Thursday, May 30, 2013

New Beach Glass Beads from ZnetShows

UPDATED, keep scrolling to see my new designs... THX

Bill has done it again!  He has asked several of us jewelry designers to create some beautiful jewelry with their new baby CONCH beach glass beads .  These are smaller than the older CONCH beach glass beads 

I really like these little shells a lot.  They are small enough to make earrings, not too heavy either.  They are also great in necklaces and bracelets.  I really like how they sound too when you wear them.  They make a little music on your wrist when worn...  As you know, I love glass and metal mixed together.






MORE DESIGNS COMING SOON!!!


Aside from jewelry, I have created these cute little mermaid cloth dolls.  All of the beads I used are from ZnetShows.  Notice the flippers... One thing I thought would be fun was to add a little glitter to the beach glass beads for bling!  See how pretty these dolls turned out?  I am sad though...well..actually happy because they are going to a new home soon.  These were created for a Mermaid Pin Doll Swap for DOLL STREET DREAMERS, a group I belong to online.  We have these swaps several times a year.

I will be making a tutorial on how to make these fun little girls this summer.  Please let me know if you would be interested in learning how to make them.  I will notify you once I have the tutorial available.






I found some really cheap fingernail polish at Walgreens and it was a perfect match for the flippers. I only wanted to add some to the edges and not on the entire sea glass bead.  I think it would be overkill on the glitter...but then again, one can never have enough glitter...LOL

Thanks again, for stopping by!

More designs created for this challenge... June 11 Update!!


I had seen lots of beautiful jewelry created with oval rings and thought this piece would be perfect with the oval wire wrapped ring.  My first attempt was a flop..LOL  I wasnt holding on to the seed beads the right way, but once I figured it out..piece of cake..well..LOL  It took me some time to wrap the entire ring, but not too bad.  My fingers did not like it that much but hey...the final piece turned out pretty good dont you think??  hehehe


I really like this pair a lot.  It took me some time to decide what I was going to do with the green mini conch beads.  I like to mix up my colors a bit to add more interest instead of being all monochromatic.  I still have a few of the mini conch beads to work with, I just havent decided yet what I am going to do with them... Too many little projects going on all at the same time...but..that is how I create the best I think...



Saturday, May 25, 2013

Bead Soup Mix Contest

Wow...  I think I have had some good luck vibes passed on by my family and friends...  I had entered in the Blog Soup Mix contest that is on Pinterest presented by Lori Anderson.

Today was the reveal of the contest.  I am so excited, honored and happy to say that I won USE OF COLOR.  Now, I dont know what I am getting yet, its all up to those who voted for me.  You can check out the entire list of winners at Lori's Pretty Things blog.

There were 900 entries...WOW



Congratulations to Kris Lanae Cherish Designs Grand Prize Winner

A SPECIAL "THANK YOU" TO MY SOUP PARTNER - KELLY FOR GIVING ME THE BEST BEADS.....

Friday, May 24, 2013

ZnetShows Blog: Diamonds in the Rough Winners

YUP, WE DID IT!  WHOOOHOO.... THANKS to EVERYBODY who voted for my pieces...  I won first and second place.  I knew I was in the lead with one of my designs but was not sure of the Banana Split earrings.  There were so many beautiful pieces there to chose from.

FIRST PLACE
SECOND PLACE



It was a fun challenge to do.

A Special THANKS to ZnetShows for putting this challenge together... and to Abby for keeping us entertained...LOL she is just the cutest little girl..

ZnetShows Blog: Diamonds in the Rough Winners: The results are in for the top winners in the "Diamonds in the Rough" Challenge . As you may remember, we narrowed down the entrie...

My little cuties!

I belong to a doll group called DOLL STREET DREAMERS where we like to chat and learn from each other.  We also do doll swaps.  Our newest swap is Mermaid Pins.  They can not be any longer than 5-6 inches.  I decided I was going to make small ones, Doris and Sabrina.

