Kalmbach's Bead Soup's On,...

Welcome to my little cup of Bead Soup! 

Back in September I got a package from Kalmbach Publishing with some 'Bead Soup' from Bead World of Glendale, AZ in the mail.   This was in conjunction with Lori Anderson's new book, Bead Soup (which is a fantastic book and is so unique as far as beading and jewelry instruction books go!)

 

 

Here's the original post where I told you how excited I was to receive some 'Bead Soup' from Bead World, a place I regularly shop at (bead soups were sent from bead stores from all over the place to tons of people!).

And just look how fun the beads are that they sent me, too!

    I popped in to Bead World and shared my little goodies with the girls in the store and snapped a couple of pics and now it's time to see what I finally created with the yummy pieces of goodness they so graciously sent my way.
 

 

 

I stewed and stewed (no bead soup pun intended!) over what to create - nothing looked quite right and I haven't worked with crystals for a little while and all these beautiful shiny beads were just 'blinging' back at me. 

Did I want to hand knot something, did I want a link style bead chain,...should I wire wrap a cool pendant necklace or bracelet or should I string something?
Nothing seemed to fit, at least at first anyway.

 

Here's what I finally decided on.

 

 

 

These are the earrings I created to go with it.

 

I created these with some Swarovski Crystal Circle Pendants (don't ya just love those!!) and some chain and jump rings from my own stash and a few of the beads from my bead soup.

 

 

Here's the Set Together

 

 

 

 

I decided I wanted the lamp work pendant bead to really stand out,

and this style and design seemed to do this it quite well.

 

 

 

 

 

I tried to put one of the Swarovski Crystal Circles in the necklace,..but it just wasn't working for me.

 

 

 

 

I decided to name her Desert Gypsy because she reminds me of the Belly Dance costumes my sister would make to wear in her dance classes - they were always so amazing!!

 

 

 

 

And because it reminds me of the colors of the beautiful Arizona Desert!

 

I wanted to make a bracelet out the remaining beads, but I haven't quite decided how I want that to be yet. 

 

 

Thanks to everyone over at Kalmbach for doing this great Bead Soup Promotion for Lori Anderson's new book, "Bead Soup" - this sure was fun!

 

And, thanks to all the great folks from Bead World - you know how much I appreciate you!!

 

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Desert Gypsies!

 

 

 

Cheers,

~Shel~

 

Have You Seen,....

The November issue of Bead Trends Magazine?

 

 

 

Well, you are in for a treat!

 

The Fall/Autumn inspiration in the November issue of Bead Trends is phenomenal!

 

I fell in love with Kristin Oppold's "Love is Seasonless" Necklace which she designed with her mother in mind when she was ill with cancer. Not only is the necklace beautiful and inspiring, so are Kristin's words about her mother! 

(Pages 84-87)

 

Next I have to give a nod to fellow Phoenician, Sara Oehler. Her Jewel School Article (Pages 68-72) is so cool - I mean seriously - she has created these beautifully colorful bracelets with Soft Flex Beading Wire (my FAV!) and crystals - and they are macarame!! Awesome!! 

 

The cover piece, designed by Wenche Brennbakk is so pretty and loaded with gorgeous pearls!! (Pearls!!) and then Kristy Abner's "Vintage Romance" necklace completely sets the stage for all those cool fall nights you'll have sitting with your sweetie by the fire!  (Pages 12-13).

 

And of course the 'beachy-girl' in me was dropping my jaw on my desk as I came across Joanne Shockey's "Silver Beach Bracelet!  (Pages 18-19)  It's a stunner, let me tell you!!

 

And the Designer Highlight on Andria McKee is fantastic!  Her designs are the kind you will want to wear every day! (Pages46-57).

 

Although I cannot share the entire magazine with you (you'll have to get your own copy!!) I can tell you that I was super fortunate enough to have two of my designs in the November issue of Bead Trends as well. 

