Beach Blog Hop

I am joining up with Lisa at Pine Ridge Treasures for a blog hop once again, this time the theme is Beach.  

Our kits had beautiful cultured seaglass, crystals and beach themed findings.  I was so eager to start, I forgot to take a picture of everything before I started.  I ended up with two bracelets and a pair of earrings.  I tried some different things with the pictures, please let me know what you think and if they are better than my previous posts.

 I just loved the little dolphin charm that came in my kit.  He is adorable.

The pink crystals make me think of a sunset over the water.  The focal reminded me of a tide pool.

My sister loves turtles.  I think she is going to have a new pair of earrings.

Thank you Lisa for hosting and being so generous with the kits! 

Thanks for visiting my blog, I hope you enjoyed seeing what I made.  Please go and look at what the other participants did:

Your hostess:  Lisa Lodge, A Grateful Artist

Carolyn Lawson, Carolyn's Creations

Candida Elkins Castleberry, Spun Sugar Beadworks

Becky Pancake, Becky Pancake Bead Designs

Kari Asbury, Hippie Chick Design

Susan Anderson, La Main Tresor

Kim Dworak, Cianci Blue ----------> You are here

Margaret Pelech, Margaret Pelech's Blog

Lisa Prewitt Knappenberger, LiRaysa Designs

Carol Briody, A Beads Life

Karin Grosset Grange, Ginkgo et Coquelicot

Shaiha Williams, Shaiha’s Ramblings

Gloria Allen, Gloria Allen Designs

Rosee Floss Hanemaayer, Silver Penny Artisans

Saundra Farren, Something by Saundra

Beti Horvath, Stringing Fool Jewelry

MaryAnne Kelly Hobbs-Fernie - TBD

Chris Eisenberg, Wanderware

Alicia Marinache, All the Pretty Things

Veralynne Malone, Designed by Vera

Kelly Fletcher – TBD

Linda Anderson, From the Bead Board

Diana Chavis - TBD

Summer Waters Blog Hop

Today I am doing the Summer Waters blog hop with Lisa from Pine Ridge Treasures.  

A lot of times, I get the kits from Lisa and wonder if she has a little camera in my bead room.  She always sends me beads that match perfectly with a focal I've been saving.  The owl is a Marti Conrad piece that I was saving , the rest are the beads Lisa sent:

I ended up with 2 necklaces, a bracelet and 3 pairs of earrings.  Be warned this post is picture heavy.

Here is the necklace that I did with Marti's owl.  I added moonstone nuggets from my stash, the rest of the beads were from the kit.

A close up of the focal, isn't he adorable?  I just love Marti's work:

I had little owl charms that I did earrings with.  I need to redo the wire, I was messing around to see if I could come up with something different, and I like these.

Here is the other necklace, I love the blues in this one - they worked so well with the pearls.

Here is a close up of the back:

 

I liked this combo so much, I did a bracelet too:

Another view:

And some earrings:

And finally the last pair of earrings.  I am so bummed, one of them broke while we were taking pictures.  I thought I'd include them anyway, hopefully I can find another little fishy.

Thanks for visiting my blog, please take a look at what the other participants did with their beads:

Your hostess:  Lisa Lodge, A Grateful Artist

Carolyn Lawson, Carolyn's Creations

Becky Pancake, Becky Pancake Bead Designs

Susan Anderson, La Main Tresor

Kim Dworak, Cianci Blue   <--------You are here

Saundra Farren, Something by Saundra


Gloria Allen, Wings and Beads

Shaiha Williams, Shaihas Ramblings

Rosee Chara Hanemaayer,  Silver Penny Artisans

The Art of Awareness Blog Hop

Today I'm joining Lori Anderson of Pretty Things and Heather Millican of Swoondimples for the Art of Awareness blog hop.  Heather is a polymer clay artist and has a line of word beads that she calls beans.  For this blog hop, she commissioned a special awareness ribbon stamp to use on one side, with a word on the other.  She made custom beads for each of the participants.  I asked her for a bead with the ALS colors (navy blue and white) and the word love.  Then our assignment was to create a piece of jewelry with our bead and post it May 16th on our blogs, with as much about the story behind our cause as we were able to share. 

I chose ALS as my cause because my Uncle has it.  If you aren't sure what it is, would like to learn more, or to donate, click here. 

My Uncle is a brilliant engineer.  He was my Dad's best friend, they grew up together.  When I was little, I had to take this horrible liquid medicine.  He was the only one that could get me to take it without screaming.  He had books, my God, the books.  I used to go and just stand in front of the bookcase and stare at them.  Being a voracious reader runs in my family, and I remember how happy I was when he said I could read the Hardy Boys Mysteries.  There are so many things I could say, but those are the things I remember first when I think about him. I cannot even imagine what my Aunt and cousins are going through right now. 

Here is the bead Heather made for me:

And the other side.  I love the ribbon with the heart.

Here is the bracelet I made with it.  

The white rounds are cultured seaglass, and those are my favorite blue crystals.  I am really happy with the way it turned out.  It's simple and says the most important thing.  

I want to thank Lori and Heather for all the hard work they have both done on this hop.  Please take a look at what the other participants did.  

