Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Countdown....

#Battle of the Beadsmith 2015
T minus 13 days and counting.......Bloody Fingers wrapped ? Check!

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Awesome Giveaway -

Monique of Half Baked Notion posted the greatest Giveaway that Pearl of the Beading Gem is offering:

For those of you that are continuously struggling for that perfect jewelry photograph then this is your chance........a Modahaus Photo Studio.  Make sure you take time and read the incredible photo tips that they have......they are using their I Phones for those clean crisp photographs.......I'll be reading it again tonight.

Visit :
 
Monique, your the best for this share.

Sunday, May 17, 2015

Well then....it's seems that blog scheduler wasn't working

My apologies ladies - I was out of town yesterday and it seems that my scheduled blog did not post.  Please enjoy.

Saturday, May 16, 2015

Today is the day - The Art of Awareness Blog Hop


Today is the day for the Lori Anderson and Heather Millican Art of Awareness Blog Hop. 
When Lori posted her idea for this Blog Hop I was intrigued and spent a few moments visiting
Heather Millicans ETSY site. 

Lori posted:
" Recently I bought a set of word beans from Heather to make myself an awareness bracelet. (Yes, they're called beans... bead beans. Cute!) In my career, I've made a lot of awareness jewelry and always worked hard to make them unique and unlike things you often see in department stores. Lying in bed one night, I thought, "I wonder if Heather would be interested in a blog hop?". "
I would like to take a moment and thank Lori Anderson for her continued ability to develop some of the greatest Blog Hops over the past years and her tireless efforts as she battles her own Awareness.  Please visit Lori's blog at:  http://prettythingsblog.com  and read her story.

I was hooked on these little bean treasures and purchased a perfect bean that means a lot in my life.
Breast Cancer Awareness - so therefore PINK was purchased.  As many who have followed my blog are aware - I have had three of the dearest people in my life pass from this dreaded disease and just this past month my cousin in Oregon has been diagnosed with Breast Cancer and has just completed her surgery.  Our hopes and prayers are for a full recovery.  Stephanie is known as " Wild Woman Creations " and I can envision her defeating this disease by her unique wildness.

My creation is in honor of - Leah Schad - Maria Osonski and my wonderful Mother - Ellen Brown Smith, my three muses- my three angels.  I am blessed to have friends where our friendships lasted over thirty years and how can one not recognize how important our mothers are?

Many know that I am a Bead Embroider so I am out of my comfort zone when I string and work with chain.....but I believe these little beans were the perfect setting and I was happy with the results.   






I hope you enjoy them as much as I did making them.

Thank you Lori and Heather for coming up with a lovely way to create adornment that follows our causes. 
Now get comfortable in your chair - grab a warm cup of coffee and visit the following ladies who have their own creations and stories to tell. 
Lori
Heather
Anderson
Millican

Candida
Castleberry
mischelle
andrade
Paige
Maxim
Laurie 
Vyselaar 
Marybeth
Rich
Alice
Peterson
Kim
Dworak
Audrey
Bélanger
Karen
mitchell
Joan
Williams
Jean
Wells
Ann
Schroeder
Gail
Accinelli
Tania
Spivey
Mallory 
Hoffman
Mary K
McGraw
Shai
Williams
Beth
Emery
Catie
Doman
Lorelei
Eurto
Lee
Koopman
Tammy
Adams
Katie
Nelson
Patty
Miller
Chris
Eisenberg
Cassi
Paslick
Charlee
Griffith
Kelli
Nelson
Catherine
King
Melissa
Trudinger
susan
Bowie
Jennifer
Justman
Cassi
Paslick
K
Hutchinson
Veralynne
Malone
Evie and Beth
McCord
Mihaela
Georgescu

