Speckles are so hot right now

In the fibre world, 'speckles are so hot right now' is a familiar hashtag that you will see attached to artisan-dyed yarns - those amazing creatures which have been through a long and loving process of saturated dye baths, followed up by a flicked paint-brush splattering of multi-coloured speckles. Every time I see this tag on a beautiful skein of artisan yarn, I am so very reminded of my own end-of-day beads - and so this little bracelet is an homage to those lovely skeins. 

Bead-weaving and knitting actually have a vast amount in common - not least the very ordered and almost pixilated nature of their construction - and my end-of-day beads really show this off perfectly - each orb is constructed from 96 individual 2mm glass beads, each one separate and distinct yet coming together to form an almost perfect sphere, with the help of nylon, a tiny needle and a steady hand. I've combined these burgundy-based speckled rounds with a gorgeous artisan lampwork bicone - this pale blue bead has an ancient-inspired feel to it - and a hand-formed chain of stainless steel, nylon and Japanese glass in a beautiful sea foam green - not forgetting a smattering of beautiful burgundy freshwater pearls. A real one-of-a-kind piece. 

Find me - and this bracelet! - today and tomorrow at The Art Market York at York Racecourse. Open 1st and 2nd of October (this weekend!) from 10am - 4pm. 

A note about the {song}beads in this bracelet - they began as some of my very special 'end of day' beads. These are each totally unique. Borrowing from a very old glass-working tradition, I gather the loose beads from the end of any [song}bead weaving session, and rather than tidy them away, I create a unique mix of seed beads, and stitch up little beads with these 'bead soups'. I love letting serendipity and chance take a part in my creative process like this! 

Meadow Sweet - or how I'm making friends with Rose Quartz and Serenity

Rose Quartz and Serenity - who? What? Or alternatively, will you please stop blethering on about them Rebecca?! 

I will, honestly. Pinkie promise. But just let me chat about them a little bit more, 'kay? 

For those of you who am wondering what I'm talking about, rose quartz and serenity are Pantone's Colours of the Year (you can read about my first impressions here). Yes, that doesn't necessarily mean anything, and yes, they're not necessarily my cup of tea by themselves - and yes, who do Pantone think they are, telling us just what colours we have to focus on for a whole year? All true, I agree. 

But, and this is the thing for me, selecting colour(s) of the year (this is the first time that Pantone have selected more than one shade as their stand out colour of the year) present me and other designers with a challenge. As I said in my previous RQ/S post, my jewellery isn't fashion-led. I prefer quirky, earthy, bohemian stylings that will last a lifetime - after all, if you're investing in a piece of narrative art jewellery, then you don't want to feel you can't wear it a couple of months after purchase, do you? And so instead, I see Pantone's selection as a challenge - they're throwing down the colour gauntlet and it's my decision whether to take it up or not, within my jewellery! And in this new necklace, Meadow Sweet, I have taken up that gauntlet and wrestled it into Songbead shape. 

Meadow Sweet

Since my last RQ/S blog post, I've added to and expanded my Pinterest RQ/S board - check it out here. I found that I was continually drawn to images that didn't really focus on these two sweet shades by themselves, but instead fully incorporated them into fuller palettes - palettes that contained mint julep green, lemon yellow, coral peach, soft beige and often (and perhaps surprisingly), black. (Top colour tip - black is an excellent foil to pastels, and really takes the sometimes saccharine edge off them). In Meadow Sweet, I've taken RQ and S, added some deep lilac, pale aqua and delicate turquoise, along with a heavy helping of soft beige. I've added in a touch of a deeper rose-pink, with my own handwoven {song}bead round, up there on the right-hand side. The heart focal I snaffled from Soul Silver is a prime example of why I like adding to the basic colours of the year palette - the bright, verdant green really takes the edge off the overly-sweet (to me) combination of simply pink and blue. It's colourful, fun and the palette seems to have more to say than RQ/S alone.

