"Spring is Around The Corner"

"Spring is Around the Corner" is the theme of April's Etsy Beadweavers Street Team challenge. I'm currently enjoying an early Spring here in North Carolina, so I decided to participate in the challenge.

This theme would also enable me to fulfill my New Year's resolution: use up beads I already own - in this case, pale pink seed beads and carved flower beads. I'd bought the seed beads in an effort to fill out my stock of color choices, but I very rarely work in pink. As a result, these beads have been taking up space in a drawer for years.

I made a right angle weave amulet bag with a profusion of flower and leaf beads. To finish it, I indulged my new love of fringe.

Wow. Apparently competition is good for me! This pretty amulet bag is listed for sale in my etsy shop.

To read more about the challenge, please visit the team blog.

copyright 2010 Shibori Girl

Royalty Throughout Time Challenge

As promised, here is the link for voting on this month's Etsy Beadweavers Challenge: Royalty Throughout Time. There are SO MANY beautiful entries, I don't know how I'm going to choose one as my favorite.

I hope you'll go and vote for your favorite piece, too. Don't feel you have to vote for mine, just pick your fave. The poll will be open at the team blog until midnight, Feb 16th.

copyright 2011 Shibori Girl

New-Found Courage

I think Santa gave me an extra gift this past Christmas that wasn't wrapped in sparkly paper and a perky bow.

"Animal Dreams Pendant"

It wasn't anywhere under the tree where I could see it and open it. Instead, he gave it to me in dreams, where I could turn it and enjoy it from all angles, in any kind of light I chose to view it. Like the Cowardly Lion, I got the gift of Courage.

My latest jewelry designs are the proof. New materials, new color combinations, new techniques. I can't explain where this new-found courage came from, but I'm reveling in it.

"Sponge Coral Bracelet"

I might have mentioned in a past post that I've joined the Etsy Beadweavers Street Team. This is a group of like-minded beading artisans, who nurture and encourage their fellow members. Each month there is a design challenge, and to maintain membership, we must participate in one of these challenges a year. The thought of this requirement had me tied up in knots. My designs usually happen as I work, a very organic process where I let the piece tell me what it wants to be. Whenever I've started with a preset design, something happens halfway through the project and it veers off in a new direction.

The idea that I'd have to start with a plan, and a theme I didn't come up with on my own was a tiny bit scary. But I did it. The theme for February was titled "Royalty Throughout Time". In my research, I found some images of reproduction Tudor pieces, loaded with gold filigree and dripping with pearls. Lovely. During a road trip this past year, I'd picked up some fabu-liscious 1930's French brass stampings and at the time I had no idea how I'd use them. I just knew I needed to have them. The result was my very first challenge piece:

"Tudor Brooch"

Voting on these challenges is open to anyone - Usually between the 9th and 15th of the month. I'll post a link when the poll is open.

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This past weekend I finished up a project that had been on my worktable for a while. I combined this polymer clay cabochon with some bead embroidery, added a profusion of branched fringe, and a beadwoven neck strap. Meet my Woodland Nymph in all her glory:

"Woodland Nymph Pendant"

I have no idea what's next on my work schedule, but I'm betting that it will knock my socks off! All of the pieces shown in this post are listed for sale in my Etsy shop.


copyright 2011 Shibori Girl

A Good Cause

Last week I decided to try something new and joined a Street Team at Etsy. They are the Etsy Beadweavers Street Team and they are a wonderful, nurturing group of people with buckets of talent. (You can find a link to the team's blog in my right sidebar.) Each month the group has a beading challenge, and the winner gets to pick the theme of the next month's challenge, as well as bragging rights.

Right now, we are gathering donations for Andrew Thornton, a fellow beader, who finds himself stuck with a daunting number of hospital bills after surgery to treat cancer. This treasury features a selection of pieces for this purpose.

click on the image to see treasury

Please note, 100% of the proceeds from these sales will go directly to Andrew. Please, head on over, click through the treasury and comment to keep it at the front. This is a great reason to buy a gift, or a treat for yourself.

You can read more about Andrew Thornton at his blog. Please feel free to pass the word, post about this on your own blogs, etc.

Thank you,


copyright 2010 Shibori Girl