Stacked Earring Challenge Round Three

Hello, hello! I'm a bit late to the party today, but you know what they say...

This is the third round of a challenge started by the lovely Malin de Koning for a small group of designers. We take turns in sending each other a pack of beads. The challenge is to create at least one pair of earrings and use 3 types of beads from the pack.

This time around it was my turn to send out the beads. I think that was the hardest part! Here's a photo (by Malin) of what I chose.

I sent a mix of beads in some of my favourite colours: berry tones, sea blues, and earthy neutrals. The beads include Czech glass, vintage African clay beads, vintage connectors, garnet, agate, jade, aventurine, and amazonite gemstones. I also included some vintage African trade beads, citrine, and quartz with inclusions.

I chose some of these beads because they're a bit tricky for me usually. I don't often use small beads, so I included quite a few little beads and some odd shaped pieces for an extra challenge.

Here's what I created!

First up, an obvious colour combo for me. I used some gorgeous lampwork discs (Earthshine Beads) mixed with the African trade beads, Czech glass and tiny metallic spacers (top), coconut and some brass leaves from my stash.

 

Next up is, I think, my favourite pair. I had bees on the brain ever since I discovered a honey bee hive on a walk. These have more discs by Earthshine Beads, some added rhinestones and bee charms and my own findings. Everything else came from the pack (Czech pip beads, quartz, and metallic seed beads).

These rather stumpy stacked earrings have the larger of the African trade beads, agate and garnet gems, Czech glass flowers with some added bead caps and discs by Beadesired.

This next pair is pretty simple, but I just love the colour combination. Turquoise and red! Who doesn't love that? I used the little red flowers, amazonite and Czech glass from the pack.

Last but not least is another pair of bee earrings. These have the little citrine drops, Czech glass duos, flower charms and tiny striped seed beads. I used lampwork by Java Beads (they look like honeycomb!) and wrapped the little seed beads around like pollen. I cheated a bit on these as I only included 4 of the super duos (the spiky ones). I made one earring and realised I'd used all 4, so I had to dig in my stash for more. A bit cheeky, but they had to be made. :-)

Group shot - I hope you enjoyed! Check out the links below to see what everyone else made with the beads I sent.

Rebecca Anderson
Heidi Post
Claire Lockwood
Malin de Koning

Stacked earrings challenge round 2

Earlier this year, Malin de Koning started an earring challenge for a small group of us. We enjoyed it so much, we decided to continue the challenge and take turns sending out beads to each other. The rules remained the same: use 3 types of the beads sent to make at least one pair of earrings. This time, Claire Lockwood stepped up with this lovely selection of beads.

  

Claire sent a great selection of beads in mostly greens, cream, soft pinks and purples. Some of the first to catch my eye were the minty drops and pink daisies (top right) and those white and green plastic beads (center).

So, without further ado, here are the earrings! I made 6 pairs in total, but there were still enough beads to make a few more. First up is a pair of stumpy, stacked earrings with my handmade copper findings. I used the flowers, pink daisies, and green beads Claire sent with some lampwork beads by Fyrebirds.

I adore the minty drops Claire sent and used them with the wooden beads, clear glass rings, and faceted Czech glass. I added my own copper findings and wire spacers.

This pair is very different for me, and I think they meet the stacked criteria! I used the small and large metallic beads, and the gemstone hearts Claire sent. Added to the mix are some filigree bead caps, Czech glass beads, and rectangular headpins and earwires I made.

Another different style for me - buttons. I don't usually use buttons in my jewellery, but these lovely mother of pearl ones were hard to resist. I knotted them on linen cord with Czech glass and my bronze earwires. I cheated a little here as there are only 2 buttons on each earring, but I think they'll pass...

 

Pair #5 has a stack of green leaves and a couple of the milky spacers from the bead mix. The leaves immediately made me think of strawberries, so I added some red blossoms (I know, they should be white!) and a tassel of linen and tiny Czech glass beads.

 

Last but not least, I used the wooden discs, little glass rounds, and the larger rustic glass beads. I added some tiny coconut beads and pyrite quartz chunks and copper findings.

Here's a group shot of all the earrings again. I hope you enjoyed them! Be sure to check out what the rest of the group made. 

