Beading Daily Necklace Swap

Need I say more that I was busy beading the last couple of months! Well, not only I was beading, I also joined my first beadwork exchange. My partner is Melinda from Alaska, who's into bright colors. I found some striking beads in my stash so I concentrated on them... and here's what I came out with.

Necklace and Earrings Set for Melinda of Alaska

Techniques: tubular peyote and stringing

Materials: freshwater pearls, turquoise gemstones and seed beads

My sendee partner is Lois from Utah and she made me this fabulous piece! I love it and had to wear it once I got it. I seldom do wirework in the past, but I can see myself wireworking in the near future.

Necklace from Lois of Utah

Technique: basic wirework

Materials: Mother of Pearls, bicones, and freshwater pearls

And another BD friend made this commissioned works for me. I'm planning to use them on a special project so stay tune. Made of sterling silver and copper wires.

Have a great Tuesday all!

Nature's Beauty Bracelet And Earrings Set

For instant gratification, I strung some beads on a long flexi-wire while watching the night news and ended up with this bracelet. Though when DH saw it, he's not sold with the idea of a chunky blue stone which for me is the focal point. Anyway, I might re-string it and replace the blue stone. About 8" and is made of fire-polished, gemstones, turquoise, green jade and iris seed beads.

Should you have suggestions, I would love to hear them. Thanks again for dropping by!

Cellini Necklace In Progress

I find my mathematical ability is put into good used whenever I'm doing a bead stitching project. Same goes whenever I finish a 3D stitched piece! For me, beadweaving is as calming as counted thread embroidery.

Here's what I pictured this piece in my mind, but during the execution, I didn't find it appealing. The proportion is too off! I had to dismantle it to say the least.

The 2 segments are a wee bit over 7" so I thought of using each segment as focal point of a necklace and bracelet to make a set. But that didn't worked out for me too so I had to consider other options again.

I'm considering this but again, I think the pendant is too small. I'm also on a look out of big stone pendant that will match the colors of the E beads.

And my last option is to make a flower pendant out of these 1" size stones. I'm tied up at the moment therefore the project will have to wait for a while... or maybe a long while!

Thanks for dropping by all! Don't forget to leave a feedback should you have any suggestion for this piece. I would really appreciate it!

More Jewelries For A Good Cause

I hope you guys are not tired yet with my jewelries. I know I've made so much of them already, but I wanna finish as much as I can so I can sell some of them and donate the proceeds to the needy kids back home. There's these 3 siblings in the neighborhood I grew up wherein their father has been diagnosed with severe diabetes. He used to work in the construction and his family was doing pretty good until his sickness. While I was there, I found out that his big toe was infected and had to be cut. It has been months since and it's not healing, and the infection is getting up to his leg. I was told by my parent and siblings recently that his leg might be cut too. It just break my heart hearing this... They don't have anybody to turn to as their relatives can barely support their daily needs as well.

For me, the worst part in the situation is that the children has to suffer too. The eldest among the 3 siblings is in junior HS and is currently living at her maternal grandparents (which can barely survive too). The second is in 5th grade and almost didn't able to enroll last year... there's a big possibilty she won't be able to this year unless somebody will help them out. The youngest who's 6 years old while I was there last year, haven't been to school.:( Despite the fact that the girl really wanna go. The enrollment won't be 'til June so I'm planning to set-up a jewelry store for my beadworks to help these siblings. I asked my sister to take a picture of the siblings next time the eldest is there so you can see them. I'm leaning towards having a silent auction for my pieces but nothing is finalize yet.

Anyway, here's a necklace with beaded beads and spiral peyote as focal point. Made of glass pearls, seed and E beads with toggle and clasp closure.

I enjoy putting this bracelet together and the dangling earrings with lever back are fun to make. Again, the bracelet has spiral peyote strip as focal point. Made of pink jade gemstone, magnetic hematite, silver findings, seed and E beads.

I think I'll gonna keep this bracelet as I don't have any pink in my personal collection. Made of pink jade, glass and seed beads. It's a little over 8" and fits like a cuff on my wrist.

These 2 bracelets has matching earrings and they're for my 7 and 2 yo nieces back home. I used spiral weave on the left and St. Petersburg stitch on the right. Made of seed beads with loop and pearl closures.

