Moon Garden Challenge

Andrew put together a wonderful kit.

But with pale beads and cloudy days it was difficult to get good photos.

'Moon Garden'

All the beads used came from the kit and, a long over the head chain from Vintaj finishes the piece

'Moon Maiden'

Beads from the kit

Vintaj' Lady in the moon' pendants

Check out Andrew's blog to see more.

Andrew Thorton's Festival of Lights Challenge

I  was so lucky to get  one of these kits.

A fabulous kit filled with wonderful colors

'Fortune Teller'

All beads are from the kit

along with brass chain and components from Vintaj.

The wonderful pendant was made by Andrew just for this challenge.

Here is a close up of the pendant

'Palm Reader'

This bracelet was made  with beads from the kit and I also added  metal, czech, glass  and copper beads along with a metal clasp.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you will visit the other participants listed below

Carole Carlson http://beadsophisticate.wordpress.com/

Christina Porter http://queenbeedesignsny.com/?page_id=62

Karin Grosset Grange http://ginkgoetcoquelicot.blogspot.fr

Shaiha Williams http://shaihasramblings.blogspot.com/

Christina Hickman http://vintagetreasuresjewelry.blogspot.com/

Kari Asbury http://hippiechickdesign.blogspot.com

Ann Schroeder http://www.beadlove.wordpress.com –

Alice Peterson http://alice-dreaming.blogspot.com You Are Here

Andrew Thornton, Alison Herrington, Laurel Ross, Cheryl Lee Tucker, Naama Eisensteinhttp://andrew-thornton.blogspot.com/

Sun and Sea Challenge

Today is the reveal day for the Creative Bead Chat's Sun and Sea Challenge. Six wonderful artists donated beads for this event, and I was one of the lucky winners! Here's what we received.



This necklace is made with Marla James fabulous ceramic focal. I wanted this to be a simple design so the focal stood out. I added hammered chain from Andrew Thornton's Spring Challenge which reminded me of little bubbles, Swarovski Crystals, Swarovski coral glass pearl beads, a sterling clasp and donut bail.


'Andros Barrier Reef'



Earrings made with MOP ovals and handmade hammered copper rings from Melinda Orr, Swarovski crystals, and copper freshwater pearls.


'Sea Maiden'

This necklace is made with Karyn Lewis-Bonfiglio's pretty blue swirled polymer beads, a leftover MOP oval from Melinda Orr, two little orange ceramic beads from Karen Totten, an ebony flower bead from Keirsten Giles bead swap, Melinda Orr's handmade copper clasp, and Vintaj components.


'The Big Island'

These earrings are made with Kathleen's colorful lampwork beads, etched copper charms from Melinda Orr, and brass earwires.


'Long Hot Summer'

And just to cool things off a bit, here is a simple little bracelet made using two of Karen Totten's blue ceramic tube beads, a handful of lampwork spacers from Twinstar, faceted aqua beads, tiny faceted dyed jade beads, lapis rondelles, and sterling silver.


'Cool Waters'



These earrings are made with two of Karen Totten's blue ceramic beads, and the left-over hammered chain from Andrew Thornton's Spring Challenge.


'Splash'

Though we had plenty of time to make jewelry, I didn't get to the lovely wood tile bead from Jlynn, and I still have a couple hammered rings and copper beadcaps from Melinda that didn't find their way into a piece.

I want to thank all the ladies who generously gave their own beads just so we could play. I had a wonderful time with this challenge. I hope you will visit the artist who gave us beads to play with, and also visit the designers listed below to what they created with the same beads.

Aimees Jewelry Treasures
Yay Jewelry
CSW Designs
Alice Dreaming you're here!
Creative Thoughts From Cindy

Andrew Thornton's Spring Challenge

Yes, three posts in two days. Unusual for me, I know. I was starting to think I had bit off more than I could chew by signing up for two challenges and Shannon’s weekly 'Finally Fridays' challenges. On the other hand I need this kind of push to keep me at the bead table.


From Andrew's Blog

Andrew collaborated with Lima Beads and came up with a lovely spring inspired kit for this challenge. I just clicked ‘add to cart’, and soon the kit was traveling to my mail box. The kit includes the sweetest bunny toggle from Green Girls, a tiny pewter bunny charm from Tierra Cast, a darling ceramic bird charm from Earthenwood Studio, a little tagua nut large hole bead, a pair of Lucite leaf charms, a hammered chain, two tubes of seed beads, and a variety of Czech beads.

I like to get some mileage out of kits like this and spread the goodness around to several pieces. The first piece I made was this bracelet made with four of the faceted fire polished Czech beads from the kit, some vintage green beads, wasabi deep cut Czech beads, green Druk glass beads, a dyed howlite tube bead, Vintaj chain and components, and some sweet lampwork spacer beads.


'Lime-A-Rita'

The second piece, another bracelet (which I’ve been making a lot of lately) includes the apple green Czech beads, a large turquoise dyed howlite bead, lampwork beads from Twinstar and Lynda’s Bead Dreams, a polymer bead from Heather Powers, a Bali bead and sterling silver spacers and clasp.


'A Gentle Breeze'

These earrings include the Lucite leaves and a couple of the Czech beads from the kit, plus triangle wood beads and a variety of Vintaj chain.


