Sunday, September 4, 2016

Olympic Challenge!

If you know me, you know that I'm a HUGE Olympic JUNKIE!  I watch as much as possible!  I mean seriously - how often do we get to watch diving, synchronized swimming, rhythmic gymnastics AND Michael Phelps all in 1 week?!  Yeah - silence.  So, when Melissa Trudinger proposed doing a piece that honors this 1 in 4 year wonderment, I was IN!

Now, lemme be honest.  I have ordered some other pieces that when they come - will be going in to a another piece - but for now.... THESE gems are some of my favoritest pieces of USA.  (Btw - I'm SUCH a freak that my family bought me mittens with "GO" and "USA" on each hand).  I tried something a little different - adding in some cording with the stars, which I think add just a little pizzazz.  I'm still working on my earrings - in terms of upping the ante - and not just making them.... simple and boring - if that makes sense.  SO - here they are! =)  Enjoy!  I'd love to hear your thoughts!

 

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Saturday, July 16, 2016

Creative Spark! WOOHOO!

Hey Y'all - Now that some of the excitement of the next issue of Creative Spark has simmered a bit - I thought I'd crank it up again. =)  As a reminder: Creative Spark is an E-mag featuring products from ZNetShows.  They have just redone their website and it's ON FLEEK!!  SOOO much better than the previous version - WOW!

This time, I was chosen to make some jewelry - Hooray!  I got to play with their sea glass tubes, their NEW 3x2mm crystals and their AWESOME sea glass nuggets!




You can see MY pieces, below the magazine - including their item codes so YOU can check out the exact pieces I used (and get some for yourself!)





My necklace design came very quickly to me.  I love the idea of the tubes swelling and contracting around the neck.  The crystals were the perfect addition, to add just a touch of sparkle and interest.  One thing I did find, is that the small tubes may require smaller headpins.  They are tiny little holes.  I absolutely LOVE the piece and when it's on - it's even more fun and interesting.

Necklace codes:
RS274-47AB     Chinese crystal designer glass rondelle Beads faceted 47AB-Opaque Sky Blue AB (about 150-pc-str) 
RS274-46AB     Chinese crystal designer glass rondelle Beads faceted 46AB-Opaque Blue Opal AB (about 150-pc-str)  
RS274-43AB     Chinese crystal designer glass rondelle Beads faceted 43AB-Opaque Seafoam Green AB (about 150-pc-str)
S93-B01     Cultured Sea Glass tube Beads 01-Crystal (strand length 8 inches)       14x4mm
S81-B01     Cultured Sea Glass tube Beads 01-Crystal (strand length 8 inches)       about 9x4mm
S92-B01 - Cultured Sea Glass tube Beads about 6x4mm 01-Crystal (strand length 8 inches) 













The bracelet started as a much different idea, but in the end, I love the way that it turned out.  I used the nuggets as a starting point.  When I think of sea glass, I always think of pearls - so I added a sweet little strand of pearls - but it was still missing something.  So, I went to my supply of ribbons and found some lovely, soft and wispy yellow silk, to add.  The silk kind of ties everything together and adds a touch of whimsy to the piece. 

Bracelet codes:
S38-B39     Cultured Sea Glass nugget Beads 39-Periwinkle Changes -periwinkle blue color (7-pc-str)
S38-B84     Cultured Sea Glass nugget Beads 84-Lemon (7-pc-str)
S38-B88     Cultured Sea Glass nugget Beads 88 - Light Aqua `Coke` bottle Seafoam (7-pc-str)
S38-B06     Cultured Sea Glass nugget Beads 06-Blossom Pink (7-pc-str)






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Thursday, June 23, 2016

Here we go again.....

Hey Y'all -
I took a break from blogging so that my AWESOME Swap N Hop pieces would have some of their own time and space... well...the time has come to move on. =) 

And now for my next trick!  Not really - but you know - gotta make it exciting.  I was involved with an AWESOME challenge where we were sent handcrafted ceramic beads and a mystery bead in clay.  Our job was to combine all the pieces into a necklace, earrings and bracelet. 

