merimask: (Default)
merimask ([personal profile] merimask) wrote2007-10-07 01:49 pm

Koi barrettes, part two

So.  I finished a whole bunch of koi barrettes. 


I made a few changes from my first design.  The new fish are about a third smaller and the dangles are much shorter (the longest one is about six inches).  The barrette backs are 50 mm instead of 70mm, which makes a huge difference.  The fish are shorter & narrower & actually look great as side clips.


I also changed how I did the dangles.  I beaded the whole wire which was very time consuming, but I'm happier with the way it looks.  I chose various glass beads in shades of blue & aqua, which is all sparkly & watery-looking.  I added a few accent pearls on some...on others I used Czech glass beads with a mirror finish (they looked like bubbles to me).




Anyway, I had fun doing them.  Many thanks to 

[personal profile] smillaraaq, who provided a link for a really simple giude to all the koi varieties...it made things a LOT easier for me because it was quick & easy to print out.  I still have a ton of varieties I want to make.

 


Next project; some new Medusa masks.  I want to make a couple in "real" snake colors.  Usually I do them in fantasy metallic colors over black, but I'm intrigued by the idea of a Medusa that's colored like a diamondback rattlesnake in brown & sand tones (& maybe turquoise eyes!  My favorite color combination!).  Anyway I cut out two of them last night.  It's going to be my big project for the next few days.

EDIT:  I just made myself an ETSY account!  It was SO easy...easier by far than clunky old e-bay to be sure.  You can see my shop here.   I only put a few pieces up, just to try it out.  Thinking of putting the koi barrettes in there as well.  Hmm!

[identity profile] merimask.livejournal.com 2007-10-08 03:26 pm (UTC)(link)
Eventually I want to do ALL of the koi varieties...I think they're all so pretty. The black & white varieties are especially eye-catching in the hair, though, I notice. Hmm...

True...I think I'll do some with many tiny glass beads & some with "bubbles", because the tiny beads take a long time to string. Though, in a quiet way, it's a very soothing, relaxing thing to do. Probably like knitting or needlework.
ext_12512: Hinoe from Natsume Yuujinchou, elegant and smirky (Default)

[identity profile] smillaraaq.livejournal.com 2007-10-08 09:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Beadwork is very much that way to me -- but it's one of my earliest crafts picked up in childhood, Indian seed bead work and crewel embroidery, so it's hard for me to be detached from it -- it's just sort of something I've done almost as long as I can remember.

Are you still doing the new dangles on tigertail-type cord, or are they sewn with needle and thread? 'Cause if you're going to be doing dangles for butterflies and dragonflies, and don't mind working with tiny bead needles, I can show you a really easy stitch that produces tiny little flower shapes out of seed beads.