Gentle Spring Blog Hop

It’s time for the reveal for Lisa Lodge’s Gentle Spring Blog Hop. As with all her hops, Lisa sent out a kit for this hop containing a variety of beads in soft pinks and purples, plus a few supporting elements. Here is the kit I received—it’s got so many beads!

I ended up making several pieces. For the first, I used a ceramic owl focal by Gaea and combined with some of the larger faceted dark purple beads plus the light purple faux sea glass nuggets (I added an extra strand of these from my stash), and knotted it all on some magenta waxed linen. It’s a short necklace, slightly longer than a choker—the owl nestles at the base of the throat.

The second necklace features a pretty focal Art Tile from JLynn Jewels, dangling from a Fallen Angel Brass twisted ring, with a Czech glass teardrop dangle. I wire-wrapped some more of the dark purple beads, along with some small flat sea glass squares and added some Vintaj Arte Metal chain.

Some smaller JLynn Jewels Art Tiles in the same paisley pattern make a pretty pair of matching earrings (although these ones don’t feature any beads from the kit).

Finally, I made another pair of earrings, again with JLynn Jewels tiles and a couple of the tiny pink rondelles from the kit.

I have heaps of beads left over, plus the clasp and the silver birds, which will no doubt find their way into more pieces down the road. Thanks for a great little kit Lisa! Please think about visiting the other participants in the hop:

Hostess: Lisa Lodge, A Grateful Artist

Kim Dworak, Cianci Blue

Shaiha Williams, Shaiha’s Ramblings

Gloria Allen, Gloria Allen Designs

Saundra Farren, Something by Saundra

Ann Schroeder, Bead Love

Melissa Trudinger, Bead Recipes

Carolyn Lawson, Carolyn’s Creations

Becky Pancake, Becky Pancake Bead Designs

Chris Eisenberg, Wanderware

Ceramic Blog Hop

It’s been a while since I did one of Lisa Lodge’s blog hops, but recently I signed up to be a part of her Ceramic Blog Hop. Lisa put together a pretty ceramic focal bead by Gaea with a selection of purple impression jasper and some silver-toned elements including charms, spacers, chain and a clasp to make a fun little kit for me.

While the jasper coordinated with the focal quite well, it was too dark to use without something in a contrasting colour. I dug around in my bead boxes until I found some pretty matte green glass ovals that were big enough to work with the other beads. With a few spacers and the tree of life charms used as connectors to the chain and clasp I had myself a pretty little necklace. The owl charms made a sweet little pair of earrings, with a single pale green rondelle and earring wires featuring a little Bali-style flower that kind of reminds me of the silver spacers in the kit.

Thank you Lisa for the opportunity to be part of this blog hop (and apologies for being a day late, I’ve been travelling). The other participants include:

Your hostess: Lisa Lodge, A Grateful Artist

Carolyn Lawson, Carolyn’s Creations

Kim Dworak, Cianci Blue

Shaiha Williams, Shaiha’s Ramblings

Veralynne Malone, Designed by Vera

Kari Asbury, Hippie Chick Design

Chris Eisenberg, Wanderware

Gloria Allen, Gloria Allen Designs

Saundra Farren, Something by Saundra

Ann Schroeder, Bead Love

Christine Stonefield, Sweet Girl Design

Melissa Trudinger, Bead Recipes <– YOU ARE HERE

 

Clay and Metal Blog Hop

It’s reveal day for Lisa Lodge‘s latest blog hop, the Clay and Metal Blog Hop. This time, she’s chosen to send all of the participants something from Sharyl McMillian-Nelson, who works with both polymer clay and metal (hence the name!), with each of us receiving either one or the other, plus some coordinating beads. Sharyl has recently opened a new store online to focus on her polymer clay and metal components, called Metapolies. You can find it in two places, Etsy and Artisan Component Marketplace, a fantastic new online market for beautiful components (stay tuned, as I have plans to write more about this site soon!).

