And Now for the Seed Beads

I love seed beads.  They were what started my journey into the jewelry making world.  Seed beads begat stone beads (and stringing) who begat Chain Maille, who begat wire work, who begat sheet metal work who begat torch fired enamel.  I can't wait to see what's next!

But for now, I'm back to seed beads.  Some woven Delica work caught my eye, and I played around with making stars and beaded beads.  I like Delicas, but I really REALLY like regular round Japanese or Czech seed beads.  Yes, they can be wonky, but so?  If you want everything to be perfect, use Delicas. 

I bought the book Seed Bead Fusion by Rachel Nelson Smith a few years ago.  Like some of my books, I looked at it and said, "Oh.  Okay.  Meh"  and it went on the shelf.  I don't know what possessed me to get it off the shelf and start making something from it.  The project I picked is the Ootheca Cuff.  In the book, the directions are very clear, and Rachel shows step by step progress of the pieces.  The base of the cuff is right angle weave, and you embellish it with 'bumps'.   This cuff is reversible, so you make two RAW bases and wire them together.  I started this project on Monday July 9, and tonight I finished the first RAW base.  I didn't get to work it as much as I liked, but did a few rows at lunchtime, and a little in the evenings.  I'm not happy with how the seed beads are laying, they're definately uneven, but I'm hopeful the finished cuff will be pretty cool.  The used opaque green apple seeds for the first RAW, and I'm thinking of using orange for the other side.  Simply because orange and green are very happy colors, and totally not what I use regularly.  Especially orange.  However, I have some really obnoxious purple that might look pretty swell with the green.  Since I finished the first RAW base tonight, I'll  have to decide on orange or purple tomorrow.  I've actually remembered to take pictures of the first RAW base, so when it's done I can show you the progression. 

Stay tuned!