Wow! It's been a while since I blogged. It's July now and school is out!!!! Yeah! So I can focus more on my shop and creating new products. After a year of classroom trashing and other challenges, I'm ready to get back to may "business hobby". lol.
Last month, I participated in Lori Anderson's Pantone Colour Bead Swap. I'm learning so much through these hops and challenges. Here is what I sent to my partner Tania Hagen:
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Just like the BSBP, we were paired with a partner and discussed what we sent and how much. Tania and I decided to send a bit of all the Pantone colours. My first task was to find out what are Pantone colours. Apparently, Pantone are the peeps that decide what the colours of the year are. Each year and season, there are a new group of colours for designers to play around with.
I have a few of the same beads I gave to Tania and of course the bunch that I got from her. It's time to get them out and start making something!
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Saturday, May 5, 2012
One Colour Crayon Challenge Blog Hop
Today is the big reveal of of the One Crayon Color Challenge! For this challenge, we were to pick one colour and use all the shades, tints, and tones of a colour. Of course, I chose my ultimate favourite colour. and my colour is.........
purple!
I started by gathering all the purple beads I could find from my stash. Since it was my favourite colour, I didn't have to look very far. The hard part was putting something together that actually looked nice and deciding which beads I should use. Should I use all of them or some of them.
I decided to use the purplish-blue hue instead of the red-purple. Then it took me a couple weeks come up with the design. I had several butterfly filigree beads that I never used so I thought I'd include that into the mix.
Started by placing beads onto my beading tray and rearranging and adding/subtracting pearls until I got to something that looked like this....
Started by placing beads onto my beading tray and rearranging and adding/subtracting pearls until I got to something that looked like this....
I used 2 sizes of mauve Swarovski pearls. The larger 8mm pearls near the center/focal and the smaller 4mm pearls were handknotted for the rest of the necklace. I also used dark purple nugget shaped Swarovski pearls. I have never seen Swarovski pearls in this shape before until I saw them at a local bead store and just had to buy them. In the center, of the butterfly are two shades of purple Swarovski crystals with a teardrop Swarovski pearl hanging from the bottom of the butterfly.
And here it is!
Here are the matching earrings.
Both pieces are now on sale in my Etsy store. Just click on the button below.
**NECKLACE IS SOLD**
A big thank you to Sally Russick for hosting this challenge. I learned a lot more about colours and jewellery design. Now, off to check out the rest of the participants!
Hosted by:
Sally Russick http://thestudiosublime.com
Red
Therese Frank http://theresestreasures59. blogspot.com
Rochelle Brisson http://acreativechelle. blogspot.com
Lisa Lodge http://pineridgetreasures. blogspot.com
Malin de Koning http://beadingbymalindekoning. blogspot.com
Bobbie Rafferty http://beadsong.blogspot.com
Orange
Linda Landig http://LindasBeadBlog.com
Cherrie Fick http://designsinthelight.com
Beth McLarnan http://threetrees-art. blogspot.com
Cece Cormier http://thebeadingyogini.com
Renetha Stanziano http://lamplightcrafts. blogspot.com
Tanya Goodwin http://pixiloo.blogspot.com
Jean Welles http://jeanawells.blogspot.com
Amy Severino http://amybeads.blogspot.com
Rebekah Payne http://treewingsstudio.com
Lola Surwillo http://.beadlolabead.blogspot. com
Judy Turner http://silver-rains.blogspot. com
Yellow
Jennifer Justman http://soulsfiredesigns. blogspot.com
Rose Brisson http://ahteesblog.blogspot.com
Kim Bender http://www.kimmykats.com/
Heather Powers http://humblebeads.blogspot. com
Shelly Joyce http://www.aujourlejour- shelly.blogspot.com
Blue
Cherie Reed http://creativedesignsbycheri. blogspot.com
Rebecca Anderson http://songbeads.blogspot.com
Hope Smitherman http://craftyhope.blogspot.com
Patti Vanderbloemen http:// myaddictionshandcrafted. blogspot.com
