Autumn Challenge Reveal Day

The Autumn Design Challenge is hosted by Lesley Watt of Thea Elements and Caroline Dewison of Blueberri beads. They combined Lesley's metal clay components with Caroline's ceramic beads.

Here is what I got from Lesley and Caroline.

These are not components that I would normally work with, so let the challenge begin. I also decided that I was going to work with only what I had in my stash.

I wanted to hi-light the two metal components originally in a bracelet but it became a necklace. I found in my stash this beautiful ombre ribbon. The earth tone would work well with both the heart and the flower. I decided to do a Kumihimo braid with a cream rattail. At this point I decide to make a necklace and made another length of braid using a brown rattail.

Ribbon and rattail

 I am not super happy with the finishing, but I like that I can wear either the heart or the flower.

Braids with Heart

Braids with Flower

Using the ribbon and cream rattail I worked a basic macrame square knot and inserted some of Caroline's ceramic beads. The challenge for me with this project was finding a gold-tone closure. Found this toggle yesterday morning.

Macrame Bracelet

With the last two ceramic beads I made this purse charm with cream rattail and three gold rings.

Purse Charm

Here is a list of all the other participants. Take some time to hop around and see what wonderous things they made.

Lesley Watt

Caroline Dewison

Gay Messander

Made By Jules

Heidi Post

Janet Bocciardi

Alice Peterson

Dolores Raml

Lucy Haslam

Pine Ridge Treasures

Shirley Moore

Tracy Collins

Melissa Trudinger

Mags

Pepita

Jo-Ann Woolverton < you are here

Toltec Jewels

Judith Johnston

Janine Lucas

Madeline Bunyan

Chic and frog

Sue Rennie

A big thanks to Lesley and Caroline for sharing their wonder handmade items and challenging me to try something different.

Happy Beading!

Summer Beading

It is the first day fall here in Weston. So I am going to take a look a back at some of the beading I did this summer. Some I have blogged about and some I have not.

Summer started with those three great classes with Jean Power, zinnias, frames and stars. Following the class I finished the zinnia and not just one star but 4.

Finished Zinnia

Finished Stars

In July I was part of the Bead Hoarder's Blog Hop. Using some of the beautiful beads I had been saving I made four different sets of jewellry. Here is my favourite, using beads by Jennifer Tough that I have had stashed in a little metal Swarovski box.

Bead Hoarder's Set

I took a great class at beadfx with Pamela Kearns. The shooting star pendant is from the book Crystal Play by Anna Elizabeth Draeger. In class I did one with jet & red coral Swarovski crystals and silver seed beads. 

First Shooting Star Pendant

I did a secod one later in the summer with green seed beads, green and yellow Swarovski crystals. It is not quite the look I was hoping for. I likely remake it with some brown seed beads to look like a wooden trellis for the flower-like cluster of crystals.

In August I posted about the piece I created with the polymer clay component by Alenka of Pepita Handmade. It was a fun challenge that push me to make something very different then usual!

Pepita Handmade necklace

The last challenge of the summer was the Cabochon Challenge. I loved this reversal pendant project from the August issue of Bead & Button by Amy Kohn made with Lunasoft cabs. I have been wearing the Red/Grey pendant and love being able to flip the piece during the day.

After blogging about Peyote stitch on the Rypan Designs' blog I decided to make a few projects from Diane Fitzgerald's Shaped Beadwork book. I love the Celtic Trefoil design. It was interesting to see this go from a long loose knot of 99 delicas to a beautiful Celtic Knot Trefoil pendant.

To finish my first one I used short lengths of chain and small Swarovski crystals.

The second one has just silver chain.

My third is accented with mauve Swarovski Pearls.

 I also started to play with the pointed ovals from Diane's book. I was looking to use them to create a flower brooch. I was inspired by this photo I found online a number of years ago.

 Here is one of the pointed ovals in progress.