This set was a struggle for me, mostly because I felt a little "ocean themed" out, which I didn't even know was possible.  BUT! I think I did a pretty smashing job, if I do say so myself. 

Beads were provided by Firefly Design Studio and Tealwater Designs

What we were sent (I chose the sandy brown set)


All of the pieces I made

The necklace features Amazonite and white AB seed beads, which spell "Ahoy" in Morse code


This little guy was an adventure.  Never use embroidery floss to crochet beads.  UGH!

These little friends were the most popular of my pieces.  Swarovski crystals make ANYTHING more awesome!


And finally.....a key chain.  Byzantine chainmaille
Thanks for checking out my pieces!  I'm pretty happy with them and I can't wait to wear them!  Hooray!!



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To be sure you don’t miss out on any of my crazy adventures, you can sign up to follow my blog by email or news servers using the links in the right column of my page. You can also follow me on Facebook get updates about blog posts, my latest jewelry designs, show schedule, and other happenings!
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Sunday, May 15, 2016

2016 2nd Annual Bead Peeps Swap N Hop REVEAL!


What do you get when you take 80ish, awesome jewelry designers, give them a partner, have them swap beads and make something?  The 2nd Annual Bead Peeps Swap N Hop!

First - lemme give a shout out to each person who has worked hard, send beads, anxiously waited by their mailbox, worked hard to make something and even harder to write a blog post.  Without YOU, this wouldn't be possible!

Second - A HUGE shout out to my partner, Natalie Davidson of http://www.northshoredays.com, for sending me an INCREDIBLY generous package of goodies, encouraging me and being a good friend - even if I accidentally called at 4am.  =)

Ok - on with the goods!

Natalie told me that the theme of my goodies was "flight"

So, I started with an INCREDIBLE package from Natalie.  She sent ALL OF THIS - including but not limited to:
- Malaysian pearls
- Turquoise, blue matte and a variety of green glass beads (drool worthy!)
- Cathedral cut, green czech beads
- A package of Natalie-made beads - including an ombre of turquoise beads, a feather focal and butterfly toggle
- BEAUTIFUL orange lampwork beads
- Sinful turquoise rondelles
- Lovely foiled beads from Thailand
- A GORGEOUS crystal wrapped focal
- Sweet blue and green wire - which was SUPER slippery
- Awesome flowers
- STUNNING NZ Paua shell beads and focal
- Some itty bitty serpentine heishi beads
AND
- A slew of sweet charms - a feather, a butterfly (which she made!), dragonflies, itty bitty birdies, hummingbirds

PLUS
A tote bag (how did she know that I LOVE bags?!), magnetic bookmarks - which I LOVE AND some quite "interesting" white chocolate (which I also LOVE)....with lemon and pop rocks inside.

Can you say....SPOILED?! 

****You can click on any photo to see a larger version*****

Natalie's photo is MUCH better than mine =)



I was kinda overwhelmed.  So, I decided to just focus on the theme....flight.  I'd start something...look for supplies to finish and then...couldn't find anything I wanted - which happened a few times.  (Shocker =) ) SO - as the time was drawing near...things were getting desperate...so I did what any good designer would do....  I went through my stash.

I found a few of this and a few of that...nothing really spoke to me....until I found....a wing!  YES! Wings go with flight!   I was on to something!  Yellow goes with turquoise....and the wing has turquoise in it....eeek!  Here we go.....

(As a side note: one of my goals for this hop, is to learn something new.  I have used 4 new techniques between my necklace - daisies, S links, making the clasp bar, and I've never made the type of bracelet with those materials)

This piece features Natalie's handmade clasp and ombre beads.  My handmade S links and daisies, and the INCREDIBLE lampwork of Kim Snider.  *droool*


****You can click on any photo to see a larger version*****





So, once that was finished..... I moved on to the real project.....the one I'd thought of as SOON as I opened her packages..... a bracelet.  It's all hand wrapped and and features her handmade butterfly charm, as the clasp.  I tried to do an ombre-esque piece using her favorite glass beads that she sent.  I used some in this and hoarded the rest. (tee-hee)  I also added some of the butterfly charms she sent me.  I ABSOLUTELY LOVE this bracelet and am SO PROUD of it!  It just makes me happy!




