Tiny chatons 1.

Last summer (or spring, can't remember clearly) my favourite local bead shop added 6 mm Swarovski chatons to its sortiment. I was absolutely fascinated by those tiny shinies, bought quite a lot of them and started to experiment... Here are some of my results:

1. The easiest way - just bezel a few of them with peyote stitch then join them without further embellishing.

The result is simple but nice. It can be used as a modestly sized "alltagstäugliche" pendant perfect for everyday wear or even  - if using fitting colors e.g. grey or black - for an elegant or business look. 

But what looks rather small for a pendant, as a ring may look a bit oversized - but so funny! I really like this ring, even it can be a bit uncomfortable to wear... 

For this set I've chosen the following colors: Blue zircon, Light turquoise, Pacific opal - the shades of water, cool and clear, they are the best choice for beadweaving on a hot Summer day :)

Don't the great tales never ends?

And apparently, neither do some of the not-so-great-ones. Like the story of this favourite pendant of mine.

It started in 2014, when I made the pendant (how and why, you can read it in this post). It was really precious for me because of two reasons: I thought at this time, this was the apex of my beading "career", I 'll never be able to create something more complicated. Plus, it was special for me, because it was inspired by a tale (the story of Lúthien) which was always close to my heart. (well, in a depressed-and-rebellious-teenager period I had preferred the story of the children of Húrin to the Lay of Leithian, but that's only natural, isn't it?)

OK, back to the topic. The story continued in 2017, when I finally made a matching ring to the pendant (introduced in this post). I was really satisfied with the outcome, but then...


...while I was proudly wearing them together for the first time,  snap! the thread in the pendant broke, and it began to fall apart. I had to dismantle the whole thing cautiously in order to not loosing any beads. Seriously, it was a heartbreaking labour.
And even worse, I had to realize that I may not to remake it, because I couldn't recall any more, how it was made originally. The thread-path was so complicated, that while I was ripping it up, I wasn't able to understand and recreate it.
The situation looked rather hopeless.  Was it true, that "for the less even as for the greater there is some deed that he may accomplish but once only, and in this deed his heart shall rest"? Was maybe this pendant that once-only-deed in my life (me belonging definitely in the category of the least of the lesser...)?! A very disheartening thought.

But no, it just cannot be! -  thought I almost two years later. After all, it's just a friggin' little beaded pendant, not a magical jewel containing unsullied divine light whatsoever... So I took the beads that were since then respectfully stored in a box, and started to make a second version, which imitated closely the first one in look, but not in technique. The result: a pendant made from the beads of the original that looks almost like the original, although the thread-path is totally different (but who would tell it?)
So my special pendant was reborn, "recalled from the death", so to speak.  A very fitting end, if we consider, whose story inspired it originally :)

Could you tell the difference between the old and the new?

Christmas commissions

After seeing my jewellery (which can't be avoided, since I wear them every day), my colleague wished to buy /order some beadwork from me as Christmas presents for her daughters. I showed them some of my stash to choose, but she had own ideas too.

1) Seeing my  bronze necklace, she asked whether I could make a similar one - only in deep green, if possibly (her daughter is blonde with greenish eyes). Sure, I said... But who had been thought that finding deep green beads in the fitting sizes is so difficult a task... I started to think that green is an accursed colour in beading....

 2) My try with Nóra Tóth's "Zinga" pattern , with very simple colour choice. I made it without a special purpose, and it was just lying around in my stash - but now luckily it found a new home.

3) These earrings were a bit challenging, but really fun to make. The problem was that I hadn't remembered clearly my colleague's instructions. The request was a little cube-shaped earring "in yellow, orange or red" - or did she said rather "yellow, orange and red"?  I wasn't sure, so I went for the latter version...

They're are little "unfilled" cubes, all edge consisting of 5 CRAW units made with 15/0 seed beads. (So basically, a cube made from cubes. Cubeception XD)
If you think abut it, CRAW is actually three-dimensional in itself, but earlier I used it mainly for two-dimensional projects like the "celestial" set from the previous entry (OK, except for Maria's little crown). But these now, they're really 3D!

