I did this bag for a friend, and being as animals are not my gig, I really struggled with the design. Her name is "Gretchen the Gorgeous Giraffe" and you can almost feel her fur. She is made using delica beads, tiger eye chips, beads and crystals in the fringe. It was really fun once the design was down on paper. (40k)

Here's the picture of sequin applique I was talking about last night. I was just playing around to see how fast it went...most of my work isn't applique. I'm thinking it would look good sewn on a denim or velvet jacket or something like that. (50k)

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You might recognize the pattern because it is a project from Nicolette Stessen's Beaded Amulet Purses book. It looks different because of the different color choices and the pattern is slightly modified (two beads per heart are changed). This pouch was done entirely in brick stitch with 2 and 4-bead pickup (fretting ) edging. The ruffle hides the seams on the sides. I thought it looked like one of those pillows you put on a girl's bed. (60k)

The first, which won first place in the Lane County Fair, is a muslin amulet pouch, lined with a rayon in deep colors. The piece is embroidered with a dragon and the chinese symbol for "wisdom". The fringe on the sides is made from embroidery thread, snipped into segments about two inches long, separated into groups of three strands apiece, and then individually tied by hand. Gold bugle beads line the seams. The photos don't show the closure I added later. The fringe on the bottom of the bag contains freshwater pearls, seed beads, and feathers. It hangs from a silk cord, with some bugles added to catch the light. It was a graduation gift to a friend of mine. (25k)

The second, which placed second in the fair, is my favorite. It was also made as a graduation gift for a closer friend of mine the same year. It is a leather pouch with a drawstring-type closure to the top, made of strips of leather. The embroidery on the piece is the red dragon of Wales on the background of an elaborate keltic knot. The top part of the knot doesn't show too well, as it is in white, but it is a mirror image of the bottom. The green and white background also come from the flag of Wales, as my friend is very proud of his Welsh heritage.The embroidery was added to a leather bag lined in acetate, and freeform beadwork covers the seam between embroidery and leather. The beadwork contains black seed beads, some round metal beads, some 17th century brass enamel beads (the striped red and brass ones in the photo), onyx, hematite, and garnet chips (my friend's birthstone is the garnet). Also, the coin which hangs from the back of the piece has garnets and more black seed beads hanging from it. I couldn't tell you what the coin is, the folks at my bead shop didn't even know where it had come from, but it has a swirling pattern on it that calls to mind the knotwork, so I picked it up. =) The colors are less "orangey" than the photo shows, and the entire piece is about the size of a deck of cards. (20k)

Shala sent this scan of her new Lamia bag (a lamia is a female vampire) and for fun she sent along pics of the first two amulet bags she ever did for comparison. You've come a long way baby! I have to say that I really like the old bags too! (40k)