DH wasn't impress with this necklace but I love it. It can be worn as single or double strands... both ends of the inner link has lobster clasp therefore it's detacheable. Made of Mother-of-pearl, seed beads and freshwater pearls.

And lastly, here's another set of earrings I also made for my friend's daughter. Made of glass pearls and crystal spacers with lever back earrings.

Thanks for dropping by everybody!

Still Talking About Beading

As my bead stash increased tremendously, I knew I had to do some re-organization to make my life a lot easier, or should I say to save time when I need to look for a specific bead item. But first, I wanna show some of my recent purchases... freshwater pearls and crystals. These are just about 1/3 of what I got.

Bless DH heart for getting me containers. LOL I think I now have about 20 of these and I love them! They really come handy and serve their purpose very well. I just need to label them and am done. I use them for my focal beads, pearls, cabs and findings.

As for the seed beads (11's, 8's, 6's), I relied on sterilite clear boxes for storage. Whenever I open a new package, I simply transfer them on a 3"x4" ziplock and circular tin boxes (see last photo).

And of course, I need to prepare a to-go stash whenever the IA weather is unfriendly or whenever me and DH has to stay at the hotel where he works. It's pretty common during wintertime that we have no choice but to stay there ya know.:) Here are some of the mini boxes I used for those times. But of course, I also have a cross-stitch to-go!

Lastly, here's a glimpse of my work-in-progress bead stitching. I prefer to use a frame (with velvet or felt) as my tray and dump my beads there instead of working on top of the table. This way, I can put the frame on my lap, yet work easily.

I hope everybody's having a great day!

Circle Of Tree And Bulaklak Jewelry Sets

Made these sets for my friend and her daughter. Unfortunately, by the time I was stitching them, I only have few focal beads so I had to work from what I have.

I knew for a fact that my friend loves to wear tubes and/or spaghetti strap tops as they live in the sunny state, so I thought this kind of necklace will serve her well. It can be worn either the pendant in front as Y-style or let it dangle at the back as choker style.

CIRCLE OF TREE

Technique: Spiral Weave and Basic Wirework

Materials: Shell Drops, Seed and E Beads

And this Bulaklak set is for her 12-yo daughter. I love classic look and I think the set can be worn with almost anything. The necklace is a long Y-style.

WHITE BULAKLAK CLASSIC

Technique: Off-loom Beadweaving and Stringing

Materials: Seed Beads, Crystals and Glass Pearls

Be warm everybody!

Weaved Bracelets And Wired Necklace

I know, I know, I should be posting more stitchy stuffs!

I also finished all these jewelries this month, and are meant to be surprise gifts... but had to reveal due to a great circumstance.

These bracelets are for my dear friend in Florida, Anne, and her daughter, Kei. Anne sent me a fabulous package which I recieved on my birthday so I thought I'll make something for her and Kei. They're made of seed beads, garnet ships, freshwater pearls, MOP chunks and Silver tags. Both closes with toggles clasps.

The off-white bracelet is a birthday gift for my great-aunt in Michigan. Also made similar to the above ones, spiral weaving... made of freshwater pearls, MOP chunks, silver tags, seed and E beads. The blue-purple bracelet is has 2 beaded beads (tubular peyote), polished stones, and crystals. Another combo of simple weaving and stringing techniques.

And lastly, a linked necklace that I really enjoyed creating... my second piece with this technique. I'll post the first one when I find the photo (it was made of various glass beads). Most of the MOP chunks are from Anne, while the heart donut pendant & the freshwater pearl at the center hole is from my own stash. Still contemplating if I'll give this as a gift as well to match the bracelet above. I'm not doing really good with my stitching lately so I had to boost my ego with jewlery pieces... just so I can say I finished something. LOL

I've had really good mail days this month so I thought I better devote a post for them... something I can look back in time. Hope everybody had a great Sunday! To those in the winter dillema like me, keep warm!

Bracelets and Earrings Galore

Again, the beading bug continues. I've never enjoyed "stringing" this much. It's obviously way faster than bead stitching and embroidery but I can honestly say I'll be able to wear the pieces everyday or on any occassion. Only few projects below were created with peyote and spiral weaving.

