Surprising bracelet

 

As a rule, I don't really do bracelets, because I don't wear them. This one, though, was made as a special order for a cohenite who saw my work because of the Leonard Cohen forum. Obviously, I asked her what style and colours she wanted; and also if she had any "story" in mind for it. And that's where the surprise came. She wanted the bracelet for a gay-meeting event, and she wanted it to contain blue for being straight and pink for being gay, and purple... hmmm, for something in between? I probably got a bit mixed up around here. I didn't confess, but I had a bit of a shock. I don't care about what people do in private; but I am a bit formal myself, and I don't like sex as a public thing too much... and also, I will blame it on this country, where being gay is not such an open thing yet.

Anyway, the blue-purple-pink colour combination was a challenge; I made at least 8 samples, changing the colours of the beads, until I got the exact ones that I wanted. I had to use more subtle bead finishes (silky-looking ones and ab effect too), so that the colours wouldn't clash. The lacy pattern was inspired from www.beadinfinitum.com; it took me a while to figure out how to do it, and I'm really glad I learned something new. The bracelet is right now flying towards its owner, and I hope she'll like it! 

Instelate

 

 

Un colier realizat intr-un week-end (mai lung), cu scopul de a participa la concursul "Sint o diva" de pe forumul http://designerdebijuterii.forumup.com/  Asa ca setul meu se numeste... "Sint o stea"! Ok, ar fi trebuit sa ma straduiesc mai mult, dar n-am avut timp!

Pandantivul este cu dubla fata, dupa cum se poate vedea. Totul este realizat din margele Toho japoneze; dar daca la colier ele sunt marimile 11/0 si 8/0, la cercei sunt 15/0 si 11/0, si asa rezulta diferenta de dimensiune. Colierul acesta imi dovedeste din nou ca materialele fac diferenta; ca sa iti permiti sa fii "simplu", trebuie sa ai cele mai bune materiale.

Va rog sa-mi remarcati inchizatoarea! Este prima data cand fac o inchizatoare din margele si sunt foarte incantata de ea.

Multe multumiri lui RuxyPixy (http://ruxypixy.blogspot.com/) pentru modelul stelei (pe care l-am mai adaptat eu putintel).

 

A necklace that I made in just a weekend (a longer one) to take part in the contest on http://designerdebijuterii.forumup.com/  The contest was called "I'm a diva", so my necklace is named... "I'm a star"! (pretty obvious, I know)  I wish I had made something more complicated, but the deadline was closing in...

Multumesc pentru premii!

Pentru fetele care m-au premiat pe blogurile lor; va multumesc foarte mult, si va datorez si niste scuze pentru ca nu am pus premiile aici.

In primul rand, sunt cam incepatoare in ale blogguitului si mi-a luat o vreme sa ma lamuresc despre ce este vorba (si inca mai lucrez la aranjat lucrurile pe aici; nu stiu cum, niciodata nu am timp de asta). In al doilea rand, eu am creat acest blog din doua motive. Unul, pentru a-mi fi un fel de "jurnal de margele", in care pot scrie si povesti ce nu s-ar potrivi in magazin; si al doilea, ca un fel de "portofoliu" si reclama, putand pastra pe el si imagini ale produselor deja vandute. Pentru ambele scopuri, imi doresc un blog care sa arate extrem de simplu si usor-accesibil; de aceea prefer sa nu adaug prea multe.

Asta nu inseamna ca nu urmaresc ceea ce faceti si nu imi bucur sufletul cu creatiile voastre. Pur si simplu, eu sint mai putin "pupacioasa", atat in realitate cat si pe net.

Si alti cercei!

 

Am terminat in cele din urma si cerceii asortati pentru colierul "Prima dimineata" (mi s-a spus ca nu prea fac seturi, doar coliere). Sunt foarte incantata de ei pentru ca e prima data cand am folosit Delicas!

Cercei, cercei...

 

 

 

 

 

 

In ultimele doua saptamani am avut parte de o comanda fenomenala de la o doamna din Bucuresti. In afara de faptul ca a cumparat 5 coliere, si-a dorit si cercei asortati (si mie imi plac seturile, dar de obicei pana termin un colier ma pocneste alta idee si nu mai apuc sa-i fac si cerceii). Asa ca... am facut cercei, cercei, si iar cercei! Abia am apucat sa-i si pozez, cat de cat!

Light as a breeze

 

"Light as a breeze" este titlul unui cantec al lui Leonard Cohen. Atunci cand am avut norocul sa castig concursul de pe Etsy Beadweavers acum doua luni, am ales aceasta ca tema a concursului pentru luna aprilie, pentru ca tot ce este important pentru mine trebuie sa aiba si un pic de Cohen. ;-)  Dar pentru ca acesta este un cantec misterios si dificil, contradictoriu si seducator, nu am indraznit sa fac nici o referinta la versurile propriu-zise, si am dat acestei fraze doar intelesul primei adieri blande de primavara.

