Another Michaels Challenge!

I was so excited to see Heather Powers and Lorelei Eurto were hosting another Michaels challenge.

Heather picked out the beadss using this as her inspiration.

The colors in the paisley fabric are so awesome!  And Heather picked out the perfect beads to match!

(Both of these are Heather's photos.  I completely forgot to take a photo of the beads before I started playing.)

I love the fuschia and the blues and greens -- gorgeous colors and ones I seldom choose for myself.

When I got these beads, I had been playing with Gwen Fisher's Conway Bead design.  I whipped up a few, thinking it would be fun to include them.

The Conway beads are slightly bigger than the large green beads, but I think they work well.

I also used the white rondelles and the brown cube beads along with the green ones.

I made a half Persian 3 in 1 chain to go with the beads and managed to create a necklace.  :)

After I finished this, I realized that I pulled the beads I was most comfortable with -- green, brown, earthy tones.  I added a bit of pink to the beaded beads, but conveniently forgot the pink and blue Michaels beads.

I grabbed those beads -- jewel tones I don't usually work with -- and decided to create something with those.

I turned to a favorite pattern from Sabine Lippert and used the pink beads to create a Bollywood version of her Granada pendant.  (You can find the pattern for this in Sabine's book, Beaded Fantasies.)

I wanted to make an elaborate necklace to showcase the pendant and tried several different things, none of which seemed right to me.

In the end, I went with something simpler.

I love the green sari ribbon.

These are colors I never ever .. ever would have chosen and I am so pleased with how this turned out.

I took a part of the Granada pendant and made a single components.  They made great earrings.

At one point during my necklace trials, I made a few drops with the blue/gold beads.  Not one to let anything go to waste, I whipped up this simple pair of earrings.

I was sad that I didn't find a use for the brown rectangle flower beads.  However, I did use them in the last Michaels challenge.  That counts, right?

Heather and Lorelei, thank you for a fun challenge!  I have a new favorite necklace thanks to the two of you!

Please check Heather's blog for the link up and see what the other participants did with these beads.

Lorelei's second Michaels challenge

Lorelei Eurto has a knack for finding, and having a vision for, beads that I would normally pass over.  Case in point:  her first Michaels challenge.  I would have not looked twice at those resin sliders, but wow, am I glad that Lorelei did.

This time around, Lorelei found several different types of beads and asked her readers to show her what we could do with them.

I dove into the challenge without really having a plan.

However, the brown disc beads were calling my name.  I remembered a design from Cindy Holsclaw and decided to try it with the disc beads.  Cindy's Squared Circles Beaded Bead was perfect.

Cindy has more wonderful patterns for sale on her website, Bead Origami.  You can also see her newest designs on her blog.

I had my focal beads, but needed to put them together with the other beads.  After a bit of experimentation (okay, quite a bit of experimentation), I came up with this.

I found a few rectangle beads in my stash (also from Michaels) and thought they matched the rustic nature of the beaded beads.  I wanted to use a bit of leather, so I added a few embellishments to mirror the design on the rectangle beads.

I really like this necklace.  I would never have put these beads together, but I really like how they look.  I am a bit sad that I didn't use the white beads, but I'll save those for the next challenge.

The first time I wore this necklace, I received so many compliments.  Everyone especially loved the owl button, something I would never have added on my own.  Thank you, Lorelei.

Please take a few minutes to visit Lorelei's blog to see what the other participants did with these beads.  I know you won't be disappointed.

Resin Bauble Slider Challenge

A few weeks ago, Lorelei Eurto found these awesome resin bauble sliders at Michaels.  They came in peach/purple (below) and aqua/teal.

Lorelei saw a great deal of potential in these little sliders and challenged her readers to see the same.

I was in the midst of my bead soup blog party projects, but an idea came right to mind and I had to join.  The kiddo and I took a quick trip to Michaels, grabbed a few packs of sliders and made it home in time to start dinner.

I wanted to make little beaded pom poms to sit around the sliders and gradually move out around the band of a bracelet.  Unfortunately, as it sometimes (well, usually) happens, my great idea didn't work as well as I thought it would.

I ended up going a different route and I am very pleased with the results.

I used two of the sliders together as a bracelet focal.

I'm a green and purple kind of girl, so when I grabbed purple and peach seed beads, I grabbed some light green pearls and teal seed beads as well.

