Little Socks

Čarapice

Tuesday's Treat :)

Anica is a new Red Panda Beads customer from Croatia.  She does beautiful bead work.  Here is her introduction on her website.....

My name is Anica Čarapić. Čarapić means Socks in Croatian and Čarapice (my site) means Little Socks.  I inherited my last name from my dear husband with whom I am married for 6 years who I love very very much.

The interest in jewelry making in general was brought out by one of my dear friends who remained to live in my beloved Varazdin (city in Croatia).

Her works have fascinated me so much that I wanted to do something myself. I found a talent in myself, I did not know until then.

I was born in a village near the city of Varazdin, and now live in the capital Zagreb.

I have started work again a few months after my child got a little older and more self-reliant (and since he started to go to kindergarten).

Personally, I value handcrafted jewelry of any material because it was done thoroughly and lovingly. 

Anica sells her work to her friends and to people who contact her through her webpage.  

She has a slide show on her webpage that shows much more of her work and the pictures are bigger too.

Anica also sells her work at local fairs.

She prefers to work on more intricate pieces. 

She specializes in bracelets....

...and she sells more bracelets that anything else.

She works with various stitches.....

....but Peyote is her favorite.

She also does fabulous earrings.....

....and many varied designs.

She also works with the various bead finishes, sizes and shapes to create interesting texture in her pieces.

You can see her eye for design even in the photos she does to display her work.

She is so talented, it is hard to pick just one as a favorite!

This cuff has the look of lace.

This cuff sports embellishments that add to the interest in the piece.  

Visit her website to see more of her work, and if you would like to contact her, to purchase a piece - here is her email address - acarapic@gmail.com.

Thank you Anica for sharing your beautiful work!  :)

Happy Beading!

Betsy

Judi Morgan Fine Art

Tuesday's Treat :)

Judi is a Red Panda Beads customer from the UK.  She is a very talented artist and beader.  She paints beautiful landscapes....

"I want the finished painting to take me back to a particular

time and place, essentially capturing through paint a fleeting

but significant experience of somewhere."

She sells her work on her website.  In addition to landscape paintings she also sells jewelry and has recently added Dragonfly Pins to her inventory.  She made the first one for her "Mum", Annie, who introduced Judi into beading.  Sadly, as Judi was finishing the first pin in the series, she learned of her mother's recent passing.  In her mother's honor, Judi calls the pins, Annie Pins.  Judi uses size 11/0 Miyuki Delicas to make these pins.  She is currently selling them at various craft fairs, but plans to add them to her website in the weeks to come.

No two Dragonfly Pins are exactly the same.

And, if all that were not enough, in addition to her landscapes and jewelry she also features hand painted lamps on her site in her Lamp Shop.  Each lamp is hand painted then fired to fix the pigments to the glass.  The lamps measure approx 10cm square by 23cm tall and come with a 9 watt low energy bulb and all the fittings.

This close up shows the quality of her work.

There are even more lamps on her site and each one is a beautiful piece of art!

Thank you Judi for letting me share your beautiful artwork!

Happy Beading!

Betsy

Meet Cammie

Even before Chewie, our toy poodle, died of thyroid cancer, we decided that we would never buy another dog.  There are just too many that need to be rescued.  :(

K-9 New Life is an all breed, no-kill dog rescue organization in our area.  They do really good work and we support them.

The mission of K-9 New Life is to take in dogs from shelters when they have run out of time or are injured or too sick for the shelters to handle. We provide them with health care, rehabilitation, training and a loving foster home until they can be adopted. Our focus is to give these less fortunate dogs a second chance to live the happy life they deserve.

  They have a facebook page that I follow.  So we saw the story of Tuesday unfold.  Tuesday was rescued last Fall.  She was due to be spayed when she surprised everyone with the fact that she was pregnant!  She gave birth on October 30th to 6 pups, 5 of which survived.  While no dog could fill the hole in our hearts after Chewie died, we wanted another dog in our lives.  So we checked to see if any of the pups were still waiting for adoption and there were two left. 

We scheduled a visit with the foster mother, Donna to see the two pups, Chloe and Penny.  Since Tuesday gave birth in her foster home and her pups were raised in a home environment, they were all very well-socialized.  Donna very graciously gave her home for what I can only describe as "Puppy Romper Room"!  The pups were four months old when we visited.  Of course we left with one!  We chose "Penny" but we renamed her Cammie.  Since all the pups were together, they really did not know their names and all would come if you called just one.

Shortly after we got Cammie, I saw a beaded dog collar and thought to do a custom one for Cammie.  I wanted to do her  name and have paw prints on either side.  So I set out to make a pattern.

I figured out how wide and long I needed the beading to be to cover a nylon collar.  Then I made an excel grid so I could start playing with the design pattern.  You can see in the photo that I went through several iterations before arriving at the desired paw print shape.  

Next I used a Guitar/Belt Strap loom to create the beadwork.  I chose bright pink and a copper color to match Cammie's coat.  

After beading the pattern, I sewed the beadwork onto some ultra suede to attach to the nylon collar.

And here is Cammie showing off her personalized collar!

We are very grateful that we can provide a good home for this sweet dog!  Thank you Donna and K-9 New Life for saving Tuesday and her pups!  :)

Happy Beading!

Betsy

Spiffy Jewelry Designs

Tuesday's Treat :)

Tiffany is one of the newest Red Panda Beads customers and the owner of Spiffy Jewelry Designs.  She has been making jewelry since she was five years old, starting by simply stringing beads.  She now creates her unique designs using new ideas inspired by nature and her traveling experiences.  She looks at anything and everything for inspiration, from small plants to huge sky scrapers.

Tiffany likes to incorporate Swarovski crystals with Delica seed beads.

She also likes to use sterling silver findings.

She weaves other types of beads together to create her colorful pieces.

She incorporates other elements, as well, such as beach glass.

Tiffany prefers to work with FireLine when creating her designs.

She calls this piece "Metallic Swarovski Elegance".  The weave in this design is very unique and one that she is most proud of.

Not only does Tiffany have her etsy site, but she also displays her work at various craft shows.  She plans to add many more designs to her etsy site after the show season ends in August.  So be sure to look for more stunning designs in her etsy store this fall.  :)

Happy Beading!

Betsy 

Chain Maille

Summer is here and I always enjoy creating new anklets to wear with my sandals.  I've been meaning to dive into Chain Maille ever since I added the Artistic Wire Chain Maille Rings to my website.  

So what better way to experiment with the rings than to use them for the basis of my new anklet?

I began by assembling my items.  I chose the Non-Tarnish Silver 20 Gauge 3/16" rings.  I decided to do a simple modified Italian link and embellish them with some Miyuki 3.4mm Drop or Fringe Beads.

I really like these inside color drops.  You can see the vivid orange through the peridot colored glass.  They just seem so bright and summery!   :)

I chose this heart and key toggle clasp - I think it adds to the overall theme of the anklet.

The Italian link is a simple chain maille pattern - it starts out with two interlocking sets of rings and you keep adding more sets until you get the desired length.

I tried using two pairs of pliers - but found I was more comfortable with my trusty jump ring tool.  You simply slip it on your finger and you have a handy tool to grip one side of the jump ring while you use your other hand with the pliers to open and close the rings.  When I tried with two pairs of pliers, I kept dropping the rings!  I guess I am way too clumsy to be a surgeon!

Once you have the desired length you add the descending rings with the added drop bead.

Here is the finished anklet.  This was a quick and easy way to jump into chain maille (pun intended)!  I can't wait to move on to more intricate projects! 

Happy Beading!

Betsy