Art Bead Scene....Beneath the Sea Challenge

I am one of the new team members for Art Bead Scene....and I

couldn't be more honored or excited!  This months challenge revolves

around a painting that is over 350 years old and it is all about goodies from

Beneath the Sea.

I picked out the honey and brown tones and made a batch of sea shells out of

ceramic clay.  I made some connectors to keep the flow of the necklace moving.

I also used a few of my new crescent roll up beads, a 16g wire swirl accent seed beads,

 antique bronze chain, a fun fish lobster claw clasp and wax linen.  The earrings are wire

 wrapped with 24g antique bronze wire and seed bead accents.

Here is a close up picture of the earrings

I hope you like my design!  I plan on taking it to a gallery that is on

Captiva Island, near Fort Myers, Florida.  A lucky lady will scoop up

this treasure set from Beneath the Sea!

If you'd like to learn more about me and my ceramic beads, please visit

www.potterybeads.com

We're All Ears Tide Pool Earring Challenge

The ocean is my favorite jewelry design theme.  I live in Florida, but don't visit
the beach as often as I should.  This is my first Earring Everyday blog hop, so
I just couldn't resist exploring tide pools and what it means for earring design.

This first pair highlights my new ceramic starfish beads.  I paired them with artisan made
lampwork, swarovski crystals and antique bronze findings.  The headpins are from
Havana Beads and the discs are from HMB Designs.

This pair features a another new ceramic design....earring hoops.  This pair is
glazed with shades of teal and copper.  I paired them with lampwork beads that
I received in a swap, so the artist is unknown.  I finished them with swarovski
crystal and antique copper findings.

Last but not least, my ceramic nautilus shell and mini sand dollar charms are paired
with swarovski crystal dangles, silver beads and fun silver earring wires.

If you'd like to see more of my ceramic beads, please visit www.fireflydesignstudio.etsy.com
or on Face Book visit www.facebook.com/groups/CeramicArtBeadMarket/

To see what other wonderful designers came up with for this blog hop challenge,
please visit www.earrings-everyday.blogspot.com

Splendid Procession Design Challenge

Aren't these colors luxurious?  I always love receiving my challenge kit from

our host, Andrew Thornton.  He puts wonderful goodies together for us to be

inspired.  I immediately was drawn to the mystery component, a polymer clay

butterfly wing made by Andrew.  Here it is!

And this is what else was included

I am addicted to wax linen, so I pulled that out of the kit right away for my stringing

material.  And that large pink flower was calling my name.  I still am super busy in my

ceramic bead studio from being away to Bead and Button, so I knew I would only have

time to make 1 piece, so I would design a necklace, of course!  I really loved the gem

stone chip mix, but the wax linen was too thick for the bead holes.  So plan B....green

seed beaded chain with wax linen knotted "spacers".  I always, OK 95% of the time,

have to add at least one of my handmade ceramic beads to the design.  I glazed a green

8mm spacer bead for the middle of the flower and made a white and pink porcelain toggle

with a handmade toggle bar, for the clasp.  Here it is!

Here's a close up of the clasp and pendant:

The trick to getting the flower to lay flat is to bend your wire (I like 20g) in half
and put the middle point through the back of the flower and small bead.  Bring it up about
 an inch and bend it 90 degrees with your pliers.  I then use my fingers to swirl the wire
 over  the  bead hole.  At the back of the flower you have the two wire tails.  Take one
down  to attach the pendant and take one up to attach to your design.  Hope that makes sense!

I really enjoyed this challenge and I am really happy with the way my necklace turned out.

I hope you like it, too!  Please hop around the following designers blogs to see what

they designed with this lovely bead mix.  And if you'd like to see more of my ceramic

bead creations, you can visit my etsy shop at www.fireflydesignstudio.etsy.com

Shaiha. http://www.shaihasramblings.com/

Alison Herrington http://alisonadorns.blogspot.com/

Tammy Bowman http://innermusejewelry.blogspot.com/

Marybeth Rich http://forestofjewels.blogspot.com/

Ann Schroeder http://www.beadlove.wordpress.com

Andrew Thornton, Laurel Ross, Nancy Noyes-Ward, Kathleen Enniss-Reid, Lisa Mendum, and Debbie Rogers http://andrew-thornton.blogspot.com/

Bead Peeps Swap N Hop Reveal

I had the pleasure of being paired up with Dolores Raml of Crafty D's Creations.

She is a multi talented creator in many craft mediums.  I really had fun going through

all the wonderful things that she included in my swap design kit.  This is what I received:

Here is a close up of the clasp...a bird sitting in a nest!

And the pendant I received was created by Dolores from a spoon!  How cool is that?

Any time you can recycle something is great, but to make it into so beautiful is amazing.

Here is a close up picture of the pendant:

I

I used everything included in my design kit except for the dove charm, 4 lamp work beads

and a few spacer beads.  I added from my stash the waxed linen stringing material, antique

silver chain and earring wires.  This is my finished design:

 

And a close up shot of the earrings:

I plan on gifting this jewelry set to my Mom for Mother's Day because she loved the spoon

pendant so much.  Please visit Dolores's blog at www.craftydscreations.wordpress.com

to see what she created with the ceramic bead goodies that I sent to her!  Also, a big

THANK YOU to Linda Anderson for organizing our swap this year.

