Wednesday’s Worktable: More Seed Beads!

Happy Wednesday, everyone! 

It’s been a busy creating week so far. I have three things on my worktable currently—but, sadly, not much to show for it. 

First, I have actually started making something with the pearls from last week. No pictures just yet… I’ve been working on it mostly at night, and the nighttime lighting is terrible for pictures. Ah well. I do plan on showing it off when I’m done, though!

Secondly, I have started working on something for this month’s challenge. I’m not going to show teaser pictures just yet—not until I’m sure the design is going to work. Still, I’m pretty excited! Here’s to hoping it goes the way I want it to.

And lastly, I’m back to poking at seed beads--hence the name of this entry. 

Up until now, I’ve been playing with Miyuki delicas and Toho 11/0s… So I thought I’d add some Czech glass Preciosa beads into the mix.

Aren’t they lovely? These are 10/0s. Preciosa seed beads tend to run a little small though… they seem to be on par with both the Miyuki and Toho 11/0s. 

With these beads, I’m currently attempting some tubular herringbone, and it seems to be going quite well. Yay!

This will probably become a necklace, but who knows. Right now, I'm just enjoying the process.

So, there you go. Thanks for stopping by today to see what I’ve been up to. Lots of ideas floating about in my head… lots of experimenting, too. And learning. It’s been quite delightful.

Have a wonderful week, everyone!

Wonder and Whimsy June 2025 Challenge: Staring at the Ceiling

June is here, and it’s finally time to share what I’m going to be doing for this month’s challenge! Hurray!

So, like the one last month, June’s challenge has a rather mundane foundation. You see, in the last few weeks, I have dealt with a fair number of migraines. (That tends to happen when the seasons change, unfortunately.) During that time, all I could really do was sit on the couch and stare at the ceiling.

Lucky for me, the ceiling in our living room is actually quite lovely.

It's a combination of cream and white and gold, with touches of silver shadow, juxtaposed against the rich wood of the ceiling fan. When the light is on, it is more golden hued; when the light is off, it is more silver.

The people who lived in the house before us did not do much in the way of decorating. They did, however, go all out on painting this particular room. I think it was originally intended to be the dining room, but through a series of unrelated events, it became our living room. Which means that I sit on the couch, can look up, rest my head, and have fun getting lost is the gentle gradients of cream and white and gold.

So, that's what my challenge is based on this month: the ceiling. 

Yes, literally, the ceiling.

And not just the colors, but the soft hue changes and the juxtaposition of it against the brown and gold ceiling fan.

This is my way of not wasting anything… taking even the weather-and-allergy-induced migraines and being inspired to make something (hopefully) lovely. Trying to find the beauty in, quite honestly, everything. (And also amusing my husband greatly as I take pictures of the ceiling and mutter about finding the perfect shot.)

Thanks so much for stopping by to see what I’m up to. Come back on Friday, June 27th to see what I end up making!

Wednesday's Worktable: Monthly Fun Pack Edition

Hello, everyone! It's the first Wednesday in June. Can you imagine that--it's June already. This year is flying by!

On my worktable today, I have a package that just arrived from The Bead Place. Specifically, it's the Monthly Fun Pack for June... and yes, it just arrived in the mail yesterday! Yay!

Here are the lovely things in included inside it:

There are so many interesting things in this little bundle. I'm excited to try out the seed beads... just trying to figure out what new stitch I want to work on.

And I admit, I'm also quite taken with this collection of pearls:

I have two different ideas for what I want to do with them, but I'm not sure if either one will work. Heh. I will say, out of all the monthly bead subscriptions that I get, the Monthly Fun Pack is one that always pushes me to think outside my normal box. And that's precisely why I get it: it's always fun to be stretched!

So, there you go. Those are the beads that I'm poking at today.

Have a wonderful week, everyone!

...oh, and P.S. Come by on Friday to find out what my Monthly Challenge for June is going to be. I'm pretty excited about it... although, once again, my inspiration is a bit off the wall! 

