Three Sisters Beads

Karmann's Necklace

2011-03-25T17:55:00.000-07:00

I recently beaded a necklace for my daughter for her birthday. It was really playful and I even put a magnetic clasp on it so she could easily take it on and off. I made it using the tubular peyote stitch. Unfortunately, it didn't last long. Just the other day I found her in her car seat with the necklace in her mouth and beads everywhere. Oh well, we'll try again in a few years. It sure was cute while it lasted though.

Something for Mark's wife

2010-12-21T12:28:00.000-08:00

Back in November one of my husbands friends, Mark, had asked me to make him a necklace and earrings for his wife for Christmas. I had told him that I would, although he might not get it until right before Christmas. This is because I had decided to go back to school and I was knee deep in anatomy and microbiology at the time. Classes ended last week and yesterday I began to make the necklace and this morning I finished it just in the nick of time for Mark to pick it up and get it wrapped for his lovely wife.

Mark had said that his wife liked her jewelry simple and that she liked the color blue. So, I decided to work with 5 different colors of a denim like blue delica seed beads for the majority of the necklace. I wove them in a tubular herringbone stitch. I used bali silver end caps and spacer beads. I also threw in some labradorite, denim lapis and fresh water pearls. The pendant is a Lillypilly Design. As for the clasp I used a silver edelweiss clasp.

I also made some matching earrings using labradorite and fresh water pearls.

Something for Susanne

2010-03-05T06:37:00.000-08:00

Wow, has it really been since 2008 that I beaded something? I guess it has. That's what happens when you are busy with a non-stop four year old and a newborn baby and you move three times in one year, no time to bead.

Well, my sis-in-laws birthday is coming up this month and I decided to break open my big box beads that I have been toting around for the past year and a half. It was kind of like finding a long lost treasure, going through all of those beads, that I haven't looked at in so long. A lot of the stuff I had forgotten I had. Now I have all kinds of ideas in my head for all of those beads. I'm afraid those projects will have to wait a bit longer though.

In the meantime, here is what I whipped together for Susanne.

My Pinwheel Bracelet

2008-09-23T15:09:00.001-07:00

So here is my latest creation. It's taken me a while to get it posted but here it is. I had a little fun photo shopping the pictures this time. I think they turned out pretty cool though. The bracelet is a lot of fun to wear and because of all the colors I can wear it with a lot of different outfits.

Something for me!

2008-09-04T07:54:00.001-07:00

Okay so I haven't made a whole lot lately and I decided to just make something for myself as I rarely do that anymore. So I bought a bunch of different Lucite cabs a while back thinking that they would turn into something cool one day and I finally got them out and started working with them. They are the blue and white ones in the picture above. I didn't want to bead them with just blue and white, so I went through my boxes of seed beads and picked out two colors that I thought really complimented them. The first is a delica seed bead called lined ruby/black.
The other is called opaque cactus luster.

I decided to bead the cabs with the two colors and soon realized that some of the cabs would also look good with a blue delica so I chose to use one called silver lined sapphire. I plan on weaving the cabs together some how to form a bracelet. So in the next few days I should be finished and I will post the final piece here.

Summer Corn

2008-08-13T12:27:00.001-07:00

I recently made this necklace and earring set for my mother-in-law, as a gift for her birthday. I've noticed over the years that she enjoys wearing simple jewelry that is pleasing to the eye. So when I decided to make her a piece of jewelry, I knew that it would need to be something that she would enjoy wearing. It couldn't be something so extravagant that she would never wear it, yet I did want it to be a quality piece.

I decided to try the herringbone stitch in this piece because I have admired it for a while, but have never tried using it until now. Needless to say I love the herringbone stitch! Definitely a stitch I will be incorporating into other projects in the future. Both the necklace and the earrings were made with it. While the necklace uses the tubular herringbone, the earrings are made with a circular herringbone. For the colors I used a variety of delica beads including copper, gold, a wine color, and a rose tinted metal. The necklace is accented with gold and copper spacer beads and also rainbow amozonite. The necklace clasp is gold filled and the earring clasps are gold.

I'm Pregnant!

2008-07-24T08:41:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, I haven't posted anything new in a while. I'm sorry. We went on vacation in June and when we got back I found out that I was pregnant. So, to make a long past 3 months short, I've just been to sick to even think about beading. Luckily I'm at my three month mark so hopefully I will be back to beading in no time. I have lots of projects that I can't wait to get started on once this morning sickness passes. So in the meantime I hope you enjoy the past work that I have done and I will be back up and beading soon.

Toni's Bracelet Completed

2008-05-12T10:12:00.000-07:00

It's finished!!! Man am I glad it's done too. I finally finished sewing on the buttons for this piece last night. This bracelet was definitely a challenge for me. It was one of those projects where you just go at it and hit it from all directions until you get what you want. Toni had come to me with her idea of what she wanted out of this bracelet and I went to work on it. I feel like I went round and round with this thing, adding a flower or some beads here and there. Then I would just leave it and come back to it and add a little more until it looked right. I learned a lot from this project, but man am I glad it's done.
I presented it to Toni today and she loved it. It fit her just perfect too. I am so happy. She will be wearing it in her wedding this weekend and I am so glad that she asked me to make it for her. I put a lot of love into it and I wish her many, many years of love and companionship with her soon to be husband.

Toni's Bracelet ( A work in progress)

2008-04-24T15:50:00.000-07:00

Okay, here is the progress that I have made on Toni's bracelet to date. It's about half way done, I think. So far I've been stitching with a little bit of right angle weave and a little peyote also. Enjoy!

Toni's Bracelet

2008-04-15T09:07:00.001-07:00

Here is the beginnings of a free form bracelet that I have been commissioned to make for a wedding. The bracelet will also be embellished with an assortment of glass and plastic flowers. So far I have just begun with the seed beads and the free form bead weaving. I will post more photos as the project goes.

