Bluebirrrd's Application and Intro!

[Sarah]

Hi pearlies! I've been reading your amazing forum and have been looking forward to joining, but I wanted to have an application piece first, lol! Two weeks ago I went to BABE, the Bay Area Bead Extravaganza, to take a pearl knotting class. So fun! Then I went down to the vendor fair and you probably won't be surprised to hear that I went a little cray cray...thinking I was being restrained, but buying soooo much!

I got to meet Sarah from Kojima Pearl and bought a lot of stuff from Wendy at East West Best, who inspired me to make this piece, which is all dyed freshies. First, the pearls! The special ones in the middle of the second pic are the ones I got at Kojima.



At first, after buying so many pearls, I was a little overwhelmed! I went for it last night though and am really, really happy with the results. It's 48" long on PowerPro, and I call it my Wild Peacock Lariat. I'll have to do it over eventually to fix some mistakes, but I can use the practice. There are enough pearls left over to make another just like it, or something completely different. Thank you to everyone for all the awesome threads and photos. I've really been enjoying all posts - old and new. I've learned so much and you've inspired me to get creative again, which I love.

 

[jshepherd]

Welcome! I see the budding of a good addiction

 

[Caitlin]

welcome!

You come in as a fully perfected lowly beader! I love that bracelet! It is totally designer! And the other ties too.

It has a wonderful rhythm of pearl shapes and sizes, complex, but easy to dance to!

I hope you post many other creations in the future! I love that BABE show, though I've only been once, some of my best beads are from there.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I like the style of that lariat!

 

[Sarah]

Thank you so much! I wanted a random design of pearls but found it impossible not to make patterns so I just let them flow. I had to travel a bit to get to BABE, but it was absolutely worth it.

 

[Caitlin]

Would you show us the beads off? That pattern is worth a very close look. You have something magical going on.

 

[Amrita]

Hi Bluebirrrd and welcome! Lovely pearl creation there!

 

[Sarah]

I'm still getting the hang of posting and I don't seem to have full privileges yet so there's a delay. I hope this isn't a double post.

Thank you, Amrita! You have some lovely pearls on your site. I particularly like the grays.

Caitlin, that is so kind of you to say. I think the trick is mostly to start with a good variety of shapes and sizes from large to very small. After that, you can hardly go wrong. I will try to take more photos later, but I seem to always be wearing it now.

 

[pattye]

A lovely design and beautiful pearls! You're on your way!

 

[Nerida]

Welcome, Bluebirrd,

Love love love the lariat.... beautifully and stylishly done!

Welcome to our forum, and welcome to the Lowly Beaders!!

I am sure we will be seeing more of your pieces... x

 

[Amrita]

Bluebirrrd, you have made such a great start to your pearl journey, which is never ending for most of us on this forum.
Thanks for the compliments about the grey strands on my website. Your comment is so timely as I was just finishing up on a 10-11mm silver grey strand (see link). I love them too, and the lavenders.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...16997013.84017.240698282691761&type=1&theater

 

[KarinK]

Welcome to the forum! It sounds like you're planning to stay for a while

That is a very original first piece. Have you worked with other beading materials before?

- Karin

 

[Sarah]

Pattye and Nerida, thank you! It's nice to be in such good company!

Amrita, silver grays are some of my favorites. What a pretty strand!

Thank you so much Karin! I waited a while before deciding to join. There is just too much good information and inspiration here not to.

Sadly, I'm the lowliest of beaders. I've made a few special things through the years, and I've dreamed of metal working for a long time, but at this point my design ideas still far outpace my materials, tools and SKILL. I'm gathering materials for the next piece...my husband is always wondering what's in the little packages I get so frequently in the mail

 

[pattye]

Bluebirrrd,

Yes, it's about the journey, and that can be frustrating and challenging, but great support and info here at P-G! I can tell you are so much younger than I was (in my 60's) when I started seriously making jewelry. Now I have my little websites, knot professionally and have my GIA Pearls Diploma, none of which I could ever have thought of, much less achieved, without P-G & friends here!

 

[Sarah]

Thank you for that encouragement I should have pursued these skills more seriously when I had access to an awesome metal working program in college. I visited the metal shop window daily to see what the students were creating, and for all my other impractical pursuits I somehow ignored the opportunity to try something I found very fascinating. Joe Silvera teaches soldering at a bead shop in the Bay Area, and once I have a better handle on the most basic things I do plan to go up and take classes from him. His book is on my Christmas list!

 

[lisa c]

Nice launch!

 

[GemGeek]

Wow, what a fabulous start!!! I'm looking forward to seeing your next project.

 

[Sarah]

Thank you lisa and GemGeek! I like both of your "titles" very much

My next projects are just drawings, ideas, and mismatched elements at this point. I have small packages of clasps, headpins, chain, etc. arriving from far too many sources ((shame))... My saving grace so far is that my husband thinks that since each thing costs only a few dollars, I must not be spending much $$$.

 

[Caitlin]

My husband gave up on counting my little purchases, LOL! I think he is just glad I have pearls to play with. I played with beads when we first met, so it was an easy transition!

 

[Sarah]

My first chainmaille

My first chainmaille

It's been a wet and rainy weekend. I'm thankful it isn't flooding, which I know is happening other places. For us, the rain is most welcome and perfect weather for staying inside and beading. So guess what? I made my first chainmaille piece! After all these weeks of gathering supplies and getting little packages from all over the US and the far corners of the Earth I decided I better get busy and make something.

If you use your imagination, you may see a heart in the middle. If you imagine a little more, you may be able to see that it has wings. Or if you're like my husband, you won't see any of that at all. The heart design was an improvisation after I realized my jumps were too small to do what I originally wanted.

The jump rings and chain are the 99.9 silver duroplate from Via Murano, supposed to be a nice thick plate. I don't have experience with it though, so feedback on its durability would be appreciated. I hope to make my own jumps eventually, but I'm not there yet. The pearls were ordered directly from a farm in French Polynesia. I'll attach the vendor pic, which is accurate for color in sunlight. My photo was taken in the rain.