The Bead Soup Blog Party - 2nd Reveal!!

Tomorrow (August 11th) is the 2nd Reveal for Lori Anderson's Bead Soup Blog Party!!!  I can't wait to see all of the gorgeous creations!

Just click on the picture, and you will be taken to Lori's blog to view a list with links of all of the participants!

Have fun hopping!

Bead Porn

I wrote in a previous post that I am donating 75 bracelets to the Rare Project Organization, as part of the 7000 Bracelets of Hope Campaign.  You can read about my post here.  I commissioned the very talented Sue Kennedy (Sue Beads) to make me 50 sets of lampwork beads in shades of blues and greens.  Here are some of her lovely, drool-worthy bead sets that I am working with:

The lentils in the front of my photo are drop dead gorgeous!

Each of the bracelets are adjustable, which kind of limits my ability to use some of the gorgeous toggles that I have in my stash.  I am using a length of chain and either a handmade hook or S-type clasp, or a lobster clasp.  It was also requested that I include a charm on each bracelet - some say "hope", some say "faith", and others say "believe". 

I am about 3/4 of the way complete.  I would say that about 70% of the bracelets made are in sterling silver, and the others are in antique bronze.  I only have one copper bracelet!  I have had a terrible time finding copper charms, and my O.C.D. will not allow me to put a silver or pewter charm on a copper bracelet!  I must get past this dilemma.

When I need a break from the blue, I buy beads in other colors, too!  Such as these beauties:

These are definitely NOT blue....LOVE THESE!

The black and white beauties above are from Pebbledreams on Etsy.  The lovely and extremely talented Lesley Watt posts her jewelry on Facebook and always share her wonderful sources.  I have been buying more and more beads from Great Britain lately!  Thank  you, Lesley!

The next three pictures are of beads I purchased from GlassBeadArt on etsy.  Maryse lives in Luxembourg.  I found her through the 5th Bead Soup Blog Party (thank you Lori Anderson!) 

Gorgeous southwestern colors!

These are stunners!  Love the earth tones here!

I call these Cotton Candy - such a soft pink --- with icing!

I saved the best bead picture for last - these are truly a work of art!  They are also from GlassBeadArt.

I cannot describe how beautiful the blue glass shines through on these beads!  I bought a pair a while ago, made a simple pair of earrings (I wanted the beads to shine!), and they sold on Etsy in 2 days!  They are that beautiful!  I like the beads so much that I bought some more!

Well, back to my bracelets!  Have you bought any beautiful beads lately?  I love to find new sources!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

The 6th Bead Soup Blog Party - Reveal!

Yay!  It's gonna be a busy weekend!  Today is the first reveal date for Lori Anderson's wonderful Bead Soup Blog Party!  I had so much fun at the last party!  But this time, I had Lori herself as my partner! For this, I am truly grateful!  I would like to thank random.org (or whatever method of choice she used) for this blessing!  Lori gifted me with this wonderful, abundant assortment of beady goodness:

I will tell you - I do not use fiber (except, recently, I have made many, many bracelets using fiber and seed beads, thanks to the tutorial posted by the lovely and talented Lesley Watt--find the easy-peasy tut here)! That is not to say that I don't have tons of fiber in my stash..... I tried SO HARD to use the red faux suede, the natural colored waxed cotton, and the gorgeous purple cording, but I failed! I am sorry Lori!  BUT, I did have some turquoise colored waxed cotton cording that I did use in one of my final pieces.

Since there are so many other blogs to visit, here goes:

Click on the pictures for a larger view:

I made a handmade, balled-silver head pin, which I wired through 3 of the small, pewter clasps that Lori gifted me (this focal is stunning!)  I attached the 3-pewter rings to a sterling silver curved tube - it made a nice bail, I think.

Lori's handmade (yes...she made them-I am so honored to receive them) turquoise lampwork beads, along with the focal by Juls Cannon match PERFECTLY to lampwork beads I happen to have on hand, made by the uber-talented Maryse Fritzsch-Thillens (GlassBeadArt on Etsy).  It was a match made in heaven, I tell you!  I was also able to use two of the pewter connectors that Lori sent - I punched one hole in them to attach the strand of beads, and the focal.

Lori also made this awesome, clasp - with her bead!  I wanted to "match" the wire work, so I fashioned a clasp - AND, here is where I used the waxed linen cord!  I hurt my head figuring out how to do this, but I think it works!  Here is the entire necklace:

I had two of Lori's lampwork beads left, so I played around with some very heavy gauge silver, some solder, a little wire work, and made these matching earrings (I LOVE this look!):

Next, I used the Czech glass beads, the natural wooden beads, more pewter connectors, and the pewter clasp (love the size of this clasp, by the way) to make a bracelet:

I really love the dangles!  The purple leaves really pull out the purple in the Czech glass:

Finally, I made fun and funky pair of earrings, which I know my niece Rachel will scarf up!

