Leaf Bracelet - Kit review

Last October I visited the Welsh Bead Fair in Cardiff and bought some kits from Spellbound Beads. I chose this leaf bracelet as it reminded me of the Saraguro beadwork that I had seen exhibited on the Beadworkers Guild stand that I really loved, except it looked a bit easier!

I can't find the name of the kit right now as the bag I kept the instructions in is packed away while decorating & I couldn't see it on the Spellbound Beads website either but I still wanted to write about it before I forgot!

The instructions for the kit were really comprehensive, nicely laid out and easy to follow. There were plenty of beads and the colour choice is beautiful, I know there were other lovely combinations too. The patter itself was much easier to work than expected and went very quickly so a win-win! I bought other kits there too and after doing this bracelet I'm glad I did because I felt that this was good value for money and an easy way to try something different. Here is the link to the Spellbound Beads website, but don't click if you don't want to be tempted to spend lots of money!

Flowers at Midnight.

I am still on my self-enforced bead ban and frantically trying to make space for the new goodies I intend to buy at the Welsh Beadfair on the 4th October. I have had these flower beads for a couple of years and wanted to make something a bit different and special with them. After flicking through lots of magazines for inspiration, I decided to string them in an asymmetrical bracelet with onyx briolettes, swarovski 4mm in jet ans some black crystal pearls.

South Western Strands.

This is a slight twist on the traditional brick and strands bracelet. I have added ladder stitch bars so that I could vary the length of the strands and have added a centre medallion which was made from instructions in Suzanne Coopers Victorian and Variations book. Turquoise and brown are a favourite colour combination of mine but I wanted this to look a bit different so, inspired by south western jewellery I added the red.
I love the vibrancy it brings to the other two colours.

Brick and Strands Bracelet.

The brick and strands bracelet is a pattern I saw on on about.com years and years ago when I first started beading. I never made one at the time but I wanted a quick and easy pattern and to use up some beads that were in my leftover's box. It worked up quite nicely and I have some ideas for variations too.

2nd Crystal Bracelet.

Here is the 2nd bracelet I made using the pattern from Bead & Button's Brilliant Crystal magazine. I used Dark blue pearls and hematite firepolish beads for this one. the band is such a lovely fit and great fun to make that I want to make another one but I think 2 is enough for now!

Crystal Bracelet.

I fell in love with this bracelet and the colour combination when I first saw it in Bead & Button's Brilliant Crystals magazine. I really enjoyed making the bracelet and the colours are great, I have made another one which I will post later.

Mardi Gras Bracelet.

Like many of you I'm sure, I have a large collection of beads leftover from other projects. They have been staring at me reproachfully every time I open my bead box. Last week I came across a large packet of headpins and decided to do something about them. I made a lot of wrapped loop dangles and threaded them onto the beading wire in colour groups with some large green firepolish beads to create some resting places for the eyes. I wore it today to Easter lunch with my family, it is fun to wear and great to know that I have made something pretty with leftovers.

Fringe Bracelet

I seem to have a bit of a crush on the purple/pink colour combination, shock horror, how girly! Could I finally be getting over the brown & turquoise that is usually my staple? This bracelet is made with the fringe technique & delicas & drop pearls. Another quick & easy project to appease my instant gratification demands!

Red & Silver Bracelet

This herringbone variation bracelet was in Beadwork magazine a while ago. It was a lot of fun to make, it's a very lightweight bracelet. I would like to make another in some richer looking colours.

Another Pearl Spiral

Here is another pearl spiral rope, a bracelet this time made with top drilled cream pearls and a mix of size 11's in cream browns etc. This was a nice quick & easy project, I love spirals ropes, they are so versatile and adaptable to different shapes/sizes of beads.

My green and magenta project is coming along slowly, I'll have another picture to post of that tomorrow.

Rivoli Cuff

Blue netted cuff with a bezeled rivoli centrepeice. The seed beads are a matte ab & they have a great crunchy feel to them!

Monster Pearls

I bought these organic looking blister pearls at my LBS last week. I wasn't sure what I would do with them until I saw these lovely size 8's. I made a 2 drop peyote band, edged it with picots and then sewed the pearls on top. It makes a nice chunky cuff.

Hematite & Pearl Raw Bracelet

Yay for sunlight! I managed to get some decent photos of my jewelery today. I made this bracelet last week using hematite ovals, little blue grey pearls and blue size 11's. It was quick and easy to make, and used up some beads I have had for a while. My favourite kind of project!

Celtic Connections

Here is a brick stitch bracelet that I made before Christmas. I beaded it in sections and connected them together. I love delicas for brick stitch, they are so neat. I must try another one.

Spring Tickle.

I loved these lime delica's when I saw them at Chepstow, so I snapped up a couple of packets. This bracelet is spiral peyote, which is a technique that I have wanted to try for a while. I liked it, I'll probably use it in a bigger project one day.