Friday, January 21, 2011

Lorelei's Fusion Beads.com Challenge Night Owl's Perch

clasp using the green leather cord


 As soon as I saw Lorelei's list of beads for this FusionBeads.Com challenge, I knew I was going to do a freeform peyote stitch necklace for my contribution.  I had never worked with those little tiny drop seed beads and I imagined a necklace with lots of fringe using them and the leaves.  But, peyote stitch has a way of being very bossy.  I mean bossy!!  Once I picked out the back ground seed beads which are a mix of size 6, and started stitching them together the style of the necklace changed. 
I was able to use the following from her recommendations:  The green cord to make the clasp; the fire polished glass beads, some Lucite leaves that I had on hand from the Beadin' Path since I couldn't  find the bigger ones anywhere; those lovely wooden beads ( there are a few worked into the beadweaving); the tiny size 11 drop beads ( they are used on the clasp, to attach the leaves and to fancy up the top front of the necklace); the owl clasp--I ordered it and it sat on my bead table but would not join in, so I kept its presence in the title of the piece:  Night Owl's Perch.  We do have a barn owl that lives in the trees around our house and I hear it hooting frequently and can imagine where it sits while it hoots--hence the name.
another pic of the clasp


closeup of the front of the necklace showing off the glass beads and the leaves and those wonderful tiny drop beads

An overview of the necklace

Another overview of the necklace

As you can see from the pics the necklace stands up on its own.  That is how it is made.  I have sewn it to be stiff and stand up around my neck when I am wearing it.  It looks good that way.  Actually I stressed over this while I made the necklace but went with it and enhanced what it was already doing by sewing in and out of the beads quite a few times.  I also used a double strand of Fire Line size D to make it stiffer.

I must say that I enjoyed making this necklace, shopping for the beads and dealing with the parameters of the challenge.  This has been such fun.
THANK YOU LORELEI


I hope you will hop over and see the other folks that participated.  Here is the list:  The links are live.



http://www.blogger.com/goog_126855337



http://beadingbymalindekoning.blogspot.com/

http://beadhappytoday.blogspot.com/



http://thebeaddreamer.com/blog

http://dreamsomedesigns.blogspot.com/

http://fryestyle.blogspot.com/

http://www.madmaggiedesigns.blogspot.com/

http://reginaswritings.blogspot.com/





http://www.mylifeunderthebus.typepad.com/

http://jennibead.blogspot.com/

http://maryhardingjewelrybeadblog.blogspot.com/

http://silverrosedesigns.blogspot.com/

http://lindalandig.wordpress.com/





http://fireflymyst.blogspot.com//

http://www.awishandacloud.blogspot.com/

http://spiritrattles.blogspot.com/

http://formysweetdaughter.blogspot.com/

24 comments:

  1. This is so lovely!! It commands attention!

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  2. Mary this is so very Beautiful! You are some kind of Bead Artist! Wow you amaze me...ox

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  3. wow. you always put together such amazing things- I don't know how you have such patience to work with seed beads- but this turned out stunning!

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  4. Wow, wow and once again wow!

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  5. Holy Cow that is cool Mary!! I'd love to see it on.

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  6. Beautiful necklace Mary, everyone really did a great job. I'm having a great Friday looking at all the beautiful pieces.

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  7. Thank you all so much for stopping by and leaving a comment on my blog. You make this blog hopping so fun. I agree that everyone did a stellar piece.

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  8. Just beautiful Mary. I want to learn how to do the bead weaving, and you have inspired me to pull out my loom again. I would love to see a picture of you wearing this to show how it looks on. :)

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  9. I'm with Lorelei on this one - anyone who does seed beads must have incredible patience! And this is a simply stunning piece. Gorgeous ;)

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  10. Thank you Holly. Great of you to stop by. Glad you like it.

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  11. Thank you all for the great comments. If you have an email address attached to you comment, I will email you back. For those that don't I will try to leave a comment here. I want you all to know how much I appreciate hearing from you.

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  12. Oh my gosh this is gorgeous! I really admire people who have the patience and skill to work with seed beads. This is really a work of art! Stunning!

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  13. You sure know how to wrangle seed beads into submission! I love the way the leaves add movement and color. Very nicely done!
    Enjoy the day!
    Erin

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  14. It is very beautiful, love that you added bead weaving to the design

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  15. Gorgeous! So unusual - you've really made a truly unique piece with this challenge.

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  16. Wow! What a beautiful necklace.

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  17. Love your bead weaving! I wish I knew how:)

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  18. Mary, I am so impressed by people who manage tiny beads and create such pieces and yours is truly a work of art. I love the way the leaves are incorporated into the design, a lovely job.
    Jenni

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  19. Your work stands out from the crowd, simply amazing what you have made, I bet it does look stunning around your neck.

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  20. Very cool! I can't imagine doing that much beadwork in such a short amount of time. Just stringing some seed beads on bead wire about made me insane.

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  21. Wow! Mary! Beautiful piece!! I am stunned at the amount of work! Just wonderful!

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  22. Wow Mary! I can't even imagine doing that peyote stitch, but you make it look effortless! Beautiful piece!

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  23. this is so beautiful..very unique and creative use of the elements

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