Wedding Earrings

A friend of mine is getting married on Friday - and I have golden dress but no jewelery. The wedding should be in white, yellow and gold.

The earrings are not very individualistic - I saw the design in the shop where I got the wings. They're very simple - just put a drop, wings and pearl to the little nail and make a loop at the end.

The necklace is more interesting - I was working with the crimps for the first time. I put one of them to each side of the pendant to hold it in place. Then I took the flat part of pliers and squished them flat. Crimps are also used to hold the fastening - they should be pressed really strong.
I measured the distances and drew with a permanent marker. I threaded all the beads to both sides, attached the fastening and then used the crimps again to hold the beads.

The little heart between each pair of wings is so cute for the wedding :-)

Wire Loops Necklace

I like this technique which shamely I don't know the name of in English, just in my language :-) It's used to make rosaries, maybe wire wrapping beads or something like this.
For the beginning, this is how I make the basic loop.

I make a loop, then a sharp break at the end and then I repair the loop to be symmetrical. This way I prepared stones with loops at both ends.

 Another component is a plain wire one.

 I make a small loop with the end of the pliers, then I add bigger loops made at the middle of the pliers. No templates, no need for them at all, just use the same parts of pliers every time.

Alternating the components, I added a red ball to the middle. I love it, but it's not very practical, this component is an eye candy and if it shifts from the middle of my neck, it doesn't look so good.

Cloth under the Wine Goblet

I was giving my friend a beautiful goblet. I thought it would give more the feeling of being a medieval nobleman if the goblet was standing on a velvet decorated cloth:-) I hope he'll drink of it often.

I hemmed a velvet square with a leftover of golden lace. Two rows of it.
I pinned several varieties of crosses on the cloth, but finally I decided not to make them (as little time before the birthday as always).

I chose a pearl embroidery instead. Bijou pearls and black cylindrical beads - three between every pearl section.

I didn't want to make a lining. However, I didn't want the embroidery long threads to be visible at the wrong side. So I brought the needle inside the fabric bethween each bead or pearl.

The goblet's so nice!

Lady's Crown

Performance next week. Nothing to wear on your head? Make you something.
So I made a similar pattern like the toque I've made some time ago. This time it will just be more open then the last time.
I always tell myself: you must take a different colour of chalk when you redraw a pattern. I always tell this after I cut something wrong:-) Yes, I made the pattern with a mistake first time, redrew and cut along the original wrong lines. No matter, I cut it again according to this piece.

The dress this is made for is from a knitwear similar to velvet. That's why I could 'cheat' a little - I didn't sew the cover as the pattern, but I made a narrow tunnel instead. It adapts.

I decorated it with golden beads and white pearls of different sizes. As usually, to get regular distances, the wreath was divided in two halves, then quarters and so on. I marked those with pins before I started.

The finishing touch - a lace. Fortunately I found the same in a shop as it was on the dress. Unfortunately, I couldn't sew it on by machine because of the pearls - I lack a precious zipper foot. But what wouldn't I do for a nice result ;-)

Pattern Binder

I'm setting up a binder to store all my patterns in. I just don't like its appearance - white plastic with some advert on it. I'm not into plastics:-)
I took a piece of old fabric and pinned it around the binder to find out the size. When I took it off, I marked with chalk, what I found.

I decorated it with my new beloved tambour needle:-) I draw the picture with a piece of chalk, I took inspiration in gothic windows. I worked like this with the only difference - my work was facing the right side up, I pressed the needle from below.

When I had the decoration done, I could sew the cover in marked lines and dress the binder up. First I sewed the vertical seams, then the horizontals.

Getting it on the binder was quite a puzzle, but finally...

A Little Camera Box Decoration

This week I'm taking part in a photographic course and I had some beads at home. What could come from it? :-)

I decorated the front seams. I backstitched each bead, it was rough particularly at the corners (too thick a layer of material).

Nothing special, more to amuse me than to form something beautiful:-P

Blue Bra Beadwork II

The green leaves are finished. Now I got down to the spangles. My inspiration - peacock feather.
I started with the dark blue center. After several trials, I decided that I should cover the hole in the center by a bead. The surface isn't so smooth, but it looks more professional.

I went on with light blue. I processed from the center outwards; it was quite difficult to create neat edge. At the dark green I made the outline first and then I was just fulfilling the inside space.

Two rows of light green are finishing the spangles.

I marked the distances and glued on some gems. I also wanted to cover the blue cups' fabric around them with beads, but it was ten o'clock and my boyfriend told me no way.

I should sleep enough. The performance is tomorrow.

Blue Bra Beadwork I

So this is what I have. The dress with decorated edge of sleeves and the bottom, and blue but not decorated bra.

I bought a sack of artificial gems. I drew the lines and distances by disappearing marker and glued the stones. Then I took green cylindrical beads and and began to create small green leaves (always by three beads at one stitch).

This took me about the whole today. Don't have a picture, so I'll surprise you with the result at the next post:-)

Saidi Sleeves' Decoration

The edge of the dress will be decorated with beads and spangles. They had no silver spangles, so I had to buy the ones on a cord and rip them out:)

I measured regular distances and marked them by pins - the easiest way was to jab them in the bed. You can see that I didn't cut the thread. I made a slip knot on the thread, worked one way and when I finished I untied the knot and worked the other direction with the tail. Half the nuber of knots:-)

The system is - five spangles with four silver beads between each two. When you thread so many beads, it doesn't pay off to thread them by hand, one by one. I accumulate beads in a heap and prick the needle into it until I get enough beads. It works the best with many beads, when I hold the needle's tip up and when I don't go at the bottom with the tip.

The finished edge looks like this. I already have the sleeves, now the lower edge of the dress is to be done.

Snake Bracelet

A new book came that I had ordered! The Bead Crochet Snakes. I loved the pics on the Net, so I couldn't resist:-)

The main principle is that you thread a cotton this way with threading on a usual thread first. Then you crochet and slide a bead to the piece in some state of progress at every single crochet. The colour pattern can be drawn on square paper and has to be known before you start crocheting (to know how to thread on the beads).

The inside of the mouth is beadless and for the snake to be worn as a bracelet, it is sewn around the tail.

Beaded Tree

I'm finishing today. Tomorrow's the Mothers' Day and I have to have it done.
I separated the free wires into five groups.

I twistes all the groups. By the way this was annoying. I'd intended to add a few wires after this act to increase the width but I gave up.

I tried to attach the tree to a piece of a rock. I found out I had few hands:-) Plaster helped a lot and when I was workig under the stone I didn't have to be afraid that I could change the tree's position.

I tied the ropes together. The knot was done similarly to a woven spider's wheel stitch. I hammered the wires flat. I was surprised that they didn't scratch the table at all when I finished.

So this is my hybrid beaded bonsai. Sister made one as well and we hid it for Mum as siter won't be at home and I'll be in Austria tomorrow:-)

Beaded Trunk

I made two more branches today and I decided this was enough. Now I have to join them all together.

I cut a wire twice as long as my arm is, folded in the middle and hooked it to the lowest leaf of the smallest branch like this.

Then I twisted the wire around the rest of the branch until the end where I let it hang.

I added branches this way - I put the branch to the trunk and bent it.

I found out I had to twist it with a few (inner) wires from the trunk so that it was stable and didn't move.

I took the outer wires (at first they were two and as I was increasing they were finally six), tried to keep them in a flat line and twisted the tree.

Eventually I got this strange something between bush and tree with a big buch of wires sticking out.

The next step will be fastening to a piece of rock.