And finally - gotta have some EARRINGS!
These feature Natalie's flower beads, her handmade ombre beads and her dragonflies.  I love how they turned out!



I have had a GREAT adventure and am SO THANKFUL for Natalie!  I hope I did you proud, partner!  #BeadPeepsSwap!

Check out what everyone else did HERE!

Linda Anderson
- Hostess -
http://fromTheBeadBoard.blogspot.com



LindaAndersonhttp://fromTheBeadBoard.blogspot.com (You are here)
NatalieDavidsonhttp://www.northshoredays.com



MarcyLambersonhttp://www.studiomarcy.blogspot.com
KathyLindemerhttp://bay-moon-design.blogspot.com/



DitaBasuHttp://www.alankarshilpa.blogspot.com
AndreaGlickhttp://zenithjade.blogspot.com/



KristinaPeckhttp://tealeavesandtinyhats.blogspot.com/
ShaiWilliamshttp://www.shaihasramblings.com/



CatherineLa Vitehttp://www.drygulchbeadsandjewelry.blogspot.com/
ChristinaHickmanhttp://vintagetreasuresjewelry.blogspot.com/



gloriaallenhttp://wingsandbeads.blogspot.com
TeresaSchurterhttp://treezstreazurs.com/



Maria RosaSharrowhttp://willowstreetshops.blogspot.com
SusanKellyhttp://mimismilesdesigns.blogspot.com



JennyKyrlachhttp://anafiassa.blogspot.com/
MichelleMcCarthyhttp://www.fireflydesignstudio.blogspot.com



Terry JeanetteCarterhttp://tappingflamingo.blogspot.com
LeeKoopmanhttp://stregajewellry.wordpress.com



LaurieVyselaarhttps://lefthandjewelry.wordpress.com
MarianneBaxterhttp://simplyseablimejewelry.blogspot.com



DivyaNhttp://www.jewelsofsayuri.com
KellyHosford Pattersonhttp://travelingsideshow.blogspot.com/



JohanaNunezhttp://www.artincendi.com
KariAsburyhttp://hippiechickjewelrydesign.com/blog



ROBINREEDhttp://www.willowdragon.blogspot.com
KristinaHahn Eleniakhttp://www.peacockandlime.wordpress.com



Robin LynneShowstackhttp://heartsdesiresjewelryforyou.blogspot.com/
RosantiaPetkovahttp://bairozan.blogspot.com/



ClaireFabianhttp://saraccino.blogspot.de/
Ingevon Rooshttps://ingetraud.wordpress.com



RachelMallishttp://mintmonarch.com
SamWaghronhttp://palemooncreation.blogspot.co.uk



LoriSchneiderhttp://beadaddicted.blogspot.com
FayWolfendenhttp://torchfairy.blogspot.com









SEEDERS




SuseStelljeshttp://pearlify.blogspot.de
GingerBishophttp://www.lilmummylikes.blogspot.com



NellyMayhttp://www.smellynelly.blogspot.com
REbeccaWhitehttp://morganafeycreations.121hub.com/



sheilaProstermanhttp://catswithbeads.blogspot.com
CatherineKinghttp://catherines-musings.blogspot.com



PALLAVIASHERhttp://kalaabhushan.blogspot.in/
KraftyMaxhttp://kraftymax.net



RenethaStanzianohttp://lamplightcrafts.blogspot.com/
BeckyPancakehttp://beckypancakebeaddesigns.blogspot.com



KatyHeiderhttp://onthepondcreations.blogspot.com/
DeborahApodacahttp://deborahapodacadesigns.blogspot.com/



HeatherRichterhttp://desertjewelrydesigns.blogspot.com/
Tami Norrishttps://tamisdesigns.wordpress.com



BrandyScozzarihttp://bhjewelry.wordpress.com
CatherineKinghttp://catherines-musings.blogspot.com



KathleenBreedinghttps://www.facebook.com/99BOBOTW/
VeralynneMalonehttp://veradesigns.blogspot.com



