2011 Bead Retreat (part 1)

Hello strangers!!!  You may notice I’ve been a bit quiet the past week.  That’s because I was away on a 3-night bead retreat in the Peak District.

I had a fantastic time; it was so good to spend time with people who have similar interests to me.  I came home with a head full of ideas and some gorgeous goodies.

Since I haven’t finished all my makes, I thought I’d begin by showing off some beads I got at the retreat, and post my makes later in the week.

When we arrived we were given a retreat bag by Donna at Delicate Sparkles, which contained this lovely summery-coloured bead soup.  I didn’t get around to even starting with it yet, but will hopefully get something on the go soon:

I won these gorgeous lampies in a pass the parcel, organised by the über-talented (and generous) Helen at Lala Lampwork Beads.  I think they are asking to be made into a bracelet and have some ideas for them already:

The pass the parcel was part of a baby shower we held for one of the group.  I also won these lucky dip lampies, which were donated by Lesley at Djinn Rummy (who was also kind enough to take on the driving duties).

The lovely Aster at Seedy Beady gave me these drop beads to use in a lovely necklace, designed by Lynn Davy of Nemeton Beads:

I was lucky enough to bag these from the swap table.  The colours are very much one of the schemes I’m into at the moment:

If you ever get a chance to go on a Bead Retreat (or any other hobby retreat), I can thoroughly recommend it..

I’ll be back soon to show off some of my makes.

Lisa xoxo

Siamese Dream

I’ve been working on this bracelet for quite a while.  It had been at that almost finished stage, with me having to make a decision on the clasp.  Normally for my seedy stuff, I like to use a beaded toggle and loop, but thought that wouldn’t really work for this one, so opted for a magnetic clasp.

I am really pleased with it.  I’ve used 5 Swarovski Elements 12mm rivolis in Siam, Swarovski Elements pearls in Almond, size 11 Miyuki seed beads in gold and red, and size 15 Miyuki seed beads in gold and bronze.

It’s the perfect partner for my Laura McCabe Vineyard Jewels necklace:

I still have 3 of the 12mm rivolis left, so think I’ll make earrings and a ring to match as well.

Let me know what you’ve been making

Lisa xoxo

Still Going

I’ve been quiet this past week, but been busily working away in the background.

Remember the large square stone and olive fire-polished beads I posted a few weeks ago?  Well, my plans for these are coming together very nicely now.  I originally planned on doing some fancy bezelling/embellishing around the stone, but when I started it I really liked the clean lines of the plain bezelling as it gave it a lovely art deco look.  To keep the art deco theme I’ve made beaded rectangles with a fire-polished round in the middle.  This is where I’ve got to so far:

I’m really pleased with it at this stage, although it may need a bit tweaking as I go along, as I don’t have the design down on paper – it’s just an idea floating around my head.

I’ve also started a Facebook page for Oodles of Obliciousness.  There’s not much there at present, but planning to start making some things that don’t take weeks to complete, so I should be updated pretty regularly.

Hope you drop by again soon.

Lisa xoxo

May Day

Because it’s been such gorgeous weather the past few weeks, I ‘ve not done much beading, but as it was a bank holiday, Stu and I decided to go out for a walk.

We ended up at the Falkirk Wheel:

We didn’t do a boat trip, although likely will the next time we go (it’s easily walkable from our house, so will be back at some point in the not too distant future).  I also have an idea for something as part of a challenge I’ve signed up to, but more about that later…

One the bead front, I’m working on a choker at the moment – it’s a bit time consuming, but hopefully I’ll be able to show it before too long.

Lisa xoxo