Wonder and Whimsy May 2025 Reveal: Diamond Tessellations, Part 3

Woo-hoo! We have made it to Part 3 of this Monthly Challenge reveal.

As just a quick little reminder, for this challenge, I made jewelry inspired by this particular chair, seen at my local gym:

…I find inspiration in some of the most interesting places. Hah.

Now, the last two reveals have been dedicated to bead weaving and seed bead techniques. However, I would be remiss if I didn’t play around with some of my usual materials: charms, wire, beads over 2mm, that sort of thing.

Before I continue, however, I have a disclaimer: I did have a few ideas on how to make pieces that actually represented some of the repeating patterns seen in the chair back (like the six-pointed starburst and the little cube), but none of them worked out. Ah well. So, instead, for this part of the reveal I just played around with diamond shapes and saw how I could combine them. 

In other words, Part 3 is be missing some of the tessellations shown in the previous parts. But! The goal was to make jewelry inspired by the chair at the YMCA chair, and these pieces definitely still fit the requirements. 

So! Now that is out of the way, it’s time to show what I made!

This part of the reveal consists of five pieces: four pairs of earrings, and one necklace. First up, we have:

Earring Pair 1

This pair of earrings combines lightweight, colored brass charms with 4mm Czech bicones—two different sizes of diamonds, brought together to make a pair of earrings that combine elegance and whimsy—something I often strive to do.

Earring Pair 2

For this pair of earrings, the 4mm Czech bicones once more make a showing. This time, they are paired with diamonds made out of black lip shell. Again, they are lightweight and elegant, this time layering the diamond shapes for visual interest.

Earring Pair 3

This pair of earrings is a fun cascade of diamond shapes—seen both in the chain, and in the brass charms I chose to use. Again, they are lightweight and flowy (I’m sensing a trend here), and the placement of the diamonds is reminiscent of some of the patterns seen in the chair.

Earring Pair 4

And now, here is the last pair of earrings. These are made with frosted glass and metal bicones (the former of which I actually hinted at during this week’s Wednesday’s Worktable). They rather straightforward in design, but that is because I made them to match the last piece in these reveals: the necklace.

Necklace

And here it is! My frosted glass and antiqued silver cascading diamonds necklace. Pictures can’t quite capture just how wonderfully this necklace hangs. I was thrilled at how well it all came together.

Like in the 3rd pair of earrings, I like how this design has the diamond shapes flowing next to each other in a way similar to the chair back. It’s not exactly the same, of course, but it gives that same tessellation vibe.

Construction for this necklace was fairly straightforward. I used 22 gauge wire for the links, frosted glass and silver plated bicones for the body of it, and Toho 11/0 seed beads and daisy spacers for just a little finishing touch.

And, although it is not the best picture, here is something to show you just how nicely it hangs when worn:

And, with that, the reveal for May’s monthly challenge has come to a close. To say that I enjoyed myself would be an extreme understatement... it's been awhile since my creativity has just taken off like that, and it was so much fun.

Thank you so much for joining me! And for not minding the rolling reveal nature of these posts. I'm rather amazed by the sheer amount of things I wanted to share. And these are just the designs that actually worked… I have at least 5 other things that I tried and rejected. It really was delightful to stretch myself and try different techniques and beads that I’ve never touched before. 

Come back in a few days to see what my challenge for June is going to be. Here’s a hint: I’m continuing my trend of finding inspiration in unlikely places. Hah! It is such joy to be able to create beautiful things.

Again, thanks for joining me on this journey. May the end of your May treat you well!

—-

In case you’re interested, here are all three parts of this reveal:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3 (you are here)

Wonder and Whimsy May 2025 Reveal: Diamond Tessellations, Part 2

Hurray, it's time for Part 2 of my Monthly Challenge Reveal!

