Leaving the comfort zone

As you might have noticed, my colour palettes are not very creative: most of my beadworks are rather monochromatic, made in different shades of the same colour + an accent metallic colour. They aren't too creatively chosen either: to blue, violet, rose, burgundy, white, black and grey I always added silver;  reddish shades or topaz were paired with gold; and bronze accompanied cream, brown, purple or teal. Green was maybe the only colour that I've paired with all three metallics named above.

Well, that was a long introduction, but slowly I'm getting closer to the actual topic...

It started with a 8 mm "Crystal copper" rivoli, which I wanted to bezel with bicones and 15/0 seed beads (like here). I have already used bicones in this colour together with a "Crystal red magma" rivoli, and the result (the second pic there) was quite good, so I thought this pairing should also work well the other way around - that is, the copper rivoli with red magma bicones. Well, I was wrong: the effect was rather awful. 

So I tried to find bicones in my stash that look good with the copper rivoli: the solution was maybe obvious, but for my stubbornly monochromatic taste a bit unusual: the rivoli had an interesting greenish sheen from a certain view, so dark green bicones matched it really well. (They're called "Turmaline", as far as I know they're already discontinued, but years ago I was fortunate enough to find some) 

The next challenge was to find seed beads which harmonize with both colours. My first idea was gold, but they looked somehow lame together; bronze definitely didn't worked with the rivoli, copper could have been good, but I haven't had any of it... Silver or nickel, maybe? That seemed a weird idea at first, but then I saw a beautiful painting which proved that steel grey and red can look wonderful together, and that helped with the final decision. (Yes, it was again a painting by Jenny Dolfen. And yes, about a certain red-headed character... I'm hopeless ^.^")

Can you see the green sheen of the rivoli?

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?

Shiny crystals reloaded

Flashback time again...

The "silver crystal" used as a pendant

Two years ago I made a necklace inspired by the Sailor Moon-series for a design contest. (you can read about it in this post) The necklace was shiny, cute and fitted the theme well (imho), but to tell it frankly, was also way too flamboyant, multicoloured and flashy for everyday wearing (or even for special occasions). So I take it to pieces, and decided to use the compontens for different, more wearable pieces of jewellery. For example the focal piece (the "silver crystal") became a single pendant which I regularly wear since then.

The original version

But somehow, I grew to like the original design (it sat so nicely on my neck... I have no idea, how is this type of necklaces are called - collar? collier? carcanet?), so in this spring I decided to gave it another go. Since the focal was gone, I made another one - one with the same star-shape as the other components, and this time I used gold-coloured seedies for the connections too, so the overall look was more coherent, than in the first version. The silk ribbons were also omitted (I liked them, but they weren't safe enough for a closure), but their silky shine is echoed by the Swarovski imitation pearls I now used for the connections instead of the clear crystals. For the closure I chose a rose-shaped clasp  - so I you wish, now besides the Sailor girls, Tuxedo Mask too is represented here ;) Even if this rose is silver and not red...

Late snowdrops

"Just a bit" late... but unfortunately, I totally forgot to show these earrings.
In every year it is a great joy for me to discover the first little snowdrops in a garden after a long, grey, dreary winter. Sadly, these graceful flowers wither all too quickly to give way for the more colourful celandines, violets, dandelions etc., so I tried to immortalize their shy beauty.
It was actually a looooong project, I started it three years ago, but my first tries were really misshapen and clumsy. In this March, however, came the "Heureka!"-moment: two types of peyote (circular for the core and flat for the petals) shall be combined for a lifelike result.

Rings

Three rings - but no, not that Three. At least not here. Not today. But who knows, what are hiding in my UFO-box... ;) Nevertheless these now aren't without some tolkienian allusions either - well, that's me, it can't be helped... 

But it had started in a totally different way...

I designed this element (a kind of bezelled chaton) originally as a  part of a bigger project, but I thought it would work well as a ring too. Not too big, not too small, just the perfect size :)
And these new "Iridescent Tahitian look" Swarovski imitation pearls combined with "Erinite" and "Pacific opal" crystals are really a match made in heaven - they look so lovely together!

 Of course, I wanted to try the pattern in  different colorways too, and since I've got so many coppery-reddish beads, this ring was born next. The picture doesn't really show it, but the chaton in the middle is "crystal red magma", while the bicones are "garnet". And having already some reddish pendants, this one now became a ring.

