See the new inner sleeve on this bangle? It has made the bangle a bit smaller and given it more body, which is most favorable! While giving “Empress Ming’s Cuff” a face lift, I couldn’t help but compare it to the pieces I’ve made lately. Empress Ming was the second geometric piece that I had beaded. It was a learning experience and I had no idea how it would turn out. I truly was experimenting with technique and I didn’t bother to write directions as I went along. Using pre-publication pages available to those who had ordered Contemporary Geometric Beadwork, I learned how to create Wings and Horns, and finished the cuff before CGB arrived in my mailbox! When I received the book, I was off and running, creating three renditions of Sea Dragon wrist wraps, a neck wrap, a Winged bangle and my zigzagged “Safari Cuff”. I look back and wonder how I managed to be so prolific in eight months time, writing tutorials (available in my Etsy shop) for all but one design! I love my “Empress Ming’s Cuff” and will probably design another that is similar, for which I will write a tutorial and offer kits, but I’m so enjoying the patterned work that I’m presently designing. I like the challenge of creating charts that display a variety of colors juxtaposed with free-form patterning against the geometric elements that comprise a piece. That the finished wearables resemble tiny abstract paintings rendered in a multitude of beads is a source of amazement to me!