I am also, of course, noticing these two colours together everywhere at the moment. I'm sure it's simply because they're in my consciousness, but I think they may be a tad in others' consciousnesses too. Perhaps not the exact shades of Rose Quartz and Serenity, but lots of pastel pinks and blues in combination - and of course, the mid-lilac shade they create when layered together, as seen in the lampwork tab of Meadow Sweet:

Image found via Pinterest

For me though, the colours definitely need a splash of something cooler - mint, turquoise, aqua. Something that brings something a little different to the colour table. Here's an example of one of my pinned images that really inspired me in creating Meadow Sweet:

Sure, the palette at the bottom makes Serenity blue a little scarce, but look at the top two left-hand images - it's there alright. This is more like it for me! 

And for me, that's what responding to Pantone is all about - taking something; a colour palette, an idea, a work of art, an artisan bead - and making it my own. Transforming it into a story that feels like it comes from me, rather than simply lifted from elsewhere. Hopefully with Meadow Sweet, that's something I've achieved. 

Meadow Sweet is available here. 

My Favourite Autumnal Palette

I have found this year, that I have a favourite Autumnal palette. Orange, purple, turquoise and a sort of mossy green. Here are some of the things I've made over the years in these tones:

You can see from these that I sometimes the turquoise veers towards the cobalt blue, and that I like to add in a bronzy gold/brown too, but this is definitely a palette which I return to again and again, particularly during this time of year. Rich, Autumnal tones, but with the vibrancy that I crave when I look at your more typical earthy Autumnal palettes. 

I returned to this palette again last weekend:

Sometimes, beads arrive and you just fall in love with them. Sometimes they speak to you straight away and say - use me now! This was the case with these gorgeous lampwork dahlias from Pasion de Vidrio. Ronald makes the most gorgeous lampwork beads, although he's currently taking a break from his art. Thankfully, I stocked up a bit first. (Yes, I bet you were worried that I would run out of beads. To quote my friend Keirsten, I needed fresh beads. My other ones had gone briefly stale.) Simply pairing them with Humblebeads' gorgeous disc beads (they fell together on my work top - I'd love to say that it was my intuitive way of working that brought them together but alas, I fear it was just my messiness and lack of organisation!) meant that I had a pair of earrings in my favourite Autumnal tones:

In Autumn, available in the shop. 

Black, gold and green - and a little softness too

When I posted a picture of this bracelet, one of my good friends (Claire) said 'super colour combo - one of those unexpected ones that you do so well' which was of course, an enormous compliment coming from someone who kind of knows what she's doing with colour and components herself, ahem! I almost feel like I'm cheating when I accept compliments like that though - I'm so led by what's in front of me. This bracelet was actually a reworking of one from a couple of years ago (not sure I ever took a photo of the original, sorry) which for some reason I made for an approximately 12" wrist (not quite, but you get the picture!) and had needed re-doing for some time. It was sitting on my work tray, along with a new set of astonishing lampwork beads from Jana Filípková (I must show you the rest of the set sometime soon - really and truly, astounding), and somehow the fun spottiness of the vintage black acrylic, and the playful shimmering sparkliness of Jana's glitter ball seemed like they wanted to go together. It also helped to balance the bracelet nicely too - those large acrylic beads are actually very light, and the smoky frosted sea-glass-esque rounds on the other side are on the heavy side by comparison. The large glitter ball did the trick, weight-wise. (And psst - there's another butterfly on this bracelet too...!)

I had some of the acrylic rounds left over from shortening my canklet-style bracelet, and so decided to turn them into some simple earrings. I don't often work with black - I'm not entirely sure why, I do wear black both in my clothes and make-up, but somehow I really don't like it in home decor or beads. Too harsh; too stark. I knew these beads needed softening for them to work for me, but as these rounds are on the large side, I felt that adding beads onto them wasn't the thing to do here, despite this post. I tried flattening out a couple of etched brass bead caps but they didn't look right, and then I remembered Lorelei Eurto's vintage tin bead caps that I splurged on a while back. Still have a small cache of them left over, pleasingly! These lovely floral ones - pinks, peaches, greens and cornflower blooms on a yellow base - gave the black acrylic just the right feel, and tapped into their vintage feel. I also had exactly the right weenie lampwork beads from Julie Wong Sontag in a soft, etched lemon yellow, to decorate the earwires. 

Both of these sold the same day I shared them, so perhaps I should work with black more often....!

