Pine Ridge Treasures' Beach Blog Hop 2015

Hello and welcome to a special blog hop, hosted by lovely Lisa of Pine Ridge Treasures.

Back in March she sent us a kit of cultured sea glass and some other elements:

I was so enchanted by my glass ~ I love sea glass (even when it's cultured) and the colours of my package was speaking of dark nights with purple dreams.

But then my crazy life intervened and while the package was always on my mind, the same mind wouldn't come up with a design.

I tried this:

It looked beautiful on the mat, but it was definitely not me. Back to thinking.

Earlier this week it became this:

I tried to knot the seas glass, thinking I can wrap it around my wrist as well. But I did't like it either.

So Friday evening I was in panic mode and went back to what I feel it is me: wire :)

I have created 2 different tassels: one using fabric scraps from a dress I always loved to pieces (the blue & white material), a gorgeous piece of lace sent by my mom, and a leather flower (also sent by my mom). I added one of the glass pieces, wire wrapped, and one of the 2 boat charms. Instant love!

The second tassel is even more simple in design: a wrapped wire circle, added a few small glass pieces, in an  asymmetric design; with a few of the elements: 2 of the beach glass pieces, the other boat charm, and one of the metal beads made into a small charm. Love? check!

Now what to do for the actual necklace? I must admit I am not 100% in love with this one ~ the left side with the 4 long tubes is beautiful and perfect; the asymmetric left side... not so much. I have the nagging feeling I will end up taking that part off and coming up with something else. In the meantime, it is usable and beautiful.

The best part of this? it really is 3 necklaces: the simple, flowing one, with no tassels.

#2 with one of the tassels.

#3 with the other tassel.

This was my journey; thank you for following along!

Thank you, Lisa, for the wonderful kit and the opportunity to get out of my usual gemstones 'box'. Obviously I didn't get too much out of the box :) I still have tons of the glass which I hope to put to good use (I love the lovely lavender shade! or that star). I also need to find a name, Starry Night comes to mind (especially for #1 or #3) :)

Please ensure you visit the group - I am looking forward to seeing what beauties have been created!

Your hostess:  Lisa Lodge, A Grateful Artist
Carolyn Lawson, Carolyn's Creations
Candida Elkins Castleberry, Spun Sugar Beadworks
Becky Pancake, Becky Pancake Bead Designs
Kari Asbury, Hippie Chick Design
Susan Anderson, La Main Tresor
Kim Dworak, Cianci Blue
Margaret Pelech, Margaret Pelech's Blog
Lisa Prewitt Knappenberger, LiRaysa Designs
Carol Briody, A Beads Life
Karin Grosset Grange, Ginkgo et Coquelicot
Shaiha Williams, Shaiha’s Ramblings
Gloria Allen, Gloria Allen Designs
Rosee Floss Hanemaayer, Silver Penny Artisans
Saundra Farren, Something by Saundra
Beti Horvath, Stringing Fool Jewelry
Chris Eisenberg, Wanderware
Alicia Marinache, All the Pretty Things <- you're here
Veralynne Malone, Designed by Vera
Linda Anderson, From the Bead Board
MaryAnne Kelly Hobbs-Fernie - TBD
Kelly Fletcher – TBD
Diana Chavis - TBD

CC7A May - Tutti Frutti, hosted by Therese Frank

Hello again, and welcome to a new CC7A get-together - the May edition, hosted by Therese of Therese's Treasures.

For this month, Therese picked up a very cheerful picture of flowers, springy and happy and colourful. Tutti Fruity is her theme.

Lovely, isn't it?

Yesterday was a very busy day (we celebrated our 19th Anniversary a couple of day in advance - since hubby is on his way to Ohio today) and at one moment we took a mini-stroll through the mall. Might not seem very romantic, but it was in a way - we haven't just walked through the mall, aimlessly, hand-in-hand, and not necessarily needing to buy anything since... I can't really remember, probably since the winter William was born and we used the mall as our park (that winter was a horrific one, incredibly cold, and we wouldn't dare to get the poor newborn baby in the frigid Canadian weather for more than 5 minutes).

