Cooper Wire Pendant

I made this wire wrapped pendant with copper wire and a turquoise bead.  You can find it on Etsy.

More Babushkas!

Babushka Matryoshka Zipper Pull Coin Purse with Key ring

This is a handmade Babushka Matryoshka zipper purse that can be used as a coin purse or to store small items such as lipstick or ear buds.  The zipper purse was made with cotton fabric and is fully lined.  The face was hand painted.  The purse has a key-chain ring.  The purse measures 5  1/2 inches height (not counting the strap or the key ring)

Wire Wrapped Flower Pendant

Here is the picture of the finished product.  You can find it on Etsy!

How to wire wrap a lampwork flower bead - Free Tutorial

I am sharing how I wire wrapped  a flower bead.  I started with 3 pieces of 22 gauge wire as the base and coiled 26 gauge around them following a pattern (two wraps around the bottom two wires and two wraps around the top two wires).   

Continue coiling until it measures approximately 1.5 inches.  Wrap the coiled section around a pencil.

Insert the wires through the flower.

 Make a small loop at the end of the wire and coil it.

 Repeat the same step with the remaining wires

 Bend the bail against the flower

 And it is now ready to wear!

Wire Wrapped Flower Pendant

I made a pendant using one of my lampwork glass beads and copper wire.  I like how the copper wire complements the shades of brown in the flower.

Parrot Glass Bead

This parrot glass bead was handmade with blue and orange/red glass.  The wings were made with murrini so they look like feathers.

Seahorse Sea Glass Wire Pendant

I made this seahorse wire wrapped pendant using copper wire and a green sea glass pebble.

Striped Glass Fish Bead

This is a yellow fish with turquoise stripes.The fins were made with transparent blue and green glass.

Tropical Fish Beads on the Bay

These are the newest arrivals to the Bay!
A green fish with orange stripes and a yellow fish with green dots.  The hole runs top to bottom.


http://www.ebay.com/usr/beadreaming

Back again

After almost two years,  I have started making beads again.  It was a combination of attending the bead challenge for Beads of Courage and my daughter asking me to take a break from work and make beads for fun.

So I cleaned up my workspace and turned on the torch!  Here are a few goodies that I will be posting soon in Etsy or Ebay.

PInk Ribbon Cat

Sunny Day Necklace

This necklace reminds me of a sunny day.  It is comprised of three handmade glass beads in different shapes...one of them represents the sun and the other two are the flowers.  You can find it in Etsy.

Owl Painting

When I design my beads, I first sketch them on paper and color them. Some of the sketches do not become beads because they're too complex for glass but I still keep them in my  notebook so I thought I can start bringing them to life as painting.  What do you think?

Wire wrap Tutorial

This wire wrap tutorial will show you one of the ways I wrap my beads.  This is a simple spiral that complements any bead.

Tools and Materials:

- Chain nose plier

- Flat nose plier

- Wire Cutters

- Wire

- Bead

 The first step is to cut the wire and bend it in the middle with the chain nose pliers.  The amount of wire you need will depend on the size of the bead and how big you would like the spiral.   I used approximately a 7 inch wire for a 1 inch bead.

 The next step is to wrap the wire around the middle of the chain nose pliers twice.

 Once you've wrapped it twice, make a 90 degree bent in one of the wires.  See picture above.

 Then wrap the other wire around the wire that was bent.  I like to wrap it at least twice

 After that, straighten the wire that you wrapped around so that is parallel to the other one. You just finished the top loop.

 Insert both wires into the bead with the loop on the top and cut the wires to match in length.

 Take one end and press it with the round nose pliers multiple times so that it flattens a little.

 This is how it looks like after flattening with the chain nose pliers.  The wire on the bottom has been flattened.

 With the tip of the chain nose pliers, make a small circle.

 Switch to the flat nose pliers and push the wire around the circle.  This is how the spiral is formed.

 Continue forming the spiral until there is approximately 1/4 inch of wire left  to coil. Make a 90 degree bent on the wire.

 Continue forming the spiral and repeat with the other wire

There you have it!  The end result is a bead with two spirals at the bottom.  String it on a chain or cord and you have a necklace ready to wear.  Enjoy!

Painting for a break

I've taken a break from making beads by  painting.  This one is an orca painted from a handprint.  I first first painted the background and then painted the child's palm with paint and stamped it onto the canvas. 

Happy Valentine's Day

I made a couple of colorful hearts for Valentine.

Pink and Blue Flower Glass Bracelet and Necklace