Hug your family tonight, and tell them that you love them.  Every day you get with them is a gift that should be treasured. 

Lori Heather	Anderson Millican	www.PrettyThingsBlog.com (hostess) www.facebook.com/swoondimples (bead artist)
Candida	Castleberry	www.spunsugarbeadworks.blogspot.com
mischelle	andrade	https://micheladasmusings.blogspot.com
Paige	Maxim	http://delightfullittlegems.blogspot.com/
Laurie	Vyselaar	www.lefthandjewelry.wordpress.com
Marybeth	Rich	http://forestofjewels.blogspot.com/
Alice	Peterson	www.alice-dreaming.blogspot.com
Kim	Dworak	http://www.cianciblue.blogspot.com/
Audrey	Bélanger	http://esperianterra.blogspot.ca/
Karen	mitchell	www.overthemoon-design.com
Joan	Williams	www.lilrubyjewelry.com
Jean	Wells	jeanawells.blogspot.com
Ann	Schroeder	www.beadlove.wordpress.com
Gail	Accinelli	facebook.com/oregonmadejewelry
Tania	Spivey	www.moobiegracedesigns.blogspot.com
Mallory	Hoffman	http://rosebud101-fortheloveofbeads.blogspot.com/
Mary K	McGraw	mkaymac.blogspot.com
Shai	Williams	www.shaihasramblings.com/
Beth	Emery	storiesbyindigoheart.blogspot.com
Catie	Doman	http://drcatie.blogspot.com
Lorelei	Eurto	Http://lorelei1141.blogspot.com
Lee	Koopman	www.stregajewellry.wordpress.com
Tammy	Adams	www.paisleylizard.com/blog/
Katie	Nelson	https://www.facebook.com/katiebead
Patty	Miller	http://pattymillerbeads.blogspot.com
Chris	Eisenberg	www.wanderware.blogspot.com
Cassi	Paslick	http://badatbeingmom.blogspot.com/
Charlee	Griffith	https://www.facebook.com/charlee.griffith
Kelli	Nelson	www.afamilyaffarekelli.blogspot.com
Catherine	King	http://catherines-musings.blogspot.com
Melissa	Trudinger	beadrecipes.wordpress.com
susan	Bowie	https://susanbowie.wordpress.com
Jennifer	Justman	www.soulsfiredesigns.blogspot.com/
Cassi	Paslick	http://badatbeingmom.blogspot.com/
K	Hutchinson	http://jumbledhutch.wordpress.com
Veralynne	Malone	www.veradesigns.blogspot.com
Evie and Beth	McCord	http://ebbeadandmetalworks.blogspot.com/
Mihaela	Georgescu	http://michellemaya2005.wordpress.com
Rebecca	Anderso	Www.songbeads.blogspot.com
Charlene	jacka	www.clay-space.com
Kim	Stevens	www.pickingpoppies.blogspot.com
Susan	McClelland	Mistheword12.wordpress.com
Sally	Russick	www.sallyrussick.blogspot.com
Gina	Hockett	www.freestyleelements.blogspot.com
Mona	Arnott	bijouxgemsjoy.blogspot.ca
Sandi	Volpe	www.sandivolpe.com
Andrea	Glick	http://zenithjade.blogspot.com/
Janine	Lucas	http://www.esfera.me/travel/blog/travel-stories
Lori	Bowring Michaud	www.artfullyornamental.blogspot.com
Christie	Murrow	Www.charisdesignsjewelry.blogspot.com
B.R.	Kuhlman	www.mixedmayhemstudios.com
Lupe	Meter	www.gesmpccorner.blogspot.com
Lucy	Bejarano	www.lucybejaranojewelry.blogspot.com/
Stephanie	Perry	www.mustardbeadbystephanieperry.blogspot.com
Elisabeth	Auld	www.beadsforbusygals.com
Carolyn	Lawson	www.carolynscreationswa.blogspot.com
Heather	Powers	www.humblebeads.blogspot.com
Katie	Hacker	www.katiehacker.blogspot.com
Kepi	Rasmussen	www.kepirasmussen.blogspot.ca
Gail	Vanderster-Zwang	www.angelmoose.blogspot.com
Elizabeth	Hodges	http://thewhisperingseas.blogspot.com/

Creative Jewelry Challenge #1: Make a Statement

Today is the reveal for the Creative Jewelry Challenge, hosted by Sally Russick.  We were challenged to make a statement piece. I knew right away what I wanted to do.  Last July, Brian (my dh) bought me some beautiful blue agate druzy beads.  A strand of 20mm and a gorgeous focal.  Blue is my favorite color, and I love a druzy.  He thought that I could make a piece with them to put on my shop banner and business cards.  Have I mentioned that he is awesome?  I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with them, so they've sat and I've thought.  Then I saw some pave beads in a destash group that I'm in on Facebook.  Everything clicked at that point, and here is what I did:

Here is a close up of that beautiful focal.  I love it.  I couldn't have picked out better beads myself.

And one more shot of the necklace.  