Debi's Bracelet

2008-04-13T18:11:00.000-07:00

I made a bracelet similar to this one back in October of 2007 for myself called Purple Haze. Then in December I went to my Grandpa T's 80th birthday party in Arizona and all of my aunts just loved it and now I have been asked to make them each one. I ended up giving the one I had to my Aunt Mari and this next one I made for my Aunt Debi. She had told me that she wanted one just like the one I gave to Mari, but I hate making the same thing twice. Also I've made a few improvements that I like better on this one. One of the main changes is the color scheme. The Purple Haze bracelet consisted of purple, brown, and copper and this one has purple, grey, blue and silver instead. While I liked the original color scheme I just wanted to try these colors out and see if they worked just as well. Which I think they do. The clasp is different also. I used a slider clasp and wove the beads around the hasp. In the long run I think this type of clasp will help in the strength and longevity of the bracelet. The bead work pattern is also just a little bit different from the original.

I do have to say that both bracelets are equally beautiful and they both sparkle and shine with the many different types of finishes and cuts of the beads. I have two more bracelets to make for my aunts. I will be posting them in the future as I finish them. I think the next one I will make with a green and blue color scheme.

Beaded Earrings

2008-04-03T18:32:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can't believe that it has been over a month since I have posted anything new on here. All I can say is that I caught the flu and felt a little burnt out after that. Needless to say here is a pair of earrings that I recently made using red coral and delica seed beads. It's not anything fancy, but they did turn out pretty nice. I also made a pair with black onyx and gold delicas and one with white freshwater pearls and blue denim delicas. Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures of them. I will be posting more soon. I have a few projects that I need to get finished within the next month so until then enjoy!

Fire & Ice

2008-02-24T08:00:00.001-08:00

Fire and Ice, that just sounds so cool, doesn't it. Luckily the day I finished the piece we had a little bit of fresh snow fall, so I was able to take some pictures in the snow. Thank you, Toni for the suggestion of fire and ice, the photos turned out great.

I made this necklace a few days ago for one of the guys that works upstairs from me. His wife loves amber and, as he told me, she really likes handmade original gifts. So here it is. The amber cab is the focal piece in this necklace and it almost didn't get here in time as it was on back order. Had I known this to begin with I would have ordered another size or something. It arrived just in time though and I was able to set it and bead around it just in the nick of time. I used delica seed beads to start with and switched to smaller silver seed beads at the end. On the outside of the cab I then used amber drop beads around the base of it.

As for the backing I decided to use the peyote stitch to bead back of the cab also. I started with the dark amber beads and ended in the center with the lighter yellow delicas. This gave the piece a nice finished look to it.

The necklace itself I beaded on my thinnest beading wire. I decided to use the thinnest wire for two reasons; one amber doesn't weigh a whole lot and two the holes in the beads were very narrow. For the necklace part I used an assortment of amber beads, delica seed beads, and round sterling silver spacer beads. I decided to make the necklace with a two strands of beads for aesthetic purposes. For the two strands I used a sterling silver slider clasp that allowed for two strands.

Amber Project

2008-02-17T19:10:00.000-08:00

Here's a little sneak peak of the project I am currently working on. I love amber so it should be fun to see what I come up with.

Winter Pearls

2008-02-17T18:46:00.001-08:00

This is my latest completed peice. I really enjoyed making this jewelry set because it was something that I have wanted to try for a while now. I like to think of the necklace and earrings as old school Native meets new shool Native beadwork. Aaaih!

Anyways, I had been brainstorming about the necklace for a while now and I finally got the chance to try it out. The necklace is completely done with the peyote stitch. I love the tubular peyote stitch, but I have noticed in order to make a quaility necklace that will uphold to years and years of wearing one must do one thing. Do the tubular stitch around a piece of rope or jewelry wire in order for the tube to keep its shape and also as a way to put a clasp on it. I chose to use run of the mill beading wire, which worked out quite well.

I started the necklace out with the pearl section. After completing the pearl section I ran my beading wire through it and continued to bead with the delicas around the wire. The pearls are a beautiful gray with hints of purple and blue-green in them. I accordingly chose delicas that went well with the pearls.
After making the necklace I decided that it really did need some earrings to go along with it, so I made the earrings below. They were made with the flat peyote stitch. Of course they needed a few pearls dangling from them to finish them off.
All in all I am really happy with the necklace and earrings. I was really tempted to keep them for myself this time, but I had already decided to give them to a friend as a birthday gift. I did test them out all last week before I gave them away. I have a feeling that I will be making one for myself in the near future, seeing as I really did enjoy wearing them.

Bridesmaid Jewelry

2008-01-18T11:22:00.000-08:00

These are some necklaces that I made back in November for a customer that just got married this month. Her colors were burgundy and champagne. She had asked for something simple and elegant in the colors of her wedding and she didn't want to go broke at the same time. So this is what I came up with. The necklaces are made up with an assortment of swarvoski crystals, swarvoski pearls, fire polished czech beads, and sterling silver delica seed beads. The pendant portion of the necklace has two sides, one with the pearl in the center and the other with the crystal in the center.

Blackberries in Winter

2008-01-01T13:44:00.000-08:00

This necklace was made for a friend of mine who for the past few years has been giving me the coolest beading calendars every Christmas. So this year I decided that I was going to make her a super cool piece of jewelry. I didn't really know what I was going to do at first, but then I made the Drops of Water bracelet and decided that I wanted to do something like that and different at the same time. So I started rummaging through all of my beads until I came up with the bead assortment below.

Once I had all of my beads picked out, I began working on the first part which was the center beaded tube below. I used the tubular peyote stitch to achieve the shape and form that I wanted.

Once I finished beading the center piece I then started laying out the basics of the necklace to try and figure out exactly how the finished product would look. I knew that I wanted some more beaded beads mixed in with the stone beads and the bali silver, but I wasn't sure what kind, so I made some beaded beads with just the miyuki seed beads. That just didn't look quite right to I began to bead a few small beaded beads with the miyuki and glass drop beads and that worked perfectly. I really liked how the smaller ones looked like blackberries also. Once I had the beaded beads made I then went ahead a strung the whole thing together on Beadalon 19 strand .024 wire. The necklace itself wasn't too heavy, but I didn't want to take any chances, so I made sure to use the thicker of wire I had.

Grandpa T's New Tie

2007-12-21T19:27:00.000-08:00

My Grandpa T. recently celebrated his 80th birthday this past month and we had a huge surprise party for him. My Grandma had asked me this past fall to make him a bola tie that she could give to him for the occasion. So off to work I went. I had never made a bola tie before, so this was something fun and new for me to attempt. My older sister Leora had made a few so obviously the first thing I did was to go to her for advice on what I needed to do. She had some great ideas and soon I was planning the design for the project.

