Reader Showcase

Bowlerite Beads! Fab faux gemstone from DVHdesigns

DVHdesigns — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 05:15:51 GMT

Howdy Beaders!

Well it's that time of year when I start thinking of BOWLERITE again! I made about two dozen pieces for the Portland Bead Fest and they sold well (although the show itself wasn't great for me sales wise). I even sold one to Jean Campbell who put a picture of me & my pal Jan, as well as her new bowlerite bead in her blog! I think Bowlerite is one of the most amazing materials that I have cut in a long time. I don't think I've ever found a more fascinating faux gem for my lapidary palette. I have collected it for a number of years but all the pieces I have are pretty large and for years I was hesitant to cut them on my saw. As I pondered how to slab up this material I just left all my specimens of this beautiful stuff on display in my garden. Bowlerite almost always comes in large spherical masses. While the most common occurrence of this stuff is in a boring black, it can be found in almost any color. I have always eschewed the black and only collected the colored specimens, most of which show incredible swirls, lustre, and chatoyancy. I finally overcame my fear of cutting up these massive spheres and despite the danger and hard work involved, I think the results are totally worth it!

Bowlerite is translucent, chatoyant, and very lightweight. Its one drawback is that it is quite soft and can scratch easily. However, because of its softness, any scratches or marks can be buffed out by hand. Despite its softness it is extremely tough and structurally sound. This material may scratch but it WON'T break. It seems to be composed of a hard petroleum based poly-carbonate. Bowlerite can be found all over the world but is most common in North America. It can be found in wooded country lanes (as well as urban and suburban wooded lanes).

I was showing off this material to members of the Seattle Metals Guild and one of the Northwest’s most prominent art jewelers said that one should "strike while the market is hot and spare no expense in getting this new faux gemstone material." I think that this material would look great in necklaces or pins. I have classic Bowlerite specimens in a variety of colors. Look for more of this fun and unusual material in my eBay store! Be the first in your community to have a bead in this league! NOTE: "BOWLERITE" is a trademark of DVHdesigns.

Here's some more bowlerite in more colors...faux pietersite is one of my favorites.... and I really like the jadeite green... and the robin's egg turquoise blue is fab... and this golden yellow is less whispy, but it's luminescence and translucence are amazing...

That's it for now! I gotta catch the last bus home on a Friday night! Happy Beading everyone

(Optical) Phenomenal Gemstone Beads = Natural BLING!

DVHdesigns — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:06:14 GMT

Howdy Beaders, lately I've been on a bit of a spree with phenomenal stones. These are those stones with properties that cause optical phenomena to occur within the stone. The major categories are Asterism in star stones (ruby, sapphire, etc) which is caused by fiber like inclusions in the crystal; Opalescence (opals) a milky to rainbow play of color caused by large spheroid structures of silica in the stone; Labradorescence (labradorites & many feldspars) which is broad multicolor flashing surfaces; Adularescence which is a glowing effect as seen in moonstones; Aventurescence which is a sparkling, more glitter like, effect caused by metal or glassy looking inclusions in the stone; Chatoyance (from the French "Chat Oeil", or "cat eye") which is a gleaming effect all over or in a distinct cat's-eye; Schiller which is a directional sheen or shimmer; and finally Irridescence or Iris effect which is a play of color of rainbow colors often caused by a fracturing within the stone.

I don't hardly ever cut star stones, but all the other phenomenal gemstones are among my favorites to work with! I especially like stones that show multiple optical phenomena like this

Above, we see this particular variety of sunstone which shows a moonstone effect on the opposing axes of the sunstone, almost like a sun and moon hybrid!
This is a new, spectacular gemmy sunstone material from Tanzania that is as good or better than the more commonly found sunstone from India. I hand cut this shield shaped bead which measures 40x27mm and is 12mm thick with a 3mm drill hole. It has a high polished finish. There are several healed fractures in this bead, but they don't threaten the structural integrity of the stone. The aventurescent qualities of this stone are apparent on the faces where one sees the coppery spangles phenomena of adventurescence while the sides at a 90 degree axis, show the adularescent moonstone optical phenomena! The images give you just a hint of how these well oriented stones go from coppery orange base color to a nearly blinding coppery whitish brilliance! White veining and some dark grey spots create an ethereal & spacey effect!

