Bead Peeps Swap 'n' Hop 2017 Reveal

The day has finally arrived! This year for the Swap 'n' Hop I was paired with the extremely talented Renetha Stanziano of Lamplight Crafts. She sent me lots of goodies that were varied and also BIG. I like a challenge and large focals tend to challenge me because I don't know what to do with them. I mainly do embroidery on shibori silk ribbon, so, unless it has a flat back, I'm lost. I really liked what she sent though and had a hard time picking what to use first. Ultimately I went with a bead that had some of my color loves in it - teals and maroons. I thought I would try to make some small shibori embroidered side components to set with the focal in the middle. I ended up with the necklace below. I think the straps look a little off and awkward in this picture, but are maybe not that bad when it is on.

I also had some leftovers from what I sent Renetha that I wanted to work with. It was a challenge for me because the oranges and reds aren't colors I typically work with. I love the way it turned out though and how it reminds me of fall and the colors of the changing leaves in autumn - though right now I'm looking forward to spring! Though I love it, I put it in my Etsy shop here. I just have too many necklaces to wear them all!

Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to play with any of the other pieces Renetha sent me. I just ran out of time. This winter has been never ending - hopefully our last batch of snow for the season was last weekend when we got 14 inches. The long, dark season has really dragged me down this year and I found that I would stay away from my beads for weeks at a time - unusual for me. Next week promises warmer weather, so I'm hoping for a lot of snow melt in the yard and some inspiration to get my beading groove back. 

Take a look at what the other swappers did by following the links below. 

Linda Anderson (Hostess) http://instagram.com/cherryontopdes...

Christina Hickman http://www.vintagetreasuresjewelry.blogspot.com/...

Catherine LaVite http://drygulchbeadsandjewelry.blogspot.com/...

Barbara Price https://www.instagram.com/colorcopi...

Kathy Lindmer https://bay-moon-design.blogspot.com/...

Linda Raggo http://www.instagram.com/linda_ragg...

Marianne Baxter http://simplyseablimejewelry.blogspot.com/...

Rachelle Walker http://www.chellerydesigns.net/blog

Gloria Allen http://wingsandbeads.blogspot.com/

Ally Asato https://instagram.com/purplemosspal

Robin Lynne Showstack http://heartsdesiresjewelryforyou.blogspot.com/...

Naomi Knafla https://www.instagram.com/naomiknaf...

Maria Rosa Sharrow http://willowstreetshops.blogspot.com/...

Dana Phillips http://www.neverwinterdesigns.blogspot.com/...

Michelle McCarthy http://www.fireflydesignstudio.blogspot.com/...

Beth Blanc https://www.instagram.com/beth.blan...

Hope Smitherman http://CraftyHope.com/

Kari Asbury https://www.instagram.com/kariasbur...

Shai Williams http://www.shaihasramblings.com/

Betony Maiden http://beadwenches.blogspot.com/

Inge van Roos http://ingetraud.wordpress.com/

Kelly Hosford Patterson https://www.instagram.com/pyxeestyx...

Kristina Peck http://tealeavesandtinyhats.blogspot.com/...

Lori Schneider http://beadaddicted.blogspot.com/

Heather Canepa http://www.desertjewelrydesigns.com/...

Ginger Bishop http://lilmummylikes.blogspot.com/

Katy Heider http://onthepondcreations.blogspot.com/...

Renetha Stanziano http://lamplightcrafts.blogspot.com/...

Becky Pancake http://beckypancakebeaddesigns.blogspot.com/...

Tina Pawass https://freebirdsinnovations.blogspot.com/...

Mowse Doyle http://www.midnight-leopard.com/

Tami Norris https://www.instagram.com/taminorri...

Minnette Miller https://www.instagram.com/minnettem...

Veralynne Malone http://www.veradesigns.blogspot.com/...