Butterflies

Why did the butterfly flutter...oh, you know the rest! These past 2 weeks, I seem to have developed a real thing for butterflies. Don't know why - yes, I am often drawn to 'things with wings' but butterflies can sometimes be a little saccharine - a bit 'wee girly' and sugary for me. Certainly to be the focus of a piece. But somehow, they've ended up in my designs again and again, whether I like it or not recently. I've also seem to lost all ability to make anything other than earrings. Whatever - I'm going with it. Often, I find my earrings can be cute but a little pedestrian, so I'm quite enjoying creating slightly more exuberant earrings for once. Let's see where this takes me.

Here in Butterfly Dance, I've stacked a whole heap of elements together. Pressed glass, recycled glass, Fallen Angel Brass, Vintaj Brass, Gunmetal caps, more pressed glass, copper hoops, vintage brass butterfly charms, handmade lampwork rondelles (some of Julie Wong Sontag's infamous 'weenies'), and my own oxidised silver earwires. I love how the butterflies are framed by those copper rings - and I love the real mix of metals. Even the brasses - the three varieties here are each so different, and each a naturally developed patina. Brass really is a beautiful and under-appreciated metal. I'm also usually not particularly keen on brass and copper - something about the yellow and orange tones being too close to one another - but the 3-tone brass, the gunmetal, the oxidised silver - I think it's safe to add the copper in there too, it only adds to the multi-mixed-metal-ness. You can find these for sale in the shop. 

Admiral are a pair I am particularly pleased with. I received these gorgeous wooden buttons as a lovely little gift from Claire who owns Smitten Beads, as part of a challenge she offered up in her shop. They really are rather special, don't you think? Now, as I said before, sometimes my earrings can be a little, well, safe. Simple. Pedestrian if I'm being particularly hard on myself! When I have a long craft fair, or a short deadline, then I definitely go into earring-making machine mode. I don't make earrings that I don't like or wouldn't wear, but I don't make earrings like these or these or these. Also, I don't/can't call my earrings things like I Rose From Marsh Mud. I would really like to, but I call my earrings things like Butterfly Dance. You see - 'safe'! I am just not edgy [nor do I know enough about poetry!] I guess - *sigh*

Anyway, I digress. Quite often my earrings have 2 or 3 parts to them. And they are simply stacked. Here's a good example:

Autumnal

Don't get me wrong. I like these. I like the colours, shapes and contrasting textures; I like their neatness. They're some of my favourites from my Summer earrings haul. But they are simply stacked - there's no engineering, so to speak, to them. And quite often when I try to wrangle a non-beady/round element into a pair of earrings, which of course have to hang 'just so', they droop limply and unconvincingly and simply don't work. 

But here, as you can hopefully see, the buttons hang just as I wanted them too. And the slim chains swoop down below, the leaves don't tip as they could, but hang down nicely - all in all, I'm rather pleased with these. More cute lampwork from Julie Wong Sontag, by the way. 

This last pair for this post are a pair which I *think* I may have to keep for myself. There's something about this combination of turquoise, darkly textural brass, this particular shade of red and the polka dots that I find hard to resist. I love that the holes in the centre of Helen Chalmers' discs have plenty of room for several slim-gauge wire wraps. I've used 0.6mm wire here and as you can see, they comfortably allow 4 passes at least per disc. This allows me to suspend them facing outwards, which, as Helen's beads really do stand looking at front-ways (sideways?) on, is a lovely bonus. These earrings also have a little touch that I've been adding to quite a few pairs recently - the embellished earwires. I used to do this relatively often but sort of fell out of the habit - I've been stalking reading a favourite blog recently, right from the beginning (a trick I picked up from Julie), and was reminded just how much I like decorating earwires - and so have resolved to do it more often. Julie's tiny lampwork beads are just the perfect size for this. If I do decide to sell these, I'll pop a link back here, but in all honesty, I think they'll be staying with me! 

Pinch, punch - it's a Sale at Songbead!

Pinch, punch - it's the first of the month! There's nothing that spurs me on to make than sending lots of lovely jewellery out into the world - so help me out! I'm having a sale today and tomorrow - you can take 20% off everything in the shop right now with coupon code PINCH20. Just enter it at checkout (any problems, just let me know). Enjoy!

Click for Songbead Sale!

