Ears to You blog hop

I first must apologize that this post is late.  When I join a blog hop I always make sure that my post is ready and I schedule it to post at 12:30 am the day it is due.  Well.....life got in the way!  Thursday and Friday I had a sick and cranky 2 year old and then yesterday with his fever it was a REALLY CRANKY day and with Mom not feeling so hot herself it was not a good day!  So anyway her is my post....better late than never I say.

Amy of http://copperdiem.blogspot.com/ is our wonderful hostess and found this awesome organization Ears to You .  They provide free earrings to women undergoing chemotherapy for cancer.  She decided that since this was such a giving and easy way to brighten a woman's day why not ask some of her like minded friends to help out and make some earrings.   Her rule was for us to make 3-5 pairs or more of earrings to send to the organization and share with each other what we made. 

Here are my earrings.

If you would like to donate just go to http://www.earstoyou.org/ and you too and make a woman's day!

Please visit the other wonderful participants to see what they created for this amazing cause.




Copper Diem
My Addictions
Beads, Tea and Sweets
Juls Beads
Fabric of my Life
Blogging Business Artisans
Jeannie's Blog
Lorelei's Blog
One Kiss Creations
Backstory Beads
According to Katie
Cherish Designs
Beads: Rolling Downhill
Falling Into The Sky
Garden Path Beads
Antiquity Travelers
Sissy and Jacks
Erin Siegel Jewelry/Art Bead Scene
Northwood Creative Studio
SilverRose Designs
Dreamin of Beads/SAS Jewelry Design  *** you are here
Cabe Woman
Summers Studio
Honey from the Bee
Shaiha's Ramblings
Mama's Got to Doodle
Beads for Busy Gals
Tanya McGuire
Creative Atelier

A Time to Stitch 2 Hop

It is time for me to reveal another blog hop....this one is hosted by Therese Frank and Christine Altmiller.  This is A Time to Stitch 2 hop and it features Right Angle Weave and St. Petersburg Chain.  The rules are pretty simple:  make something using Right Angle Weave or make something using St. Petersburg Stitch. 

I did a basic right angle weave base and added a layer of fringe that is right angle weave too and added the daggers for more drama. To make this elegant evening necklace I used black Czech firepolish beads, size 11 seed beads and black daggers.  I am going on a cruise in December and think this will be perfect for one of my dresses. 

I also did a lariat that used several stitches.  St. Petersburg stitch and a chevron stitch make up the main parts of the lariat and they are joined together using a ladder stitch, the pieces that make the three inside fringe portions use right angle weave and straight fringe. The beads on the end of my fringe are enamel beads I made.  For the clasp I used circular peyote stitch.  This is a design by Kelley Wiese and she called it Royal Chains Lariat.  It was in Bead Work magazine issue Oct/Nov 2009.   I have wanted to do this necklace since I first saw the pattern way back when but I did  not know how to do St. Petersburg or Chevron stitch.  This was my first time doing the Chevron stitch, really easy and stitches up fast.  I really love the way this piece turned out.  I think I will do it again in lighter colors.

 

Unfortunately I had difficulties and could not get the list of the other participants to copy with links so I am asking you to please go to their blogs by visiting our hostesses  Therese and Christine.  Thanks so much!

"My Bead Table Blog Hop"

Lisa Lodge of Pine Ridge Treasures is hosting this blog hop. She sent each of the participants a group of beads from her bead table and we were required to use as many of them as we could and supplement with beads that were on our bead table.  We were not to go out and purchase any new beads. 

These are the beads Lisa sent me.  An eclectic mix of pinks and greens (which I love) and a few others. 

I admit I was really stumped.  What to make?!?  I thought and thought and just could not figure out what to do.  Luckily I love to work with seed beads and I had some on my workbench, I usually do!  I finally decided that the best way for me to design a piece was to do some free form peyote.  I had never done free form before so that also was a challenge.  I did a necklace and feel like I did justice to using as many of Lisa's beads as I could.  The only thing of mine that I added were the seed beads.  Lisa did send me some size 6 seed beads and I used them as well. I finished the back with one of the beaded pink beads and a peyote loop. I am not really pleased with how the necklace turned out, and I would never wear it,  but for my first time doing free form peyote I can say that it is a fun and very versatile stitch and I will do it again.  The thing that I love most about challenges was accomplished, I learned something new, worked outside of my comfort zone and grew as a designer.

Please visit the other participants and see what Lisa sent them and what they created. 
Your Host: Lisa Lodge  

Molly Alexander, Beautifully Broken Me

Audrey Belanger, Dreams of an Absolution

Ginger Bishop, lilmummy likes... 

Tanya Boden, Fusion Muse

Lisa Boucher, Lisa’s Clay Happenings

Michelle Buettner, Mishel Designs

Eleanor Burian-Mohr, The Charmed Life

Mikala Coates, Maybe Just Perhaps

Marlene Cupo, Amazing Designs

Kathleen Douglas, Washoe Kat's

Mary Anne Klinglesmith Flesch, Hand Crafted Serenity

Therese Frank, Therese's Treasures
Mary Govaars, MLH Jewelry Designs

Tanya Goodwin, A Work in Progress

Mary Hicks, Falling Into the Sky

Tina Holden, Polymer Clay Bytes!

Shelly Joyce, Au jour le jour

Carolyn Lawson, Carolyn's Creations

Kathy Lindemer, Bay Moon Design

Susan Lloyd, Designs by Susan

Cynthia Machata, Antiquity Travelers

Kashmira Patel, Sadafule .. always in bloom!

Inge von Roos, Inge's Blog

Kristen Stevens, My Bead Journey

Sonya Stille, Dreamin' of Beads

Christine Stonefield, Sweet Girl Design

Toltec Jewels, Jewel School Friends

Norma Turvey, Moonlit Fantaseas

Sandra Wollberg, City of Brass Stories

One Color Crayon Challenge

One of my many goals this year is to branch out more into the wonderful community of other jewelry designers, and to not only meet people that have similar interests to myself, but to also grow as a designer.  I have joined two wonderful groups on Face book.  The first is The Bead Soup Cafe https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/BeadSoupCafe/  created by the wonderful Lori Anderson http://www.prettythingsblog.com  the second group is Creative Bead Chat group https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/323057074410586/.  I am not exactly sure who created this wonderful group but I do love being a part of both of them. 
The other thing thing that I am doing this year is to push myself into participating in new challenges.  The next one that I am doing is the One Color Crayon Challenge. http://thestudiosublime.com/2012/04/01/theonecolorcrayon/#comment-613  What we have to do is pick one of eight colors and work with that color and its various hues, creating a monochromatic design.   We will be hopping on Saturday May 5th, 2012.  Be sure to come back and see my design.