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')

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...

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? ;)

Some more fiery colours...

 This pendant is not a new one, it was made more than a year ago, but I had no idea, how should it be finished, so laid aside, and at the end I totally forgot about it. I found it now, and was really surprised, how nice it looks - it has such an interesting, three-dimensional shape, but unfortunately I couldn't recall, how it was achieved :( (The only thing I remember that I was watching Murdoch Mysteries while beading...). Neither have I an idea, why on earth had I chosen this colour back then. It's "Fireopal", a gorgeous, but definitely not a modest one.

Since I found the shape of the fire-pendant so interesting, tried to make something similar - I guess, the technique now used is quite different from the original, but the final result looks not bad... I think, I will make it in silver-white too, but now I was rather in the mood for these coppery reds (which are normally not really my colours). Apparently I've spent too many time  fangirling about Jenny Dolfen's pictures of Maedhros again... XD

From the ashes...

Well, that was a long pause - but I'm alive, and I'm back :) Actually I wasn't that idle in the last weeks (regarding beading and other crafts, I mean), I was just too lazy for blogging about them.
And as for the title: fitting for this re-awakening, flames will spring indeed in this post ;) Well, not actual ones, but sort of...

The colours of fire... glowing, passionate reds, bright oranges and yellows, noble golden and copper - they are undoubtedly beautiful, but somehow not really my colours, in most cases I prefer cold hues.
But sometimes I can't resist, because there are so many gorgeous beads in this shades...

...like for example the new "Scarlet" colour by Swarovski. For me "Light Siam" was a bit too bright, and "Siam" althogh lovely, but for some projects already too dark . But this "Scarlet", it's just a perfect shade of red!
I bought more chatons and rivolis in this colour in order to try them in different combinations.

This was the first try (because I couldn't choose between gold and silver, so black became the "tertius gaudens"). I know, the picture is terrible, but I was in a hurry...
The only problem is (and that's my problem with every reddish jewelry): what shall I do with it? I can't wear it, doesn't fit my style... I could imagine this little cutie for example on the neck of a Spanish senorita, a tango-dancer or something... but definitely not on me :)

 And the next one... if somebody had said a few months ago, that I would use orange in a beaded project, i would have laughed about it. It was totally-absolutely never-ever my colour... But the "Tangerine" Swarovski crystals (maybe it too is a new shade, I don't know) looked so gorgeous in the bead shop, I had to give them a try. And well, if in for a penny, in for a pound... the tangerine rivoli needed some matching bicones too.
The result was this "Blossom of fire", a variation of my "Silver Cristal"-pendant, using bicones in the following shades: sunflower, tangerine, scarlet and garnet (now thinking about it, dark siam would have been better...)

To be continued in the next post... ;)

Kleine Geschenke

Aus verschiedenen Anlässen für meine Schwestern.

2. "Maboroshi no ginzuishou" (the legendary silver crystal)

I've already shown this little cutie (it was the central piece of my necklace inspired by the Sailor Senshi), but here are some more pictures...

As you can see, it's not life-sized and the number of petals isn't correct either... but all in all, i'm pretty satisfied with it :)
Using these "crystal silver shade" Swarovskis was a good choice, they look somehow more... oh well... magical and noble than simple clear crystal beads. So the long and tiresome search wasn't in vain :)

Yeah, I've finally taken the necklace to pieces... I think I'll use the single elements for individual pieces of jewelry. It will be a fun and interesting challenge, creating jewelry matching to the characters :)

What do you think of it? Shall I start a series of posts about this project?













PS: I was asked how the pendant is attached to the ribbon - it has a loop on its back side, so it can be worn either on the ribbon (choker-style), or hanging from a chain.

