I have finally finished ... / Pa sem le dokončala ....

  ... my "Leaf in the wind" necklace.
... ogrlico, ki sem jo poimenovala "List v vetru".

After several diferent ideas that came on my mind, I've chosen a simple button closure. The polymer clay button is made using the same surface treatment as the leaf pendant.
Po poigravanju z različnimi možnostmi in idejami, sem se odločila za enostavno zapiranje na gumb, ki sem ga izdelala iz polimerne mase z enako površinsko obledavo kot obesek.

And - I'm so happy to announce that this pendant was featured in the November issue of Bead Chat magazine (on page 27)!!! I submitted the picture the last minute and I wasn't sure it will be accepted.
In - z velikim veseljem lahko povem, da je ta obesek/ogrlica objavljen v novembrski številki revije Bead Chat!!! Fotografijo sem poslala zadnji trenutek, tako da nisem bila prepričana, če bo objavljena - a je bila - poglejte na stran 27!!!

  This is the very first feature of a piece of jewelry made by me in a magazine and I'm soooo happy, I can't explain how!!! ***Happy dance*** 
 To je moja čisto prva objava v reviji, ki se ukvarja z nakitom in sem takoooo vesela, da ne morem razložiti!!! ***juppi-juppi-jaaaa***

  The Leave in the wind necklace will be available in my etsy shop later tonight. Oh, yes, I'm fnally opening my Etsy shop!
  Ogrlica bo kasneje zvečer na razpolago v moji Etsy trgovinici. Tako je, končno odpiram svojo Etsy trgovinico!

  Be happy,

Bodite veseli,

Alenka

A Time to Stitch 3 - Update 1 (After Reveal)

If you are looking for the reveal of the Bead Soup Blog Party, please go here!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  The reveal for this challenge organized by Christine Altmiller and Therese Frank was a few days ago, but at that time I've had two still unfinished pieces, the Cellini spiral and the Russian spiral - as you can see here.

  Today I have finally finished the necklace with the Cellini spiral:

  The flower and the clasp are made from polymer clay - with a technique I've learned from the tutorial Cosmic Ceramic by Iris Mishly and Hila Bushari.  

   
The bead caps (for both ends of the Cellini spiral) and brown oval beads are also made from polymer clay.

 

  I'm quite proud of my first Cellini and these are the colors I wear very often, so I'll keep it for me :-D     However, I'll be more than happy to read your comments! 

  If you want to see the finished Russian spiral necklace, come back in a few days as I'm waiting for the seed beads to arrive...

  Be happy,

  Alenka

  

Carpe diem ...

  When you are going at the doctor's office and you know that you'll be waiting your turn for one hour at least, you have to find a way to pass that time in a pleasant way.
  Ko si namenjen na zdravniški pregled in veš, da se boš načakal, se je potrebno organizirati, da boš ta čas preživel kar se da prijetno.

  Guess what I did. Do you need a hint?
  Ali uganete, kaj sem počela jaz? Potrebujete namig?

  Here it is:
  Tukaj je:

  I've discovered another use of a food container ;-D 
  Ugotovila sem, da je posodica za hrano lahko uporabna tudi drugače ;-D

  Here's what I've made while waiting my turn:
  to pa sem naredila med čakanjem na vrsto:

   If you consider that I'm a beginner in beadweaving ... you can imagine how much time I've spent there last evening ....
  Če upoštevate, da sem začetnica v šivanju perl ... si lahko mislite, da sem včeraj zvečer kar nekaj časa preživela v čakalnici ...

  Well, I've just started enjoying it, so couldn't stop stitching ... and finished these today:
  Sicer pa sem ravno dobila rokico za šivanje in se nisem mogla ustaviti, zato sem danes zaključila ta dva para uhanov:

 Carpe diem :-D

  Alenka

Work in progress / Delo v teku

  If you are looking for the PEPITA GIVEAWAY, please go here.
  Če iščete NAGRADNO IGRO PEPIRA - kliknite sem. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  After an hour of Zumba and a shower I'm tired, but feeling good! I think I'm going to bed now, but I wanted to share with you what is happening on my beading table ...

