SEPTEMBER SJHONEYDO CHALLENGE

our inspiration

'the big Island'

 wood ebony flower bead

orange ceramic beads

copper clasp

white oval  bead

 polymer  blue beads

vintaj chain

Creative Bead Chat Appreciation Day

Today is the day we celebrate five wonderful ladies from the Creative Bead Chat site on Facebook. These ladies take time out of their own busy lives to provide a place for us to be inspired, learn new things, ask and give advice, and so much more. I am enjoying meeting new people and I’m so glad to be a part of this wonderful group.

So who are these fabulous ladies?


Keirsten Giles of Lune Designs


Marla Gibson of Spice Box Designs


Karen Totten of Starry Road Studio


Melinda Orr of Orrtec


Marla James of Marlas Mud

A big thanks to all these wonderful ladies!!!! If you want in on the action click the Creative Bead Chat Logo at the top to see what it's all about.

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

Finally Friday

If you are looking to enter the Art Bead Love Tour giveaway please follow this link. The giveaway ends on June 17th.


Beaded Bright

I really enjoyed this Design Seeds color palette with the warm colors tempered with my favorite color-aqua. So here’s the piece I made. I can’t seem to stop making bracelets! Maybe I need an intervention, but really I love making them.


'Budapest Spice Market'

I named it ‘Budapest Spice Market’. I wish I could say the inspiration came from visiting there, but I’ve only seen blog articles on this beautiful place. The name popped into my head while creating the piece, and so there you have it.

There are a couple lampwork beads from Lyndas Lampwork, and one from Two Sister’s Designs. And I could not help adding that sweet floral polymer clay bead from Too Aquarius, it’s my last one—sniff, sniff. The gorgeous metal clasp and components are from Keirsten Giles, my recent Bead Swap partner. Oh it was difficult to let go of that sweet clasp! Keirsten does magical things with copper! Also included are a couple orange fiber beads from Gritty Bird, and a dark orange and aqua lampwork bead I believe from Quinlan Glass.

Thanks for visiting! Please check out Shannon's blog to see what she created, and to play along.

Button Swap Blog Hop

These are the buttons I received from my partner, Kim Bender.



My first attempt was inspired by Kiersten Giles' 'Disco Darling' necklace from the October issue of Step by Step Wire. But I didn't want to copy her design completely, just her idea of using wire as an armature to attach and support the buttons.



The piece didn't turn out as I envisioned. It's quite large and really wasn't the shape I wanted. I intended to attach this to a chain but it just didn't look righ. Those white buttons are just sitting on there ready to be glued on, but I decided to ditch the entire idea and try something else. The photo below shows the back of this piece.




'Character consists of what you do on the third and fourth tries.'
~James A. Michener

The idea for this second try came from seeing a fiddlehead fern as an ingredient on a recent episode of Food Network's show Chopped. Unfortunately my wire skills need a lot of work, so the piece does not lay flat, and it is out of balance, so this would-be pendant has been taken apart.



I've run out of time to make something else, but I wouldn't say this challenge was a complete loss. I've learned a few things along the way; to keep trying, to know when to admit defeat, to accept that my wire skills are lacking, and that for now buttons are not my thing. Thanks for stopping by. Thanks to Cindy Wimmer for hosting this blog hop! Be sure to check the list below and see what everyone made.

'I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.'
~ Thomas Alva Edison


Alice Peterson and Kim Bender
Angie Blasingame and Billi R.S. Rothove
Billi R.S. Rothove and Angie Blasingame
Birgitta Lejonklou and Pam Farren
Bonnie Coursolle and Tania Hagen
Brenda Salzano and Hope Smitherman
Cat Kerr and Heather Powers
Cece Cornier and Jeannie Dukic
Celeste Thurston and Christine Damm
Christine Damm and Celeste Thurston
Christine Stonefield and Dana James
Cilla Watkins and Lori Bowring Michaud
Cindy Wimmer and Mimi Gardner
Cynthia Machata and Julia Johnson
Cynthia Riggs and Lori Finney
Dana James and Christine Stonefield
Diana Ptaszynski and Erin Prais-Hintz
Emma Thomas and Rebecca Anderson
Erin Prais-Hintz and Diana Ptaszynski
Erin Siegel and Sharon Borsavage
Heather Powers and Cat Kerr
Holly Westfall and Sally Russick
Hope Smitherman and Brenda Salzano
Jayne Capps and Kim Dworak
Jeannie Dukic and Cece Cornier
Jenna Meyers and Kristi Harrison
Jenna Tomalka and Karen McKillip
Jenny Davies Reazor and Sandi Volpe
Julia Johnson and Cynthia Machata
Kalaya Steede and Kylie Dickman
Karen McKillip and Jenna Tomalka
Karen Mitchell and Renetha Stanziano
Karla Morgen and Mary Govaars
Kay Thomerson and Shannon Chomanczuk
Kim Ballor and Laurel Steven
Kim Bender and Alice Peterson
Kim Dworak and Jayne Capps
Kim Roberts and Partner unable to participate at this time.
Kristi Harrison and Jenna Meyers
Kylie Dickman and Kalaya Steede
Kym Hunter and Lynda Moseley
Laurel Steven and Kim Ballor
Linda Djokic and Patty Gasparino
Line Labrecque and Teri Baskett
Liz DeLuca and Lorelei Eurto
Lorelei Eurto and Liz DeLuca
Lori Anderson and Niky Sayers
Lori Bowring Michaud and Cilla Watkins
Lori Finney and Cynthia Riggs
Lynda Moseley and Kym Hunter
Marianna Boylan and Tracy Statler
Mary Govaars and Karla Morgen
Mary Harding and Stacie Florer
Maureen Baranov and Tracy Bell
Melissa Martin and Theresa Fosdick
Michelle Hardy and Peggy Johnson
Mimi Gardner and Cindy Wimmer
Nicole Valentine Rimmer and Niki Meiners
Niki Meiners and Nicole Valentine Rimmer
Niky Sayers and Lori Anderson
Pam Farren and Birgitta Lejonklou
* Pam Ferarri and Stefanie Teufel (will share their reveal on a later date)
Patty Gasparino and Linda Djokic
Peggy Johnson and Michelle Hardy
Rebecca Anderson and Emma Thomas
Rebekah Payne and Sue Kennedy
Renetha Stanziano and Karen Mitchell
Rose Binoya and Shanti Johnson
Sally Russick and Holly Westfall
Sandi Volpe and Jenny Davies Reazor
Shannon Chomanczuk and Kay Thomerson
Shanti Johnson and Rose Binoya
Sharon Borsavage and Erin Siegel
Shirley Moore and Veralynne Malone
Stacie Florer and Mary Harding
* Stefanie Teufel and Pam Ferarri (will share their reveal on a later date)
Sue Hamel and Terry Carter
Sue Kennedy and Rebekah Payne
Tania Hagen and Bonnie Coursolle
Tania Spivey and Teresa Gagne
Teresa Gagne and Tania Spivey
Teri Baskett and Line Labrecque
Terry Carter and Sue Hamel
Theresa Fosdick and Melissa Martin
Tracy Bell and Maureen Baranov
Tracy Statler and Marianna Boylan
Veralynne Malone and Shirley Moore