Sand and Sea Blog Hop

I’m taking part in Lisa Lodge’s My Bead Table II Sand and Sea Blog Hop. Lisa is a jewellery designer and occasional purveyor of bead mixes, and every now and then she throws out a challenge sending out interesting bead kits to inspire us all.

In this challenge, Lisa made two bead mixes, a Sand kit comprising beads and components in tans, creams, orange and brown tones, and a Sea kit of blues, greens, and purple tones. I received a Sand kit, with an interesting Greek ceramic focal bead, a handful of larger glass and stone beads, and a bead soup of tiny freshwater pearls, some larger glass pearls in champagne tones, green Czech glass rondelles, and a variety of tiny Czech glass and seed beads, along with a few gold toned beads, beadcaps and jumprings.

I had ideas to make a number of pieces from this soup, but in the end I only made one in time for the hop. There is a design in mind for the Greek ceramic focal, but I didn’t have the right coloured waxed linen cord and I didn’t have beads that I liked next to it. And I will use the two smaller oval beads and the larger oval pendant when the right beads come along as well.

So, with the bead soup, I made a necklace inspired by the colours of a very special place. I grew up in Western Australia, and my husband’s family still lives there. Every couple of years we head over in early autumn to holiday on Rottnest Island, which lies about 20km off the coast of WA’s capital city Perth. It’s a fantastic place to unwind, as there is really not much you can do other than go to the beach, and if you feel energetic enough, go for a bike ride. Needless to say, the beaches are spectacular, with white sand, rocky outcrags, dull green vegetation on the dunes and water in colours ranging from a pale greeny-blue at the edge to a deep azure blue further out.

Little Salmon Bay, Rottnest Island (photographed by Matthew Dry)

This necklace is strung on a greeny-blue ribbon to represent the junction between the water and the sea. A couple of nugget-shaped orange and green beads from my stash cap the ends of three braided strands of bead soup. Unusually for me, I used the gold-toned beads from the soup—I’m not usually one for gold-toned jewellery, but it worked well with this colour palette.

Please visit the other bloggers taking part in this blog hop!

Lisa Lodge, A Grateful Artist — Our hostess!

Eleanor Burian-Mohr, The Charmed Life
Mary Govaars, MLH Jewelry Designs
Tanya Goodwin, A Work in Progress
Kathy Lindemer, Bay Moon Design
Toltec Jewels, Jewel School Friends

Sharyl McMillian-Nelson, Sharyl’s Jewelry
Marla Gibson, Spice Box Designs
Melissa Trudinger, Bead Recipes — YOU ARE HERE!!!
Dot Lewallen, Speedie Beadie
Ema Kilroy, Ema K Designs

Kim Booth, The Pink Martini Boutique
Jami Shipp, Celebrating Life
Leah Tees, My Beady Littleeyes
Christie Murrow, www.charisdesignsjewelry.blogspot.com
Monique Urquhart, A Half Baked Notion

Gloria Allen,   Gloria Allen Designs
Cindy Anderson Wilson,  It’s My Sea of Dreams
Suzi Campbell, Suzi Campbell Creations
Shaiha Williams,   Shaiha’s Ramblings
Annette Rivers, MamaOwl’s Mess