Here is what June Culp Zeitner of Lapidary Journal fame says about sunstone in her book, "Gem and Lapidary Materials,".... "Sunstone is an aventurescent labradorite, microcline, or oligoclase feldspar, distinguished by minute hematite or goethite inclusions which reflect the light" She goes on to say that some microcline sunstones like this one show both aventurescence and adularescence.

Some of the mystic lore that has been said about sunstone is that it is a stone of leadership, dispels fear and stress, increases vitality, encourages independence and originality, warms the spirit and brings good fortune!

Then there are stones like this iolite, A wonderful deep blue iolite with silvery rainbows of "meteors" flashing through it as it moves in the light! I hand cut this elongated teardrop shaped piece which measures 51x17mm, is 8mm thick with a 2.5mm drill hole and has a weight of 54cts. It has a polished finish all over. The stone is cut so that the orientation of the optical phenomena are at their maximum. Still images don't do this amazing and hard to find gemstone justice. The stone really has to be moved around in the light to get the full optical effects of the aventurescence, chatoyancy, and iris effect that are all present in this remarkable stone!

This material is called "Bloodshot Iolite". It is an odd variety of iolite, a magnesium aluminum silicate, that has inclusions of small flat platelets of reddish hematite or goethite. This creates the optical phenomena of adventurescence throughout the stone. It is the same mineral and optical effect found in feldspars that are sunstones, so this is also accurately referred to as "sunstone in iolite". Iolite is noted for it's pleasing blue color and is often mistaken for sapphire or tanzanite, which are both much more expensive. Most iolite has inclusions and in these stones that I have cut the internal inclusions also create "iris effect" which are little refracted rainbows within the stone. I have never seen ANY of this rough available before my last trip to the World's gem & mineral trade shows in Tucson this last February. I saw ONE dealer who had this rough and I bought his 8 nicest pieces, which yielded only about a dozen pieces and I only have 4 left in my eBay store. That is all I have EVER seen of the rough and if you look around you won't find any other loose beads or custom cut cabs out of this material.

I hand cut this wonderful teardrop shaped, 89ct bead out of a large crystal of rare, chatoyant, Kyanite from Tanzania. Kyanite is widely reknowned for it's powerful metaphysical powers, as described below. This piece measures 46x18mm and is 8mm thick with low domes and rounded edges. The drill hole is 1.5mm for easy stringing. This would look great with pearls! Nice shiny polish all over which really highlight the natural optical effects of this stone. There are a few minor pits to the surface that are only visible upon close examination (also see below for the difficulties in cutting kyanite). The internal inclusions cause a wonderful chatoyant, or "cats eye" effect, with a rolling silvery schiller that flashes in the light across the faces of this wonderful gemstone bead! When I was in Tucson this last February I bought a little over 4,000 cts of this stuff. This is one of the last 6 or 7 pieces I'll be able to cut out of what I have left. Lovely massive crystals that when CAREFULLY cut, yield these big wonderful beads! Compare with other custom cut, big focal beads of kyanite on eBay! (oh wait, there aren't any). Read on for more info on Kyanite....

Cutting Kyanite is a real challenge! But since I found a good deal on good quality crystals, I bought some rough and am quite happy with the spectacular results! Well worth the challenge. Here's what the Goddess of Lapidary Journal, the famous June Culp Zeitner says about Kyanite in her book, Gem and Lapidary Materials, (the Bible for the lapidary!) in the chapter on Rare, Little-Known, and Unusual Gem Materials, (emphasis mine) "Blue gems are among the most popular, but unfortunately kyanite, although possessed of a wonderful true blue color, is seldom cut. Crystals are thin, splinterry, and brittle, and cleavage is prounounced....A Chrome green kyanite comes from Tanzania. Pink, gray, yellow, and brown crystal are also known. Not many stones are over 10 carats....It is transparent to translucent and often color zoned. A major fault as a lapidary material is that the faces of the crystal have extreme variations in hardness....Occasionally kyanite is chatoyant, so small cats eye cabochons can be cut, but cutting the cat's-eye is as difficult as faceting, so cut kyanite stones are not at all common. Avoiding the cleavage planes is critical in cutting." (emphasis mine)

