Delicate Balance

My little white box arrived from Bead Trends a few weeks ago and as usual I was so excited to open it. I am always amazed at their photographs and I was anxious to see how they photographed my piece "Delicate Balance". It is a substantial piece, I guess an odd name for something not truly delicate.

Lots of chunky turquoise and some finding from AD adornments.

This is the image you find in the Sept. issue of Bead Trends

I love it! Thanks Bead Trends for making me look so good!

Oh Beautiful Swan

Another hot hot day, but only 100 today. This weather is getting tiring, everything has dried up due to the lack of rain. We choose to stay inside and stay cool. Tonight a nice buttered bowl of popcorn and  season 1 disc 4 Dvd of Dexter. We are hooked on this sweetheart of a  serial killer, who would think that this would make for good entertainment.

 “But calm, white calm, was born into a swan”

 Elizabeth Coatsworth 

I just finished this etched piece. I am liking the connector on this, as it hangs nice and even. Sometimes you need an engineering degree just to figure out how to make things hang properly without twisting, turning and hanging uneven.

Beautiful Swan can be found at JudithBDesigns.com

Organic Obsession

I am a little obsessed with this bracelet...or should I say with the art bead. Kate of Studio Artbead makes the most incredible pieces from polymer clay. I was drawn to the texture and color of this great bead. I knew it had to be a stand alone kind of piece so I paired it with other organic beads, wood, bone and Tibetan beads all in the same hue, so the color could be appreciated. A few turquoise beads are added in the back.

Kate describes this bead...."Like a a field of wildflowers, this fresh unopened spray of dill flowers creates that look. Of perhaps Queen Anne's lace waving in the afternoon sunlight".

You can find Organic Obsession in my Flap Your Wings Etsy shop.

Delicate Balance

While I was out shopping with my friend Eileen we spotted some really nice necklaces, although they were nice in design the materials were not good quality. One of the pieces I liked was a necklace with a lovely combination of Turquoise and pearls. Since I just had stocked up on some great turquoise I knew just what I wanted to create. It has been about a week since I have worked in my studio so I was very happy to relax and play with all of my new stuff. I really love the end result and would never have thought to combine these great organic materials. "Delicate Balance" is a substantial piece with chunky turquoise and three kinds of fresh water pearls. AD Adornment findings really finished this piece off. Necklace is 33" in length and has a 4" pendant drop.

Beads, beads and more beads!

It is that time of the month again, the third weekend of each month is the Nashville Flea Market. I promised I would share a picture of Mary "my" bead lady. Here she is in all her glory amongst her beads. She is one colorful lady and she just loves to talk. It is really fun visiting with Mary and her husband Larry. The flea market runs Friday to Sunday. I usually go on Friday mornings as the crowds are less and it is so much easier to shop. Yesterday after I picked up my girlfriend Eileen at the airport we had a nice lunch at the Yellow Porch in Nashville and then I surprised Eileen by taking her to see Mary. I knew Mary sets up on Thursday and she had mentioned to me about customers seeing her then so I thought we would pop in and see her. We spent 3 hours pouring over beads with no one bothering us, it was so nice of Mary & Larry to let us shop early.

Eileen and Mary

Here is my bead stash....lots and lots of great turquoise! The turquoise briolettes were a must have, they are faceted and I can't wait to make myself a pair of earrings with them.

So today, guess what we did? Got up and went back to the Flea market. Went to see Mary again and then shopped around. I found a few great treasures that will make it to my antiques booth. We also stopped at an Estate sale where I was able to get 2 vintage typewriters. All in all a great day spent with my wonderful friend!

Fly....

I hate to bore you with all my resin pieces but they were so much fun to make! Here is one of the last pieces for now. I especially like this one with the bird from Patina Queen. The color is so perfect with the turquoise beads and really makes the pendant pop! A chunky red carnelian bead is added to the bone and wood beads. You can find "Fly" on my website.

Oh, Honey thank-you!

