Once the hot, sweaty weather of summer is over — and boy, did we ever have a hot, sweaty one here in usually-moderate western Washington State — I can consider wearing jewelry again. I just can’t stand the feeling of plastic, glass, metal against my skin when I’m all sweaty and sticky!
Well now, isn’t that a lovely way to introduce a post. Sorry! Let’s try this again.
Now that the cooler weather of approaching autumn is here, I am ready for some fresh looks, and that includes some new jewelry!
Better? I think so, too.
If you’ve followed we 2 here at 2create for long, you will know that my go-to jewelry-making project is stretchy beaded bracelets. I just LOOOOVE them! Love, love, LOVE them! I love to mix and match groups them, sometimes wearing one or two, sometimes loading my wrist with as many as coordinate with my outfit. They just make me happy, and they’re so easy to make and so easy to wear!
I usually make multiple stretchy bracelets when I’m in a color mood. Do you know what I mean? This set of bracelets was made when I was in a much different color mood than this new batch. This new medley of bracelets was inspired by those lovely green glass leaf beads. Leaves for fall, and green for me! Green everything for me, usually :) (Another thing you might have picked up on if you’ve followed us for a while.)
Going through my assorted beads looking for possibilities, choosing and rejecting, contemplating and coming out with a few happy Hmmm’s and Aaaah’s takes a while, but once that’s done these stretchy fall bracelets went together fast! With the beads spread out in my bead tray, I chose one and then something to go with it, started stringing… done! Repeat x3 (with a backing up and redesigning once along the way) and I was tying knots in stretchy cord before I was ready to be done playing.
I’m calling these bracelets a medley for good reason. When I am sitting with my beads, designing each new strand, I always try to give them distinctly different looks, textures, patterns … rhythms! One might have a smooth sweet note of a flute playing a lively melody with lots of different but small smooth shapes and colors. A bass drum would be large beads regularly spaced with uniform small beads in between. You see? Rhythms!
Tonight’s medley is this: The green glass leaf pairs separated by the tiny brown beads are a double pluck of a big old upright bass, setting the foundation for everyone else to work from. The small round bronze and brown beads of the plainest bracelet seem to be the steady swish of a brush on a ride cymbal. The bold busy large-beaded bracelet of pale rust and clear chartreuse makes itself known as the brass section, playing distinct sounds together and making the most noise! And the repetitive green squares totally feel like rich solid chords from the left hand of a keyboard player!
I have my new beautiful medley of fall bracelets making music on my wrist and in my head!
I love that I can wear any two or three together and they work! As you can see, I had to show you #alltheoptions! (I know — hashtags. I just #cantstop.)
Do you know how hard it is to take pictures of bracelets on your own wrist without … well, without a different camera than I was using. Or a tripod. But that would have meant getting up to fetch it and I was happily cross-legged on the floor surrounded by beads, jewelry tools, and camera equipment. Just not the tripod. So forgive the awkward, not-quite-the-best-angle shots of my new bracelets on my own arm, and have sympathy for the contortions I was going through to back that camera up just that one … centimeter … more … so the camera would actually take the shot. It was bracelet photography yoga, for sure!
I’m obviously checking off the Jewelry project option from the choices for the Fall Challenge here at 2 Create in Color with my medley of stretchy bracelets. I wonder what Sam’s up to for tomorrow?
Happy beading! Do it!
Gail
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