An Oldie but Goodie - Glass Gardens

This past week I dusted off an old design to bring it back for the fall. Glass Garden Bracelets! 

 

This bracelet involves sewing with beading thread and a needle.
Patience is required to ensure the thread does not get snarled. 

Green, purple and fall colors waiting for magnet clasps and safety chains.
What color will be next? Black? Blues? Reds?

To read about the process from start to finish check out this blog post from 2010. http://beadware.blogspot.com/2010/08/making-glass-garden.html

A Purple Haze

This week I was busy getting ready for Lavender Faire in Sequim. This event is 7 festivals in one! Tickets/buttons are $10 in advance and $15 on site. The button gets you into 7 farms and a free ride on the farm bus (or you can drive yourself). You will find my booth, as well as Blue Fox Glass and many other vendors, at Olympic Lavender Farm. 

Purple Glass Garden bracelets. All have sold.

And matching leaf earrings.

Two fancy jasper necklaces. Both now sold.

A new earring style.

Assorted purple glass bead bracelets.

 And some matching earrings.

 More purple earrings.

Swarovski crystal earrings in purple and blue. Very sparkly! 

Many New Items in my Store

I have been busy listing new things in my online store! Today I will photograph this new glass garden and you'll see it in the store in a day or two. Right now a green glass garden is on my worktable - and I am toying with trying a necklace to match.

All have been  SOLD

Also recently listed was this lovely magic jasper necklace.

And several pearl necklaces. This has since sold.

 This one is very long and has a heart shaped toggle at the front with pastel 

Swarovski crystals dangling from it. Sold.

And an amethyst necklace. 

You'll notice earrings in many of these photos. If you would like just the earrings let me know, they do not have to be purchased as sets. Check out my store for many more recent additions and keep watching for many more to come!

New Items in my Store

As promised I am restocking my online store. In addition to Party on a Pins, you will find these 3 beauties.....

All have been  SOLD

Recent Work

Some pieces made last week....

All have been  SOLD

 Agate with rust seed beads and gold accents.

  Agate with bronze and antiqued gold seed beads and a brass clasp.

Moonlight with stars and moons.

 This purple one is already sold!

 

 Autumn glass garden.

Another version.

 Look at all those glass gardens!

Making a Glass Garden

I have many boxes like this full of beads. So fun! These are pressed glass beads in various shapes: leaves, moons, flowers, stars, etc. that I use in my glass garden bracelets. 

A glass garden bracelet starts with 12 inches of wire and size 6mm or 8mm seed beads. I use small wooden clothes pins to keep the beads on the wire. A velveteen pad serves as a work surface and I always have a ruler handy to measure my work as I go.

I use 180+inches of thread for a row of fringe. I sew in and out of each bead on the wire, adding seed beads and various shapes for the fringe row. I design as I go, trying to vary the colors and shapes. 

I have finished the first row, added a bead cap to hide the crimp that will be added when I add the clasp. I go back into the beads on the wire to tie off my thread using 3 sets of back to back square knots. Now I am starting on the second row of fringe with another 180+inches of thread. It takes patience and skill to keep from getting tangled in the existing fringe. 

Now I scrunch the beads to together to make the bracelet full and to get it to about 7 inches in length. 

Next  I add a  strong magnet clasp. The last step is to use thread glue to secure the knots. This dries clear and can not be seen once it dries.

All have been  SOLD

Finished products. These have been very popular this summer and the only one I have left is this fall colors version. Time to get busy in my studio!

Autumn Glass Garden

I made this bracelet last week. It sold on Saturday! I am going to make another one today. With all of the events I have been doing I have been neglecting my online store. It takes time to photograph and create descriptions, and since things have been selling in my booth it does not make sense for me to take time to list them online. I will try and get caught up this fall so the store is well stocked for the holidays. Anytime you see something posted here on my blog that you like feel free to contact me about it. If you wait for it to get listed in my store you may miss out!

Getting Ready

I am getting ready for my first, big, 3-day booth event. I am a bit nervous about not having enough stuff, but I have a pretty good inventory built up. And if it all sells, I would not complain! Today I am making moonlight glass garden bracelets. A few of these and then I will switch to one I call Fiesta, with a black base and red, orange and yellow fringe. I thought it might be fun to post a few pictures of one in process.

I like to layout all the bead possibilities ahead of time so I can easily pick and choose the right one as I go. For this one the theme is blues, and I have various shapes, moons, stars, crystals and leaves. I like using these velveteen tray pads as my work surfaces. Keeps things from rolling away and if I want to work on a different project I can set these aside.

Here I have the base layer of size 6 seed beads and the first row of fringe completed. I use about 180 inches of thread for each row of fringe. I sew in and out of each seed bead on the base layer. Patience is required!! Time for a lunch break before I start the second row.

Ruby Glass Gardens

I love these bracelets! They way they feel on your wrist, the sound they make, the way they move - they are so much fun! Pictures do not do them justice as they are very 3 dimensional. The first one mixes matte black, red and gold glass beads. The other was an after thought - but I like it the best! It uses black, reds and clear crystals. I am thinking up some other colors for spring time.

These take a lot of patience to make as I use about 180 inches of thread for each row of fringe (there are 2 rows). First I coat the thread with wax to help keep it from tangling. Then I double it and start sewing. Slow and steady is the secret. I use miniature clothespins to keep loose ends out of the way. I sort all of the beads ahead of time and have them laid out in front of me. I will have to remember to take some pictures of things while I am working on them - next time!

All have been  SOLD