 

 

 

My "Stick Around Town" Earrings from my Urban Chaos Collection are beautifully photographed on pages 42-43 and my "Everyday Glitters" leather and rhinestone chain wrapped bracelet can be seen on pages 80-81!

 

 

 

Insert "Happy Squeals" right here!!!

 

Thanks to Tatia Meyer and everyone over at Bead Trends for all the fabulous work you do each month in Bead Trends. The photographs are always so wonderful and the articles and projects are ones that capture our attention and keep us excited about what we do!!

 

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Happy Squeals!

Cheers,

~Shel~

Door Porn!

Click here to see
My Bead Table Blog Hop
from Saturday, October 13th.


Happy Sunday Folks!

 

 

I have what some people might refer to as a slight obsession with photographing doors (peeling paint, rusty key holes, iron work and all that yummy stuff that goes with doors.)

Click to enlarge photos to see details ;-)

 

 

While I was on vacation last month I had the most wonderful opportunites to snap a bunch of photos of some of the above mentioned subjects.

Yep, I went to Door Heaven!!

Oh, the textures!  And the colors,

And the intricate details,....OMG!!

 

 

 

 

The angles at which I was able to take photos wasn't always my first choice, nor did they all come out the way I wanted them to - but at least I have them. 
 

Napoleon's "Boat Park" Door - Venice, Italy

If not the way I want them on my computer,
I have them the way I want them in my mind!! ;-)
 

This was one COOL Cat!!

 

I'm linking up with I Heart Macro over at

Studio Waterstone today.

Sill So Regal!

 

 

If you get the chance, hop on over and check out all the super-cool macro shots that people have posted  - they're always drool-worthy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Until Next Time,

 

 Peace, Love and Door Porn!

  

 

Cheers,

~Shel~
 

My Bead Table Blog Hop - Revealed!!

 

Remember here, when I showed you what Lisa,

of A Grateful Artist / Pine Ridge Treasures,

had so graciously sent me for the Bead Table Blog Hop she was hosting? 

 

And how I told you what a challenge it would be for me since so many of the beads she sent were ones I didn't normally design with?

 

Well today's the day you get to see what I, along with the other participants, created with our stash of goodies!

 

Everyone was sent something different from Lisa's bead table and we were instructed to create things using her 'bead table stash' along with little goodies from our own bead tables. We were instructed not to purchase anything (if possible) to go along with our beads we were sent and to be as creative as possible.

So, out of the above goodies that I was sent, here's what they morphed into,....

 

First up, there's the Red, White And Blue beads which completely captured my attention - I love Red, White and Blue (Go Wildcats!!)  Of course this will get worn over the 4th of July, but also during all the U of A games!!  I know,...I live in Phoenix not Tucson any more but, I'm a Wildcat fan, what can I say!?! 

 

I took the mother-of pearl pendant that was in the bunch that Lisa sent and mixed in the blue glass rectangle beads (that remind me of Italy, by the way!) and the red disks,...and a few little seed beads and then used one of the lucite flowers and the 'blue coral' beads in the little dangles and another lucite flower as the clasp / connector.  From my own bead table I used the blue seed beads in navy and a mixed blue/white color and I knotted everything on some S-Lon cording. (the bead shop where I shop doesn't carry C-lon and S-lon and C-lon are basically the same material,...mostly the same colors/sizes, too - just FYI). Oh, and I tied on a little bow of recycled Sari Silk that I got from Hampton Artistic Yarns over on Etsy.

 

That little silver sun charm kept yelling for my attention as did all those yellow and orange beads (Colors I don't normally work with, but that I love and that always capture my attention!)

And then there were all the lucite flowers,....oh boy, what to do with these - this was the challenge!  I don't use much lucite, acrylic or plastics in my work and even less flowers,.....so these were super hard to get in the 'zone' with.  I love how all my fellow beady-peeps I follow can make these sweet flowers look so wonderful and appealing in their designs - me,....not so much. They look forced and  way weird when I use them. That's how I feel, anyway.

