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Hello my beading friends! 💜
Is everyone having a lovely start to the fall season? There is something extra-special about this time of year to me, as summer winds down, and we gradually ascend into the cooler, cozy season. The garden tasks are wrapping up, the days begin to shorten, and I find myself feeling EXTRA motivated to use some of the additional indoor time for creating. I feel a subtle, but present nudge to begin to lean into the changing season, rejuvenate my beading space, and re-visit my creative intentions for the longer-haul into winter. Anyone else?
Project-wise, the month certainly started out strong, with an emphasis on square stitch bezels. The lovely PLOT TWIST collection, launched early this month by Eureka, prompted a bevy of inspiration for me, in this regard. I began the month with a couple of bead weaving basics style video tutorials to simply focus on beading the 16mm rivoli crystals and 8mm crystal chatons, using the square-stitch technique. With this technique isolated, it is clear to see how the pieces can "shine" simply on their own, but also act as a foundation for a plethora of design possibilities!
Monthly Project Re-cap:
How to Bead a Bezel for an 16mm Crystal Rivoli in Square Stitch
How to Bead a Bezel for an 8mm Crystal Chaton in Square Stitch
From these two tutorials, I showed you how to build onto these techniques with additional materials and color-inspo from the exciting new collection, called "Plot Twist!" (See the unboxing here).
In fact, I brought you three new design tutorials for pieces which all coordinate, under the name: Spellbound.
1. Spellbound Earrings Tutorial
2. Spellbound Pendant Tutorial
3. Spellbound Bracelet Tutorial
While these designs exude natural beauty and elegance in their original neutral beige and brown palette, let's appreciate the unique transformation in appearance by swapping in green shades, as an example:
(Spellbound Bracelet, above, and Earrings, below, in "Satin Olive" MiniDuo and Pinch beads)
Oh, and let's not forgot about the MiniDuo Butterfly Bracelet tutorial, which was a precursor to the Spellbound Bracelet band design. This is a helpful video to begin with, in case you want to learn to bead a solitary band, and it is also a more methodical, repeating project, well-suited for newer bead-weavers:
Easy MiniDuo Butterfly Bracelet Tutorial
By the way, I do have these new bracelet listed in my shop, and at the time of this posting they are still available!
As the month of September reached its apex, I shared with you dear viewers the newly launched Treasures of Time LITE Collection by Eureka (see the unboxing here). It is certainly no coincidence that this slightly bolder palette coordinates beautifully with the Plot Twist color scheme!
As a diversion from our fun with square-stitching our little beady-hearts out, I brought you a new bracelet project, which included the materials from the mid-month LITE Collection, and used the same name:
Treasures of Time Beaded Bracelet Tutorial
Also check out the two additional color ways below that I created using finds from my personal beading stash. Please note, while these pieces were recently listed in my online shop, they have already been sold. Keep your eyes peeled on my shop periodically for new additions of my handmade creations, particularly for pieces created from recent tutorials.
Also worth mentioning, although I will not have a tutorial for the piece below, this is something I created from the same contents using the 13mm glass cab, seed bead mix, and antique bronze open ring finding:
This could be turned into a brooch, or a pendant, perhaps!
So far, I've mentioned Eureka quite a bit! However, the Bargain Bead Box subscription was quite strong this month as well, in my opinion, with it's charming Sweater Weather theme (see the unboxing here).
While it was fresh off the presses, I shared a photo of the Red/Black Mahogany Obsidian and Filigree piece below, to FB, and the design garnered a lot of interest! Thank you for that!
This inspired me to continue my "Creative Time," a relaxed-form video tutorial series, and together we enjoyed beading and chatting; you also had the opportunity to closely see how this piece was created, step-by-step.
Creative Time with Gina - Mahogany Obsidian on Filigree Tutorial
Finally, I'd like to share with you an additional necklace design I created, just for fun, without the intention of a tutorial, that includes more "Sweater Weather" materials. I was itching to use the challenging blue floral shapes in a finished piece. What do you think?
BACK:
This design required some creative chain placement, and re-working, but I am pleased with the final result, and how well it drapes when worn.
Personal Wrap-up:
We've made it to the very end of September together, and I'm glad we could step back for a few minutes, and look at the bigger picture in this format. Your continued enthusiasm, viewership, comments, and support in general, have meant the world to me! Perhaps one day, or over time, when I am ready... I will open up to you more about the personal journey, and challenges I've been facing, and, more importantly, about what I've learned along the way.
Right now, a few aspects of what I am dealing with are still a bit too fresh, and slightly triggering. My intention in mentioning this to you is for encouragement, though; simply, to let you know that as we are all dealing with various things in our lives, whether from the past, or present, each of us has the ability to make small choices on a daily basis, which will not only keep ourselves moving forward, in personal growth, but can also have a bigger impact on others than we will ever know.
Many of YOU have impacted me in ways you may never know. I hope to continue this journey with you, with a renewed focus on cultivating a kind, welcoming, and creative beading environment. A space where we can share ideas together, inspire each other, and remember not to take life too seriously. Let's explore our creativity, and have some fun together along the way!
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