Ocean Beaded Cuff- parts 1 + 2

Awhile back , I told you that my next beaded zipper cuff would have an Ocean theme. Well, i have finished the major beading portion and thought that I would share my progress so far!

First of all , I wanted to show you how I place the zippers. Here is a picture that shows you the genreal idea- I did come along after this picture was taken and added more zippers and trimmed down the fabric portion of the zipper just a bit.

Now for another Ta DA! from To DO!!! Ta Da! Wish that it was that quick, but then it would not be a wonderfully fun and creative original project, would it?? Here is a shot of the finished beading, before I apply the piece to the cuff form and do the beading around the edges to hide the seam between cuff front and cuff back.

Here you can see two detail shots. On this piece, I used some of my personal found treasures. I have incorporated two small pieces of purple clam shell from a Quahog. These wonderful purple pieces are tumbled in the surf and if one is really lucky, they can be found with holes in them! Other sea critters drill holes int he dense shell making them perfect for use as beads, charms or whatever one fancies. As a child I used to discard all of the pieces with 'Worm holes" because I felt that they were not "perfect"- not anymore!!!!! Now my dear Becca, the Purple Picking Queen, knows exactly what mom is looking for and always emerges from the surf with a treasure in hand!!

In this picture , you can see the smallest piece of Wampum (the local Indians used to use the shell as money- the shell bits with the most purple were the most highly valued)- there you have now had your daily history lesson-! The smallest piece that I used is just below and to the left of the purple spiral bead.

The larger piece of wampum can be seen at the bottom right of this detail shot.

the white porcelain button atthe top of this picture is a vintage underwear button- before the days of elastic- you cna tell because of the overly large holes. (that makes two bits of history trivia so far today!) I also used a sea turtle charm, several mother of pearl star beads, a fish bead, a yellow snail shell that I gathered on a beach in Maine when I was 4 or 5, a scallop shell charm and a green porcelain sea horse charm.

The next time you see this piece it will be on it's cuff and completed- soon , I hope- although I have several projects that must take priority, before I can get back to this!

I hope that everyone has a wonderful day! I just got fabulous news that my friends in Victoria Australia ,got a deluge of rain the other day and were finally able to relax a bit about fire dangers!! They have had such a rough summer and my thoughts and prayers continue to be with them!

Peace!