Candy Swirl Buttons and Blends

Our flip flop jewelry has a new look this year.  I've been playing around with all types of striped blends and here are a few of the pendants.

This batch was made using the six-step color blend and need the straps added yet before finishing.

I love making lentil swirls from the left-over pieces and here is a batch I made into buttons ready to go into the oven.

Summer all year long

Earlier in the year I made a flip flop type bead for our "Fun in the Sun" themed necklace (see posting in February). We thought they would make cute earrings so I then made a pair (the pink ones shown on the left) to test them out. Well they turned out to be a hit and even though summer has come to an end, I have been getting orders for more of these.

I also decided to experiment a little further and make some matching pendants. I mentioned earlier how I like doing custom orders for people like the ones shown in the photos below. It can seem a little intimidating at first -- worrying whether the color combination will come out all right and meet the expectations of the customer -- but it can also be fun and exciting.

Anyhow, this summer seemed to be shorter and colder than usual and now it is over for another year but when I'm making these flip flops it puts me in a summery mood and I can imagine sitting at the beach hearing the ocean waves and soaking up the sun.