Asa ca mi-am dorit ca acesta sa fie un colier delicat si floral. Am avut insa surpriza sa descopar in timp ce il realizam ca incepe sa semene cu un colier de mireasa-descoperire care, intr-un fel, m-a nelinistit. Ca femei, suntem educate de mici sa visam la ziua nuntii si la rochia de printesa. Poate de aceea (desi imi plac rochiile), nu sunt chiar o mare amatoare de nunti. Sunt un moment asteptat cu mult prea mult. Prefer sa imi imaginez momentul unei dimineti in care deschizi ochii alaturi de cel pe care il iubesti, intr-o lumina perfecta, coplesitoare care dizolva conturul fiecarui obiect intr-un inceput de vis, si esti pentru prima data sigura ca acolo vrei intr-adevar sa fii. De aceea am denumit acest colier "Prima dimineata".

 

"Light as a breeze" is the title of a Leonard Cohen song. When I was lucky enough to win the monthly Etsy challenge two months ago, I chose this as the theme of the April competition, because everything that is important for me must have a little bit of Cohen in it. ;-) But since this is a mysterious and difficult song, seductive as well as contradictory, I didn't dare to make any reference to its real words and I prefered to interpret the title just as a reference to spring and the first warm gentle breeze.

As a consequence, I wanted this to be a delicate and floral necklace. But I had to surprise to find out while I was making it that it starts to look like a bridal necklace; a slightly unsettling discovery. As women, we are educated since childhood to dream about the wedding day and the princess gown. Maybe that's why (even though I love the dresses) I'm not exactly a fan of weddings. They are a moment that is just expected and planned for way too much. I prefer to imagine the moment when you open your eyes one morning next to the loved one, under a perfect, overwhelming light that dissolves the contours of every object into a dream, and you are for the first time absolutely certain that is the place where you have to be. This is why I called this necklace "First morning". 

 

If you want to see more entrances for this challenge, go to ww.etsy.com and type in "ebwc" (that will only work this month, obviously!) And, much to my surprise, there is actually someone who guessed my hidden intentions and made a necklace using Cohen's song. Check this out: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=43917790

Nu e cum se pregateste...

Cand am aflat ca tema lunii martie pe Etsy Beadweavers este "Basme", am fost foarte decisa: Frumoasa adormita (pentru ca in ultimele saptamani am ascultat de 25 de ori-conform ipodului meu-acest cantec: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yXJGsOTvpE ) si Alphonse Mucha.

Curentul Art Nouveau este una din pasiunile mele, fiind extrem de decorativ; iar in cadrul acestuia, cehul Mucha a excelat prin reprezentarea de femei frumoase... si, oarecum, ireale. Ideale pentru o printesa adormita! Din pacate, cum sa o reprezint? Am petrecut 3 din cele 4 saptamani ale concursului incercand sa descopar asta; am pictat pe lemn, pe discuri de scoica (cercei reciclati), pe o piatra de aventurin; am prelucrat si am printat imaginea; am pictat peste print... am cumparat nenumarate vopsele, pensule, pixuri si cercei pe care as fi putut picta. Nici nu vreau sa stiu cat am cheltuit! Si nimic nu mi-a iesit. Prima imagine reprezinta ultima varianta la care am ajuns; aproape reusita, dar pur si simplu nu mergea cu margele!

Asa ca, in disperare de cauza, la inceputul saptamanii am luat un foarte frumos (si mare: 4,5 cm) cabochon de ametist si am inceput sa margelesc... o "flaming rose" care-si imprastie focul si pe latura stanga a colierului, si "mii de flori" inviind... sau cel putin atatea cat am avut timp sa fac. Si asa a rezultat colierul din cea de-a doua poza. Terminat in 5 zile, e probabil cel mai rapid colier pe care l-am facut vreodata; dar am muncit la el intr-o disperare. Imi place, dar mi-as fi dorit sa nu fie chiar asa...

 

When I found out that the Etsy Beadweavers challenge for March is "Fairy Tales", I knew very soon what I wanted to do: the Sleeping Beauty (because of this song-which I listened for 25 times in the last weeks, according to my ipod: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yXJGsOTvpE ) and Alphonse Mucha.

The Art Nouveau style is one of my passions, as it's extremely decorative; and representing Art Nouveau, the czech Mucha had designed countless images of beautiful women... and somehow unreal. Ideal for a sleeping princess! Unfortunately, I didn't know how to create it... I spent 3 out of the 4 weeks of the contest trying to figure this out; I painted on wood, on seashell discs (recycled earrings) and even on an aventurine stone. I photoshopped and printed the image; I painted over the print... I bought countless paints, paintbrushes, pencils, and earrings on which I could paint. I don't even want to know how much I spent during this time! And nothing came out. The first image is the last "princess" I painted; almost good, but it simply didn't work with beads.

So, out of despair, at the end of the week I totally changed my approach, I got a large (4.5cm) and beautiful amethyst cabochon and I started beading around it... a "flaming rose" that spreads it's fire up on the rope on the left side of the necklace and "a million flowers" coming alive on the right side... or at least as many as I had the time to make! And this is how the necklace in the second photo was created. Finished in 5 days, it's probably the fastest necklace I ever made; but they were 5 days of crazy work. I like it, but it's not exactly how I wanted it...