2018 Swap & Hop

It's reveal time for the 2018 Swap n' Hop!  My lovely partner is Jenny Kyrlach, who blogs over at Anafiassa.

Jenny couldn't quite decide what to send, so she sent two packages of beads - one from a green and earthtone mix and one from a red, white and black mix.  Jenny's specialty is her hand-made paper beads, and I was lucky enough to get seven sets of those - in brown, green, grey and white, light red/white, medium red/white and red.  Her handiwork is impressive on those beads - they are so consistent and lovely to use.

I have to admit that my beading mojo was at an all-time low over the last month.  I didn't even torch once, and so completed a couple of things with what I had on hand.  I'll continue to add to the work as I get things completed, so stay tuned for more work.  I did complete two pairs of earrings - one large drop featuring vintage buttons, Jenny's paper beads and some metal beads/  The next pair featured the lovely matte black and transparent red/black glass, plus some German glass from my own collection.

Bead Peeps Swap and Hop (3rd Edition) Reveal!

It's been a tough go on these bead reveals - I've been out of town for work a lot, and there has been no time to torch, meaning I mostly had to pick from my existing stash.  It's been kind of a fun exercise though, as I think the limitations mean that I have been more creative than I otherwise would have been.

My partner is Divya Narasimhan, who blogs over at Jewels of Sayuri, and lives in Chennai, India.  All though I'm only in Canada, most of the bead swaps pair participants outside of the US with others outside of the US, so I'm always excited to see where my next partner will come from.  Divya is very active in the Bead Peeps group, and offers up lots of inspiration and thought provoking ideas, so I was excited to see what she would send.

She included lots of locally made components and lots of colour!  I sent her an entirely monochromatic bead soup, so the two sets of components could not have been more different.

First up, a bracelet featuring one of two toggle clasps that Divya sent - I added seed beads to complete the toggle, dig out a bunch of seemingly random lampwork that was at the bottom of the bead box, and added a few wood beads to mirror the texture of the clasp.

Next up, another bracelet with some of the painted wooden beads that Divya sent.  I added a few of my handwoven beads, some vintage German glass and a metal focal to compliment the beads that I picked out of the soup.

 And lastly, two pairs of earrings - one pair with the green glass drops that Divya sent, along with some cloissone from the local bead shop, and a pair of handmade lampwork headpins with the glass galaxy beads that Divya provided. 

I had great fun working with all the colour in this soup!  More with the other beads soon.

Bead Soup Blog Party - Reveal (from Joanne Louvaine Bell and Johana Nunez)

Welcome to the Bead Soup Blog Party, hosted by the amazing Lori Anderson.  Lori's been through a lot of health challenges in the past few years, and has only recently felt well enough to host another Blog Party.  There are about a 160 of us - down from the 500plus numbers of the biggest hop, but a manageable number, and one that I hope to get to over a few days.  Saturday, my nephews and I have plans, the exact variety of which I'm not sure, but I suspect that it will involve some sort of play structure and some variety of sugar.  I have two partners, and this is a long post, so grab some coffee and settle in!

My first partner is the lovely Joanne Louvaine Bell, who blogs at TwinkieDinky, and sent an amazing Bead Soup filled with her hoarded specials, as well as some of her own work.
 

She packaged everything in little cloth packages, which I hope to recycle in other projects.  The beads consisted of:

Joanne's own Resin Wings and Polymer Beads
Lampwork from Juliette Mullete, Karin Hirza and Dee Howell
Lampwork focal from Hendri Lourens
Bronze from Anna Chernykh
Ceramic and Polymer Flowers from Cherie Irwin and Lysa

and, what she notes as the most special, the Kim Snider wing, that she stayed up until 4 in the morning to get!

I've been massively busy with work, and had only managed to get a quick cell snap of the package, which does not portray the contents in their full glory.