  Po eni uri zumbe in tušu sem precej utrujena, vendar se počutim odlično! Mislim, da se bom kar spravila spat, sem pa hotela še prej z vami deliti trenutno dogajaje na moji delovni mizi ...

  Good night or a good day!
  Lahko noč in prijeten jutrijšnji dan!

  Alenka

A Time to Stitch 2 - Reveal

  Okay, it's time for for the reveal of the A TIME TO STITCH 2 challenge, hosted by Therese and Christine.

  I'm a bit nervous as these are my first steps in beadweaving, but I already love it very much. That means this is only the beginning and you will see more from me in the future :-)

  Let's start with the CRAW - the first one I've tried. I made a bracelet

and a pair of earrings.

  The second stich I learned was St. Petersburg and I made a bracelet (with polymer clay buttons), 

a pair of earrings

and two rings.

  My design is quite simple, I'm still learning the basics, but I like it that way. They are all my experiments, I did not use any tutorials (except for learning the stitch itself). I know I havent't invented anything new, but I came to this solutions by myself. I'm kind of proud of it ... and I already have a lot of ideas to realize in the future :-) 

  And now, here's the complete list of participants - I'm sure you will find gorgeous creations on their blogs as they are all much more skilful than me:

Therese Frank and Christine Altmiller
Nikki Byers
Kristen Stevens
Shirley Moore
Cynthia Machata
Lola Surwillo
Maryanne Gross
Alenka  ß you are here!
Karin Slaton
Katherine Gale
Sally Russick
Amy Severino
Alicia Marinache
Sonya Stille
Tanya Goodwin
Lisa Stukel
Marla Gibson
Sarah Sequins
Mandy
Andra Weber
Kim Hora
Karen Williams

  Happy hoping!
  Alenka

Challenges and Swaps / Izzivi in izmenjave

 
  It's challenges time for me as in the last two weeks I signed up for more challenges and/or swaps, all international.
  Pa je zame spet čas izzivov oziroma izmenjav, saj sem se v zadnjih dveh tednih prijavila kar na tri, vse mednarodne.


  With the Polymer Clay Swaps Facebook group (admnistered by Tina Holden) we have just finished our first swap - the Window Ornament Swap (read my post here) - and all of us were already impatient to begin another one. This time the theme is a JOURNAL COVER IN YOUR FAVORITE TECHNIQUE (it's a one to one swap). It can be multi-media but Polymer Clay should be the focus. You and your partner can decide and tell each other your journal size ...
There are still two days to sign up (until 10 September) and the deadline for sending the creation to your partner is 15 October. If you would like to participate - join the FB group, where you can find all the details.  

  V Facebook skupini Polymer Clay Swaps (ki jo administrira Tina Holden) smo ravnokar zaključili s prvo izmenjavo - Window Ornament Swap (izmenjava okenskih okraskov) - več najdeš tukaj, a smo že vse sodelujoče komaj čakale na naslednjo. Nova tema je NASLOVNICA DNEVNIKA V NAJLJUBŠI TEHNIKI, ki je lahko iz različnih materialov, le da je osnova polimerna glina. Velikost naslovnice določita partnerja v izmenjavi. Prijave so do 10. spetembra, zadnji datum pošiljanja izdelkov pa 15. oktober. Če bi želeli sodelovati, se pridružite FB skupini Polymer Clay Swap, kjer boste dobili vse podrobnejše informacije. 

Examples of journals and covers provided by Tina Holden.
 Primeri naslovnic in ovitkov, ki jih je posredovala Tina Holden.