Rosantia Petkova http://bairozan.blogspot.bg/

Erika Price http://erikaprice.co.uk/

Claire Fabian http://saraccino.blogspot.de/

Rachel Mallis http://www.sharpthingsblog.com/

Deb Fortin http://mhotistudio.blogspot.ca/

Nicole Rennell http://nicolerennell.com/

Joanne Bell https://joannetinks.wordpress.com/

Johana Nunez http://www.artincendi.com/

Sam Waghorn http://palemooncreation.blogspot.co.uk/...

Natalie Davidson http://www.northshoredays.com/

Robin Reed http://www.willowdragon.blogspot.com/...

Faye Wolfenden http://torchfairy.blogspot.com/

Karin King http://maverickbeads.blogspot.ca/

Divya http://www.jewelsofsayuri.com/

Rebecca White http://morganafeycreations.wordpress.com

Palak Udeshi http://kalaabhushan.blogspot.in/

Penny Houghton http://smellynelly.blogspot.com.au

Krafty Max http://www.kraftymax.net/blogposts/

Swap n Hop 2017 - The Goodies Arrive and Partner Reveal!

I recently signed up for round 3 of the Bead Peeps Swap n Hop. In a bead swap participants are paired up and send each other a little stash of beads to work with. Then, on a specific day, everyone posts on their blogs what they made with the stash they were sent and we all "hop" around to each others' blogs oohing and aahing over the results. It's loads of fun and a great way for a beadworker to force themselves out of what they typically work with, be it color or type of beads. This year I was paired up with Renetha Stanziano of Lamplight Crafts. She is extremely talented and it was fun to see that she has also done a Beadwork Magazine reader's challenge and participated in Jean Power's secret beadalong last summer. One of the cool twists this year with the Swap n Hop is that we can make something with the same supplies we sent out to see what each of us does with the same materials. I'm happy to have enough matching supplies to what I sent Renetha that I will be able to make something too that "matches" what she makes. In the past with bead swaps I have always felt jealous of my partner because by the time I'm ready to send out my package, I'm in love with what I'm sending and want it for myself. So, keeping some for myself to use is the best of both worlds!

I was excited to see what Renetha sent me in the mail and excited to see that there was just so much variety in her stash. It's almost all different focal beads, so the first thing I need to do is decide which to use first. My hubby really likes the big glass donut at the top of the picture, while I love the giant swirly focal in the bottom left. Of course, lately I've been tending to want to attach everything to some beading foundation and a piece of silk, so we shall see. The reveal date is April 8th, so check back then to see what I made; it's a secret until then!

Check out Renetha's work HERE.

See all the fun goodies Renetha sent me!!

This is the stash I sent to her. I have an near identical, slightly smaller clasp and duplicates of everything else. Orange and red are not my normal colors to work with, so it will be fun!

Cuffs

I really love making cuff bracelets. On the flip side...I never wear them myself. I have these little chicken wrists and the big ones are always just too big for me. So, I started making thinner cuffs like the chartreuse one on the right and someday, I'll make one just for me.

Stuck

The holiday season was really busy, so I didn't have time to do any beading. Now I have more time, but my inspiration is lacking. Finishing this will be my first goal for the year. I also have another book fan art design in mind and just ordered some silk tonight to use in it. That will get me motivated!!

Redo

I made this pendant over a year ago and really love the beetle look to it. At the time, I didn't know what to do for a chain, so I strung some large black fire-polished beads with turquoise 8/o seed beads and called it a day. The problem was, with all of those fire-polished beads (6mm-10mm in size) the necklace was just so heavy and I didn't like it. This fall, I decided a re-do was in order, so I made a spiral necklace with two-hole triangles and I like it much better. This re-do is now up in my etsy shop if you want to take a look. (Oh, and I think, if you flip the pendant upside down, it kind of looks like a muppet.) :)

Book Fan Art

So, I read a lot. A lot. Last year I read The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo and fell in love with the world she created in the story. One night I saw a basic charm bracelet someone had made on Etsy that was fan jewelry for the book. That was all the inspiration I needed. I bought myself some similar charms and designed this necklace. The shape of the pendant pays homage to the onion top buildings on the cover of the book and within the story, and each of the charms represents a mythical creature the main character seeks to amplify her power. The main character is a Sun Summoner, represented by the yellow and the antagonist is called the Darkling, a man who summons darkness, hence all the black.