It's a wrap for the wraps

Frequent readers will know that earlier this year, I was struck down with an addiction to making wrap bracelets. This actually culminated with being featured on the front cover of October's issue of Beads and Beyond:

Pretty much my own personal wrap de resistance.  I was given the words 'Ode to Autumn' to work with (a Keats poem, I was ashamed to not know, although I did recognise it when the penny finally dropped) and certainly, that idea of an Ode or Song was my inspiration here - the idea of a wrap bracelet (which can be worn as a necklace too) seemed the perfect response to this idea. I hunter-gathered as many Autumn art beads as I could, co-ordinating accompanying beads (ceramics, copper and my favourite Czech pressed glass) and spun this wrap together. I'm not sure I have anywhere to go from here, so my wrap-making compulsion seems to have ground to a halt. 

I did however have one left in me for the West End Fair, and here it is. One of my current favourite colour-combinations at the moment, royal blue, sky blue and sunny yellow. A dash of orange in this one too, thanks to the awesomely ridiculous hands of Mindy Moogin MacGregor. 

Beautiful lapis coins echoing Mindy's amazing lentil, wooden teeth, Peruvian opal discs (more lentil-echoing there) and some sunny, pressed glass rounds. It's a fairly happy piece, I'd say!

You can find Aztec for sale here. 

Forest Walk

I'm not quite sure how I find myself year - here, at the end of September. Surely it was only just the beginning of June a couple of days ago? Or at least, that's how it feels. You've heard it all before - I've certainly written it before - but there's truth and importance to be taken from this sensation. Sometimes time seems to pass so quickly, I feel like I'm not quite present in the moment - what happened to June, to July? I know August was a craft fair....but it's good to take a moment to be here, in this crystalline droplet of time. To breathe. To BE. (You can take this also as a warning to myself, because once we get into October, we're galloping towards November and craft fair season, leading up to Christmas...Oy.)

I've been feeling a real urge to submerge myself in the creative process right now. To dive in, headfirst; to shut off from the click-click, beep-bleep and blink of electronica and social media and general everyday distraction. But somehow, I haven't been able too. It's terribly frustrating when your  heart and soul knows what it needs, but your head cannot give you the space. And of course, there are so many jobs and tasks that need to be done before you can even allow yourself to *think* about turning to making. Messages to be answered, orders to be packed, bunnies to be hung out with. Maybe it's the time of year - having been in full-time education until 24, and then spent the following 8 years teaching in schools, it's hard to throw off that 'new school year' feeling. It's a feeling that I like, actually - turning over a new leaf, a real sense of something new. Being open to possibility and change. . Or even just the possibility of the possibility of change. The chance to try new things; new techniques and media. It's exciting! And therefore doubly frustrating that I haven't quite synced my body with this feeling. Not least because I burned my hand badly enough to have to go to hospital last week, and have been hampered with the use of only one hand this week. Thankfully, my right hand was the sole functioning one (I am VERY right-handed, despite always having a secret desire to be a leftie. Is that just me?), and so things haven't been quite as difficult as they could have been. But I'm glad that, as of last night, my left hand really is feeling very useable. 

One thing I did manage a few days ago was this bracelet. Simple stringing, and plier-use aided by a glove protecting my sore hand, was manageable at least. I received some beautiful bonus beads (the best kind!) from the lovely Sally of Soul Silver with my most recent order from her (the red ones in the bracelet below). I was immediately struck my their rich, glowing quality - the depth and luminosity of their colours. They draw you in. Goodness, I do love colour! Their richness and depth also spoke to me of the season. I reached for other beads - a toning handwoven glass round from myself, a selection of Czech glass in equally rich tones, and a beautiful, speckled ceramic round from Bo Hulley - and combined these with contrasting brass and bronze. Originally, this bracelet was charm-free, but I felt it needed *something* and the Fallen Angel Brass feathers were just the ticket. 

Just look at how glowing Sally's lampwork beads are here. Even more so in real life. I've also used a magnetic clasp, from The Bead Shop Scotland. I've always been a little suspicious of magnetic clasps, not trusting them to stand up to what they should. But I bought a few of these due to the recommendations I read, and their uncommon prettiness (you can see there are several different designs and sizes on their site) and boy, am I pleased that I did. I was able to satisfy more than one customer during the West End Fair by switching clasp on a bracelet they liked but struggling to fasten themselves. And really, they are so lovely that I have decided to use one from the outset here. Super-strong too. 

