Bead Soup Blog Party - Bead Hoarders Edition

At long last, it's time for another round of the Bead Soup Blog Party. We pair up, swap beads, create, and reveal our goodies en masse. This time, Lori Anderson decided to add a twist: hoarding. For a long time, I convinced myself I wasn't a bead hoarder, but looking at the beautiful handmade beads I've collected over the years is evidence to the contrary. We were asked to choose a special hoarded bead and send it to our partner.

I was very lucky to be paired with Alice Craddick. She loves color. Although I usually stick to certain palettes, I, too, am drawn to colorful delights. Here's the zesty set of orange, lime, turquoise, and purple beads Alice sent me.

Photo from Alice

I was so excited, I even forgot to take a photo! I immediately started making earrings from the small beads, but that pinwheel focal took more time. It's so unusual, and I wanted to compliment the fun, colorful design.

I was very tempted to use the lime lampwork beads (top of the photo) in earrings, but I decided to work them into a necklace with the focal. The lampwork is by Buckaroo Beads, and I love, love them.

                           

In the necklace, I used the ceramic pinwheel, small faceted blue glass, and the lime green lampwork. The rest is from my stash, so this necklace has definitely turned into a stash buster!


I also made a pair of who-hoops with some of the small beads Alice sent. 

I'm sure you're wondering what I sent to Alice, so here are a couple snaps. And yes, it's all pretty colorful. I couldn't choose one color, so I sent Alice a rainbow of components I've collected over the past 8 years.

A huge thank you to my swap partner, Alice, for the delightful collection of beads and for reminding me how fun it is to go a bit wild with it in my designs. Now, I'm off to see what she made!

You can find the full list of participants (it's a doozy!) on Lori's blog, Pretty Things. It goes without saying that Lori is a spectacular hostess. Thanks so much for hosting another Bead Soup Blog Party and for encouraging us to dive into our stashes!

Stacked Earrings Challenge - the fifth and final round!

I am sad to say we're finally at the end of the Stacked Earrings Challenge started by Malin de Koning. This is the 5th and final round! The original idea was for a small group of jewelry makers to send each other a selection of beads. The challenge is to create at least one pair of earrings with at least 3 types of the beads from the pack.

This time, it was Heidi's turn from Ex Post Facto Jewelry. I personally found Heidi's pack of beads so fun! I immediately made two pairs and sadly didn't have a lot of opportunity to make nearly as many as I wanted. In all, I finished three pairs, but I'll definitely be heading back to this stash soon!

Here's a photo of everything Heidi sent:

Photo by Malin de Koning

Aren't they fun? I was drawn to the purple and orange, tiny faceted metallic, and old (African trade?) beads. I only finished three pairs of earrings, but I had so many ideas from this selection.

The very first pair I made used only beads from the pack. They're made with the plump orange beads, rhinestone spacers, green stones, copper tubes, a pair of faceted gems, and those teeny tiny metallic beads.

Next up I went for purple. I've been experiencing purple mania recently, so I pulled out the dyed wood, faceted glass, some complimentary mint colored beads, and decorative bead caps. I added my own enameled twisted headpins for extra fun!

Last and most favorite is the third pair I finished this week. I love to mix a bit of grungy metal with sparkling stones and just a pop of color. At the top of the earrings is a tiny stack of the old striped glass with the faceted metal beads. I wire wrapped hoops of copper and dangled African Krobo beads beneath them with a chain of the rock crystals from the pack. 

Thank you, Heidi, for the super fun beads! All those tiny beads were so useful and perfect for adding extra little details. And a huge thanks to Malin for starting this wonderful challenge! It's been fantastic.

Check out what the others made on their blogs!

Malin de Koning

Heidi Post

Claire Lockwood

Rebecca Anderson

Stacked Earrings Challenge Version 4

Hello there! This is the 4th edition of the Stacked Earring Challenge started by Malin de Koning. It's a challenge where 5 of us, Rebecca Anderson, Heidi Post, Claire Lockwood, Malin and myself send each other a little pack of beads and see what we can come up with. It's all about earrings!

The idea of the challenge

We each take turns sending a pack of beads to the group and design 

as many or as few earrings in a stacked style. We try to use at least

3 types of beads from the pack in each pair of earrings.

This time around, it was Rebecca's turn to send out the beads. And I have to say, they looked very like Rebecca's style to me! Colorful, fun beads, unusual and sweet. I made four pairs of earrings for the challenge, but first, here's a photo of all the beads.

I was very excited about these! I had so many ideas while digging through this stash, but I narrowed it down to four that I finished. For all of the earrings I made, I used solid copper and made my own earwires to suite each pair. In order of creation...

These tropical beauties have a stacked trio of beads from Rebecca's stash plus a pair of fiery orange roses by UK lampworker Earthshine Beads. I have had these roses for some time. I think they were waiting to be a part of these!

Next up is a very simple stacked pair made entirely of beads from the pack. I used the gorgeous glowing purple glass, wood beads, tiny spacers and rubber rings. The rings are so neat, but a pain to keep patina off (any tips?). I may have to rethink these.

