Echo Creative Club September Reveal

In my last post, I shared the beads I am using in this month's Echo Creative Club Challenge. They are gorgeous Caribbean Blue peeled paint beads from Jeannie. Here's the photo of the beads again: 

I created 2 pieces with these beads (and still have a few leftover to work into other projects!)  The first piece is a necklace that is a long, beaded chain with a filigree focal that I used to drop one of these larger beads. I used turquoise and gold Swarovski crystal pearls to keep the colors uniform.

The next piece is a pair of earrings. I plan on doing a pair just like these with bronze findings to match the necklace, but originally I did them with 14K gold filled findings as shown here. They have Czech gold glass metallic pearls and crystal golden shadow Swarovski crystals.

Pardon my crappy lighting - hard to get decent pics inside my house and I haven't been able to get any recently outside due to a hectic day schedule.  

I hope you enjoy the beads and the jewelry. If you want to check out Jeannie's amazing jewelry, visit her store by clicking HERE

Be sure to check out Kristin's and Jeannie's blog post reveals as well by clicking on their names below.

KRISTIN     JEANNIE

Echo Creative Club September Beads

I am honored to participate for the last time in the Echo Creative Club. It has been a blast getting to use Jeannie's fabulous beads in my projects and share with you all. This month, I had some beautiful round peeled paint beads in a Caribbean blue and gold/copper color.  You can purchase some of her beads for yourself HERE. Make sure to check out her other beads, pendants, and jewelry!

Stay tuned for my reveal tomorrow, Wednesday the 25th of September to see what I created with her beads!

Mmm That's Some Tasty Soup!

So it may have taken a little longer than expected to get ready for my big 3 day show, and as a result I completely forgot to schedule the Bead Soup reveal in advance and am a day and a half late. My apologies to everyone! So my awesome partner, Cassie Donlen sent me her awesome handmade beads, bead headpins, and enameled pendant (not to mention all the other beads, findings, and cool chain) I was over the moon excited!  Here is what she sent me again:

I ended up making a few different things using what she sent combined with a few of my beads, and I still have lots of beads left over! I immediately knew I wanted to make a bracelet with the larger beads and the focal b/c I love a good toggle clasp on a bracelet! I used the large beads, the small spacer beads she made, and a few of my own beads.

Next I used the long silk in a moon face necklace of mine. The colors of the bermuda blue crystals went great with the deep turquoise color of the silk, and it was just what this long necklace needed to complete its dreamy feel.

Lastly, I used the funky, large silver chain in a fun charm bracelet. I used a different, multi-color blue/turquoise silk, along with a few of her beaded headpins. I added random beads and fun sea charms. I'm calling this one "Sea Spray." There are a few copper pins thrown in the mix...fitting since Sea Spray could cause certain metals to rust, as I learned the last time I was at the beach! 

I hope you've enjoyed my soup, I had a lot of fun cooking it up. Please visit the other participants by going to the main list page HERE Definitely visit Cassie by the link at the top if you haven't already, the necklace she made is awesome!

April ECHO Creative Club Reveal

It's reveal time for the Echo Creative Club!!  If you missed my preview post, I have one of Jeannie's Lonely Heart Pendants. 

Last year I had another style of heart from her, and I created this awesome necklace that I decided was too over the top for it to be wearable. Now I'm not saying I wasn't proud of the design, I did put a lot of thought and time into it, but at the end of the day, it was too much for my personal style to really wear it. And I do love funky hearts, so I wanted to make something this time that I could and would enjoy wearing. I already knew I wanted to make it longer this time so it would fall below my bust line. Everything that falls above it looks funky on my thanks to my body type. dI ended up using this fine rolo antiqued silver chain and some fun steampunk gears and links. I made a connector by glueing a Tim Holtz tiny gear onto a slightly larger copper gear, then used a hole punch to make it a link. It is 2 sided, so if it flips around, it looks the same. I knew I was going to keep it simple but asymmetrical, so I balanced the other side with 2 smaller links, and used a section of double chain between to give it more weight. Something told me to stop there. I know it is simple, but that's how I like my jewelry most of the time b/c I am usually running around in yoga pants, such is the life of a mother. That being said, I wasn't trying to take the easy road necessarily, but rather wanted to highlight the pendant itself, which is really the star, and compliment it with a similar asymmetrical, whimsical feel in the chain without totally overdoing it. I used a larger gear to link the pendant to the necklace and voila! What do you think?

I hope you like it, I have been fretting over whether it was too simple, but at the end of the day, I like it and will definitely be wearing it - today in fact! Thanks for taking the time to read my blog, please visit the other participants listed below!

