Today I would like to show my attempt at playing with polymer clay. Back in September Beth Wegner did a make and take at my bead group. She is a polymer clay artist. I made the polk a dot beads and one of the swirled beads that day. Not long ago I was doing a clay piece for something else and I decided that while I was firing I would try a couple of polymer clay headpins. I used clay that was left from the September class and made these. They are my first decorated headpins and I am proud of them.

This is my first tutorial. My bead group has an annual Demo & Do Day and I will be teaching this bracelet. I usually just sit down and make something so it was a different experience to write it out as I worked. I wanted to use some of the new beads that have come out in the last couple of years and this is what I came up with. I started with a right angle weave base of 8 size 6 seed beads. The next row I stitched pairs of piggy beads in the centers of the squares. I split the side pairs of 6's and added twin beads between them. Then I made picots on the twins with delica beads. I made a button and loop closure. The last row I added copper colored O beads. It was not as scarey as I thought to write a tutorial and I think that I will be doing more of it in the future.

Octoberfest Challenge

Today is the Octoberfest Challenge at http://www.jewelschoolfriends.com/ . The minute I saw this challenge I thought of the copper leaves on a wall sculpture from my friend Ceil and I knew that I would use one of them. However the rest of the necklace turned out nothing like how I pictured it in my head at the start. I associate fall with nature so I decided to use mostly natural elements in my design. After I clipped the leaf from the sculpture I knew it needed copper accents so I made a copper coil with a brown pearl dangle to complete the focal. I hung it from a short copper chain and used a glass tube bead for the bail. The other dangles are two brown pearls and four double 4mm brown Swarovski bicones. My friend Cindy gave me the brownAB faceted glass coins and I thought they would draw the eye to the focal so I strung them front and center. Then I placed four bone discs. The next set of four beads are some kind of seeds that my friend Ruby brought me back from her trip to Hawaii. Following that is another set of the bone discs. Then comes four wood slices from my friend Lori and more bone discs. Following that is a set of four faceted round picture jasper beads and the last set of bone discs. I made the clasp from 16 gague copper wire. Since this necklace has components from so several of my friends it has special meaning to me. I associate copper with fall for it's rich color so this necklace is a perfect example of fall to me. I hope that you like my design. Please click on the link above to see what the other participants made for this challenge. Thank you Rita for hosting  this challenge I really enjoyed making this necklace.

Today is Jeannie Dukic of wheethepeople2.wordpress.com Do Over Challenge 8. The picture above is the necklace that I received from her to redo. I like all the color but I think that together they were too much so I separated them into two necklaces.  I always find these challenges fun. It is interesting to look at something with new eyes.

This is the first necklace that I made. I liked the purple nuggets and the large red rounds together.   I put the red rounds front and center and  I separated them with black glass rondelles and added three hematite drops for interest. The added color idea came from the veining in the red rounds. Next I added hematite colored peanut beads between the nugget clusters for texture.   A simple snap clasp finishes this necklace. I apologize for the fuzzy pic but I am having some issues with my camera.

Necklace number two uses the pretty green faceted drops and the silver flower focal from Jeannie's necklace. Between the pairs of drops I put large navy blue pearls. Separating the pairs I used some silver flat rounds with flowers on them to coordinate with the silver flower focal. Silver chain and a toggle clasp finish this simple necklace.  I think that this piece is very wearable and showcases the drops better that the original necklace does. I used all of the beads in the original necklace in these two pieces and only have bead caps, spacers and the clasp left. To see what the other participants did please click on the link above.

The necklace I am showing today is a triple spiral rope. I have had it stitched for months but I never put the clasp on until yesterday. I am looking forward to wearing this fun piece. It is stitched in my  favorite colors including purple which I have been gravitating to lately. I like spiral ropes. They are fun to stitch and work up fast.