Grandma hadn't given me a whole lot of instructions, just that he needed something that he could wear to church and for nice occasions. This was fine with me as I tend to do my best work when I get to just mess around and experiment as I go. Not too long after I was asked to make the tie I was in one of the local bead shops and I saw some green opal that just completely inspired me to make the tie. I bought the green opal and by the next morning I had dreamt about how I wanted the tie to look.

The stone itself looks as if it has a mountain scene on it with a spark of lightning coming out of the sky hitting the mountain tops. Below the mountains it looks like a river is running in the valley below. It's a pretty cool stone. So what I wanted to do was place evergreens in the four directions with a starry night sky above, seeing as we used to do a lot of camping with the grandparents when me and my siblings were all kids. I tried to keep the design simple yet interesting. I, myself, am very happy with the final product, in fact I am still trying to figure out how on earth I will be able to make something just as cool for my dad in the future.

My Grandpa T and me.

Drops of Water Bracelet

2007-12-03T13:54:00.001-08:00

I made this bracelet this past weekend using the tubular peyote stitch. I started out with the regular tubular peyote stitch with the blue and aqua seed beads and then I began adding the glass drop beads where the aqua seed beads would have gone. The drop beads had a little bit of aqua in the bottom of them and it gave the effect of drops of water beading up on the bracelet. I really like how the bracelet turned out and I plan on trying it out in different color combinations in the future.

My Mom's Birthday Present

2007-11-19T16:50:00.001-08:00

My mom had her birthday earlier this month and the present I made her finally arrived in the mail today. So here it is. I've been playing around with the spiral stitch lately, so of course her present was made with the spiral stitch also. The earrings are made with a single spiral stitch. The earrings I designed myself with gold filled wire as the base. It was made with myuki delica seed beads, fresh water pearls and gold filled spacer beads. I wanted to incorporate the spiral stitch into the earrings so that they would go perfectly with the necklace and that is why I made the hoop shape with the gold wire.
The necklace was made using the the double spiral stitch with varying patterns in the seed beads in each section. Each spiral was either made with white freshwater pearls or dyed copper freshwater pearls. The large focal beads were made from cherry quartz and were spaced out with gold filled beads, copper freshwater pearls and white freshwater pearls. The cherry quartz seemed to bring all of the copper and gold together in the piece. All in all the necklace and earrings turned out perfect. It is my most favorite piece to date.

Peridot and Cape Amethyst Spiral Necklace

2007-11-14T12:00:00.000-08:00

I recently made a set of jewelry order for a customer of mine using my favorite color combination, purple and green. For some reason I just love those two colors together and apparently I'm not the only one.

Once again I used the spiral stitch on this piece. I really enjoy the spiral stitch, especially using a combination of beads and sizes. This piece was made with a single spiral stitch using delica seed beads and peridot chips. It's so pretty and sparkly.

The beads in between the spiral stitched pieces are sterling silver bali beads and cape amethyst beads. The focal bead on the necklace is set off center and was made by a wonderful lampwork artist, LeAnn Christian, whom I found on etsy. I was wanting a bead that incorporated the green and purple colors of the peridot and amethyst and the lampwork bead worked out great.

Colors in Contrast

2007-11-06T16:49:00.000-08:00

I just recently put this necklace together. I bought the olivine jade doughnut beads this past summer in Tucson and have been waiting for the inspiration to make something with them. So the other night I pulled them out of my stash of beads and started laying them next to other beads that I had out and I came up with the smokey purple pearls and decided that was the match. The necklace itself is bold and refreshing, which is just what I like when the winter months start to creep up.

This necklace may be purchased at my etsy store at http://3sistersbeads.etsy.com/

Angie's Birthday Present

2007-11-02T16:51:00.000-07:00

My younger sister Angie recently had a birthday this week and this is what I made for her. It is a beautiful three strand bracelet made with labradorite, kyanite, denim lapis, freshwater potato pearls, bali silver, and lampwork beads. The three center lamp work beads were made by Lou who has an etsy shop called abbey 753 , she also has a blog. Aren't they just gorgeous! The other lamp work beads I had bought a few years back at the gem and bead show in Tucson, I didn't even realize that they went well together until the other day when I was taking stock of all of the beads I have been collecting. It is just a really cool chunky bracelet and the clasp is pretty cool too. It is a sterling silver sliding clasp. I just love it.

Blue Moons

2007-10-29T19:50:00.000-07:00

I made this bracelet for a friend of mine last week. She had bought another bracelet from me and I had decided to send her something blue, as she has been telling me to make something blue for a while now. I have known this friend since around the same time that I found my first bead store and fell in love with beads. In fact I think one of the first pieces of jewelry that I ever made was for this friend of mine, so it is only fitting that she is now the owner of this beautiful bracelet made of labradorite, kyanite, freshwater potato pearls, lamp work beads and sterling silver.

Starry Night Skies

2007-10-28T16:22:00.001-07:00

Lately, I have been playing around with the spiral stitch. It really is a fun stitch to do and the finished product is just beautiful.

With this necklace I used a double spiral stitch with peridot chips and delica beads. I used matte black hexagon toho beads as the base for the stitch. While it looks great, using the hexagon beads, it was kind of hard to do the stitch with them. They would line up and it was hard to get the needle where it needed to be at times. The finished product did turn out looking great in any case.

The focal bead is another bead made by Joe from Avenue Beads, http://www.avenuebeads.com/ . I like this bead because it has a lot of really nice green colors in it, like aqua, turquoise, and a little lime. They look really good with the black background and the high gloss finish to the glass.

I also used russian amozonite, the horse eye shaped beads, in this necklace. I have had these beads since the beginning of the year and have just been waiting to use them in a piece of jewelry. The color is just perfect for this necklace.