Lampwork Pendant Necklace By Maverick Beads

Since Joanne said the wing was her most precious, I set out to do it justice.  I quickly decided on a necklace of some sort.  But there were so many options, and I picked out a few beads from my hoard that would match the scale of the wing.  Rooting around in the lampwork bead box, I picked out bead after bead, trying to find something that would compliment.  And then there was one.... a failed execution of lampwork technique, something that might have ended up in the garbage had I been more ruthless, might have been overlooked, but was suddenly was perfect. I pulled out a pewter grey leather, and suddenly it was simple. One wing, one bead, a piece of leather.

Fearing I had failed Joanne, and her precious hoarded bead with something so simple, I made a bracelet to match.  It was all of the beads I'd intended to use for the necklace, but somehow the serendipity of the simple necklace took over.

Bonus Bracelet for Pendant by Maverick Beads

Joanne also sent some very lovely resin wings which are her own specialty.  They are truly gorgeous!  I paired the wings with a few of my lampwork beads and some crystals for some lovely long drop earrings.

Resin and Lampwork bead earrings  by Maverick Beads

The next pair of earrings is also a set of resin wings - paired with a matte set of handwoven seadbeads beads, some silver beadcaps, crystal and silver earwires, I hope they compliment the resin wings.

Resin and Handwoven Bead Earrings by Maverick Beads

And finally, a third pair of earrings!  Joanna sent a lot of things in pairs, so I hope she's not disappointed to find a bunch of earrings in the reveal.  The third pair features a lovely pair of ceramic buds by Cherie Erwin of New Zealand.  Finding inspiration in the olive green colour of the tops of the buds, I paired them with a couple of chain connectors and some of my own lampwork beads for a lovely pair of spring earrings.

Ceramic and Lampwork Beads by Maverick Beads

 I still have more to come from this bead soup - there are more lovelies that I will work into jewellry as the inspiration strikes!

My second partner is the equally lovely Johana Nunez, who blogs over at Art Incendi, sent the following Bead Soup, filled with all things spring!  I was lucky enough to get Johana as a partner when her original partner did not feel comfortable sending beads to Puerto Rico.  Luckily, Lori posted at the same time I was on-line and our partnership quickly came together.  Puerto Rico is not that far away from Canada, and so her beads were the first to arrive. 

 This is what she sent:

Blue Berri Beads - Ceramic Yellow Bird
Serena Smith Lampwork - Lampwork Flower Buttons
Swoon Dimples - "Give More" Pink Polymer
Bo Hulley Beads - Bracelet Blank
Jade Scott - Resin Pendant
Glass Flowers and Enameled Metal




Johana provided an amazing variety of beads, but what to make?  I started playing around with the purple enameled metal beads on a bead board that had some yellow lampwork that I was intending for another project.  The yellow glass was hand pulled cane, which produces beautiful striations of coloured and transparent glass.   I also discovered that I had a set of lampwork spacers in precisely the same colour as the enamel.  The glass used to make the spacers was discontinued about a decade ago, so I have no idea what possessed me to make a bunch of spacers from it, but there they were in the bead box.  I also had a couple of bright orange lampwork beads kicking about.  With the addition of the yellow, purple and orange a bracelet soon started to come together.  I wouldn't normally do an elastic bracelet for a blog-hop with art quality beads, but because of the size of the enameled beads, it seemed like the only solution.

Enameled beads on colourful beaded bracelet by Maverick Beads

Next up, a pair of earrings with the same enameled beads - a pair of lampwork headpins, the enameled beads plus some vintage German new stock glass are stacked to form earrings that are a statement piece without being two heavy.

Enameled Beaded Earrings from Maverick Beads

I was not sure what to do with the amazing Swoon Dimples bead, which says "Give" on one side and "More" on the other.  I had still had some of the beads considered for the first bracelet kicking around the bead board, and decided to make a super fun spring coloured confection!  It's still pretty gray days around here, with the last of the snow slowly going away.  The pretty pink polymer clay pairs with a couple of handwoven lavender beads, more of the veiled yellow lampwork glass from the first bracelet, and bright aqua vintage acrylic beads. 

