Something from Nothing

I've had this bracelet or cuff structure in my head, but just out of reach, for nearly 2 years now. I've tried a few "false starts" but it just wouldn't come together for me so I kept putting the idea away for "later." Meanwhile, when I would spot "stone tubes" or "cylinders" I'd buy them and add them to my cache because I truly believed I could eventually solve this puzzle.

amazonite, silk, leather, button

Well, I can hardly believe it, but a couple of weeks ago, I finally began to make more serious progress towards bringing this idea from inside my mind out into the "real world"....one of my definitions of making something from nothing.

adventurine, linen, leather, button

moss agate, sterling silver, silk, leather, button

I don't usually complain when in the throes of creation...but I must confess: these are pretty difficult to make so far. I love the way they look, the way they are coming together, how tough and sturdy they are. They definitely pass the comfort test as I think they wear like a wrist watch. With the stash of "tubes" & cool buttons I've collected, there are a lot of variations in pattern and color waiting in the wings.

pietersite, linen, leather, button

But I'm becoming resigned to the fact that there just aren't any easy short cuts to pull them together as they use a bit of sewing, weaving and crochet and incorporate stone tubes, maybe some metal beads, hefty round leather, and silk or linen, plus a button. And there are quite a number of steps. I guess I've made about 10 different ones by now, each time trying to get a little smoother at it, maybe a little faster, but I guess I'm not a machine or a factory so stitch by stitch, and stone by stone, they are brought into the world.

As I write this, they aren't quite in my Etsy shop yet (many other new bracelets have been listed the past few days!) I'm still giving careful thought to sizing although, since many of them are unisex, probably small, medium and large will be the solution to this. But I decided to share these thoughts because it's not often I am inclined to share a bit of the "struggle" behind a given piece or structure so I thought it might be interesting.

Keep cool and have a great weekend!!