Rope Bezel Update

Tree Agate with chenille rope bezel

Here's the finished product. I showed you a picture of a beautiful tree agate bead I wanted to bezel with a chenille rope in my post More Uses for Beaded Ropes .  I'm very pleased with the way it turned out, but I'll never use chenille stitch for a bezel again.  It just doesn't offer a good configuration for placing beads to close in the cab.

With the bezel around it, a scene seemed to pop out of the bead.  I see a valley framed with trees and bushes.  I hadn't noticed anything but beautiful marbling before.  Strange what a frame will do for a picture.

Blue Opal with tri-RAW rope bezel and strap

Here's the finished blue opal with the tri RAW rope bezel and tri RAW rope neck strap.  I'm in the process of creating a tutorial for this one.

Next on my bead mat is a very irregular chunk of malachite that I'm going to try to bezel with a RAW harness and frame with a herringbone rope.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed on this one.  I've tried various bezels on this one and have, so far, been unsuccessful.

ArtBeads Winter Enchantment

I finally finished my project for ArtBeadsWinter Enchantment. I got the closure finished yesterday and have been trying all morning to get good pictures. I might as well have been trying to capture a falling snowflake, but here it is.
The bezel around this 30X40 cameo uses 3mm Swarovski pearls and 3 colors of size 11 delicas.

The double fringe, used to simulate ice cycles, uses the same three colors of delicas, more of the 3mm pearls, 3mm crystal AB druks and 4mm Swarovski crystal AB bicones.

I used crystal AB and pearl white AB delicas with 3mm crystal AB druks to make the snake chain strap.

 I had ordered two opals to transition between the cameo and the strap, but when I got one bezeled and set it beside the cameo I felt like the fantastic pink and gold fire in the opals overwhelmed the cameo, so I bezeled some opalite coins to add to the chain and to make the closure.
The Three Fates now dance merrily in the snow above a frozen waterfall, oblivious to the freezing cold.

The opals and opalite coins are items I haven't used before.  I found the fire in the opals fantastic as I mentioned before.  The opalite coins are very regular and have little to no chipping around the holes.  The holes are smooth and pose no snagging or cutting threat to the bead thread.

The Swarovski components, as always, are beautiful, regular and add fantastic sparkle to any project.  Although I haven't used delicas for bezels before because their cylindrical shape doesn't lend itself to curving around the cab, I found that with a little tweaking of my method they worked great.

I do not receive payment for blogging about ArtBead supplies.  ArtBeads supplies beads and beading material of my choice, free of charge,  from time to time for evaluation.  These statements are my honest opinion of all supplies described.