Anyhow, you might ask yourself 'ok, nice, what has this to do with anything tutti fruity?!'.

Not much, but this:

A brand new store has popped in the Burlington Mall (we still call it 'the small mall' after all these years) and I had to take a picture of its banner :) foretelling, eh?

Well, going back to our business - the jewelry. I bought a couple of painted mother-of-pearl eons ago (literally 5 or 6 years ago!)... then on our 2nd trip to Myrtle Beach - that's 2013 - I found these lovely matching beads (the rondelles are plastic, the orange pillow beads are some sort of stone, don't ask me what kind, though). The entire group has been waiting patiently in my stash... for a long time...

Until this Sunday, when I decided it is time to use them:

I kind of tutti-fruity on materials, as well as techniques. We have shell, stone, and what looks like plastic beads... we have copper, antique copper, and thread; then we have swirls, wrapped beads, wrapped elements, swirls connectors, crochet thread and what not :)

Look at the braid for the neckpiece - that's 2 different hanks of embroidery floss, coming from my magic box (the one I won at an auction 5 or so years ago and it's brim full with embroidery floss in all the imaginable colours! I always find something matching in there :) )

As I was taking pictures, I realized I did't like the ends of the braids, so I quickly added one rondelle on each and now it has a more finished look.

One in one, I am happy with my version of Tutti-Fruity - I realize I'm heavier on orange and yellow than the picture, but I'm happy and I hope Therese will be too!

Please make sure you visit the rest of the group, I am sure they have had as much fun as I did!

Therese (May host)

Sally (June host)

Monique (August)

Cynthia (September)

Emma (October)

Christine (November)
Alicia (April host) ~ you are here

CC7A - May get-together

Hello again, and welcome to another monthly installment of the CC7A, 2015 edition!

In case you missed it last year, it's a small group of very talented artists, from Canada and US, and we meet 7 moths of the year to have fun and do what we love most: create.

Last year we based our creation on the same small package of items we sent each other. This year, being a tad crazier for me re: schedule, the format will change slightly.

For 2015 what we do is pick an image and get inspired by it.

Therese will be the host in May and this is the picture she picked for us:

A beautiful springy palette, don't you think?

The reveal for these monthly get-together is the 26th - hence I am inviting you to come back at least on the 26th to see what everybody created with Tutti-Fruity :)

The CC7A composition:

Therese (May host)

Sally (June host)

Monique (August)

Cynthia (September)

Emma (October)

Christine (November)
Alicia (April host) ~ you are here

... yes, I know how to count the months, we have all decided July is mostly a crazy summer month, with vacations and kids out of school... so we have decided to keep this fun and not very stressful, and skip July altogether.

Bead Peeps - Swap 'n Hop; the reveal!

The time to reveal the Swap 'n Hop has arrived! Welcome!

For a reminder of what I received and what I sent to my lovely partner, Maire of Thistledown, please check my previous post: Sweep 'n Hop ~ my partner.

Maire sent me a whole box full of treasures and there was no way I would use everything. However, I tried my best to try a little bit of everything.

First in line was the ceramic cylinder. I had 2 of them, in a bluish - purplish shade. I looked for some sort of gemstones to add and I found this strand of faceted amazonite. A tad towards greenish-bluish, but with some grey veins that went well with the purple. I added 2 of the purple crystals from Maire's stash, as 'bead caps' for the ceramic cylinder. Then I figured out a tassel is requested and used some of the waxed linen from a previous swap to achieve that goal.

'Universe' was born - I love this universe.

Next, I had my eyes set on the cabs... I did wrap one of the mokume cab, although I am not extremely happy with it. Hopefully I'll change my mind by the time I add the necklace part :)

Not in love with the wrap itself: it's not perfectly symmetrical and it's incredible hard to make it asymmetrical in a 'good' way; the colour of the wire is not matching very well (or showing very well), but I refused to use brass :)

The green glass beads are a nice match for the necklace part. But I didn't want to string them, and I didn't have the energy to wire-wrap them either. I'll figure it out, no worries :)

So far I had used one cab, one ceramic bead, and a couple of crystals. The content of the box was looking back at me, reproachfully. I could hear the beads asking 'is that all you can do?!'. Alas, I knew I can "do" more, had only I had time.