For those interested in the metaphysics of gemstones, in her book Love Is In The Earth, New Age author Melody says (underlined emphasis hers, bold mine) "...one of the minerals in the mineral kingdom that never needs cleaning or clearing. It will not accumulate or retain negative energy or vibrations. The energy of kyanite is unlimited in application, making it one of the very best attunement stones." She goes on to say, "Kyanite aligns all chakras automatically and immediately, with no conscious direction. If directed with the consciousness of the user, it can also open the chakras...brings tranquility and calming effect to the whole being...stimulates communication and psychic awareness on all levels..dispels anger and frustration...provides a stimulating energy and supports one in the continuation of projects...." and she goes on and on about the wonders of kyanite. Then she says, and I quote with the emphasis and capitalization of the author, "Kyanite Facilitates Meditation! Whenever there is a problem with respect to 'getting into' meditation, the calming, clearing effect of kyanite can be useful....also when accessing the astral plane and when connecting with ones guides....provides for balancing of the yin-yang energies, bringing an orderly growth to the intellect, emotions and physical body." And there's more, but I'll leave it at that and suffice it to say that Kyanite is evidently a VERY POWERFUL METAPHYSICAL GEMSTONE!

Well that's all the "phenomena" I can deal with for today! Got to catch the last bus home. Thanks for letting me share. I'll have more optical phenomena in my work to show ya in the days and weeks to come!

Patriotic Beadwoven Earrings

brightcircle — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:24:31 GMT

These amazing earrings were actually designed by a talented client, and executed by me. She wanted statement earrings that were unmistakably patriotic, so she went with an American flag idea and riffed off it with blue bunting style fringe, and silver stars. We're pretty tight, so I convinced her to go with cobalt AB 15/o beads instead of opaque navy Delicas, and we both agree that it goes better with the indigo crystal.

Red and silver cylinder seed beads, Swarovski crystal and cobalt 15/o seed beads went into these earrings.

Yayaya Earrings

popnicute — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 08:22:17 GMT

So this is the earrings design to accompany my Yayaya Necklace! :D i hope you like this as well ^_^

click here to see the whole thing.

Rivoli Rings

Mikki335 — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:32:22 GMT

These are a few of the rings I've been working on lately. When I was judging an art show last week the other judge went crazy over my finger armor. She and her husband asked if I had any for sale so I said I would make some and bring them down to the art reception which is on Friday. Mine is the black and silver on the right the one laying down was the first part of the red/black/silver one in the second picture. The rings in the second picture were done with a different technique to the ones in the first picture.

Brickstitched Twilight BeadTags

brightcircle — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 03:39:50 GMT

Inspired by the arresting cover art of the Twilight books, I set out to do beaded versions in brick stitched dog tags. The idea for brick stitch dog tags came from an issue of Step by Step beads I had a while ago, and while I've never done them in the provided zodiac patterns, I've had marvellous fun designing my own patterns for the shape! Here are the tags for Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse.

Let me tell you, the one with the crystal has been a LONG time coming--my local bead store has not had light Siam 6mm rounds for literally months. I finally had to order one from FusionBeads. I wanted a real crystal bead in there for the apple. I used white opaque AB frosted delicas for the hands, and black opaque for the background.

Charting the lily and the broken ribbon was HARD! I'm suited to repetitive, geometric shapes, NOT organic-looking, flowing things that really shouldn't be planned, especially on such a small scale as the dog tags. I studied the book covers very intently while doing the patterns, and am immensely happy with how they turned out.

I'm still working on the Breaking Dawn one.

A few new things

LitaC — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 03:50:42 GMT

Haven't had much time to devote to beading in the evenings this week, but I've managed to finish off some projects that have been hanging about.

Pink and Black Kumihimo

This was supposed to be a bracelet, but was too long, but not long enough for a necklace. So I've put it on chains. I think it needs something more substantial - probably a straight rope of kumi in black satin rattail. The interesting thing about this piece is the shape. Because I used two sizes of drop beads, with a core of size 8 black seed beads, the rope is square - the large drops are the corners and the small drops are the flats. The black seed beads slide inside and stabilize everything.

Closeup

This is a metal working piece I started a few months ago. The base is hammered sterling silver, dapped into a donut shape, and hammered circles riveted on. It was supposed to be a pin, but I couldn't get the pinback soldered on properly, so I desoldered the half already on it and then soldered on a loop. It's strung on a leather cord with silver wire wrapped ends.

