Uptown Cat flashback

Got a comment left on a very old post this morning. An inquiry about a micro macramé bracelet I was working on in April of 2012. I think it must have come from a Pinterest posting. Cottagemuse wants to know if I ever completed the bracelet. Well, Cottagemuse,  I did! And here it is, in all its glory.

Of course, I have been busy with other pursuits, and forgot how much I loved doing those bracelets. If I get a moment, it would be great fun to get back to them. Thanks for the excuse to go back in time, Cottagemuse!

More bracelets

Last week was so hot and sticky, that nothing much got done around the Kingdom. It was too hot to even move, let alone cook. This week's cooler, drier temperatures are a welcome change. We've even begun to think about creative pursuits again.

Today, we have 2 new micro macramé bracelets to show. The first is called Black Currant. All purples to match a polymer clay bead we made ourself. It's definitely an imperfect offering because you can see our finger print in the surface. (No extra charge for that!)  Exactly 8 3/8 inches long from the loop to the inside of the button.

Edited to add: SOLD! Thank you. This one went fast.

The second bracelet is a lovely combination of pale green and coral. The closure is a lampwork bead made by Nikki of http://www.bastillebleu.com/  The bracelet measures exactly 7 1/2 inches from the inside of the loop to the closure bead. Please note that this is intended for a slender wrist. Very dainty. Very pretty.

As always, these bracelets are for the benefit of the kennel kitties at the Gananoque Humane Society. $22. each, including postage. Payment by Paypal. Of that, we'll donate $20. for each bracelet sold. The bracelets will be mailed via Canada Post. Thanks to everyone who's helping us in this endeavour.

Maraschino

Sometimes when we work with the beads, they just whisper their own name. This one kept saying "maraschino".  It just seems to fit.

Brown C-Lon macramé cord, coral and orangey metallic beads with lovely red/orange bicones. About 7 1/2 inches long. We think brown and pink/coral is a highly unappreciated colour combination.

Grandma Coco's Note to Self: Must set the world straight on this.

Ice Cream Sundae

Vanilla cord, pretty beads and a new (to us) spring-loaded closure.

7 1/2 inches to 8 1/2 inches long

Purple Prose

Beaded Micro Macramé Bracelet.

Purple with gold accents, about 8 inches long. 

The round purple beads are glass with lovely gold swirls.

Cool and Sophisticated

We bought this beautiful bead last November 

at Rideau Art Beads in Kemptville, Ontario. 

It`s been waiting for just the right project.

Part of the fun of working with beads is finding a bead here, a bead there

and having them all come together in their own good time.

With fresh eyes

We have such lovely visitors here in the Kingdom and many of them leave thoughtful and helpful comments. One of them is Maria who suggested we put the last bracelet away for a day or 2 so we could see it clearly with fresh eyes. What a great idea! We do that routinely with our drawings.

There's something in our brains that wants to make sense of things. Unfortunately, that part of our brain can sometimes get in the way by not allowing us to see things as they really are. So, we sent the green bracelet off for a tiny time out. When he emerged, calmer and contrite, we could see right away it wasn't the choice of colours or even the choice of beads. It was the placement.

The little, yellow beads were just lost in that great chasm between the focal beads and the large white beads.

See the difference?

Now, the yellow beads can shine. The focal beads are ones we made from polymer clay. They are vibrant and joyful. This is a bracelet for someone who is happy! A bracelet for a celebration. It measures 7 3/4 inches long, with a beaded loop and a single glass bead for the closure.

Thank you to everyone who offered input. We appreciate your comments.

Red Hot Chili Pepper Bracelet

We've been playing with polymer clay. It's amazing. So cheap and you can do so much with it, so easily. We made these round, disk beads. We had thought there'd be a steeper learning curve but we're really happy with these beads.

They're about 1/2 inch in diameter. We didn't bother to sand them. We just jumped right to dipping them in Future Floor Wax. We had our doubts because, really, it just seemed too easy. But, look! They're pretty right?

So, we made them right up into a bracelet. Quick! Before they could get away.

And look at this lovely bead we had in our stash. Just one lonely bead and perfect for this project.

This bracelet measures 8 inches long.

A little south-west flavour

Sometimes the beads fall in our favour. This was one of those times. They just sort of chose themselves.

This lovely mix of copper and turquoise makes us think of sun and cactus.....and nachos. But that may be just because it's close to lunchtime.

~ Olé!!

Pretty Buttons

We've spoken before about our sister-in-law who is a potter. Recently, she turned her talents to button-making. Here are some of the pretties she made:

We could hardly wait to incorporate them into a bracelet. We had 6 of the Preciouses and we used 3 in this bracelet. We have the other 3 set aside for another design.

Copper Diamonds, NFS

She's planning to set up a little business selling her buttons (and some beads) online. Until she gets set up, if you'd like to order more buttons like these, just leave a comment and we'll make sure she gets back to you.

Up-Town Cat

A whole week's gone by and all we have to show for it is this one little bracelet. To be fair, we were sick for most of the time and we don't do 'sick' very well. It's because we have so little practice being sick and we're always so surprised and affronted when it happens.

Up-Town Cat

Up-Town Cat is the bracelet that we had started last Wednesday for the WIP on the Needle and Thread Network. We just knew it would be fabulous but what we didn't know was that it would take a few twists and turns on its way.

The focal disk beads are very cunning....beige brown with black yet sort of green, sort of turquoise. The turquoise beads we added last week got discarded in the end, in favour of a more mossy green look.

And the Czechoslovakian cat bead for the closure?
Black glass with gold painted details. Very cool.

