Becky Pancake Bead Designs

Bead Peeps is having their swap and  hop reveal today. Each participant was given a partner and we exchanged beads with our partner. The pic above is the kit I sent my partner Renetha Stanziano. Her blog is http://lamplightcrafts.blogspot.com/ please be sure to visit her blog to see what she made with these beads. I enjoyed having her as a partner.

This is what I received from Renetha. Isn't  it a great kit of bead to work with? What a coincidence  we both chose many of the same colors for each other.

The first piece that I created was this shibori silk ribbon bracelet. I have wanted to make one of these for a really long time. Since I received this wonderful ribbon in my kit I knew that it was time. Bead embroidery is my favorite technique to do.  I am thrilled with how it turned out. The silk, lilac glass flowers, purple faceted cabochon, purple pearls, and many of the accent beads all came in my kit.

My second piece was created using the striped lampworked round beads. The color in these is great. I made circular components using herringbone stitch. I learned this technique at a Demo & Do class our bead society has. The technique was taught by Laura Luepke. This fun necklace has a summer feel to me.

For piece number three I did bead embroidery around the gorgeous lampworked focal bead from Renetha. The lampwork was made by Alexandra. I used the rest of the purple pearls and fire polished beads from my kit as accents. The clasp was also in my kit. Matte gold fire polished beads help show off the wonderful color in the lampworked bead. The purple pearl at the bottom of the focal came from a friend of mine who has passed away so this necklace is special to me.

My final necklace has another lovely lampworked bead from my kit. I framed it with the curved gold tubes from my kit plus a few bicone crystals. I used gold wire to make the frame sturdy and to create a bail. I ended the wire with spirals for a little flair. The straps were made on a kumihimo disc using the focal bead colors. I chose cones for the ends. I colored them with patina ink. A gold toggle is used for the closure. I still have lots of beads left to play with including the copper links and another lovely lampworked bead.
I enjoyed being a part of this fun challenge. Thank you to the ladies who put in the effort required to make this hop happen. To see what the other participants created please go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/beadPeeps/