Teacher gifts

I think my kids' teachers may be spoiled. Why buy them an end of the year gift when you can make one yourself?

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!!

Swap n hop partner reveal & what she sent

  

This is the second year of the Bead Peeps group Swap n Hop and the second year that I have participated. This year I was partnered with Deborah Apodaca who is a jack of all trades in the design and craft world. You can check out her blog here. Here is a sample of some of her previous work. 

 

I had trouble knowing what to send because she does so many different things, but in the end I just pulled together a soup that I would love to keep for myself and sent her that. As I may have said before, I usually know when a soup is ready to send because I'm jealous of the recipient and want to keep it for myself. Keeping it, though, and making up a new soup is not the point, so off the soup went. You can see a picture of what I sent her below. I'm really looking forward to what she comes up with! This is a picture she took that I'm borrowing from her post about me (here) because mine is sideways and I'm having picture rotating issues. 

Once we both had our packages, we opened them at the same time. I immediately fell in love with the amazing focal that she sent. It's polymer clay and reminds me of warm weather and the beach. See the picture below. Of course, here is NH the water never gets that color and today was cold and raw, but still, a reminder is nice. It's also nice to know that the design and creation of this beachy colors piece will carry me though, until it actually is warm here. Check back May 15th to see what Deborah and I made. 

Finished collar and next up

Here is the collar I previously posted about all finished. It is now up on my etsy site.

Next up is a vision I have had for quite awhile. I'm not feeling too confident in my  idea at this particular moment, but that often happens at this stage. We will see how it goes!!!

Here we go!

Next up... A shibori collar with a dichroic glass cab from FrogHollow glass on etsy. 

New for 2016

Sometimes I buy a focal and hold on to it for a long time waiting for inspiration or for the right complements to bring it to life. I recently bought a scrap bag of ribbon and inside was this beautiful teal and purple piece. I was sorting through my stash one afternoon over vacation last week when cabochon and ribbon met. I knew right away that it was meant to be. I realize that sounds super cheesy and lame, but I do believe in its truth. Sometimes this art thing is about collecting the pieces and realizing what's in front of you so they can all come together as they were meant to be. 

The ribbon is from ShiboriGirl and the cab is from FrogHollowGlass, both on Etsy. :) 

Favorites of 2015

 I make a lot of things and tend to fall in love with everything that I make by the time it's done. Here are a few of my favorite things that I made in 2015. My goal last year was to work on my shibori embroidery technique with an ultimate goal of someday being a juried artist. I never had enough stuff at once to photograph and send out and one of the places I was thinking of takes a 40% commission to have your stuff in their shop. I think that's kind of ridiculous, so now I'm at a standstill as I'm not terribly brave and don't have the guts to actually send my work out. Anyway, I did have the opportunity to do a reader's challenge for Beadwork magazine which is the neck piece below with the watch face on it. Stay tuned for what I'm working on now. It should be done in a few days. Happy new year!! 

Swap 'n' Hop reveal! Whoot!