'Jungle Fever'

The inspiration for this last piece came when I saw a little bird on our porch with a wad of fiber in her beak ready to use it to build her nest. This necklace is made with the sweet ceramic bird, a peach colored ‘sugared’ lampwork bead from Fire & Fibers, Vintaj components, and a silk dangle from a destash over at Objects and Elements. I’m thinking I need something more on the chain, so I might take it apart and redo just the chain part. Also, I don’t have a name for this one. Any ideas?



I didn’t get a chance to use the chain, the bunny charm, tagua nut bead, the tiny green glass beads, the seed beads or the bunny clasp. But I hope to make something with these soon. Thanks for stopping by. Please visit Andrew’s blog for the list of participants.

The Reveal

I just love participating in Andrew Thornton’s monthly challenges. His kits are filled with the most delightful surprises. The October kit was blue, my favorite color and right up my alley—well except for the skull bead he included. I’ve never used one of these in my jewelry before, but it seemed fitting considering it was almost Halloween.


Andrew's October Kit

For some reason I went dainty with my creations this time. I never know what my customers are going to want, but it seems that they gravitate to the simple pieces. Maybe it’s because they can be worn any time for any occasion, whereas the fuller and more artistic pieces are somewhat limited as to where they can be worn.

The first necklace includes one of Sue Beads lovely glass headpins. It reminded me of a tiny snowflake, and so the title of the necklace was born. Also included from the kit are various pearls and crystals which were used to make the chain link on one side. A sweet little lampwork bead from LGL Artists sits on top of the ‘snowflake’ headpin. Vintaj components are also included.


'And Soon Comes Winter'

I received a large order of Vintaj products just before I was making this bracelet, and the sweet ‘Soaring Sparrow’ was begging to be included. A couple crystals from the kit flank the sparrow, and the blue beads are from the luxury bead blend also from the kit. Again more Vintaj components—I just love their stuff!


'Midnight Flight'

The inspiration for the second necklace came from Keith O’Connor’s ceramic blue swirl bead which was included in the kit. I used it as part of the focal along with sterling hammered links on either side, and a gunmetal chain.


'Twilight Zone'

I have never made miss-matched earrings before, but the skull bead seemed suited for this. The second earring sports a carved bead, and both include pearls, crystals-all from the kit, and gunmetal chain. I love the idea of miss-matched earrings and will be doing more of these in the future.


'Dead of Night'

I was determined to use everything in the kit but I just ran out of time and wasn’t able to use the pretty terra-cotta bead from Rare Earth Beads, and the silver ball chain.

I had a lot of fun with this kit! Be sure to check Andrew’s blog on November 4th for links to the other participants, or click on the links below:

Shay Williams http://shaihasramblings.blogspot.com/
Michelle Hardy http://fireflyvisions.blogspot.com/
Rosemarie Cowit http://www.gemrosedesigns.blogspot.com/
Cilla Watkins http://www.tellyourgirlfriends.com/
Christina Porter http://www.QueenBeeDesignsNY.com/
Collette Collins http://fireflymyst.blogspot.com/
Mary Govaars http://www.mlhjewelrydesigns.com/
Cindy Cima Edwards http://www.cindycima.com/
Jessica Nelson http://stilettospirituality.blogspot.com/
Tara Linda http://taralinda.wordpress.com/
Alice Peterson http://alice-dreaming.blogspot.com/ --you're here!
Lisa Lodge http://pineridgetreasures.blogspot.com/
Cece Cormier http://www.thebeadingyogini.com/
Karin Slaton http://backstorybeads.blogspot.com/
Sandi Volpe http://www.sandivolpe.com/
Kate Richbourg http://katerichbourg.blogspot.com/
Sue Kennedy http://suebeads.blogspot.com/
Michelle Mach http://www.michellemach.com/blog/
Andrew Thornton http://andrew-thornton.blogspot.com/

Distracted

Last Thursday I had plans for the day, that is until the mail carrier delivered the mail. I can always hear her coming down the street. Sometimes I run out to meet her when I'm expecting packages. I guess you could say I'm a stalker in this case. But I know she doesn't mind. In fact, I think she enjoys bringing me packages.

Here's what had me distracted:

This sweet mix of vintage beads came from Judy from Judith B. Designs. Just look at all those beautiful beads and tell me you would be distracted too. I had a lot of fun sorting through the pile and discovering some amazing beads.

This is the kit I received from Andrew Thornton for the October Reader's Challenge. Andrew supplies kits for us to purchase, and usually throws in a sweet surprise. The kit features a ceramic bead from Keith O'Connor, a terra cotta bead from RareEarth Beads, a lampwork glass headpin from SueBeads, a carved blue tiger's eye round bead, natural chain, Swarovski crystals and pearls, glass ancient bead replicas, and a Luxury Bead Blend. My favorite color to work with is blue, so this is a hit with me. Andrew will post links on his blog on November 4th so you can see what everyone makes with their kit.

And last, but certainly not the least, are these lovely handmade earrings from Cindy Wimmer. I won these beauties from Cindy in the recent giveaway in conjunction with Barbara Lewis' book tour for her new book 'Torch-Fired Enamel Jewelry'. The earrings are called 'Cattywampus'. Isn't that a cute name?

What has you distracted today, if anything?