My third pair of earrings incorporated more of the purple beads. Oh yes, I do love purple. These are a sleeker look than my others. I used slender pyrite gems, a duo of blossoms and tiny purple wooden beads (I LOVE these!) from the challenge pack.

Finally, these super funky earrings. Very unusual for me, but why not...I used the large glass blossoms, adorable ladybirds, acid green flowers and some smaller beads from the collection. I added in some green howlite and rhinestone chain from my stash.

Finished with twirls of copper and wire wrapped earwires. These look huge, but aren't very heavy because of the slim components. 

I hope you enjoyed seeing what I made! I have many more to finish. Thanks so much, Rebecca, for the beads and Malin for starting this great challenge! Until next time...

Malin de Koning

Rebecca Anderson

Claire Lockwood

Heidi Post

Stacked Earring Challenge Round Three

Hello, hello! I'm a bit late to the party today, but you know what they say...

This is the third round of a challenge started by the lovely Malin de Koning for a small group of designers. We take turns in sending each other a pack of beads. The challenge is to create at least one pair of earrings and use 3 types of beads from the pack.

This time around it was my turn to send out the beads. I think that was the hardest part! Here's a photo (by Malin) of what I chose.

I sent a mix of beads in some of my favourite colours: berry tones, sea blues, and earthy neutrals. The beads include Czech glass, vintage African clay beads, vintage connectors, garnet, agate, jade, aventurine, and amazonite gemstones. I also included some vintage African trade beads, citrine, and quartz with inclusions.

I chose some of these beads because they're a bit tricky for me usually. I don't often use small beads, so I included quite a few little beads and some odd shaped pieces for an extra challenge.

Here's what I created!

First up, an obvious colour combo for me. I used some gorgeous lampwork discs (Earthshine Beads) mixed with the African trade beads, Czech glass and tiny metallic spacers (top), coconut and some brass leaves from my stash.

 

Next up is, I think, my favourite pair. I had bees on the brain ever since I discovered a honey bee hive on a walk. These have more discs by Earthshine Beads, some added rhinestones and bee charms and my own findings. Everything else came from the pack (Czech pip beads, quartz, and metallic seed beads).

These rather stumpy stacked earrings have the larger of the African trade beads, agate and garnet gems, Czech glass flowers with some added bead caps and discs by Beadesired.

This next pair is pretty simple, but I just love the colour combination. Turquoise and red! Who doesn't love that? I used the little red flowers, amazonite and Czech glass from the pack.

Last but not least is another pair of bee earrings. These have the little citrine drops, Czech glass duos, flower charms and tiny striped seed beads. I used lampwork by Java Beads (they look like honeycomb!) and wrapped the little seed beads around like pollen. I cheated a bit on these as I only included 4 of the super duos (the spiky ones). I made one earring and realised I'd used all 4, so I had to dig in my stash for more. A bit cheeky, but they had to be made. :-)

Group shot - I hope you enjoyed! Check out the links below to see what everyone else made with the beads I sent.

Rebecca Anderson
Heidi Post
Claire Lockwood
Malin de Koning

Stacked earrings challenge round 2

Earlier this year, Malin de Koning started an earring challenge for a small group of us. We enjoyed it so much, we decided to continue the challenge and take turns sending out beads to each other. The rules remained the same: use 3 types of the beads sent to make at least one pair of earrings. This time, Claire Lockwood stepped up with this lovely selection of beads.

  

Claire sent a great selection of beads in mostly greens, cream, soft pinks and purples. Some of the first to catch my eye were the minty drops and pink daisies (top right) and those white and green plastic beads (center).

So, without further ado, here are the earrings! I made 6 pairs in total, but there were still enough beads to make a few more. First up is a pair of stumpy, stacked earrings with my handmade copper findings. I used the flowers, pink daisies, and green beads Claire sent with some lampwork beads by Fyrebirds.

I adore the minty drops Claire sent and used them with the wooden beads, clear glass rings, and faceted Czech glass. I added my own copper findings and wire spacers.

This pair is very different for me, and I think they meet the stacked criteria! I used the small and large metallic beads, and the gemstone hearts Claire sent. Added to the mix are some filigree bead caps, Czech glass beads, and rectangular headpins and earwires I made.

Another different style for me - buttons. I don't usually use buttons in my jewellery, but these lovely mother of pearl ones were hard to resist. I knotted them on linen cord with Czech glass and my bronze earwires. I cheated a little here as there are only 2 buttons on each earring, but I think they'll pass...

 

Pair #5 has a stack of green leaves and a couple of the milky spacers from the bead mix. The leaves immediately made me think of strawberries, so I added some red blossoms (I know, they should be white!) and a tassel of linen and tiny Czech glass beads.

 

Last but not least, I used the wooden discs, little glass rounds, and the larger rustic glass beads. I added some tiny coconut beads and pyrite quartz chunks and copper findings.

Here's a group shot of all the earrings again. I hope you enjoyed them! Be sure to check out what the rest of the group made. 