These are the polymer clay charms I received, a pair of long rectangular matchstick-shaped charms that are the colour of nougat, with soft purple stripes across them. I do like the asymmetry of them, enhanced by the purple stripes that continue across both matchsticks. I also received some clear faceted crystal rondelles, but in the end I didn’t use them as to me they didn’t really go well with the organic shades of the matchsticks.

Because they are made of polymer clay, and therefore so light, I decided to make earrings with the matchsticks. I softened them further using a Czech glass table cut flower, and used waxed linen to tie the two components together and then to the Vintaj brass earwires.

Thank you Lisa for sending me this challenging pair of charms, and thank you Sharyl too! And as this is a blog hop, here is the list of participants. Please pop over and have a look at their blog posts!

Your hostess: Lisa Lodge, A Grateful Artist

Melissa Trudinger, Bead Recipes <– YOU ARE HERE!

Jo-Ann Woolverton, It’s a Beadiful Creation

Carolyn Lawson, Carolyn’s Creations

Shaiha Williams,   Shaiha’s Ramblings

Toltec Jewels, Jewel School Friends

Heather Richter, Desert Jewelry Designs

Marybeth Rich, A Few Words from within the Pines

Kim Dworak, Cianci Blue

Karen Grosset Grange, Ginkgo et Coquelicot

Ann Schroeder, Bead Love

Lisa Prewitt Knappenberger, LiRaysa Designs

Carol Briody, A Beads Life

Miranda Ackerley, MirandAck

Kari Asbury, Hippie Chick Design

Susan Anderson, La Main Tresor

LeAnne Loftus, First Impression Design

Leithleach Seodra, Alainn Jewelry

Summer Carnival Blog Hop

If you’re looking for the Haberdashery Blog Hop Reveal it’s here!

Today’s the day for the Summer Carnival Blog Hop, another one from Lisa Lodge. As with her other hops, she provided a kit to kick start the creative process. This is what she sent me, a mixture of shapes in turquoise blue and lemon yellow sea glass and some sparkling yellow Chinese crystal rondelles.

First of all, I made some earrings. The sea glass heishi always throw me, but I was determined to use some, and they worked nicely as spacers for the yellow crystals in these earrings. The second pair uses some acrylic starbursts I got from the kids’ beads selection at Spotlight, definitely a carnival vibe to them!

Jennifer Heynen‘s bright and cheery ceramic beads always make me think of carnivals, so I was happy to find this gorgeous flower focal in just the right combo of colours  in my stash. I included a couple of her disk beads and a selection of the sea glass along with some orange and smaller blue shapes, and knotted it all together on yellow and teal blue waxed linen.

In the end, I used some of everything except the little brass spacers and the shells. Thank you for sending such a versatile selection of beads Lisa, and for yet another excellent challenge theme. Now it’s time to see what everyone else made.

Your hostess: Lisa Lodge, A Grateful Artist

Kim Dworak, Cianci Blue

Marybeth Rich, A Few Words from within the Pines

Karin Grosset Grange, Ginkgo et Coquelicot

Veralynne Malone, Designed by Vera

Ann Schroeder, Bead Love

Kathleen Breeding, 99 Bottles of Beads on the Wall

Jo-Ann Woolverton, It’s a Beadiful Creation

Kathy Zeigler Lindemer, Bay Moon Design

Heather Richter, Desert Jewelry Designs

Carolyn Lawson, Carolyn’s Creations

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

Eleanor Burian Moore, The Charmed Life

Dee Alcalde, Agape Creations Jewelry

Marianne Baxter, Simply Seablime Jewelry

Carole Carlson, Bead Sophisticate

Karla Morgan, Texas Pepper Jams

Kay Thomerson, Kayz Kreationz

Christie Searle Murrow, Charis Designs Jewelry

Dolores Raml, CraftyD’s Creations

Marianne Hurley, Reads and Beads

Kathleen Breeding, 99 Bottles of Beads on the Wall

Marci Allen Koziolek, Krafty Max Originals

A busy weekend coming up!

I thought I’d give you a heads up for lots of blog hopping this weekend coming up. I’ve managed to not only organize my own blog hop but join two others, so it’s beading central here this week!

