Grassy's Beaded Abubotz

Briolette Romance

2009-11-03T21:13:00.000-08:00

For this necklace project, I used rose quartz briolette beads, seed beads and buggles, pink Swarovski rondelle crystals and green Swarovski bicone crystals.

This multilayered necklace is actually not heavy but I used toggle clasp instead of lobster clasps to add a little "class" to it.

Tiara for Donata

2009-10-04T20:17:00.000-07:00

When Donata asked me to make a tiara for her, I was in a slight panic. I was clueless on how to make one or where to get materials, all I knew was that it was just a glorified headband, period.

But after a few searches on the net, I saw how easy it is to make one. And being one who likes beating a challenge, I decided to experiment. I used my own pink silver headband to do this one because I couldn't find a base headband to use in some of the bead shops/textile shops I go to. Then using 0.5 mm nickel wire, I strung crystals and pearl around the headband in the pattern shown in the picture.

It was soo easy I decided to make more of these later. Heck, I'll probably make one for myself that I can wear even on ordinary days.. Yipee!!

For Donata's Wedding

2009-09-22T17:45:00.000-07:00

For the entourage, a simple beaded set of necklace and earrings will color them up. :)
My best friend in high school is getting married this coming 4th of October. When she found out that I'm making accessories as a hobby, she asked me to make some for her and her entourage:

Bracelet for the entourage. I used wires, seed beads, amethyst chips, Swarovski and faux peals to make this one,.

Rosy set for the maid-of-honor.

Decorated hairpins for the kids.

Bracelet for the usherettes. I used seed beads, mother of pearls and faux pearls for this.

Using Swarovski rondelles and freshwater pearls, I made this set for the little maid-of-honor.

Me, wearing my abubotz hehe

2009-09-14T23:28:00.000-07:00

Cool Blues and Violets

2009-08-16T18:28:00.000-07:00

Ate Vangie asked me to create a set of necklace, earrings and bracelet for her in blue. :-)j I used button shell and barrel beads connected with 0.5 mm nickel wires and Beadalon string. For earrings, I used apatite barrel beads and amethyst chips and a bit of wire work in the shape of swan (sorry, no macro shot).. For her bracelet, I used similar technique as with my bracelet shown below.. ;-)

I also made a bracelet in plum and violet for moi! :D In this bracelet, I used 1 mm and 0.5 mm nickel wires and plum and violet resin beads.. With a lot of wire work, I was able to make a bangle that can be tighten and adjusted around my wrist. Pretty cool, huh? ;-)

Beading Should Be Made Illegal

2009-04-28T22:23:00.000-07:00

.. and that's because it's so addicting. I spent the whole weekend til yesterday doing a lot of necklace and bracelet projects. I would like to post some pics here but I made tons and I'm too pregnant and too lazy to take photos. Plus the camera I'm using is not high end so I can't make decent macro mode shots. Maybe next time when I'm not drowsy from losing sleep. Sheesh. Lousy isn't it?

On a lighter note, I got orders for the rainbow bracelets and earrings I made a few weeks back. Now people are asking for more. Gosh. If the baby comes out soon, I don't think I will have time to finish them all in time... I'm glad that some people appreciate my work though. Yipee!

Spring and Autumn

2009-04-23T18:47:00.000-07:00

I made two bracelets with matching earrings last night. I can't help it. Beading hobby is addictive! Plus I also tried to make my own cellphone bling. :-)

*Spring bracelet: I used green jade donut as "pot", green cat's eye rondelles as leaves; yellow beads and rose quartz petals as the flowers... *

*Autumn bracelet: Brown seashell chip beads as dried leaves; pearls as pebbles; rose quartz as freshly fallen petal of a flower*

*and my uber cute cellphone bling.. I used different types of beads; connected them using headpins around a stainless chain*

Losing Sleep Over Bracelets

2009-04-22T21:25:00.000-07:00

Last night I stayed up until midnight making bracelets to replenish my dwindling stock.. This week has been a good one for me because I sold a number of earrings and bracelets. Thanks to my loyal clients! Hugs!

Since I'm a newbie, I find making bracelets a tad challenging and a bit more difficult to design than earrings. I remember breaking and losing beads quite a number of times; doing 5-6 knots just to secure elastic but the knots would still unwind until I found out about how useful super glue is; etc. I can name all the disasters during my first attempts at making bracelets but thinking about them makes me want to cry again. :p

But tonight, after reading some articles online on how to make bracelets a few days ago and finding some nice clasps and stringing wires at bead shops, I was able to make a number of bracelets without much difficulty. I did lose a lot of beads when one of the knots got unwound last night after testing the strength with my hands. The stress test for the nylon was too much for it, it snapped and the beads ricocheted everywhere to my horror. It was pretty hilarious. I swore and cussed so loud that my mom woke up and found me crawling on the floor looking for the scattered beads. Imagine a 9-month pregnant woman on all fours, looking for beads in every corner of the house! LOL

So here are the few bracelets I made last night.. I know the designs are very simple. I used half of a clam shell embedded with pearls for background. I bought this in one of the bead shops I go to at only PhP 30. Cheap huh?