 

Noch ein Set - diesmal in Grün

Schon langweilig? Vielleicht. Aber ich mag diese Muster :)

Little thingies

 I was invited to my friend's wedding, but in the night before it I suddenly realized that I hadn't had a matching necklace to the dress I've so carefully chosen for this occasion... In less than an hour this small pendant was ready, and I could finally go to sleep.
Guess what  I've left on my desk, when leaving in a terrible hurry next morning? (I was late as usual, thanks to my eternal nemesises: the nail polish which didn't wanted to dry and eyeliners...)
 Yesss, that's right, the necklace... silly me! ^.^"

An other little pendant. The pattern is similar but not the same  - here I used only 15/0 seedies for the embellishment.
The picture may not show it, but the chaton is "Garnet" - one of my favourite colour, but it's too hard to make a proper photo of it...

Recycling

A múltkor említett diadémot természetesen lebontottam azóta, hiszen semmi értelme nem lett volna megtartani egy ilyen hordhatatlan darabot - a központi elemet viszont nagyjából megmentettem, és átraktam egy sima nyakláncalapra, a "visszanyert" gyöngyökből pedig készült hozzá egy karkötő (amúgy is kellett egy fekete kari a rövidujjú blúzomhoz...). Sőőőőőt, a maradékból még egy kis gyűrűre is futotta.

I've torn apart the headband (mentioned in the previous post), but saved the central piece, putting it as a simple pendant on a rope. From the rest of the beads a bracelet and a little ring were created. So  a smart, practical little set has arisen from the remnants of a totally unwearable, weird piece :)

Pattern of the "Freiheit" pendant

As promised, here is the English tutorial of my Freiheit pendant - oh my, I can hardly believe that it's finally ready... making a proper translation is more difficult than ever imagined... It contains most probably lots of stupid grammar mistakes and funny wording, but I hope the pattern itself will be understandable. If something is unclear, or you find some really awkward mistakes, let me know, I'll correct it!

You can download the tutorial here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0dU9Iqx80g5VG1xU1Z2YVFhbTQ

Some other colour variations, if you are interested: green, white, copper, purple, blue, brown, teal.

And why this name? Well, that's a long story...

"Freiheit" is actually a German word, means "freedom". But no, I did not just opened a dictionary...

Last spring, when the idea of the pendant were born, I was kinda obsessed with the anime Shingeki no kyojin (Attack on Titan). I made the first versions while I was listening to the soundtrack,  reading the manga, or simply mourning and cursing the autor for killing off my favourite characters...

I wanted to give this pattern a name that fits somehow to this memories, so I've decided for "Freiheit", inspired by the second opening song, in which "Flügel der Freiheit" (= wings of freedom) are mentioned.

Besides, this pattern is a really flexible one, you can choose and mix the materials at your heart's content: the pattern grants you the freedom of varying ;)

Kleiner Würfel / Kiskocka

In den letzten Tagen konnte ich zum Glück mehrere kleinere Pläne verwirklichen bzw. ältere Projekte endlich beenden, so kommen gleich mehr Posts über süße kleine Dingsda...
Mostanában szerencsére sikerült pár régebbi apróságot befejezni, illetve újabb ötletecskéket megvalósítani, szóval a következőkben egész posztáradat következik mindenféle pici cuki csecsebecsécskéről...

Pro primo ein endlich beendetes UFO, ein kleines Kristall-Würfelchen. Bei mehreren ungarischen Perlerinnen habe ich der Rivoli-Würfel aber statt Peyote mit Square stitch gefädelt. Ich habe aber die originale Version mit 14er Rivolis zu groß (und teuer...) gefunden, so habe es mit 8 mm Rivolis gefädelt. Leider ist es nicht zu gut gelungen (fädeltechnisch gesehen, weil er keine Haltung hat), da aber mir so viel Arbeit und Mühe gekostet habe, ich werde ihn behalten :) Und natürlich weil er so schön funkelt *.* Unfolierte Rivolis zu benutzen hat sich als eine excellente Idee erwiesen. So, alea haec NON iacta est ;)