Malin de Koning - Beading by Malin de Koning

Claire Lockwood - something to do with your hands

Heidi Post - Ex Post Facto Jewelry

Rebecca Anderson - Songbead

Leah Curtis - Beady Eyed Bunny

AJE Component of the Month stash challenge

Last month, Art Jewelry Elements challenged their readers to rummage through their stashes and create new jewelry with handmade beads from the AJE team. Since most of the team is across the pond, I don't often get a chance to purchase their wonderful beads. I do, however, have a little stash amongst my art beads.

I was inspired to use some beads by BlueberriBeads and Jenny Davies-Reazor. Since it was a challenge, I decided to try something a bit different. I've been wanting to make some copper bangles and this was the perfect opportunity to give it a try.

First up is a bangle I made from heavy gauge copper wire. I fused the ends with my blow torch and hammered it into a droplet of copper. The AJE team bead I used was the rustic little urchin by BlueberriBeads. I mixed it up with a number of charms with aquamarine, turquoise, pyrite, and a black ceramic charm by Scorched Earth.

 

Carrying on with the bangle theme, I made another bangle with a slight chevron shape. This has a vibrant red, poppy seed stamped ceramic charm by Jenny Davies-Reazor. I adore her charms! I wire wrapped turquoise, snowflake obsidian, tiny garnets and coconut beads into charms. There's also a little lampwork ring above the turquoise by a UK bead maker.

And here they are together! Textured, patinated and polished to make that copper glow.

Next up are a couple of earrings. This first pair has a peachy-pink pair of matte birdies by BlueberriBeads, Czech glass flowers, and Vintaj findings.

This final pair is actually the first piece I made for this challenge. I used some more of Jenny's gorgeous, glazed ceramic charms with amazonite gems and simple copper findings.

 

I hope you've enjoyed what I made! I'm glad to say everything I used came from my stash. There's nothing like a stash-busting challenge to get your creativity going.

Here is the list of the participants - the team, winners and special guests! Kristen Stephens Susan Kennedy Jenny Davies-Reazor Lesley Watt Melissa Meman Lindsay Starr Jennifer Cameron Caroline Dewison Linda Landig Guest Participants ( aka winners) Lee - Strega Jewellry Shai - Shai’s Ramblings Samantha- Wescott Jewelry Kathy - Bay Moon Designs Nikki - Silver Nik nats Melissa Trudinger Becky Pancake Yvette - Blue Kiln Beads Karin - Ginko et Coquelicot Bonus participants! Sarajo Wentling Leah Curtis Susan Delaney

Earring Challenge by Malin de Koning

It's about time I revive my blog! And what better way to do it than with a challenge? The lovely Malin de Koning invited me along with Claire Lockwood, Rebecca Anderson, and Heidi Post to join in an earring challenge with her.

Malin put together an inspiring pack of mixed beads for us to use: wooden beads, glass, tiny trade beads, gems, and coral...it was quite a selection! Malin is the master of earrings in my book and has a wonderful eye for detail. I can really see 'her' in these beads.

The challenge was to create at least one pair of earrings, ideally, with at least 3 of the beads from the pack. There was such a great selection of beads, the real challenge was deciding on how to use them.

As soon as I received the beads from Malin, I got started on a few pairs of earrings. I actually made the final pair last night. There are 6 in total.





Here's the first pair...I used the tiny, green howlite washers along with the green discs and stone-like cogs (one of my favourite beads in the mix). I paired them with my own enamelled leaves and copper earwires.

Next up is a pair of seaside inspired earrings. I loved the golden wooden nuggets Malin chose for us and immediately thought of something light, and beachy. I mixed up some of the wooden beads with a pair of mismatched starfish art beads by Majoyoal. Finished with bronze findings I made.

Now on to something a bit different...You can see one of my favourite beads (they're all lovely!) from the pack was the green howlite barrels. These are slightly mismatched with the faceted glass beads, howlite, tiny metal beads, and glass pearls. I wire wrapped some of the beads onto a tassel of recycled leather with lampwork art beads by Earthshine Beads.




Continuing on the tassel theme is a fresh, Springy pair of earrings using the plastic flowers (love these!), juicy striped seed beads, more of the lovely howlite along with recycled leather and green garnet from my stash.