First of all is my own hop, the Haberdashery Blog Hop. The challenge here is to use components from the haberdashery department—buttons, ribbons, lace, and more—in jewellery designs. I had a lovely time collecting bits and pieces, from my own craft stash and from a variety of shops and even a big craft show. And there are 35 or so other bloggers joining in. The reveal date is Saturday 2 August, and I plan to post in the morning. Note that many of the participants won’t post until it is Saturday wherever they happen to be in the world.

Also on Saturday is Lisa Lodge’s Summer Carnival Blog Hop. As with Lisa’s other hops, I have received a kit full of beads to make a piece or pieces for the hop. Because this hop in scheduled for Saturday in the USA, I’ll wait until my Saturday evening to post this one.

 

And finally Sunday sees the Choosy Chicks Choose Chicklets Design Challenge, organized by Rita from Jewel School Friends. She sent me a rather lovely chicklet bead from Suebeads to incorporate into a piece. I’ll post this one late on Sunday my time, to be in time with the US reveal.

So come back on the weekend to have a look at all of the designs I come up with!

 

 

 

Study in greys: Gemstone and Metal blog hop

It’s reveal day for the latest of Lisa Lodge ‘s blog hops—the Gemstone and Metal blog hop. In this challenge, Lisa sent us several shapes of one gemstone, and a variety of coordinating metal. My selection included beautiful black-veined jasper in coin shapes, flat ovals and rectangular pillows, and some small faceted square pillows, along with three different shapes of silver plated beads and a silver-plated clasp.

I initially knotted a selection of the beads onto deep red waxed linen, but when I looked at the necklace the small pops of red between each bead didn’t do it for me. I needed a bigger burst of colour to contrast with the silvers and blacks of the beads in the kit. That was on Thursday. After digging through my stash both yesterday and today (Saturday), I finally found a small oval red Czech glass bead that was both the right size to go with the jasper beads, and the right colour red to go with the waxed linen. I don’t have a lot of red beads, it’s not a colour I go to as a rule. And I was kind of bummed that I didn’t have an art bead or focal that worked nicely. The intense blacks and silvery-greys of the jasper were more challenging than I thought they’d be!

But this is where the fun really started. First I didn’t like the spot I had put the red bead into, and pulled it apart. Then I forgot a knot between two beads, and couldn’t undo the last knot I had made, so I snipped it all apart again. Then I thought I had enough waxed linen, but came up too short. So all in all, I started over four times today. And I was very glad to have the “extra” day that comes from being halfway around the world (we won’t talk about how long I’ve actually had the kit)!

I finally finished it late this afternoon just as the light was disappearing, so I was lucky to get a useable photo. But I’m interested to know whether you think there is enough colour in it now? I like it, but it could use a few more red beads I think.

What didn’t I use? The small faceted squares and the tiny silver flowers. I’m sure they’ll find their way into something else at some point though!

Anyway, as always, this is a blog hop and there are a whole bunch of other jewellery designers playing along. Please take some time to visit their blogs and look at what they created! And thank you Lisa for a great challenge!

Hostess: Lisa Lodge, A Grateful Artist

Kim Dworak, Cianci Blue

Marybeth Rich, A Few Words from within the Pines

Karen Grosset Grange, Ginkgo et Coquelicot

Veralynne Malone, Designed by Vera

Katrina Taylor, I Wanna Go Out

Ann Schroeder, Bead Love

Kathleen Breeding, 99 Bottles of Beads on the Wall

Terri Wlaschin, Dances in Fog

Margaret Pelech, Big Margaret

Jo-Ann Woolverton, It’s a Beadiful Creation

Kathy Zeigler Lindemer, Bay Moon Design

Heather Richter, Desert Jewelry Designs

Carolyn Lawson, Carolyn’s Creations

Toltec Jewels, Jewel School Friends

Melissa Trudinger, Bead Recipes <– YOU ARE HERE!!!

