Let the fun begin!

Hello and Welcome!

My name is Christina, and I am a bead hoarder and jewelry maker. In that order. Seriously, I have a problem, lol!

My design style has changed and evolved since I started my Blog a few years ago. I still love vintage beads and findings and I still incorporate them into my designs, however, I started hiking and got back into bird watching about 2011 and my jewelry started to take on more of what I was seeing and enjoying in nature. I am primarily a stringer, I also do bead embroidery and some basic wire work. I have not really got knotting down yet but I keep trying :)

I am inspired by things like a walk in the woods, a hike along the beach, a pretty bird.  I like earthy palettes with some splashes of bright colors here and there.

My favorite colors are fuchsia, dark teal, evergreen, and lavender. I tend to run screaming in terror of super bright colors (neon) and warmer colors (red, orange, yellow) are a bit of a challenge for me.

I like working with natural stones, wood, pearls, swarovski beads and pearls, ceramics, polymer clay, czech glass (especially leaves and flowers) and Vintaj Patinas for metal. 

I would love to explore enamel beads and lampwork glass beads more. 

I typically use Vintaj brass for metals and findings. I also like Vintaj Art Metal, Pewter, and Artisan Copper. The more rustic, the better. I am not a fan of shiny metal.

I don't like plastic beads, crackle glass, chunky or large beads ( 10mm is about as big as I go for accent beads) glass bumpy beads, rectangles, squares, cubes or chips. 

Here are some of my favorite pieces!

My lovely studio Assistant, Cleopatra, supervising some destashing

And here is where most of the creating takes place, I have a nice corner of the dining room

Muffin tin challenge 2017

What is the Muffin Tin Challenge? You can read more about it here on Heather Power's Blog

I started off with NO muffin tin. I don't bake. In the beginning, I used my Boyfriend's fly tying containers...but I didn't quite feel right with out a muffin tin. 

I ended up getting some disposable ones at the Grocery store. I loved this challenge so much though, I am thinking of getting a vintage muffin tin to be able to continue to create like this. I got so much done!

Here is my loaded tin, with beady muffin mix

And here are my pieces! 

Memory wire wrap bracelets with charms, inspired by Heather Power's Bead Table Wednesday tutorial. 

Snowflake: Peanut beads, vintage faceted seed beads, memory wire, Humblebeads Snowflake bead, freshwater pearl, czech class flower, Swarovski crystal

Birdie: Peanut beads, vintage faceted seed beads, memory wire, Humblebeads Birdie bead, Vintaj Filigree bead, czech class flower, Swarovski crystal

Wire wrapped silk bead earrings inspired by Heather Power's Bead Table Wednesday tutorial.

Robin Eggs: Silk ribbon, seed beads, vintage seed beads, Vintaj bead caps, Humblebeads headpins

Winter wanderer: Silk ribbon, seed beads, vintage seed beads, Vintaj bead caps, Swarovski beads, Freshwater pearls.

Walk in the woods: Silk ribbon, seed beads, vintage seed beads, , Swarovski pearls, Vintaj Arte Metal leaf charms.

Walk in the woods Necklace: Seed beads, Copper rounds, Humblebeads Birdie and rondelles, Aquamarine, Swarovksi beads, freshwater pearls, Vintaj Arte Metal leaf charm. I did not make the cute nest, I won it years ago from Vintaj.

And here is the whole Walk in the Woods set

Winter Wanderer Necklace: Humblebeads House bead, Green Girl Studios nest charm, Mamacita pewter birdie, lucite leaf, freshwater pears, Vintaj bead caps, Swarovski beads, peanut beads, vintage seed beads, silver heart toggle.

And here is the whole Winter Wanderer set:

Studio reorganization

I have been working on destashing my hoard since last Fall. I was making progress then a friend of mine gave me all of her beads ( the plastic bins on the floor ) Yippee for more beads 😊

Beady Blog Update

I have my bead "Studio" completely torn apart at the moment as I am reorganizing, destashing, and cleaning out 20 years worth of hoarded beads. I am trying to decide how to move the extra beads and whatnot along..maybe a destash sale or something like that will be coming in the future :)

Here are a few projects I completed over the last few months

And a current work in progress