Monday 30 April 2012

Have not done some polymer clay cabs for a while, thought I make some today - but had to experiment of course.

I wanted to make a sun and moon - did that. Moon in various shapes and colors, and a moon with craters in it.

Then went on to do something I have not done before, used charms embedded in the clay, as well as a 12mm rivoli, and they came out quite well as well. 

Now of course the sky is the limit!

All the cabs on this photo have been baked, but not glazed as yet.

 


Sunday 29 April 2012

Pendants Galore!!

Pendants, pendants and more pendants!

Pendants in various stages of completion, just imagine the fun and creativity that will go into making these. 

Needless to say, this lady child is out to play! 

Again? you may ask?  Not again, but always!

Have fun Friends, don't forget to play and create.

See you next time.

Comments are always welcome!

 

Saturday 28 April 2012

Snow White

Progress done on my Snow White Theme for the 3rd Bead Fest - having fun!!!

 
The glass coffin will be on the right hand side of this photo - still have to figure out how to do it!
 
Would love to hear your comments!

Friday 27 April 2012

3rd EBEG Bead Fest - A Fairy Tale

Its all about being a child again. Don't you just love it when you don't have a care in the world, knowing fully well that all and every need of yours will be taken care of by your parents?

So this grown up child is having fun being a small child once again. I grew up on Snow White, The Three Bears, Cinderella, Red Riding Hood and several others. My Mom told us those Fairy Tales over and over again, until we knew them off by heart.

So when I had to choose a theme for a Fairy Tale Bead Fest, it came so easily that I didn't have to think about what exactly a Fairy Tale is!  

I chose Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,  here is the first photograph. You will see Snow White, looking at the mirror, and wedged in between Snow White and the mirror is the poisoned apple of which a bite was taken.  The Seven Dwarfs are there as well, here I used polymer clay cabs I made myself to represent the Dwarfs.  I already have the final outcome pictured in my head - absolutely no lack of imagination for this little child! 


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Tuesday 24 April 2012

Tuesday

Thought I share the update on my projects so far - 

All White Collar


Salmon and Green Collar - here I added blue faceted beads, to compliment the blue color in the cab.

Have Fun Friends!

Thursday 19 April 2012

Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett

 Pillars of the Earth is one of the books I read that will always remain with me. It is a true historical novel and one of the books that is worth reading, over and over again.

 This pendant is almost done, just to add all the final touches. I named it "Cathedral". 


 Progress on my All White Collar and Green & Salmon Collar. The focal point on the White Collar, the White Rose, was omitted to make beading easier. Will put it back again when the collar is finished.



An Animal Farm

An Animal Farm - beautiful memories from my youth.

 I grew up on a farm, and we had all sorts of animals on the farm - cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens, geese, all life stock to live off. We grew maize and wheat as well, and we lived and survived off the income from the land. We as a family never wanted for anything, mainly because my Mom was such a very capable lady, she canned, preserved all the fruit and vegetables, she made all our clothes, baked and cooked up a storm, although we never had money to waste, we most certainly didn't feel the need for anything.

  My very long term project will be a collar with an animal farm theme.  Very intricate, but will be a very nice memory trip to go on.



Tuesday 17 April 2012

We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun

I'm a sun baby. I love the sun, the warm, the energy, I simply love the sun. Which goes with me being a lover of summer, long days, short nights, lots of LIGHT!

Added 5 small projects in the form of pendants to be, will name them after the 4 seasons, and an additional one for summer. 


Polymer Clay Cabs done by myself!  

Don't forget to buy that special Mothers' Day Beading Tutorial so you can bead a wonderful bracelet for your Mom!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ConniqueTutorials

Back to the Studio - beads are singing:
We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun!

Monday 16 April 2012

Beading Tutorials

Did I mention that I just LOVE my job?  The possibilities are endless - something new to be added as often as I want to!

I started my Beading Tutorials yesterday, opened my Etsy Beading Tutorial Shop, and had so much fun designing my first Tutorial, named Aries Tutorial, which of course is very appropriate for this month.