What I loved about this challenge was that, although I loved the beads Malin sent, there were some that I might have overlooked myself. The silver coloured beads were one of those. They are lovely on their own, but I don't normally use silver. However, they fit nicely with the mismatched flower caps and striped seed beads for a bohemian pair of earrings. The lampwork discs are by Earthshine Beads.

And because I just adore those little flower caps, here's a better photo!

 

Last but not least is the pair I made last night. They're a bit funkier than the others, but I like something about the flow. I used the lampwork discs Malin sent, some of the coral, striped seed beads, and some glass beads and petal bead caps from my stash.

A huge thank you to Malin for this wonderful challenge! Check out what everyone else made for the challenge on their blogs. I can't wait to see!

Malin de Koning

Rebecca Anderson 

Claire Lockwood

Heidi Post

500 likes giveaway!

Winners announced! Sue Robinson and Lisa Doyle 

Update: The giveaway is now over and the winners have been announced. Thank you ALL for your tremendous support and kind words!


The time has almost come...I owe a big thank you to all of you for your support and interest in my work.

My Facebook page is at 490 likes, and when it reaches the big 5-0-0, I'll be having a giveaway! How does that sound?

The winner will be drawn at random from my followers on Facebook, customers in my shop, and anyone who leaves a comment here. As soon as we reach 500, I'll draw a name and contact the winner.

You don't have to like my page to enter the giveaway. It's just to celebrate a little milestone I didn't quite expect to see!

To enter, simply leave a comment here. If you're already following my work on Facebook or a customer on Etsy, you're name is in the hat.

Shares are appreciated, of course! If you'd like to share the giveaway, please leave an extra comment telling me you've done so, and I'll give you another entry.





Winner will receive £15 of my handmade polymer clay beads ~ these will be made especially for the winner. Open to international entries.

(Substitute of a handmade pair of earrings for the winner, if you'd prefer.)

Thank you!

The Ever Expanding Blog Hop

I was invited by the lovely Clair of Obstinate Pursuit to join in this blog hop. It's an ever-expanding blog hop where we answer a few questions and then ask a few fellow bloggers to do the same on their blogs. I hope you'll enjoy learning a bit more about my passion - handmade jewellery and beads - and about my fellow bloggers, Marcia Dunne, Laney Mead, and Suhana Hart.


What Am I Working On?

That's a big question! Right now, I have a queue of custom orders for beads on the go. That's something I'm very grateful for. My little world of handmade beads has grown and grown since I opened my shop on Etsy and began sharing my beads with the world. I really didn't expect things to grow so quickly, and it's a joy to be able to share my beads and jewellery with people around the globe.

 

Here's a photo of some beads I just finished today.

 

How Does My Work Differ From Others Of Its Genre?

 

Are these all going to be tough questions? I think the obvious answer is that we who make art beads and jewellery are all individual. We have our own styles, methods and techniques; we use our hands in different ways, our tools are varied. No one can be exactly alike! I love that. 

I enjoy honing my skills and seeing improvement in the techniques I use. Like most people, I love to try a variety of methods, too. I often combine metalwork, fibers, and a mix of all sorts of beads in my jewellery. That doesn't  really make me different from all the other talented bead and jewellery artists out there, but we each have our own ways of expressing and making what we do.

Why Do I Create What I Do?

 

Simply, because it makes me happy. It makes me even happier to know that I can do something that makes me happy! Sometimes it's a challenge to keep up with orders, to try to get a piece just right for someone or just to push my own envelope, but it's worth it. There is great satisfaction in creating something. I have always wanted to go a step further; to get down to the roots of something and build it up from the most basic materials. That's why I started making my own beads. To be able to take a raw material and sculpt it into something, paint, and finish it all by hand is very satisfying.

It's much the same feeling for my jewellery. I love mixing unique beads and materials to create a finished piece that is cohesive and pleasing to the eye.

 

 

 

How Does Your Creative Process Work?

For my jewellery, it all starts with the beads. I see a bead that inspires me and I begin to build a picture or feeling in my mind. Then, I begin to tie in other materials and beads to build upon the picture until it feels complete. I guess it's like painting with beads (except I'm an awful painter!). Sometimes it's much more organic and I get a feel for what beads go together by their shape, colour or texture. It's finished when it feels right!