 

 



Beading Back Before Time - Early Human

Last time it was all about fossils for me - this time it is all about dinosaurs!
Cave men and women did not have to fear my friendly dino....

 

When I was in Tucson this year, my booth neighbor, Michelle Davis from

Tangible Light Studio, made the cutest lamp work dinosaurs.  There

was my inspiration for the second installment of the Beading Back Before Time

design challenges!  And in green, too....(one of my favorite colors)

I made two 12mm hand rolled ceramic beads and glazed them lime green to accent the

dinosaurs spots.  I used cats eye beads, crystals, silver spacer balls, waxed linen, silk,

closed rings and a lobster claw clasp.  Since the dinosaur bead hole was vertical, I made

a tassel under him with 3 strands of waxed linen.  What a fun necklace!

 

Here is a close up shot of the dinosaur.  He is even smiling!  If you'd like to see more

of  Michelle's lamp work beads, her website is www.tangible-light.com and if

you'd like to see more of my ceramic beads, check out my etsy site at

www.fireflydesignstudio.etsy.com.  Please hop around and check out some other

cool Early Human jewelry designs!

Lindsay Starr, Phantasm Creations: http://phantasmcreation.blogspot.com/…/beading-back-in-time…
Sherri Stokey, Knot Just Macrame: http://www.knotjustmacrame.com/…/beading-back-in-time-revea…
...

Susan Kennedy, Sue Beads: http://suebeads.blogspot.com/…/beading-back-in-time-blog-ho…
Stephanie Sanner Haussler, Pixybug Designs: http://www.pixybugdesigns.blogspot.com/ (not post specific link)
Jean Wells: http://jeanawells.indiemade.com/…/beading-back-time-install…
Jenny Davies-Reazor, http://www.jdaviesreazor.com/…/beading_back_time_blog_hop_r…

 





Frenzied Motion Challenge Reveal

 

The colors in this challenge kit just popped out when I saw it!  This is what I received:

It is so much fun to sort through the bags of bead goodies our challenge host, Andrew

Thornton sends.  My choices go into bracelet, necklace and earring piles.  Sadly I waited

 until the night before the reveal to make my designs.  I just got home from Bead Fest

 Philadelphia, and don't have all my mojo flowing yet!  This is what I managed to design.

 

I switched out the hot pink waxed linen that came in the kit to this lilac shade that was in

my stash.  I used the purple disc beads and square seed beads to make this fun bracelet.  I

wanted my ceramic toggle to be the star in this design.  I really like it!

I loved this oval gemstone.  I paired it with a 12mm round ceramic bead with some

 spacers and end caps.  Viola!  A fun pendant for a simple ribbon necklace.

 

The earrings feature some fun wire wrapping and shimmering crystals,  What's not to love?

I didn't use the mystery component included in the kit.....yet! 

If you'd like to see more of my ceramic beads, please visit my etsy store at

www.fireflydesignstudio.etsy.com.  Please hop around the following designers blogs

to see what they created with this fun kit.  And thanks again to Andrew!

 

Beadsophisticate https://beadsophisticate.wordpress.com

Christina Hickman http://vintagetreasuresjewelry.blogspot.com

Michelle McCarthy http://www.fireflydesignstudio.blogspot.com

Marybeth Rich http://www.forestofjewels.blogspot.com

Alison Herrington http://www.AlisonAdorns.blogspot.com

Ann Schroeder http://www.beadlove.wordpress.com

Andrew Thornton, Laurel Ross, Joanne Goldberg, Lisa Mendum http://andrew-thornton.blogspot.com/

 



 



Spring Awakening Challenge

 

Aren't the colors of spring beautiful?  Bright and fresh with promises of more to come!

This is my third time participating in the challenges hosted by Andrew Thornton.  I will

be challenged next month, but sadly, missed out on May's kit.  I need to be faster next time!

 

Every kit includes a mystery component made by Andrew.  I wanted to make something a

little different this month, so I made a keychain with the polymer clay pendant!

 

The dangles on the chain were hard to photograph....when it isn't laying flat, the dangles

 have great movement!  My car key is going on this in a few minutes.

 

Next I used the waxed linen, Czech glass and carved bead for a fun bracelet.

 

 

I picked out some great bead sets for 3 pairs of earrings and used the leftover waxed linen

pieces with the flower pair.  I love them all!

 

And now for the bead soup that is left over....a random memory wire bracelet!  I made

the 2 owl dangle charms out of ceramic clay to accent the design.  I think it turned out cute!

You can see more of my ceramic beads and pendants at

www.fireflydesignstudio.etsy.com

 

Please hop around to the following challenge blogs to see what my friends designed with

their Spring Awakening Challenge kits....and thank you to our host, Andrew!

 

Paula Kramer http://cavecreekbeads.blogspot.com

Jeanne Steck http://www.gemsbyjeannemarie.blogspot.com/ 

Christina Porter http://queenbeedesignsny.com 

Ann Schroeder http://www.beadlove.wordpress.com

Lennis Carrier http://Windbent.wordpress.com 

Alison Herrington http://www.AlisonAdorns.blogspot.com/ 

Andrew Thornton http://andrew-thornton.blogspot.com