These are quite long, and Rachel looks so good in this style of earring!

So this is everything I made!  I almost used everything...and I learned that I MUST WORK ON MY FIBER TECHNIQUES! 

A HUGE thank you to Lori for hosting this event!  I cannot even begin to imagine the administrative nightmare that must come with her hosting duties!

Thank you so much for stopping by, and your comments are truly appreciated!  Here is a list of the other participants for this leg of the hop!

Hostess, Lori Anderson, PrettyThingsBlog.com

Alice Craddick, Alice's Beads and Baubles

Alicia Marinache, All The Pretty Things

Amanda Tibbetts, Amanda Made

Amber Dawn Goldish, Inventive Soul

Annita Wilson, AW Jewelry

Beti Horvath, Stringing Fool

Birgitta Lejonklou, Create With Spirit

Candida Castleberry, Spinning Spun Sugar

Carolyn Lawson, Carolyn's Creations

Cassie Donlen, Glass Beadle

Cheri Reed, Creative Designs by Cheri

Cheryl McCloud, One Thing Leads to Another

Cheryl Roe, BeadRoe

Christina Hickman, Vintage Treasures Jewelry

Christine Hendrickson, Clamworks

Cilla Watkins, Tell Your Girlfriends

Cindy Wilson, Mommy's Dream

Cindy Wimmer, Sweet Bead Studio

Cory Celaya, Art With Moxie

Cory Tompkins, Tealwater Designs

Cris Peacock, Cris' Page

Cynthia Deis, Shiny Little Things

Cynthia Machata, Antiquity Travelers

Cynthia Wainscott, Exotic Peru

Dana Hickey, Magpie Approved

Dana James, Dana's Jewelry Designs

Dana Lang, Tumblestone Handmakery

Debbie Price, Green Shoot Jewellery Designs

Denielle Hagerman, Some Beads and Other Things

Diane Valasek, Dragonfly Close

Doris Stumpf, Glaszwerg

Dyanne Everett-Cantrell, Dee-Liteful Jewelry Creations

Elaine Robitaille, Too Aquarius

Eleanor Burian-Mohr, The Charmed Life

Enikö Fabian, Perl-eni

Erin Prais-Hintz, Treasures Found

Heather Davis, Blissful Garden Beads

Heidi Post, Ex Post Facto Jewelry

Hilary Frye, FryeStyle

Ilenia Ruzza, Ilenia's Unique Beaded and Painted Jewelry

Inge von Roos, Inge's Blog

Jami Shipp, Celebrating Life

Jayne Capps, Mama's Got to Doodle

Jean A. Well, Jean A. Wells Handcrafted Artisan Jewelry

Jean Yates, Snap Out of It Jean! There's Beading to Do!

Jennifer Cameron, Glass Addictions

Jennifer Pottner, Rock Candy Beads

Jennifer VanBenschoten, Jewelry, Art and Life

Jenny Davies-Reazor, Jenny Davies-Reazor

Jenny Vidberg, Shyme Design

Jessica Dickens, My Jewelry, My Life, Me

Jessica Klaaren, Beadful-Things by Jessica

JJ Jacobs, Coming Abstractions

Joan Williams, Lilruby Jewelry

Judith Johnston, Judith Johnston

Judy Riggs, Rigglettes

Judy Turner, Silver Rains

Julie Anne Leggett, The Peaceful Bead

K Hutchinson, Jumbled Hutch

Karen Meador, Dreamcatcher Ranch

Karyn Bonfiglio, Plus Size Bangles

Katherine Gale, Terra Beadworks
Kathleen Lange Klik, Modern Nature Studio

Katja Benevol Gabrijelcic, Slovonske Technobe

Kelli Jacobson, Creative Moon

Kelly Ramstack, Adventures with Kelly

Keri Lee Sereika, Pink Lemonade

Kim Ballor, Vitamin C... A Daily Dose of Creativity

Kim Bender-Hora, KimmyKat

Kirsi Luostarinen, Kirsi Luo Korut

Kitty Bozzini, Kitty Lampwork

Laura Demoya, The Bead Therapist

Laurie Hanna, Laurie's Jewelbox

Leah Curtis, Beady Eyed Bunny

Lesley Watt, The Gossiping Goddess

Linda Inhelder, Must-Haves Jewelry

Linda Landig, Linda's Bead Blog & Meanderings

Lisa Liddy, Metal Me This

Lori Dorrington, Lori's Adventures in Etsy Land

Lori Poppe, Adventures in Creativity with Lorillijean

Mallory Hoffman, For the Love of Beads

Marge Beebe, Rock Creek Creations

Marianna Boylan, Pretty Shiny Things

Marion Simmons, Shade Tree Studio

Marla Gibson, Spice Box Design

Marta Weaver, Marta Weaver Jewelry

Marti Conrad, Marti C's Clay Blog

Maryse Fritzsch-Thillens, GlassBeadArt, Lampwork Beads

Melanie Brooks, Earthenwood Studio

Michelle Hardy, Firefly Visions

Mikala Coates, Maybe Just Perhaps

Mowse Doyle, HoCArt

Nan Emmett, Spirit Rattles - Spirited Earth

Nancy Boylan, Snazzy Doodle Designs

Nancy Peterson, Beading From the Heart

Nicole Rennell, Nicole Rennell Designs

Niki Meiners, 365 Days of Craft

Niky Sayers, Silver Nik Nats

Norma Turvey, Moonlit Fantaseas
Paige Maxim, Paige Maxim Designs
Pamela Gangler, She Always Loved Pink

