Sunday, May 15, 2016

Reveal

Here we are finally...it's reveal day!! Yay! Way back in, gosh, January I signed up for another round of the Bead Peeps Swap 'n' Hop. For one of these hops, participants are partnered up and send each other a bead soup. Then, before a certain date the participant is to make something with what is sent and reveal it in a post on their blog on reveal day. This is my 4th swap of this sort and each time I have found a way to push myself and make something that I didn't expect.

 This time I was paired up with Deborah Adpodaca and she sent me a soup inspired by the ocean near her in sunny Florida. Here is a link to her blog. Let me tell you, those beachy tones made me feel warm when I received them in the middle of winter! As it turned out, I was in the middle of a few projects when I received what she sent, so I had to hold off and finish those up before I could move on. I try not to stop in the middle of something and don't have many UFOs hanging around because of it. Even if I don't love what I'm making, usually by the end either I do, I've learned something from finishing it, or someone else loves it. ANYWAY, here is a reminder picture of what I sent her, followed by a picture of what she sent me.
What I sent to Deborah: Shibori Ribbon, Lampwork beads and a yummy clasp 
What Deborah sent me.

As I was designing, I found that the focal that Deborah sent to me,was going to be a challenge simply due to its size. Actually, as soon as I saw it, I knew I was going to be making a larger necklace. Since I'm obsessed with Shibori ribbon (Seriously, I have more colors than I could probably use in all of the projects I could make in a year and just ordered more at my son's T-ball practice this morning! I can't help myself!!) I knew that needed to come into play as well. I typically order my ribbon through Glennis Dolce, the maker of this wonderful ribbon, or Aria Design Studio who also sells it (and by the 1/2 yard too, which means I can buy even MORE!) I just fell in love with the "Oil on Water" colorway and once it arrived I knew that it was meant to be with this big focal. As it turned out though, many of the seed beads were just a little "off" with this ribbon, but I was able to use some of the awesome twisted brown bugle beads she sent. I was hoping to use some of the big white beads because they reminded me of the bubbles in the focal, but the contrast against the blue silk was just too great. 

As I worked, I planned on it to be much more wavy and not as symmetrical as it ended up. The beaded rope was a challenge for me only in that I had a hard time figuring out what to do for that piece of the necklace. I used the "Briar Rose" spiral stitch pattern with two hole triangles that I picked up from my LBS (the pattern and the triangles). The two hole triangles really complement the triangle shape of the focal. End result: I love the whole thing! Even still, I'll be posting it to my Etsy site soon. 







The mess to clean up before my next project can begin!!

21 comments:

  1. *speechless* *jaw hanging open*

    Linda
    http://fromTheBeadBoard.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. the way that you worked with the focal...the waves in the ribbon....oh so GORGEOUS....wow

      Delete
  2. Gasp! My jaw just hit the floor! That is STUNNING!

    ReplyDelete
  3. wow - The shibori piece is absolutely beautiful and thanks for the resource links. I'll check them out

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh my word, how beautiful! When I saw it my eyes must have popped out of my head some! The beauty of this piece is amazing.

    Your work area must be pretty tidy because to me that looks pretty neat and orderly. Mine looks like the aftermath of a natural disaster.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Holy smokes - what a stunning piece! I can't even begin to fathom the amount of work it took to create it - awesome job!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Absolutely stunning! Incredible design and love the colors!

    ReplyDelete
  7. that was just an amazing necklace. What an eye you have for color. I didnt understand what you were doing from the description, I needed those pictures. Every year I find a theme running through all the different blogs,this year it seems to be the uses of the many shades of blue

    ReplyDelete
  8. Love the shibori silk with the bead embroidery! I haven't explored using it much yet but it looks like a must try. Absolutely stunning!

    ReplyDelete
  9. really love this piece. I love shibori silk in designss

    ReplyDelete
  10. really love this piece. I love shibori silk in designss

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi Katy, Your necklace is outstanding. You chose the perfect accent colors. I have become enamored with shibori too.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Wow. I have a huge respect for you for being so talented.

    ReplyDelete
  13. woooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.................omg that is some gorgeousness. That focal is amazing - it looks like a stingray pattern to me! and you definitely captured the ocean in that necklace!

    http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/stingray-ig.jpg

    ReplyDelete
  14. Very cool necklace! I admire the patience of seed beaders, and I too have an obsession with fabrics and ribbon.

    Rachel
    mintmonarch.com

    ReplyDelete
  15. OH MY GOODNESS!! You did an amazing job!! I just love the colors and layers in the necklace....WOW!!! TERRIFIC!! ~KM http://www.kraftymax.net/bead-peeps-swap-n-hop-2016/

    ReplyDelete
  16. WoW! fantastic . Your work is absolutely gorgeous!I just love the necklace and can`t seem to take my eyes off. This swap is so much fun. I`m meeting so many fantastic and inspiring artists!
    Palak (Pallavi Asher)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Such a beautiful piece! The whole piece looks like a little bit of under the sea!

    ReplyDelete
  18. What a beautiful necklace! It is truly a showstopper.

    ReplyDelete
  19. It's a beautiful statement necklace! The colors are perfect for the focal, they both complement and highlight it!

    ReplyDelete