Finding treasures

I was rummaging thru drawers and boxes today trying to find the title to my truck. During this task I ran across this



This was a gift a few years ago from my husbands aunt. We don't decorate for chirstmas or put up a tree so this has been in a drawer all this time.

This is a lacey oak leaf, preserved in 24k gold.

*grin*

I have some gold plated chain - I have some small wood beads...do you see where this is going? I am going to work on a design for this ornament to be the focal this weekend.

Such a shame to leave it in a drawer, don't you think?

Andi's Inspiration

I was cleaning my work area and ran across these mica 'tags'. They were given to my by my friend Andi. Andi came up to me a few months back and said "I want to learn to make jewelry" I answered "Fantastic!" She said "I want you to teach me"

I was speechless. Andi is this beautiful human, full of life and wonder and humor and love. Her asking me to 'teach' her to make jewelry was such a compliment. Of course I said Yes!. Andi brought over her supplies and we sat down and she began to show me her creations. There was no teaching this girl. She had it all. Her jewelry was fantastical and whimsy. She needed no guidance from me, only encouragement. She had made a pair of earrings out of these mica tags. They were so much fun. I ooh and ahhed over them. She tried to give them to me, and i declined. They were her masterpiece. She gave me two of the tags to make my own. So tonite I did, in honor and inspired by her.

Fun Valentine beads from Art Beads!

Being part of the ArtBeads blogging team is such an honor especially when I see the other blog team members posts. Their work is outstanding and their vision of how to use the products from ArtBeads, stunning!

Duchess, the community coordinator of ArtBeads offers great support and enthusiasm for all the bloggers. She gets just as excited about the bead choices as I do! (I would love to see some of her designs, I bet they are awesome)

Keeping with the valentines theme for Feb. I chose these components as the base of the necklace I want to make:

QUEEN OF HEARTS Fire Designs Hand Blown Furnace Glass *A very fitting name :)
These glass beads make me happy. They are beautiful. They are heavy, and bigger than I thought. They will make a great base for this design. The color combinations are also a plus. With the black and white added, it can be a design that is worn all year, not limiting it to a seasonal favorite.
Sterling/Resin 16mm Pendant - Red XOXO Flowers* This is a fun and youthful pendant perfect to add a bit of whimsy to any design.


To go along with these beads, I couldn't pass up these items and had to purchase a few things to go along with them. The prices at Art Beads are unmatched online. To offer the deals they do, and offer discount codes to go along with their already low prices, not requiring a minimum order AND FREE SHIPPING!!! Who wouldn't want to shop there! (that combination makes me stupid!)

Here is what I added:
4mm Fire Polish Mix Pink Tones (50 Pack)
4mm Fire Polish Mix Red Tones (50 Pack)
TOHO™ Bead Round 6/0 Opaque-Lustered Pearl White 8g Bag
TOHO™ Bead Round 6/0 Opaque-Lustered Cream 8g Bag



What I forgot to take a picture of was these great little scrolled metal hearts -

Antique Silver Heart Scroll Bead

I can't wait to get started on this! Got Valentine jewelry ideas of your own? Post a link in my comments, I would love to see them!


Don't forget -

Artbeads' 10th Anniversary Sweeps

Sweepstakes Starts January 06, 2010 @ 09:00 am (PST)

Sweepstakes Ends March 04, 2010 @ 11:59 pm (PST)

Good luck and happy shopping!!


*FTC compliance disclosure: the '*' items mentioned in this post credited to Art Beads were provided as a promotional gift as part of the Blogging for Beaders Program. These items are for review or design purposes.

It's getting better all the time - necklace re dux

Last week I posted a picture of a necklace I had started, that just wasn't working out for me. I was very indifferent to the design and wanted something more.



I put out a call for help from all of my readers and got some great responses. While reading thru them ,the creativity cog started to squeal and grind and ideas start to roll. I tried adding a chunkier chain, but the chain was brass and just didn't fit. I tried adding a smaller focal of the green kyanite wrapped in copper to the top chain but it took away from the MOP. I added several more layers of the Figaro chain, but that chain is too light I think, and had a bit of a tangled look to it.

Working with the multi layers and the chains can be difficult sometimes to have a vision of how it will look when it is laying flat or pinned to a board. It doesn't always "flow" from flat to your neck. With that said, I broke down and bought a bust to use when working on draping necklaces and also to use as a display for photos and shows. What a difference it makes. It was well worth the investment. I went with black for photo reasons, and white just gets to dirty.

*think* *think*

When I removed the figaro chains, I also removed the top chain, and left just the one chain and the chunky outer layer - wow, what a difference. It was so simple and so perfect. I added a few little dangles to bring your eye down to the MOP focal as opposed to it just blaring at you and WAHLA!!!!



And yes, I am wearing it today!



Next time you are stumped on a design, ask a friend, you would be amazed at how just a few suggestions can get the creativity going again!