Tuesday's Treasures: Viking Weave Necklace is Complete!

It's Done, it's DONE! I am so happy and proud to show you my first completed Viking Knit (Weave) project! I chose to make a copper weave to keep the costs down in case I messed up my first project in this style, but it turns out the weave is actually very easy to do and quite fun too. I made a custom bail for my new Viking Monkee, Thor, made by Glass artist extraordinaire Louise of Fireseed.
It starts out as loops on a wooden mandrel, and you keep going until you have 10-12 inches of this (you gently pull it off the mandrel as you go so that you have enough of the dowel to weave on).
When you have enough length, you pull it through a draw plate (initially I just pulled it with my hands and it elongated and became tighter), until you get the desired diameter of weave. Mine ended up about 17 inches long, a little longer than I wanted it, but I wanted it to be a small diameter, which explains it. Next time (for me anyway) I'll weave a shorter amount of wire to make a slightly shorter necklace. This necklace took about 25 FEET of fine, 26 gauge copper wire to make this slim, graceful and very soft woven necklace. Pretty neat!
Here is my little Thor, all done up on his custom bail (the part that suspends the pendant from the necklace). I used a small spiral at the bottom to complement the chain, and made a simple wrapped loop at the top to hold the pendant onto the chain.

This one is mine, but what do you think? Would you wear a similar styled necklace? What about the bead? What kind of bead would you have? Should I keep this one or sell it? I'm kind of inclined to keep this one, but would you buy something similar?

I'm off to try this in sterling silver, I have another of Louise's beads that is perfect for a bracelet, though it isn't cute like my Thor bead, it is a beautiful, fluid round bead. I'll keep you updated on that.

I want to thank Louise for inspiring me to make this necklace, without you, I'd still be blankly staring at the components!

That's all for now!

Monday Update on the Bead Show!

I am interrupting Monday's normal "Monday's Methods" posts to bring you news of a fantastic show I went to over the weekend. On Saturday I took my mom to the Ottawa Glass Bead Artists Show in Ottawa, Ontario. It was fantastic! I didn't take many photos as it was crawling with people, and I didn't want to be jostling everyone, but I did get some great handouts from various glass bead makers.
I was also very, very good in that I only bought 2 strands of faceted onyx briolettes at half price. I stayed away from the Baltic Amber chips at $22 per strand...though I really, really wanted it!
I also bought a book on chain mail work! I am SO excited as I have had this on my Amazon.ca wish list for almost a year. This is a great book as it has great chain mail designs that are also added on to with beads:
It is fabulous and I can't wait to make some new creations with it, stay tuned for that!
I also saw my good friend Louise, who owns and runs Fireseed, her own private lamp work glass studio. She makes the most amazing beads and it was to see her and her newest creations in person that I really went to the show. She makes the most adorable Monkee beads - monkeys with different hats, different outfits, all out of glass! She even has a new Viking Monkee in honor of her newest endeavor - creating beads that are recreations of historical beads...some of them dating back thousands of years! Louise is on the right, and her good friend Jane is on the left.
I was, again, very good and didn't buy anything from Louise, though I am going to buy a Viking Monkee from her...she only had one at the show and I didn't want to take the only one and not let her clients see it. I will, however be buying it, or one like it if the original sold. That being said...
...I do already have quite a few "Fireseed By Louise Ingram" beads...I think I have an addiction...no, wait, I DO have an addiction. But really, after looking at these beads, how could I not?

I had a great time at the show, seeing so many different artists, being inspired, I will DEFINITELY be back next year, and I highly recommend that you go to...you need a vacation, right? See you there next year!

Tune in tomorrow for the FINISHED bracelet I've been working on!

Sweet Saturday - What An Awesome Thank You!

I visited good friend and glass extraordinaire Louise Ingram from Fireseed yesterday, to pick up the beads I traded for the amigurumi dolls I made for her and her cat and wow am I impressed! The pink beads I asked her to make waaaay back in February and I have a design just waiting for them - aren't they fantastic?
She had mentioned that she had included a few surprises and when I got home, I found these stunning red beads too - don't they just look like candy? Maybe rubies? I can't decide - but either way they are so gorgeous, I made a bracelet from them right away, see below for more pictures :)Then, I peeked into the bag again and out came these beads! Wow, I can't wait to make things with them, they are so different and beautiful :)
Last but not least (not by a long shot!), I found that she had included her famous animal beads! The naughty-but-nice Louise had included a Bunkee Bead (her delightful Monkees dressed as bunnies!), a black cat bead, and a sweet little black dog bead that I swear she must have used a picture of my dog to make, the resemblance is staggering (she got the smile down perfectly, lol).
I have to say I feel very spoiled and I will have to do a few more monkey dolls to feel I have repaid her for her amazing generosity!
Here is a photo of the bracelet I made with the red-candy beads - I made links from individual rings that I had linked by hand to make a chain mail knot, then I attached each link to a bead. I made a square clasp to match the square beads - too cool, huh? I know Louise definitely brings out the best in my work - her beads are so beautiful they always inspire a piece that is (in my humble opinion) as much art as functioning jewelry. Thank you Louise!

Sweet Saturday - Beads That Make You Go Awwww!

~Bunkee~

~Easter Monkee~

I have posted about my good friend Louise, from Fireseed, here before, but she keeps inventing new and exciting (and CUTE!) beads so I suppose I will keep having to feature her until she stops :)
Her newest beads are an addition to her line of famous Monkee Beads, sold on her Etsy Store and her ArtFire Store; the newest additions are Easter Monkees and, most ingenious, Bunkees - Monkees dressed and Easter Bunnies! I saw them and almost fell off my chair...I don't know how she does it, but her work keeps getting better and better and I wish her many monkees new and happy homes :)
All of her work is digitally annealed so that they are very durable, and all are hand cleaned for a professional, smooth finish. These beads have a hole running horizontally through the back of their head, so it will be easy to string on a simple cord, or incorporated into a more elaborate project.
I have worked with her beads on many occasions and I have always been amazed at the quality and attention to detail in each bead, no matter how small. Each of her stores are different, so I do hope you'll visit Louise in each of her different shops and see all of the beautiful goodies she has to offer.

Go Ape for Monkees!

~The Monkees Want to Hang Out With You!~

My friend Louise came over today to drop off some beads for me to make into creations for her upcoming show and showed me some beads that she wanted turned into a brooch. These Monkee beads spoke to me immediately and I thought of some great leaf beads with a blue tint that are great with the blue eyes of the Monkees. She said that she wanted them to be sort of 'hanging' and this just worked perfectly - I was actually able to make it while she watched! Using sterling silver wire I strung the Monkees, leafs beads and sterling silver round beads and made this beautiful brooch - what a great advertisement for Fireseed!
Meghann