I had to start with some beautiful faux tin butterfly charms from Humblebeads that came with cute decorative copper charms attached. The just seemed perfect for Springtime! Of course I had to dig around for the perfect Humblebeads discs to coordinate with the charms. Instead of going with a super matchy bead on the top, I picked a Czech glass flower in a bolder coral color to make it pop.
I had also just snagged a few pairs of enameled butterfly and moth charms from Blue Hare Art Wear in a recent show so of course I had to whip up a sweet little pair of earrings with some of those!
Next up, I made a long necklace with a gorgeous butterfly wing pendant by Erin Prais-Hintz of Tesori Trovati. This was a special edition piece that she made only for her Simple Truths Sampler Club. Pictures really don't do this little treasure justice (especially mine since lighting was iffy when I took them.) There is a lovely iridescence to it that I wish you could see. I strung the pendant with tons of yummy Czech glass and Swarovski Pearls with gold plated chain at the back.
Even though I had tons of other butterfly charms and pendants, I turned my focus toward my newest obsession, bead embroidery!! Even though I took some classes on the Bead Cruise a few years ago, for some reason this year really got me excited about doing more with it. (I'm hoping to share a little post soon sharing a bit of my bead embroidery journey.) Anyway, the rest of my designs took a little more time as I learn and play with this new medium.
First up is my very first totally original design... this is the piece I'm most proud of this month. The idea started with a butterfly shaped porcelain button from Round Rabbit that I've had lingering for years. When I started plotting it out I thought I could keep it to a nice rounded square shape. As I worked on it though it continued to grow and morph into a more organic shape. Here's a little peak at the progression this pendant took in its shape and orientation.
And drumroll please.... here's the finished pendant! I'm so happy with the texture and movement I managed to get in the background. I think it feels really rich. I'm currently wearing this one on some simple brass chain. The pendant makes enough of a statement all on its own!
I wanted to let you see the back of this one too. I used some cork for the backing instead of the more traditional ultra suede.
My last completed piece is a pendant with a gorgeous ceramic cab by Lisa Peters Russ that I got in another recent Facebook sale. I'm still pretty new to doing peyote bezels, so every time I successfully bezel something I'm over the moon! I had fun picking out different bead colors and textures for this one trying to echo the colors in the cab. I used a navy blue ultra suede for the back of this pendant and plan to just hang it from chain. I can assure you it was unintentional, but I like the way the top loop echoes the shape of the flower detail at the bottom. Happy accident!
I didn't quite get my last piece done, but it's ready to trim and get it's backing now. This is another fabulous cab by Lisa Peters Russ. This one has a nice matte finish. Wanting to add a pop of the red and corals from the cab's flower, I gave this one a little crown of flowers to match. I feel like being a seed bead hoarder is finally paying off since I have tons to choose from for bead embroidery projects! I need to decide if I'll do a simple brick stitch edge or go for a pretty picot. If you have opinions on that, I'd love to hear them!
Thanks so much for stopping by to see my little collection of butterfly designs!
I'm overwhelmed by all these beauties!
ReplyDeleteAlthough the butterfly cabs are gorgeous, I really love the organic feel to the pendant with the button. Beautifully done!
Wow! You have truly taken bead embroidery to the next level! Beautiful pendants!
ReplyDeleteOh, my, such gorgeous pieces! But I'm smitten with the button embroidery, there is so much texture and movement to this piece!
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