Five ovals worked together in to a flower. I just need to figure a way to hold it together as a wearable brooch.

 
Here is the necklace that I made with the beads that my friend Maria got for me at Bead & Button show. The beautiful owl pendant is accent with ceramic, copper and wooden beads.

Owl necklace

 Back in July I purchased some amazing ceramic beads from Kathi Mohlman of Earth n Elements Pottery. The urchin beads I wanted to put them with the Sea Urchin beaded bead from Marcia DeCoster's Beaded Opulence book. I added some fire-polished beads and pearls.

Sea Urchin Necklace

I finished a few other projects for fall challenge reveals. Stay tuned to see some other fun projects.

Creating with Cabochons - Reveal Day

Back in July I signed up to participate in the Creating with Cahochons Challenge hosted by Sally Russick of Studio Sublime.

Back in June I had worked with a Swarovksi flatback crystal for Jean Power's Zinnia class.

back view, peyote bezel with addition of strip for wearablity

Addition of petals in progress

Finished Zinnia with two layers of petals

For my next project with cabochons I decided to do a project from the August issue of Bead & Button. Reverible Romance by Amy Kohn uses Lunasoft cabochons. I decided to use the designer's colour selections from one side of each of the two options.

Purple and Teal oval Lunasoft cabochons

You start this project by gluing the two cabochons together. You then create a right angle weave base for the woven bezel. Different colour beads are used for each side.

To hold the cabochons in place a web of overlapping segments of beads is worked off of the RAW base. Once you have done this on both sides you work the crystal embellishment around the outer edge. Different colour crystals enhance the cabochon on each side.

Ths pendant is finished with a bail of peyote.

Teal Side

Purple Side

The challenge was getting the woven segments in place and the right length. Looking at the images of the finished pendant I can see the thread showing in the bezel.

I had purchased two more Lunasoft cahochons to make a second pedant in my own colour selection. I used a red and a soft grey cabochon for this one. For the right angle weave base I used the same colour (silver) for both sides. The woven bezel and crystal embellishment are in a different colour on each side.

I also decide to have this pendant hang from the short end of the pedant.

Red Side

Soft Grey Side

I have been wearing the grey/red pendant recent and recieved many compliments.


Hop around see what others have created - 

Our Host:  Sally Russick

D Lynne  Bowland

Alicia Marinache           

Lynn  Jobber           

Jenny Davies-Reazor
           

Jo-Ann  Woolverton           

Marde Lowe           

Dawn Doucette           

Mary K McGraw           

Gloria Allen           

Cheri  Reed           

Sonya Stille           

Elizabeth Owens Dwy           

Veralynne   Malone           

Tania Hagen
     

Lynsey  Brooks           

Christina Miles           

Holly  Westfall           

Kathy  Lindemer           

Patti Vanderbloemen           

Therese Frank           

Adrienne Berry           

Liz   E 

Tanty  Sri Hartanti           

Ginger Bishop

Renetha Stanziano           

Marlene  Cupo           

Sandi Volpe           
Sharyl McMillian-Nelson           

Niky  Sayers

Mischelle Fanucchi           

Tracy  Stillman           

Skylar Bre'z           

Ann Schroeder           
Paula Kramer

Jess Green           
Susan Kennedy           

Stacie  Florer           

Cathie  Carroll           
Susan F. 

Michelle Caballero       
Sabine Dittrich           
Kristina Johansson           
Kimberly Sturrup-Roberts           
Melissa  Meman
         
Cheryl McCloud         
Michelle  Timms           
Cindy  Pack            
Lynda  Carson
Cynthia  Machata
         
Julia  Harris           

Karin  Slaton

Ingrid  Anderson           

Karin Grosset Grange

Jasvanti Patel 

Inge  von Roos

Molly Alexander

Toltec Jewels  

I look forward to see what everyone else has created.

Happy Beading!

Challenge Beads in the mail

I am participating in two more beading challenges.

