Having Fun!

A number of years ago, Marcel gave me a bracelet for Christmas that was made up of sterling silver curved tubes and assorted sterling beads. The stringing material was not optimum for the tubes, and by the third time it broke, I was tired of going back to the jeweler. So I put the beads in a box and there they sat for quite a while. Well, I saw a piece of junk jewelry in a flea market last month, and it gave me some ideas, so I took out the tubes to play with. Using memory wire and an assortment of odd lampworked and cane beads that I only have one or two of, I came up with something that has been so much fun to wear!

It was fun to make, too, so I've ordered a couple of sizes of curved tubes, and I'm planning on a colorful assortment for Christmas sales.

Next week, I'll be heading for the States for an annual conference. Now, I'm a big believer in name tags - one of the things that makes me nuts about group activities in France is that it can be very difficult to identify the people you are with - but I don't love lanyards. However, I'm in the minority on this one, and the lanyard is the nametag holder of choice for this conference. Beading Daily (an on-line newsletter that every beader should subscribe to) talked about lanyards a while back, in the context those worn by people whose badges are part of their business dress (like airport security people), but I thought it would be fun to adopt the idea for this conference. This one practically made itself, and I did the loops on the end precisely so that later the lanyard could become a necklace.

I thought my mother would like one for the same meeting, so I asked her what colors ... she said blue and gray. I played with that one for a while, but what I ended up with I would never have let anyone wear, so when she changed her mind to clear and silver, I was happy (especially since I have boxes of all kinds of clear pressed glass beads!). It didn't photograph nearly as well as the above one, so you'll have to imagine it!

And finally, here's the latest in chain mail ... Byzantine weave. What is interesting is that the bracelet is a random mixture of colors (made to go with a necklace in another weave) that are in the same range (pink, orange, golden, bronze), whereas the necklace is composed of very strong colors (red, blue, purple, silver) that I think would not have been harmonious if they had been used randomly.

And when I get back from the States, I'll have just a bit over a month to get ready for Christmas sales ... more fun!