Vibrant Jewels

New Listings at JustBeads!

2009-09-27T18:06:00.003-04:00

As some of you know, JustBeads experienced a server failure and was offline for quite some time. I've not had time to list anything until this weekend. I have a GREAT deal on some jewelry, most of it vintage, 30+ pairs starting at just 99 cents! I'm also adding some bonus jewelry as the bids rise!

In addition, I've listed some lovely botswana agate nuggets, a full 1/2 pound! These have the dove gray, cream, peach and mauve markings that seem to be hard to find these days. You can use them for wire wrapping as they are undrilled, or glue a bail on them.

And I'm listing some great kits, most $9.99 or less! And shipping is free if you Buy It Now!

If you haven't joined JustBeads yet, it's a wonderful site and is making a great comeback.

View my listings here:
http://www.justbeads.com/search/ql.cfm?s=VibrantJewels

It's great to be back! Thanks for looking,
Karleen/Vibrant Jewels

Spring is almost sprung?

2009-06-04T15:36:00.007-04:00

How can it be JUNE already? And look, it's been nearly three months since I posted anything. I did get to go to an awesome Gem and Jewelry show two weeks ago and was able to buy a few things, I'm going to post my finds here so you can share in their beauty.
I bought this lovely lentil, it's some kind of gemstone, probably amazonite or a jasper. Anyway it reminded me of sand, sea and sky, so I bought it, with coordinating beads of course. I LOVE the beach, haven't been able to go in several years and I miss it so.

And OH congrats to me! I won a doorprize, the lovely rhodocrosite heart pictured below. I bought coordinating beads, of course, and hopefully that will be the start of my next project!

Also other assorted items, wish I had more time to visit and more money to spend, like I NEED more beads, LOL. I was going to post more pics but my camera gave out on me. Sigh....

What are you all working on these days?

2009-03-27T20:53:00.002-04:00

My First Award!

from Ann Marie at Heart's Desire Jewelry

http://heartsdesirejewelry.com/blog/

Be sure to check out her entry about pinks for spring! I love pink...

And now to pass it along:

Elizabeth Golden http://thelastdoordownthehall.blogspot.com/

wonderful collages and she gives away great freebies!

Val http://valsalteredheartjourney.blogspot.com/

lovely creations, most featuring hearts, with instructions!

and Szarka http://szarka.blogspot.com/

lots of eye candy, love her style!

OK girls, now it's your turn, go and nominate someone fabu! :)

2009-03-27T20:29:00.003-04:00

Fresh Kiwi Jade Set Finished!Necklace & Earrings

Bracelet

Fresh Kiwi Set

Closeup

I finally finished the Fresh Kiwi Set for my daughter, I was about 2 weeks late for her birthday, but she thinks it was worth waiting for. I think the addition of the kiwi jade rounds to the necklace helped balance the design. And I decided to add the butterflies to complement the clasp - plus my daughter LOVES butterflies. I had a lot of fun doing this... now I need to start something new!

The watch is still on hold, can't find those beads, I may have to take it apart and remake it... :(

What is everyone else working on?

YIKES where have I been?

2009-03-02T21:57:00.002-05:00

I can't believe I've not blogged in almost a month! Here's the dish: I got a new job and promptly became ill, so all I've done is work, sleep, work, sleep, etc. You've got the idea! And I haven't finished my daughter's set and her birthday is in 3 days! Will probably have to do a rain check.

But one of my groups has honored me by voting my Sun-Moons-Stars set as their fav and posting it on the main page! I'm not sure if you can see it as a non-member or not, but you might consider joining yourself!

It's at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/handmadejewelry/

Sheesh, working FT sure does cramp my beading style! I am feeling better so maybe I can get back to beading soon!

Michael's to the Rescue!

2009-02-08T18:56:00.004-05:00

I decided that my daughter's necklace needed something more... After almost finishing it, it seemed that there was not really a repitition of the exact color of the kiwi jade in the necklace proper. I scanned all my many boxes of beads, but couldn't find anything that exact color, texture and opacity. I went to Michaels and found the same stone - they were calling it Korean Jade - and then was able to find more beads in that tonal range. I may or may not use all of them in the design, but I was delighted to have more options!

I haven't been to Michael's in a long while, and I was delighted in the variety of beads and findings that they had. Of course some of it is junk and you need to know what you are looking for. I probably wouldn't buy my main stash there. But it's good to know I have a local resource.

I couldn't find the teal beads I need to finish the watchband though. I heard from BeadFX, they WERE bought there, but are now discontinued. I'll wait a little longer and see if any turn up, but otherwise I'm going to have to take the watchband apart and remake it. Unfortunately, with all the knotting I've done, it's probably going to have to be SNIP and redo. Will keep you posted.

Got a full time job, started yesterday, so I don't know how that's gonna affect my beading. I'm working 3 to 11:30 pm for training and not sure what the regular schedule will be.

Free Patterns!

2009-02-05T11:53:00.005-05:00

I've really enjoyed posting on my blog so far, and I hope you've enjoyed it too. It occurred to me that some of you may not have visited my website as yet and took advantage of my free patterns.
Angel Jewelry
Beaded Cabochon
Beading Basics
Cowgirl Valentine
Gem Heart Bracelet

Let me know if these are helpful to you. Bead Blessed!

