Bead Porn Revival

You can all thank Barbara Lewis for reminding me that it had been a while since I'd done a really good bead porn post. I definitely intended to cut back this year, but four months between posts is probably a little more "cutting" than I really should have done.

So, without further ado, here's your porn:





Sumptuous chocolate brown deerskin lace from Jocalatte.





Slightly thinner cinnabar-colored deerskin lace from Jocalatte. I used this on a project that will be printed in the upcoming issue of "Creative Jewelry."





Antique copper bias-cut silk dupioni ribbon from T and Z Supplies.





Same ribbon in peacock.





Hand-dyed silk strings from T and Z Supplies.





Slightly thicker hand-dyed silk cord also from T and Z.





This also came from T and Z - such a great color combination!





Tiny, glistening Czech glass in shades of aqua and lavender from Bead and Ribbon.





These turquoise and green picasso glass disks also came from Bead and Ribbon. You might recognize them from the earrings and necklace I blogged about in a recent entry.





More from Bead and Ribbon. I honestly have to say that one of the things that's surprised me the most in beads is how far Czech glass has come since I first started beading 15 years ago. The variety of sizes, shapes, colors and - most importantly - finishes is just truly amazing.





This fun and fresh dyed "candy" jade is from Excellent Gem.





I've been really into this dagger or "buffalo tooth" shape in stones for the last year or so. These are blue tiger-eye and have just a fantastic color and sheen to them. They are also from Excellent Gem.





These howlite teardrops have been dyed an unusual combination of turquoise, lavender and purple. I really enjoy finding stones or beads that I haven't seen anywhere else either due to a new color treatment, new material or whatever. These came from Excellent Gem and certainly fit the bill.





And now I get to discuss one of my favorite vendors of all time - Shannon from Miss Fickle Media. Seems like she's always pushing the boundaries and bringing something new to her shop. Just when I get used to all the wonderful colored metals she's come up with, here are these cute flowers out of silver and copper.





Which doesn't mean I don't still love my colored metals from her as well. This finish is called Easter Sunday.





And of course I need the chain to match. I may have cut back on the bead porn, but I am still all about the matchy-matchy.





I've amassed quite the collection of Lynn Davis's lovely pewter components. Can't seem to bring myself to part with any of them, though. This is a wonderfully romantic piece I bought with Valentine's Day designs in mind. Ummm...maybe next year?





This lovely hand-made clasp is from Amanda Davie.





Some cute polymer clay charms from Humblebeads. I like the bright purpley-pink color on these.





But then she had the same ones in this turquoise color and well, you know how I feel about turquoise!





Multi-colored Greek ceramic cheerios from T and Z Supplies.





And their more grown-up, donut-shaped cousins.





These darling pink and white birds are from Sandhra Lee.





As is this matching charm.





And this larger pendant. Again, I was thinking Valentine's Day. I don't remember what happened around that time, but obviously I got majorly sidetracked and never got anything done with these. I know I keep repeating myself on that and it's just so frustrating to not have the time to create that I really wish I had. I guess it's a good thing that V-day comes around again every year so I can just hold onto these for 6 more months or so.





I've gotten a couple of these ribbon and watercolor ceramic pieces from Yolanda's Clay and I really think they are unusual. I love the background colors and the contrast with the white "ribbon" sections.





Then I moved on to stocking up for Easter...and didn't have any more luck getting designs made for that time frame than I had with Valentine's Day. The beads are still pretty, though. I love pixie dust finish on lampwork.





Okay, this copper finish isn't really Easter-related, but it was on sale at the same time as the other sets and I thought it would look great in an as yet-to-be-made design.





This set is channeling a 9-year-old girl's birthday party complete with fluffy pink and white unicorns, white frosted cupcakes and a pink ballerina tutu.

I wish I was 9 again!





Did I mention there was a sale on these?





'Cuz there was. They are all from Fire and Fibers.





These...were not on sale. But I bought them anyway because of the gorgeousness. They are from Beeboo.





Great color combination in these Fairy Flower lampwork disks from Mermaid Glass. Looking at these makes me want a margarita and some chips and fresh guacamole.

Okay, that's it for this batch of porn. Hope it was a nice mid-summer surprise. I'll have to do another batch in the fall (or sooner...you never know...I am mysterious that way).

Have a great weekend!

KJ