Rebecca
Anderson 
 
Kim
Stevens
Susan
McClelland
Sally
Russick
Gina
Hockett
Mona
Arnott
Sandi
Volpe
Andrea
Glick
Janine
Lucas
Lori
Bowring Michaud
Christie
Murrow
B.R.
Kuhlman
Lupe
Meter
Lucy
Bejarano
Stephanie
Perry
Elisabeth
Auld
Carolyn
Lawson
Heather
Powers
Katie
Hacker
Kepi
Rasmussen
Gail 
Vanderster-Zwang
Elizabeth
Hodges

Saturday, May 2, 2015

Bead Peep Swap N Hop Reveal

Today is the day.......our reveal for the 2015 Bead Peep Swap N Hop.  My lovely partner " Krafty Max " and I have been very busy so we can now take a breath!  First I want to thank Linda Anderson for putting this lovely Swap N Hop together.  You can visit Linda at:

http://fromthebeadboard.blogspot.com      Do drop in and enjoy her blog.  Her sense of humor is wonderful.

A big thank you Linda and all of her assistants for managing this event.  Talk about some talent?  You will see a lot of this today as you start visiting each page. 

  #BeadPeepsSwap


Catherine
King      
Krafty
Max



Now let me tell you about Krafty Max.  She is such a gem and I have enjoyed following her and her many avenues of beading.  When I first visited the Krafty Max site I was like - WOW!  How does she keep track of all of those sites - ArtFire....Linkedin....Pinterest.... just all of the social media sites I haven't even had a chance to look into.  She inspired me.  In the process this lady also just launched a new website.  Talent I tell you!  Please take time to visit and peruse her site and take special notice of her award winning designs.  You will so enjoy looking at all of her new treasures. 

I originally selected the following after we dialoged via email asking what either one of us would like:  

RED!  

The center cabochon I cabbed myself from Indian Paintstone and all of the red just seemed to fall in place. 

And I received from Max ......
So!  Let me tell you about my treasures.  I'll begin with the delightful treasures and then move to
the very detailed item that serves " two-fold".

The Lovely Cat's Eyes in Brown and Vintage Wood Beads.  I fell in love with the Cat's Eye beads and started a lovely stringing project.  Then as I began to fancy a side set of larger beads I added the vintage wood beads and interspersed some lovely amber Crystals and Silver Beads that were included in the package.  I used a lovely clasp that Max had sent as the clasp for this piece.  I also did ( 2 ) two sets of earrings to go with this piece.  One a simple straight set and the other a loop with SS Ear-wires. 



There was a wonderful Silver Bar piece included in the Silver bag that was set with two fun faux stones.  Looked at it and said " Cat!  that would look great in Chainmaille.........so Wallah!  Two rows of Byzantine co-joined for the clasp.  A lovely little stainless heart.  How delightful is that?


Then the big project - Max included a lovely strand of Turritella Agate in a unusual shape. " Be still my beating heart! "  It was what I had been looking for.  We had a competition in the Society of Creative Anachronism ( SCA ) coming in October that covered the years of the Tudor Dynasty.  I had drafted a lovely rendition of the " Chain of Office " that was worn by Royalty and was  prevalent in the Tudor Dynasty era.  Here are two examples.




My artists mind saw the Turritella Agate as " The Kings Jewels - Chain of Office ".  It was perfect.  The round Grain Stone strand also fit into this piece as well.  I am included a " Sneak Peek " of the " Kings Jewels - Chain of Office " as the complete piece will reveal at the SCA Crown Tournament in October and then of course I will post again as this is being reviewed.

Here is the sneak peek:




I would love to hear you thoughts on this.  In conclusion - I would like to thank Max for being a delightful partner.  Max,  I hope I did your stash justice.

So, pull up a chair - grab yourself a lovely cup of Hot Chocolate and start visiting this wonderful Blog Hop.....................  I know I will be doing the same.

Click on this link which will take you to our wonderful Hostess and you can Hop with the rest of us.

http://fromthebeadboard.blogspot.com/search/label/Swap%20N%20Hop


After that,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,The Battle of the Beadsmiths - WhooHoo!