Both dolls are made the same way, they just look different.  I made my own little pattern which is barely 3 1/2 inches long and 1 3/4 inches wide.  They both have a belly button and a little butt!  Since I am now doing more enameling with a torch, I decided to enamel these little starfish charms I have had for a very long time.  I think they turned out rather fun!  I like the texture and color variation.  I also used a face mold which I purchased some years ago from Michaels.  I added cute little ears and kind of did a little reshaping of the faces.  I used hand charms for their flippers and did a little bead work around their heads and on their bodies.  Their hair is natural Cotswold Sheep Locks from La Tea Da Designs on Etsy.  I have purchased natural wools from her several times and love her fibers.  For the flippers, I used Cultured Sea Glass from ZnetShows.  I really think the flippers are so cute.  I have seen glittered finger nail polish put on other matte type beads, I might add a little on my next dolls or maybe even on these.

I hope you like my little cuties and please feel free to leave a comment...

THANKS...

Chris



Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Diamonds in the Rough - Top 20 VOTE!

Diamonds in the Rough - Top 20 VOTE!  Today is the last day!  Please take a peek at all of the beautiful pieces and LIKE your favorite one!

THANKS..

Thursday, May 09, 2013

"Diamonds in the Rough" ZnetShows Challenge

This is going to sound like an advertisement but, I am addicted to ZnetShows "wholesale beads". I really am. Not only am I a designer for them now, but I almost feel like part of the family!  LOL...well, maybe cousins.  Bill and his crew are so nice there and I love getting all of the great beads to work with from them. Last month, Bill proposed a new challenge, Diamonds in the Rough.  We had a huge list to pick from and sent in our request for the beads we liked.  I have to admit that I did not use all of the beads for this challenge, but what I did use, I had lots of fun playing. And what I didnt use is only because I ran out of time. I still have some beautiful beads to work with and I will over the summer put some awesome designs together. So, below is the long list of the designs I created.  Each piece has a list of beads where you can find the beads to take a better look and perhaps if you like them enough, you may want to pick up a few.

Enjoy...and dont forget to share my blog with your friends :-)

First, you need to see the mix of beads I picked out.  Arent they beautiful?  There are so many different designs I can make with all of these.  Time is something I just didnt have this time around but hey, its all good.  Below are all the one's I did get to make.  I hope you like what you see.





BANANA SPLIT 




I honestly am not sure why I call these “Banana Split”, but I feel like that is the right name for them.  When I saw the beads on Bills website, I just knew I had to have them.  I don’t wear a lot of yellow but I do love the color.  The shape also caught my attention.  I really do like oval beads, there is just something about them that are catchy to the eye!  These are wrapped with tiny #3 round beads with a mixture of white, yellows and a hint of brown.  The ear wires are twisted and hammered which I just love the texture.
  
Copper wire
BDS384-08 - medium yellow jasper marquise spindle Beads faceted top side drilled 20x10mm 0 


 Orange Smoothie

OMGosh, if you have never held the Carnelian gemstones in your hands, it’s a must!  They are sooo smooth and …  just smooooooth…  I just love touching them, its so weird.  I guess I am a very tactile person and these beads are fun to put in your hands.  I decided to make these beauties dangle freely with lots of copper wire wrapped around them.  I really like to see a mixture of shapes in jewelry, it adds so much more interest and a little chaos.  My kind of mix…

BDS367-26 - silver leaf rondelle Beads faceted 8x5mm 0   
SCBDG142-22Cube Beads ..Carnelian Gemstone Cube
BDS1669-06 - heat-treated carnelian tusk Beads about 24x6-12x4mm 0
BDS1845-09 aquamarine rondelle Beads about 7x5mm 0 multicolor more greenish



For some reason, I could not come up with a name for this pair.  I dont always have names, but they tend to make the jewelry piece have a purpose.  These are very pretty in person.  The Aquamarine stone is actually a tad darker than what you see here.  They are a little difficult to photograph being that they allow light to show through, you can even see the wire through the beads.  I love this look.  I love goldstone gems too, they are so sparkly  and add that hint of elegance to the earring.  Again, these are really beautiful in person.

BDS367-26 - silver leaf rondelle Beads faceted 8x5mm 0  
BDS367-08Faceted Gemstone Rondelle Goldstone
aquamarine oval puffed Beads about 18x13mm 0 BDS1705-205
SCBDG142-24 - green aventurine cube Beads 4mm 0



My Diamonds

Diamonds in the Rough really fits this pair of earrings well.  The Aventurine  stones are amazing don’t you think?  And to add some glam, I used beautiful Asian crystal rondelle beads to add that sparkle.  This pair really was fun to create.  You will see that most of my designs are made with copper.  It is my favorite metal to work with.  Besides being inexpensive, its very easy to find and buy.  I don’t have to order any of the wire.  In fact, if you go to a hardware store, you can get the wire in just about any size you want, and its sooooo pretty.  