Patricia Johnson, Patricia L. Johnson Glass Art

Patti Vanderbloemen, My Addictions ... Handcrafted Jewelry by Patti <-You are here!

Perri Jackson, Shaktipaj Designs

Raida Disbrow, Havana Beads

Renetha Stanziano, Lamplight Crafts

Shannon Hicks, Falling Into the Sky

Shannon LeVart, Miss Fickle Media

Sharon Driscoll, Right Turn Art Werks

Shelby Foxwell, Sundown Bead Designs Rhetoric

Shelley Graham Turner, Fabric of My Life

Sherri Stokey, Knot Just Macrame

Shirley Moore, Beads and Bread

Skylar Bre'z, Brising Beads

Stacie Florer, Soul to Substance

Stacie Stamper, Park Avenue

Stacy Alderson, Iridal's Attic

Stephanie Haussler, Pixybug Designs

Stephanie Stamper, Rainy Day Designs

Sue Hamel, The Bottle Cork and Crystal

Suzette Bentley, Ellie's Bijoux

Szarka, Magpie Gemstones

Tammy Jones, Jewelry Making Daily

Tania Tebbit, Glass, Craft, & Artful Goodness

Tanty Sri Hartanti, TJewellicious by Tanti

Terry Matuszyk, Pink Chapeau

Tina Bosh, Every Good and Perfect Gift

Tracy Bell, Copper, Glass and Recycled Trash

Vonna Maslanka, Just Vonna

Crafter's Devotional - Progress?

I am continuing to practice methods, as described in the Crafter's Devotional book, to spark my creativity.  I bought a Journal - and I actually wrote my first entry!  My handwriting leaves very little to be desired.  I know that when I re-visit my journal entries down the road, I will not be able to read my thoughts!  But...it is progress!

One way I am trying to boost my creativity is to revisit jewelry I have made in the past - to evaluate the design, my skill level (or lack thereof), etc, to try to improve on what I am creating. 

So last year sometime, I acquired these gorgeous red/gold lampwork beads from Unicorne Beads - I just love these colors together!  At the time, the only metal I worked with was silver, so I made this necklace:

Even the large -- and I mean large -- focal bead was silver.  But, it sat in my Etsy shop - I don't think it even was viewed!  And, this sucker was heavy!!  So, I took it apart (I save my silver scraps and send them off for credit to Rio Grande) - and I made this instead:

Click on pictures for a larger view!

I know...not the best pictures!  I used Vintaj wire, and wired a few tiny Czech glass beads and red wooden round beads to the bracelet.  I really think the Vintaj and tiny antique bronze fittings complement the lampwork better than the silver!

I still have 29 bracelets left to make for my 75-bracelet donation to the 7000 Bracelets for Hope Campaign.  The event is to be held on September 27th - wish I could go!  This is such a worthy cause!   It is getting harder and harder to make each bracelet unique!  But, this is also inspiring me to create, for sure!

There is one other thing that has truly sparked my creativity for sure!  Remember this glorious mix of beads?  They are the beads I received from Lori Anderson for the 6th Bead Soup Blog Hop! 

Here is a peak at what I made:

My reveal date is this Saturday - July 28th.  I do hope you will come by to see what I cooked up with this soup!  Till then....

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Crafter's Devotional-Trying to Spark my Creativity

Elisabeth (Beads for Busy Gals) and Patty (My Life Under the Bus) seem to be in the same boat that I am....I seem to have lost my inspiration, which led me to think "did I ever really have any inspiration in the first place?:  Scary thoughts...

So, I joined their group aptly entitled Crafter's Devotional (click on Elisabeth's link above to read about it). I bought the book from Amazon.com, because I am the laziest person in the world and HATE driving anywhere in Northern Virginia.  Those who live in this area feel my pain.  I received the book the other day.  While I have not had a ton of time to read it, I have paged through it.  The book tells me to "Write a Journal".  Hello?  Do you know how long it took me to just start this blog????

But, I actually got in my car, went to Staples, and bought a Journal today.  It's plain - not decorative by any means, and it may even stay that way.  But it's a start.  I even have thoughts of what my Journal posts will include.  Of course, until I actually sit down and write in it, they are just thoughts.

But, I am proud of myself nonetheless...'cause I bought a Journal.