Coming to Beadwork Magazine in December...

I kissed these pieces goodbye last week (or I think it might have been the week before, actually), sent them off to Beadwork Magazine's offices in Colorado for publication in the December/January 2010/2011 issue. I'm going to miss these two - I designed them both during the winter after I had Colden, when I was just starting to get back into my beading and designing.

Both of the designs were inspired by pieces of jewelry I found in the online catalogs of two auction houses - Sotheby's and Christie's.

The bracelet, made with Swarovski crystal pearls and bicones, I called, "Royal Right Angle Weave". I finished it with glittery, sparkling findings from Ezel Jewels - and I'm just NOT a sparkly kind of girl, usually! But I figure, just in case I ever get invited to have dinner with Queen Elizabeth in London or for the day that I get to walk down the red carpet at the Academy Awards, this is what I'll wear.

The other piece is a Victorian Chain necklace, based on a piece of Victorian mourning jewelry. I was obsessed with making little peyote stitched rings, and I figured out how to stitch them to each other so that they are linked up as you stitch! A little technical, but lots and lots and lots of fun to do.

I was actually feeling pretty good today, until I got a couple of very stressful phone calls and I started to get sick again. I managed to eat some dinner, but just didn't feel up to going over to see Tom's dad with Tom and Colden after dinner. With Colden, though, all you have to do is say, "Want to go see Opa?" and that's it - he's done. He's got his sandals in one hand, his hat in the other, and he's looking around for his big, green bouncy ball to take over there and toss into the pool!

So, for this evening, I think I'm just going to sit back and chill out and watch a couple of movies and maybe do a little more beading. I've decided not to push myself with the farmers' markets this summer, and I won't do my first one until the weekend of July 4th in Keene Valley. This will give me a little time to make a few more pieces of inventory, get some new fabric for new tablecloths, and try to get my displays a little better organized.