Fresh Kiwi Update

2009-02-04T22:57:00.003-05:00

I had some time tonight to work on my daughter's necklace tonight. I finished one side of the necklace and the clasp. I may interweave another row of seed beads if I can find the right color, I haven't decided for sure yet.

I also started on the bracelet. I've been looking for a full time job and finally found one... so my beading time may suffer! You either have time to bead and no money to buy more beads... or no time to bead and still no money to buy beads! My hubby thinks the number of beads I have already is scandalous and says I can't die until I use them all up. I may live forever or even longer! LOL

Beads Needed for Watchband

2009-02-04T21:41:00.003-05:00

Hopefully this pic shows a little more clearly the beads I need... They are a slightly flattened, very rich teal, transparent glass bead about 9x5mm. I thought I bought them from BeadFX but didn't see anything like them on the website. If you have any idea where I can get a few, please let me know! I probably need less than a dozen. Thanks!

Fresh Kiwi Jade

2009-02-02T14:20:00.008-05:00

Fresh Kiwi Jade!

I finished my Sun-Moons-Stars set and have listed it on Artfire.
This pic shows the sparkle of this amazing set, but the colors are a bit faded from the glare.

This is truer to the bead colors but you can't really see the sparkle! I was pleased with how it turned out.

Bad news about my watch band, I ran out of the main beads I needed and can't find a supplier! I really hate the idea of starting all over.

I started a new set for my daughter's birthday coming up in March. It's called Fresh Kiwi Jade, and here's a sneak preview! I bought the center piece and the FWPs from Pizazz, who recently went out of business. Such a refreshing unusual color! My daughter loves green, so I think she'll be pleased. Let me know what you think!

Here are the beads I'm going to use for the bracelet (I think!).

Pink River listed at ArtFire

2009-01-24T21:54:00.008-05:00

Since I took the trouble to edit my photos of the Pink River bracelet, I decided to go ahead and list in on ArtFire. Here are some more snaps of it.

I just love it and am wondering if I should really sell it! LOL

2009-01-24T13:32:00.004-05:00

Whew! What a week! didn't have time to bead or do art at all. I'm going to physical therapy and have discovered multitudes of muscles I didn't know I had, and they are all very sore. Hopefully, though, this will prevent me from having back surgery.

My stepson is moving in also, and I'm trying to clean out his room, which was floor to ceiling boxes of books and craft supplies. I don't know where it all came from, but it's way more than I'll ever need. Of course going through it book by book, box by box, seems like it's taking forever, or even longer! Maybe I'll have time to bead today...

But here's a photo of something I've already done for your viewing pleasure:

I call it "Pink River Bracelet" and it is somewhat freeform worked in triple peyote stitch, out of glass beads and fresh water pearls.

Sun-Moons-Stars update

2009-01-20T21:19:00.004-05:00

I finished the necklace and started on the bracelet! It's hard to get good pics at night, but I was so excited about finishing the necklace, I had to post them right away. I decided to knot before and after the large coin beads for a little more security. I wasn't able to use a needle for this project as the holes in the 2mm silver beads were too small for one to go through! But the Fireline was stiff enough to go through them twice without too much trouble.

Here's a closeup:

The necklace taken with a flash:

Without a flash:

Does anyone know if it's OK to put a dab of clear fingernail polish on the knots in the Fireline? I hope so... I usually do that when I use Nymo for a bit more security.

I started the bracelet with the leftover thread from the necklace (better too long than too short!) about 12" pieces and knotted the coin bead in the middle with two teensy silver ones on each side. I'm adding a 4mm green iris, a 8mm clear, a 4mm green iris, and another 2mm silver bead, then knotting, one unit on each side, probably will have a total of three sections with the 8mm on each side, then will fill out with the 4mm and 2mm alternating until I get my length.

I kind of design on the fly like this... it seems to work best for me. How about you? Some people do better with patterns and instructions, but I'm not so good at following directions! LOL :)

Pics of what I'm working on

2009-01-19T20:38:00.008-05:00

Yesterday I mentioned working on a watch band. I used a watch face I already owned, but didn't wear because the leather band was too tight. I started this in our last local bead club meeting on Jan 10 - Blue Ridge Beaders. It is an embellished ladder stitch using two needles, which is awkward for me... I seem to be all thumbs! LOL

Here is a detail of the stitch:

I'm also working on a flat spiral bracelet in purples. I made a beaded bead and loop closure, but think the loop needs some embellishment, it looks a little wimpy for the rest of the bracelet, I think:

I seem to always need to work on multiple things... I guess I'm a process person that way. Yesterday I was playing with my beads and found some lepidolite coins ... most were pink, but these five were mostly gray and yellow. I also found a slightly larger yellow calcite coin, and thought... hmmm ... the gray coins look like moons from a Hubble photo, and the yellow calcite looks like the sun... what if I design a necklace around the concept of Sun-Moons-Stars? LOL So this is what I've done so far, I also plan to make a bracelet with the extra coin bead:

What do you think? I'm stringing it on doubled fireline and have a simple hook and eye finding for the closure. I've also added 8mm crystal fire polish, 4mm green iris fire polish and the teensiest 2mm silver beads.

2009-01-17T00:06:00.001-05:00

I'm going to try this out and see what comes of it. Right now I'm trying to finish a flat spiral bracelet and also beading a watch band. What is everyone else working on?