Mermaid Scales

I’m not at all sure what type of mermaid lost this bracelet.  Or maybe not a mermaid at all, but some other aquatic amphibian.  In any event, I am ever so glad she did.  I love the combination of warm dove grey with the retro mint green.  Scales which feel smooth to the touch with the grain, and quite prickly against.  There’s also a subtle bow to the whole piece, which gives even more dimension.

Composition: dove grey size 6 seed beads combined with minty fresh petal beads.  The petals are quite directional, having a true front and back, which gives the scale dimensionality.  The whole bracelet stitched in peyote and finished with a slide lock clasp.

Yellowfin Mermaid

She’s fast!  A flip of her tail and she disappears into the salty waters.  She swims with the speed demons of the ocean – yellowfin tuna.  Sleek. Fleet.  Avoiding both nets and man to keep her seaworthy seclusion.

I think she lost this bracelet while racing with her fishy friends.  Who can get to the bottom fastest, perhaps?  Either way, I must say I am glad she decided to part with her finery.

Large daggers in both a matte and shiny finish, stitched together with 8° seed beads, the whole closed with a slide lock clasp.  I like the combination of finishes on this bracelet.  They provide textural interest.

Woodland Mermaid

Moss and Lichen and Streams, Oh My!

Leafy trees, dappled shade with a running stream beside her.  She took it off just for a moment, then some scrub jays swooped down and made off with her finery.  At least, that’s the story this bracelet is telling me.

A more subtle rendition of the Mermaid bracelets.  Still flashy, but in an understated way; for those times you know you’re on top of the world, and don’t need to shout.

Small red daggers combined with dark gold drops, the whole melded together with color-lined size 8°s.  The daggers run down the center for the most part, which I think makes the bracelet more wearable when you’re doing things with your hands.  What I find interesting about this piece is that none of the colors are from the same family, and none of the beads have the same finish.  Truly an example of the sum being more than the parts.

Deep Blue Mermaid

The mermaid who owns this bracelet swims in the ocean deeps.

I’m not at all sure how she lost it, or how it migrated from the ocean depths to Cactusville, but here it is.  Perhaps it was picked up by hurricane Irene, and spun westward in a thunderstorm?

If you look at the under side of the bracelet, you can see that it’s a checkerboard.  Do you think this mermaid plays chess with whales?  I wonder…

Large daggers in two different shades of blue.  The dark blue has a black swirl in it, the other is a shiny periwinkle.  The size 8° seeds are light grey silver lined, and provide a bit of unexpected sparkle when the daggers wave.  The whole completed with a slide clasp.  I think this one turned out rather nicely.  Alas, it is not staying with me.  It is gifted.

Freshwater Mermaid

I think a freshwater mermaid has lost her bracelet.

I really love this bracelet.  It feels slinky and soft to wear.  The daggers make a real statement: No Wallflowers Allowed.  It’s one of those creations which generates feelings of happiness and pride.

The pattern is from the August issue of Bead & Button magazine.  Believe it or not, it is all simple peyote stitch!

You do have to pay attention so the daggers stand upright and don’t get twisted around to the back, but otherwise there are no odd convoluted bits to the instructions.  Alas, it is not an inexpensive piece to make, as daggers, especially the large ones, are pricey.

This particular bracelet has alternating green stripes.  I see many upcoming permutations: smaller daggers in a pattern akin to a snake’s skin perhaps?  Color wheel variations?

The back of the bracelet is as nice as the front.  Now, why a freshwater mermaid?  Well, the green reminds me of scales.  When combined with a slightly silvered white as the base it just seemed like something you’d see at the bottom of a freshwater stream.  Maybe lost by a mermaid as she sunned herself on the adjacent boulders.

Dagger Drips

These are the latest beading trend at Chez Thunderpaws.  I am amazed that something which is so simple to stitch turns out looking so pretty and complex.  The yellow is a gift, the lavender crystal is pour moi!  I even have a sweater to wear with it.

The stitch is what I think of as a modified daisy – where the thread path goes around to the left for one group, then around to the right for the next.  It’s actually a lot more difficult to write about than to do.  A second pass attaches the daggers with a netting-like stitch.  I know, it sounds really convoluted, but I make these while watching listening to TV, so how difficult can it be?

Interestingly enough, I had all the little size 15° beads, and the daggers & drops, but what I couldn’t find, at least, not in a price range I was willing to pay, was the round beads that form the core of the design.  Who’d have thought that would be difficult?

It takes about 300 of the central beads to make one of these, so I had to be sure I had enough.  The yellow was close – there may be 10 left over?

I’ll make a couple more of these over the next day or two, then I’ll  be bored with the design and move on to something new.  Ideas are percolating!

Icicle Bracelet

It’s amazing what a difference using another color way can make.  This is the same pattern as the jelly bean bracelet: same size beads, different drops.  Doesn’t resemble the first one at all, does it?

I made this rendition two bead-widths narrower (shorter), since the pattern must be worked in multiples of two.  It fits more snugly on my wrist.  The little size 11° beads are a galvanized purple color which I really like.  The daggers are a new finish, which unfortunately doesn’t photograph well.  It’s an oily, quasi-opaque purple.  Something completely different, if you will.

I think I’m done with this pattern for now.  Two iterations is enough. Time to move on to something new.