This necklace can be bought in my etsy store just click here for more details: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=7624040

Finally Something New for the Store

2007-10-22T18:26:00.001-07:00

Well, I finally made a new piece to sell in my etsy shop. I've been so busy lately making custom orders that I haven't had a lot of time to put toward my etsy store. This necklace is absolutely fabulous! The way that the light reflects off of each stone is just wonderful! I think fluorite, labradorite, and kyanite are my new favorite stones. They are so pretty. The focal bead is made by a wonderful lamp work artist that I found on etsy. Joes' store name is Avenue Beads, here is a link to his site: http://www.avenuebeads.com/

I have slowly been collecting beads over the summer and stashing them away in my storage bin. Seriously, I am a bead whore. I just can't get enough of them. So the other night I decided that I just wanted to create something new and fun just for the heck of it and this is what I came up with. It kind of reminds me of the leaves falling into puddles in the fall with the cool maple leaf clasp and the blue green colors.

2007 etsyBEAD Holiday Kick-Off Sale!

2007-10-21T12:30:00.000-07:00

This week is the 2007 etsyBEAD Holiday Kickoff Sale! It runs from October 21 - October 27. The more you purchase, the more you save!

10% off your purchase of $20 or less

15% off your purchase of $21 - $40

20% off your purchase of $41 - $80

25% off your purchase of $81 or more

Orders must be from individual shops; orders may not be combined from different shops to receive a discount.

Check out the etsyBEAD street blog to see all of the other jewelry artists involved in this sale. http://etsybeadstreet.blogspot.com/

Leora's Braided Bracelets

2007-10-12T17:58:00.000-07:00

My sister, Leora, recently made these bracelets for herself and her daughter. They are so cool. I went to visit her this past week in Illinois and tried to talk her out of one of them because I just loved it. She told me that I could make my own though. Bummer. She got the idea from the August/September 2007 issue of the Beadwork magazine on p. 82. Leora of course switched it up a little and changed the pattern on the bracelets to make them her own. They are super cool!

Purple Haze

2007-10-08T15:26:00.000-07:00

I have been pondering on using different sizes of beads in a piece where the beads would start out small and grow larger and then taper off again to the smallest beads. Then I came upon No Easy Beads blog where she had found an article in the step by step magazine that did exactly that. I haven't seen the article, but I saw No Easy Beads work and thought that is just what I was thinking of so I went ahead and messed around with my beads and came up with this bracelet. I used a variety of beads which consisted of delica beads in sizes 11, 10 and 8. I also used toho triangular beads for this piece. I think that the bracelet turned out really well and I really like how it looks on the wrist. I am in the process of making another bracelet similar to this one for myself in off white and aqua colors that I will post as soon as it is finished.

Amber Dreams and Into The Mystic

2007-10-07T12:55:00.000-07:00

These beautiful necklaces have been made by my sister Angie and I'm so excited because not only did she post pictures of her beautiful work, but she also posted her sons work too. It's so nice to see other family members bead work on this blog. Seeing as how all of us sisters live a good distance away from each other it's nice to see what we are doing. If anyone knows Angie they know that red, orange, and yellow are her colors and as you can see she does a wonderful job when using them as the main colors in her bead work. Angie has named this necklace Amber Dreams and I have to agree that it is a dream to look at. I think this amber one is my favorite, of course I've always been fond of amber. She bought the lamp work beads yesterday at Art in Park in Sierra Vista, AZ made by Andy Ray who is the owner Galactic Glass Studio in Tucson, AZ http://www.galacticglass.net/index.htm. I'm thinking that we will have to go to his store when I go to visit in December.
This necklace is made out of Carnelian, Amber, Quartz, and silver findings. The center piece is Hand made Dichroic glass.

This next piece is called Into the Mystic. I like the name and I love the necklace and earring set that Angie made! Something about red and purple just works. I really like how she used both the white and red freshwater pearls in this piece, I would have never thought of doing that and now that I see how good it looks in her bead work, I might have to try it sometime. These are just beautiful and as I told ya on the phone earlier, 'Where's mine?' Great job Angie and we can't wait to see more of your work in the future. Hint, hint.

This necklace is made of Pearls and crystals with silver findings and Hand made Dichroic glass.

Beading with the Martinez Boys

2007-10-07T12:45:00.000-07:00

This beautiful jewelry was made by my two wonderful nephews from Arizona today. So yet another generation is beginning to bead and I am so happy that we can show their wonderful work on here for all to see. The first one was made by the oldest of the two boys, my nephew Skylar. He wanted me to point out to everyone that he made the necklace all on his own, with no help from his mom or anyone else for that matter. So way to go Skylar!

This is a necklace that Skylar made for his Grandma Lisa for Christmas this year.

This next necklace was made by the younger brother, my nephew Corbin. Corbin made this necklace and he has decided to keep for himself. Corbin also made some nice pieces for his Pokemon action figures as shown in the photo below

Pretty cool bud!

Pokemon Jewelry!

More Blue Skies

2007-09-29T14:07:00.001-07:00

I'm still working on this beaded cab. I had a lot of other activities this week that took over my beading time, but never less I will be done soon.

Stormy Mountains Into Clear Night Skies

2007-09-25T14:12:00.000-07:00

This past weekend our family came down with our first and hopefully our last cold of the season. So I was unable to make it to the Kansas City Art Market. On the other hand I was able to get some beading accomplished, while sitting on the couch flipping through the channels and wishing that I felt better. It's looking pretty good so far. I can't wait to see it finished. Hopefully by the end of the week.

Stormy Mountains

2007-09-19T09:44:00.000-07:00

This cab is cut from green opal. It is superb! I bought it at one of the local bead stores here in Kansas City. I liked it because it looks like a mountain scene with lightning flashing off of the top of the mountains. It reminds me of two places. First is when I was about 7 or 8 ,living in Tooele, Utah,watching a storm heading into town with lightning flashing off of the Rockys. The other place that it reminds me of is Alamogordo, NM. We used to have some good lightning shows come through there too. Living here in the midwest you don't get to see the good storms passing through the mountain ranges, since there aren't any mountains. I miss that. Oh, the good old days.

So since I can't watch the storms I guess this next project will have to hold me over until I can return. I plan on beading an evergreen scene around this cab with a starry night peeking through the trees. Doesn't that sound cool? I think it will be. The trick will be getting it to look the way I see it in my minds eye. Until then here is the cab to ponder upon.

Midnight Golden Pearl Necklace

2007-09-18T16:37:00.000-07:00

I love this necklace. I love the black background with the gold button pearls on top. The black and gold two tone effect is just amazing. I just finished this necklace last night and I am just so happy to see the final result. A customer of mine had asked me to make this necklace for her mother. She specifically asked that the whole necklace be made of beads, as her mom is allergic to most metals. So here it is with the clasp made with beads also.