BDS381-03Faceted Diamond Shape Beads red aventurine
BDS381-02 - green aventurine diamond Beads faceted diagonal drilled 10x10mm 


MACHA

Ok, I will admit, these are the best of all!  I absolutely love this pair of earrings. I just love the shape of  the Aventurine teardrop bead.  Its faceted, shiny, has lots of speckles in the bead itself and is just so pretty.  I didn’t go with copper on this set.  I think the silver is a perfect fit in this case.  Although I think I would like to  make a pair with copper to see how different it will look.  I really like the cascading beads going from small beads to the larger ones. I can say the only downside, if there is one, is they are slightly heavy.  I can wear them rather comfortably, but some of my customers have commented that they can not wear heavy earrings.  So, just be aware that this pair could possibly be a little heavy.


SCBDG142-22Cube Beads .. Gemstone Cube Beads natural carnelian
SCBDG142-24Cube Beads .. Gemstone Cube Beads green aventurine
BDG166-02 - green aventurine fancy teardrop Beads faceted tip-drilled 25x15mm 0

Goldstone Speckles

Yup, these beads sparkle.  I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to create with these. Then I suddenly realized I didn’t have any kind of hooped earrings in the mix.  I had some other ideas but this one stuck in my head the most.  I know they would make a great bracelet if I just had a little more time before this challenge was over I could have put something together.  I still might try .  I can see these beads with some beautiful Asian crystals in between…hmmm

BDS367-08Faceted Gemstone Rondelle Goldstone
BDS1757-05 - goldstone coin puffed Beads 14mm 0 




 Bits of Earth

See those huge amazing beads?  Brown, black, white and clear. Oh me oh my, I just absolutely think they are amazing.  I love rocks, stones, shells and all those fun pieces that are made from our own Mother Earth.  It just amazes me how she can create such beautiful pieces which we recreate into something we can cherish for many years.  This necklace is quite long, but is very lovely.  I used black annealed steal wire to put the pieces together.  Steel wire is a different look and feel than copper.  It can be a little messy but looks so nice once its all pieced together. There is a mix of chips, cubes, carnelian tusks , twisted onyx, and kyanite, it doesn’t get better than that!

S3-06Gemstone Chips Group A multicolor rutilated quartz
BDS1787-01 - kyanite rectangle Beads 16x12mm Grade A 0 
BDS1201-08 - black onyx trapezoid Beads twisted 40x20mm
BDS1669-06 - heat-treated carnelian tusk Beads about 24x6-12x4mm 0
SCBDG142-24A - green aventurine cube Beads 6mm 0 


 Crackled

Ok, silly name, but perfectly appropriate for these fun fire agate beads don’t you think?  When I chose these beads, the definitely did NOT remind me of diamonds, but in the rough..oh yea!  Agate is such an interesting  gemstone. These are actually dyed to make them look so cool.  These beads have large holes so I wanted to do some kind of macrame.  Then I found an interesting tutorial online, maybe even on Pinterest, about these Shamballa bracelets.  Very simple to make.  I think the next one I make will be with just the smaller beads.  I had lots of compliments on the  bracelet when I wore it at a local event.


BDS1593-09 - Fire agate rondelle Beads about 17x12mm 0 -dyed yellow with green color 
BDS1593-10 Fire agate rondelle Beads about 10x8mm 0 -dyed yellow and green color 

OH, and dont forget to check out all of the other Designers for the challenge, you will love every piece of jewelry Im sure!  THANKS FOR STOPPING BY...  For more pictures of these designs, please visit my FLICKR site

















Monday, May 06, 2013

Barbara Lewis Video

I am so glad that I purchased Barbara Lewis's book "Painting With Fire"  I have learned so much from her.  I thought I would also share her video.  Its a really great video on working with creating enameled compound shapes.  I am still lacking a few tools to make these but not for long.  I am going to be ordering my goodies...

Enjoy the video and take a peek at her website when you get a chance.


 

Sunday, May 05, 2013

Bullet Beauties 2013

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My newest Bullet Beauties. You can find these for sale at https://handmadeartists.com/shop/wingsnscales