Shaiha Williams, Shaiha’s Ramblings

Chris Eisenberg, Wanderware (May be delayed a few days)

Eleanor Burian Moore, The Charmed Life

Christine Stonefield, Sweet Girl Design

Robin Reed, Artistry HCBD

Laurie Vyselaar, Lefthand Jewelry

Cassi Renee Paslick, Beads: Rolling Downhill

Crystal Thain, Here Bead Dragons

Alicia Marinache, All the Pretty Things (May be delayed a few days)

Becky Pancake, Becky Pancake Bead Designs

Judy Campbell, Macmillanmarie Jewellery Design

Nan Smith, Handmade Jewelry Nanmade

Marde Lowe, FanciMarDesigns

Linda Anderson, From the Bead Board

Leithleach Alainn Seodra, Alainn Jewelry

Lisa E. Prewitt Knappenberger, LiRaysa Designs

Paige Maxim, Paige Maxim Designs

 

The Ocean Blog Hop

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 14^th 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 31^st 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

Green with a hint of sparkle

I’m taking part in today’s Winter Sparkle challenge and blog hop hosted by Lisa Lodge of Pine Ridge Treasures, despite the fact that it is still (for another week) summer here in Australia. Although this week we have had our first taste of autumn, with cool damp weather (hopefully tomorrow will be warmer).

My kit this time contained a variety of green beads, ranging from large faceted ovals, to tiny sparkly crystal rondelles and seed beads. I decided to make a 2-strand necklace, using as many beads as I could. The only beads I didn’t use from the kit were the bugle beads. And I have to apologize for the fact that although this necklace is “finished” it’s not finished to my satisfaction—at some point I will probably redo it, as I am not quite happy with it (there are a few mistakes and I haven’t got any crimp covers, it bothers me LOL).

Lisa also included a couple of sparkly clear faceted drops, which will become earrings one of these days.

Thank you again for a wonderful kit, Lisa. Please take some time to see what everyone else made!

Your hostess:  Lisa Lodge, A Grateful Artist

Melissa Trudinger, Bead Recipes

Kathy Zeigler Lindemer, Bay Moon Design

Eleanor Burian Moore, The Charmed Life 

Jo-Ann Woolverton, It’s a Beadiful Creation

Chris Eisenberg, Wanderware

Carolyn Lawson, Carolyn’s Creations

Toltec  Jewels, Jewel School Friends

Christie Searle Murrow, Charis Designs Jewelry

Heather Richter, Desert Jewelry Designs

Ev Shelby, Raindrop Creations 

Dolores Raml, CraftyD’s Creations

Kim Dworak, Cianci Blue

Cassi Renee Paslick, Beads: Rolling Downhill

Annette Rivers, Mama Owl’s Mess

Tammie Tusher Everly, TTE Designs

Crystal Thain, Here Bead Dragons

Marybeth Rich, A Few Words from within the Pines

Norbel Marolla, She Flies Again Jewelry

Karen Burg, KEB Designs

Karin Grosset Grange, Ginkgo et Coquelicot

Jasvanti Patel, Jewels by Jasvanti

Bead Soup Blog Party and other blog hops

I just signed up for the 8th Bead Soup Blog Party, the third I will participate in! I’ve got a very soft spot for this blog hop, it was the one that got me blogging in the first place (although not the first blog hop I did), and it’s certainly the biggest and best known of the jewellery design blog hops. And Lori Anderson, the founder and the organizer of the hop (believe me when I say it’s a massive effort on her part, I suspect that for the next 2-3 weeks, she and her family will eat, sleep and breathe the partnering process, and that’s a big job even when you haven’t been ill for the best part of the last 12 months), is one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met, in real life or otherwise (hoping one day it will be in real life).

Anyway, by the end of the month I should be paired up and I can finalise the bead soup, tailored to my lucky victim partner. It’s got to have a bit of Australia in it, so I’m thinking about the various bead artists I know and like down here. The big reveal isn’t until 3rd May, which sounds like a long way away, but really isn’t so far! Expect another post or two from me along the way. Click through if you want to see what I made in 2012 and 2013.