New Earrings in Stock

2007-09-09T18:57:00.000-07:00

Since the last set of earrings sold before I could even get them in my Etsy store, I decided to make some more using a variety of different colors. They are all made with swarvoski crystals, swarvoski pearls, Czech fire polished beads, and delica seed beads. These earrings are just gorgeous. I have a pair of tangerine ones that I wear with everything. I just love them. I am selling them at a great price of $15 in my store right now. So take a look and if you would like them in another color let me know and I will see what I can do.

Sierra Vista Skies

2007-09-07T10:16:00.001-07:00

This necklace is one of the first pieces that I had made to sell in my Etsy store and I finally sold it yesterday to a woman that works upstairs from me. She bought it for a friend who just had a birthday recently. Lucky friend! I just love this necklace and the colors in it. I will miss seeing it with all of the other completed work in my work space. I went ahead and lengthened the necklace a few inches for her last night. I also made some earrings to go with it. The earrings are super cool. I got the idea from the October 2007 issue of Bead & Button magazine and tweaked it a bit to my own style and likings. The idea came from artist Rebecca Cretti on page 50 if anyone is interested. I will definitely be playing around with the brick stitch in the future as I had fun using it for these earrings. They just look so elegant when they are being worn. I think I just might have to make myself a pair one of these days.

Beading Update

2007-09-05T11:19:00.000-07:00

I have been busy, busy, busy lately. I am in the process of getting some earrings ready to post in my etsy store in the next few days so I will post photos soon. I have also been asked to make a neat gift for a family member, but I will wait to explain what it is in a future post.

Last, but not least, I received a package in the mail from my sister Leora the other day. I was so happy because I went to visit her a few weekends ago and I left my sons tennis shoes and my cell phone charger at her house in St. Louis. So for the past week I have had to charge my phone on my car charger. Well I opened up the package and there was my charger and the shoes, but the best part was that she sent the gourd rattles that my dad wanted her to bead. Now my dad bought these rattles oh, I'm guessing 4 years ago, maybe longer for her to bead so that he could start dancing at the pow wows. Now the gourds have been handed down to me to bead. I just had to laugh because when I called her about it she said the gourds were the only reason I got my charger back so quickly because she wanted to pass the gourds off on me to finish for our dad. Needless to say I have a fun new project to do in the near future so that my dad can finally participate in the upcoming pow wows.

So hopefully in the next couple of weeks I will have some new fun photos to post, seeing as my friend Eddie so politely told me the other day, that I need to get to work and start posting more bead work. So for all of you beading bloggers out there that enjoy this blog, I will soon have lots of new photos for you.

Aunt Debi's Necklace and Earrings

2007-08-29T17:19:00.001-07:00

Here is the finished necklace and earring set that I made for my Aunt Debi last week. This necklace is similar to the one that I recently made for my Grandma T. in that it is a double strand. The beads that I used for this necklace are just gorgeous. Aunt Debi picked out most of the stones earlier this summer when we went bead shopping in Tucson. I made the beaded beads to match the colors found in the different stone. I just love beaded beads!

The big round stones are rainbow amazonite. They range in colors of yellow, orange, red, purplish blue, green and an opaque white. The smaller beads in this photo are rutilated quartz and gold button freshwater pearls. I also used vemiel beads and 22 karat delica seed beads as the spacer beads. The beaded beads were made with a variety of delica seed bead, including 22 karat gold and copper.

The white beads in the center are made from moonstone.

My Aunt Debi is the Best!

2007-08-20T15:34:00.000-07:00

This past summer when I was in Tucson, visiting family, I made a deal with my Aunt Debi that if she made me a bag I would make her some jewelry. Well, here is the super duper cool bag that she made me. I received it in the mail about a week ago and I just love it! It is my favorite color, brown, and it is just too cool. It has three pockets and I just love the fabric! Thank you, thank you, thank you Aunt Debi!

In return I had promised her a necklace and earrings set. Well, I didn't have the jewelry made when I received the bag so last week I busted my butt and got it made. So here is a little sneak peak of what it looks like. I will post more photos of it later this week after Aunt Debi gets it in the mail. It is just lovely!

Elana's Bracelet

2007-08-04T10:49:00.001-07:00

Here is a bracelet that I just finished for a friend of mine from New Mexico who recently came up to Kansas for a visit. While she was here she picked out the beads and colors that she wanted incorporated in the bracelet and asked me to throw something together for her. So here it is.

In making this bracelet I used triangular toho beads and myuki delica seed beads. The bracelet was made using the peyote stitch throughout. I borrowed the clasp idea from a recent issue of Bead&Button in the Aug 2007 on page 75-76. It was designed by Nancy Sathre-Vogel. Of course I shortened the circumfrance of the toggle loop and made a different toggle. It turned out pretty nice though and was fun to make. I'll have to continue to play around with the whole beaded toggle clasp thing in the future.

3 Sisters Jewelry Over the Years

2007-08-01T06:11:00.000-07:00

Over the years my sisters and I have made a lot of jewelry. While I was in Arizona this summer I took pictures of Leora's, Angie's and my beadwork that we have given as gifts to my mom and each other in the past. Granted this is not all of the jewelry that we have made, but it is a good collection of items that we have made. I will probably be adding more items later today also as I dig up other pieces and take photos. I thought that this would be a fun way to show all of our work.

Beads 4 You Spring Challenge Results

2007-07-25T11:58:00.000-07:00

Well, the winners are in and I am sad to say that I'm not one of them. Boo hoo. Oh well it was a lot of fun and the winners did an excellent job. Maybe next time right? Anyways here is the link to all of the wonderful entries: http://www.flickr.com/photos/beads4you/sets/72157594297832014/

There were two winners, one for using only the beads provided and the other for using the beads provided and whatever else they wanted.

