Anchors Aweigh Reveal!!

Today's the day!! I'm so very excited to show you what I've created!!!
I'm thrilled to not only participate in this blog hop by the wonderful Rita (Toltec Jewels), but to get to play with Diana Ptaszynski's beads!!! I just adore Diana's beads, and this is one of my most worn bracelets. That girl knows her stuff!







Here's a pic of the beads I received for this challenge. And you can go here to pick up some of your own!



I love the soft color of these babies. I could have gone in a green direction, or blue, or grey.
I knew what style I wanted for them, I just wasn't sure how to accomplish my idea. So off I went to Pinterest. I love heading over there for  ideas and inspiration. I just typed anchors and sea in the search box, and got lots of ideas!!!

I chose to go with a 'rope' theme. I kept it very simple, because I wanted the rope idea to lead the way.

Sigh, I seriously need to learn some image skills. You really can't see the different colors in the images, but I used a soft grey accented with tiny silver 15's. The other side is a soft, matte white lined in silver.

 A soft and simple interlocking knot.

Perfectly accented with that gorgeous anchor bead!

The colors glow in the sunlight!

 I'm so pleased with this piece, thank you Rita for the challenge, and Diana for the wonderful inspiration!

Please go check out all the challenge participants.

Featured & Honored Artist:        Diana Ptaszynski

Diana's Shop:                           Suburban Girl Beads

Diana's Blogs:                          Suburban Girl Studio

                                                 Art Jewelry Elements

Hostess: TJ                               Jewel School Friends

Bobbie Rafferty                         Beadsong Jewelry

Chris Eisenberg                         Wanderware

Heather Richter                         Desert Jewelry Designs

Michelle McCarthy                    Firefly Design Studio

Kathy Lindemer                         Bay Moon Design

Dini Bruinsma                            Angaza by Changes

Cynthia Machata                       Antiquity Travelers

Kathleen Breeding                     99 Bottles of Beads on the Wall

Linda Younkman                       Lindy's Designs

Robin Reed                                  Artistry HCBD

Marla Gibson                              Spice Box Designs

Gina Hockett                               Freestyle Elements

Renetha Stanziano                      Lamplight Crafts

Marianne Baxter                          Simply Seablime Jewelry        

Christina Miles                             Wings N Scales

Marybeth Rich                            A Few Words from Within the Pines

Shai Williams                              Shaiha's Ramblings

Cheri Reed                                  Creative Designs by Cheri

Monique Urquhart                      A Half-Baked Notion

Jennifer Reno                             Musings of a Crafty Jenny

Shirley Moore                             Beads and Bread

Tammy Adams                           Paisley Lizard

Melissa Trudinger                       Bead Recipes

Jill Bradley                                  JillyBeads

A Time to Stitch Five

Today's the day people! It's here, it's here! What? Well, the reveal for A Time to Stitch, of course!
This is one of my very favorite challenges, and it is run by the awesome Therese Frank and Christine Altmiller.
So this challenge was to take one stitch, and make 3 identical pieces, changing either the size, or the color of the beads.
I chose flat herringbone, it's one of my favorite stitches for it versatility. I took this challenge one step further, and used silver-lined, opaque, and matte finishes as well as the three different colors. I guess I cheated a bit, because I also used a silver metallic in each of the bracelets, and a coordinating size 15 for the edge beads.
I really love how they turned out, and I hope you do as well!

I found these awesome buttons to use as my clasps.

I am so thrilled to see the differences in each bracelet.

Because of the silver lining on the purple bead, this one has an overall shiny look, and you don't see the pattern as much.

 This one has such a dainty look, and the button fit perfectly with that feel. The matte finish really allows the pattern to stand out.

 I adore this one! The opaque beads show off the pattern so well, and that mother of pearl button has just the tiniest hint of  green in it. I was working on this one while not at home, and there were lots of distractions around. So....it was a bit short. But the longer clasp looks fine when it's on, and I love how I ended up creating it. I will definitely use the technique again. After stringing enough beads to fit around the button, I strung 16 more. Then I square stitched the last 8 to the first 8, and embellished the top with a tiny 15. Worked great!

