Highly Unlikely Triangle and Squares

The Highly Unlikely Square and Triangle are based upon the optical illusion known as the impossible triangle of Roger Penrose, made popular by M.C. Escher in the 1950s. The Swedish artist Oscar Reutersvärd drew the first impossible triangle in 1934.

These little beaded objects look nice strung on a piece of cord or chain to be work as a small pendant.

I have a tutorial for the Highly Unlikely Triangle, if you would like to learn to make one yourself. 

Or, if you want to just have one and not make one, all of these pieces are for sale in my Etsy shop.  Click on the photos to go to the listings.  As always, thank for looking!

Wisdom Mandala Pendant with Lapis

I sold a Wisdom Mandala yesterday, which means I got to make another one!

I've been wanting to make one to match this pair of ginkgo leaf earring for a few months, and so I did. Of all of my designs, the Wisdom Mandala is definitely one of my very favorites to make and wear. It has so much detail and sparkle, and you really get to explore complex color pallets when you weave them.

This two-sided pendant is woven from hundreds of tiny seed beads and sparkling Swarovski crystals. It has a natural deep blue lapis in center, surrounded by all tints of silver, gold, purples and black. The mandala hangs from a beaded tube that I strung on a matching piece of silk and cotton cord that I spun on my spinning wheel.

The design is named for the Five Wisdoms in Buddhism. These include the bare non-conceptualizing awareness, mirror-like awareness, awareness of sameness, investigative awareness that perceives the specificity, and the awareness that spontaneously carries out all that has to be done for the welfare of beings, manifesting itself in all directions.

New Tutorial - Solaris Bracelets Made with Beaded Honeycomb Weave

This tutorial on honeycomb weave explains how to make bracelets with beads and thread. Honeycomb weave is a flat angle weave that creates a dense but flexible fabric of seed beads with large holes. The wide, lacy bracelet has circular embellishments (the suns) that run down the center of its length, and matching beaded buttons for the clasp. The tutorial explains how to make both versions of the bracelet, with one button or two.

Honeycomb weave is like right angle weave (RAW), but it is denser and is made with other angles. If you like RAW and want a new challenge, you’ll love this. However, you don’t need to know RAW to follow this tutorial. All you need is seed beads, a few bicones and the desire to try something new. No fancy bead shapes required! This is my fourth tutorial with honeycomb weave.  The others are the Daisy Chain Cable, the Delta Queen Necklace, and the Honeycomb Bracelet.

This tutorial is suitable for intermediate bead weavers with enough design possibilities to entertain advanced beaders. Included is a sheet of honeycomb graph paper so you can make up your own designs.

The tutorial is 22 pages, including over 125 illustrations and photographs. The tutorial is a PDF file that gives complete step-by-step instructions for how to make the bracelets. At the end of this tutorial, I show you a few step photos for a large pendant that uses the same techniques. Click on the photos to go to the listing.  Thanks for looking!