Wherein We Dream of the Ocean

This is not an icicle...

'Tis the season of single digit temperatures and unforgiving wind chill factors.  The kind of weather when you step outside and rediscover your most colorful language.  For a Southern girl, I'm dealing with it just fine -- nothing a few extra layers of clothing and a giant puffy down coat can't help with.

But that doesn't mean I wouldn't welcome a whirlwind trip to a warm tropical beach right about now.

Of course, my bank account might differ with that dream, so I'll channel my tropical fantasy into some beady fun.

In the last ZNet Shows design outing, I got some really fun light turquoise cultured sea glass spikes, like the one in the picture at the top of this post. The color looks like the water in the Gulf of Mexico off the Alabama coast. The beads have two holes, and the base is slightly squared off rather than perfectly round, so I always wanted to experiment with using them in a beadweaving style.

It's fun, it's breezy, and it's nothing complicated. I loved being able to use these spikes in a modified right angle weave. 

You can get an idea of the height of the spikes, and you can see the second hole (which I didn't use in all cases)

Even if I can't sink my toes into some warm sand while sipping on a cool and fruity beverage, this necklace makes me think of summer. It'll look great with my puffy down coat, too!

Beach Dreaming and Show Prep

It's raining here.

I mean really raining. Biblical, epic, tie-down-anything-that-might-float-away rain.

So, naturally, I am dreaming of the beach.

I mean, who wouldn't want to be somewhere like this?

Destin. Myrtle Beach. Orange Beach. Gulf Shores. Isle of Palms. Aaah...

Okay, so that's not happening any day soon, so I had to do the next best thing and go play in the bead room to create some sunny, beach vibe.

Here's the result of a little beady, beachy therapy. These great mother of pearl teardrops swing and sway, and the clasp can hook anywhere in the chain, adjusting the length of the necklace from a choker with a long drop to a 22" necklace with just the teardrop cluster as a pendant. I know it'll look great with a cute little sundress, against sun-kissed skin.


I also spent some time working up some fun memory wire bracelets for an upcoming show on Mother's Day weekend. They use up lots of orphan and leftover beads that I won't use anywhere else.


They'll be in a big basket at the front of my booth to be a quick impulse purchase (fingers crossed!!). And they worked up super fast, and who doesn't love a little nearly-instant gratification? All in all, it's been a good weekend. Take that, rainclouds!