Lazy Days, Dragon Veins & Tuscany... (oh my!)

What a lazy weekend I had.  I woke up Sunday with a crazy sore throat, just out of nowhere.  Seems to be feeling better today, thank goodness.  But I didn't feel like doing much of anything so we stuck close to home.

I was able to get several digital scrapbook pages done for a client...

...and managed to put the finishing touches on one of the most beautiful focal beads I've gotten in a long time.

It's a teardrop shaped chunk of dragon vein agate, and the colors in it are simply gorgeous.  There are several shades of green... from deep foresty green to olive....  mmmm olive green.... *insert moment of happy place silence here*......  there's also a hint of a really lovely aqua deep within the stone, so I took advantage of that when choosing beads to complement my piece.

Here it is in working mode....

And the finished product....

I really loved how it turned out.  Still mastering the best way to capture the luminosity of beads in my photos.  Natural light is obviously best, but I'd still like to create a better setup for more professional looking photos.  Add that to my list of things to do. ;)

In other news, I was excited to be featured in La Bella Joya's blog today with my piece for the Sudan challenge and thrilled to see that Tuscany has been chosen to be the inspiration for this weeks project.  I've always been inspired by the lush colors and picturesque beauty of the Tuscan countryside, so this should be an amazing tribute.  I can't wait to see what others come up with in this wonderful color palette.

Off now to go list the dragon lace pendant in my etsy shop!  Hope this beauty finds a very special home. :)

Acceptance!

I'm so excited to announce that I've been accepted as a member of the Etsy BeadWeavers.  I've admired the work off this talented group for awhile now and made it one of my goals to become a part of it.  I look forward to the inspiration and knowledge I will gain from my fellow artists!


http://etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com/

Sudan Challenge

This week I took part in a challenge introduced by Marcie Abney of La Bella Joya.  The idea was to take the warm, earthy colors of the Sudan to inspire a woven jewelry piece.  My goal was to shy away from my usual affinity for pretty, shiny things and try to use matte, natural colors.

First I had to choose my focal bead...  I had several pretty things to choose from.

As much as I loved the warmth of the round beads, I was really drawn to the center rectangle as it seems to have an earthy horizon line.  So, the rectangle was chosen!

I chose beads for the body of my piece and then just started playing.... letting the beads tell me where they wanted to go...

 

As my piece started to take shape, I realized I liked what was supposed to be the bottom of my piece flipped up at the top instead.  So, I flipped it around and continued to build it out until my piece was complete.  With the horizon line flipped around, it looks to me more like the sun setting behind mountains in the distance.

Thanks to Marcie for allowing me to be a part of this challenge. This piece is going up for sale in my etsy shop tonight! :)

 

Beady Goodness....

Well, I've firmly planted myself on the kitchen island stool where I have been perched most often the last couple of weeks. In between tea parties and playing dress up with my daughter, Lauren, (see photo below!) I'm working on getting some more pieces complete so I can hopefully do some trunk shows this fall. Can't wait!

My workspace is sprinkled with some beautiful focal beads I've recently acquired -

I've already used three of these beauties in pendants..... two of them are pictured below.  The third will be finished and progress posted soon!

I love the soft, girlyness of the first pendant and the earthy class of the second.  It never ceases to amaze me how many different things you can do with beads and what a different vibe a piece can give based on the colors, stitches and finishes used.

Back to the beading board for me... more to come soon!

Creatively~ Lisa

Making it Happen!

I've been meaning to start my own jewelry design blog for awhile now but just haven't found the time to make it happen. Lately, I've been realizing more and more how much I enjoy sharing my creative ventures. My hope is to connect with other designers who love the camaraderie, the support and the creative energy!

I'm relaunching my web site at http://www.lisafullerdesigns.com and my goal is to add goodies to my etsy shop regularly.
So, let the games begin!