The Beads Only winner is Lava Jewelry and here is a link to her peice http://www.flickr.com/photos/beads4you/501409347/in/set-72157594297832014/

The Anything Goes winner is That's Headley and her is the link to her piece http://www.flickr.com/photos/beads4you/641774343/in/set-72157594297832014/

Also here were some of my favorites that I would have chosen if I had been the judge. Hee, hee. I just love this entry by Another Country. I was actually surprised to see that she didn't win http://www.flickr.com/photos/beads4you/530521824/. I really liked this entry by Broken Teepee Designs and I was again surprised to see that it didn't win http://www.flickr.com/photos/beads4you/641774393/. I really liked the wire work on this entry too by My Friends and Me http://www.flickr.com/photos/beads4you/530538994/.

I really had a good time doing this challenge and will probably do the next one too. Congratulations to everyone that entered the contest. There are definitely a lot of talented beaders out there and it was fun to be a part of it.

Crystal Earrings

2007-07-24T19:17:00.001-07:00

Here are some earrings that I have been making the past couple of days. I finished them today and have already sold all of them. Yippeee! So I guess I had better get some more made. I will be posting them on my Etsy site in the next few days.

Green Garnet Necklace and Earring Set

2007-07-24T18:54:00.000-07:00

Alright I can finally post the green garnet project that I had been working on all last week. I love this piece and I really enjoyed making it as it was for my Grandma T. She received it in the mail today and was just so happy. I would have posted it earlier, but I didn't want her to see it on the blog before she saw it in person. You may remember the one that I made for Grandma B in June, if you liked that one then you will love this one. I was commissioned by my folks to do both necklaces and it was just so much fun making them. I would spend my time thinking of Grandma T as I was making this and thinking how nice it was going to look on her.

First I made all of the beaded beads and then I strung them with green garnet, freshwater pearls, potato pearls, amazonite, aquamarine, and silver bali beads. I did the first strand with the beaded beads that were longer in length and the inner strand with the beaded beads that were shorter in length. I forgot to measure the length of the necklace before I shipped it off, but I think it was about 22 inches in length. I finished the project off with the same sterling silver clasp that I did my sister Leora's necklace in. I just love this clasp it is so elegant and beautiful. It just finished the piece off perfectly.

Green Garnet Beaded Beads

2007-07-21T13:52:00.000-07:00

Here are a few of the beaded beads that I made to go with the Green Garnet piece I am working on. Aren't they pretty? I will hopefully have the finished product posted by Tuesday if all goes well.

Green Garnet Project

2007-07-13T10:29:00.000-07:00

Here are the beads that I will be using for my next project. I'm so excited! I have been working on getting all of the right colors together and I think that I have done it. I have been comissioned to make this next project and I just can't wait. I plan on starting on it tonight after my son goes to bed. Wish me luck!

Aunt Jill's Necklace

2007-07-10T11:32:00.000-07:00

While visiting family in Arizona, my sister, Angie and I went bead shopping in Tuscon with our Aunt Debi and Aunt Jill. It was lots of fun. Jill picked out some beautiful pink beads and we volunteered to put something together for her. So here is the finished piece with Aunt Jill modeling it for us. I made a bracelet too, but didn't get a photo of it. She just loved it and couldn't wait to go and buy a new dress to go with it. I told her that my Uncle Buck would now have to take her out someplace nice so that she could show off her new jewelry. So Uncle Buck if you're reading this you better do it because your niece Rachel said so. Anyways, I am so glad that I could make my aunt something. We really had a great time together and it was nice getting to hang out with her and the kids.

My wonderful Aunt Debi also picked out some beads and I will be making something for her in the near future. I will be sure to post the finished product soon.

Leora's Birthday Present from Angie

2007-07-10T11:23:00.000-07:00

Here is another beautiful piece of jewelry that Leora received for her birthday this year. This piece of jewelry was made by my younger sister Angie for my older sister Leora. It is made with turquoise beads, silver beads and some type of agate I believe. I will have to ask Angie what the other stone is. It is just stunning. Angie was in the process of making this while I was in Arizona visiting and I am so excited to see the finished necklace and earring set. I love how she did the two strands and the clasp that she chose to use it pretty cool too. I also like the earrings that she made to go with the necklace. I'm sure that they look wonderful together. Good job Ang! I'm jealous.

Leora's Birthday Present

2007-07-06T19:55:00.000-07:00

Right before I went on vacation to my folks house in Sierra Vista, AZ I made a beautiful necklace for my sister Leora's birthday. Below are pictures of the beads and color scheme that I used to make the necklace and earring set. Unfortunately I just barely finished the night before I headed out to Arizona and was not able to get it posted beforehand.

round faceted smokey quartz beads
glass spear beads
smokey quartz discs
delica seed beads
delica seed beads

green nymo thread

After about three or four continuous nights of beading I managed to produce this necklace and earring set, which I just love. I was really tempted to just keep it for myself, but my excitement in seeing Leora's face when she received the present overcame the want to keep it. I actually got the idea of how I wanted to make this piece from a piece that Leora made me a few years back. Leora had made me a similar one a few years back using pearls instead of the smokey quartz. Knowing that Leora rarely makes jewelry for herself I decided to make her something just as wonderful as the jewelry that she made me.

Here are some photos of the necklace that Leora made me a few years back that I got my inspiration from. You can see the similarity and differences between the two.

Vacation

2007-06-24T13:49:00.000-07:00

I'm in Arizona this week visiting my folks for cousins week so I won't be able to post anything new until I get back. I made a beautiful necklace for my older sister, Leora, this past week that I will be posting. It is made with smokey quartz and green delica seed beads. Just outstanding! She loved it. So enjoy your week out there and I'll post the pics as soon as I get back.

Busy Bee

2007-06-19T14:03:00.000-07:00

I had the day off from work yesterday, so while my son was napping I was able to bead and then when he went to bed that night I beaded some more. I made three new items to place in my store. So here they are. They all have one thing in common. They all have the spear like drop glass beads incorporated in them. I sort of went back to that basics with these, as I have been doing a lot of bead weaving lately and was in the mood to do something different. So here is something different.

Beads 4 You Spring Challenge

2007-06-13T11:12:00.000-07:00

Well I finally managed to get my beaded necklace and bracelet for the challenge finished last night. So here it is. You can also find it on Etsy for sale http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=6190867 and http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=6191148. I had lots of fun with this project. It's not often that I am in a position where someone else has chosen the beads that I use on a piece of work and it did make it a little challenging. I have to admit that I would have never chosen a lot of the beads that were put together in the challenge package, but it was extremely fun to make.

