Sunday, September 30, 2012

AJE September Challenge

I really can't begin to tell you how excited I was when I received the email, telling me I had won a spot on AJE's monthly challenge. Not only is it just a really cool blog, but the component for this month was none other than one of Diana Ptaszynski's ceramic charms! I know, right? Awesome stuff!
If you've never seen her stuff, you can check it out at her shop, Suburban Girl Studios

She made a couple of different patinas, and  you didn't know until you opened the package which you got.

I was thrilled when I opened my package to see the root beer glaze. They are both great colors, but that one really said Fall to me.
I was absolutely amazed at how quickly the design fell into place. I knew immediately that I wanted to make a bracelet, cause I wanted to be able to see that beauty, A LOT! :)

I think this was one of the quickest challenge pieces I've ever made. I loved the embellishing, and how the colors played off of one another.
Wanna see?



You didn't guess these colors, did ya? Yes, I chose PINK  and GOLD to highlight the root beer color in the button charm. then I embellished it with  amber silver lined 11's.
The size 8's are actually a mix of matte pinks, oranges, and silver lined gold. It's a very soft and pleasing mix. I wove them in CRAW, my new favorite technique, thanks to Heather Collin's video.

I accented the top of it with chocolate matte size 11's, to pull in that deep pool of color in the creases.
The silver lined amber 15's edging the toggle loop really bring it all together.
Thanks so much AJE and Diana, for the opportunity to participate, and work with such a beautiful bead!
Please go to the AJE Blog to see the rest of this month's participants.

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Sequintastic September Blog Hop

Well, I think we've established the fact that I'm just a bit addicted to challenges. So let's move on from there, k?
The fabulous Sarah from Saturday Sequins posted a fun hop, and I jumped right on board!




Never one to miss an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, I quickly decided to combine this challenge with another. I'm part of a FB group called Operation Tackle that Bead Stash. It's a totally fun group, and we are collecting Bead Quilt Squares for the Bead-It-Forward Quilt Project. You can learn more about it here
Now, did I happen to metion that I've not done bead embroidery? Nope. Not ever.
I didn't make the mistake of saying, 'How hard could it be?' I have at least learned that lesson!

But I did keep putting it off...until yesterday!
It's not too bad, but not nearly as pretty as I wanted it. Now that I've got my feet wet, I'm going to try a few different styles, especially because I have some really cool sequins I wanted to use, but they were a bit too big for this design.




That's a very sad attempt at a sun in the upper right. It was also a lot harder to keep straight ends than I had imagined. Overall, I'm very happy I got it made, and I really, really love how the sequins look.
Thanks Sarah, for this great challenge. Looking forward to more, since I have more sequins!


Here's the rest of the crowd! Go check out their cool stuff!


Participants!!!!





Dita... http://alankarshilpa.blogspot.com

Ambra... http://chicandfrog.wordpress.com

Audrey... http://hotpinkquilts.blogspot.com

Stacy... http://iridalsattic.blogspot.co.uk

Karen W... http://baublicious.blogspot.com

Lori... http://www.prettythingsblog.com

Lisa... http://lisabinkley.typepad.com

Carmi... http://resincrafts.blogspot.com

Dawn Marie... http://designsbydawnmarie.blogspot.com

Jeannie... http://site.jkdjewelry.com/blog

Shirlee... http://www.shirleestuff.blogspot.com

Linda... http://www.lilysofthevalleyjewerly.blogspot.com

Corrine... http://www.sparkledaysstudio.com

Gutukas... http://atradimutakeliais.blogspot.com

Shannon... http://uptwnsh-fallingintothesky.blogspot.com

Mallory... http://rosebud101-fortheloveofbeads.blogspot.com

Cyndi... http://www.beading-arts.com

Maneki... http://wildrosesandblackberries.blogspot.com

Maryanne... http://zingalasworkshop.blogspot.com

Ine... http://jewelsbyine.blogspot.com

Karen... http://www.overthemoon-design.com

Kepi... http://kepirasmussen.blogspot.com

Jennifer... http://jenniferstumpf.blogspot.com

Misty... http://thejollyfatelf.blogspot.com

Dot... http://speediebeadie.blogspot.com

Hope... http://craftyhope.blogspot.com

Cynthia... http://antiquitytravelers.blogspot.com

Micheladas... http://www.micheladasmusings.blogspot.com

Shirley... http://www.beadsandbread.blogspot.com  You are here

Karla... http://texaspepperjams.blogspot.com

Eleanor... http://eleanorpigman.blogspot.com

Therese... http://theresestreasures59.blogspot.com

Rita... http://www.toltecjewels.blogspot.com

Robyn... http://rcponders.wordpress.com

Stepha... http://skwds.blogspot.com

Sue... http://suebeads.blogspot.com

Cate... http://fulgorine.wordpress.com

Amy... http://Loraamyjames.com

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Neglected

Yes, I have neglected my poor blog most horribly.
And it has been very sad.

But I am going to do better, cause there are some seriously exciting things in the works!
Up this weekend is the Saturday Sequins Hop, and the AJE reveal!
Woohoo! Both of which have taken me in totally new directions.
So come back on Saturday, k?
Blessings!!! Shirley