Introducing Leonard

A couple of months ago, I was lucky enough to win a copy of Karen Williams' great book Freeform Peyote Beading.  Not only did Karen send me a copy of the book, but she sent a treasure box of beads selected to echo the design in the book that had most caught my eye.

Looking through the pages of her book online, a bracelet stood out to me -- not just because it was lovely, but because I misread Karen's title (Leopard Jasper Bracelet).  "How funny!" I thought, "She called the bracelet Leonard Jasper."

(Okay, originally, the plan was to sit down and bead myself silly over Thanksgiving weekend.  Yep.  So let's just jump in the WayBack Machine and pretend it's late November, and that I'm not actually two months behind schedule on this...)

And so, in honor of Karen and her wonderful generosity and talent, allow me to introduce Leonard, the Jasper Bracelet.

I've done a good bit of freeform work, but Karen's book was full of great ideas and tips that were new to me.  My favorite tip for this project was to consider the first strand of beads you string as the centerline of the final piece and build on both sides simultaneously, at least at first.  This great tip helped me avoid my typical wonky "aw, crap, it's lopsided" moment in freeform bracelet creation.

Thanks, Karen, for helping to bring Leonard into my life!  And y'all, go take a look at her book on Amazon -- yummy...