Process pics. Mermaid's Garden

"Maybe it was a dream about summer? The bright, golden sun and rich clear-blue sky embraced me with their tender warmth," those were my muses on the creation of my lovely seed-bead necklace Mermaid’s Garden.


Probably for the first time I have tried to combine a blue color scheme with copper-lined seed beads. I felt that choosen materials will allow me to achieve at once the cool touch of the ocean with the warmth of a summer sun!


I have woven a base using netting stitch, and created a lot of leaves of two colors, my favorite components.


The finishing touches were created with freshwater pearls and aquamarine gemstone chips – perfect for a maritime theme.


Mermaid's Garden is 2008 First Place winner of the "Your Designs Rock!" Jewelry Design Contest held by Rings & Things magazine (Glass Category). Here is the full slide show of creating my necklace:

Mermaid's Garden

Google for beaded jewelry!

On October, 17th, I discovered that the Google search for "beaded jewelry" returned 2,340,000 websites with MyLovelyBeads.com on the first place. I could hardly believe that! I checked out the same search criteria next day, in a week, in two weeks, but my website is still on the first position. I'm pretty excited!

First Place in 2008 Celebrating Beads, the jorney of... contest!

WooooooooHoooooooo!

Last night at the Bead Gala in the US Navy Memorial and Naval Heritage Center in Washington, DC my necklace Mid Summer Night's Dream was announced as the First Place winner of the 2008 Celebrating Beads, the jorney of... International Juried Jewelry Design Competition (seed bead category)! I'm happy! :)

Process pics. Poppy Field

The story of the Poppy Field necklace began a few months ago. I wanted to create something springy/summery and bright, even hot. I had a dream to design a collection with beaded flowers, I love poppies and decided to start with beaded poppies. I didn't have the exact plan of my design, I was just thinking on my future creature, and started making poppy petals and putting them together. At that time I didn't have any idea how many of them I would need.


Then I created a lot of green leaves of different shades.


First of all, I decided to check out my color combinations and some design decisions on a bracelet. I woven a base from bugle beads using peyote stitch, and embroidered it with a poppy flower, leaves, small light green teardrop beads, and accent beads.


Next day the bracelet was sold out and a friend of mine asked me to create for her matching earrings and a small necklace with "poppy field" centerpiece, that I created keeping in my mind the bracelet design, just adding fringes made using coral technique.


I had almost all elements of my future necklace ready to put together, but I decided to add poppy buds, and I made them wrapping some of the petals. Here is the full slide show of creating my necklace:

Poppy Field

"Your Designs Rock!" 2008

At the very end of April the winners of "Your Designs Rock!" 2008 Jewelry Design Contest were announced. I'm happy to tell you, that the second year in a row I won the First Place in Glass category (necklace "Mermaid's Garden").


Besides, my another necklace "Egyptian Nights" won Honorable Mention Award in Gemstones and Pearls category. Thank you, Rings and Things!