I used up one of my christmas GC on more jewelry supplies to increase my glass beads stash. I had to grabbed more glass pearls to accommodate the bracelets I wanted to make... as seen below!

Though I'm not a dangling earring person, I love creating them. Each piece I make reminds me of my niece back home, who doesn't wanna wear earrings unless they're dangling... and she's 7 years old! LOL

The earrings below are 7 pairs per set... all made with gradated glass pearls but differs with rondelle accent: in red, in white crystal, and in rainbow shades. The rondelles were casted in silver so I used sterling silver earring hooks.

I have more beadworks to share but will save those for later posts. I better post more stitchy-related next.

Hope everybody's having a great stitching day!

Necklace Galore...

... a lariat with RAW, a simple stringing piece with beaded pendant, and a classic black with spiral peyote!

More days spent on beading and bead stitching so I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves.

CURLY LARIAT
Materials: Cubes, E and Seed Beads
Techniques: Basic RAW and Stringing

PURITY
Set: Necklace and Earrings
Materials: Glass Pearls, Crystals, Rondelles,
E-beads and Japanese Seed Beads
Techiques: Bead Stitching (Beaded Bead) and Stringing

TWISTED BLACK BEAUTY
Set: Necklace and Earrings
Materials: Fire Polished Glass, Glass Pearls, Seed & E Beads
Techniques: Spiral Peyote and Stringing

Have a great stitching day everybody!

Happy Year 2010

Ring out the old, ring in the new,

Ring happy bells, across the snow.

The year is going, let him go;

Ring out the false, ring in the true.

~Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 1850~

BULAKLAK

Materials: Glass Pearls, Crystals and Seed Beads

Techniques: Bead Stitching (Beaded Beads) and Russian Snake

Enjoy my first jewelry sets for 2010... with more to come the soonest! I had been in a beading-bug since christmastime and the cold Iowa weather calms me so far with bead stitching. I also have few stitched pieces to share on my next post.

Hope everybody's having a fabulous New Year's Day!

Bold, Funky And Colorful Beaded Necklaces

These beaded necklaces are available at Lody's Creations for a limited time. They're great stocking stuffers and would make a wonderful gift to your family, friends or for yourself. If you want to purchase, please send me an email or visit my shop for further details. I can mail these necklaces directly to the person/s you wanna give it/them to, with your personalized message on a greeting card. Actual shipping cost to each recipient applies!

Quantities are limited and will be available while supplies last only... so don't forget to check them out!

Majesty Set And Some Beadworks

I can believe it's been weeks since the last time I updated my blog. Been busy on other things as some of you already know. Most of these jewelries were finished last week, some of them weeks ago, but unable to post them right away as I was busy packing for my trip. I used the beads Joanne (of Malaysia) sent me, the garnet chips I got from the State Fair, and potato freshwater pearls from my stash. Thanks again Joanne! I really love this kind of seed beads as they have multiple lovely shades that can be incorporated in a lot of colors.

The technique used for all these jewelries is spiral weaving only, another "no-brainer stitch". I was about to give peyote a rest but then I had to make a big tube to attach the encrusted pendant later on. Yes, I will use one of my signature encrusted pendant on the Majesty Set though it's still in progress. This set is my favorite among my recent beadworks. I might change the silver grapes and leaves clasp into a beaded loop & ball but will leave it as is for now. I have to buy more beads similar to what Joanne's sent me.

Majesty Set - Beadworks by Lody

Note: Encrusted pendant to be attached later

Majesty Set, Bracelets and Earrings

(Sorry for the blurry photo, will have to replace it sometime)

Three members of the family (my in-laws) had their birthdays this month, and the gathering were all done at Aunt R's house in Marshalltown. They were of course another great gatherings.

I'm sorting some stitching stuffs to take with me on my upcoming trip though I have to admit, my luggages are full. I might have to remove some of the packed stuffs, one way or the other, I won't travel without my crafts. I'm planning to take some encrusting materials too.

Will share some stitching works some other time as they were not recieved yet by the recipients. Hope everybody's having a great stitching week!

Gifts For Friends And Some Beadworks

I'm wrapping up my May finishes with some gifts for friends. I'm actually way way way behind with these stuffs and I was sure glad when I had the chance to finally make them. Hopefully I'll be able to drop them in the mail today, or to be safe, within this week.

