Nightmare Bead Challenge

My first Blog Hop Challange reveal!  Thank you Jennifer Cameron for including me.

 My Nightmare Insomnia bead turned out to be a dream come true. I live where the sage of the high desert meets the granite of the Sierra Nevada and Lake Tahoe waters, my bead is granite grey with sage green and blue spots. What could be better?

 I recently purchased some sage sari cloth, knew I wanted to use that right away, also pulled out silver Krienek braid and C-Lon cord. Went hunting thru my stash for grey silk, I didn't find any but there was white silk organza I'd stamped with black paint. Rip, rip, ribbon! From my bead stash I pulled pale grey size 6 seed beeds, some dark metallic glass pearls that matched the ends of the focal, miscellaneous sage and blue beads and all the bits and pieces of antiqued silver I could find. I kumihimo braided the fibers and the grey seed beads and then sewed the pearls on the braid using the beads as anchors. Great!

All that was left was attaching the focal to the braid. I tried micro macramé and it didn't look right, nor did a beaded bail, I haven't worked with wire . . . Stuck. A few days later, I went to work on finishing the ends of the braid. I tried a couple things, including some silver spacers. Eureka! I worked one of the spacers down to the middle of the braid and I had my bail.  I finished it off with C-Lon cord, making the three framing braids and the fringe. Not crazy about the fringe, but . . . Here is the finished product.

Now to see what every one else created . . .

Beti Horvath: Stringing Fool

Gretchen Nation: Art Food Lodging

Karen Totten: Starry Road Studio

Kathleen Douglas: Washoe Kat's

Keirsten Giles: The Cerebral Dilettante

Kristen Stevens: My Bead Journey

Lola: Bead Lola Bead

Lori Anderson: Pretty Things

Nancy Pederson: Something Heartfelt by Nancy

Pam DeBoer: Purple Notes from the Studio

Rana Wilson: Rana Lea Designs

Shannon Chomanczuk: For My Sweet Daughter