Bead Hoarders Blog Party - The Reveal!

All beaders have those beads that they just can't let go of, and that they just can't bring themselves to make something with. Beader's block? Fear of not creating something that lives up to the beauty of the bead? Just the dragon-like tendency to amass a collection of shiny things? Whatever it is, we all have those hoarded beads in our collections, just waiting to be pulled out and used.

Lori Anderson to the rescue! She created another one of her legendary bead swaps, but this time the only rule was to send a bead we'd hoarded, along with a story of why it's important to us.

My fabulous partner Kathy Lindemer sent me a gorgeous handmade ceramic donut by Diana Ptaszynski of Suburban Girl Studios. Kathy said she loves Suburban Girl beads because they often have a nautical feel, and the blues and greens that she uses are colors Kathy enjoys using in her jewelry. They are pretty delicious colors, aren't they? Along with the ceramic bead was a lovely length of blue satin cording and a clasp that Kathy made herself.  If you'd like to see the whole package, go here.

How did I know this was a perfect hoarded bead for me? Because it was a perfect match for some seed beads that I'd been hoarding...blue transparent green-lined lovelies that I hadn't found the right way to use, until now. They were absolutely the perfect match for the shades of green and blue on the donut.

I wanted to stay pretty minimal with my design, to focus attention on Kathy's bead. A herringbone rope with superduos, miniduos, and tiny crystals, undulating from small to large and back again, echoing the large to small decoration Diana used on the donut. 

A lariat style allows the focal bead to stay front and center, and the fringe has one, two, or three tiny crystals at the ends both to add sparkle and, again, echo the larger/smaller dimples on the donut.

But wait, there's more! I couldn't pass up using Kathy's clasp and that luscious blue cording. Again, a simple design to focus on the lovely components used - this time I used a pendant I made with seed beads and two-holed triangles. Easy peasy, just right for spring (if it ever gets here and stays here!)

Thanks for visiting, and huge thanks to Kathy for sharing such a beautiful bead with me. I hope I did it proud for you.

Now, go treat yourself to the eye candy created by others in this swap party. The full list is HERE. Enjoy!

The Soup That Stayed Home

In putting together bead soup mixes this year, I came up with five possibilities.  Yes, five. I was having a grand time, sitting in my bead room, cackling like a bit of a mad beady scientist.

I eventually settled on the one (okay, ones) to send to my partner Rita. But the third runner up, or the Miss Congeniality of the bunch, kept calling to me.

So I made something with it myself.

Ceramic, agate, jade, freshwater pearls, Czech glass, ZNet Shows
 crystals, copper, hand fabricated clasp

The pendant is two ceramic beads, an agate donut, and some
copper discs, all on waxed cotton

I wore this soup out to lunch yesterday, which in a strange way seemed an appropriate place for it to make its debut. The soft greens felt especially spring-like to me, which was a welcome reminder that the weather will, eventually, warm up.

Holiday Treats

So I was wandering innocently through the arts & crafts section of the local 4th of July downtown festival this morning, when I heard a little voice say, "Look over here! We're shiny! We're pretty!"

And being easily distracted and seduced by anything pretty and shiny, I had to investigate. This is what I found a basket full of:


The artist, Coon Cats Pottery (sadly, no website), was selling these ceramic beauties as buttons. But I see them as great focals, clasps, etc, etc, etc....


So I listened to the little shiny voices, grabbed as many as I could hold in both hands, and went home a very happy lady!

While waiting for the snow

The weatherman told us to expect 4" of snow. Nothing epic, especially when friends east of us were expecting, and getting, 2+ feet of winter joy.The snow here amounted to a whole lotta nothing, but I completed the "what if" project I posted about last night, with some really cool black faux coral multi-holed beads, using agate with a nice chatoyance and some red coral. It's different than many of the pieces I usually do, but that's the point of pursuing the answer to "what if?", isn't it?

So I've added another goal for this year (I'll post about all of the others later. Not that it's of interest to anyone else, but if I make those goals public, maybe I'll feel a little more pressure to follow through on them!) The newest goal is to, on a regular basis, push myself into that area of discomfort, of unfamiliarity, of "what if". I want to explore the new, to expand those boundaries and limitations we all sometimes impose on ourselves, to give voice to the creativity lurking in my brain somewhere. Some things may stay in the Drawer of Ugly Projects when they're done, but each will help me explore, learn and grow.

And in the meantime, I'm going to enjoy wearing my new necklace!