8th Bead Soup Blog Party Reveal

The 8th Bead Soup Blog Party is on! A great big Thank You to Lori Anderson of Pretty Things for all of the hard work she puts into her pride and joy, the Bead Soup Blog Party!!

My ever-so-talented partner, Christina Miles of Wings and Scales, made me two - yes 2!! - or her amazing pendants!! They are little pieces of artwork - I feel so lucky that she sent me two!! She made the clasp and connectors, too!! It's too bad she doesn't live a couple states closer because I'd definitely take a roadtrip to visit her so I could learn how to make them!

I started with the lovely sun pendant and wire wrapped some of the beads that Chris sent me - they go perfectly with the pendant! I wanted to highlight the amazing pendant, so I only added a few beads on each side, used the handmade clasp and some of the sari silk she sent.

Another close up of the pendant, copper clasp and connectors that Chris made

          I made a pair of earrings to go with the necklace - I chose silver because I like to mix metals when I wear them.

I wanted to make a bracelet with some of the beads Chris sent me, so I found the bird focal in my stash and started adding beads to it. I used flower beads and a small Humblebeads pendant that were in my stash.

I was having a hard time deciding how to make the sweet bird pendant shine - I finally got inspired yesterday. I used beads and connectors from the soup that Chris sent and added blue beads from a rosary that was my Mom's which I feel is fitting since this is Mother's Day weekend. I knotted a bit of sari silk to the pendant and added some copper chain from my stash.

I really love the pendants Chris sent me and hope I did them justice! I'll definitely cherish them!! I can't wait to see the beautiful jewelry she made with her soup!!

Thank you for stopping by!! Please check out all of the participants in the party - here's the link to the party - all wonderfully talented designers!

Creative Spark Magazine ~ Spring 2014

I was chosen as one of the "lucky 13" ZnetShows design team members whose designs would be in the spring edition of Creative Spark magazine!! I always love working with the beads I receive from them!!

Here is the 2014 spring edition of Creative Spark magazine!!

Click to view Creative Spark - Spring 2014 on GLOSSI.COM

I went to work on the earrings first. I made a beachy pair of earrings using the concave coin pendant, turquoise bay (P31-B28S) along with my own coin puffed beads, peridot (S15-B23SFIV) and shell charm.

I wanted to make a beachy bracelet, so I started with the sea glass oval ring, peridot (S62-B23S) and added to it. I used some of the thrifted chain and spacers I received from the 7th Bead Soup Blog Party and added some of the sea glass pebbles, aquamarine (BDS1926-03) and my own sea glass rondelles, light green ceramic rounds and a starfish charm.

I made a swingy, springy pair of earrings with the Chinese crystal cubes, tangerine (RT250-83A) , rondelle beads, lemon (RS126-84AB), and rondelles, clear (RS127-01) along with my own fuschia Swarovski crystal bicones.

I love the colors in these Chinese crystal elongated oval beads, sahara green (RS249-122L) and matching diagonal drilled glass cube, sahara green (RS271-120).

I used the lovely Chinese crystal glass axe beads, sunglow (RS106-10), glass axe beads, grayish champagne (RS115-69L) and diagonal drilled glass cube, crystal AB (RS271-01AB).

I wanted to make a simple, long, blingy necklace that can be worn with a T-shirt and jeans or a night on the town. I used a Chinese crystal nugget faceted bead, tan (RS267-69) along with a gold faceted coin bead, square glass nugget bead, light yellow (RS202-68) and clear teardrop.

The last piece is completely blingy and fun! For the first row, I used the Chinese crystal glass oval beads, jet black (RS228-02S) with some of my glass cube beads, jet black (RT255-02). The second row is the diagonal drilled glass cubes, crystal AB (RS271-01AB) and my glass rondelle beads, crystal clear (RS152-01). For the third row, I used glass bicone beads, crystal AB (RS270-01AB) and my jet black faceted teardrops.

To be able to work with ZnetShows and all of the amazing designers is always such an honor! Everyone involved is so wonderful and helpful that it makes it a fun venture every time I'm asked!

Please check out the new spring issue of Creative Spark!!

Echo Creative Club Reveal - January 2014

I am the lucky recipient of the January Echo Creative Club beads handmade by Jeannie K. Dukic of JKD Studio. So what is Echo Creative Club? I'm looking for experienced jewelry designers to use my art beads and pendants for FREE. What does the name, Echo Creative mean? Echo is something you put out there and it comes back. I put my beads out there and they come back in a creative design from you.