Swoon Dimples Bead on Colourful Spring Beaded Bracelet from Maverick Beads

Last up, a pendant - the first piece that came together.  The little yellow Blue Berri ceramic birdie seemed so happy on top of the lampwork bead and a lampwork headpin that the piece came together quite quickly.  I love the combination of yellow and green in this - seems so fresh and springlike!

Blue Berri bead on Spring Pendant from Maverick Beads

I had a fantastic time working with everything Johana sent - I'm looking for the perfect compliment to the pendant, bracelet blank and lampwork, and figuring out how to mount the lovely glass flowers, so stay tuned for those in a future post.

Recieved by me - Package One - Bead Soup Blog Party

Johana at Art Incendi really spoiled me - a lovely bunch of spring pretties just at the bleakest point in winter.  Yummy grape enamelled beads, a ceramic birdie, some lampwork buttons, a sweet little bird charm, a winged bracelet blank, a bright word bead and a selection of glass flowers!  So spoiled.

Johana selected beads with her favourite theme - birds, wings and flowers.  I've got lots of ideas to play around with this lot!

Received by my partner - Package One - Bead Soup Blog Party

The lovely Joane Louvaine Bell received my package the quickest - yeah for Canada to UK postage!

Here's what I blogged earlier:

and here's what she actually received:

The requirements were to send a hoarded bead.  I sent two Sarah Hornik lampwork lovelies - an artist I'd long admired, a ceramic disk, a copper focal, a bunch of my own lampwork, a good chunk of vintage (middle column - either French flea market or German new stock) and a bunch of things that I'd consider "ordinary" - right column.  It was a bit of a risk - purple, green, and orange!  What kind of mean partner does that?  Fortunately, Joanne loves this, or so she tells me, and I can't wait to see what she does with these!

Another Bead Soup - Lori Anderson's Blop Hop 2017

Because of a mix-up, I now have two bead soup partners!  This (very disguised soup, via two filters) is currently at the post office, on it's way to Johana in Puerto Rico.  I had picked out the soup before I knew anything about Johana, but I think she'll really like the soup.  I can't wait to see what she might make with her lovely hand enameled creations!  A proper introduction soon...

Bead Hoarders Bead Soup and Swap and Hop

I signed up for two swaps/blog hops in the upcoming months.  One is the Bead Peeps "Swap and Hop", where I've been partnered with Divya, who blogs at Jewels of Sayuri.  I picked out something I'm hoping she'll like, but will be a challenge to design with - after all, why participate in a swap if you're only going to get things that are your own style.  Disguising the beads in the swap so they'll be a surprise to Divya was a challenge,but I found a filter that did it.

The second swap is what I think will be the ninth edition of the Bead Soup Party.  This time, host Lori Anderson has designed the swap as a Bead Hoarders swap, so I can pick out my beads before hand.  I dipped into my stash of lovelies, and found a couple of things that I'm hoping my swap partner will appreciate.  The beads were a challenge to colour match for the rest of the soup, but I'm hoping my partner will appreciate what I've set aside.

Stay tuned for the reveals of both swaps!

Swap and Hop - April 8th
Bead Hoarders Bead Soup - March 25th

Bead Soup Blog Party #8!!

Today's reveal date at the Bead Soup blog party.  I know I'm way late, and didn't even let you know I was participating, but it's been an extremely busy spring, and well... life happens.  Hosted by the fabulous Lori Anderson, the bead soup blog party is an event where two people swap a group of beads, and make items with those beads.  The beads must include a clasp and a focal, but can include anything else the two people want to send.  There are 468 of us participating this year, and all of the creations will be available for viewing today on the blog party.  My partner is Karen Jones, a lovely lady that lives only an hour and half from me, and who blogs at Off the Top Creations.

Karen sent me the following pretties to play with - a gorgeous selection of green beads, some stone, some ceramic, with some copper accent pieces and a few lovely brown pieces to balance it all out.