Dagi http://www.kokopellidesign.blogspot.com/
Jeannie K Dukic http://site.jkdjewelry.com/blog
Lola Surwillo  http://www.beadlolabead.blogspot.com/

Creativity in the Works

Hello all,

March came and went quickly thanks to our wonderful 9 day vacation to Orlando. April has been a month of catching up, custom orders, and preparing for a 3 day show I'm doing at the end of the month. It is also a month of creativity, as I have 2 different design challenges in the works. The first is the Polymer Clay Bead Challenge with the Echo Creative Club. We take a bead that is gifted to us by the ever creative Jeannie K Dukic and design something with it. This month, I had one of her fabulous Lonely Hearts Pendants.  

Isn't is cute?!  I think so. I will post the final piece I made on the 25th of April.

Next up is the one and only Bead Soup Blog Hop! My partner for this event is the oh so talented Cassie Donlen. Click her name for her website, or click HERE for her blog.  She is an incredible designer and glass bead maker, among other mediums. She sent me a gorgeous bead soup including one of her focal enameled flower clasps found HERE as well as 3 of her candy pop beads, found HERE.  There were also an array of other glass beads, some of her handmade glass bead headpins, fantastic funky chain, and a beautiful dyed silk. It was like a bead filled birthday! I am so lucky to have been paired with a bead maker as talented as she, so please check out her stuff and show her your love and support if you are in the market for some unique components! Also her finished jewelry is fantastic! I especially love her cool, funky bangle bracelet sets! 

Here are photos of the soup she sent. First, the attractive packaging was so cute!

Then you open the boxes and bag, and here is what was inside!

Here is a close up of the beads, spacers and headpins, and focal clasp, I just love everything about all of them!

I've had so much fun working with these colorful and whimsical components. I can't wait to show you all what I made. The reveal date is April 27th, so look for my reveal on that day!

Thanks for checking out my creative challenge components and reading!

REVEAL for Echo Creative Club

I received 4 pendants from Jeannie for the months I'm participating in the challenge, and it was pretty hard to decide which one to go with. After way too much time pondering and daydreaming, I ended up going with the Purple Anemone. Here is is:

I combined so many different beads trying to brainstorm a design, but I ultimately decided to keep it simple and sweet, much like the pendant itself. I chose Swarovski crystals in Lilac and Golden Shadow shades, which happened to match nearly perfectly with the shades in the pendant. Tanzanite was pretty close as well, but it was quite a bit darker than the lilac, and I found the lilac to be sweeter. I combined the crystals with lovely figaro chain from vintaj natural brass, which also has a feminine, sweet look to it. For a little extra bling, I took a 12mm rivoli and made a setting with a vintaj filigree to enhance the pendant.  Here is the final necklace:

You can purchase a pendant of your own from Jeannie HERE  They come in 3 different colors.   Check out her other awesome pendants and beads as well.

Please visit the other blog participants shown below. 

Dagi http://www.kokopellidesign.blogspot.com/

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

Jessica Klaaren (you are here) http://cellardoorjewelry.blogs

Thanks for reading!

Soup's On - Meet Cynthia Wainscott

So I told you in my last blog post that I was gearing up for the Bead Soup Blog Hop, and last week I received my bead soup from my partner, Cynthia Wainscott. Isn't she gorgeous?! I know that isn't a requirement for beautiful jewelry, but exotic Peru seems to describe her as well as her jewelry. I just love her booth set ups too...but anyway, I digress.

 I was thrilled to learn all about Cynthia through our emails to each other and truly felt like I'd won the Bead Soup lottery in a way, as the partnership seemed like it was just perfection. Not only is she very similar to me in our personal aesthetic and style, but we are close in age, both design from home, are self taught jewelry designers, love brass and vintage, eclectic, and creative designs, and are moms of little boys. We definitely get each other. And while it may have its perks to being teamed with someone completely different, it is definitely nice to be paired with someone you feel like you understand. Here are a few of her designs that caught my eye:

I just love that Lucille Ball bracelet. My little sister used to collect I love Lucy items, so I can appreciate the fondness for the infamous Lucille Ball. The middle necklace is so delicate and romantic but still creative and unique, and the last one is just AHH-MAH-ZING. I would love to make jewelry this fabulous, but I don't think I'm quite at this level yet! What a talented designer, and how lucky am I to have her as my partner?!

 I was utterly over the moon when I saw the soup she had sent me. Not only had she included some gorgeous beads she hand picked from her native country, Peru, but she had also made me a polymer clay focal that is simply beautiful, and I believe she will also be offering a variety of these for sale in a new shop soon: 

In addition to the focal, she sent me some beautiful brass components (some of my favorites) from B'Sue Boutiques, as well as a variety of lovely quartz beads, Genova stones, Brazilian turquoise, Czech glass flowers, and pink glass beads, WOW. As if that weren't enough, she also sent me an adorable toggle clasp that she stamped the words fly away into. How perfect!

