Betsy's Beadworks

Monday, September 7, 2015

New!
From Betsy’s Beadworks. That’s a whole lot Abalone! (No kidding!)
See my webpage for a closer look at this beautiful Abalone shell Pendant.
I am now able to do direct sales off of my website!

Source: Abalone Pendant with Woven Rope | Betsy’s Beadworks

Also: Jet black on the Seine
(Antique jet beads from France)

And don't forget to look at the sunrise:
Here comes Aurora!

Monday, July 27, 2015

Hot off the bead mat!!

Here are a few of the things that I have been making lately. Some have already sold!!
A first attempt at beading cabochons grew and morphed into this (It reminds me of late summer and fall flowers):

I learned to do this weave just for the purpose of hanging the pendants! Not bad for a first try!

Here is another one, not quite so perfect, but really stunning in it’s color and depth:

How about some bracelets:
Leather and chain with beads…

Beach wear – care for some sea shells by the sea shore?

What, More??

These lovely Czech glass beads came from a trunk show I recently raided! I love the way they stack!! (reminds me of an armadillo!)

Thursday, April 23, 2015

If at first you don't succeed....

Recently, after a long day at my "regular job", I decided to try making a bracelet from scratch without using a pattern to follow. I knew that I wanted blue diamonds surrounded by a complimentary color. I started out with blue and violet ESO beads. As I went along, I figured out how I wanted to add the beads to make my geometrical shapes. In the end, I was glad to be done (designing is harder than it looks!).

The next morning I looked at the work I did the night before, and found three glaring errors!! The horror!!! I was also a little disappointed in the color combination I used. The blue did not "pop" against the violet beads.

SO - I bit the bullet and took apart the whole thing! I replaced the violet beads with a yellow gold and paid closer attention to the pattern (NO MORE MISTAKES!!)

In the end, I think I am pleased with the result, and like this better than the original. Sometimes, you just gotta keep on trying. And also, I now have a nice pattern to make more of these bracelets.

I am not kidding myself that this design has not already been done before! It is a simple pattern that I have seen in Native American beadwork for example. However, it was a nice adventure into the unknown and a good learning experience in designing a woven bracelet on my own.

Perhaps in the future I will make something really complex and special, but this will do for now!

Happy beading - Betsy