Then I decided time will be made for this and I picked up the brass leaf made by Maire herself. Good - what next? I spilled my 'everything I need' box (it's a big Ikea cube, filled with boxes that contain: tools, wire, beads, and more... all I think I can use in one session at the jewelry studio) looking for something to match. I came across the polymer clay beads by Elaine Robataille (a fellow Canadian), the ones I received in last year's Bead Soup swap (the linen from the 'Universe' is from the same swap). Ah, things started to get shape. But brass and orange didn't make for a very cheerful combination. And I needed sunny and cheerful.

Out came the bright yellow seed beads Maire sent and a brass branch.

Now we were talking! I decided this will be the focal. What to do for the rest of the necklace?

A couple of connectors, polymer clay by Elaine. Good...

Adding the brass branches, to have a nice link to the focal. Still a bit too serious and sad.

Ah, yellow seed beads to the rescue! Now this is more like spring: forsythia-like branches and orange blooms. 

It instantly made me smile, so I was happy. Happiness comes in yellow right now, so I continued with a perfect forsythia wreath:

Doesn't it look like candy?

I still had the neckpiece itself to make. I picked up Maire's sari silk, which was now matching the whole thing perfectly. But it was too much yellow, and in my life everything must be in balance. Luckily for me, from a few good years back I had a small leftover piece of orange sari silk.

Ah! Now that's what I call perfection.

Nature in Bloom

The necklace itself received the very appropriate name of 'Nature in bloom'.

Funny enough, both necklaces have the exact same length. I think I reached some sort of an internal sensor :)

I would like to take this moment to thank Maire again - it was very nice meeting her and leaning more about her; the lovely package she generously sent gave me lots and lots of ideas (I still have pieces to use, obviously!); which is one of the reasons I participate in these challenges. Working with items someone else picked for you is very interesting and a sure way to start your creative juices flowing.

Thank you to the hostess of the swap as well, I know there is an incredible amount of work behind these challenges, and I am thankful to all who take upon themselves the tasks of 'herding' an insane amount of people.

Lastly, I would like to thank you for stopping by - please leave me a word if you're inclined to do so :) And before you leave, please ensure you will visit the others too!

