Thursday, October 29, 2009

Autumn Inspirations

I absolutely LOVE Fall!

I love the colors, the smells, the sounds, the angle of the sun and the way it lights my yard in the morning and at dusk. I love the foods of autumn, rich stews, warm soups, baking bread and pies. I love building a toasty fire and settling into my chair to bead while I listen to the fire crackling and warming my home. I love sweaters and scarves and boots!

And most of all I love how all of these things inspire my beadwork. It seems every Autumn I am overwhelmed with beady ideas. It is like my Muse just awakens completely when the weather changes to a slight chill in the air. And I always head for these shades of beads:

Here is a bracelet and accompanying tutorial I created inspired by this image:

And a few years ago, I created this necklace, also inspired by that same image and also beaded in the Fall:
I ended up making this project into a kit and it has sold very well for several years now. But just recently I looked at it again and thought it would be fun to make similar leaves (and maybe even in those same colors because they are so freakin' beautiful!) and make a new necklace...maybe a lariat style with the leaves falling down one side that twines around the other side?

I think I need to get a pot of soup on...maybe a nice crusty loaf of bread in the oven? Light a crackling fire and GET THOSE BEADS OUT!