Coral On the Mind

2007-06-12T08:10:00.000-07:00

This bracelet has been my best selling piece of jewelry so far. This will be the 4th bracelet in this style that I have made for someone so far. It must be something in the color combination that I have used. The colors of the sunset, reds, purples, yellows and everything in between. It is made with red coral, mookaite, fresh water pearls, delica seed beads, and bali silver. This bracelet was made for a customer from Sweden, who happens to be a relative in one way or another to my husband.

This bracelet is another customer order that I have just finished. They really liked the necklace and earrings that I had made for my Grandma B in a previous post and asked if I would make a bracelet and earrings similar to what I had made Grandma B. So here it is. It is made with fossil coral, fresh water pearls, smoky quartz, vermeil gold spacer beads, and a gold toggle clasp.

This particular piece will be going to someone in the Cape Cod area of the US. Hope they enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it.

Our Beady Names

2007-06-07T10:13:00.000-07:00

Below are bead names for my sisters and I. The first is my name, then Leora, and last my sister Angie. I saw it first on Kaskaad site http://kaskaad.blogspot.com/ and thought it looked fun.

My Your Beady Name is: Chartruese Chevron Bead.

My Your Beady Name is: Silverlined Rainbow Miracle Bead.

My Your Beady Name is: Sapphire Stone Bead.

Take Your Beady Name Generator today!
Created with Rum and Monkey's Name Generator Generator.

Turquoise Bracelets

2007-06-06T06:39:00.000-07:00

A customer recently asked me to make a series of four bracelets for her to give as gifts to her German relatives that will be visiting the US in June. Here are two of the bracelets that I have completed so far. I decided to do them with turquoise being the main color so that they could take them back to Germany as their authentic Native American Indian made jewelry.

I remember when my dad was stationed in Germany in the late 80's, there were all kinds of Native American Indian clubs over there at the time and the people really got off on Native American Indian items. At the time we lived on the economy in a small village called Alpen. One year for Faushing (I think that is the correct spelling) our neighborhood did a whole pioneer/Indian theme. So our family all wore our ribbon shirts and had our pendelton blankets over our arms and the neighbors were all pilgrims or pioneers, for our street float, for the town parade. It was tons of fun. My dad even ended up giving some of the neighbors some Navajo sand paintings for their American Indian collection.

Then when my husband was stationed at Holloman AFB in Alamogordo, NM, the German Air Force had just started to be stationed there also. I remember a lot of the German families would travel all over the state to visit the different tribes and go to their feast days and what not. They were just fascinated with the Native tribes. So my theme behind the bracelets was to make something that the German community would appreciate and enjoy as a piece of jewelry made by a Native American Caddo woman.

This bracelet was made with turquoise, smoky quartz, freshwater pearls, and bali silver beads.

This bracelet was made with turquoise, green turquoise, fresh water pearls, silver bali beads, delica beaded beads and an assortment of delica beads.

Motorcycle Beaded Band for Dad's Hat

2007-05-31T17:25:00.000-07:00

This past April when my dad was visiting us here in Kansas he decided to bead the band on his motorcycle hat. So we got out the beads and he designed the pattern that he wanted to go into the making of the beaded band. Then my sister Leora and I proceeded to show him how to do the flat peyote stitch. This was pretty funny seeing as we each had our own way of beginning the stitch. I have to say that after seeing how my big sis did it, I now begin the stitch her way.

Anyways, dad worked on the project into the night until he began making mistakes and then Leora worked on it some and I worked on it some as we were all visiting and shooting the bull. As the weekend went along we would pick it up from time to time and work on it. By the end of the weekend we had run out of the white beads and it was 85% finished. So I ordered more beads and finished it later in the week.

The design begins with the red eagle. Beside the eagle are two bronze stars which represent the bronze star my dad received in Vietnam. Then it has the red and blue diamond to both sides which represent the colors of the American flag. Next is the couple on the motorcycle, the green guy represents my dad and the purple one is my mom(her favorite color is purple). After the couple is a orange, green, and yellow diamond for the colors of the Vietnam War. Then the design has another motorcycle couple and a red, blue and yellow diamond again. I think it is just cool that my dad designed it and we helped him to make it. It was a really fun experience being able to do it with my dad and Leora.

Below is a picture of my Uncle Pete modeling the hat and photos of the bead work in detail.

Going Through Grandma's Jewelry

2007-05-31T17:13:00.001-07:00

While I was at my Grandma B's this past weekend she brought out some of the jewelry that my sisters and I have made for her in the past, so I took some pics for everyone to see some of the earlier work.
The first necklace and earring set is one that I made probably 10 years ago. It is made with Chinese turquoise, black onyx, and silver beads. I made it for a Christmas present when I was just starting college.

This second necklace and earring set was made by my sister Angie within the past few years or so. I'm not really sure what type of stone the beads are made with, but is a very beautiful jewelry set and our Grandma B wears this one often.

Grandma B Wearing Her Necklace

2007-05-31T17:05:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of Grandma B wearing her necklace and earrings that I had made for her as a gift from our family for her 80th birthday. She just loved it and was just too happy to see all of the family that made it out for her surprise party.

Funky Floral Earrings

2007-05-26T11:05:00.000-07:00

Here are some earrings that I made to go with the purple bracelet on the last post. I used toho triangular beads, fiber optic beads, and glass beads. I think I will make some more to sell on my etsy site, although it will have to wait until I get back from my grandmothers birthday party this week.

Shades of Purple

2007-05-23T10:32:00.001-07:00

Here is a bracelet that I just made for my mom. She really liked the mossy tree bark ones I made for etsy, so I made her one in purple. It is her favorite color and I think she will love it. It's kind of a belated Mothers Day present.

Leora really liked how I took the before and after photos of my last project so I decided to do the same again. I took pictures of the beads before I did anything with them and then the finished product of what I did with the beads at the end. It's kind of fun to see the beads used and then see what was actually made. I used toho triangular beads and delica seed beads for this project.

Before

After

Grandma B's Necklace

2007-05-19T13:39:00.000-07:00

Ta dah! Here is the finished product of the necklace that I have been working on for my Grandma B. If anyone knows her please don't tell her it will be a surprise. I ended up adding some more beads to it. All in all, it is made with handmade beaded beads, fossilized coral, smokey quartz, freshwater pearls, and gold. By far it is my most favorite piece to date. I have been wearing it all day and already have received 3 compliments by complete strangers.

