The remnants of Hurricane Isaac blew through my area over Labor Day weekend, giving us some much-needed rain.

Not what the old-timers call a drought-buster, but we’ll take what we can get.

It’s the “side effects” we can do without — you know, the lightning and thunder, tornadoes and wind.

Have you ever been in Church and heard the tornado warning go off? I hadn’t either, until Saturday evening. What better place to be during wicked weather?

Anyway, with a holiday weekend and bad weather roaming around, I powered down the laptop and turned to some beading. Without further ado, I present some of my new creations (and the stories that go with them!):

1) These dangly earrings each feature three 6mm denim blue cat’s eye beads, interspersed with a 4mm hematite bead, antique round silver beads, and an antique silver tube bead in the middle. They remind me of summer — denim usually does — and what better way to celebrate the end of summertime than with beads?

2) This pair is made of seven 4mm rose bicones, interspersed with silver spacers and a silver circle spacer in the middle. This color is just so flattering to most skin tones! They’re light and delicate, and I imagine they’d look perfect worn with shades of blue or black.

3) Native American cultures have long hung dreamcatchers over beds to catch bad dreams in the net and filter good dreams down through feathers to the sleeper. That lovely tradition is what this pair of earrings is based on. I used two faceted turquoise Czech glass beads with a silver spacer in each one and a leverback closure for increased security.

4) More feathers! I saw these silver “feather” dangles at Hobby Lobby one day and they spoke to me. These chandelier earrings are the result. They might look heavy, but they’re incredibly light and make the most delicate whispering sound in your ears when you move your head.

5) A bracelet/earring set in Hematite. This stone is incredibly slick to the touch and is the gem form of iron. When cut or ground, Hematite gives off red dust that runs like blood when mixed with water. People have used this “red ochre” for thousands of years to paint caves and tombs. Here, I separated the Hematite stones with 4mm silver beads on the bracelet and used a toggle clasp. Trust me, it’s heavier than it looks — that’s why the earrings are shorter than I’d usually make!

6) Can you tell the Fighting Irish have been on my mind this weekend?? This pair mixes several different shades and sizes of green beads, silver spacers, and of course, a lucky four-leaf clover dangle. They must have worked because the Irish beat the Navy in Dublin on Saturday, 50-10!