Hmmm... sollte ich vielleich einen aus blauen Rivolis machen, um ein eigenen kleinen Tesseract zu haben? :D


Először is íme eme végre-valahára befejezett kis kristálykocka.
Több magyar gyöngyöslánynál láttam a rivolikból álló kockát peyote helyett négyzetöltéssel megfűzve (sajnos, nem tudom, eredetileg kinek az ötlete ez a változtatás, de így szerintem jobban is néz ki).
A 14 mm-s rivolikból álló verzió nekem túl nagynak (illetve leginkább drágának) tűnt, ezért 8 mm-sekkel próbáltam ki. Sajnos nem sikerült valami jól (mármint fűzéstechnikailag, mert pocsék a tartása), de mert annyit küzdöttem vele, megtartom. Na meg persze mert olyan ellenállhatatlanul csilivili - látnátok csak napfényben *.* Jó ötlet volt fóliázatlan rivolikat használni... Szóval, alea haec NON iacta est ;)

Hmmm... kéne fűzni egyet kék rivolikból is, akkor lehetne egy saját pici Tesseractom :D

Freiheit - in allen Sinnen / minden értelemben :)

Dieser Anhänger wurde als Danksagung an meine Diplomarbeit-Betreuerin gemacht. Ich kann ja dieses Muster schon unter allen Umständen schnell fertigfädeln - auch während Lernen ;)

A konzulensemnek készült köszönetképpen ez a medál. Hát igen, ezt a mintát már álmomból felkeltve (illetőleg ez esetben két tétel közt) is gyorsan meg tudom fűzni...

Csak a szokásos történet: karácsonyra hazacipeltem a gyöngyeimet, de se kedvem, se ötletem nem volt a fűzéshez. Most bezzeg, mikor vészesen közeleg a záróvizsga, és inkább Ranganathan facettáival kéne foglalkoznom, nem a  fazettázott gyöngyökkel, egyre-másra jönnek az ötletek. Na majd ha végzek valahára...
De addig is egy darabig most ez a medál lesz az utolsó - anyukám szülinapjára készült.


Nur die gewöhnliche Geschichte: obwohl ich  meine Perlen für die Weihnachstferien mitgebracht hatte, hatte ich weder Lust, noch Idee zum Fädeln. Jetzt aber, im Schatten der drohend nähernden Abschlussprüfung wimmelt es in meinem Kopf von Ideen und Plänen. Nun muss ich aber von den fazettierten Glasperlen zurück zu den Fazetten von Ranganathan,..
So bis dann hier ist das letzte Fädelwerk - es wird Geburtstagsgeschenk für meine Mutti.

Ezzel a medállal mondhatni új vizekre eveztem, hiszen eddig szinte sosem használtam ilyen türkizes-tengerkékes árnyalatokat (ha mégis, akkor is csak ezüsttel párosítva).
Igaz, az ihlet ezúttal is külső forrásból jött, méghozzá Jenny Dolfen egyik csodaszép képének (The harp no longer sings) színvilága adta az ötletet.
Már egy korábbi bejegyzésben is említettem, mennyire szeretem Jenny képeit, és (bár persze abszolút laikus vagyok) milyen nagyra tartom a munkásságát. Év vége felé végre rászántam magam, és megvettem a könyvét, illetve egy naptárat, és awww, azóta is oda-vissza vagyok értük... :)
Az a szépséges kép a könyv borítóján pedig csak nem hagyott nyugodni, ráadásul éppen találtam szép aranylüszteres türkizes-mentaszín gyöngyöket a Gyöngyszigetben, szóval, ez a medál lett az eredmény. Amúgy vettem újabb rézszínű gyöngyöket is, just sayin'... ;)


Früher habe ich quasi nie solche Türkis- und Seefarbtönen verwendet (wenn auch, dann nur mit Silber kombiniert).
Die Idee war aber nicht meine, die Farben dieses Anhängers wurden von einem der wunderschönen Bilder von Jenny Dolfen (The harp no longer sings) inspiriert.
Ich habe schon in einem früheren Post erwähnt, wie ich Jennys Kunst bewundere (Ihre Seite: http://www.jennydolfen.com/) Klar, ich bin nur ein Laier, wer nichts von Malerei versteht, ihre Bilder finde ich aber wunderschön. Im November hatte ich endlich die Möglichkeit, ihren Artbook und ein Kalender von ihr bestellen, und awwww, beide sind ja zauberhaft...