Needless to say I was super worried about what to send her, as her jewelry absolutely blew my mind, and it took me a few days of going through everything to figure it out. She had mentioned she really loved pearls, so I knew I wanted to include some, and since pearls remind me of the ocean, I chose a lovely beach themed pendant from Clayworks that I had purchased last year, along with a variety of beads including 3 different colors of pearls in 2 different styles, jasper, and 2 handmade glass beads from Lisa Anderson. The clasp was a vintaj toggle clasp, and I also included a little silk cord and some handmade "porthole" components.  Here is a photo of the soup I sent her:

Are you excited to see what she makes with it? I know I am! Wish me luck that I can do her fabulous components justice! In the meantime you can also help me out (warning, shameless plug following)  and vote for my bracelet design in this month's vintaj challenge, road trip is the theme! 

Click this link to vote: Vintaj Challenge   My bracelet is entry # 4.  Thanks for reading all about Cynthia and stay tuned for our design reveals on July 28th!   

Save Money; Adorn Your Ears

Well long time no read...or write...I have been a major slacker when it comes to blogging. I have a blogger friend that insists I should feel more confident in my work and ability to write a blog, although I am severely in need of some classes when it comes to both if you ask me...but I'm going to give it a shot, and I figured the best way to start was to just show everyone what I've been working on, offer a sale to move some of my jewelry, and involve myself in some things that will force me to blog, like Lori Anderson's bead soup blog hop.  I am signed up for the current bsbh again, but as of yet don't know who I've been paired with, so stay tuned for more details on who my partner is, what I'm sending her, and what I get and create with the soup she sends me.

In the meantime...here are some new earrings I've been working on:

I used embossed blanks on the 1st, 3rd, and 4th pairs, and then added color with patinas and used relief to make the embossed patterns pop. The last 2 pairs feature vintaj large tags which I first hammered, then dapped and worked into horseshoe shapes. I used fine ornate vintaj chain to attach them to the earring lever backs. They all feature gorgeous Swarovski crystal faceted briolette drops and other Swarovski crystal beads as well. The green and crystal copper pair also have handmade spacer beads from Lisa Anderson.

If you have made it this far in my blog post, well thanks for reading!!!   I am having a big sale on my etsy shop - 20% off anything in the store. Sale ends July 6th at 11:59 est. Use code SALE20 to redeem your discount. As always my shipping is very low, only 2$ for domestic US addresses. I have a massive amount of inventory and am not going to be doing many shows this summer, so in order to get rid of the old to make way for the new, I have to unload some jewelry!

www.etsy.com/shop/beadfulthingsjewelry
Or just click this link:   MY ETSY SHOP

A Great Giveaway

I was excited to see this post on Lori Anderson's blog today. She is giving away a fantastic prize for jewelry designers - a set of impress art letter stamps and a new, specialty hammer made just for stamping letters.  I entered and you can as well by clicking this link and following the directions on her blog post. 
http://www.prettythingsblog.com/2012/04/win-set-of-impress-art-letter-stamps.html




Just a quick update while I'm on my blog - I have been busy with sending out some goody bags for a bead swap as well as trying to get my house cleaned over the last few weeks.  I have a new post coming up about my most recent bead swap, as well as a giveaway of my own, my first ever, actually! I also am happy to say that in the first week of my diet I lost 9 lbs and am well on my way to reaching my big goal! Gotta love that dance central. : ) Stay tuned next week for all the fun stuff mentioned above. Until then, I have to keep getting my house under control before summer arrives, and I'm also gearing up for a paranormal investigation with my ghost hunting team at the historic Hales Bar Dam on Friday night. (Friday the 13th to be exact!) Should be an exciting and eventful weekend!

The Huge Difference of Small Details

I think I have made it pretty well known that I've been on a bracelet kick lately. I have also been experimenting with using silver, a territory I wasn't that comfortable with since my creative roots lie with brass products, but that didn't stop me from trying it out. My first attempt was with lapis lazuli beads and crystal dangles using silver findings and wire. After my last purple butterfly bracelet that I posted on a recent blog, I wanted to do a similar bracelet only with beads alone and no focal butterfly, just to make the design more generalized to appeal to more people who were looking for basic or classic jewelry and not necessarily hand painted butterflies. I loved the design so much that I did the EXACT same bracelet, only I used silver wire, jump rings, and bead caps. Here are photos of both bracelets to show the difference that the findings make in the design. Which do you prefer or are drawn to? I am almost always drawn to the brass as it feels less complicated, more laid back, more down to earth, if you will. But here lately, I feel the silver pulling me ever so closer in...will there be a change in my designing future? Perhaps...it would be easier to go there if the cost of silver went down! Until then, the artistic wire will have to do.
Here is the brass version:

And here is the silver version:

My last post was about the blog hop, and I made 2 pairs of earrings that also used some of the beads she sent. One pair included only beads she sent as well as chain, and the others just had one little glass bead left over from my bead soup. Here they are!