brooch, or as a FaceBook friend suggested, a bracelet.

I definitely wear more pendants, but at this point I have about a bazillion necklaces. A brooch would be fun, interesting, and a bit different for me. Jan, another FB friend, mentioned that she wears brooches with shawls & sweaters in the winter. Now, that has me thinking! I started teaching myself to crochet back in October so maybe it's time I crochet a scarf or shawl for myself in teal, reddish purple brown, or maybe lipstick red!

No Stone Unturned

I'm not actually turning stones over, but I could use some help in possibly identifying the stone doughnut that I'm using in my current color report project. It's a warm putty gray with a slate gray matrix.

Could it be an agate or some sort of jasper?

Bead Angst

Bead angst. I am having bead angst, which is leading to bead procrastination. Not a good thing considering that I am under a dead line. Since my hubbie is at work and my toddler is asleep I'm going to "talk" this out here.

I'm almost finished with one of my projects for the Spring 2010 color report and I am starting to doubt myself. It's not the project itself or the execution of it that has me feeling insecure. It's the palette I'm using; Pink Champagne is the main color, with Fusion Coral, Eucalyptus, Dried Herb, and Tuscany as the accents. With the exception of Fusion Coral, these are all subtle neutrals. They are lovely and work well together. I just don't know if this is a brilliant use of color or not.

Is this palette ordinary? Is it bland? Is it boring? Is it just plain stupid? What if Margie doesn't like it?

The other colors that I have chosen to work with are Violet and Turquoise. I think I'll take a break from my current angst ridden project and start pulling the Violet palette together.

October, Where Are You?

What in the bleepity-bleep happened to October? It was September, I blinked, and then it was November. And this month is going to be so crazy busy.

This coming weekend end the belly dance troupe is going to be learning not one, but two different choreographies; one tribal by Heidi of Plaza De Anaya, and one hip-hop by Lisa Zahiya.

My experience with Tribal Style belly dancing is minimal. I took a beginner class a few years ago and was throughly bored with it. Doing 'Hip, hip, hip, 1/4 turn." over and over again just didn't work for me. But, since this is a dance routine and not a class I imagine that it will be a little more complex and interesting.

Hip-Hop belly dance fusion. Ha! Modern, Lyrical, Broadway, Fosse, Luigi style jazz....no problem. Hip-Hop, Techno, Funk style jazz....big, big problem. I'm just not a Hip-Hoppy sort of gal. Oh yes, and we'll be learning the entire routing in 2 or 3 hours.

This weekend is going to be intense and challenging.

Then, the following weekend is the Faerie Festival followed by learning the 2nd half of the Tribal routine.

After that the focus will be on getting the house in order before Turkey Day.

During the week I'll be practicing yoga & belly dance on a daily basis, working on my Spring & Summer 2010 color report projects, finishing a few Christmas presents, and an afghan for my daughter.

As much as I hate to work by a schedule I think that's what I'm going to have to do just to get through this month.

If I'm not insane now, I will be shortly.

Color Report Project-Pandora

I am pleased to present to you Pandora. She is one of four projects that I created for Margie Deeb's Color Report.

I found the lovely chartreuse green & rose pink polymer clay face cabachon, made by Jen Martin, on Etsy and was the only thing I actually purchased for this particular color report.

For Margie's color reports I challenge myself in two ways. The first is to work with some unusual color combinations, and the second is to use only the materials that I have on hand.

I used variations of peyote stitch for the bezel around the face cab & for the necklace bail, which is embellished with 4mm aqua brandy Swarovski bicones. Her pendant is made of components from the La Boquita necklace kit that I bought from Marcia DeCoster.

Beading and embellishing the face cab was easy. Using olive, chartreuse, rose pink, and deep rich red together makes a dramatic color statement so I deliberately kept the pendant simple to keep the whole piece from becoming garish.

It was the neck strap that gave me fits. My first thought was to use tubular right angle weave with 11'0 triangles, but upon checking my inventory I saw that I didn't have enough of the colors that I had decided to work with, so I scrapped that idea. Next I tried tubular herringbone which looked too industrial, a thin strip of flat right angle weave looked too insignificant, and tubular right angle weave with only seed beads looked too bland.

As a last resort I decided to try a spiral rope and the success was immediate! Normally I dismiss spiral ropes, even if they are heavily embellished with crystals, as being too simple. But simple elegance is exactly what was needed.

So, in my quest to produce more complicated and intricate bead art I've learned a valuable lesson in that simple can sometimes be better. And in some cases "simple" can be more difficult to produce.

Moving on......

Why the name Pandora?

My first choice was Endora in honor of the hilariously meddling mother-in-law from "Bewitched" that was originally created by the superb character actress Agnes Moorehead, who named her character after the biblical Witch of Endor. But, then I found out that Endora means "fountain". A witch as a fountain of knowledge certainly makes sense but I see a different palette of colors for "fountain".

After Endora on the list of name definitions that I was looking at I saw Pandora, which means "all gifted" or "talented one". Being aware of the myth of Pandora and her infamous box I chose the name anyway because along with all the nastiness that she unleashed so found the strength to nurture hope.

I apologize for the lousy image. After Margie photographs this and send me a better pic I will post it.