Linking up to the Needle and Thread Network.
Go have a look at what other Canadian craftspeople are up to.

~Stay well!

WIP #34 - Just doin' it

We're working today in a one-foot-in-front-of-the-other kind of way. We had the inspiration and now it's time for the perspiration, if you know what we mean.

This will be our next beaded micro macramé bracelet and it will be spectacular when it's done. The beginning is always kind of scary where we choose the beads and let them tell us how they want to be arranged.

The next part is just the doing of it. That's where we are now.

We have the perfect bead for the closure. It's a Czechosolovakian cat bead which you'll have to see to believe.

We drew guide marks on plain white cotton and put it over the cork board so we could visualize where we're going. We don't know why we didn't think of this before. It really helps to know where we are in the length of the bracelet.

When we grow weary of trying to force tiny beads on fraying cords, we switch over to the Corduroy Roads Socks. We have the Ladies' Small size done and now we're working on Ladies' Medium. They're coming along really well, actually. Good mindless knitting. The kind that calms a person down but doesn't make for very stimulating blog material. :(

Works in progress are just that, we guess.....

projects that we're plodding along with. 

There are other Canadian bloggers working on their own projects this Wednesday. 

Why not click on over and have a look?

~ We'll try to have something more exciting next time. We promise!

Back to bracelets

We just finished another cuff. We like these cuffs. They're not exactly dainty but they're pretty cool.

This one measures 8 inches long and is about 1 1/2 inches wide. The red disk beads are 3/4 inches in diameter. The 2 faceted black beads that close the bracelet came straight from Czechoslovakia. And we mean straight from Czechosolvakia because these were in the bead stash that we received as gifts. There were only 2 of them and this is exactly what they were meant for, don't you think?

And, in case, you're wondering, the light-coloured beads are grey. They make a more muted look than white would but the whole bracelet is still very dramatic, we think.

Don't you think they'd be right at home at a dinner at Downton Abbey? (our new fascination) or on board the Titanic?

~ Bidding you a beady good day!

We wish to thank the Academy...etc., etc.

Remember that little jewelry contest that we entered? The one at BelloModo.com? Well, we're really happy to announce that The Ice Queen bracelet won 2nd prize!!! And the prize is a gift certificate for $75!! That's a lot of beads! Thank you to each and every one of you who voted for our design. We have loads of ideas for more bracelets and even some necklaces and earrings!

Ice Queen Beaded Micro Macramé Bracelet ...... SOLD

As if on cue ... our resurrected amaryllis bulb has burst into bloom. Mr. Coco truly has the green thumb. Cassie and Grandma Coco just try to stay out of the way.

What a great week it's been with unexpectedly summery weather, 2 fun contests and now, this beautiful flower. We've been working on some secret stuff, too, that we will soon be able to share. We're not very good at keeping secrets. It's so hard!!!

Winning and losing and trying again

Well, all the votes are in and counted in the Blue Moon Fiber Arts Sock Camp 2012 T-shirt design contest and ... sad to say, we didn't win. :( However, we are Winners by any definition because we had such great support from all of you who voted for our drawing. We were very touched that so many supported us and we had a great time. AND in the end, Tina of Blue Moon Fiber Arts has decided to send each of us finalists a skein of sock yarn. Totally unexpected!! And very, very sweet.

So, what's next, you ask?

Oscars Challenge 2012

sponsored by BelloModo.com

Ice Queen by Cheryl Coville

We buy a lot of beads from BelloModo. They have a great selection and they only charge one dollar to send an order (of any size!) to us in the Kingdom (Canada). They're sponsoring a challenge where they invited everyone to create a piece of jewelry that was inspired by the Oscars. 

Ours is inspired by Gwyneth Paltrow's fabulous white dress, cape and cuff. We thought we'd like to make a cuff. We worked 2 identical beaded micro macramé bracelets and wove them together as we went, finishing by connecting them at the button end. There are 2 loops and 3 antique buttons. 

We think it turned out pretty well. It's (lucky) #13 on the BelloModo blog and, just like the T-shirt graphic contest, anyone can vote. If you're curious, please click on over and choose your fave.

As well, this piece is an orphan right now, in search of a home. $30. Email us if you're interested. (Big Cartel turned out to have one teeny, tiny problem ... the free version doesn't allow inventory control so theoretically (at least), several people could all buy this bracelet before we knew to take it off the shelf. :( And since they're one-of-a-kind bracelets, that just won't work.

While we decide which path to take

Time to switch gears while we wait for inspiration for the mittens. That inspiration will come in its own time. It always does. Grandma Coco knows it can never be rushed.

Ah, here's the ticket! A pretty bracelet to take our mind off the conundrum that is THE MITTEN. When we found the glazed porcelain heart bead, we just knew it wanted to be the centrepiece in this bracelet. There's a definite mossy-green mottling going on with this heart bead. (Moss green is currently one of our favourite colours.) Beige/tan cord and turquoise and gold beads make this piece sparkle.

This bracelet measures 7 3/4" long and 3/4" wide. The heart bead itself is about 1" long (to the point).


Since we currently have a rather large inventory of bracelets on hand (and due to the fact that we still find ourselves wanting to make more of them!) we've spent a few fun minutes creating a little online shop over at Big Cartel. So, if you're so inclined, this bracelet could be yours.

CoCoKnots at BigCartel.com

Do you know about Big Cartel? It's like Etsy but for us smaller fish, it has an option that doesn't charge us anything to use their services. We really are small fish. Small fish with a huge bead addiction. We either need to find a way to fund that addiction or get help. We choose the former.

~ Cheers!