Wish List: Natural Beads

Since finally making use of some coconut daggers, and using up the last of my coconut heishi on Khepri’s necklace, I find I’m craving organic and lightweight accent beads more and more. They have such wonderful textures that simply aren’t found in other beads, even those with a natural looking finish, like Czech glass Picasso. The earthiness is irresistible.

Today I went on a fantasy shopping trip, looking for unique and inspiring beads made from nuts, seeds, shell, wood, and bone. Here are my favorites:

Tagua Nut Sticks from Wanan Beads





Lime Wood Rings from Happy Mango Beads





Carved Bone Beads from World's Edge Beads





Pink Coconut Rondelles from yukidesigns





Red Tagua Claws from EcoBeads Tagua





Aquamarine Keshi Pearls from Artbeads.com





Sandstone Buri Nuts from Happy Mango Beads





Betel Nut Bicones from Beadaholique

What’s your favorite natural bead?

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The winner of my little cottage is...

 Happy Valentine Day!

The random number generator selected 1 of each group of 10 as follows:

1. Tatiana

2. Jennifer

3. Susanna

4. Ascension

5. Figurettes

6. Viti

7. Ceria

Debbie's

Nemida

Mijil

AND THE WINNER IS TATIANA!!!!  

Dear friends it's always a pleasure to make a gift for you but it is always also a little sad that only one among you gets to win it.  I want to thank each one of you for taking part in this draw and promise more giveaways in the future.

I hope you are enjoying a wonderful St. Valentine Day.  Blessings to all.

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List of Participants in my 500 followers giveaway

The list is on order of your comments.  Please check and see if you're in.

1. Indy Poppy.  2.  Kikka.  3.  Wyrna.  4. Jane Smith. 5.  Piikko.  6.  Contrastes Rosa Maria.  7.  Alice.
8. Patrizia.  9.  Tatiana.  10.  Ilona.  11.  Ruth Ramekers.  12. Bahar.  13. Beverly.  14. Mins.  15.  Sognaticeabordo.  16.  Marja-Leena.  17. Malu.  18.  Jazzi.  19. Elianne Herranz.  20. Jennifer-Plush...
21. RosaMargarita. 22.  Lisa Marie.  23. Teruka.  24. Kez. 25.  Susanna Zanchi.  26. Carmen.
27. Birgit.  28. Mari.  29. Kathi.  30. Mieke. 31. Mafalda.  32. Pearl.  33. Cote.  34. Giac.  35. Fabiola.
36. Paky. 37. Jorgelina.  38.  Ascension.  39.  Ana Acamarah. 40. Pilar 6373.  41. Natalia.  42.  Maribel. 43. Francesca. 44. Figurettes. 45. Zunilda.  46. Katrina.  47. Magda.  48. M.Carmen Casanova.
49. Pilar Desvan.  50. Tina Wood.  51. Julia. 52. Beatriz. 53. Melli. 54. Irina. 55. Mati.  56.  Ania.
57. Antonia.  58.  Viti.  59.  Mely. 60. Tania Sanz.  61. Elvira.  62.  Cris Colas. 63. Maria Dolores.
64. Caterina. 65. Isabel.  66. Pepita.  67.  Ceria. 68. Carmen  (Hadanet). 69. Maria Luisa.
70. Madam Lepola. 71. Melli (Melinda). 72. Maria Blanca. 73. Adela.  74.  Doortje.  75. Fab Shabby Roses.  76. De. 77. Rocinash. 78. Debbie's mini thoughts. 79. Hannah.  80. Valentina. 81. Arantza.
82. Maite.  83. Nemida Rei.  84. Majelo.  85. Sara K.  86. Ultsu. 87. Angela.  88. Teviro.  89.  Diane.
90. Leilani.  91. Eva Tatlamaru. 92. Mijbil.  93. Chris P's.

In order to give everybody a fair chance, I'm going to group each 10 participants and use the random number generator to pick-up one out of each group. e.g. 1-10, 11-20, 21-30, etc.  Finally there will be only 10 (or 11) participants left for the random number generator to pickup the winner.

Good luck and best wishes for tomorrow. Blessings.

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Children's Rolltop Desk

Late last summer I stopped at a church rummage sale looking for Christmas Decorations for our space at Paris Flea Market. I had no intentions of buying anymore furniture since our shed was already pretty full of projects to work on during the winter. Now some people I know won't go to a sale unless they can hit it early in the morning on the first day. Not me! I'm one of those crazy people that make quick turns anytime I see a garage sale sign. Don't get me wrong, I do plan out my Friday mornings so I can hit the best sales first, but I also love catching sales late in the afternoon of the last day when everyone is ready to shut down. That was the case with this adorable little desk.
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Chocolate boxes for St. Valentine Day

I confess, I have a sweet tooth.  I'm grateful the sugar level in my blood  is low and I can efford to eat sweets, especially chocolates and what is more appropriate than chocolates for St. Valentine Day?

How I loved making these.

Of course, heart shaped cakes are a must.  I hope you like these.  I wish my life size cakes came out like these.  You can see how I already used the cut out chess pieces for the vase and cake stand.

My last post was published before I was able to thank Jennifer properly.  I must have pushed the wrong window by mistake.  Dear jennifer, thank you so much for your friendship and generosity!

A warm welcome to my new followers. Thank you so much and I hope you come visit frequently.

Anna
Hannah
skiddi
Valentina
Anita
Arantza - Cannot locate your blog.  If you have one, please let me know.
Maria Carmen Bolanos de los Reyes - Cannot locat your blog.  If you have one, please let me know.

Don't forget my giveaway.  4 more days to go.

I wish you all a wonderful week and blessings

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Selling a Piece of My Childhood

You know how it is when you go to an antique store and see an old toy or something marked "vintage", and you think "jeez I used to have one of those, am I considered vintage?". Well I guess the answer is yes.
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Scarab and Lotus Wesekh

Over the years, I’ve had a lot of different methods for keeping track of beading ideas, including notebooks and recipe cards, bulletin boards, and just letting them roll around in my head. Usually the ideas that I most want to do stay with me until I’m ready to start taking out beads, but when the inspiration for Khepri’s necklace struck, I sketched it out immediately for fear of losing it.

I was waiting to fall asleep one evening, and trying to decide what to do with a few packets of opaque red 6/o seed beads. I had failed to incorporate them into two separate projects, and I want desperately to find the right home for them. As often happens, my thoughts started wandering, and I was soon thinking of bugle beads. I have more in my stash now than I ever have, thanks to the wonder of hanks and crazy spontaneity of online shopping. I was considering some patterns for ladder stitch bracelets with my remaining crystal clear bugles, and wishing that I could trust them enough for herringbone weave.

Suddenly, I remembered a necklace I had made years ago, which did incorporate bugles into herringbone panels in small, secure rows. I didn’t want to make a strappy necklace; then I thought about small sections of herringbone, and before I knew it, I could see a collar that was perfect for the scarab god Khepri.

I chose a palette of black with beetle greens - lemon lime, teal, and a hint smoky blue. To these I added some clear bugles, teal magatamas, and a dash of bright orange for contrast. The first stage involved creating several panels of herringbone weave, with an increase at the ends. I created a lotus-like pattern, and finished the edges with the magatamas. Once all of the panels were complete, I connected them with druks and teal coconut heishi beads. Finally, I added some netting and a clasp.

Although when I look at the piece I see the shapes of Tutankhamun’s Khepri amulet, and the shiny shells of a scarab beetle, the overall look of the collar came out a bit more Aztec than Egyptian, thanks to the feathery shapes. And even though the idea sprang from bugles, if I had to do it over again, I wouldn't use them at all.

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