Etsy Beadweavers Team February Challenge Royalty Throughout Time

I've just finished and listed "Elizabethan Ruff and Pearl" as my entry to the EBW challenge for this month.  The first challenge of the new year was chosen by Miriam of CeiloDesigns winner of the November challenge "Holiday Treasures", Miriam has challenged our members to design for Royalty throughout time - From the aristocrats of the French revolution to ancient kings and queens and modern day princesses, royalty has always inspired and set new trends in the jewelry world.  

Ever since I can remember, I've been a big fan of the Elizabethan era.  Almost since the moment I began to sing in Jr. high school, madrigals were my very favorite songs.  From "Fair Phyllis" to "Now is the Month of Maying" to PDQ Bach's "The Queen to me a Royal Pain doth Give", and "My Bonnie Lass She Smelleth".  Good times ;~).  Later on when I joined the professional choral group Bel Canto Company, the early music of Byrd, Tallis and Gibbons would always make my heart soar.  We staged a Renaissance Feast and participated in a local Medieval Faire where I created many of the costumes and banners we used.  So when the challenge theme of Royalty through the ages was announced, there was no question I would go Elizabethan.  

  
Elizabeth I (7 September 1533 – 24 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth, the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty. The elaborately starched and ruffled collars worn by the Queen were high fashion during the Elizabethan era as were pearls of every shape and size.

This collar necklace is inspired by the use of pearls and ruffs in Elizabethan fashion. Antique gold glass pearls are woven in a netted pattern with cream pearl and luster bronze seed beads to form a slightly ruffled collar. The middle of the collar is embellished with 11 beautiful antique gold glass pearl drops. The 18" long necklace is finished with a peyote loop and bronze firepolished crystal closure and another pearl drop at the back.

Please visit our team blog, www.etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com (http://www.etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com) between the 9th and 15th and vote for your favorite entry.  Until then, you can go to Etsy and get a preview of all the incredible entries fit for royalty  http://www.etsy.com/search_results.php?search_query=EBWC&search_type=handmade&shopname=beadn4fun

November EBW Challenge

Time again to vote for your favorite beadwoven item in November's Challenge for the Etsy Beadweavers Team.  "Holiday Treasure".  My entry is number Three!

Etsy Beadweavers Team's November Challenge is Holiday Treasure: Choose your favorite late fall or winter holiday and create a beadweaving to celebrate the occasion.

As a professional vocal musician for many years, the holiday season started early with rehearsals and concerts throughout November and December. Everyone loves to hear a choir during the holidays! So my richest memories of the holiday season are of singing and going to concerts. I wanted to interpret my love of choral music in jewelry that could be worn to many musical events.

Choral singing is a weaving of many voices into one exquisite harmony. I used freeform peyote stitch to weave several strands and colors (gold, silver, purple and olive green) of seed beads together to create a cuff braclet with rises and falls and bridges, and punctuated the strands with crystals and pearls for a bit of shimmer and shine. At the center is a stunning gold crystal rivoli with a beaded bezel surrounded with a ruffle. 

Bead Show Bonanza: and how to choose the right bead.

This weekend, the Bead Mercantile Show came to Raleigh and so did I!  Raleigh is about 90 miles away, so it's close enough for a quick day trip.  And it's as close to a bead show as I'll get, I suppose.  I went to the Gem and Bead show there last month and picked up some pretty "rocks", but this one was geared to seed beads, crystals and czech glass primarily.  I brought a couple of my "rocks" to try and match, and I hoped to find some czech glass flowers and leaves.  My dear friend Linda came with me in search of some seed beads for some Native American beadwork her husband is working on.  It was a pretty modest show, but I was a kid in a candy shop!

It's really tough sometimes to find the right colors of seed beads to accent the gemstone cabochons I work with, and there are a few colors that seem to me much more difficult to find just the right shade: Cream (most have too much yellow), Turquoise (ya got your greenier tints, ya got your bluesier tints), Green (olive, emerald, teal, kelly, forest...too much!), and Brown (dark topaz, especially transparent, just doesn't get it - and don't get me started on rust/russett).  And once you have the color and hue figured out, well now you have to work through the finishes and types.

First, I should say that I work primarily with size 11o seed beads (with a little help from the 8, 6 and 15's here and there).  Since I'm apparently something of a magpie, the shiny, bright and colorful beads always capture my eye (silver-lined, rainbow and AB), but they are not always appropriate to what I'm trying to acheive.  My favorite finish right now is a simple opaque luster (also can be called a "Ceylon" finish).  Not so much sparkle, but still catches the light.  I don't have much use for simply transparent beads; it seems like instead of adding light and luster, they suck the light out of a piece.  But transparent rainbow or AB (aurora borealis) give enough reflection to make a good blend.  Color lined beads (generally transparent colored glass with either a white, silver, gold or copper lining) can be a little iffy to work with, though I do like the silver/gold/copper lined beads to add just the right touch of sparkle.  I've begun to really appreciate the matte rainbow/AB finish as well for it's elegance and blending ability. 

As far as type of beads, it kinda depends on what you're doing.  If you're working an intricate peyote or loomed pattern, you really need to use the Japanese cylinder or Delica beads.  Their total uniformity and huge array of color choices helps create a nearly perfect final product.  My "go to" bead choice has been Fire Mountain's "Dyna-Mites" Japanese beads by Matsuno.  The have a pretty good uniformity at half the price of the Delicas.  I also prefer their rounded (donut-like) appearance and texture in a finished piece as opposed to the very flat cylinders.  The color selection with the Dyna-Mites is somewhat limited, so that's when I turn to the Czech seed beads (Jablonex is one of the primary manufacturers).  Czech beads have that nice donut shaped texture and come in a vast assortment of colors and finishes.  While not completely uniform in size, I still find them very nice to work with, and in bead embroidery, uniformity is not terribly important.

So, back to the bead show...I went a little (OK a LOT) crazy at the first table I came to.  Bead Biz had a huge selection of Jablonex Czech seed beads as well as other Czech glass items.  They also had wholesale prices after a certain amount.  Yep, I went for it and I'm not gonna tell you the amount.  But I was able to find all the colors I was looking for and added a few 13o charlottes to the mix.  I've always wanted to do something with those little 1-cut faceted beauties.  I came away from the show with a great selection of Czech leaves and flowers as well.  I'm not a big crystal fan, so I left most of those behind.  I thoroughly enjoyed rearranging all my bead boxes and cabinet to fit all the new treasures in.  Now I'm anxious to get started on the next project!