What more could a girl want? My darling was going to Lowe's and asked if I needed anything, I said no. This is what he came home with for me, a new torch.
I had recently purchased a similar torch and had used it for the first time last night, apparently I did something wrong as a part near the nozzle melted. He told me I could not use it anymore until I had a fire extinguisher ( the ever smart man!)

Look what else he bought at Lowe's.... I am one lucky girl! He is so practical and I suppose he does not want me to burn down the house. He said we are having a fire drill later.


New earrings on my website. I am still playing around with the copper tubing and these were so much fun to do. A little hammering for some texture, heat treatment for some cool colors and some nicely stacked turquoise disks. These swing, sway and swivel so nicely.

New Beginnings

New Beginnings~
An eclectic combination of organic components~ wood, yellow turquoise and copper are all wire wrapped and linked to form this one of a kind bracelet. A printed mother of pearl disk is the focal, adding splashes of color. Tibetan beads add texture and a dragonfly charm adds happiness,new beginnings and change. An asymmetrical toggle clasp is hand forged, textured and adds a touch of whimsy.

You can find this on my new re-designed website JudithBDesigns.com...tomorrow is the day we will launch the new site.

Have a Little Faith in Me

"...an when your back is up against the wall
just turn around and you will see
I'll be there, I'll be there to catch your fall
So have a little faith in me..."

I wanted to share with you this awesome copper cross that I got from Artbeads.com. When I saw the cross I knew I had to have it. Last night I sat down to my work table and let my hands do the walking and they did not disappoint me. The colors are so cheerful and I love the organic look to this necklace. And yes...how do you like my sweet little bead caps I made?

Artbeads is having a great Valentine's Day Sale and is offering 15% off all Valentine related items, and as always shipping is FREE in the US. and only $1 to Canada.

Have a Little Faith in Me be found in my Etsy shop. I also made a pair of funky matching earrings.



Disclosure: All above mentioned beads from Artbead.com were kindly provided free-of-charge by Artbeads.com, within the frames of Artbeads.com blogging program. The author of this blog has not received any payment from above-mentioned company. The post above represents only personal opinion of the blog author.

Hearts Afire

Artbeads.com has declared January as a month of Valentines Day for the blogging community. As part of their blogger program I got to choose some wonderful heart related items to create with. One of the items I wanted to work with was this fabulous copper heart toggle clasp. I was so impressed with the quality, size and color, I think it made a wonderful focal for this bracelet. Artbeads is having a great Valentine's Day Sale and is offering 15% off all Valentine related items, and as always shipping is FREE in the US. and only $1 to Canada.

Hearts Afire can be found in my Flap Your Wings Etsy shop.

Disclosure: All above mentioned beads from Artbead.com were kindly provided free-of-charge by Artbeads.com, within the frames of Artbeads.com blogging program. The author of this blog has not received any payment from above-mentioned company. The post above represents only personal opinion of the blog author.

Boho Chic

Bohemian is used to convey an attitude and style that describes a free-spirited, independent frame of mind. Called Boho for short, the Bohemian look is earthy and layered. The best thing about the Bohemian look is that nothing has to "match." The pieces you choose should layer well and they work together to give you a classy, Boho chic appearance. Think ethnic. Think organic -- earthy colors and fabrics. Think relaxed. Think vintage.

This was a fun piece to make...the colors are so warm and vibrant at the same time. The brass embossed pendant is actually a part of an antique sash buckle....and you know how much I love combining the old with the new.

Shades of Blue

A very good friend of mine discovered my stash of Turquoise beads and had suggested I make some earrings from them. We picked out two that matched and then they sat on my work table for about 2 weeks, I kept picking them up and tried a few things but it was a not working for me. However today....still in my pj's I created these. I just love working with wire and especially brass so today it all came together. I can't wait to show my friend!

While I was on a roll.... ( I must be butter) ... I made two other pairs. These can be found in my Etsy shops.

Drops of Turquoise

Simple and Elegance

Celadon Droplets

and the name is....

Sonoma Sunrise....thanks to Genie on Facebook!

Gearing up for a give a way...my first, so stay tuned!