Ribbon Winners

Do-It-Yourself Decorating

Grand Prize

A closer look at my sister's entries at our county fair revealed not one but two ribbons! I agree with the judges that the blue one gets First Place. There was another jewelry entry that got Second, and her brown set finished with Third Place. Personally I think these were some of the nicest entries in the fair's fine arts gallery that year. Of course, after the fair was over and my sister had brought the entries home and photographed them, she had to dismantle them from their velvet mounts. This jewelry is just too pretty not to wear!

At the Fair

Do-It-Yourself Decorating

Blue Jewelry Set

After dropping off the pieces of framed jewelry at the fair, we waited with anticipation for the fine arts exhibit to open. Would the pieces win anything? How much competition would there be? When the fair finally opened up, we rushed to the fine arts hall to see the exhibit. Biased as I may be, I thought my sister's pieces looked stunning amid the other entries on display. Can you pick them out in the pictures? Her hard work had paid off for this impressive exhibit. Oh, and do I see some prize ribbons on her pieces?!?

Brown Jewelry Set

Framed Jewelry

Do-It-Yourself Decorating

Mounted and Framed

My sister decided to enter her beautiful jewelry pieces in our local county fair. To display them, she mounted them on black velvet in picture frames. This was a complicated process. I believe she used thread to attach each strand of beads in several places to the velvet, which had been mounted on cardboard. Thread attachments were needed at many places in order to keep the necklaces in a nice rounded position when turned vertically. My sister then removed the glass from two matching picture frames and inserted the velvet-covered cardboard. They really came out beautifully!

Brown Set

Do-It-Yourself Decorating 

Another Pair

And here, at last, is the completed brown necklace and bracelet set. It came out beautifully, just like my sister's first jewelry set. The rich blue beads stand out brilliantly among the brown and tan shades. This is an interesting style, spacing out large beads with much smaller seed beads. If you look closely, you will notice that even the seed beads range in size and shape. This necklace would match a lot of outfits, and the bracelet would just add the finishing touch.

Brown Jewelry

Do-It-Yourself Decorating 

Another Bracelet

After the success of her blue heart jewelry set, my sister proceeded to make another set. This one had a brown and dark blue theme, a more imposing presentation from the pastel hearts of the other jewelry set. It was also less complicated. The bracelet was simply two different strands hooked together at the fastener, rather than interweaving strands. Compare it yourself to the blue heart bracelet here. This is not to imply that it was any less difficult though. Stringing all those tiny seed beads is a tedious job which I do not envy in the least. The necklace below was made in a similar fashion to the blue heart necklace, with strings of graduated length so they would all lie evenly spaced together when worn. Check out the even tinier seed beads at the very back of the necklace. You wouldn't catch me stringing all of those little beads willingly!

. . . And Necklace

 

Blue Set

Do-It-Yourself Decorating

Complete Blue Heart Set

When completed, the blue bracelet and necklace made a beautiful set. My sister had done a lovely job! The blue hearts artfully placed in both the bracelet and necklace tied them together, while the blue oval shapes also repeated. The shared off-whites, pinks, and reds further harmonize the two pieces. In this picture you can also see better the many smaller seed beads that separate the large beads. Stringing these tiny filler beads was definitely a tedious job. But the effect is very striking.

Blue Jewelry

Do-It-Yourself Decorating

Blue Heart Bracelet

I have showcased plenty of my own beaded jewelry on my blog so far. However, I am now going to treat you with some examples of real handmade jewelry. My sister is a natural when it comes to beading, and has made some amazing pieces. Take a close look above at one of the first bracelets she made, and you will see how really complex it is. There are actually two strands of beads running around the entire bracelet, parting and joining wherever you see them cross over each other. This was not an easy piece of work, to say the least, and I know since I watched the whole process.
My sister made the necklace below to complete a set with the bracelet. You might notice similar beads in both. The delicate task of this particular beadwork was not interweaving bead strands however; it was creating separate ones. Each of the three strands of beads in the necklace had to be made respectively shorter in order to lie flat at the same time without unsightly overlap. This was not easy either, but you can see that they are all arranged equally with near perfect spacing. Joining all three strands at the top clasp was another operation unto itself, and even I cannot tell you how she managed to knot all the strands together in one fastener. I must say both came out beautifully, regardless of any personal bias!

Blue Heart Necklace

Lake View

Ohio History

Sun on Caesar Creek

It was almost mesmerizing to watch the cloud reflections sail across the sky blue water. The wind picked up and rippled across the reflections, blending the distant trees into the sky. My only wish was for a boat to sail across Caesar Creek Lake to the far shore. A sunny sky makes such a difference in the appearance of a lake. I have seen lakes too many times under gray, rainy skies, and a bit of sunshine and blue sky simply transforms a lakeside view.