Tea Rose

The other day I was making a tea rose for my friend...beaded rose on wire of course :)

I love making these little beauties. Only 8 petals, 6  sepals, stamen, and 10 leaves for 1 flower (smile)

I remember 7 years ago I was making 11 pink tea roses. I could make a dozen, but I run out of beads. The bouquet was beautiful! I have a small picture of it.

I have a tutorial how to make this beaded tea rose. You will learn and master Victorian technique while making this cute little flower with leaves. This tutorial has 8 pages with 26 step-by-step detailed photos. (Click here for details).

Oops... I almost forgot to boast :) I've got a gift from my friend Alla who runs FleetingStillness shop on Etsy. She made a beautiful Stained Glass Panel Bud Vase for me, where my tea rose now lives :) I think, they were "born" for each other :)

Oatmeal walnut cherry cookies

Do you and your family love cookies? My family does!

Today I want to share a recipe of the "bestest" cookies ever- Oatmeal walnut cherry cookies!

To make 5 dozens you will need:

1 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup sugar
1 cup packaged brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups oats
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup dried cherries (or cranberries) 

Sleeping Tree Wire Sculpture

I think already told you that I started my wire art with making a beaded money tree. Since then I made dozens of beaded and gem trees. I always wanted to make a "pure wire" tree. And I did it finally :).

This sleeping tree wire sculpture was made with silvertone wire. I twisted and hammered each wire end then shaped whole tree with my hands. The tree is attached to the natural rock that I found at Bloody Basin, Arizona.

This tree composition is 4 1/4" (11cm) tall from top to bottom. It has natural lichen on the "ground"!

A perfect gift for a teacher, secret Santa, your boss, or someone special in your life!

'War and Peace' Earrings

A week ago I spent a perfect day with my friends Tanya and Alla . We visited a lot of beautiful places of northern and central Arizona. On the way back to Phoenix, we stopped at Bloody Basin and shot a few guns at a target. Well, I am not a sniper, but I found a good use for these brass bullet cases:)

I added gold filled chains, beads, natural fresh water pearls, silver plated clear crystal rondelles, and a pair of one-of-a-king earrings for brave woman was ready! I named them "War and Peace" :) I think it's just a right name for them :)

These earrings will bring everybody's attention to you, I bet!

Beaded Coral Tassel Tutorial

Yesterday I was working hard on my new tutorial how to make beaded coral tassel. It is fun to make this kind of tassels. You can use them for making  bag charms and keyrings or these earrings

My tutorial has printer friendly 5 pages with 16 steps with colorful photos

you will need:

Materials:

• Seed beads #11/0
• Focal bead (or group of 2-3 large beads)
• Beading thread
• Lobster clasp (for bag charm)
• Split ring (for keychain)
• Ear hooks (for earrings)

Tools:

• Beading needle #12
• Scissors (or thread burner)

$3.50

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Everybody knows a popular nursery rhyme that describes the adventures of Itsy Bitsy Spider :

The itsy bitsy spider climbed up the water spout.

Down came the rain, and washed the spider out.

Out came the sun, and dried up all the rain,

and the itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again.

I wanted to make my own Itsy Betsy Spider with beads and, of course, wire!

So, this pair of grass spider earrings was made. They have 8 legs like all spiders have. I think they are cute and not scary at all :)

I could not stop now. These little creatures asked me about Big Friend. Well, you wish is my command :)

Big Friend could be now friendly Tarantula spider. Do not laugh and do not be afraid- my jewelry pieces are not poison:) ... and this spider came out 3-dimentional! And it is a brooch!

 Look at these guys!Aren't they adorable ? :) They could be the perfect jewelry (or gift) not only for Halloween :)

If you want to make your own spiders, you can buy step-by-step spider earrings and Spider Brooch tutorials at my AroundBeads Etsy store .

Handmade Bag Charms/ Keychains

Bag charms are a fantastic way of adding a little sparkle and glamour to any bag. I only make one of each design, you'll know that what you are buying is not only special, but unique. 

Bag charms make beautiful and unusual gifts for any occasion, be it a birthday, Christmas, Mother's day, Valentines day or simply a gift for no reason at all. 

If you want a particular style, birthstone, color or theme to your bag charm, I would be happy to make you a customized one.  Please contact me for more details.

If you see a bag charm and would prefer it as a keychain, the clasp can be changed to a split ring:

I Did It!

My Nautilus necklace made with turquoise donuts and copper wire got Bronze medal in Wirework category :)