I had to take a forced break from doing anything, because the nasty cold I caught before Christmas was not willing to go away. Staying up late sewing or beading had to stop right after Christmas. Last night was the first night in more than a week that I stayed up late. I feel I got a lot done. I was able to iron all the fabric I got and pre-washed for my sister-in-law's diaper bag set, cut out all the pieces for a chic handbag for a friend and was able to finish 2 bracelets and start work on a third. I even got a bit of reading in for this week's history lesson.
Copper, red magma Swarovski crystals and tan/khaki Chinese crystals with faceted sun stone. I use a lot more copper now, because it is more affordable than silver. I have not bought any ornate silver beads in the last 5 years, and I am very careful with what I have left. I remember a time when I thought that a beautiful 12 mm Bali silver bead that cost $2.50 was robbery. I checked today, that very same bead is $6.79. ( I can finally tell Jason that my hobby could actually pay off now...) You can be sure I double checked every
silver bead I used for this bracelet. I tried to get away with the least amount possible. I must have restrung this a good 10-12 times, before I was happy. The picture does not show, but those black crystals are actually really dark blue crystals, mixed with some clear Swarovski and silver crystals. I also started a bracelet that was inspired by Vincent van Gogh's Starry Night painting. Blues, with just a bit of yellow and white.