One is the Autumn Design Challenge hosted by Lesley Watt of Thea Elements and Caroline Dewison of Blueberri beads. They combined Lesley's metal clay components with Caroline's ceramic beads.

My package arrived in the mail this week and I have until October 2 to make something wonderful with these beautiful handcrafted beads and components. 

The second challenge is the Into the forest challenge hosted by Lisa Lodge of Pine Ridge Treasures. Lisa put together an selection of seed beads, Czech glass beads and a focal of some sort.

Here is what arrived in the mail from Lisa.  The clay pendant is by Shaterra. Green fire-polished beads and oranges leaves combined with silver lined green seed beads were also included. I have until January 11 to make something which fits the "Forest" theme.

These are both going to challentge my creativity in different ways. Stop back on reveal days to see what I am able to create.

Pepita 1st Blogoversary

It is reveal day for this fun and challenging blog hop. Back in June Alenka over at Pepita handmade post about her 1st blogoversary. To celebrate she invited fellow bloggers to sign up for a creative challenge. She would send us one of her amazing handmade components and we would have until August 11 to make something with it.

amazing components sent to fellow beaders

I received this wonderful component.

Curved turquoise coloured component

After many days of just looking at it and thinking about design ideas. I was inspired by my mobile from a few years ago. It now sits on the book shelf next to my beading table. The combination of copper and turquoise is a favourite.

During a trip to beadfx I picked up some interesting turquoise and coppers beads, copper findings, wire and chain.

The before picture

As I started to play with these beads I found that I still needed a few more things. More chain, eyepins (instead of headpins) and a closure.

Here is my design idea sketch I did on my ipad.

This finished necklace is like nothing I have made before. It is 102 cm (40 in.) long and is an asymetrical design.

The after picture

After finishing the necklace the challenge has been to photograph it. The above photo shows the over all length and design, but not the detail. Arranged over and around this small hand carved wooden bowl you can see more details.

Artistically arranged

Close up of Pepita Component

This was a challenge that had me asking myself "what if" as I played with the makeup of each of the bead connections and their placement in the design. I also got to use my new 1-step looper tool (love it!)

Here are the participants:

Ginger Bishop

Susan Kennedy

Becky Pancake

Debbie(Kepi) Rasmussen

Evelyn Shelby

Dini Bruinsma

Monique Urquhart

Jo-Ann Woolverton

Penny May

Carolyn Lawson

Ana Cravidao

Dolores Raml

Cynthia Machata

Thanks once again to Alenka for the chance to celebrate with you.

Happy Blogoversary!!!

In the mail - books and beads

Yesterday I was able to pickup not one, but two packages that had arrived in the mail for me.

The first was Jean Power's My Favourite Delicas 2. I had ordered this a few weeks ago.

I now have 27 new tubes of delicas. Some are colours I have, but many are not. I am looking forward to creating with them.

I loved the bonus spiral bound notebook for "Important beading notes". Are there any other kind of beading notes?

I also got two books that I had ordered.

The first is Marcia DeCoster's new book Beads in motion. I am hoping to get the supplies together to make the Saturn rings necklace.

The other book, Don't pigeonhole me!, is by one of my favourite children's author/illustrator, Mo Willems.  It is a collection of the sketchbooks he made to share with family, friends and associates. You get to see the doodles that lead to some of his books.

 Happy Beading & Reading!!!

Vacation Beading - Day 2 & 3

Yesterday I had lunch with Maria to celebrate are birthdays this week. We had burgers at the Works down in Bloor West Village. I gave her the Shooting Star pendant that I made on Thursday.

I spent the rest of the day working to finish my series of geometric stars from the class with Jean Power. Using the colour palette from the sea anemone as seen in Margie Deeb's book The Beader's Color Palette.

I finished the fourth star today. 

Here are all four stars together.

I just need to decide how best to display them.

Tomorrow I will do some beading in the morning and spend the afternoon with my sister and her family.

Happy Beading!