Bad blogger. That is me. I can not believe it has been so long since I have blogged. Sometimes life just gets in the way of my doing the things that I enjoy. Beading is truly the passion in my life. I want others to feel that joy and I relish passing on any information about beading to others.  Most of the jewelry that I have been designing has been for challenges and I can't show it until the appropriate dates. I did make one set for a friend of my son's but I forgot to take pics before it left. The necklace shown above is one that I made at Bead Retreat. Doris Coghill showed us how to do three bead netting with the new 2 hole beads. It worked up fast and was fun. The straps are super duo's and seed beads and the center is 2hole triangles and seeds in the opposite color of the straps. Lentils would also work. If you have been reading my blog for very long you would know that blue and especially the aqua shade are the color that I use most frequently. I guess I must be in my purple phase right now as I find myself picking shades of purple much more often now.

Today's post is for the gemstone and metal blog hop hosted by Lisa Lodge. The gemstone I received is Picture Jasper and the metal is brass. I added very little from my own stash. Here is what I designed.

A two strand necklace, a bracelet and a pair of earrings. The drops wanted to be front and center so I made five dangles with the center one being longer. The drops are at the bottom followed by a brown glass bicone. Next I used a jasper faceted round, followed by another bicone. The top is a round brass spiral. I added the brown glass bicones from my stash to make the dangles stand out. The outside row is made with the larger Picture Jasper squares. Between the squares I used two of the brass bicones and some tiny titanium coated bronze/copper colored cubes. The Jasper squares are in sets of three with size 6 seed beads between them.There are five of the smaller Jasper squares in the center  where the dangles hang. The inner strand mimics the outer by using  the smaller Jasper squares again in sets of three with the seed beads between them. Between the sets are the same brass bicones and cubes used in the outer stands. This center of this strand has two of the larger squares flanking a brass scalloped round that I got from znetshows.com which I wire wrapped with the same brown glass bicone as the dangles. I used the rectangular brass toggle clasp to finish the necklace. The bracelet is made with the larger Jasper squares alternated with the faceted jasper rounds. There are brass bicones between each stone. I chose a Znetshows brass toggle for this piece. The earrings are made on a headpin with a titanium coated cube at the bottom. Then a faceted round Jasper and finally a round brass swirl. I hope that you like my jewelry set. Here is a link to Lisa Lodge's blog. http://www.gratefulartist.blogspot.com/ Below is a list of the participants. Please visit their blogs to see what everyone else made with the kits that they received

Your hostess:  Lisa Lodge, A Grateful Artist

Kim Dworak, Cianci Blue

Marybeth Rich, A Few Words from within the Pines

Karen Grosset Grange, Ginkgo et Coquelicot

Veralynne Malone, Designed by Vera

Katrina Taylor, I Wanna Go Out

Ann Schroeder, Bead Love

Kathleen Breeding, 99 Bottles of Beads on the Wall

Terri Wlaschin, Dances in Fog

Margaret Pelech, Big Margaret

Jo-Ann Woolverton, It's a Beadiful Creation

Kathy Zeigler Lindemer, Bay Moon Design

Heather Richter, Desert Jewelry Designs

Carolyn Lawson, Carolyn's Creations

Toltec  Jewels, Jewel School Friends

Melissa Trudinger, Bead Recipes

Shaiha Williams, Shaiha's Ramblings

Chris Eisenberg, Wanderware (May be delayed a few days)

Eleanor Burian Moore, The Charmed Life

Christine Stonefield, Sweet Girl Design

Robin Reed, Artistry HCBD

Laurie Vyselaar, Lefthand Jewelry

Cassi Renee Paslick, Beads: Rolling Downhill

Crystal Thain, Here Bead Dragons

Alicia Marinache, All the Pretty Things (May be delayed a few days)

Becky Pancake, Becky Pancake Bead Designs

Judy Campbell, Macmillanmarie Jewellery Design

Nan Smith, Handmade Jewelry Nanmade

Marde Lowe, FanciMarDesigns

Linda Anderson, From the Bead Board

Leithleach Alainn Seodra, Alainn Jewelry

Lisa E. Prewitt Knappenberger, LiRaysa Designs
Paige Maxim, Paige Maxim Designs