Saturday, September 20, 2014

Pearl Challenge #3

Once again, I am participating in a challenge hosted by Lisa at Pine Ridge Treasures - as I'm sure everyone knows, I love her challenges!  This one is a little different though, it's on the Facebook group she runs.  This one was all pearls, I had two colors, blue and white.  I love pearls.  Real pearls, glass pearls - I just love pearls.  I forgot to take a before picture, but here is my beading board while I was working on the necklace:
The necklace pattern is called Coronation Day Necklace by Evelina Palmontova, featured in the Aug/Sept issue of Beadwork Magazine. 

Here are some pictures of the finished necklace, here is a full shot of the front:


And a shot of the back of the pendant.  I plan on wearing it both ways, I love that this side shows off the pearls a little more.

And a closeup of the front of the focal:
I LOVE this necklace, I've worn it 3 or 4 times so far, the drape is lovely and it is so pretty.  I am really glad I decided to try the pattern.  It was much easier than I thought it would be.  I used 4mm and 6mm blue glass pearls, 4mm blue Swarovski bicones, 3mm and 4mm gold Czech fire polished beads, and size 8, 11 and 15 seed beads.  Clasp is a simple hook clasp.  Everything except the pearls is from my stash, .

Now I needed to do something with the white pearls.  I had this gorgeous leaf chain from Bead and Button and I came up with these.  

I just love that chain.  I really should have bought more. I appreciate your comments, let me know what you think!  Please hop on over to the Facebook group to see what everyone else did!
 


 

Saturday, September 6, 2014

Blue Fantasy Blog Hop

Once again, I am joining up with Lisa at Pine Ridge Treasures for a blog hop.  This one is called the Blue Fantasy Blog Hop and since blue is my favorite color I was really happy to join her. 

Here are the beads Lisa sent:

Can you say Heaven?  I was thrilled to say the least.  Just look at all of that blue.  And the paw print bead - you can't get more perfect for me than that.  Lisa is always very generous with her kits.  There were a ton of beads.  And I also have a ton of blue beads, so I had no shortage of ideas for them.  I ended up with 4 necklaces and a pair of earrings.  I still have beads left but I'm not sure what I want to do with them just yet.  Lets start the pictures, hope you have some time and something to drink!

The ceramic paw print was first. I paired it with some sea glass that I'd gotten from Lisa previously, and I some Czech crystals I had.  From the kit I used the spacers, the pretty silver links and some of the round beads.  

Here is the back, I used some really pretty blue peanut beads here.


And a detail shot of the front
 Here is a full shot of the necklace. 
The paw print is from Firefly Design Studio 

For the next piece, I went into my stash and found a Goddess focal that I'd gotten from Glass Onion before they closed.  I've been trying to decide what to do with it.  I used some sari silk, also from Glass Onion and some beautiful Larimar Blue Crazy Lace Agates that I had recently gotten from Lima Beads.  From the kit I used the spaces and the teal crystals.  



I had a lampwork bead that I'd also been saving for a while, trying to come up with something that did it justice.  I used a lot of the beads from the kit in this one, and some white chain that I had.
Here is the back:
 The focal is double sided and will turn on the headpin so either side can be seen. 
 Here is my favorite side:

 I almost added some blue rounds to the ends of the chain but my husband said stop, so I listened to him.  I think he was right.  Here is a full shot of the necklace.
 

Next up is a polymer clay focal that I had gotten from Barbara Bechtel.  It is just gorgeous.  I used some gold colored spacers and gold chain, the crazy lace agates from Lima Beads again and from the kit I used more of the teal crystals.  I had it done with sari silk instead of the chain, but I took it apart because it didn't hang right.  Here is a close up of the focal so you can see how beautiful it is:
 And the whole thing.  The back is a simple lobster claw clasp with a chain so it's adjustable.
 Finally, here are the earrings I did.  I had the birds from Lisa in a previous hop.  
Thanks for staying with me for this long post, I hope you enjoyed seeing what I came up with.  Please take a look at what the other participants did with their beads:

Your hostess:  Lisa Lodge, A Grateful Artist
Kim Dworak, Cianci Blue  ----------------->>>>>> You are here
Karen Grosset Grange, Ginkgo et Coquelicot
Veralynne Malone, Designed by Vera
Jo-Ann Woolverton, It's a Beadiful Creation
Heather Richter, Desert Jewelry Designs
Carolyn Lawson, Carolyn's Creations
Candida Elkins Castleberry, Spun Sugar Beadworks
Shaiha Williams, Shaiha's Ramblings
Eleanor Burian-Mohr, The Charmed Life
Gloria Allen, Wings and Beads
Laurie Vyselaar, Lefthand Jewelry
Terri Wlaschin, Dances in Fog
Lisa Prewitt Knappenberger, LiRaysa Designs
Toltec Jewels, Jewel School Friends
Raissa de Guzman, Abloro
Jill Bradley, Jilly Beads