I received the Acanthus pendant and matching Polarity beads  - the rich purple and fuschia with just a hint of gold are gorgeous!! These pendants were inspired by Jeannie's love of Greek and Roman mythology and architecture.When I saw the pendant, I knew I had to design with it! When I was a child, I wanted to be an architect and I still love taking pictures of the decorative ornamentation and fretwork on buildings.

I kept the necklace simple and added some decorative, architectural- like elements to highlight the beautiful Acanthus pendant.

I hung the pendant from a small, stamped circle and used filigree balls, dyed freshwater pearls, stamped puff beads, crystal beads with filigree tubes, delicate raw copper chain and a toggle that mimics the pendant, with the Acanthus pendant and Polarity beads.

For this pair of earrings, I wire wrapped a set of Polarity beads with silver flower bead caps and leaf dangles.

To highlight the gold in the Polarity beads, I wire wrapped a leaf bead cap and tiny balls to the beads and gave them a bit of swing hanging them from twist jump rings.

I want to thank Jeannie and Kara for this amazing opportunity - it's been an honor to be able to design with Jeannie's beautiful pendant and beads!!

Mallory Hoffman is the January Echo Creative Club Featured Guest - please check out her blog and Etsy shop.

Into the Forest Blog Hop Reveal

The lovely, Lisa Lodge, of Pine Ridge Treasures had a sign-up for another of her fun blog hops - this one with the "Forest" theme.  We were sent a bead kit and were asked to use beads from our own stash and asked not to go out and buy additional beads.

                                                                           I received the Tiger Eye kit

When I decided to sit down and get to work on my kit, I remembered that I had recently bought a pendant that would go perfectly with my beads. It's a dark brown metal puff bead that has a great texture and is very light-weight.

I strung most of the bigger beads with the metal pendant and added some of my beautiful green recycled sari silk.

The toggle I used has a texture that reminds me of bark.

This morning, I thought I'd make the earrings I had in mind - I love how they turned out! The teardrop and gold beads are from my kit and I added the silver disc from my stash.

Thank you for stopping by! Please hop over to all of the other jewelry designers to see their beautiful creations!

Your hostess:  Lisa Lodge, A Grateful Artist

Melissa Trudinger, Bead Recipes

Kathy Zeigler Lindemer, Bay Moon Design

Eleanor Burian Moore, The Charmed Life

Jo-Ann Woolverton, It's a Beadiful Creation

Chris Eisenberg, Wanderware

Christine Stonefield, Sweet Girl Design  ~~~~ you are here ~~~~

Carolyn Lawson, Carolyn's Creations

Janine Lucas, Esfera Travel Blog

Jasvanti Patel, Jewelry by Jasvanti

Shaiha Williams,   Shaiha's Ramblings

Kay Thomerson, Kayz Kreationz

Karla Morgan, Texas Pepper Jams

Veralynne Malone, Designed by Vera

Toltec  Jewels, Jewel School Friends

Christie Searle Murrow, Charis Designs Jewelry

Molly Alexander, Beautifully Broken Me

Monique Urquhart, A Half-Baked Notion

Janet Bocciardi, Honey from the Bee

Dini Bruinsma, Angaza by Changes

Heather Richter, Desert Jewelry Designs

Christina Miles, Wings n Scales

Elizabeth Engriser, Bead Contagion

Alice Peterson, Alice Dreaming

Alicia Marinache, All the Pretty Things

Kay Mallery,TBD

Catherine Yvonne King, Catherine's Musings

Alice Craddick, Alice's Beads and Baubles

Ema Kilroy, Ema K Designs

I Love Clay Blog Hop

When Lisa Lodge of Pine Ridge Treasures put out the call for sign-ups for the 'I Love Clay Blog Hop', I didn't realize life would be as busy as it is right now!! But, I always love joining Lisa's blog hops because they are always fun and make me stretch my design abilities.


I received some adorable clay beads made by Tori Sophia Designs.

I decided to use some of my beautiful seaglass beads from ZnetShows and went to work! I wire wrapped the seaglass beads with copper wire and attached them to antique copper double spiral links. I attached the cute fish pendant with Irish waxed linen, added copper chain and a little "fish-hook" toggle.