Lastly - a kumi piece I'm just not sure about. It is a series of size 11, size 8 and size 6 round seed beads with copper accents. I had no idea what the finished product would look like, and I'm not sure I'll repeat this style. I plan on adding tassels on the ends, and will post a finished picture eventually.

Lita

bazaar commissions from last weekend

JSmaz — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:56:16 GMT

Well, I survived the second fall bazaar, and I did about as well as the one at the beginning of November. Not spectacular, but the 2 put together isn't too bad. I had a couple of commissions that I made at the bazaar I thought I'd share.

These earrings were made for the gal in the booth right behind me. She & her family own & operate a small winery a couple hours south of here, and she wanted something that looked like grape clusters. She loved them & wore them all weekend I'm happy to say.

This necklace & earring set was based on the 3-strand version I shared a couple weeks ago in a different showcase post (the one Dagi helped me with parts for). The gal wanted something a bit more petite but with the same look and different colors. I used burgundy, merlot & clear AB Swarovskis plus mauve & white pearls with antiqued brass. Sorry the pic isn't great-I took it at night with only the overhead lights and the color is awful.

Enjoy!

SSE 7 - exhibit

Inca — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:38:44 GMT

SSE 7 - I know some allready gotten their goodies. And yeah I know some of you have reported to be very late shipping ...
But we usually make the show and tell thread at the 1 week marker ... so here goes ...

Now I have made a beadembroidery...

MariaN — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:51:55 GMT

and it looks like this.

Now I just have to find out how to end it. I thinking of doing something with macrame but not sure yet. I have to say that I am very satisfied with what I have accomplish. :-)

Difficult to knit this earrings

Carole — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:16:20 GMT

It is really hard to knit this delicate earrings. But as long as you like it, it is worthy. Any idea？

SSE Round 6 - show and tell!

Inca — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:48:02 GMT

I havent gotten or sent yet ....
But I know a lot you are waiting to show off .... its about 5 days since ship date so why not ... GO FOR IT...
What did you get ? Or make? (be sure if you post what you made that your mark have recieved them first)

Finally some new stuff

Cat — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:29:51 GMT

I was finally able to take pictures this weekend so here's a look at a little of what I've been working on.

First a simple wood pendant on suede cord with wooden beads and a clasp made by me.

[View:http://www.beadingdaily.com/themes/beading/utility/]

Next is my Fish N Bubbles bracelet and earrings. The fish beads are sodalite with fw coin pearls, swarovski crystals, and sterling findings. Earrings are FW coin pearls and sodalite chips which I have yet to put on earwires.

[View:http://www.beadingdaily.com/themes/beading/utility/]

And last a simple bridal bracelet and earrings

[View:http://www.beadingdaily.com/themes/beading/utility/]

I have more but I'll share later :)

Fairy's for all!!!

joesstudio — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:51:14 GMT

Hello everyone, i'm looking for bead shops who would be interested in giving my fairy's homes. I have good references if your interested. spjforlife@msn.com.

Golden Rutilated Quartz Necklace that I sold today!

popnicute — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:41:44 GMT

This Golden Rutilated Quartz necklace was just made yesterday and SOLD today to my lovely aunt. yay!

Read the story in my blog

The bail is another new form of my cocoon bead. My aunt ordered a matching pair of earrings to go with the necklace too!

Click the photo for bigger version.

Sanguine Drop Bracelet and more rosary-style Necklaces

rs83 — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:27:17 GMT

I made another spiral bracelet, this time in black and red. The siam Swarovski charm made me think of a drop of blood, which kind of works with the dark, gothy coloring.

And I made a couple more rosary-style/Y necklaces. I may make some more. I have a few of the crosses left, so I might as well use them. :)

They're both, again, made with gunmetal findings and mostly glass beads.

Jet AB finish Necklace. I'm happy to say this one sold yesterday!

Lilac Gothic Necklace (made with Alexandrite glass beads). This one's my favorite of the two. :)

Crime Scene: Do Not Cross!

brightcircle — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:09:06 GMT

After seeing a pattern for a scarf on the cover of Craft magazine, I wanted to do a similar pattern in beads! It's at least three feet long, and can be worn several ways as a lariat, wrapped around the wrist, worn as a tie belt (if you're careful and several sizes smaller than I) or used as a clever curtain tieback!

