Years ago we traveled to the Big Island of Hawaii and visited Waikoloa Village where there’s a large hotel resort.
The resort is just beautiful with sprawling pools, lush tropical gardens, amazing architectural sculptures, and of course it’s right on the beach. They even have dolphins there!
Waikoloa Village is the inspiration for this bead collection. I used colored glass in shades of lavender, blue, aqua and turquoise with bits of bright orange for a pop of color here and there.
One of my favorite places to visit is the central California coast. The weather is cooler, it’s very green, and there are quaint little towns dotted all up and down Hwy 1.
Cambria is one of those little towns and was the inspiration for this set of beads. The pale blue-grey colors and sandy ivory hues are soft, pretty and naturally neutral-toned.
I have a tendency to gravitate toward more muted, natural colors most of the time, but every now and then I like to do something different with a color I haven’t worked with in a while.
This time the color was a beautiful soft cherry. I love this color glass because it’s not too bright and it’s more of a blue-based red, rather than a tomato-y orange based red.
Speaking of blue, this is one of red’s most complimentary colors so I incorporated bits of it into this set with some reactive silver glass.
It all started with a similar set of beads I made out of EDP. I had so much fun making that set I knew I’d have to create another, but this time in a different color.
I’m such a sucker for anything shimmery or sparkly, so when I get to use pearly luster dust on every bead I am in heaven!
These beads are of a very nice medium size (13mm x 15mm) making them extremely versatile for use in either a necklace, bracelet or drop earrings. You can even make a matching 3 piece jewelry set by adding your own additional beads and findings. So many choices! 😀
Who else on the west coast woke up at 2am to watch the Royal Wedding live on TV? I for one was not about to miss this historic event!
After all, I have such fond memories of waking up very early as a young girl to watch Princess Diana marry Prince Charles. I was thrilled my two daughters wanted to wake up at “o’dark hundred” to share this special occasion with me as well. I hope it is something they’ll never forget.
Sure, I could’ve recorded it and watched it later, but there is something about seeing it live with the rest of the world that was so exciting. 😀
I was really inspired by all the rich gold tones in Prince William’s uniform, the amazing decor of Westminster Abbey and in the beautiful wedding photos taken at Buckingham Palace. So much decadence!
I tried to capture that stunning opulence in this collection of beads named ‘Godiva’.
CCGlassArt 