Beadworks by Lody

Bracelets made of glass pearls, AB crystals,

charms, and swarovski crystals

Techniques: Stringing, Peyote, and Off-loom Weaving

These last couple of days, I've been busy stitching MA's as I want to send them of to my partners by June, though due dates are July and August. Once all my current MA commitments are done, I might have to take a break from signing-up so I can focus on my other WIP stitching.

If things will go according to plan, I'm hoping that my entire month of July will be devoted to my State Fair entries. The new categories I'm positive of submitting is "Creative Arts and Crafts", for beadworks & paper crafts divisions. For beadworks, I'm leaning towards "needle constructed jewelries" and "stringing" classes. For paper crafts, I'm hoping I can come up with great ideas on photo scrapbook pages for 4 classes.

And lastly, I gave my Pearly Shell pendant a new look by replacing the necklace chain. The beaded beads were made of mahogany mix seed beads using peyote stitch. For a little sparkle, I also added little swarovski crystals on the antique gold spacers. I also made a matching bracelets, and probably I'll complete the set with a pair of earrings.

PEARLY SHELL - a new look

encrusted pendant, necklace & bracelet

Beadworks by Lody

Hope everybody's busy needling!

More products at www.lodyscreations.com

I finally decided to add more items at Lody's Creations. Here's the Spring 2009 Newsletter for further news.

Still busy repacking stuffs here, and will keep on updating the pages in weeks ahead. So sorry for the slow process as I'm a beginner in web developing. On the positive note, I already know how to incorporate "Add to Cart" or "Buy-It-Now" buttons but will work on those once mopst, if not all, of the items are added. Photos below are some of the stuffs already packed, from fat quarters, embellishments, charms, Mother-of-Pearl thread holders (rings), and finishing supplies. Thanks to those of you who already placed orders on Skirtex, fats and MOP's.:) Your business is highly appreciated.

Products at Lody's Creations

I'm currently working on a Ring & Ribbon Chatelaine Sewing Set. These kind of sewing sets started to get published and eventually got famous on late 1800's ~ early 1900's. I hope you'll consider to add them on your needlework collection as they're super fast and fun to do!

Played some more on my delica beads last week and managed to finish this jewellery set. The entire pendant is made of burgundy and crystal delicas, weaved using peyote stitch. The 6 petals were weaved individually, I then added a pewter rose with "Swarovski Crystal" at the center. The necklace chain and loop earrings were mainly made of mix emerald E-beads, pewter spacers and findings. I love the heart clasp on this necklace so I decided to place it in front.

Spring Fling Jewellery Set

Beadworks By Lody

So sorry for still being invisible in the groups...:( Life's still busy here! I hope everybody's having a great stitching weekend!

What Keeps Me Busy Now-a-days

So sorry for being invisible for a long time now. My hands are terribly busy here, and I could only wish I have 4 hands. I couldn't even lurk at the yahoo groups I'm into due to delayed workload, or should I say "stitching and finishing load". The works that I should have finished last month didn't materialize as I got sick in the early weeks. Then before the month ends, DH had flu and couch too. Just as I started to regain my stitching mood, I had a "stye" (or zit as DH told me) on the black part of my left eye. Though it's just an itty-bitty dot, it was so itchy yet can't do anything about it... plus I avoided reading and stitching again. Thank goodness the eyedroper cured it without going to a doctor.

Starting last month, I bought more fabrics, mostly "end of the bolts" and cut as much as I can into fat quarters. I think I already have almost 200 fats cut, about 98% of the fabrics I cut are 100% cotton. I don't know when will I be able to update Lody's Creations website but I'll increase my inventory soon. But for sure, I'll gonna list lining fabrics in fats ($1 each), Mother of Pearl thread holders (I got various colors, shapes and colors), charms, stitching helpers, finishing helpers, and other embellishing supplies. I already packed hundreds and hundreds of these stuffs, and still waiting on more packages from wholesale suppliers. I decided not to have elegant packing so the retail cost would be lower. I just buy in bulk then do all the packing myself.