Now to introduce my fellow bloggers and a group of very talented artists who share in my passion for beads. First is the lovely Laney Mead.

Laney Mead is a talented lampwork artists in the UK. I first came across her work on a forum or two and just loved her quirky character beads. She also does 'grown up' beads which are absolutely stunning. Her flowers are among my favourites! But what really does it for me are her super cute bumble bees.

 

Next up is a jewellery artist I have admired since I first saw her work - Marcia Dunne of The Alternative Foundry. I am a big fan of tribal jewellery and Marica really hits the nail on the head there. Now, she's even moving into the world of bridal jewellery after creating a collection for her daughter's wedding. 

And last but definitely not least is Suhana Hart of Buttoned Up Beads. Suhana has a real gift for colour and design. The flow and composition of her designs is just beautiful. Suhana is a great example of an artist who puts her special touch on each and every piece.

 

I hope you'll visit them all next week to find out what they have to say about their work!

BSBP8 Reveal!

The long awaited reveal has finally arrived. Are you excited? I am! 

My partner this year was Caroline Dewison from BlueberriBeads. I consider myself very lucky! Caroline is a wonderful ceramic bead artist in the UK. I have always been fond of her adorable birds and urchin beads, but I didn't tell Caroline that. That's exactly what she sent me! Well, birds, urchins, one of her new house beads, more ceramics, and a whole bowl full of extra beads.

Here's a little reminder of the oh-so Springy purple and green soup I received.

The bronze clasp is by another talented UK artist, Lesley from Thea Elements. I've never used one of Lesley's clasps before, but they are definitely one of the best I've ever had the pleasure of designing with.

So, knowing I had to use the clasp, I excitedly moved on to my first piece. How could I resist doing yet another sea themed bracelet? 

 

 

In the bracelet, I used the clasp Caroline sent me, her ceramic urchin bead, chunky fluorite and citrine gemstones, a sand dollar charm, and agate and citrine as charms between the chunkier beads. All of the extra beads were from my stash, I'm glad to say!

I wire wrapped all the beads in solid brass and torch fired my own ball ended headpins to use wtih the faceted agate beads I added.

Here's another picture of that sweet urchin bead Caroline made.

 

My second piece ended up being in a very different colour palette. I just love the zesty little chartreuse Czech glass drops Caroline added to her soup. And what goes better with green than purple? I stacked them on copper wire and added a pair of beautiful lampwork 'butterfly wings' by Earthshine Beads. Decorative copper earwires, et voila, Spring earrings!

I'm not usually a pastel-loving kind of person, but for Caroline's birds I made an exception. The soft lavender tones of her bird bead really won me over. I ended up using a mix of cream and pastel purple and green for this bracelet with just a hint of blue.

It's a variation on a series of bird bracelets I've done recently. Caroline's bird sits above a nest of agate eggs and Czech glass blossoms. I used the Golem lentil she sent me and some more beads from my own stash. The speckled, egg-like creamy ceramic beads are by Thea Elements. The ceramic daisy clasp and purple rounds are by Tan Grey.

And now for the finale...I chose to use Caroline's large, purple bird as my focal bead. The purple beads Caroline included in her soup were just perfect for each other. I immediately made the bird into a "stacked" pendant with its own nest (purple eggs included!) and one of those adorable butterflies dangling below. I added the leaf for an extra woodland-feel.

 

I had a bit of trouble deciding what to string the pendant on. I wanted something simple but different at the same time. I played around with silks and copper chains, but decided on using some recycled leather and wooden beads from my stash.

I used the leather to weave the wooden circles together for a collar style at the front of the necklace. I thought the necklace looked great sitting just below the neck, so I kept the overall length fairly short.

I wire wrapped Caroline's dimpled ceramic beads at each end of the wooden beads to frame the focal area. To finish it off, I made a brass clasp and wire wrapped it those teeny-tiny purple Czech glass beads.

And there you have it! I hope you enjoyed seeing what I created. I have to thank Caroline for being such a great swap partner and for sending me this fantastic soup to work with. Of course, a huge thank you to Lori Anderson for pairing us and for hosting this wonderful blog hop!

You can check out what the rest of the participants made at this link.