It's finally summer....

My  year with the Grade 4/5 munchkins was quite a challenge. Just dealing with drama everyday gave me a headache but I've learned a lot from them. Since I'm an LTO, my contract with the school ended and I had to look for a new positiong for September.  It was sad to leave this school that I've worked for for the past The last two weeks of school was all about sending out resumes and hoping for an interview.  Fortunately, I had one ye three years but I think I've done what I had to do there and it was time to move on. Yesterday I had an interview and I am now a grade 1 teacher in September until November. At least I know what I'm doing in a few months.  

It's been almost a year since I last touched my beads. Next week, I'll be on vacation to Hong Kong and Japan which leaves only this week to do some beading. So, today I set up my temporary beading area in our bedroom which may eventually be moved into either a room upstairs or the basement.  Not sure what the best set up is right now.  

So clean.....

 I took out some charms and white Swarovski pearls and started making some new wedding jewelry designs. The funny thing was that since I haven't made any jewelry in a year, I almost forgot how to hand knot the pearls.  lol Good thing these skills never leave you! After a slow start, I hope to have at least one finished product before I leave for vacation.

The start to a nice mess.

Working on a new project!

More Bead Soups! 2nd Reveal

Looking for my Bead Soup reveal? Click Here

The Bead Soup Blog Party isn't over yet! The second reveal is today with over 200 out of 541 participating in this round and a special group of non-bloggers through Facebook. Lori Anderson, the hostess, mapped out all the participants and here it is:

Even though my reveal day is over and done, there's still more soups to see! Click on the link below for the list of the second reveal participants

Second Reveal Participants

Enjoy!

BSBP: The Reveal

It's that time of year again! The Bead Soup Blog Party Reveal is here and I get to share what I've created with my partner's bead soup. For those of you who've just joined, BSBP is Lori Anderson's baby. She hosts this event each year for beaders all over the world. Participants are paired up and beads are sent to each other. Then each person creates something with the goodies they are given and posts it on their blog on their reveal date (there are three dates). The only rule is that we must use the focal and clasp in our pieces. Visit www.beadsoupblogparty.com for more info.

My partner is Deanna Cox from Collette Designs and she gave me a lovely mix of blue and green soup. She sent me a beautiful handmade OOAK tree focal. I'm always amazed by the artists that make these kinds of beads because of the detail they put into it. Deanna also gave me some "Collette Originals". She is such a great lady, she even gave me some bits of extras "just because" :) Thanks, Deanna!

I ended up creating three necklaces and a pair of earrings.

See this post for the soup she sent me. Click here.

Ready for the REVEAL!!! Here it is!


For the first piece I made I used the focal and the vintage Swarovski necklace. I linked it to the vintage brass chain with some of Deanna's "extra" goodies then added some bronze Swarovski pearls from my own stash and some other beads from my soup.

The etched brass link and keyhole tags are some of Collette's Originals. The clasp that went with the vintage Swarovski chain necklace ended up being the clasp on the side of this necklace.

This second necklace was partly inspired by the movie "Oz the Great and Powerful" that I watched during the time I made this piece. I used the Vintage Japan Spring Green Spatter glass beads and the darker Vintage green beads to create this necklace. 

In between the links I used some of the gold links from the soup to give it some colour (gold.... yellow brick road.... get it? haha). Deanna's etched brass clasp is attached to this necklace. This flower shaped bead link is actually not attached to the necklace. I couldn't decide whether to add it in, leave it out or put two (one on each side). But here it is!

This last necklace is a simple design but beautiful because of the beads. I love simple! When I saw the beautiful, shiny Swarovski beads, I knew I wanted them in a simple necklace. I used the left over brass chain, two of the Vintage Czech glass beads, some brass bead caps and one of my flower links.

I call these my eggplant earrings! I had some of my bronze teardrop Swarovski pearls to match it with the bead caps then added the Vintage Czech glass and voila! A simple earring I can wear with the focal necklace.

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Well, that's it for this year! Now it's time to visit Deanna's blog to see what she made with my "sunshine" soup. Here is what I sent her:

Let's see what she made with it: Click Here!

Now it's time to hop on to the other participants and see what they've created. You can click on the link below to see the list. Then come back on April 6th and April 13th to see the second and third reveal. Happy Hopping!

First Reveal Participants

I'm a house owner!!

Last month, we finally found a place that we both loved. We put in an offer and after some negotiations we got the house! Our move in date will be the first week of May so that means lots of packing and moving heavy boxes. I can't wait to move in. I already have an idea of where to set up my little studio. I'll finally have a room all to myself for beading!

SMILE!

My Sweet students

Teaching Grade 4/5 this year has been really busy. Not only am I learning a whole new curriculum, I'm also learning how to teach and interact with this age group. Some days they drive me crazy with all their arguing with each other and all the drama issues that I have to help them solve. Other times they make me laugh with just being who they are.

One day I find this:

Each month the students vote for the classmate who
shows the character trait of the month. This month is
Perseverance. I took a peak at the votes and found this.
So encouraged to keep going!

I have a wonderful, but crazy group of students!

My Bead Soup is Here!

It is the 7th Bead Soup Blog Party and my third time participating. This time I've been paired with the lovely Deanna Cox from Collette Designs. For more about the Bead Soup Blog Party please visit Lori Anderson's blog. 

A few weeks ago we both received our bead soups but I've been super busy with moving houses to actually find the time to take pictures and blog. Now that it's March Break, I'm going to spend a lot of time with my soup and blog! But anyways, this is what I sent her. Notice the butterflies...hehehe... (I love butterflies!)

As for the ingredients I received? Well, here it is! This will be my first time working with vintage material but that's stepping outside my comfort zone. That's why I love participating in the BSBP. Meeting new people and being challenged.

OOAK handmade focal

Focal and special clasp

The rest of the soup ...

vintage swarovski necklace

The soup is brewing and the ingredients are cooking. Come back on March 30th to find out what I've made from this soup!

Bead Soup Sneak Peak

Bead Soup Blog Party is coming up and I've been paired up with the talented Deanna Cox!

This time around there are 500 participants spread out into three reveal dates: March 30, April 6 & April 13. For more info about the party visit www. beadsoupblogparty.com.

But here is a sneak peak of the soup I'm sending to Deanna. Watch out for the next post where I interview my BSBP partner.