I love designing bracelets - I love their linear qualities. I love to take the eye on a walk along them, to have interest all around - and so 'Forest Walk' seemed an apt title for this piece, given the association with the seasons which Sally's beads invoke for me. Also, a nod to a recent walk we took here in the Lothians. 

You can find Forest Walk for sale here. 

Songbead - Free Shipping this weekend!

Hey, so you know how I said that my shop is stuffed to the gunnels full of tasty jewellery? Well, guess what? You can get free shipping today and tomorrow! Whether you're along the road in Edinburgh, across in France or on the other side of the world in Australia, you can bag yourself some beautiful handmade jewellery, delivered straight to your door free of charge! Yay! Just use coupon code 15FREE at the checkout.

Head over to my etsy shop now. 

Massive Songbead Update!

Yep, these are all the things which are heading, or have already landed, in my etsy shop, post-West End Fair. Phew! Are you in need of earrings? I've got ALL THE EARRINGS. Seriously - just look at that collage - I felt slightly gluttonous compiling it, somehow. Several bracelets also, and well, necklaces...ok, not so many there, but they were really very popular at the fair, I'm extremely grateful to say. And of course, earrings are quicker to make and refill spaces :-) 

Head over there now to find the perfect piece for you!

Colour Shot Bracelets

A new design from me, featuring my handwoven {song}beads. I have patterns which I'm happy with for these in a few sizes now, and these are my largest of these so far - just over 12mm diameter each, and probably around 20 minutes to make per bead, if the win is in the right direction! They are lovely and tactile, but still light - thanks to the wood centre, the 

I love how these designs just focus on COLOUR. My main passion I think, when it comes down to it, in design. You just can't beat it for inspiration and JOY. One of the blogs which I follow belongs to the amazing artist and entrepreneur Kelly Rae Roberts, and one of her themes and now courses that she offers is the #WearYourJoy Project. I've not taken the course, but I love the idea, and it resonates with me and how I feel about colour. 

You can find these bracelets for sale here. 

A quick hello and a sale!

Hello everyone! I am well and truly due you a proper post or seven here, but if you follow me on Facebook then you'll know I've been through quite a time of it recently, which has left me lacking in time and mental or emotional energy for things like this blog. But things are hopefully finally moving in the right direction (I'll fill you in later, I promise!) and I hope to be back blogging sometime next week. In the meantime, I just wanted to let you, my lovely readers, know that I am having a Spring Clean Sale over in my jewellery shop on etsy. Just use coupon code SPRINGCLEAN15 and you can take a huge 30% off your order, and have a proper treat. I don't know about you, but 2015 has been a slim year for me so far, so I know that I would appreciate a generous saving (you're welcome!). Above is a selection of some of the jewellery available in the shop right now - quite a few of these pieces have sold - thank you! - but there are still lots of lovely one-of-a-kind pieces that you can slice a whole fat 30% off. I'm very happy to think of them flying out to new homes where they can fulfil their jewellery destiny! Check out my shop here. 

Garden Green

Necklaces, we meet again....or should I say *necklace* singular. It's a start! If you remember from this post, I said/resolved "As for February, it's time to create a few more necklaces!". Well, here we go, here's my first. Oh dear! Actually, that's not true, but a couple have gone to local friends/customers before photographing. I think that's half the problem with them for me - so much to fit in on the full shot, not having a spot where I can pose a mannequin - the conservatory is great for light but filled with - shudder - house plants and various other bits and bobs which are not necessarily great background props - close ups focussing on the pendant area not giving a proper 'feel' of the piece as a whole....you get the gist. 

Garden Green is nice and chunky, and so it's a little easier to squeeze it all in to one shot without feeling like the eye doesn't know where to rest. Lovely vibrant green chrysoprase, one of my favourite gemstones, has a slightly waxy feel to it somehow, and I've paired it with some delicious vintage German pressed glass. Vintage German glass is similar to but distinctly different from it's Czech neighbour - somehow, the pressings are just a little less sharp, but it gives them a little more heft, and they are definitely bolder too. I've had these twisted rounds for a couple of years now, and they seemed happy to be paired up with the chunky chrysoprase, and a similarly visually weighty ceramic house from Elukka. Pretty pleased with this jolly piece! What do you think? 