BobbieRaffertyhttp://beadsong.blogspot.com
LoriBlanchardhttp://alainnjewelry.wordpress.com
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To be sure you don’t miss out on any of my crazy adventures, you can sign up to follow my blog by email or news servers using the links in the right column of my page. You can also follow me on Facebook get updates about blog posts, my latest jewelry designs, show schedule, and other happenings!
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Wednesday, March 23, 2016

She got HERS

Well, well, well.... here it is, March 23 and my partner received her beads yesterday.  I'm kinda jealous. =)  As a reminder, my partner is Natalie Davidson - who lives in the BEAUTIFUL country of New Zealand.  She lives on the northern island and has a little shop where she sells crafts and goodies that she makes.

I will be honest here....for some reason,  this was a tough season for me.  I had a really hard time finding something that would challenge Natalie, but not overwhelm her.  Even more importantly, I just felt like I was "off track".  I think it's just been my general feeling for the last few months - just kinda BLAH.  BUT I'm really proud of how it came together and am SO GLAD that she loves each item I carefully and thoughtfully included. 

So..... here's what I sent.  If you'll remember - this was the teaser......


And.....here's what she received.....


For the Swap N Hop!

Focal: STUNNING handmade, lampwork focal by The BeadFairy

Clasp: GORGEOUS flower, handmade by ArtIncendi

Metals: Copper filigrees, copper flowers, bright copper daisies and dark copper daisies, headpins, eye pins, jump rings and ear wires  -
So you're probably wondering why all the bits and bobs in copper...well.... in New Zealand it's pretty tough to get copper findings, so I figured I'd send them to her so she didn't have to worry about trying to find them, or order them.

Coordinating Beads: Czech firepolish beads in a "Luster Mix" both in transparent and opaque, purple druzy agate, Czech pressed beads including, but not limited to flowers, leaves, bicones, table cuts and saturn beads.


In addition to some goodies for the Swap, I also sent some goodies for her stash.

For Her Stash

Knowing her love for the beach, I wanted to include some beach themed pieces - they include: Swarovski bicones, starfish and mini rounds; blue/grey blister pearls, Czech saturn beads, hand painted (by me!) cabachons, kyanite coin beads, some seahorse beads (which didn't make the photo shoot) and my FAVORITE beads acrylic/rubbery beads - they feel as smooth as a babies butt.  Just AWESOME!  I also sent some extra clasps and odds and ends - and some purple hemp.


All together now!

Whatchya think?  I'm (im)patiently waiting for mine to arrive, although I suspect it'll be at least another week.  So, until then....I'll keep working on my organization (see post below) and twiddling my thumbs.

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To be sure you don’t miss out on any of my crazy adventures, you can sign up to follow my blog by email or news servers using the links in the right column of my page. You can also follow me on Facebook get updates about blog posts, my latest jewelry designs, show schedule, and other happenings!
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Monday, March 14, 2016

Teaser

One of my favorite things about the Bead Peeps Swap N Hop is that we get to send some of our most favorite beads to someone, so that they can love the beads, too.  This year, I'd say, has been one of the hardest years for me, in terms of choosing what to send and what to include for coordinating beads.  I'm not sure why....maybe because my bead room is a complete disaster, while I get things moved around to add a new storage unit, or maybe my brain just isn't in a creative place right now...no idea, but I'm sure thankful that I FINALLY pulled something together. 

Here's a teaser:


What's your guess? 
I WILL say that I'm now in love with what I am sending and more importantly, excited for my partner, Natalie Davidson, to get them - all the way in New Zealand.  I hope I sent enough that she'll be able to do something spectacular with them!



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To be sure you don’t miss out on any of my crazy adventures, you can sign up to follow my blog by email or news servers using the links in the right column of my page. You can also follow me on Facebook get updates about blog posts, my latest jewelry designs, show schedule, and other happenings!
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Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Getting to know you.....getting to know all ab-out you.....

Well, here we are again - February and a PERFECT time to introduce myself to my new partner for the 2016 Bead Peeps Swap N Hop!  WOOOHOOO!

