First up, I’m sorry I’m a bit late to the Ocean Blog Hop, a combination of busy times at home and some struggles with the muse mean I’m late to the party. Well, better late than never.
Of course, there shouldn’t really be a need for excuses, as Lisa Lodge, the host of the hop, sent these beads out months ago. Look at what she sent me! Cultured (aka faux) sea glass in two shades of blue as well as orange, vibrant orange impression jasper, tiny mother of pearl heishi and some brass starfish, fabulous stampings that look like coral and some tiny brass beads and a clasp!
So the first piece I made I’ve called Washed Up. It uses some of the irregular sea glass links and the orange beads. I wanted to use an art bead in this piece and I found a great ceramic shell link made by Michelle McCarthy of Firefly Designs, that I think I got in a destash from Lisa a while ago. I tried to use brass link the beads together, but the holes in the sea glass weren’t quite in the right places to hold a jump ring, so I ended up using waxed linen, which kind of reminds me of rope or fishermen’s nets on the beach. I added some barrel-shaped sea glass beads in a lighter blue (that I also got from Lisa) and some orange sea glass rounds.
Then I made some earrings using the brass starfish, and some large aqua blue sea glass charms I got from Lisa a while ago. Very simple, but they didn’t really need anything else!
My third piece is a necklace, although it started out as a bracelet! I’ve called it Out on the Reef. The brain coral stampings are used to connect a little twisted strand of beads. The mother of pearl heishi beads remind me so much of those shell necklaces I used to wear as a kid, and I love the contrast of the deep blue glass and the orange impression jasper. I toyed with using chain for the back half of the necklace, but in the end I used a gorgeous blue sari silk ribbon (from Etsy shop Ribbons and Silk). The blue sea glass shard on one side balances the clasp on the other side.
Thank you Lisa for the lovely selection of beads to play with, I’m looking forward to the next hop in a couple of months! Please take some time to look at the blogs of other participants in this hop!
Ocean Blog Hop June 14th Reveal:
Your hostess: Lisa Lodge, A Grateful Artist
Carolyn Lawson, Carolyn’s Creations
Ev Shelby, Raindrop Creations
Toltec Jewels, Jewel School Friends (Posting Later)
Karla Morgan, Texas Pepper Jams
Ema Kilroy, Ema K Designs
Candida Elkins Castleberry, Spun Sugar Beadworks
Catherine Yvonne King, Catherine’s Musings
Melissa Trudinger, Bead Recipes <– YOU ARE HERE!
Shaiha Williams, Shaiha’s Ramblings
Chris Eisenberg, Wanderware (Posting Sunday)
Eleanor Burian Moore, The Charmed Life
Kay Thomerson, Kayz Kreationz
Jill Bradley, Chat 2 Jill
Rebecca Ednie, Eclectic Endeavours
Ocean Blog Hop May 31st Reveal:
Your hostess: Lisa Lodge, A Grateful Artist
Christie Searle Murrow, Charis Designs Jewelry
Kim Dworak, Cianci Blue
Marybeth Rich, A Few Words from within the Pines
Karin Grosset Grange, Ginkgo et Coquelicot
Candida Elkins Castleberry, Spun Sugar Beadworks (moved to June 14th reveal)
Veralynne Malone, Designed by Vera
Monique Urquhart, A Half-Baked Notion
Katrina Taylor, I Wanna Go Out
Mary Ann Macri Jacobs, Trucksville Crafts
Jeanne Steck, Gems by Jeanne Marie
Ann Schroeder, Bead Love
Kathleen Breeding, 99 Bottles of Beads on the Wall
Marianne Baxter, Simply Seablime Jewelry
Terri Wlaschin, Dances in Fog
Margaret Pelech, Margaret Pelech’s Ocean Blog
Jo-Ann Woolverton, It’s a Beadiful Creation
Kathy Zeigler Lindemer, Bay Moon Design
Heather Richter, Desert Jewelry Designs
Andrea Glick-Zenith, ZenithJade Creations
beadrecipes 
Lovely necklaces and earrings. I’m glad you finished the last necklace with the ribbon. It looks beautiful and perfectly fits into the theme because it look like a lovely skirt someone would put on over a swimsuit to walk from the beach to an oceanside restaurant.
Your designs are lovely, Melissa! All three indicate the beauty and drama of the ocean 🙂
Wow, they are all so beautiful!..and perfect for Summer!
Love the combination of the blue and orange it is so vibrant!
Great pieces, I love what you did with your beads.
All of your designs are so pretty, Melissa! The blue/orange combination is one of my favorite color palettes! The “Out on the Reef” necklace is my favorite – everything about it just makes me feel happy. Thanks for being in the hop!
What great designs! I hadn’t thought about using waxed linen for those sea glass pieces with the unusual holes. Thanks for the idea!
All your pieces are beautiful, vibrant with colors and very cheerful. Your last piece is gorgeous, I love the addition of Sari silk and all the different materials you used.
Great pieces. I really like your necklace with the Sari silk. It really feels very beachy/oceany. Plus it softens the necklace. And I like the multistrands at the end of the necklace and the way the glass piece balances with the clasp on the other side.
Very Lovely I can just see myself on a reef some where in the South seas just lounging around looking for Sea shells
Love the starfish earrings! …and the blue, orange, white necklace…such bright, summery colors…:)
Oh yes – the starfish earrings! But, the last necklace is very cool – love the multiple strands you connected to the coral stampings – very pretty!
Orange…I love the color but love it even more as you’ve used it with blues and white! Your designs are not just beach worthy but they work well all summer long! As this is my first blog hop I also noticed that you took wonderful pictures as well! I’ve got to remember to take a picture of the pile of beads that I start with! Just learning, but, it’s a fun adventure!
I love the earrings and second necklace. And thanks so much for adding my blog to your list! So sweet of you!