Circulus vitiosus

Um seine Hobbys finanzieren zu können, man muss ja Geld verdienen. Aber neben Arbeit ist es nicht einfach, Zeit für die Hobbys zu finden... Klar, ich habe jetzt ein viel komplizierteres Problem sehr vereinfacht, im Grunde genommen ist es aber doch so. Man hat ja entweder Geld, oder Freizeit, oder Inspiration - aber alle gleichzeitig... das kommt ja selten.

Ich habe aber manches gefädelt, wenn auch nicht viel, konnte aber mich nicht dazu bringen, sie zu posten. Jetzt werde ich versuchen, das Versäumnis nachzuholen.

 Für meine Schwester zu ihrem Namenstag. Ich hatte dann nur eine sehr limitierte Perlenauswahl bei mir, und sollte schnell etwas improvisieren - bin aber zufrieden mit dem Ergebnis. Ich möchte mit dem Muster noch weiter experimentieren, mal sehen, was daraus kommen wird...








Versuche mit 8 mm Chatons. Diese Blauen waren eigentlich nur Probestücke - da sie aber so niedlich geworden sind, werde ich sie behalten.
Dieses Design möchte ich dennoch bei einem größeren Projekt zu verwenden, Gott weiß aber nur, wenn...

Verwendete Materialien: Chaton 8 mm, Bicones 4 mm, Pearls 3 mm, Rocailles 15/0

Helluin

Normally I'm not very fond of special coatings, such as AB effect. Sure, they are beautiful, but too extravagant for me. But this 'light sapphire shimmer' chaton was just too interesting... It reminded me of the star Sirius twinkling in the evening sky  (Being not well-versed in astronomy, it's almost the only star I can recognize...)
Unfortunately couldn't find bicones in the same color, so I've chosen "air blue opal 2 AB" and "aquamarine AB". Totally out of my comfort zone... but the result is kinda pretty, I think. Shiny and flashy, no doubt - but small enough for being not too flamboyant.
Oh yes, as for the name: in The Silmarillion by Tolkien, Helluin is the elvish name for the star Sirius. (hel- meaning 'ice' and 'luin' = 'blue')

Pattern of the "Shinzou" bracelet

Last year I made some bracelets matching to my "Freiheit"-pendants. I wanted to make a tutorial for the bracelet as well, but unfortunately it took a long time to finish it. But finally, it's here - many thanks to Nicole from Drei kleine Perlen for testing it! You can see her beautiful version here. Actually, I was encouraged to publish the pattern by seeing how great her version turned out. (I had been a bit uncertain at the beginning, whether the pattern will be usable or not...)

You can find the tutorial here: Shinzou bracelet

In case you have any problem with it, please, let me know! (As Nicole pointed out, choosing the right thread can be a crucial point...)

Here are the versions I've made so far: teal (later supplemented with a ring too), copper, black-silver and green.

PS: I know, the picture is not the best, but they looked so fun together... like a vambrace :)

Kokoro no kakera

Sounds cute, doesn't it? It means something like "fragment of heart"  in Japanese, and it was mentioned so often in the anime Princess Tutu, that even I could learn it :)

I like this series very much, so it's easy to understand, that the heart-shaped pendants by Swarovski reminded me inmediately of the heart-shards, which have a central role in the story. (In order to defeat a monster, the prince of the tale had sacrificed his own heart. The main character, Ahiru tries to collect the scattered pieces and so returning to him his lost feelings...)

This pendant, however, isn't meant to be a replica of any of the jewels in the film (the heart-shards were there simply red gems, while Tutu's pendant has a totally different design). It's only inspired by the story, nothing more...

Herr Nussnacker's new girlfriend

Aren't they an adorable couple? :)                       
 I like mismatched earrings, so decided to make a pretty partner for the little nutcracker instead of a twin brother (that would have been sooo boring...). Of course I wanted to make a ballerina wearing tutu and all, as if she were coming straight from the ballet.




Well, I won't say I'm absolutely satisfied with the result - but it's not too bad, either. Finding the right colours was kinda problematic, because I have a very limited palette of delicas. My first thought was white, naturally, but then there wouldn't had been enought contrast between her dress and her skin. So remained this light blue - not a bad choice, though, since in some stagings of the ballet Clara is wearing blue. But here came my next problem: I've always imagined Clara (or Marie,as she's called in the original tale) as being blonde, but I hadn't proper beads for it. So my version, if you wish, is a young ballerina, tying her black hair up in a tight bun, ready for dancing Clara's role :)

I had hardly finished it, when my sister showed me the trailer of the new Disney version, Nutcracker and the four realms (I guess, this will bethe title), which gave me a new idea: my purpleish delicas would be perfect for the Sugar-plum Fairy!

Sailor Saturn jewelry (sort of)

I have already beaded a sun, moons and stars, and I was pondering what other celestial objects could be made. Planets were an evident choice, but I wanted something more spectacular. Well then, planets with rings? Saturn? Oh, that's right, Sailor Saturn has some cute earrings, doesn't she? So the idea was born. (After all, I quite liked her, although my absolute favourite senshi is Pluto. But since I don't have dark red beads, her jewelry isn't included in my short-term plans).

The planets themselves were not that tricky - a small peyote beaded bead plus the ring made with square stitch. The problem was the dangling part - it should have been a 3-dimensional, longish object, but I couldn't bead something similar, so at the end simply added big glass beads.

Then I decided to make a matching necklace too - but somehow I was convinced that the pendant on her choker is an eight-pointed star (similar to her brooch), so I made it that way. Only after finishing it came to my mind to check some reference pictures... Well, in the new anime it has indeed eight rays (but longer ones), while in the original anime only six, so my version is rather a mixture of the two...

Silver-blue set

Well, I can't even count, how many pieces I've made in this colorway...

But this set is not entirely new, I've only switched the satin straps of this bracelet to beaded ones, remade one of the earrings which  was unfortunately broken, and made a ring as addition.
Okay, that sounds like the paradox of Theseus's ship: is it then now a new set or yet the old one? :)

Winter

It has come at least, so after the fire here is some ice too ;)
The pattern is the same I've shown in december, but what a difference the colors can make...

Well, I'm sooo late again - this pendant was made actually around Christmas, I just hadn't time to show it :( 

Winter is the season for warm, comfy clothes too. And when you finally find them in the depths of the wardrobe, but realise that you haven't got matching jewelry - yet ;)

 I wanted a simple little pendant to my warm, burgundy-colored tunic, but I was then carried away... these burgundy beads were so beautiful, they needed more spectacular "companions" - the velvet ribbon and imitation pearls were just a perfect match! The result is maybe a bit too baroque, and certainly doesn't fit the style of the tunic, but at least it'll go well with laces and frilly blouses too :) 

Hm... "incroyable" fashion, and a little star-shaped flower... I've got an idea, where are my scarlet chatons? ;)