Thursday, December 17, 2015

Minimalist Bead Crochet Necklaces

The most popular post on this blog so far has been the 2010 tutorial post for the Understatement Necklace, which was a very delicate clustered-bead, crocheted necklace. That tutorial is still a great place to learn how to make a beaded crochet necklace of your own. I'll add a link at the end of this post, so you can go check it out, and after the holidays, I'll try to get around to finally doing some more tutorials on the blog here.

Meanwhile, here are some of my latest bead crochet necklaces. All of these, except for the last one, are great wrap bracelets, too.

Green Beaded Crochet Necklace with Removable Christmas Tree Charm

Cobalt Caprice Beaded Crochet Necklace with Removable Dangle Bead



Stone Feather Beaded Crochet Necklace or Wrap Bracelet

And finally, this little beauty, in a clustered-bead style:

Flower Vine on Pagoda, Red Beaded Crochet Necklace

When worn, these necklaces are lighter and more minimalist than the knotted bead necklaces from the last post.

Here is that link for the Understatement Necklace tutorial that I promised you, in case you want to make a necklace of your own.

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Boho, Southern Chic, Hippie Flavored, Advanced Style Knotted Bead Necklaces

Adding necklaces to the shop has worked out well, because people seem to like them. The style categories in the heading could be easily applied to my design choices so far.

In today's post the show-and-tell topic is long hand-knotted bead necklaces. You can click on the links to learn more detail about each one.

Pixie Mayhem Necklace

This one used some unorthodox knotting and a wild assortment of beads in a Southern Country Chic style. It's a boho beauty, so I also made one for myself, too.

Also as an homage to good Southern things, this one was named for delicious whiskey caramels:

Whiskey Caramela


Winter inspiration can be seen in the next two:

The Snow Queen

Snow on the Beach

The first three of these have sold already, so I am busy making more. Also, I'm making some bead crocheted necklaces that are more minimalist in style. You'll see some in the next post.

Monday, December 14, 2015

Wrapping up this Year's Etsy Life Cycle

Procurement, production, photography, product listing, promotion, packing orders--the Etsy business cycle. It's been keeping me plenty busy as the year winds down.

During my hiatus related to my parents' aging and passing, I lost a lot of momentum in regards to my shop. The time spent with Dad and Mom was so important and so full of blessings. that I have absolutely no regrets.

It's taking a lot of time and effort, but slowly and surely I am regaining my footing and online confidence again. I'm hoping that my sense of humor returns soon, too.

Over the next several posts I'll get you caught up with some of the things that have been in the works. In this post there are some wraps in holiday photos.

The shawl in the Old Shale stitch variation was finished. I decided on a different gift for the redhead, so I put the shawl in my shop. This is how it looks when worn as a scarf:

The Candlelight Shawl in Alpaca and Merino
It's so unbelievably soft and luxurious that it was tempting to keep it, but alas, not the perfect colorway for my skin tone.

Here are some product photos that were re-shot in order to have a little Christmas spirit in the shop:

Chevron Scarf in Sangria Colors - Hand-spun and Commercial Wool



Salsa Fever Shawl - Dropped Stitch Shawl or Oversized Scarf


It's been fun to make the shop a little festive for the season. These photos were fun to take.