It’s taken a while but…
I have FINALLY finished my second bead-embroidered cuff and I’ve learned several valuable lessons while stitching this project. I’ve learned that small focal stones, beads, pearls, or whatever tiny accent pieces you may have on your cuff take much more time to stitch around, especially irregular focal pieces – in this case tiny bronze metal clay stars with five points that added many extra hours of beading time. My first cuff, which seems far more elaborate with its scalloped edge, actually took less time to stitch. This second cuff is deceiving – it appears to be a simple design with its smooth edges, but it entailed far more work, hundreds of extra beads, and many more hours to complete. But I’m very pleased with the outcome and have titled this piece “Mysterious Constellation”. My handmade resin cabochon contains a miniscule puzzle piece that seems to be floating in space with rich tones of orange, fuchsia, and green amidst a backdrop of gold foil. I will very much enjoy wearing this cuff, but believe me, the next bead embroidered cuff I make will be composed of far larger focal pieces and embellishments!
Barbara Briggs Designs 
Your bracelet is lovely, and I think the extra work was definitely worth it, but I understand better now how the choice of elements determines the difficulty of the design. Thanks for sharing this!
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They say that experience is the best teacher and I’ve certainly learned by doing. The next cuff will have big embellishments and they will not have pointed corners! I’m wearing the cuff right now and I love it, but when I’m working on a project I prefer immediate gratification!
Barbara http://www.barbarabriggsdesigns.com Blog: http://www.barbarabriggsdesigns.wordpress.com Etsy: http://www.barbarabriggsdesigns.etsy.com
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Hey, barbara, read this post twice and had time to think in between…I think that the items you added to the first cuff may have been larger and closer together also, making it “easier”! I am doing my second cuff right now and it was totally unplanned except for the focal and the colors. I am learning alot from doing it… I think perhaps a bit more planning would be helpful to me, but when I tried to plan, I felt too inexperienced. So it is a learning process no matter what!! I love both of your cuffs, but the first is my favorite…I love the scalloped edges and the many gold “smashed round” beads you made/added.:~)
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Thank you, Pam! I love the first cuff, but with the many bronze pieces and scalloped edges, it is far dressier looking. I’ll probably get a bit more wear out of the second cuff, which although it has many more crystals and seed beads, appears to be less dressy.
Barbara http://www.BarbaraBriggsDesigns.com blog: http://www.barbarabriggsdesigns.wordpress.com Etsy: http://www.barbarabriggsdesigns.etsy.com
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Barbara, all your work is beautiful and inspiring, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts—that is so generous and beautiful of you.
haydee
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Thank you, Haydee!. This world can definitely use more beauty so helping others create beautiful things is very rewarding.
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This is absolutely beautiful! A job well done and worthy of all the praise you are sure to receive 🙂
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Thank you, Jen!
Barbara http://www.barbarabriggsdesigns.com Blog: http://www.barbarabriggsdesigns.wordpress.com Etsy: http://www.barbarabriggsdesigns.etsy.com
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Hi, Barbara,
Your work is sooo beautiful! I love this cuff and can see that it is a lot of work!
What if you were to anchor the stars onto a beaded background and not bead around them? They would sit a bit above the background and might even stand out nicely. However, on second thought, the points just might catch on your clothing. So you probably already rejected this idea!!
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Thank you, Mary! Talk about a lethal weapon…yes, those star points would be impaling anything and everything they came near. I had to make sure they were glued down firmly to prevent any disasters!
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