Partner Picks Summer Challenge and Giveaway

Welcome to the June challenge and blog hop for http://www.znetshows.comThe theme for this time is "Beaches."  The official name is Partner Picks Summer Challenge and Giveaway.We were paired with a partner and then my partner picked beads for me to design with from Znet's great selection of beads and jewelry findings. My partner this time is Amy Severino. She was a great partner. Please check out her blog at amybeads.blogspot.com
to see what she made with the beads that I chose for her. I am very pleased with the beads that I received. This is my favorite piece from this challenge. I called it "Pearls on the Waves" The Znet items I used in  it are:BDS1907-46 cultured sea glass leaf beads twisted in opaque blue.
BDS1619-22Five  8mm off white glass pearls
RS126-01AB Chinese crystal rondelles faceted 4x3mm
M0169-AS  Antique silver tone bicones
 The only things I added were stringing wire, thread, seed beads in several sizes, and a silver toggle clasp. When I think of beaches I see waves. This necklace is the waves I saw. Pearls in the center and crystals rondelles on the edges. This is one of my favorite colorways to work with so the design came easily.

I called the matching earrings "Waves." They use the same beads as the necklace above. I added colored aluminum chain to hang the waves from the earwires.

"Fishes" is my name for this bracelet. I made this the day the beads arrived.It uses the
BDS1907-46 blue sea glass leaf twists and the BDS1619 8mm pearls that the two pieces above use. It also uses M022-AS antique silver tone fish. I am sure I will wear this when I want to feel summer.

I made one more necklace with the blue sea glass and the pearls. The base is a chain maille net. I uses 7mm silver jump rings and  7mm turquoise rubber rings. I put more of the silver fishes on headpins to make them look like they are caught in the net. Silver rolo chain and a nautical inspired toggle complete the necklace. "Fish in a Net" is the name I chose for this piece.

Here is my final piece. I call it simply "Beach Treasures."It is hard to see the detail in the full length pic  because this necklace is long  so I included a close up of the center. For this necklace I used more of the beautiful off white pearls from Znet. The clasp is item S56-B33  size 33x13mm in royal blue . It was too pretty to put in back so I made it the focal. I added a lampworked bead with a fish on it, my last silver fish from the challenge, and two aqua glass rondelles. The toggle is attached to a loop of seed beads with a fancy silver headpin. The seed beads make it easier to insert the toggle through the round. The Fire Agate 12mm rounds (item BDS1837-05) are larger than the beads I usually work with but they were perfect for this design.A strand of seed beads in several sizes helps balance the sides and draws the eye to the blue fire agates. The other side of the necklace has found shells and other beach treasure that I drilled or wire wrapped and attached to  more of the aqua aluminum chain like I used in the bracelet. Between the shells I used more of the aqua  glass rondelles and glass chips as dangles. Znet has starfish in two sizes, flat shells, conchs, nuggets, pebbles, and freeform shapes that could be used instead of the natural shells. There are many color choices in all of these shapes. I have thoroughly enjoyed this challenge. Working with Znetshows products is a wonderful experience. They have a very large selection and reasonable prices. If you are looking for sea glass you should check them out. I hope you like my designs. Here's the  link to ZnetShows blog to view what the other artists made with their fun Znet products http://znetshows.blogspot.com/