My partner this year, as expertly assigned by, myself  =), is Natalie Davidson of http://www.northshoredays.com.  She lives in Auckland, New Zealand.  *swoon*



1. Why or how did you get started in making jewelry?
I got into jewelry by way of a craft show.  I purchased a beautiful necklace for a family member for $38.  The next week, I saw the same vendor at another show and mentioned that I had purchased a similar piece the week before.  Her response was that they "got some more in".  I thought "I thought you made it"?  A few days later, while at a big box store, I see the same pendant for $4.99.

I went home and found a "how to make jewelry class" that night.  As they say...the rest is history =)

2. What style(s) of jewelry do you like to make?
I'd say my style is classically elegant - at least - that's what I think. =)  I like to make jewelry that can  dress up any outfit (I like to say from ho-hum to SHA-ZAM!).  It's also really important to me that pieces are versatile, so that you can wear it with many outfits vs just 1 piece in your wardrobe.

 
3. What materials do you prefer to use (and which ones do you avoid)? 
Typically, I'll use anything from handcrafted lampwork beads, to Swarovski pearls and crystal, to bits and bobs of fabric, to beads purchased at big box stores, beads from tradeshows and anything else I find interesting.  I like things that are unique - be it in color, style, size, shape, sparkle...something interesting.  AND I'm kinda obsessed with handmade beads, right now.

Generally, I avoid seed beads, earthy/rustic colors and anything that generally just doesn't appeal to me.



4. Which techniques do you 
prefer (and are there any that you don't like)?
I like to make many styles of jewelry.  I consider myself a stringer, first and foremost.  I've done pearl knotting, kumihimo, wire crochet, play with resin, some painting and some basic wire work.     I am hoping to get a bigKick to start playing with metal - we'll see how that goes.  AND as if that weren't enough - I won an online retreat to learn how to play in clay.  I haven't had the time, energy or nerve yet to make something, but I DO have clay and a project picked to start with.  *eep!*

I don't do bead weaving of any sort or anything involving heat.  So, no soldering, lampworking or anything like that....I sure love the pieces - just don't make them.

5. What colors do you use most, and which do you run screaming from?

love working with color.  When making a piece versatile, having more colors involved tends to make something easier to wear with many things.  I typically lean to silvers and coppers for metals.  I'd also say that anything with rainbow colors is VERY difficult for me to pass up. ;)  

I've realized that making pieces with 1 color are REALLY tough for me.  Someone suggested I make a black necklace.  I didn't (and still don't know) where to start.  I want to add color! Can't win 'em, all right?


Some other random trivia: 
- I'm a Christian and hope that my light shines bright each day
- I attempted to make 52 pairs of earrings last year - 1/week.  I did great until week 50. =\
- I love cherries -  not the flavor - but the shape.  (my biz name is cherryontopdesign) =)
- My favorite shirts are either a deep royal blue or a teal green
- I love to cook and bake - I don't like to clean up the mess ;)
- I'm a pretty decent photographer
- I love PJs and fun socks - I wear them most of the day....every day.
- I've had major health issues for nearly 13 years
- I'm often the 1%...99% of people have no issues.... I'm the 1% who does =)
- I love to laugh.....alot.
stock photo of my new organizer
- I LOVE board games
- I love to plan an awesome party!
- I just purchased an INCREDIBLE organizer for my beads - it could take me a year to put everything in it *zoinks!*


Looking forward to reading about Natalie! 


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To be sure you don’t miss out on any of my crazy adventures, you can sign up to follow my blog by email or news servers using the links in the right column of my page. You can also follow me on Facebook get updates about blog posts, my latest jewelry designs, show schedule, and other happenings!
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Monday, February 8, 2016

New Year - New Fun

So....this is a new year with alot of new challenges ahead - including doing the 2nd Annual Bead Peeps Swap N Hop.  I'm so VERY excited that we tried a new way to introduce partners, this year, and seems to have been a good hit.  We'll see.  I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone does and how they challenge each other. 

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To be sure you don’t miss out on any of my crazy adventures, you can sign up to follow my blog by email or news servers using the links in the right column of my page. You can also follow me on Facebook get updates about blog posts, my latest jewelry designs, show schedule, and other happenings!
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