I picked up an issue of Bead Stringing this week, and used Lorelei Eurto's bracelet recipe to make this bracelet.  I used the glass and wood beads from the soup, combined them with a clasp from TheaToo, and added my own lampwork focal and accents to the mix.  I really love this bracelet, and will think fondly of Karen and the lovely things she sent me when I wear it.

Next, on to what I did with the clasp that Karen sent.  I had quite a hard time with this one, as the clasp was a different shape than what I'm used to.  I tried several different combinations, including one version with hot pink beads, before settling on this.  I also used the copper round butterflies and some of the serpentine that Karen sent, along with chain and vintage glass from my own collection.

 Lastly, I created a quick pair of earrings out of some fancy jasper and a couple of lampwork rounds.  I'm quite happy with these, and think the bronze beads at the top and bottom add a lot to the earrings.

Of course, I also sent Karen some goodies to play with, and if you'd like to see what she's done with these, head on over to Off The Top Creations to see her reveal:

If you want to see all of the other pretties, this link will take you to all of the other participating bloggers in the Bead Soup Blog Party!

Bead Soup Hoarder's Hop

It's been kind of a busy and distracted month here - a quick weekend in New York, a work trip to the mountains, a flood, and a friends wedding all added up to not much beading.  I was glad that Lori Anderson is hosting a blog hop this weekend so I could get back at it.

Lori's challenged all of us to pull things out of our stash that we've been hoarding - things that we see as to precious or too expensive to use anywhere else, and put something together.  When she announced the theme of the hop, I knew what I should be using.  I'd bought 5 bone pieces over 25 years ago from a craft store in Edmonton.  Even though I've been beading a long time, none of the 5 pieces has found their way into anything over the years.  That became my personal challenge - use one of those pieces in my work.  When I was designing this piece, I ran across a single earring that was purchased as part of a grab bag in Savannah this spring.  I knew I would find a use for it, and I think it balances out the bone.  It's not a new dangle, but the fact that it has some age (and a few stones missing) adds some character.

 In addition to the bone, I also wanted to use something from my vintage treasures - I hoard anything vintage with a passion, and have amassed quite a collection of things from bead shows in town, as well as a flea market in Paris.  The large dark brown glass beads came out of that collection.  Purchased at a bead show several years ago, they look lovely when combined with the bone.

When I first started collecting beads, I was still in high school, and everything had to be funded out of my allowance and a part time job at a bead shop.  I don't know how much money I actually took home from the bead shop, as my purchases added up quickly, but the discount was very much appreciated.  I still have several relics from that era - I tended to purchase smaller, inexpensive beads so that my dollars would go further.  A few years ago, I cleaned out my bead collection, and the wood and plastic beads were donated to a local charity.  I kept anything that I would see using in a piece - the nut beads were part of the things that I kept, as were the leopard jasper rounds, which were purchased at a local gem show around town. 

"New" components in the piece include the lighter faceted glass, purchased at a local bead shop recently and the two leaf connectors, purchased in New York on my spring trip.

If you'd like to see what everyone else is making, here's the list of participants:

1.  Lori Anderson, Pretty Things
2. Nancy Dale, NEDBeads
3. Roxanne Mendoza, Roxi Designs
4.  Melissa Trudinger, beadrecipes
5.  Rana Lea, Rana Lea Designs
6.  Perri Jackson, Shaktipaj Designs
7.  Rita Avila, Jewel School Friends
8.  Linda Anderson, From the Bead Board
  10.  Erin Guest, Renlish


11.  Joan Williams, lilruby jewelry
12. Diane Hawkey, Diane Hawkey
13.  Jo-Ann Woolverton, It's a Beadiful Creation
14.  Sue Kennedy, SueBeads
15.  Lisa Cone, Inspired Adornments
16.  Kari Asbury, Hippie Chick Design
17.  Nichole Byers, Nichole Byers
18.  Lori Jean Poppe, Adventures in Creativity
19.  Linda Landig, Linda's Bead Blog and Meanderings
20.  Lori Schneider, Bead Addict