Our Hostess: Linda Anderson from http//:fromTheBeadBoard.blogspot.com
Linda	Anderson	http://fromTheBeadBoard.blogspot.com
Marica	Zammit	http://www.beadlovelies.com
Jessica	Hocutt	https://faithfamilyandadventure.wordpress.com
Kristina	Hahn Eleniak	http://www.peacockandlime.wordpress.com
Debbie	Jeffries	http://wordpress/debrasdivinedesigns/blog.com
Rosantia	Petkova	http://bairozan.blogspot.com/
Shalini	Austin	http://jewellerybyshalini.co.uk/my-blog/
Catherine	La Vite	http://drygulchbeadsandjewelry.blogspot.com
Annica	Larsson	http://zestyfrog.wordpress.com/
Lori	Schneider	http://beadaddicted.blogspot.com/
Divya	N	http://www.jewelsofsayuri.com
Mowse	Doyle	http://mowsemadethis.blogspot.com
Fay	Wolfenden	http://torchfairy.blogspot.com
Kathy	Lindemer	http://bay-moon-design.blogspot.com/
Claire	Fabian	http://saraccino.blogspot.de/
Janice	Warden Bergeron	http://thejewelryroom.blogspot.ca
Natalie	Davidson	http://www.northshoredays.com
Deb	Fortin	http://www.studiok24.blogspot.ca
Inge	von Roos	http://ingetraud.wordpress.com
Karen	Mitchell	http://overthemoon-design.com
Robin	Reed	http://willowdragon.blogspot.com
Marie	Covert	http://thistledown-and-swaddlings.blogspot.com/ <- my partner!
Alicia	Marinache	http://www.allprettythings.ca <~ you're here!
Nan	Smith	http://www.wirednan.blogspot.ca
Johana	Nunez	http://artincendi.com
Kelly	Hosford Patterson	http://travelingsideshow.blogspot.com/
Lori	Blanchard	http://alainnjewelry.WordPress.com
Sue	Kennedy	http://suebeads.blogspot.com
Shai	Williams	http://shaihasramblings.com
Niky	Sayers	http://silverniknats.blogspot.co.uk
Melissa	Trudinger	http://beadrecipes.wordpress.com
Candida	Castleberry	http://www.spunsugarbeadworks.blogspot.com
Erin	Guest	http://www.renlish.com
Nicole	Rennell	http://nicolerennell.com/blog
Ien	Temaluru	http://ienmaginationsjewelry.wordpress.com
Robin	Showstack	http://heartsdesiresjewelryforyou.blogspot.com/
Sam	Waghorn	http://palemooncreation.blogspot.co.uk
Marianne	Baxter	http://www.simplyseablimejewelry.blogspot.com
Elsie	Deliz-Fonseca	http://ladelizchica.blogspot.com
Shai	Williams	http://shaihasramblings.com
Lee	Koopman	http://stregajewellry.wordpress.com
Jayne	Capps	http://mamasgottodoodle.blogspot.com
Marti	Conrad	http://marticsclay.blogspot.com
Tina	Bosh	http://bookbug-somanybookssolittletime.blogspot.com/
Eleanor	Thomas	http://woolywireetc.blogspot.com
Jeanne	Steck	http://www.gemsbyjeannemarie.blogspot.com
Gloria	Allen	http://www.wingsandbeads.blogspot.com
Rachel	Mallis	http://www.mintmonarch.com/#!blog/c1jlz
Andrea	Glick	http://zenithjade.blogspot.com/
Stephanie	Stamper	http://skwds.blogspot.com
Chris	Haussler	http://pixybugdesigns.blogspot.com
Betony	Maiden	http://www.beadwenches.blogspot.com/
Kari	Asbury	http://hippiechickjewelrydesign.com/blog/
Jenny	Kyrlach	http://anafiassa.blogspot.com/
Colleen	Foley	http://colleenfoleycreations.blogspot.com
Marybeth	Rich	http://forestofjewels.blogspot.com/
Marcy	Lamberson	http://www.StudioMarcy.blogspot.com
Dyanne	Everett-Cantrell	http://www.deelitefuljewelrycreations.blogspot.com
Ginny	Lones	http://www.Skippingintotheunknown.blogspot.com
Maria Rosa	Sharrow	http://willowstreetshops.blogspot.com
Loretta	Carstensen	http://designsbyloretta.blogspot.com
Dolores	Raml	http://craftydscreations.wordpress.com
Michelle	McCarthy	http://www.fireflydesignstudio.blogspot.com
Louise	McCormick-Glazier	http://jewelrytreasuresbylouise.blogspot.com/
Heather	Richter	http://desertjewelrydesigns.blogspot.com
Tammy	Adams	http://www.paisleylizard.com/blog/
Shirley	Moore	http://beadsandbread.blogspot.com
Seed Beaders
Susanne	Stelljes	http://pearlify.blogspot.de
Sheila	Prosterman	http://catswithbeads.blogspot.com
Pallavi	Asher	http://kalaabhushan.blogspot.in/
Jami	Shipp	http://celebratinglifewithdamamashipp.blogspot.com
Peggy	Kosier	http://www.kosydesigns.blogspot.ca/
Andra	Weber	http://andrasjoyfuljourney.blogspot.com
Catherine	King	http://catherines-musings.blogspot.com
Krafty	Max	http://kraftymax.com
Sierra	Barrett	http://giraffecanhas.wordpress.com
Lois	Sherwood	http://thiznthat5454blog.wordpress.com
Katy	Heider	http://onthepondcreations.blogspot.com
Rebecca	Robertson   (White)	http://morganafeycreations.121hub.com/
Heather	Richter	http://desertjewelrydesigns.blogspot.com
Brandy	Collier	http://bhjewelry.wordpress.com
Stephanie	Haussler	http://www.pixybugdesigns.blogspot.com
Lori	Blanchard	http://alainnjewelry.WordPress.com
Kathleen	Breeding	http://99bobotw.blogspot.com
Becky	Pancake	http://beckypancakebeaddesigns.blogspot.com
Renetha	Stanziano	http://lamplightcrafts.blogspot.com/
Tami	Norris	https://jewelrybytami.wordpress.com/
Ginger	Bishop	http://lilmummylikes.blogspot.com/
Peggy	Johnson	http://charmbarn.blogspot.com

