Too Much Free Time...

Like pretty much every member of my generation, I grew up playing Mario Brothers games. Even though I am in my late 20s now, they still have not lost their charm for me...you can still find me playing some variation of Super Mario on the weekends. This is my beaded homage to the games that have taken up hours of my life. This piece was especially fun to make not only because it is a Mario mushroom, but also because the smile on my husband's face was priceless when he realized what I was making.



This project was a long time in the making. I got the idea after examining the pixelated images and realizing they would transfer very well into a square stitch graph pattern. I got out my handy-dandy Rhodia graph notepad and sketched out a basic design. (Rhodia notepads are truly THE BEST when designing square or ladder stitch designs, but I digress). After sketching it out, the design languished in my notebook for lack of time to actually begin working on it in real life. About a year after I made the original sketch, I finally started working on it involuntary wisdom tooth vacation. I used 4mm Miyuki cubes and it was done in no time. The finished product measures approximately 2.5" by 3" and will probably end up being a fridge magnet. If a few more rows of boarder are added to each side, it could easily become a coaster.

I sense a series of Nintendo-themed beaded projects in my future as soon as I have some more free time to work on them!

Easy Earrings

I started out my lazy weekend by making two pair of easy-peasy earrings. The pair on the right were simple to make, but it doesn't make them any less beautiful! I've been really into dangly chain earrings lately. When I found these prepackaged sterling silver posts with the chain attached and was eager to use them. I knew I wanted a very simple design, but sometimes the simplest designs are the most difficult to put together. There were so many beads I could have used with these! After considering fire red quartz teardrops and blue opal hexagons, I opted for these beautiful snow white freshwater pearls. I used headpins with a tiny silver bead to give them a bit of extra shine. I am a firm believer that every woman needs a pair of pearl earrings in her jewelry collection and I had that notion in mind when I pieced these together. They would also make a perfect set of bridal earrings!

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I recently bought these crisp faceted white mother-of-pearl ovals and wanted to put them to good use. For the second pair of earrings I made, I paired the beautiful white MOP with similar, smaller faceted black shell ovals. I love the range of colors in the black shell...when the light hits it just right, you see greens, purples, pinks and blues. These earrings are a great pair of everyday earrings because the color combo is basic and the design is simple. One of my main goals when I make earrings is to ensure that they will go with many different outfits...I think these fit the bill!

My Tray Runneth Over

Over the last three days, I have finished more projects than I have in the last three weeks...all at the expense of my dearly departed wisdom teeth. I expected to be out of commission for the duration of the weekend, so I made sure to stock up on "couch project" supplies (seen left). I consider a "couch project" to be anything that I can half pay attention to while I watch inane television to dull the pain in my jaw. I use Miyuki beads so much that I could practically stitch them together in my sleep. Therefore, most of my bead store booty consisted of cubes, rounds and Tilas.


This bracelet follows a similar pattern to one of the Tila bracelets I featured in a previous post. I used 4mm matte lilac cubes and surrounded them with matte merlot-colored bugles. I lined the large cubes and bugles with 1.8mm matte iris cubes. To finish the bracelet, I used the square stitch for the toggle....easy as pie!

In addition to this project, I finished three pairs of earrings, two PMC pieces, a diagonal stitched Tila bracelet, and a freshwater pearl memory wire bracelet that I am donating for a charity auction. Over the next few days, I expect to update my blog frequently...it's not like I have anything better to do! I guess you win some, you lose some - I can't eat solid foods but I can make a million pieces of jewelry with my new found down-time!