21.  Molly Alexander, Beautifully Broken Me
22. Cece Cormier, The Beading Yogini
23.  Niki Sayers, Silver Nik Nats
24.  Elsie Deliz-Fonseca, Eliz-Eliz and All That Craft
25.  Amber Dawn, Inventive Soul
26.  Heather Powers, Humblebeads
27.  Sarah Goode, Pookledo
28.  Monique Urquhart, A Half-Baked Notion
29.  JJ Jacobs, Coming Abstractions
30.  Cheri Reed, Creative Designs by Cheri


31.  Robyn, Museiddity
32.  Catherine King, Catherine's Musings
33.  Jacquie, Bead Gypsy
34.  Janet McDonald, Singing Woods
35. Kay Thomerson, Kayz Kreations
36.  Tanty Sri Hartanti, TJewellicious by Tanti
37.  Hannah Rosner, Good River Valley
38.  Rochelle Brisson, A Creative Chelle
39.  Nelly May, Smelly Nelly
40.  Skylar Bre'z, Brising Beads


41.  Beti Horvath, Stringing Fool
42.  Christie Murrow, Charis Designs
43.  Leanne Loftus, First Impression Design
44.  Valerie Norton, Hot Art
45.  Judy Riggs, Rigglettes
46.  Crystal Thain, Here Bead Dragons
47.  Terry Carter,  Tapping Flamingo
48.  Sue, Mid-Life Great Expectations
49.  Nan Smith, Wired Nan
50.  Miranda Ackerley, MirandAck Arts


51.  Marie Covert, Creating Interest
52.  D'Arsie Manzella, This Here Now, Mamacita
53.  Stephanie Haussler, Pixybug Designs
54.  Lori Bergmann, Lori Bergmann Design
55.  Johanna Nunez, The Lovely One Design
56.  Mary Govaars, MLH Jewelry Designs
57.  Becky Pancake, Becky Pancake Bead Designs
58.  Alicia Marinache, All the Pretty Things
59.  Debbie Rasmussen, A Little of This, A Little of That
60.  Nat, Grubbi Ceramics


61.  Marjorie Savill Linthwaite, Bennu Bird Rising
62.  Cheryl McCloud, One Thing Leads to Another
63.  Heather Otto, The Crafthopper
64.  Candida Castleberry, Spun Sugar Beadworks
66.  JuLee Wolfe, The Polymer Penguin
67.  Ginger Bishop, Lil Mummy Likes
68.  Karen Mitchell, Over the Moon Design
69.  Jeannie Dukic, Jeannie's Blog
70.  Dini Bruinsma, Angaza by Changes


71.  Birgitta Lejonklou, Create With Spirit
72.  Shalini Austin, Jewellery by Shalini
73.  Jayne Capps, Mama's Got to Doodle
74.  Ile Ruzza, Ilenia's Unique Beaded Jewelry
76.  Annita Wilson, AW Jewelry 
77.  Sherri Stokey, Knot Just Macrame
78.  Hannah Trost, PZ Designs
79.  Linda Inhelder, Must Haves Jewelry
80.  Miri Agassi, Beadwork


81.  Hope Smitherman, Crafty Hope
82.  Dyanne Cantrell, Dee-Liteful Jewelry Creations
83.  Susan Bowie, Susan Nelson Bowie
84.  Megan Milliken, MaeMaeMills
85.  Menka Gupta, Menka's Jewelry
86.  Ambra Gostoli, Chic and Frog
87.  Lori Lochner, Bloghner
88.  Gerda Jurimae, Gerda's Crafts Blog
89.  Susan, Mistheword
90.  MaryLou Holvenstot, MaryLou's time2cre8


