My Heidi Necklace

     Last July I had the opportunity to travel to Colorado and take a private workshop with my favorite bead artist, Heidi Kummli.  She's the author of "The Spirit of Bead Embroidery", my favorite beading book.  I practically sleep with it under my pillow. 
      I brought the white bone carving that I had bought at the Tucson bead show earlier in the year.  I told Heidi I wanted to make a beaded collar. I had never attempted such a big project, although I have been wanting to make one for a long time. 
      Heidi showed me how to make the collar pattern and helped with the initial design.  On a large piece of grey ultra suede Heidi drew the outline of what would morph into the pattern you see in the picture.  She attached the middle row using my bone carving and the green and violet beads that came from her stash.  While she worked on her own jewelry project, I began stitched her iris gold seed beads around the first three beads. 
       Surrounded by Heidi's art pieces and supplies, I had a relaxing and inspiring afternoon of beading.  Heidi was generous with her advice and encouragement and is an excellent teacher. 
       The basic design stayed the same, although I decided to add more natural stones to the project.  From an online store I bought more "Heidi beads", the iris gold 10/0 seed beads that she uses in many of her projects.   Whenever I worked on the collar I remembered the great time I had that day.
        If you want to see more of her work, here is the link to her website.  She also sells on Etsy in her shop.  Her designs are one of a kind, wearable art. Beautiful and inspiring.
        If you have a favorite bead artist who offers workshops or classes, I highly recommend you try to go.  I hope you'll have as much fun and get as inspired as I did.
        I've worn my "Heidi necklace" once and can't wait to wear it again. 

   
   

K-2 Pendant Finished

Updated K-2 Pendant Necklace

   Here's the updated K-2 pendant.  I changed the necklace to a braided Kumihimo style with a black toggle clasp.  It's much more secure now.  Looks even better than the original suede cord necklace, too.
    I almost lost the pendant, which is what caused me to re-do it.  I had worn the necklace when Kent & I went out to lunch. I wanted to check how it felt and hung.  When we got back to the car, the cord was hanging on my neck, but the pendant was gone.  Yikes! The original hook and eye had come undone and the pendant had slipped off.
     I raced back into the restaurant. Luck for me, the pendant was right by the table. I was so glad I found it unharmed. I knew I didn't want anyone else to risk losing it, so I changed the necklace.  Now it's braided into the necklace.    
      I've listed it in my Etsy shop. You can see the listing here.

K2 --The Awesome Stone from the Mountain

                                                     Image©iStockphoto and PatrickPoendl

       Many people know that K2 is the second highest mountain in the world, after Mount Everest.  Standing 28,251 feet above sea level, on the China-Pakistan border, it's an impressive and awesome mountain.


     What is less known, but word is spreading quickly, is that an impressive and beautiful stone is being mined from the base of K2. Coming from the Skardu area of northern Pakistan, K2 is a grayish-white granite rock with bright blue splashes of color. One writer called it an "eye magnet" for anyone seeing it for the first time. It certainly was for me.

    

      The first K-2 cab I saw, I bought.  I was at the Tucson Gem Show earlier this year and found it at one of the open air rock hound booths.  The couple only had a few pieces of it on display, and I bought the biggest one I could afford.  They had a pair of smaller matched cabs that would have made great earrings, but the combo was too pricey for me.  Besides, at that time I had never heard of K2.  I didn't want to spend a lot of money on stones I didn't know anything about. So I limited myself to this oval beauty until I could discover more.  

      What I found wasn't a lot.  It looks like the first cabs started showing up around 3 or 4 years ago, but not on any of the major beading sites that I buy from. It was chosen as the Rock of the Month in May, 2014 by Body Mind Spirit Guide.  It is currently featured at Dakota Stones. but this is the only major site that I can find carrying it.  

      The experts aren't in total agreement on what comprises the stone.  Most, if not all of them, agree it is granite. There are a few places that call it "jasper", but that appears to be incorrect.  The blue spots are probably azurite or malachite when they are green, which I haven't seen.  Most authorities call the spots "stains" rather than "inclusions" because you can see through the blue spots to the granite. But regardless of its scientific properties, all of the sites agree that K2 is unique and exciting.

      I was able to find more K2 cabs in some shops on Etsy.  I bought my second cab there at SlabsCabsRough, a shop from Pennsylvania.  I've already started turning it into a pendent:  

      In addition to its beauty, many people believe that the stone has metaphysical properties.  Pat Krajovic wrote in Body Mind Spirit Guide, "It has many healing properties. If you want to promote harmony and connection within your work and family groups, communicate your deepest thoughts and feelings, and have more control over your emotions, this stone is a must! K2 helps the user become more grounded, balanced and live in harmony."

       If you're into make jewelry, check out Etsy for some great buys on K2. If you like to leave the making to someone else, check back soon. I'll announce when I've completed the K2 necklace and listed it at Desert Dabbler on Etsy.  

Porcelain Jasper Butterflies

      At the Tucson gem show a few years ago I found a great shop called Colorwright.  Amount the treasures that I found there were a pair of Porcelain Jasper cabochons shaped like butterfly wings.    

  

    I bought the cabs, along with some other great stones, and put them away until inspiration struck. I also knew I needed to do more bead embroidery so my skills would improve. Working the irregular shaped cabs was going to be more challenging than going around an oval or round shaped cab.

    The next year I went back to the Tucson Gem Show and found Colorwright again. I also found another pair of Porcelain Jasper butterfly wings  This time the cabs were on sale! I immediately bought another set, even though I still had the first cabs waiting in my stash.  But as any beader will tell you, you need to buy a great stone when you see it.

    While the Porcelain Jasper sat in my drawer I worked on other jewelry, gradually increasing the complexity of the projects. But the whole time I kept thinking about those jasper butterflies.    

   Finally I thought I was ready. I made the first pair of wings into a brooch.

     Then I made a necklace with different style of edging. The cabs here are actually the first ones I bought; the ones you can see in the top picture.

     I used a variety of seed beads and Charlottes to give the lacy look on the wings edges.  The body of the butterflies are a combination of onyx, crystals, and black Spinel.  

     Porcelain Jasper is found in Sonora, Mexico, in a variety of pinks, greys, and corals.  These butterflies are different colors and not meant to be worn at the same time.  They were challenging to make, especially their antennae, but I'm happy with the results.