Bob's Dreamcatcher

 Dreamcatchers have long been associated with native culture.  Traditionally Ojibwe (Chippewa), they now span into nearly every tribe...each one putting their own twist to the beautiful craft.

This was done for a friend of mine down on the island.  He wanted a unique piece for his wife's birthday.  All I was given was that it was to be big, she liked purple, and sea shells.

The branches are from the shrubbery right outside my front door, so the hoop creation was the easy part.  The shells are mostly collected right off the beaches in Hatteras Island, with exception of the cowery and little snail like shells from a cannibalized, and very tacky, necklace.  The beads are all glass in shades of purple and green (being his favorite color).  And the feathers are pheasant, guinea hen, and wild turkey.  As for the size, it's a bit over a foot at the widest spot.

More Double Earrings! This Time in Pheasant

There's not much to write on here about the new feather earrings.  I have a small collection of pheasant feather and guinea hen to do crafts with, and while all of these are in pheasant...the others are soon to come.

 The earwires are still surgical steel, but plated in gold or silver.  I've never been fond of gold personally, but they seem to look very nice on some of the stone combinations

 One of these days, I shall make several of each design, but for now I'm just trying out different color combinations.

While they are somewhat easy to do, and it's fun to have conversations on Skype while I'm working, they still can take a bit of time.  The most delicate part is making sure the feathers are facing the correct direction before they're set.

Feather Earrings!

While the painted earrings are a lot of fun, it's very trying on my patience to do a nice set.  So I figured I'd just try my hand at some simpler styles.

The single feathers were easy enough, and then I found a way to make some really nice ones with double strands of beads.  Some of them have semi-precious stones, and some are just beads and shell.  But they make me really happy.  And a shout out to my mother for finding me feathers and beads that are beautiful to work with.  Thanks mom!