Bead Peeps - Swap 'N Hop

I just realized I never talked about one of the challenges that comes up soon. A new (to me, at least) group, Bead Peeps is hosting a Swap 'N Hop challenge (very similar to Lori's wonderful BSBPs from the past). The idea is exactly the same: you register, you get partnered, you swap goodies, you make things with your package of goodies, you post your results.

The sign-ups were all the way back in January, the swaps took place at the end of February, early March. The reveal itself is on Saturday!! Screetch... I never talked about my amazing partner! or about what she sent me or I sent her. Apologies to all.

I'll take a moment now to rectify that.

I first was partnered with Tammy Adams of Paisley Lizard. Why 'at first'? because apparently there was a mistake made during pairing and Tammy was not to be my partner. Sad face. However, I got another, equally wonderful partner: Maire of Thistledown. Happy face!

Maire and I exchanged a few emails, trying to learn more about each other. We found lots of similarities, some crazy ones too :) And we figured out we both have the same eclectic style, loving metal and stones and what-not.

I put together my package: not a very big one, I am afraid, but all items were very dear to me: a ceramic leaf from Marla's Mud, a glass cab by one of the CC7A artists, Therese's Treasure, a few brass elements, etched by myself, polymer clay by Tina @ Bead Comber, a shell I picked in Myrtle Beach a couple of summers back, and a few accompanying elements.

The package from Maire gave both of us some palpitations - somehow Canada Post messed up their info an on USPS' side it showed that the package is lost somewhere here, in the city. Luckily for us, it was at the post office, just not marked as such.

I came home and started getting through my treasure - and what a treasure box it was!

She painted the box! With spring elements, that were more than welcome in our crazy end of March / beginning of April (it's still barely over 10 C here).

She added a sparkly card...

... and some cute items from her son to mine. The funniest part is that the state key chain is made in... Canada! :)

And then I started to unwrap goodies:

Beads in all sort of sizes, shapes, and colours, plus resin cabs she made - love them!

Somehow our minds really worked on the exact same wave length! The colours we sent each other were similar, the components too - look at the beach elements... in the same pink as the ones I sent her! isn't that funny? Mother of pearl components, beautiful glass and a couple of ceramic tubes I fell in love with.

More beautiful beads, along with some wood / nutshell carved ones.

More polymer clay (made by my lovely partner), more beautiful colours, some beautiful turquoise like beads, and a hunk of sari silk! I hoard cherish the silk whenever I can get my hands on it!

Wire and findings, including a couple of clasps, and brass elements she cut and etched and hammered herself. Look at those oak leaves and the tree of life! Absolutely in love! One of my favourite symbols is the tree of life, and the Celtic-like depiction is perfect, as I love all thing Celt as well :)

My family always teases me (in a loving way) when I get a package - I get so excited and happy! This time was no different, I almost jumped and I sure annoyed my boys with the 'oh, wow!' that came after unwrapping each little package.

I have already started to work on them (of course, we are just 5 days away from the reveal!!) and I absolutely love what comes from them. I will not be able to use everything by Saturday, but I will hopefully make justice to the generosity and kindness of my partner!

Thank you, Maire, again!

And to you, my lovely visitor, my thanks for stopping by today - please make sure you come again on Saturday, it's going to be an amazing party!