Das Artbook, das Kalender und eine Postkarte :)

Jenes wunderschöne Bild auf dem Umschlag des Buches ließ mich natürlich nicht ruhen, und da beim Einkaufen gerade schöne türkisfarbene Perlen gefunden habe, ist endlich dieser Anhänger entstanden. Übrigens habe ich wieder neue kupferfarbige Perlen gekauft, just sayin' ;)

I'm alive

Ich habe eine stressige Periode hinter mir, in der ich kaum zum Perlenfädeln gekommen bin. Und das schlechteste wird erst jetzt in Dezember - Januar kommen (Abschlussprüfung usw.), aber ich hoffe, dass bis dann ich mich noch ein bisschen erholen und mit den Perlen beschäftigen kann - ich hätte ja eine Menge von Ideen...
So, jetzt kann ich nur ein paar ältere Sachen zeigen, nur um zu beweisen, dass ich noch lebe, der Kampf mit der Diplomarbeit konnte mich nicht töten ;)

Húzós időszak áll mögöttem, és sajnos, a legnehezebbje még csak eztán jön (záróvizsga stb.). Azért remélem, addig lesz egy kis időm gyöngyözni, mert ötletem az lenne bőven...
Most csak pár régebbi apróságot mutatok, hogy lássátok, megvagyok még, nem végzett velem a szakdolgozatírás ;)

Der Anhänger habe ich noch vor einem Jahr, im Herbst gefädelt,  das Armbändchen im Jänner. Das dritte Ding ist neu, und wird einmal ein Ring werden, wenn ich es endlich beenden kann.

A medált még egy éve ősszel, a karkötőt pedig januárban csináltam. A harmadik kis bigyó új, majd gyűrű lesz belőle, ha egyszer végre befejezem.

Kleine Ohrstecker für eine meiner Schwestern / Kis bedugós fülikék az egyik húgomnak.

Anhänger "Freiheit" - freebie / "Freiheit" medál mintája

Endlich kann ich mit euch die schon vor langem verschprochene Anleitung meines Anhängers teilen :) Es war mein erster Versuch, eine komplette Anleitung zu machen, so ist sie sicher nicht ganz perfekt geworden... ich hoffe aber, dass sie manche von euch vielleicht nützlich finden werdet!
Ich bedanke mich herzlich für die viele Hilfe, das Probafädeln und Korrektur von Nicole (Drei kleine Perlen)!

Die Anleitung könnt ihr hier finden: Anhänger "Freiheit".
Falls ihr damit irgendwelche Probleme hättet, sagt mir Bescheid!

Jó ideje megígértem már, de csak elkészült végre ennek a medálnak a leírása. Ez az első alkalom, hogy komolyabb mintaleírással próbálkoztam, szóval bizonyára sok mindenben lehetne még csiszolni rajta... azért remélem, lesz majd, aki hasznát veszi!
A tesztelésért és javításokért ezer hála és köszönet Nicole Vogtnak (Drei kleine Perlen) :)

A mintát itt találjátok: "Freiheit" medál
Ha bármi nem stimmelne vele, szóljatok bátran!

Sooo, I finally finished the tutorial for my favourite pendant - many thanks to Nicole (Drei kleine Perlen) for testing and correcting it!
For the time being I made only a German and a Hungarian version - let me know, if you are interested, but would prefer an English translation! (It surely won't be flawless, so sorry in advance...)