I made it long - 24 inches.  I love long necklaces.  I have enough of the 20mm beads to make a bracelet, and I think I will make some earrings with my leftover pave beads.

I hope you enjoyed seeing what I made, please check out the other participants and see what they did!

Sally Russick
Kim Dworak   <----you are here!
Terri Gauthier
Elizabeth Bergesen
Karin Grosset Grange
Paula Kramer
Patti Vanderbloemen
Therese Frank
Beth McCord
Niky Sayers 

Ordinary Extraordinary Everyday Days 11 to 15‏

This is the last post for this round of Ordinary Extraordinary Everyday, with Sally Russick.  I have had a great time with this and am looking forward to doing it again.

Day 11, Macro:

 Do you know what this is?  You'll see the rest of it later in this post.

Day 12, Temptation:

These are amazing chocolate covered cherries.  Amazing.  The best I've ever had.  I got them for Christmas and as you can see, there is only one left.

Day 13, Sweetness:

Living in WI and being a Bears fan is not easy.  But Walter will ALWAYS be Sweetness to me.

 Day 14, Love:

 This is Hal.  He is 13, and we adopted him last January after fostering him for a couple of months.  He is the sweetest dog I've ever had.  He's singing in this picture (howling).  Every day with him is a gift.

Day 15, Togetherness:

This is my husband and Heidi.  I thought it was perfect for the prompt.  The look on her face says it all.

Please don't forget to see what everyone else came up with for the prompts, and if you want to join, just add your link below:

An InLinkz Link-up

Ordinary Extraordinary Everyday Days 6 to 10‏

Here I am again joining up with Sally Russick for Ordinary Extraordinary Days.  I have days 6 through 10 for you today.  Here we go:

Day 6, Minimal:

 This is one of my Granny Great's (that's what we called her when we were little) wine glasses.  They are beautiful, and I think of her every time I use them.  And my thanks to Shari for giving me the idea for this picture, because I really didn't have a clue what to do with the prompt.

Day 7, Daily Chaos:

This is my alarm clock, and it's what starts my daily chaos every morning.  It's a sunrise alarm, which really helps me because I have a hard time waking up when it's dark outside.  I am not a morning person - ask anyone.

Day 8, Words:

 

This is my favorite picture of Brian and I from our wedding, in my favorite frame.  I love the saying on it.  This year will be 16 years for us in May.

 Day 9, Night Time Calm:

 

This is Wülfgang at the top, and George on the bottom.  Wülfgang will be 8 this year, George will be 17.    Wulfie is the best cuddling dog in the world.  George sleeps with him a lot, usually much closer than this.

Day 10, Outside:

The only editing I did to this picture was to crop a bit of the corner off, where the house was showing.  It was sleeting Tuesday night and I pointed the camera straight up and shot the picture with the flash on.  Pretty cool, the laser beams were completely unexpected.


And I'd like to show you a bonus picture, I was asked by a couple of people in the comments from Friday to share a picture of the completed necklace (repetitive pattern).  Here it is:

I am really happy with the way it turned out, and so was my friend.  Pattern is from Diane Fitzgerald's Shaped Beadwork.

Don't forget to come back on 2/16 for the last post in this series!

Thank you so much for stopping by, please take a look at the other participants and if you want to link up with your own post, there is an InLinkz tool below:

An InLinkz Link-up

Checkerboard Blog Hop

I am joining Lisa at Pine Ridge Treasures again for the Checkerboard Blog Hop.  I really love Lisa's hops.  She sends us a great selection of beads and I love a challenge.  I did take a picture of the beads I received in the kit before I started, here is what I received.

I just love the flowers.  Red is not one of my favorite colors, so this was a true challenge for me.  I ended up with two necklaces, I used up almost all of the beads. 

I had some pretty white crystals, and a black and white cameo focal, so I put this together.  

Now I needed to use those red beads.  And I wanted to put the flowers with them somehow.  This is what I came up with:

Here are both of them together:

Thank you for stopping by, I hope you like what I did, please stop by the other participants to see what they created with their beads!

Your hostess:  Lisa Lodge, A Grateful Artist

Jo-Ann Woolverton, It's a Beadiful Creation

Carolyn Lawson, Carolyn's Creations

Toltec  Jewels, Jewel School Friends

Heather Richter, Desert Jewelry Designs

Candida Elkins Castleberry, Spun Sugar Beadworks

Kathleen Breeding, 99 Bottles of Beads on the Wall

Mischelle Fanucchi, Micheladas Musings

Becky Pancake, Becky Pancake Bead Designs

Kari Asbury, Hippie Chick Design

Susan Anderson, La Main Tresor

Kathy Lindemer, Bay Moon Design

Ann Schroeder, Bead Love

Kim Dworak, Cianci Blue   This is me!

Margaret Pelech, Margaret Pelech's Blog

Lisa Prewitt Knappenberger, LiRaysa Designs

Annette Rivers, Mama Owls Mess

Carol Briody, A Beads Life

Miranda Ackerley, MirandAck

Marybeth Rich, A Few Words from within the Pines

Karin Grosset Grange (France), Ginkgo et Coquelicot

Katrina Scuderi Taylor, I Wanna Go Out