 So, here I was with these two rings, while re-reading the last chapters of The Silmarillion... and I realised how their colours, sea-green and lava-red actually mirror the fate of the last two Silmarils. It wasn't deliberate, I swear... it just happened. But after realizing it, I naturally couldn't resist making a third one...

...one in sky-blue with lots of sparkling crystals.

"And thus it came to pass that the Silmarils found their long homes: one in the airs of heaven, and one in the fires of the heart of the world, and one in the deep waters."

(The Silmarillion, Chapter 24. Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath)

Sure enough, these rings are just plain, simply thingies, not really fitting to this topic in style and "grandeur", so to speak. They are just the result of a sudden idea based on a coincidence, that's all. But telling the truth, I already have plans (and purchased beads) for a more elaborate rendition of this theme...

The Sugar-plum Fairy

 When I made a little ballerina as a "partner" for my Nutcracker-doll, I already started to think about to make a new character of that ballet: "la Fée Dragée" aka the Sugar-plum Fairy. Now, here she is!

(Oh well, with this hair she looks a tiny-weeny bit like Kusanagi Motoko from Ghost in the shell - Stand Alone Complex...)

That awkward moment, when you have more earrings than ears...

Mr Fox

 A little fox pin for my fox-adoring sister. Unfortunately, it has a mistake - that's why one should always keep the printed pattern at hand - even it's a self-designed pattern and you think you remember it well enough...

"Grey is her raiment; and rest is her gift"

Last summer I made a matching bracelet to my soft grey pendant (it was one of my experiments with the "Freiheit"-pattern). The elements are basically the miniaturised version of the pendant - well, at least the base is proportionally downscaled (the pendant had a 12 mm focal with 8 mm beads, so I used for the bracelet 6 mm focals with 4 mm beads), but the embellishing row is almost the same in both cases.

Back then I had said, how the ready pendant with its soft grey colour reminded me of Este* the Gentle, "healer of hurts and weariness", one of the Valier.
When I was reading The Silmarillion for the first time, I was  a ten-years-old little bookworm, interested in mythologies and legends, so it's only natural that I was totally fascinated by the Valaquenta. It was for me a new, interesting "pantheon" to learn, after all that Greek, Roman, Norse and whatnot myths. And sure enough, I tried to find paralels, like "So, Manwe is the king, is in charge for air and wind, and has eagles. Than he is basically like Zeus/Iuppiter. But Manwe is at least nice, while Zeus was rather an a**hole..." That's how a little schoolgirl, who has never heard about comparative religion studies, interprets it XD
At this stage I found Este rather uninteresting. Grey dress, slumbering in a garden: how boring is it! - so had thought the naive, impatient young child, who preferred great heroes, beautiful maidens and majestic queens. But now the tired, stressed adult revaluates all her former opinions, and admits she was wrong all along... Aren't Este's gifts the most precious, after all? Worthier than gems and jewels, maybe even than power, valour or knowledge...


*No, I stilll don't know how to write those two dots above the letter "e", which should be used in some Elvish names. It's an awkward situation, since normally I'm a terrible combination of a grammar nazi and a book purist, and can be really fussy about orthography and respecting above all the author's intention... But this case is the only exception, sorry ^.^"

Playing with PRAW

I couldn't stop after making the little cubes (shown in the previous entry). First came a dice...

 PRAW (especially its 6-based version) is just perfect for mimicking the strict but graceful geometry of snowflakes...

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 :)

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!

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? ;)

Mit dem jungen Herrn Nussknacker wünsche ich frohe Weihnachen und glückliches Neujahr für alle liebe BlogleserInnen!
Dear visitors, I wish you all merry Christmas and a happy new year - Mr. Nutcracker sends his best regards, too :)

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... ;)

Small things

Tried a new hairstyle for this little girl (older version: http://convallariacreations.blogspot.hu/2016/04/japan-babak-japanese-styled-dolls.html) 

She really looks better this way - at least more kokeshi doll-like. And since that was my original aim, I'm totally happy with the result :)

Two new colleauges joined the group of  my yellow buddies :) 

If minions are cute, then mini-minions are extra-super-cute, that can't be argued...

Some of my works were displayed at an exhibition organised by the library in my hometown :)