Tropical!

I don't often reach for these colours - fuchsia and juicy orange - but every so often they arrive on my worktable in the form of a pair of earrings or a bracelet of such. Aren't they juicy? Don't they speak of sunshine, orange groves and exotic flora and fauna? Toned down just a little with the addition of rustic golden-brown brass, I really love this palette. One to reach for a little more often, perhaps...

Fresh off the boat!

I have been lucky enough to have been published in the last two issues of the beautiful publication that is Stringing Magazine. Do you know it? If you are in the UK, it can be tricky to get hold of, but you can always download a copy right onto your computer or tablet. If you like making jewellery, or even if you just like looking at - and wearing! - gorgeous handmade jewellery, then it really is a feast for the eyes. It's one of those publications I've always longed to be published in, but never quite screwed up the courage to submit any designs to. Well, I'm not quite sure what changed, but back in May(?) (April? June? I can't remember now! Definitely back in Belfast at any rate) I got my nerve together and sent in a few pieces for their Winter issue. 

I'm not sure I ever got round to sharing those which were accepted - a real and true honour for me, incredibly humbling and exciting to be sharing those pages with so many talented folk. The Winter pieces arrived back in the midst of craft fair madness, so they went straight onto the stand, apart from a dainty necklace and earring set which I knew from before I even sent it away was destined for my wee sister. 

Fast forward to September(? I really am not good at remembering dates.), and it was submission time all over again. Well, I didn't get my act together quite so much but I managed to whip up a few pieces - earrings and a bracelet to submit, and some of them were accepted. Yay! They arrived back with me today, and here they are. A few PicMonkey snaps to share with you of them. (I forgot to shoot the bracelet - but that will follow). 

I'm enjoying playing around with fonts at the moment. Really, I want to find one that works for me, but my style does tend toward the eclectic - why shouldn't my font-age? Which one is your favourite? Do you like a mix? Or do you think I should hone it right down?

Annoyingly, I just didn't get my act together in time for the Summer issue submission deadline, so you won't be seeing any of my work then. Hopefully I can be more organised, and get some designs submitted for the Fall issue - and fingers crossed, more of my work will be gracing Stringing's pages later in the year. It's hard work, but I think it's good to have to 'put yourself out there' every single time. There's something quite bracing about designing to a specific brief, but it doesn't have the added pressure (not quite the right word) of designing for a specific person. That layer of specificity and direction from the magazine, but then you are free to do whatever you like from that - you only have yourself (and hopefully the magazine!) to please. 

Good-bye January - Hello February!

It's the start of a new week; we've left January behind and thank-goodness, now it's June. What's that you say? It's actually February? Another month of Winter, essentially....?

Oh well. At least February is followed by March, and is blessedly short. 

January may have been long, dreich and dark, but it's been quite a productive month for me here at Songbead. That opportunity that the beginning of a new year provides us with - to look back and take stock of what has come before - is never a bad thing, and it's made me reevaluate where I am in terms of life balance. I've blogged about it before, so I won't bore you with it again, but I have been considering taking on someone to help me one day a week for The Curious Bead Shop, to allow me to devote more of my time to designing, making and creative play. I'm hugely grateful for Curious and every single order that comes in, and I want it to stay that way - I don't want to begin feeling that it's swamping my week and stopping me from making and creating. 

And so beginning this past month, I've been making a concerted effort to CREATE more. I've missed magazine deadlines already(!) but I have been keeping my etsy shop stocked, taking more photographs (despite the time of year  i.e. poor light), and trying to keep my blog and Facebook page active. I mean, I love making jewellery. I like Facebook but I love blogs and that extra layer of the personal and intimate that they provide. So why not start the year as I mean to go on? 

Here's a peek at what January looked like for me in terms of jewellery design:

As for February, it's time to create a few more necklaces! And to work on my silver-smithing skills, so I can start to incorporate bits and pieces into my jewellery - this past month, I have started a weekly class, and I'm LOVING it. But more about that on another day!

How about you? How's your January been? What does February hold?