So this time, I have to admit, I was a huge procrastinator on creating my swap piece. The other two times I have done bead swaps, I have taken my time, worked and reworked. This time I had the month of May in my head. Back in March, May seemed so far away! Then all of a sudden, I realized that it was almost May and that swap reveals were on May 2nd, only two days into May! Yikes! Luckily, since I'm a teacher, we had April break this past week and I spent much of my vacation time working on what turned into a beast of a project. I went large, folks.
My partner is Rebecca, who lives in Florida. You can find her blog here. In the post directly below this one you can see what she sent me and what I sent her. 
I ended up using the cabochon that my partner, Rebecca, made for me, the seed beads, and the big teardrop shaped beads. I ended up not using the owl clasp she sent because in the end, the color didn't go with the rest of the piece. I'll use it on some other project. Other than buying more of the same color seed beads she sent me, I used materials that I already had. This is big for me, because I love buying only to find out that I already had stuff I could have used. Anyway, without further ado, here is my creation! It doesn't have a name, but I plan to put it up for sale in my Etsy shop here sometime later this weekend! Enjoy the rest of your hop! You can find a master list of links to all of the other participating blogs here.

Bead swap package

I received my package from my swap n hop partner Rebecca the other day. It is so exciting to get a mystery package in the mail. The first thing that I found inside was that our packing styles and note styles are identical. It was eerie how similarly we packaged up what we sent. Even the format of our notes was the same. This was completely random. Great minds think alike I guess!

Anyway, Rebecca sent me a cool owl cabochon that she made and a neat array of beads to go with it. The clasp she sent is also an owl. My husband likes birds, so that was neat. I have no idea what I'm going to do with them, but that's half the fun! 

The other picture shows what I sent her. I send along a nice piece of Shibori ribbon, an enameled clasp, two lamp work disks and lots of fire polished beads and seed beads. I always know when my "soup" is ready to send because I start to get insanely jealous of my partner and want to keep it for myself. I know then that it is time to send it off before I reason myself into making a new soup. Come back in May for the big reveal and see what Rebecca and I made with our stashes!

Swap 'n' hop partner

 So, my bead partner for the Bead Peeps Swap 'n' hop is Floridian Rebecca White. You can find her blog here. Of course, I'm envious of the warmer weather she has down in Florida, since in the Northeast we have been getting hammered with snow so far this month. I really looking forward to sending her some things that I think may stretch her imagination a little and give her the chance to work with something new. Here is an example of her work from her blog.

Finished!

I finished the collar I've been working on, and with all of the snow days we have been having, I put a few things in my etsy shop.

About me

After signing up for the Beed Peeps Swap and Hop, we were all asked to answer a few questions about ourselves. Ultimately, I found that I answered many of them in one of the original posts on this blog (here), and that not much has changed.

I really like to make cuff bracelets; however, I really dislike wearing cuff bracelets. They always seem to get in the way of my daily life, so I quickly take them off. I also find myself making pins a lot, which I, myself, don't wear, but that I seem to sell fairly easily. (Though I've been told too many times that I don't charge enough for my work, so that probably has something to do with it). I also like to make big collar necklaces, but have only made two (working on the third) because what to do with it once I'm done is always in my mind. Selling it for what I would be satisfied with seems unlikely.

Right now I'm in love with using Shibori silk in my bead embroidery. I honestly want to buy it in every color. Right now I'm trying to hold off on buying more until I use what I have. I love the colors and folds of it. I love how the colors inspire me to make something I hadn't originally planned. I dislike how it's harder to use in the winter because it's so dry here in New Hampshire, and I'm terrible at moisturizing my hands. Any little rough patch on the skin can rough up the silk and cause little snags.

I avoid using big beads. At times people have given me some larger beads that many would use for stringing. I don't know what to do with them. I'm a seed beader! What am I going to do with a bunch of 16mm beads? The only time I buy anything big is if I could use it as a focal or a cabochon.

When I look at my seed bead collection, I have tons of greens, blues, and purples. I have almost no yellows and few reds and oranges. One thing I love to do that works well with bead embroidery is buy mixes. I find that it's a great way to get some yellow beads if I only need a few, instead of buying a whole tube of something I'm not going to use again.

Here is a picture of what I'm working on right now.

What I've been up to

It has been a long time since I have posted anything, too busy beading, working and spending time with the family, I guess. (Though not in that order!) Here are some things I have made since my last post.