In the meantime, I have a few things to keep me busy. One of my favourite blogs, Earrings Everyday, is starting a monthly earring challenge, which is due on the 21st Feb, and I am doing Lisa Lodge‘s Winter Sparkle blog hop on the 22nd. I’ve got a good idea percolating for this month’s Art Bead Scene Monthly Challenge, which has a beautiful Paul Klee painting as its inspiration. And the 3rd Annual Challenge of Music, from the endlessly inventive Erin Prais-Hintz, is on 1st of March. I try to keep all of the upcoming blog hops listed via linked blog buttons at the top of the right hand column of this blog, while completed hops are moved down to the bottom of the column. One day I might even manage to make a page for blog hop links, does that sound useful??

I’ve also signed up to do a couple of markets in March, a school fair and a new market that hopefully will be in the right place at the right time to get some sales. More details on both of those when I have them. My regular market—The Handmade Show—doesn’t start until April, and my first show there will be in May as I’ll be away in April.

I’ll be back on the weekend with some recent designs and a new jam recipe variation!

Deep Forest necklace: Into the Forest Blog Hop

It’s been busy this week—school holidays, three kids at daily swimming lessons, fun stuff!—but I finally got some time to play with the beads (Mum I’m hungry, Mum I’m bored!!!). And in the nick of time too, as today is the reveal date for Lisa Lodge‘s Into the Forest blog hop.

As with all of Lisa’s blog hops, she puts together kits for a small price, and the challenge is to make something with the kit contents. My kit contained a lovely spiral polymer clay pendant by Staci Louise Smith, who makes fabulous beads from a variety of mediums, as well as coordinating yellow turquoise beads, green Czech fire-polished beads and green seed beads, both in yummy shades of green. Sadly, I didn’t manage to take a picture of the kit before I started playing with it, my bad! But, here is a (slightly blurry) picture of the focal pendant, with lovely greens ranging from olive to deep green tones as well as a rich bronzey brown.

Anyway. With the deep green colours in the pendant I thought about the dense green rainforests found in Australia’s far north. I dug through my stash to find some Czech glass rondelles in deep green with a picasso finish, some Czech squares in green and brown and some appropriately named rainforest jasper (rhyolite), and strung them together with some of the kit’s yellow turquoise and Czech beads, using the seed beads as spacers. I wire-wrapped the pendant with one of the turquoise beads and added a couple of brass birds to represent the life hiding within the forest.

I have a few beads left from Lisa’s kit, which no doubt will make their way into earrings and other pieces over the next few months. Thank you again for a great kit and a fun challenge Lisa, I always enjoy your blog hops! Stay tuned, the next one is in about a month!

And of course, I wasn’t the only participant! To see the rest of the creations, just follow the links below!

Your hostess:  Lisa Lodge, A Grateful Artist

Melissa Trudinger, Bead Recipes <– YOU ARE HERE

Kathy Zeigler Lindemer, Bay Moon Design

Eleanor Burian Moore, The Charmed Life

Jo-Ann Woolverton, It’s a Beadiful Creation

Chris Eisenberg, Wanderware

Christine Stonefield, Sweet Girl Design

Carolyn Lawson, Carolyn’s Creations

Janine Lucas, Esfera Travel Blog

Jasvanti Patel, Jewelry by Jasvanti

Shaiha Williams,   Shaiha’s Ramblings

Kay Thomerson, Kayz Kreationz

Karla Morgan, Texas Pepper Jams

Veralynne Malone, Designed by Vera

Toltec  Jewels, Jewel School Friends

Christie Searle Murrow, Charis Designs Jewelry

Molly Alexander, Beautifully Broken Me

Monique Urquhart, A Half-Baked Notion

Janet Bocciardi, Honey from the Bee

Dini Bruinsma, Angaza by Changes

Heather Richter, Desert Jewelry Designs

Christina Miles, Wings n Scales

Elizabeth Engriser, Bead Contagion

Alice Peterson, Alice Dreaming

Alicia Marinache, All the Pretty Things

Catherine Yvonne King, Catherine’s Musings

Alice Craddick, Alice’s Beads and Baubles

Ema Kilroy, Ema K Designs