Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Eye Candy


I just finished my Bead Dreams entry yesterday, as usual, running right down to the wire - but I did make the deadline. Barely. Anyway, working on any contest piece means I've been getting out my high end strands for stringing inspiration. I didn't end up using the above in the Bead Dreams piece, but it's such a stunning strand that I thought I'd post a pic on the blog. Here's some malachite I picked up last year. Isn't it gorgeous?

The more I design, the more attracted I am to the less processed stone beads - raw tourmaline, rough-sliced garnet, and this gorgeous rough cut malachite. Mm-mmm.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Wow! Really pretty!

jamberry_song said...

It is wonderful. I think it would be difficult to part with those in a project. But at the same time, oh the possibilities!

Melissa J. Lee said...

I know what you mean. I only have about 4-5 of these special strands in my stash, so I definitely keep them for special occasions, but it's nice to get them out once in a while just to give them a pet!

Andrew Thornton said...

Can't wait to see what you made. Like always, I missed the deadline. "Maybe next year..." as I always say.

And that is a lovely strand. I'm really a lover of raw and rough gemstones as well. I've found that even though in many cases they've just been drilled and are roughly hewn, sometimes they as much or more than its highly faceted brothers and sisters. Still though... there's something magical and I have a few of those "special" strands that are merely for inspirational purposes only.

Melissa J. Lee said...

Hey, Andrew! The deadline was the only thing that motivated me. I was really tempted to skip it, but I've had the idea for my piece in my head since July of last year and, in the end, I thought I'd give it a go. It was my first time opening a packet of metal clay in almost seven months! I'm glad I did - I feel as if I'm getting back in the groove now...

Deanna said...

malachite is my favorite - the color is amazing! Deanna - Skinfizzical.com