Michelle Buettner http://MiShelDesigns.blogspot. com
Alicia Marinache http://allprettythings.ca
Charissa Sloper http://blog.obsidiansoda.com
Sonya Stille http://dreaminofbeads. blogspot.com
Maria Grimes http://mariagrimes.blogspot. com
Nancy Saccoccio http://risingdesigns.blogspot. com
Sandi Volpe http://sandivolpe.com
Joanne Tinley http:// daisychaindesignsjewellery. blogspot.com
Catherine Pruitt http://boobeads.blogspot.com
Green
Mary Harding http:// maryhardingjewelrybeadblog. blogspot.com
Karin Gilman http://www.qaygee. blogspot.com/
Jayne Capps http://mamasgottodoodle. blogspot.com
Lorelei Eurto http://lorelei1141.blogspot. com
Melissa Meman http://melissameman.blogspot. com
Alice Peterson http://alice-dreaming. blogspot.com
Jenny Davies Reazor http://www.jdaviesreazor.com
Cynthia Machata http://antiquitytravelers. blogspot.com
Melissa Essenburg http://chinookdesigns. blogspot.com
Regina Santerre http://reginaswritings. blogspot.com
Lauren Streets http://ornthoughts.wordpress. com
Elizabeth Auld http://beadsforbusygals.com
Purple
Tracy Mok http://bumblebeadsdesigns. blogspot.com
Jennifer Judd Velasquez http://jenjuddrocks.blogspot. com
Marti Conrad http://marticsclay.blogspot. com
Lori Anderson http://prettythingsblog.com
Donna Bradley http://strandedbeads.blogspot. com
Courtney Breul http://beadsbybreul.blogspot. com
Linda Younkman http://lindysdesigns.blogspot. com
Susan Kennedy http://www.suebeads.blogspot. com
Lisa Liddy http://Lisaliddy.wordpress.com
Tracy Stillman http://www. tracystillmandesigns.com
Dawn Doucette http://designsbydawnmarie. blogspot.com
Brown
Diana Ptaszynski http://suburbangirlstudio.com
Shannon Chomanczuk http://formysweetdaughter. blogspot.com/
Janice Everett http://JLynnJewels.blogspot. com
Karen Williams http://Baublicious.blogspot. com
Black
Kashmira Patel http://sadafulee.blogspot.com
Heidi Post http://expostfactojewelry. blogspot.com/
Birgitta Lejonklou http://lejonklou.blogspot.com/
Holly Westfall http://silverrosedesigns. blogspot.com/
Karin Slaton http://backstorybeads. blogspot.com
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Broken Butterfly Bead :(
After participating in the Bead Soup Blog Party, I put the pieces I made on a necklace stand on our dresser. Just so I could look at it but mostly cause I didn't know where to put it. One morning, my husband comes to me and says that he was really sorry and told me not to get mad. He had accidentally knocked the necklace stand over and the pretty orange butterfly bead broke into many pieces.
This is what the bead looked like before.....
and after.......
Now it gives me an excuse to make a new one. :)
This Post is About:
Bead Soup,
Bead Soup Blog Party,
BSBP5
Monday, April 9, 2012
Bead Cruise: I wanna go!!!!
For more info about the Bead Cruise click here: www.beadcruise.com
Speaking of cruises, I just came back from my very first cruise with my family. The best part of the cruise is the food. Imagine, all you can eat fine dining everyday. I'm not a big meat eater but their steak was 'melting' in my mouth. Here are some pics from my trip.
| Disneyland |
| Did I mention that the food was fantastic?? |
| Smoked salmon and apricots... Mmmmmm! |
and......
I joined another blog hop! For this challenge, the participants will choose one colour and create something using all the tints, shades, and tones of that one colour. I just taught a unit to my Grade 1's about colour value. Guess what colour I'm going to use?
Join me on May 5th for the "One Crayon Color Challenge"!
Monday, March 26, 2012
DVD Tutorial Giveaway!
So.... Lori from Pretty Things Blog is having a giveaway! She reviewed Scott David Plumlee's how-to DVD's for making wire jewellery and chain maille and now she's giving three of those DVD's to some lucky people. I started making wire jewellery awhile ago but didn't really get too into it because silver wire was hard to come by locally and I just didn't have the $$$$. Bought the hammer, a wigjig, and some cheap wire too. Even got my dad, who's an engineer, to get me a big block of metal from work so I have something hard to hammer on. Chain maille has always fascinated me. Just how much detail goes into making one of those jewellery pieces.
