Beaded Pendants and Brooches

I've decided to make some smaller beaded items so I can finish them faster, get them into my Etsy shop sooner, and of course since I can do them with fewer beads and less time, I can offer them for a lower price. Beadwork is labor intensive, which is why it usually carries a high price tag. It may take 5 minutes to cut out a heart brooch, but 50 hours to sew all the beads onto it and finish it with a cord to hang from. And of course some beads are very pricey.

Wire Cage Pendants

I redesigned my pagan shop http://www.hypnotic.etsy.com and added the wire cage pendants. I got really good feedback from the people I showed them to over the weekend. Men and women both like them and how often does that happen?

Beaded Mobile

Once upon a time there was a beading contest and I in my infinite wisdom decided to make a beaded mobile. Half way into it I realized I'd never finish in time for the contest and the poor thing got abandoned hanging in the shower of the guest bathroom looking all cockamamie. Months went by. Finally today I tell myself I can whip that together in no time. Five hours later I was done. It is now hanging over my head literally instead of metaphorically. I now have so many hours invested in it that I can't sell it for less than $200, and who is going to pay that? So I guess it's now in my permanent collection where most of my creations reside.

If however you want to tackle such a beast, it is a great use for all those one of a kind earrings you made and all those pendants you bought here and there hoping to make into necklaces someday.

What saved me was the wire coils around the bamboo which act as both balancers and spacers.