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!

Serious Sparkle, Part 2 - The Earrings

So if you're wearing a fancy evening gown, you need some fancy earrings, right? Of course!

As I wrote about yesterday, we recently had a big formal fundraising event at my job, so may of my colleagues were looking for jewelry to complement their evening wear. You've already seen some of the necklaces and bracelets that I made especially for them to choose from, so as promised, here are a few of the earrings.

Freshwater pearls with some vintage rhinestone and pearl components

Who can resist blue crystal disco balls swinging from their earlobes?

Shoulder dusters

In case your formal tastes run more to the gemstone, these are lapis, forest jasper and freshwater pearl.

These big, bold beauties are vintage marcasite pieces from an old necklace that I found in an antique store.
I took the necklace apart, and used the various component parts in lots of different new creations.
Here, I added just a few crystals at the top and as dangles.

Serious Sparkle

Ah, crystals.

They're gorgeous, but I don't use them in my beading too often. That may have to change.

At my day job (you know, the one that lets me pay for the necessities of life - mortgage, food, beads...) we recently had a big fundraising event. Black tie, evening gowns, the whole nine yards. And everyone in my department was involved, so we all had to glam it up for the night.

Knowing that I make jewelry, some colleagues asked if I had any pieces that would work with their dresses. Of course, I took this as an invitation not only to pull out the fancier pieces in my inventory, but also to spend a few evenings making some flashy new things.

Here are some of the new pieces that came out of that flurry. Some got worn to the gala, others stayed home, but they're all a reminder to me to embrace the flashy side every now and then. Today, I'm sharing the necklaces and a bracelet - tomorrow, I'll share the earrings.

There were a lot of midnight blue and navy gowns at this event - a nice change from basic black.

Did someone say, "statement necklace"?

A different view of the same necklace, to show the flashes of color in the faceted ovals. Gorgeous!

This bracelet reminds me of tuxedo pants, with the dark stripe running down the side seam.

This was a lot of fun, and a good creative challenge, since I didn't know what everyone's dresses would look like. I had to make pieces that would be versatile enough to work with lots of different colors, working completely without specific direction other than "formal." Do you make jewelry for special occasions?

A Welcome Taste of Spring - At Least In The Bead Room

The weather here has finally warmed up for a couple of days -- enough to melt the snow off the yard and turn the sheets of ice on the sidewalks to lovely, lurching puddles of slush. Not warm enough to wear shorts (despite what the guy in the grocery store parking lot thought when he got dressed this morning), but enough to see a glimmer of promise that spring will, indeed, come soon.

And another harbinger landed in the mailbox today, when the latest assortment of beautiful beads from ZNet Shows showed up. I'm thrilled to be a member of their design team, and today's delivery was a surprise selection of crystals and sea glass for the next issue of Creative Spark.

I mean, really, how luscious are these? Soft glows and bright sparkles. Fantastic shapes, a wonderful mix of sizes, an inspiring collection of possibilities!

So despite what the weather is like this weekend, I'll be channeling visions of warm breezes, soft spring pastels, and perhaps a Derby hat or two.  Creative Spark will be published in early March, so I've got to get working...

Diamonds in the Rough

A couple of months ago, the good folks at ZNet Shows invited me to be part of their design team. It's a chance to work with a wide assortment of their cultured sea glass and other wholesale beads.

The latest challenge is "Diamonds in the Rough" -- I was invited to select beads and other components that have gone under-appreciated in their catalog, and make something that might spark ideas for other jewelry makers.  So I chose some things that would challenge me and played!  In case you're interested, the ZNet catalog numbers are included in the photo captions.

The first is a pair of earrings made with some Murano style glass puffed squares.  I dangled some red crystals from gold plated chain, and added them to a jump ring behind the Murano squares.  Easy peasy, but lots of swingy fun.

PT472 Gold foil Murano pendant
chain and beads were my own

These Murano donuts are quite blingy, with a silver background.  I dangled these from a fine link sterling chain, and then dangled some ZNet cultured sea glass nuggets from more chain.  I like how the muted color of the sea glass compliments yet tones down the sparkle of the donuts, and the chain lets them swing beautifully.

PT466 Silver foil Murano donut pendants
cultured sea glass nuggets

This necklace combines another Murano style puffed diamond, knotted on waxed linen with these glass quartz ovals in the most ethereal shade of blue.  I also included some of ZNet's barrel spaces and crystals.  The clasp is my own creation.

PT472 Gold foil Murano diamond pendant
SCBDG47 sky blue glass quartz oval puffed beads
ZNet antique copper spacers and green crystals

Finally, I must subconsciously want to go to the beach, because this necklace makes me feel like sand and surf.  The Murano style teardrop is paired with a shell rectangle, knotted simply on waxed linen and highlighted with sea green matte crystals.  Can you hear the roar of the ocean?

SCPDG256 black lip shell pendant
PT471  Gold foil Murano teardrop
ZNet matte crystals

I think these Murano beauties would be terrific in bead embroidered pieces as well, and will be breaking out the seed beads to work with them soon.  But the designs above are, hopefully, accessible for beaders of all experience levels, and can be dressed up or down to suit your tastes.  Thanks to Bill and the great people at ZNet Shows for providing me with another chance to stretch my creative wings with their products!