In the first part of this reveal--seen here--I showed some bracelets I made using some tutorials and kits I found on the internet. Those pieces were all inspired by--of all things--a chair:

Now, for Part 2, I want to show off a few things that I made from my own patterns--yes, ones that I created--using the tips and tricks that I learned while making the tutorials.

So! First up, we have a design that was inspired by my husband. You see, when he first looked at the chair, this is the pattern that he saw:

The three little diamonds together, making something that looks like three sides of a cube.

In all my internet searching, I could not find a design that really focused on this element and this element alone. So, I made one up!

After quite a bit of trial and error, this is what I came up with:

I am so incredibly proud of this little bracelet. I figured out a reasonable thread path, I figured out a way to add a clasp, and I figured out how to join the little elements together.

And, here's a secret: it was actually meant to be a prototype. I picked contrasting colors so that it was easier to follow what I was doing, and ended up liking it so much I made it into a complete thing. I am very pleased!

And then I decided to take it one step further.

I decided to use that same pattern and make a necklace. After all, I have been making a lot of bracelets for this reveal--and I don't even wear bracelets.

So! Here is the necklace version--made in non-prototype colors:

Special added touch: the chain is made of a series of little brass diamond links. Diamonds, diamonds, everywhere!

Now, I wish I could have made it longer, to go all the way around, but it wouldn't lay just right--the curve doesn't quite work for a necklace curve. So! I'm glad I had chain as an option.

I plan on playing around with this style even more--I have a lot of GemDuos left, after all. I'm just so pleased to be able to come up with my own thing, now that I know how they work!

Next up: another starburst element! 

Remember that I said I wanted to play more with the starburst element found in the Danielle Wickes Polonia bracelet kit? After snooping around a little bit, I found a place to buy the side-beads, and created this beauty:

...Yes, even complete with a chainmaille/scalemaille dangle.

I don't know if you can quite tell, but the starburst is actually made of two different colors of GemDuos: two different shades of blue. I thought it might add some depth and shadow to the piece. I really like how it turned out!

I have enough of those silver beads to make one more necklace like this... I wonder what colors I should go for next? As it is, I know I'll wear the blue a lot!

...And now, we have reached the unfinished part of this reveal. 

I have two more things to share, but they are not done. Try as I may, I could not get them finished up in time. (My elbow started to hurt a little, and I've learned to rest when that happens.) These pieces are made with more odd count peyote stitch--except this time, I made up the patterns.

Here is Pattern 1, in two color schemes because I can't decide which I like better. I based it off the little cube element I showed earlier:

Here is as far as I've gotten, stitch-wise:

...I admit that, in this case, I stopped because: 1. I wasn't sold on either color pattern, and 2. I'm really not convinced those are actual Miyuki delicas. I bought that set off of Amazon, and they're not near as uniform or lovely as the ones from my earlier reveal (which were from LimaBeads). So, lesson learned, I suppose. Only buy Miyuki Delicas from reputable bead stores that have a good understanding of seed beads. Amazon sellers are not always to be trusted.

Anyway! Here is Pattern 2:

I based this one off of the same six-pointed starburst motif that has been showing up in some of my other pieces. 

Here is as far as I've gotten with that:

...I'm also not convinced that those are Miyuki Delicas either, but at least they're better than the previous set. They were purchased at the same time. Ah well. Still, I am much more pleased with how this piece is coming along... I need to do another inch and a half, and I'll be done! I'll try to remember to post a finished picture when it's all wrapped up.

So... ta-da! That was Part 2 of this reveal. 

But wait, there's more! Part 3 will be posted tomorrow. Both Parts 1 and 2 have been dedicated to seed beads and other forms of bead-weaving... Part 3 will focus on some materials I'm more familiar with: wire, charms, and beads over 2mm! They are a bit more "inspired by" diamond tessellations rather than literal representations, but I still think they're pretty cool.

Come back tomorrow for Part 3! 