It's also a bit clever (unintentionally--I didn't have any high-minded ideas while beading it) in that it has multiple meanings and raises questions in the viewer's eye when worn. I wore this to the Bead & Button show and it had everybody buzzing! Let me tell you, it's quite a rush when people whose work you've admired for years, admires something YOU'VE done!

Here is a view of it flat: http://bright-circle.deviantart.com/art/C-S-I-113020850

Oh...Different

BeadBarn — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 15:11:06 GMT

I have Jacqui Carey's Beads & Braids on loan from the Library. Have to say, I am a little disappointed to find that only the Round Braid (the one from Bead & Button) lends itself to the 'bead every time' method of braiding.. There are some interesting ideas and useful info in the book but I expected something different...Oh well... back to the web searching...

I had to at least give something a try and this is it....Different..!!! What do you think..???

Lynn

Photo editing help

KLDesigns — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:54:43 GMT

Hi everyone!

I am looking for suggestions on a free photo editing software download, one that works well for beaded jewelry of course. So if anyone knows of one they think is a good one for me to try please let me know. I figure with enough suggestions, I can see if there are a lot of suggestions for one in particular. Thanks!

Taste the Rainbow

LitaC — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:56:17 GMT

I know that playing with a spectrum of seed beads is a cheap thrill, but this one's another proof of concept - to see how an 8-strand warp of size 11s would look as a kumihimo:

The order of the colors isn't quite right, but did prove that braiding size 11s is a lot quicker and easier that any tubular peyote that I could do. It took longer to string the 8 strands (4 hours) than it did to complete the braiding (3.75 hours). I also learned how important it is to keep a consistent tension when braiding beads this small. The other interesting thing is how relatively few beads I needed. I used exactly 1,440 beads - 180 beads per warp, and got a 20 inch finished braid.

I'm going to try a 12 strand next.

Lita

Slumped Bottles - an oldie but a goodie! :)

CorianderGlass — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:15:20 GMT

I have just now put a few slumped bottles on my site...they make for interesting conversation pieces, people always ask me about my "wine-bottle-spoon-rest" that I have next to my stove so I thought I'd make a few and see if anyone else is interested in them also...take a look and see what you think!

thanks for taking a peek!

Leasa

www.corianderglass.com

Coexist choker

brightcircle — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:29:02 GMT

I've wanted to do the 'coexist' bumper sticker image as beadwork for months, and finally did so! The pattern was an interesting challenge to make.

http://bright-circle.deviantart.com/art/Necklace-Coexist-II-134854619

I've also never posted a picture here, so any tips on exactly how this works and how not to skew my photo are greatly appreciated. I couldn't get my photo to show, though I clicked on the symbol and tried to upload like it said. My post just showed an empty frame.

Wrapped Bangle

Inca — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 05:49:28 GMT

I got this free Tut in about January or something, its made Stephanie Matheson
And here is my version of her bangle bracelet

Copper WIre and 8mm Fancy Jasper.
And I know they are only Promo beads from FMG ... but I LOVE THEM. So they are a biut uneven but that just give them more attitude.

Australian Finger Ring!

beadsbeadingbeaded — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:39:31 GMT

Well, I enjoyed sharing some of my other beadwork so much, I decided to show some more! I am still making Finger Rings, 10 to date. All are commission requests via my web site. The latest is going ro Australia and I was asked to use just Purple and Green. At first, I had a hard time realizing that combination, but now I see it really is a good one!!

I was also thinking, of all the Finger Rings I make for others, I wonder why more aren't being requested by those living in India. I think this would make a perfect wedding ring, In India, they adorn themselves with absolutely gorgeous jewelry, and lots of it!

Erin

New Poster Beadwoven earrings.

Ruthie — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 03:08:36 GMT

I have posted a few posts, but have never officially had the courage to say hello! So Hi everybody. I have lurked on these boards for a while and learned a lot of new things, especially how nice everyone here is.

I have just started dabbling in beadwork and have found that I LOVE it. Here is a pair that I did tonight with leftover beads from all my other stringing projects that I adapted from an article in Beadwork.