Please check out all of the lovely designers and their designs. I will be going through the hop on Monday since I'm meeting my sisters in NYC this weekend! Enjoy the hop!!

Your hostess:  Lisa Lodge, A Grateful Artist

Melissa Trudinger, Bead Recipes

Kathy Zeigler Lindemer, Bay Moon Design

Eleanor Burian Moore, The Charmed Life

Jo-Ann Woolverton, It's a Beadiful Creation

Chris Eisenberg, Wanderware

Carolyn Lawson, Carolyns Creations

Bonnie Coursolle, Jasper's Gems

Dolores Raml, Crafty D's Creations

Therese Frank, Therese's Treasures

Christine Stonefield, Sweet Girl Design  ~~~~you are here~~~~

Carolyn Lawson, Carolyn's Creations

Mowse Doyle, Mowse Made This

Janine Lucas, Esfera Travel Blog

Karin Grosset Grange, Ginkgo et Coquelicot

Kelli Nelson, Zenith Jade Creations

Ann Schroeder, Bead Love

Jasvanti Patel, Jewelry by Jasvanti

Candida Castleberry, Sugar Spun Beadworks

Robin Reed, Artistry HCBD

Katrina Taylor, I Wanna Go Out

Vintage Treasure Necklaces

I love vintage earrings and pins and have a hard time parting with them. I have a stash that keeps on growing, so I decided to make some necklaces to supply the stores that I sell in locally.

I buy quite a bit of my vintage pieces from a local antique store, Westerville Antiques - it's so fun haggling with Mike over the price of the pieces!

Here are a couple of the necklaces I made - I kept them simple to highlight the beautiful vintage piece.

Creative Spark Magazine ~ Premier Issue

ZnetShows Design Team members were asked to pick out items with the challenge theme "Rings and Bling" and design jewelry. Once our jewelry was created and photographed, Hope Smitherman, put together a fabulous Glossi magazine.

I'm one of the featured designers (pages 29-32) and my earrings are on the cover! Thanks, Hope!!

Click to view Fall 2013 Creative Spark on GLOSSI.COM

I love fall, so I started with the beautiful Chinese crystal teardrops-Autumn leaves (ZMX-04-06) and found a green Aqua Terra Jasper stone in the shape of a leaf, for the pendant. Then, I used copper leaf chain, green sari silk, a flower toggle and a leaf charm to finish it.

I used the ringy antique brass chain (M0478-AB) and went blingy with the pinks from the Chinese crystal teardrops-Autumn leaves. I had the pink Chinese crystal pendant in my stash - it matched perfectly!

I had to have the beautiful Chinese crystal teardrops-transparent gold (RS257-124) and made earrings with faceted Chinese crystal glass coins-peridot and Chinese crystal rondelles-Metallic gold (RT138-103).

For this pair of earrings, I used my "signature crown" as a base for the beautiful Chinese crystal rondelles and teardrops.

Check out Creative Spark to see all of the beautiful "Rings and Bling" designs from the Premier Issue - there are so many beautiful jewelry designs and designers!!

ZnetShows Partner Picks Summer Challenge and Giveaway

ZnetShows has another challenge for its design team - we were paired up, sent beads our partner picked out and asked to design jewelry.

My partner is Hope Smitherman of Crafty Hope - here is her Etsy shop.

Hope's selection of beads is both colorful and beautiful!

I made a chainmaille Mobius Rose (also known as a Love Knot) and attached that to a Chinese crystal with a beadcap and three crystal dangles.

I made a pair of simple, swingy earrings with the antique brass Freeform charm. I added an aqua Sea Glass nugget bead (S38-B30) to the charm - I love brass and aqua together!

I used light green Irish waxed linen cord, light sapphire Sea Glass nugget beads (S39-B31SFIVE), light green Sea Glass beads (BDS-1865-43), and a smoky quartz Sea Glass button spacer for this bracelet.

I love the colors in labradorite, so I made this necklace using the black Glass beads, an olive Sea Glass tusk (S42-B22FOUR), blue opal Sea Glass bead (S03-46FIVE) and a Swarovski crystal.

Personally, I think turquoise can go with any color, so I paired a turquoise Howlite oval bead with the orange Aqua Terra Jasper beads and copper.

There will be a giveaway with this challenge - check the ZnetShows blog on Saturday, July 6th to enter to win beads and see the list of participants in the ZnetShows Partner Picks Summer Challenge.