2007-05-15T11:02:00.000-07:00

Here are the beads that I am using for my next project. It is a present for my Grandma B. I love the colors and hope it turns out the way I imagine it. I will post photos of the finished project when I am done.

Fire Red Jewelry Set

2007-05-14T11:50:00.000-07:00

Here is my first completed set of jewelry that I have made to sell. I have now made a necklace, a bracelet, and earrings that all go together or can be worn seperately. Yeah! I think that they turned out pretty good too. Well, I will just let the pictures do the talking for me.

You can buy these items at http://3sistersbeads.etsy.com/

Spring Green Necklace

2007-05-14T11:39:00.000-07:00

Here is another wunderbar necklace that my sister Leora has crafted. I was hoping that she had made it for me when I first saw it. The beads that she used are so pretty. I really love the green color. I also love the way that the beads are stranded together. I'm not sure what that stitch is called. I'll have to ask Leora. Enjoy

This necklace is for sell at http://3sistersbeads.etsy.com

Beautiful Lariat

2007-05-05T18:51:00.000-07:00

This is a lariat that my sister Leora just finished making. And its about time. 3 Sisters Beads isn't just 1 Sister anymore, now if I could only get my little sis Angie to get something posted. Of course Angie is too busy with her wedding plans right now, so I guess we can let her off the hook for now.

Leora has been beading for many years now and I am always impressed with the skill and work that she puts in to each peice that she makes. She really has an eye for patterns and color combinations. I am constantly recieving compliments for her work when I wear the jewelry that she has given to me as a present. When I used to teach at San Felipe Pueblo many of the teachers and staff would comment on her work and ask if she ever sold her jewelry and I would always have to say that she just made her jewelry for family.

This is Leora's first item to be posted on our site and it is just eloquent. The colors that she chose for this lariat are outstanding. They not only go well with each other, but they can go with pretty much any outfit you choose to wear with it. She chose to use seed beads the colors of creme, garnet and root beer. The ends of the lariat are finished off with creme and garnet tassles with larger flat garnet discs. I always tell people that Leora does the most georgeous work with seed beads and she has proved me right yet again with this garnet lariat. I just love it.

This lariat is a wonderful length and can be worn in many different styles. It measures 54 inches in length. I have posted some pictures below of the different ways that it can be worn. It is long enough that it can also be worn as a belt.

This lariat can be purchased at our store on etsy. Here is the link for it http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=5902676

Latest Finished Projects

2007-05-05T18:47:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of the latest items that Leora and I have been working on. I plan on posting each of them in the next few days. The first two my sister, Leora, made and the last one is one that I did.

Update

2007-04-11T07:00:00.000-07:00

I ran out of some of the red beads on the necklace that I have been working on, so I guess I will start a new project this week while I wait for my order to get here. I was almost finished too. What a bummer. Oh well, I'll just have to wait. I wanted to start something new anyways.

Red Flames

2007-04-05T10:43:00.001-07:00

I'm in the process of making a necklace to go with the fire red triangular peyote stitch bracelet that I posted earlier. It's coming along really well. I took some pics of it and I hope they look alright as it has been pretty gloomy out today. This Kansas weather is strange to say the least. One day it's hot and in the 80's and the next it's in the 30's. Anyways, I have some beading to do, so I will post more later.

Busy Week

2007-04-02T10:54:00.000-07:00

This week is my sons big #2 birthday so I will most likely be pretty busy making, buying, and baking presents. I will try to get a sneek peek of what I'm in the process of making posted though.

Something for a friend

2007-03-28T11:42:00.000-07:00

My mom had bought me some really cool lace curtains from Ikea in Phoenix a while back. They remind me of the kind of curtains people had in Germany when I lived there in the late 8o's. Anyways, when I got them they were way to long for my sliding glass door.
I can bead, but I can't sew to save my life. I even messed up hemming my sons bibs this past winter. So a friend of mine offered to hem them for me. Of course I was okay with that. So she sewed them up for me and they look great. The only thing is that she wouldn't let me pay her for them, so I finally made her something to repay her. She really likes pinks and purples. Colors I don't usually use together alot. I finally made her something with her colors and I think that it acutally turned out okay. I made it simular to the last bracelet that I made. I really like the way the bracelet lays so we'll have to see if she likes it too.

Netting Problems

2007-03-22T07:23:00.000-07:00

I was having some problems with my netting project. I think that my stitches were too tight because the necklace was becoming very spirally. So while I was trying to figure out how to make the necklace so that it wasn't all twisted I ended up in the peyote stitch somehow. Anyways, I made a really cool bracelet with a simular color scheme. So here it is, I think that I will also will make a necklace to go along. Maybe some earrings too.

Netting Project

2007-03-20T07:48:00.000-07:00

I just started a new project last night. I am going to make a necklace using netting with wine and garnet colored delicas and these beautiful teardrop shaped turquoise beads that I have. So I thought I would post a pic or two of what I've done so far. I'll keep ya posted on my progress and how it goes.

Native American Indian Art

2007-03-16T07:16:00.000-07:00

I'm going to be putting up links of other Native American Indian artists on this blog in the next couple of days that I have met through etsy. I'll get them posted as soon as I have a free minute. Hope you enjoy!

What are we about?

2007-03-15T13:34:00.000-07:00

Here goes. I decided to start this blog because I'll admit it I wanted a place to post my families jewelry. My sisters and I have been beading for years and we have been making jewelry for friends and family since then. Just recently I started thinking that we really should start sharing our ideas and talent with others.

We are members of the Caddo Tribe of Oklahoma and like to bead. We really try to make our things following traditions passed down to us from family, but we also like to make original peices.

If your like me I go to pow wows and Indian art markets and table after table is all of the same. Now I don't want anyone to think that I am bashing tradition. Tradition and knowing where you come from is an important part of Indian life. I'm just saying that it would be nice to see something new that's beginnings have a flare of the traditional. That's what I try to do with my jewelry. Whether it works or not is up to you.

I will try to post pictures and the process of my stuff as I go along. Hope you all enjoy!