Just like the bracelets themselves, each loop showed off the personality of the bracelet.

 Yep, these three girls are stars of the show around here! Thanks for joining me on this wonderful challenge. 

Now you get to see the rest of the participants!

Therese               Our wonderful hostesses!

Christine

Kim

Maryanne

Lola

Dagi

Shirley     You are here!

LiliKrist

Amy

Crystie

Sally

Cynthia

Bobbie

Karin

LizE

Becky Pancake

Karin G.

Ana

Wendy

Mary H.

Jasvanti

Beading Babes Reveal

Hi all! Today is reveal day for our current Beading Babes projects.  We were extremely blessed to be offered a pattern from Helena Tang-Lim's shop, Manek-Manek Beads at a special price. We also chose Helena's pattern, Nefertiti, from the June 2012 issue of Bead and Button.  I was able to make both projects, which was a close thing, due to my obsession commitment to some other challenges.
When I first started out, I couldn't understand why people would make someone else's design, if they were trying to sell their own stuff. It didn't apply to me, since I wasn't selling, but I just kept wondering. Well, now I know. Helena takes some simple ideas, and turns them into beautiful designs. Her instructions are well written, and easy to understand. And if you don't understand...she's so very available to answer any questions.  I also appreciate how adaptable her patterns are to your personal taste. The bracelet pattern could be worked up in one, two, or three rows. I chose to work mine in 2 rows, using some wonderful bronze iris Czech beads and white pearls. I love the contrast, and the organic feel the Czech beads gave to it. I followed that organic theme by using freshwater pearls for the clasps.

The Nefertiti necklace is a serious statement, designed to get noticed. I adapted the pattern a bit, since I didn't have any luck finding the coin beads needed for the project quickly enough. I chose an open MOP circle, and inserted a FP bead in the middle. I also decided to make the necklace with the 3 small pendants, since my personal style is a bit more casual than the full version.

I only used the small pendants for my version.

Close up of the clasp. I did not add the fringe beads to it, again going for that more casual look.

 I added more of the fire polished every 2 inches to the herringbone rope.

I fell in love with the clasp on this necklace.  And I know, without a doubt, that I would not have been able to make it if I hadn't made Nancy Dale's Trellis necklace for our last project.  That is what I discovered about other people's patterns. They make you better, and help you with your creative process. They also make you extremely grateful to the talented folks who spend their time and effort to make their designs available to everyone.
This has, as usual, been a blast, and I'm already excited about our next project reveal! To find out more, please head over to Karyn's blog, ReleasesbyRufydoof.blogspot.com.
Blessings,
Shirley

7000 Bracelets of Hope Blog Hop

Hi everyone! I've joined in again to create a bracelet for the Global Genes Project.  This hop is hosted by Erin Fickert-Rowland of Elysianstudiosart.com and Christine Altmiller of OneKissCreations.blogspot.com

If you've never heard of the Global Genes Project, I copied this straight from their website. I think they can say it so much better than I can.

GGP is a global rare disease awareness and education campaign that has been developed by the rare disease community for the rare disease community.

GGP is also a platform that provides tools and resources that aid rare disease foundations in new unique ways to fundraise.

We have been given the opportunity to help put a little cheer in the lives of the families, by making a bracelet to show our care and concern for their struggles.  Here is the bracelet I chose to make for the project.

A Little Twist of Fate





It is a straight Ndebele, with a little twist in the middle. I chose that to signify that twist of fate that changes our lives. And also to show that, just like the bracelet, our lives do go on. Maybe not in the same colors, but we do persevere.

Since they ask us to make it an adjustable bracelet, I chose to create a clasp with chain and a jumpring.  This way, it can be worn by a variety of sizes.

Initially, I added the jean to the ends, to signify the name of the project, but I decided it just didn't work for me.

I had a great time making this, just as I did last time. If I get a chance, I have one more idea that I'm working on for the project. Stay tuned for updates!

Here is the list of participants. Please go see all the cool bracelets created for this wonderful cause.

Update: For some reason the links were not working on my page. Please go here for the list of participants.