On the stitching note, I managed to finish a couple of sewing sets but since I can't share a photo of them yet (magazine/publisher's policy), let me share with you my recent beadwork projects. The gold set consists of a necklace with encrusted pendant, bracelet, earrings and a thumb ring. Each piece has an off-loom weaving works. The set is made of seed beads, metal spacers, cultured freshwater potato pearls, glass pearls, and charm (on pendant). I'm trying my best to perfect my weaving techniques (both loom and off-loom) so I can submit some entries at the Fair.:) I will definitely submit the "Pearly Shell" and will make a matching earrings for it. I'm currently working on the "Circles of Life" whcih also be submitted at the Fair. Its component includes "beads on beads", a technique that I learned last month which is quite addicting too.

Simply Gold Jewelry Set

Beadworks by Lody

Below is just a very simple design which consist of a necklace and earrings only. Off-loom weaving is also involved on this project. The focal point of the necklace is the clasp which is a leaf and cluster of grapes in antique silver-tone. Amethyst seed beads, irish bronze freshwater pearls, antique silver metal tube spacers, and AB crystals are the main ingredients of the set. I finished it off with a "Made with love" charm, attached on the clasp. I thought of adding an encrusted pendant on it but I don't wanna lose its simplicity so I ended up leaving it as is. I will definitely increase my inventory of completed jewelry sets and hope to publish off-loom weaving designs. I don't have a beading design software yet but one of my cross-stitch software works very well on a couple of beading stitches , i.e. peyote and brick.

Plain But Pretty

Beadworks by Lody

Since my last posting (Feb. 22), I managed to do two trips at the library and got myself more batches of wodnerful books. Those books kept me busy in days, that I didn't able to spend much time with my magazine subs. I'm a little bit disappointed with SANQ's recent issue but quite happy with the JCS. I also renewed my Fons and Porter's Love of Quilting subscription when I renewed MIL's last month. The first issue comes with a couple of free leaflets, consists of small projects. Though I don't quilt, I do enjoy browsing each page and looking at the projects.

And lastly, Sandy's article about me finally made it to "March 2009 Inside EGA". The article is published under Chapter News. Congrats and thanks so much for th article Sandy (Publicity Chair of CVCEGA). "Inside EGA" can be found at EGA website and is exclusive to members only.

Various Needlework Magazines

I stopped my Piecework Magazine subscription and now am wondering what are the articles I missed. If you're a subscriber of this mag, I would love to know if there are articles about counted thread and surface embroidery in recent issues. Please leave a comment or send me an email. Thanks!

I finally able to set-up my other sewing machine downstairs yesterday and now ready to use. Hopefully, I can sew some small projects that had been long over-due.

There'll be a craftshow in town on first weekend of April and I'm patiently waiting for it.:) Moreso, I just found out that our County Fair is held on month of July, a couple weeks before the State Fair. And speaking of State Fair, DH suprised me one morning... "Guess what who'll gonna be at the State Fair, Honey?" I was actually thinking it could be Charice.. LOL Never did I imagine that it's JOURNEY. I had to tell DH right away that we have to go to that concert, though it's still months away. He already promised he'll take a night off just so we can be at the concert.:) Yay! I'm so excited, I desperately wanted to see JOURNEY! I even told DH before that if they'll gonna have a concert tour in the Philippines (current Journey lead vocals is Arnel Pineda, a Filipino from Sampaloc, Manila), I will schedule my vacation on the days they are there so I can watch their concert. LOL

To fellow Iowans who loves JOURNEY, please take note that they will be here in IA on August 23, 2009 (Sunday night) at the Fairgrounds. Ticket cost is $45, and wil be available on April 11 onwards, or until seats are avaibale. Their special guest will be HEART... It will be a fantastic concert, that's for sure! Kelly Clarkson will be at the Fair on August 22, 2009 (Saturday), ticket cost is $38. Check out the IA State Fair website for further details.

Now that SPRING has come, I can't wait for warmer days so I can spend some time in the garden. But before that, we need another trip in Ames, at our favorite garden house, Holubs, where we get most of our veggies plants. Not to mention I need to buy some Asian seeds (Chinese okra, string beans and bok choy) at the Oriental store there.

Oh well, I better sign off now! I just wanna let you know guys what keeps me busy. Have a great stitching Sunday!