91.  Mary Shannon Hicks, falling into the sky
92.  Karin King, The Sparklie Things Blog
93.  Christa Murphy, Adventures of One Beady Woman
94.  Jenny Davie-Reazor, Jenny Davies-Reazor
95.  Donetta Farrington, Simply Gorgeous
96.  Mallory Hoffman, Rosebud 101 - For the Love of Beads
97.  Danielle Kelley, Imbue the Muse
98.  Kym Hunter, Kym Hunter Designs
99.  Dolores Rami, CraftyD's Creations
100.  Marcia Dunne, 13 Alternatives


101.  Marlene Cupo, Amazing Designs
102.  Emma Todd, A Polymer Penchant
103.  Wendy Holder, Jewelry by WendyLea
104.  Michelle Escano, The Cabby Crafter
105.  Louise Glazier, Lily and Jasmine Treasures
106.  Dana Hickey, Wind Dancer Studios
107.  Lennis Carter, windbent
108.  Anne Betenson, Crystal River Beads
109.  Audrey Belanger,  Dreams of an Absolution
110.  Lisa Stukel, Carefree Jewelry by Lisa


111.  Janine Lucas, Travel Stories
112.  Claire Lockwood, Something to Do With Your Hands
113.  Kathy Engstrom, Catherine's Dreams
114.  Paula Hisel, Simply Beadiful
115.  Karla Morgan, Texas Pepper Jams
116.  Mischelle Fanucchi, Micheladas Musings
117.  Kim, Cianci Blue
118.  Linda Sadler, Ida Louise Jewelry
119.  Karen, Spokalulu
120.  Jennifer LaVite, Dry Gulch Bead and Jewelry


121.  Andrea Glick-Zenith, ZenithJade Creations
122.  Karen Martinez, Fairies Market
123.  Robin Reed, Artistry HCBD
124.  Amy Bright, LABweorc
125.  Jasvanti Patel, Jewels by Jasvanti
126.  Tammie Everly, TTE Designs
127.  Karin Slaton, Backstory Beads
128.  Natalie Moten, Running Out of Thread
129.  Sharyl McMillian-Nelson, Sharyl's Jewelry & Reflections
130.  Jenny Kyrlach, Wonder and Whimsy


131.  LiliKrist, Handmade by LilK
132.  Jessica Klaaren, The Truth Space
133.  Cynthia Abner, Created Treasures
134.  Beth Emery, Stories by Indigo Heart
135.  Heather Davis, Blissful Garden Beads
136.  Jeanne, Gems by Jeanne Marie
137.  Sandi Volpe, Sandi Volpe
138.  Laren Dee Barton, Laren Dee Designs
139.  Steph, Confessions of a Bead Hoarder
140.  Carolyn Lawson, Carolyn's Creations


141.  B. R. Kuhlman, Mixed Mayhem
142.  Patty Miller, Cabari Beads
143.  Elizabeth Bunn, Elizabeth Beads
144.  Marianna Boylan, Pretty Shiny Things
145.  Lizzie Clarke, The Need to Bead
146.  Christina Miles, Wings 'n' Scales
147.  Patricia, The Color of Dreams
148.  Marde Lowe, Fancimar
149.  Ev Shelby, Raindrop Creations
150.  Sarah Small, By Salla


151.  Perri Jackson, Shaktipaj Designs
152.  Laurie Vyselaar, Lefthand Jewelry
153.  Pam Traub, Klassy Joolz
154.  Lisa Harrison, Daisy Meadow Studio
155.  Anzia Parks, Anzi-Panzi's Work Shoppe
156.  Ingrid, Lilisgems Handcrafted Jewelry Inspirations
157.  Andra Weber, Andra's Joyful Journey
158.  Kelly Hosford Patterson, The Traveling Side Show
159.  Adlinah Kamsir, Dreamstruck Designs
160.  Marci, That Nothing Be Wasted


161.  Kris Lanae Binsfield,  Cherish Designs
162.  Stephanie Perry, Mustard Bead
163.  Birgit Klughardt, Gites Beads
164.  Inge von Roos, Inge's Blog
165.  Rebecca Sirevaag, Becca's Place
166.  Sandy Markley, Gypsy Spirit Designs
167.  Elena Adams, Lena's Beady Blog