  I just could not resist to the invitation of Jen Cameron on her Glass Addictions web site for the ART CHARM BLOG HOP, the theme is laughter. To participate in the charm swap, you must be willing to make enough charms for everyone in your group (including yourself) AND one extra so that a set of charms can be auctioned to benefit Beads of Courage. This means if your group has 10 people, you will make and send a total of 11 charms. One charm is a “donation” to be auctioned off to Beads of Courage. I liked the charitable part and I signed up. All the charms need to be in Jen's hands by October 15 - that means that I need to send them by the end of September as thay need to reach the other part of the ocean (US).

  Na spletni strani Jen Cameron Glass Addictions sem zasledila še en izziv, kateremu se tudi nisem mogla upreti. Naslov izziva je ART CHARM BLOG HOP, gre pa za izmenjavo malih umetniških obeskov (primernih za na zapestnico) na temo smeha. Sodelujoči bomo razdeljeni v skupine po 10 in vsak bo moral izdelati po en obesek za vsakega iz skupine ter enega dodatnega, ki bo namenjen dražbi v okviru projekta Beads of Courage, skupaj torej 11 obeskov. Obeski morajo preleteti ocean in prispeti k Jennifer v ZDA do 15. oktobra, kar pomeni, da jih moram poslati najkasneje do konca septembra.

  And I'm still not over :-$ ... I'm beginning to learn bead-weaving and Therese from Therese's Treasures with her friend Christine are hosting the A TIME TO STITCH 2 challenge. They offer two stitches to choose from: Right Angle Weave and St. Petersburg. You can choose to do one or both of the stitches. And it is open to first time bead weavers to the advanced bead weavers.  The object is to just have fun. There is no pressure to complete a project, just post what you have done at the time of the reveal. And you can find all the tutorials on her site.

  It's just perfect for me - no pressure to make something difficult or to finish the piece in time, just learning and having fun! Today is the last day for sign ups and October 25 is the reveal day.

  In še ni konec :-$ ... Ker sem se začela učiti šivanja perl, sem dobila odlično priložnost v okviru izziva, ki ga organizira Therese (Therese's Treasures) s prijateljico Christine. Gre za A TIME TO STITCH izziv, ki je primeren tako za začetnike kot za mnogo bolj vešče. Ponujena sta dva vzorca šivov, "Right Angel Weave" in "St. Petersburg" (v slovenščini še ne poznam ustrezne terminologije), med katerima lahko izbereš enega ali oba, na Theresini spletni strani so dostopni tudi tutoriali. Namen izziva je predvsem zabava, zato ni pomembno, da se izdelek dokonča, lahko se objavi tudi nedokončanega. Čas za prijavo je le še danes, razkritja na blogih pa bodo 25. oktobra.

 I have to admit I've already started with the Cubic Right Angle Weave and I think I have understood well the logics of the pattern, I can already stitch the beads with no need to look at the tutorial. However, it's quite tricky - you think you've mastered it, but you can quickly make a mistake if you loose the concentration ...

 

  Priznati moram, da sem se že lotila dela, in sicer sem začela s spoznavanjem vzorca Cubic Right Angle Weave. Zdi se mi, da sem razumela logiko šivanja in kar osvojila tehniko, vendar pa je pri šivanju perlic potrebna dobra koncentracija, saj se lahko mimogrede "zašiješ" ... 

  Am I exagerating with all this challenges? Well, maybe I am. Definitely I need to hold back for a while ... and don't sign up for another one until I'm done with at least two of these.

  Hm, mogoče kar malo pretiravam z vsemi temi izzivi ... časa za ustvarjanje namreč nimam veliko. Se bom morala kar precej zadrževati v prihodnje s prijavljanjem na nove, vsaj dokler ne dokončam dva od prijavljenih izzivov.


  Have fun and do what you love,
  Uživajte in vzemite si čas za tisto, kar radi počnete,
  Alenka

First time ...

  ... BEADWEAVING!!!

  During the 6th Bead Soup Blog Party I've seen the wonderful creations of my bead soup partner Amy and beautiful, sometimes even breathtaking pieces of other beadweavers, and I said to myself "I have to learn this!". And yesterday it was just the right day for a first attempt.