CC7A April - Spring pastels; the reveal

Hello and welcome to my (lately) very sporadic online presence :)

Today the lovely Creative Continuum of 7 Artists group is presenting the reveal for April, 'Spring pastels', hosted by yours truly. The picture I chose is one of an Easter basket, with pastel eggs (traditionally they should be red, bat that's next to impossible to achieve here :) although I aim every year).

I had a few ideas on what I wanted, but, alas, no time! The term ends this month, and the exams needed grading, my thesis needed writing, and my family needed tending. So my fabulous idea had to take a waiting :) But now I needed another one, one simpler and hopefully as effective.

It had to involve metal. But after that - I was lost. I tried the lucite flowers I had... nope, not working well. I had a few gorgeous polymer clay flowers, but in the wrong colours, there was nothing remotely pastel about them. Stones, gemstones, crystals... nothing was getting together. Maybe because our spring isn't much of a spring yet and definitely *not* pastel.

I actually ended up putting out almost everything I could get my hands on - until my eyes fell on... an item I never used :) Now was the perfect time.

Please allow me to present you the piece that surprised me. Thoroughly.

Buttons :) I honestly never thought I'd be using them like this (although I bought them 2 summers ago for a jewelry piece... then decided they don't work together well). I wish I had take a picture of the frame behind them, the cutest thing ever. But I was so excited to have the buttons, that I simply went on 'sewing' them on until it was too late to do anything about it. I should have patina-ed both the frame and the hook, and I might get to that point. So far I just like the playfulness of the piece.

P.S. The elephant came with me from our February trip (I still haven't wrote about the trips we had this year, I will one day). It was 'living' on my mantle and seemed a perfect match for the 'framed buttons'.

With this, my friends, I will let you visit the rest of the group and see what beauties they made:

Alicia (April host) ~ you are here

Therese (May host)

Sally (June host)

Monique (August)

Cynthia (September)

Emma (October)

Christine (November)

Thank you for stopping by! Make sure you have a wonderful, very pastel spring :)

Color of Dreams reveal

Rita of Toltec Jewels put together a lovely blog hop: Color of Dreams. She sent 50 (fifty!) of us an orphan, ooak bead by Patricia Handschuh: colourful bits of dreams, indeed! Look at them:

Mine is not in the picture, I came late to the party - and I believe Rita purchased more beads after taking this gorgeous picture.

Being far, far away from Rita (across the border), my bead came in about 10 days ago. That was my luck, I believe, I didn't have time to think too much, I had to create something. But... what? The beads are charming and tiny, about 1/2 "... How can I make it into a focal, without overpowering it?

Then I started to think about dreams - I have so many, and they are all colourful... just like my charm. Purple and violet, with yellow blossoms, and green sprigs of hope. I always dreamed in colour, consciously or not, vivid, bright dreams. When I was young(er) I once was afraid that once a dream come true, there is nothing else to follow it. I believe for a while I stopped trying to follow my dreams, out of this incoherent fear. Then I grew up and I realized that once a dream is completed, your life continues, and you make more dreams. We are dream factories, each of us, isn't that a nice idea?

So I started to complete dream after dream, in no particular order, as opportunities arrived - and something fabulous happened: the more dream I could 'check off' my list, the more dreams appeared :)

Along these lines of thoughts, while still searching for a perfect solution for my bead, an idea presented itself: how about a frame?! ah, now we can talk!

I must admit it has been a hard one. I now know why - I chose the wrong size for the frame's wire. But I left the house with just half of my bag, so I had to make it work as it was. The enameling went OK per se - it's not as stellar as I wanted it in this composition (I had a hard time getting the frame to stick to everything, skill-learning in progress :) ). Bottom line: it's a beautiful idea, the implementation is not perfect. Dream still in progress - and it already gave birth to a couple of other ideas (which I promptly drew on a piece of paper).

Here is my Exotic Dream:

Thank you for checking my colourful dreams - thank you, Rita, for the lovely opportunity, and to a wonderful artist, Patricia, for creating such gems! It was a pleasure working with it!

Please make sure you check the other artists' dreams - it will be a colourful Sunday!