*Rainbow Swarovski crystal bracelet with etched coral pendant*

*Tear drop and cubic Swarovski crystal earrings... I used sterling silver for the hook*

*I call this Christmas Tea bracelet: I used Green Cat's Eye beads, red "whatchamacollit" beads and crystal rounded Swarovski crystals*

*Mint green "whatchamacallit" beads; black sandstone beads and leaf-shaped, side-drilled cherry quartz accents*
*Ox-crystal bracelet*

*Macro mode for the crystal-ox bracelet*

*Ox bead earrings*

*My uber messy dining table cum work table*

*New members of my bead family.. hehehe My favorite? All of them! These beads are courtesy of Tintin.. She sent me these via courier a few days ago.. :D*

*Beaded flip flops I made for Tintin*

Grassy's Beaded Abubotz

2009-04-21T17:30:00.000-07:00

Welcome! If you came here searching for some beading ideas, then this site is for you. From now on, I'll be writing my personal experience on this new hobby thatI started about a month ago. I hope that through this site, you'll learn something about beading and encourage you to start designing projects of your own.

A little history here. I love handmade jewelries and trinkets or "abubots" as we call it in Filipino. When I was a teenager, which I swear was not that long a time ago, I would wear plain shirts and jeans without accessories. I was what you would call the wash-and-wear type. People accused me of being a tomboy. Maybe I was. But the real reason behind my "plainness" was that I just couldn't afford to buy accessories of my own. During my student days, I have barely enough money to get me to school I couldn't afford to buy jewelries and other stuffs even if I wanted to. Heck, if not for the scholarship, I wouldn't have been able to finish my study in college. And even with the scholarship grant I got, I still had to work part time to support my parents and siblings financially. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in Geology, I was lucky to have landed a job immediately. But I digress. With the extra money from my first job, I could already afford a few accessories. I would go to some kiosks and purchase some necklace, a few pairs of earrings and bangles I liked. Even so, I only owned a few because accessories are very expensive at that time.

It wasn't until just recently when I realized that making your own accessories is way cheaper and more exciting! With beading hobby, you have total control of your money and the designs that will fit you and your budget. Let me tell you a short story on how I developed my interest on beading.

The day before my dad's flight back to Manila after a three-week long visit here in Mindanao, he decided to buy my mom a few strands of freshwater pearls which the island is famous for. When we got to the shop (since I offered to pay for the pearls), my attention was instantly caught by the brilliance of Swarovski crystals displayed with the pearls and colorful glass beads. I also remember watching a girl in the shop make colorful bracelets out of gold wires, small pliers and Swarovski crystals. I realized then that I too, can make handmade jewelries. That same day I bought a few strands of pearls for myself and my mom, a few Swarovski crystals, wires and pliers. I admit, my first few attempts at making earrings and necklaces resulted to lousy ones. The pearls in one of my necklaces were loosely tied because the clasps broke twice and the earrings were not identical. I tell you, it was hilarious. They were so lousy that I will never post the photos of them here, even if you pay me.. :P

So I tried searching the internet for a few tutorials, bought some beading magazines and asked around for some ideas. I also checked out a few kiosks and shops selling jewelries to check on how clasps and jump rings were used. I learned quite a lot through my bead shop forays and research on the net. Now I knew the difference between wrapped loops and unwrapped loops, jump rings, clasps, etc. I also found out that before you splurge and spend a lot of moolah for beads in one shop, you really have to scout for other shops which sell the same stuffs at lower price.

I could tell you more but I can see that this is long enough already. I will tell you more on my next blog. For now, let me show you a few jewelries and flip flop designs I had made since I started beading about a month ago:

This "I Heart U" summer flip flops is a banana Peel flip flops with white, heart-shaped shell beads, pink-colored mother-of-pearl (i know, it sounds weird to me too) and colorless seed beads. I used a jelly nylon string for this pair. This comes with a matching bracelet (or anklet, if you like).. :-)

Rainbow bracelets: I used 9 colors of bicone Swarovski crystals and connected them using simple and wrapped loops. Wire used is 10K gold. The circular lock and jump ring used is 14 K gold. :-)
A simple pearl hoops made of freshwater pearls, small and red bicone Swarovski crystals and 10 K gold wire. The stringing medium I used is nylon coated gold plated wire, similar to Beadalon wires, only this one is from China.. :-)
Rainbow necklace: I made this necklace using 38 bicone Swarovski crystals (9 colors to match the rainbow bracelet); three faceted medium-size faceted Swarovski crystals; black glasswork etched with pink roses and 10 K gold wire.
This bracelet and earrings set is the cheapest I made in this batch. I used freshwater pearls, violet cubic beads; gold spherical spacers; gold wire for the earrings and jelly elastic nylon size 7 for the bracelet. :-)
To match the pearl hoops I made, I used gold wire, freshwater pearls and red faceted Swarovski crystals to make this bracelet. This is perfect for girls with thin arms.
Capiz shell earrings: I used red, heart-shaped coral beads, freshwater pearls and gold wire for this pair. This pair is perfect for girls with queenly necks. :-)

*pink flip flops adorned with colorful beads and comes with matching bracelet*
*overloaded summer flip flop*

*Queen Abigail Dangling Earrings: Freshwater pearls, pink bicone Swarovski crystals, blue octagonal Swarovski crystals and 10 K gold wires*

*Princess Beverly Dangling Earrings: 10 K gold wire; Rainbow Black Bicone Swarovski Crystals; Red faceted Swarovski Crystals*

*Princess Sandra Dangling Earrings: Blue bicone Swarovski crystals; Blue glasswork bead designed with rose and 10 K gold wires*

*Under the Sea Dangling Earrings: Blue faceted rounded Swarovski crystals, transparent bicone Swarovski crystals, metal clay daisy spacers, metal clay dolphins and 10 K gold wires*

Cheers everyone! :-)