Why don't you check it out in my Etsy Store?   http://www.etsy.com/shop/ConniqueTutorials

And of course please remember to sign in as a member and leave a comment - if you have difficulty in signing in, use the Anonymous option, leave your name in the comment block, I would love to know who you are.



Saturday 14 April 2012

2 Smaller projects added

I added 2 smaller projects today - a cuff and my filigree project, a pendant.



What do I do for fun?  I play around with beaded beads!  They fascinate me, the possibilities are endless, and I just love making them.

Just joking, I always have fun beading, whether it be embroidery, beaded beads, stringing, weaving, all aspects of beading gives me much joy. If you can't have fun doing what you love, what is the point in doing it?

Signing off for this weekend - Have Fun!

Thursday 12 April 2012

Starting a new project today, actually 2

Well, I successfully finished the 11 projects I was working on yesterday, and having half of my admin done, I thought its time to start my next couple of projects. 

First one will be my All White Collar, 


Followed by my Green and Salmon Collar



Still want to do something with Filigree as well, haven't designed it yet. Will do that probably tomorrow or the day after.

As for this afternoon, it will be back to the rest of the admin, cleaning out and sorting my stock cupboard.

Also considering doing a bit of bead weaving - I really like to do various techniques at any one time.

But right now its time again for that much needed cuppa!

Tuesday 10 April 2012

Leader of the Pack of One

I'm Leader of the Pack of One. Let me explain a little better, I'm Leader of the Pack, and there is only one in the Pack! That's me, also referred to as "Leo".


Summer is my best time of the year, when the sun rises early in the morning, and sets late in the afternoon, which means here by us in Cape Town it stays light till about half past eight at night. You might say I'm the early bird which catches the worm, as I can get up very early as long as there is sunlight. 

Winter taught me a few things - I change productivity from being the early bird to the night owl. During winter I don't like to get up when its cold, wet and dark, which means that my day starts late and then ends late, as I can work late in the evening. If I were a swallow or a tortoise I will be able to understand my winter and summer changes, but I'm neither, so to me it remains a misery.

Leader of the Pack of One - one doesn't keep regular work hours, one works all day long till the work is done.  The work will never be finished, as it is a business one runs, which includes buying, (good old retail therapy), selling, manufacturing ( which takes up the larger amount of time), stock-taking, marketing, advertising, admin, designing, all part of the normal run of the day business. 



Leader of the Pack of One - also means "working from home". So I can get up later during the winter, don't have to sit in traffic on my way to my office, (nightmare for most people including me), irregular income ( thought you can't live without your monthly pay-cheque?), having to make your own cup of coffee, keep your own studio tidy, do you own filing (ouch!), motivate yourself when needed, and also praise yourself when praise is due.

Do I love my job? Yes, I LOVE my job! 

Now for my second cup of coffee, and then to the Beading Studio for more Creative Therapy!

Monday 9 April 2012

Pendants Galore

On this very fine day I'm finishing off pendants - quite a number to do still.










Saturday 7 April 2012

Winter in the Western Cape

Winter in the Western Cape is a strange thing - we don't have seasons, we only have climates. One day will be warm, sunny, typical summer, and the very next day will be cold, windy and rainy. Temperatures will change overnight from summer to winter. 
Today is a winter's day, yesterday was a summer's day, and I think we can officially say that we now are in the beginning of our winter. What happened to autumn? I don't know, but we don't get autumn and spring.
Cape Town features the incredible Table Mountain, which sometimes is covered in a cloud, called the Tablecloth. To me Cape Town is the most beautiful place in the world, and I'm just so very privilege to live nearby.

Having shared a bit with you, I will now go back to my Studio and be the Bead Addict, Bead Specialist, Beadaholic that I am!

Till next time - stay safe and sound Friends.

Friday 6 April 2012

The Color Red.

I simply love Red, Red Roses, Red Clothes, Red Cars, and of course Red BEADS!

When designing a piece of jewelry, I often come back to the color Red, and combined Red with so many other colors already, strangely, there are so many color still to go with Red which I have not used as yet.

Think my next piece will be Red and Pink.