If you want a chance to enter click HERE!
If you want a chance to enter click HERE!
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Bead Soup Blog Party: The reveal!
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| Hosted by Lori Anderson |
This is the longest post I've ever written but it's also the most exciting. Last month, I got to participate in my first ever Bead Soup Blog Party. What happens is each participant gets paired with a partner and they exchange a 'soup' of beads. The partners are meant to challenge each other by getting her to work outside her comfort level. This was definitely a challenge for me as I've never worked with copper or brass before.
When I first got my package from Shanti Johnson, I immediately loved the colors. It was so bright and orange-y and pretty. My next thought was "What am I going to do with these????????"
| My delicious soup from Shanti |
It took a while but I started working with the brass 'hope' focal first. This is what I made with the brass materials but it was too simple and I didn't like it, so I took it apart.
I have a soft spot for butterflies so naturally the orange butterfly beads were one of my favourites in the mix. They became the focals for this necklace:
I have a soft spot for butterflies so naturally the orange butterfly beads were one of my favourites in the mix. They became the focals for this necklace:
| Copper leaf toggle clasp. So pretty! |
As I looked at the rest of the beads, I really couldn't figure out what to do. I've never used copper before. My main material for my jewellery pieces were silver and pearls. As I finished that butterfly piece I actually ran out of copper materials. So I thought, "Why can't I mix colours together?" and that's how this necklace came about: A mixture of copper and silver. haha... I know, I cheated.
This necklace was made from a two-toned Swarovski crystal and one of the focal rings from Shanti. Isn't it beautiful?
This necklace is now on sale in my Etsy store. Just click on the link below.
This brass bracelet uses the really cute elephant clasp and some brass rings. I thought, I would just add a litte bit of me to at least one piece, so I decided to sprinkle it with some white, creamrose, and bronze Swarovski pearls.
I started my beading hobby by making earrings and I can't believe through this whole bead soup, I only made one pair of earrings. These are the pretty turquoise stones with brass chains.
Well, that's all I had time to make. It was such a learning process and so much fun. I'll be blog hopping now. First hop will be to my partner, Shanti, who gave me all those wonderful beads. Here is what I gave here. Click to see her post of what she made with my soup. www.sunshinebliss.com
Here's all the participants of BSBP:
Visit my Pinterest (will be updated once I get to all the posts) to see all the awesome creations or visit each persons blog below.
This Post is About:
Bead Soup,
Bead Soup Blog Party,
BSBP5
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Beading to Beat Autism
So far the bead soup is still brewing. I've finished one necklace that I'm very happy with and a few other pieces that needs more work. I think I'm going to need a few more pins but I'm doing pretty well using all the scrap wires. I think my next piece, I'm going to add some pearls onto it. Just a touch of "me" in these pieces.
Report cards were sent home last week, so weekends are a bit more relaxing. More time to make jewellery and work on my Bead Soup!
Two weeks ago, a couple of colleagues and I started a beading club at my school for Grades 3-5. It all started when I found out about "Beading to Beat Autism". A 14 year old girl from Kentucky raised money for an Autism treatment for her little brother just by selling beaded bracelets that she made. Now she has taken on the mission of raising money to build a foundation center for Autism research. You can read more about her story on the link below or watch the video to find out how you can get your own "Michala's Kit".
Report cards were sent home last week, so weekends are a bit more relaxing. More time to make jewellery and work on my Bead Soup!
Two weeks ago, a couple of colleagues and I started a beading club at my school for Grades 3-5. It all started when I found out about "Beading to Beat Autism". A 14 year old girl from Kentucky raised money for an Autism treatment for her little brother just by selling beaded bracelets that she made. Now she has taken on the mission of raising money to build a foundation center for Autism research. You can read more about her story on the link below or watch the video to find out how you can get your own "Michala's Kit".
So far, our beading club has 30 or so girls participating and making bracelets. They're even bringing in their own beads to donate to this great cause. Maybe a few more weeks from now, we'll be able to sell them to the rest of the school and community!
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