A Hint of Mint is the challenge for today. I found this theme very inspiring and I created a whole collection. Above is the first set. I used the brass leaf as the focal. The green nugget barrels and white rounds were in the kit. I added the brass tubes, chain, and clasp from my stash. Then I made earrings to go with the necklace.

The second set I used the sea glass tubes, white rondelles, and rice shaped pearls from the kit. I added sea glass rounds and made the focal from my stash. The earrings were made with bicones, discs, and seed beads to match the focal.

This set is my favorite. I used the mint barrel nuggets and large white pearls from the kit for the straps. There are brass spacers next to the barrels. The focal started with a thrift store earrings. I bead embroidered around it using the white rounds from the kit and beads I had. Then I added fringe to finish it. The earrings where made with brass squares and crystal rondelles from my stash and the barrels and large pearls from the kit.

The large frosted rondelles from the kit were so yummy that I needed to use them and so this bracelet was created. It pairs well with any of the necklace and earrings sets.

A chacha bracelet came next. I used brass chain the same as first necklace and made dangles to suspend from it. I used beads from the kit and also from a bag of mixed green beads I had bought. It too could be worn with any of the necklaces.

One last pair of earrings to finish off. I used the last two frosted rondelles and brass connecters. Then I made dangles with spring green pearls, to finish them.

This is the kit that I started with. I used almost everything in it except the clear rounds and the brass wings. I had such fun creating this collection. Thank you to Lisa Lodge for including me in this challenge. To see what the other participants made please go to https://www.facebook.com/events/451621684975514

Today I am showing my Winter Dreams necklace. I won the button focal from Tari Sasser of Clay Buttons. The lovely snowflake button is also the clasp. I made multiple strands of light blue, clear, and white beads as the straps and lightly braided them. The fringe  below the button is made with mostly white and clear beads with and a few light blue accents above the drops. I thought the colors looked like a sunny winter day.

Creative Spark Winter 2015 has gone live. Here is the link to it http://joom.ag/sFfb  In case you don't know what that is I will tell you. http://www.znetshows.com/ publishes an online magazine 4 times a year. It features their designers(which I am one of) using their products. The earrings in the pic above are the ones I designed for this issue. It is my first time publishing a tutorial. The Znetshows people are great to work for. They are known for their cultured sea glass which I used in my earrings. Here is a link to see their extensive line of cultured sea glass products http://www.znetshows.com/gemshow/retail/sea_glass_beads.asp The cultured sea glass has unlimited design possibilities and is fun to work with while being very really reasonably priced. I also used some of their Chinese crystal beads in the earrings and here is the link to them http://www.znetshows.com/gemshow/retail/chinese_crystal_beads.asp .  They also have gemstones and glass pearls. My earrings used tiny white pearls too and this is the link to their pearls http://www.znetshows.com/gemshow/Retail/ptvlstsuba.asp?ProductsubType=glasspearls . It is worth your time to check out the magazine for inspiration and ideas. Also please visit http://www.znetshows.com/ to see great jewelry making products that are very reasonably priced. There is a pic of the cover above for an idea of what you can see inside. Enjoy.

I am part of the facebook group Bead Peeps. We are having our first Swap and Hop. This is where we exchange beads with our partner and make something with those beads. I truly enjoy this type of challenge. My partner for this hop is Kathleen Breeding of 99 Bottles of Beads on the Wall. Isn't that a cute blog name? She works and teaches at Michael's in Las Vegas.  Above is a pic of my favorite piece that she made. I have fallen in love with fascinators since I made one for the Team Toho Challenge. I think her fascinator is way cool. It was a commissioned Piece.

Here is another piece by Kathleen with a sunflower pendant. She makes really unique jewelry and I am lucky to have been partnered with her. If you would like to see more of her work you can go to her blog at http://99bobotw.blogspot.com/ or her facebook page. I am excited to see what she sends me to work with.

In my last post I wrote that I had more designs in mind for the remaining Checkerboard hop beads so I though I would show them to you today. This bracelet goes with the red and black necklace and earrings that I previously posted.I used the rest of the flat black freeform shapes, red barrel nuggets, and the clear crystal rondelles like I used in the necklace for this piece. The gold chain on the end makes it multi-sized.

Here is the necklace that goes with the red and white earrings. I used red heishi sea glass  with vintage white faceted rounds that I got from an A Grain of Sand Bead Hoard box. The seed bead spacers are size 11 triangles. The focal is red sea glass hourglass beads that I wire wrapped the long white sea glass teardrops on. I used 4mm ruby colored bicones on the ends of the drops. The hourglass beads  are spaced with white glass rondelles. It is finished with a gold hook style clasp. This piece says Valentines Day to me.

The final set that I made used the lovely large twisted crystals. These shouted elegant and dressy to me so I paired them with size 6 silver lined topaz seed beads to show off the crystals to their best advantage. The center of the necklace uses gold corrugated barrels. Gold chain is used at the back of the necklace. A magnetic clasp is the closure. This set could be worn with a little black dress or any other color for that matter. I wanted it neutral for maximum wearability. I  really enjoy using Znetshows.com products in my designs.

Today is the reveal for the Checkerboard Blog Hop. This hop is hosted by Lisa Lodge. Thank you Lisa for including me in this challenge. I like the combination of red and black. I made wire links using the red barrel nuggets, black square spacers, and clear crystals. The links are joined by double jump rings. I find the added texture and security of double rings a plus when designing. The focal is a black flat freeform sea glass flanked by clear crystals and red heishi. I suspended this on a gold curved tube. Then I wrapped red and black seed beads on wire and wound it around the tube for added texture and flair. The necklace is finished with a hook style clasp. I made matching earrings  too. Earrings are something I have not made many of lately but the long white drops spoke earrings to me so here is a second pair. I used red heishi above the drops and dangled red sea glass shapes below.  I have a couple more designs planned with more of the beads and I will post them when they are done. I enjoyed participating in this challenge and I find seeing what other bead artists made with the same materials as me very interesting. To see what everyone else made please click on the following link http://www.bloglovin.com/blogs/a-grateful-artist-pine-ridge-treasures-5006009?post=4171305823&group=0&frame_type=a&context=&context_ids=&blog=5006009&frame=1&click=0&user=0&viewer=true