Honorary Artist: Patricia Handschuh
Patricia's blog:            The Color of Dreams      
Patricias Etsy:             The Color of Dreams
Hostess: TJ                Jewel School Friends

Kay Thomerson           KayzKreationz
Audrey Belanger          Toki No Hourousha

Alicia Marinache          All the Pretty Things
Terry Carter                TappingFlamingo
Lori Schneider             Bead Addict
Jenny Kyrlach             Wonder and Whimsy
Asri Wahyuingsih         Asri's Beadwork
Dini Bruinsma              Angaza by Changes
Karla Morgan              Texas Pepper Jams
Debbie Rasmussen        A Little of This, A Little of That
Veralynne Malone          Designed by Vera
Kathy Stemke               Vintage Memories Jewelry Design
Mowse Doyle               Mowse Made This
Heather Richter             Desert Jewelry Designs
Lori Poppe                   Adventures in Creativity with LorilliJean
Jayne Capps                Mama's Got To Doodle
Andrea Glick                Zenith Jade Creations
Kathleen Breeding         99 Bottles of Beads on the Wall
Becky Pancake             Becky Pancake Bead Designs
Karin Martinez              Fairies Market
Miranda Ackerley          Mirandack
Penny Houghton           Smelly Nelly
Carolyn Lawson           Carolyn's Creations
Chris Eisenberg            Wanderware
Christie Murrow          Charis Designs Jewelry
Monique Urquhart        A Half-Baked Notion
Eve Shelby                  Raindrop Creations Jewelry by Evelyn
Cryss Thain                 Here Bead Dragons
Jasvanti Patel               Jewelry By Jasvanti
Nan Smith                   NanMade Handmade Jewelry
Sue Kennedy               SueBeads
Jean Yates                   Snap Out of It, Jean! There's Beading to be Done!
Debbie Rogers             Debbies Treasures
Marybeth Rich             A Few Words From Within the Pines
Shirley Moore              Beads and Bread
Shaia Williams             Shaiha's Ramblings
Kathy Lindemer           Bay Moon Design
Linda Anderson           From the Bead Board
Judy Turner               Silver Rains
Gloria Allen                Gloria Allen Designs
Regina Wood              Ginas-Design
Robin Reed                Artistry HCBD
Mary Goovars            MLH Jewelry Designs
Marlene Cupo             Amazing Designs
CJ Bauschka              4 His Glory Creations
Robin Showstack        The Crazy Bead Hoarder
Cynthia O'Toole          Sparkles and Sweets
Jael Thorp                 Jael's Art Jewels
Renetha Stanziano      Lamplight Crafts

Into the forest...

... or making good on my Word of the year choice :)

Back in the summer Lisa of A Grateful Artist set up one of her lovely blog hops: she puts together mystery packages with a theme and the participants create with the beads they receive.

Her theme for the January blog hop is 'Into the forest' and I received a treasure: luscious purple and white beads of all sorts (crystals, metal, glass, ceramic, pearls, mother-of-pearl chips) along some teeny-tiny brown seed-beads and a ceramic pendant by Marla James:

Into the forest elements: purple, white, and silver beads in various mediums
(glass, ceramic, metal, glass pearls, mother of pearl)
and teeny-tiny seed beads, along with a tree ceramic focal by Marla James

 

Into the forest elements: purple, white, and silver beads in various mediums
(glass, ceramic, metal, glass pearls, mother of pearl)
and teeny-tiny seed beads, along with a tree ceramic focal by Marla James

Luckily for me, Monique mentioned a blog hop on January 11th (yes, I usually add them in my calendar! I forgot about this one :) ) so this is what happened yesterday at midnight

Into the forest sneak-peak ~ spiral rope

... but to see the end result you'll have to wait almost a full week, until Saturday, January 11th!

P.S. How am I making good on my choice word for 2014? Imagine that I finished the piece *today*, almost a full week before the reveal! I even took pictures and wrote the blog post too!

I'm achieving my goals and I am not procrastinating. Now to keep up with it :)