Monday, November 12, 2012

Beads of Courage Art Charm Reveal

Today's the day! The wonderful Jenny Cameron, of Glass Addictions, came up with this idea, and I'm so thrilled to be a part of it.  I was in a group of 10 other artists, who were unknown to me until I received my package. The instructions were to make ten charms, plus one to be auctioned off for Beads of Courage. Here is the link for the auction. Beads of Clay Auction
Now, if you've never heard of them, I highly encourage you to check out their site.
My cousin's daughter has life threatening scoliosis, and has just come home from having a titanium 'rib' inserted into her back, to help with the curvature. It's really more of a rod that runs the length of her spine, and is attached to her ribs. Every 4-6 months, she has another surgery to have it 'extended'. She has broken her ribs several times throughout this ordeal.  This is only one of many surgeries she has endured. She is such a trooper, and doesn't allow anything to slow her down. She has received her beads of courage, and, right now, I'd just love for her mom to tell me her necklace was finished. So, you can see, this swap holds special meaning for me.
Our theme for this Charm Swap was Laughter. Now, my charms are all beadwoven, so I couldn't really figure out a way to write the words, so I started thinking of the ways~in beads~I could interpret laughter.
I decided the best way for me was with color. Color affects our lives constantly. When I was a skin care consultant, we learned about wearing the 'right' colors to make a statement, to be a calming influence, or to get a sick day at work! :)
As we head into winter, with it's shorter days, a lot of people find themselves suffering depression, from the longer darker nights. And have you ever hear of 'seeing red'? Emotions are associated with colors, so I wanted to make sure I chose 'happy' colors!
Since this is a 'Charm' swap, the pieces needed to be pretty small.  If you follow my blog, you'll know I've had a bit of a love affair with CRAW lately.
Now, for some reason, my computer seems to have eaten my awesome pics of all the charms I made, so I'm going to show you similar pieces. (throws hands up in the air) What's a girl to do?  Anyway, I made a couple of these open CRAW squares, in bright happy colors, just trust me, ok?  
Then I made some filled ones, like this one. (You actually get one of your own charms back in the swap.)




I used a different color accent bead on each side.

Happy, happy!!

Jenny was kind enough to email the pic she took of the piece she chose for the auction. She really made it look awesome! :)
This cool spinner top is from Diane Fitzgeralds 'Shaped Beadwork'. I just love the shape, and the fun colors! I really, really hope it auctions well for the organization!!

Now, I have to tell you, I was squealing when I opened my package of charms, cause I adore all of these artists! And one was a former Bead Soup partner!!
You can see my bead on the far left. The others also used happy colors to convey laughter.

No, (sigh) I didn't mean for it to turn sideways...Here, LOL and Have Fun get the message across perfectly.


 And a little food for thought anyone? I adore cupcakes, and who could resist bacon and eggs!! Serious genius there!

Last, but certainly not least, the perfect way to convey laughter....with a smile...or two!!

Here is the list of participants, please go check out their wonderful stories!
Blessings, Shirley












Denielle Hagerman http://somebeadsandotherthings.com  







Jennifer Cameron http://wp.me/p1xIa0-wn















Natalie McKenna http://www.grubbi.co.uk/ 



Robin Koza http://www.robinkoza.com  









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16 comments:

  1. Monique (A Half-Baked Notion)November 12, 2012 at 5:18 AM

    Shirley, I love your choice of colours and the fact that you have made each charm so distinct!

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  2. UnknownNovember 12, 2012 at 8:05 AM

    Shirley, I work with seedbeads too and can really appreciate the time it took you to make up each charm. Mine's very special to me! So happy to have you as a partner.

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  3. UnknownNovember 12, 2012 at 8:27 AM

    Wow! You hit the art charm jackpot! What fun charms, and the ones you created are amazing! Very pretty and I love the bright colors! I was thrilled when I clicked to your blog and saw Chris's bead in your header design! That is a beautiful piece and what an honor to be included in it!

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  4. JeanNovember 12, 2012 at 8:31 AM

    love love love!!! Love all the work you put into these.

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  5. CherylNovember 12, 2012 at 9:24 AM

    Loved your charm. the colors were wonderful.

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  6. Marsha of Marsha Neal StudioNovember 12, 2012 at 9:24 AM

    These are awesome!!! I treasure the work that goes into doing little seed bead work - and these are just perfect!!!

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  7. TesoriTrovatiNovember 12, 2012 at 10:02 AM

    So much love and thought went into each charm in the swap. Thank you for sharing your talents with all of us! Enjoy the day. Erin

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  8. UnknownNovember 12, 2012 at 11:54 AM

    I loved them all and they did make me laugh!!!! I can see this was fun for you!

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  9. UnknownNovember 12, 2012 at 12:36 PM

    That spinner top charm is great! Gives me ideas... : D

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  10. rosebud101November 12, 2012 at 3:45 PM

    Shirley!! I was so happy to be in your group!!! I love your charms!

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  11. UnknownNovember 13, 2012 at 1:38 AM

    Happy colors! I love that. I completely understand the dilemma of conveying a message with seed beads. You did an excellent job!

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  12. Leslie Schenkel - Twisted Chicken BeadsNovember 13, 2012 at 6:46 PM

    I received one of your charms -- I know how much work goes into seed bead work -- thank you!

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  13. AliciaNovember 14, 2012 at 10:19 AM

    Shirley, I admire your bead-work, especially for miniature work like this (I know people who think if it's small it's easy, when the opposite is usually true!). Lovely mix of colours and models too!

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  14. flowersNovember 14, 2012 at 1:44 PM

    I received one of your beautiful charms.

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  15. Perri www.ShaktipajDesigns.etsy.comNovember 16, 2012 at 5:46 PM

    Shirley, color is always smile-worthy! Thank you for injecting our lives with it - these are precious!

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  16. SharylNovember 17, 2012 at 8:24 AM

    Some days are just like this! So glad you posted despite the technical problems--it really gave me a smile to read through your post! :-)

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I'm thrilled you stopped by! Thanks for your words of wisdom.

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