Minibook Earrings- Books 129-144

As most of my friends (and readers) probably know, I have handmade books and jewelry on consignment at a local floral shop called the Urban Orchid.  The owner of the shop lives one street over from me, and the store is a couple blocks away.  It is really convenient for me to stop by and deliver new items to the store, and my things have been selling well.

One night last week I sat down and made a bunch of minibook earrings and beaded bracelets to bring over to the store.  I don't get to make jewelry that often anymore, so it was fun to play with all my different beads.  These little minibook earrings make books 129-144 of my 365 in 2013 Challenge.  I'm over 1/3 of the way through my goal for the year!  Check out all my 365 in 2013 posts here.

Monday Project: Making Bracelets

Since the new year, my schedule has shifted so that I work on Saturdays but get to take Monday off.  Every Monday I settle into a nice comfy chair and pick a project to work on.  This week my Monday project was making bracelets.  Last week I ordered some strands of gemstone beads from Fire Mountain Gems.  They were having a $1 Sale and I like getting some variety in the materials I buy.  Today I had the chance to take the beads off the strands and put them away in my bead containers so they can be used.

I used to make a lot of bracelets in my free time to sell at a weekly summer craft show.  I haven't done that show for a couple years, but I would still pull the bracelets out occasionally to show to individuals.  Several months ago my mother started showing my bracelets to the ladies she works with, and slowly my stash of bracelets started disappearing.  So, I needed to start making bracelets again!  At this point my stash has gotten down to only about a dozen bracelets, not including the ones made today.

Today I made four bracelets.  The first one uses white ceramic beads with a blue floral design and vintage blue glass beads.  The second bracelet has long grey rectangular stone beads and small hematite chips.  The third bracelet alternates large pink gemstone chips and large green gemstone chips.  The fourth bracelet has small brown stone chips and round yellow gemstone beads.