"Set me Free"

Do you remember this project I talked about? 

Well it's finally done!

This has been one of, if not the, hardest projects I've ever done. Letting myself go and just create randomness was much harder than I ever imagined it would be! I usually couldn't work on it for more than 1/2 hour at a time because my brain would just start tweaking out on me :P

Ironically enough - even the center piece was really challenging for me. I would have thought that would be the easiest part since it was the only part with a pattern to it (my own btw). However I couldn't come up with a color combination I liked! 

The finaly result was actually take 3.

I chose to name this piece "Set me Free" because butterfly's, to me, are very light hearted and free creatures. Combine that with the free form of the rest of the pattern, and it just seemed appropriate!

This bracelet is approximately 7 1/2 inches long. It contains 7 different colors of size 11 seed beads, 4 colors of size 6 or 8 seed beads, pearls, hex beads, square beads, and even a few pieces of amethyst! It is fastened using a bead with another butterfly, and a loop closure of seed beads.

This piece is OOAK - One of a Kind. No reproduction will ever be made. I couldn't even if I wanted too :)

Like what you see? You can buy it here for $70 plus $3 tax :)

I worked on several other small projects while creating "Set Me Free" because there were times I wanted to keep creating, but I just needed to take a break from it! One thing I made was just for me. Hey - Sharla - it's purple! :P Sorry the picture is fuzzy. I had a bad asthma attack last night and my hands are really shaky today, I'm amazed I was able to get semi-decent shots of "Set me Free" - I didn't try to hard for this one since I'm not listing it :P

Happy Memorial Day!

Wow! I've had a buuuusy day :) But it's been fun :) No, I didn't go out and do anything, my asthma has been so bad lately that planning anything was pretty much out. The good news is - I've been breathing clear all day! Which means I've gotten a lot done - and lots that I want to share!

First, I did a treasury blog in honor of our Troops, and I put a simple tribute on my Jedi blog.

I've also done a bunch of listing on Artfire - pieces that you've already seen on my etsy - but I'm excited about putting them on Artfire! Plus they put the studio fusions live to day on Artfire. Basically, we have a lot of customizability now! I really like it :) Go check out my shop to see how it looks and see the new listings! 

I made myself a new bracelet this weekend - and I promised some people I'd show it off - so here it is! And yes, I said, it's actually for ME :P I don't do that often enough >_>

I also started a new project this weekend that is a big stretch for me! Here's what I started with...

Don't you just love the snazzy super-girl pajama pants? My evil twin made them for me :)

Ok, so I'm making a free form peyote bracelet. I've seen a lot of these out there in various forms, and one of my Etsy Bead Weaver team mates encouraged me to try it. I've been wanting to try one but not sure where I wanted to start or what I wanted to do. Then over at Thursday Sweet Treats this week the challenge is for butterfly's. That's when I knew! The center does have a pattern, a butterfly, but the rest is just as the spirit hits me ;)

What you see here is 3 days of work so far. Which is...incredible for me these days. Usually three days and I'm done with a project. Unless I don't really work on it, but I have been working on this! It's not that I haven't been working on it, it's that I can't work on it for very long stretches at a time. My friend who encouraged me to try one said it could be very "zen-like," not for me! Not having a pattern is actually really challenging for me. I'm not sure why. 

I'm enjoying the challenge though. I don't think it'll be done in time to submit it to Thursday Sweet Treats, but the important part to me is the journey and the growth as an artisan :) I'm not sure if I'll do any more like this once this is done, but I do know it'll be awhile before I'm ready to try another one! 

Just a quick reminder - I'm having a sale in my Etsy shop for my Etsy-versary! 

Have a wonderful rest of your Memorial Day :)