ŠIVANJE PERL - MOJ PRVI POSKUS!

 

  Med sodelovanjem v 6. Bead Soup Blog Party-ju, sem se srečala s čudovitimi kreacijami moje partnerice v izmenjavi Amy in krasnimi izdelki iz drobnih perlic ostalih sodelujočih - pri nekaterih sem ostala celo brez besed... Takrat sem si rekla, da to moram vsekakor poskusiti ... in včeraj je bil ravno pravi dan za to.

  Preamble:
In my stash I had only: white and baby-blue Rocailles (2,6 mm), no beading thread - just some dark blue sturdy sewing thread, 3 beading needles and some Beading Daily free tutorials. The Hexagonal Netting tutorial by Dustin Wedekind seemed quite acceptable for a begginer and I decided to try ...

  Opozoriti moram, da sem doma imela samo bele in svetlo modre 2,6 mm perle, iglo za šivanje perl, za nit pa sem vzela kar čvrsto nit za šivanje džinsa, ki je ne moreš pretrgati na roke. Naj omenim še, da je bila temno modre barve, torej ne ravno idealna za svetle perle. Imela pa sem tudi nekaj tutorialov od Beading Daily, med katerimi se mi je zdel Hexagonal Netting tutorial (avt. Dustin Wedekind) kar primeren za začetnika.

  The beginning was not so difficult and a self-confident thought passed through my mind: "oh, it's easy!" ... and just a few minutes later finishing the second (white) round I bumped into a mistake I made in the previous round (see arrow). Aaahhhhh!!! And my self-confidence faced a steep fall ... 

   Na začetku mi je šlo kar dobro in čim je moja samozavest zrasla, je prišel prvi šok - o sem zaključevala drugi krog (svetlo moder), sem naletela na napako v prejšnjem krogu ... Ajajajaj!!! In moja samozavest strmo dol ...

 Let's try again! I was working just fine, finishing the first round (first if not counting the circle in the middle) ... thinking "this time I am not going to make the same mistake" ... when another surpise was waiting for me just around the corner* - the thread stuck! Arrghhhh!!!  :-$

  * In this Hexagonal Netting pattern the "corner unit" is the increase unit of the round on each corner to keep the netting flat.

  No, pa poskusimo še enkrat - lepo počasi in natančno, da ne ponovim iste napake ... ko ravno zaključujem prvi krog (če ne štejemo osnovnega krogca na sredini), pa spet presenečenje!! Nič kaj prijetno, seveda: nit se je zataknila in ni šla ne naprej ne nazaj ... Grrrrr!

  "I'm not giving up!!! If I need a whole day to make it "perfect", I'll keep trying!"  The third attempt ... and  I reached first base! YAY!!!  :-D

  Seveda se ne bom pustila kar tako - če bo treba, bom poskušala ves dan!!! Na srečo tega ni bilo treba in je bil že tretji poskus uspešen! Juhuuuu!

#25/52 PAIR OF EARRINGS

  A piece of wire and here's my very first beadweaved earring. I made another one and this is also my 25 pair for the 52 earrings a year challenge.

  Dodala sem še malo žice in že je bil moj prvi uhan iz šivanih perl končan! Nato sem naredila še drugi del para in to je sedaj moj 25. par uhanov za izziv 52 earrings a year.

  There will be absolutely more beadweaving by me - I find it really relaxing (I know, it doesn't seem so when you read my previous words ;-)) ...  almost a kind of meditation. I just need to get some practice and some material for it. 

  To je torej šele začetek, vsekakor se bo moje prijateljevanje s šivanjem perl nadaljevalo - res je sproščujoče (čeprav iz zgornjega opisa ne izgleda ravno tako ;-)), celo neke vrste meditacija. Potrebujem samo nekaj prakse in pravega materiala.

  Hugs & love,

  Alenka