Malin de Koning - Beading by Malin de Koning

Claire Lockwood - something to do with your hands

Heidi Post - Ex Post Facto Jewelry

Rebecca Anderson - Songbead

Leah Curtis - Beady Eyed Bunny

AJE Component of the Month stash challenge

Last month, Art Jewelry Elements challenged their readers to rummage through their stashes and create new jewelry with handmade beads from the AJE team. Since most of the team is across the pond, I don't often get a chance to purchase their wonderful beads. I do, however, have a little stash amongst my art beads.

I was inspired to use some beads by BlueberriBeads and Jenny Davies-Reazor. Since it was a challenge, I decided to try something a bit different. I've been wanting to make some copper bangles and this was the perfect opportunity to give it a try.

First up is a bangle I made from heavy gauge copper wire. I fused the ends with my blow torch and hammered it into a droplet of copper. The AJE team bead I used was the rustic little urchin by BlueberriBeads. I mixed it up with a number of charms with aquamarine, turquoise, pyrite, and a black ceramic charm by Scorched Earth.

 

Carrying on with the bangle theme, I made another bangle with a slight chevron shape. This has a vibrant red, poppy seed stamped ceramic charm by Jenny Davies-Reazor. I adore her charms! I wire wrapped turquoise, snowflake obsidian, tiny garnets and coconut beads into charms. There's also a little lampwork ring above the turquoise by a UK bead maker.

And here they are together! Textured, patinated and polished to make that copper glow.

Next up are a couple of earrings. This first pair has a peachy-pink pair of matte birdies by BlueberriBeads, Czech glass flowers, and Vintaj findings.

This final pair is actually the first piece I made for this challenge. I used some more of Jenny's gorgeous, glazed ceramic charms with amazonite gems and simple copper findings.

 

I hope you've enjoyed what I made! I'm glad to say everything I used came from my stash. There's nothing like a stash-busting challenge to get your creativity going.

Here is the list of the participants - the team, winners and special guests! Kristen Stephens Susan Kennedy Jenny Davies-Reazor Lesley Watt Melissa Meman Lindsay Starr Jennifer Cameron Caroline Dewison Linda Landig Guest Participants ( aka winners) Lee - Strega Jewellry Shai - Shai’s Ramblings Samantha- Wescott Jewelry Kathy - Bay Moon Designs Nikki - Silver Nik nats Melissa Trudinger Becky Pancake Yvette - Blue Kiln Beads Karin - Ginko et Coquelicot Bonus participants! Sarajo Wentling Leah Curtis Susan Delaney

Earring Challenge by Malin de Koning

It's about time I revive my blog! And what better way to do it than with a challenge? The lovely Malin de Koning invited me along with Claire Lockwood, Rebecca Anderson, and Heidi Post to join in an earring challenge with her.

Malin put together an inspiring pack of mixed beads for us to use: wooden beads, glass, tiny trade beads, gems, and coral...it was quite a selection! Malin is the master of earrings in my book and has a wonderful eye for detail. I can really see 'her' in these beads.

The challenge was to create at least one pair of earrings, ideally, with at least 3 of the beads from the pack. There was such a great selection of beads, the real challenge was deciding on how to use them.

As soon as I received the beads from Malin, I got started on a few pairs of earrings. I actually made the final pair last night. There are 6 in total.





Here's the first pair...I used the tiny, green howlite washers along with the green discs and stone-like cogs (one of my favourite beads in the mix). I paired them with my own enamelled leaves and copper earwires.

Next up is a pair of seaside inspired earrings. I loved the golden wooden nuggets Malin chose for us and immediately thought of something light, and beachy. I mixed up some of the wooden beads with a pair of mismatched starfish art beads by Majoyoal. Finished with bronze findings I made.

Now on to something a bit different...You can see one of my favourite beads (they're all lovely!) from the pack was the green howlite barrels. These are slightly mismatched with the faceted glass beads, howlite, tiny metal beads, and glass pearls. I wire wrapped some of the beads onto a tassel of recycled leather with lampwork art beads by Earthshine Beads.




Continuing on the tassel theme is a fresh, Springy pair of earrings using the plastic flowers (love these!), juicy striped seed beads, more of the lovely howlite along with recycled leather and green garnet from my stash.

What I loved about this challenge was that, although I loved the beads Malin sent, there were some that I might have overlooked myself. The silver coloured beads were one of those. They are lovely on their own, but I don't normally use silver. However, they fit nicely with the mismatched flower caps and striped seed beads for a bohemian pair of earrings. The lampwork discs are by Earthshine Beads.

And because I just adore those little flower caps, here's a better photo!

 

Last but not least is the pair I made last night. They're a bit funkier than the others, but I like something about the flow. I used the lampwork discs Malin sent, some of the coral, striped seed beads, and some glass beads and petal bead caps from my stash.

A huge thank you to Malin for this wonderful challenge! Check out what everyone else made for the challenge on their blogs. I can't wait to see!

Malin de Koning

Rebecca Anderson 

Claire Lockwood

Heidi Post