—-

In case you’re interested, now that they're all posted, here are all three parts of this reveal:

Part 1

Part 2 (you are here)

Part 3

Wonder and Whimsy May 2025 Reveal: Diamond Tessellations, Part 1

 Guess what day it is? That’s right: it’s reveal day!

This month’s challenge was incredibly inspiring. For such a simple inspiration (literally just the back of a YMCA chair), I had an incredible surge of ideas. So many, in fact, that I’m going to break this reveal up into a few different blog posts over the course of today and tomorrow. Hopefully you don’t mind… I just thought that might be the best way to show off what I made.

And now, without any further ado, let’s get started!

As a reminder, here is the inspiration chair in question:

...and here is a close-up of the back:

Such cool diamond tessellations!

Now, when I saw the chair, I immediately thought of the two-holed Czech glass beads called GemDuos. They look like this:

Not my picture! This photo is from Beadaholique.

See? They are exactly the same shape as the little diamond elements you see in the chair!

However, I had never used them before. I was not incredibly familiar with how to work with two-holed beads—specifically, the best thread paths to use with them. Just a little bit of playing around showed me that following someone else’s instructions might be helpful, at least to start.

So I actually went online and found three different tutorials/kits that I wanted to try. 

The first two things I made were inspired by this particular pattern you can see in the chair:

For the first piece, I used this tutorial for the “Gina” bracelet, developed by Yuliya Abelovich. I found it on Etsy; her store name is WonderfulJewelryShop. 

This is the final result:

See? It's just like in the chair! Isn't that neat?

I will say that, since this is the very first piece I made for this challenge--and the very first thing I've made with GemDuos ever--it is a little sloppy. If I were to do it again, I would definitely adjust my tension and make it a little tighter. While I was making it, I thought it was tight, but more trial and error has shown me that I could do better.

Still, not bad for my first time playing with these cool new beads! I'm pretty dang pleased.

For the second piece inspired by this particular design element, I used a kit put together by Danielle Wickes for her Polonia Bracelet. (I think I may have actually purchased the last kit; the directions can be seen here.) I fell in love, and immediately wanted to try it. 

It was quick to put together, and I honestly love the result:

Aren't those two-colored GemDuos fun? And I am completely enamored with those golden beads... I definitely want to play with this simple starburst more!

Thank you to Danielle for putting together such a lovely kit! 

Now, that starburst is the first design that I saw when I looked at the chair... but it's definitely not the last. 

The second pattern that I was inspired by was this one:

The tutorial I found to match this was from Potomac Beads… specifically the Floral Quartet bracelet tutorial (found here). I think it matches pretty perfectly:

I particularly like the bead frames, which very much remind me very much of the same frame-shapes you see on the chair. I found them on PotomacBeads, and they were pretty easy to use. I will definitely be using them again!

Now, those three pieces alone would be enough for this reveal. However, I have one more that I want to share that fits the "used a pattern or tutorial from someone else" criteria.

You see, while I was rooting around, looking for tutorials, I also found this diamond-inspired peyote pattern from Beadaholique. It was odd count peyote, which is something I’ve been wanting to try, so I gave it a whirl. After all, it features diamonds—and, in this challenge, repeated diamond patterns are the star of the show!

Here is how it turned out:

Oh, and the colors? Since this whole thing was YMCA-inspired, I decided to make this pattern in the colors of the Greater Cincinnati YMCA.

Odd count peyote was not nearly as intimidating as I thought it would be... in fact, after doing one section of the bracelet I didn't even need the pattern anymore. I love the way that Miyuki delicas just click into place, so I know for a fact I'll be doing more!

So, ta-da! Those are the pieces I made for Part 1 of this reveal. Those are all things that I made using other people’s patterns. For the next part of the reveal, you get to see what I made when I took my new tool set and made up my own patterns! Wheee!

Thanks so much for stopping by... keep an eye out for Part 2!

—-

In case you’re interested, now that they're all posted, here are all three parts of this reveal:

Part 1 (you are here)

Part 2

Part 3