I beaded the bracelet part of Marcia DeCoster's Rising Sun bracelet and attached the bands to the sliders

These sliders are incredibly light.  I was able to use fireline to attach the sliders to the woven band and it's very secure.  I would not have tried this with a heavy metal slider.

I love the look of Marcia's band with the sliders.  The bumps are a perfect fit with the little resin bubbles.  The band is a bit uneven because the first and last bubbles are not even.  You can't tell when you are wearing it, though.

The bumps look like little flowers, which makes me think of the bracelet as a small corsage.

(You can find more of Marcia's designs and kits on her website.  Marcia's first book, Beaded Opulence, is a great source for right angle weave projects -- every project is beautiful.  I am eagerly awaiting Marcia's second book, Beads in Motion.  If the cover is any indication, the projects in this book will all be show stoppers!)

I used the last slider as a necklace focal.

This came together on the spur of the moment.  I started looking for purple pearls and came across these peach ovals.

Later, I saw the purple pearls and Chinese crystals.  They all seemed to want to play together.

I restrung this necklace three or four times before I was happy with it.  Stringing, you see, is something I typically avoid.  I have a hard time deciding which beads to use or not use.  I am *much* more comfortable with my beloved seed beads.

That said, I think my frustrations were worth it.  I love how this necklace turned out.  I love the slider/seed bead focal.  I love the purple and peach (which I would never have put together on my own).

When I showed her the necklace, the kiddo looked at it with a critical eye, then ran upstairs and grabbed the extra sliders.  She said, "this will make it even more beee-u-ti-ful, mommy" and arranged the other sliders on the necklace.

I took a few pictures and came up with this the next day.

This is totally the kiddo's design.  I added the herringbone strips to connect the sliders.  Again, the sliders are so light that the small beaded links can keep them in place.

I finished the necklace with twisted herringbone ropes.

I like that the ropes mimic the curves on the focal.

I *love* how this turned out -- number 19,594 why the kiddo is awesome!

Lorelei, thank you for such a wonderful challenge.  I would never have noticed these sliders and I have had a blast working with them.  They are so versatile and I can see similar sliders in many other designs.

Please take some time to visit Lorelei's blog or follow the links below to see what the other participants did with these sliders.  I promise you won't be disappointed.

Lorelei - our host

Lola
Denise McCabe
Mustard Bead
A Polymer Penchant
Pearl and Pebble
Peacock Fairy
Beads for Busy Gals
Dawn Williams
Shirley Moore
B Street Studios
Sally Russick
Pamela770
Erin Prais-Hintz
Heather Powers
MirandAck
Lily
Karen Firnberg
Tanya  -  you are here
Mary
Rosebud101
Ann
Toltec Jewels
Micha
Terri

Beadin' Path Beading Challenge

Toward the end of August, Lorelei announced her Beadin' Path Beading Challenge.  She worked with The Beadin' Path and came up with a sampling of lucite beads, lucite chain, focals and even a few findings.

The colors are fun and the style is funky.  Lorelei told us to "think COLOR .. think CHUNKY .. think FUNKY .. think FUN!"

I wouldn't have put these colors together on my own, but I decided to take the challenge.  I even had a few ideas in my head as I ordered the kit.

Of course, all those ideas flew away when I received the beads.  I took the red beads and started making Infinity Prisms from a pattern by Gwen Fisher and Florence Turnour of Bead Infinitum.

I added a bit of orange and black to the red beads

I had intended to use one of the black lucite flowers, but while scouring my stash, I found these large copper beads.  It was meant to be.

After making all of the red beaded beads, the blue buttons called to me.  I used them as the center of a few flowers.

I made two necklaces using these flowers.  The first combines the blue cylinders, Marsha Neal silk, steel wire and a connector from Staci Louise Artisan Accents.

I *love* the finished piece.

The second uses a few more Staci Louise components.

I wanted to use the blue links, but after a bit of trial and error, I discovered that I liked a few beaded links better.

After some thought, I decided that I *needed* to tackle those lucite fowers.  Those flowers motivated me to join this challenge, so they had to be used.  I tried a few different things and finally settled on something simple.

When I first saw the blue links, I wanted to add a few beaded links of my own to the chain.

The final product, finished with silk from  Marsha Neal:

I'm not so sure about the silver clasp, but I didn't have time to bead something.

Lorelei, thank you so much for the challenge.  I had a great time.  :)

Please take time to visit Lorelei's blog to see what everyone else did with these awesome beads.