However, these earrings happened quite easily,....and they make me want to have spring all over again, even though I love Autumn! 

 

 

And then, I'd read a post (so wish I could remember where,...it was from a department store,...I think??  oh well, anyway) and the post had this link to a video showing how to creatively wear brooches,...Was is Nieman Marcus? Oh poo!! It wasn't, but for the life of me I didn't save it and cannot find it - anyway - back to what I created. 

 

I wanted to create something I don't make very often but really enjoy designing, so I made a fibula/brooch and used the yellow and orange beads and flowers Lisa sent along with 16g sterling silver wire and then wrapped the beads with some pretty green craft wire to make it seem more like a garden. 

 

 

It reminds me of Rome,...not because Fibulae is the Latin term for the ancient Roman brooch, but because of the sun and golden colors of the beads and because it was bright and sunny and the grass was such a lovely color of green last month when I was walking through the Palentino and the Forum and there were gardens,...and I'm getting side-tracked again!  (see,...Sidetracked Shelly!! But, you see where my inspiration came from now, right?)

 

 

So, last, I turned my attention back to the blue beads,....it's a safe bet,..me and blue!

 

I wanted to knot some of these cute blue beads into earrings and I had been leafing through my copy of Erin Siegel and Lorelei Eurto's Bohemian Inspired jewelry book again last weekend and remembered Erin's Vintage Glam earrings from page 34 and decided that something similar to those would be nice, so here's what became of those pretty blue beads and that idea:

 

 

I think these will be fun with some jeans, a white-T and of course,....a blue jean jacket!

 

I still have tons of beads left over from what Lisa sent me, but I used as many as I could for now. 

 

I do have plans for those blue Lucite pods,...earrings of course!  When I get those created I'll post them here on the blog for you to see. 

 

I want to thank Lisa for sponsoring and hosting such an enjoyable challenge.  It really stretched my creativity and was a ton of fun!!

 

Please hop on over to each one of the participant's blogs below and check out all the lovely pieces they've created - I know you will be impressed!!
 

 

My Bead Table Blog HopYour Host: Lisa Lodge
 

Molly Alexander, Beautifully Broken Me

Audrey Belanger, Dreams of an Absolution

Ginger Bishop, lilmummy likes...

Tanya Boden, Fusion Muse

Lisa Boucher, Lisa’s Clay Happenings

Michelle Buettner, Mishel Designs (You Are Here!)

Eleanor Burian-Mohr, The Charmed Life

Mikala Coates, Maybe Just Perhaps

Marlene Cupo, Amazing Designs

Kathleen Douglas, Washoe Kat's

Mary Anne Klinglesmith Flesch, Hand Crafted Serenity

Therese Frank, Therese's Treasures

Mary Govaars, MLH Jewelry Designs

Tanya Goodwin, A Work in Progress

Mary Hicks, Falling Into the Sky

Tina Holden, Polymer Clay Bytes!

Shelly Joyce, Au jour le jour

Carolyn Lawson, Carolyn's Creations

Kathy Lindemer, Bay Moon Design

Susan Lloyd, Designs by Susan

Cynthia Machata, Antiquity Travelers

Kashmira Patel, Sadafule .. always in bloom!

Inge von Roos, Inge's Blog

Kristen Stevens, My Bead Journey

Sonya Stille, Dreamin' of Beads

Christine Stonefield, Sweet Girl Design

Toltec Jewels, Jewel School Friends

Norma Turvey, Moonlit Fantaseas

Sandra Wollberg, City of Brass Stories

 

 

Until Next Time,

 

Peace, Love and Beads from My Bead Table (and Lisa's)!

 

 

Cheers,

~Shel~

 

SGS Design Team - Component Preview!

Look what I received in the mail not long ago!

(Happy Squeals!!) 

 

Brown Stoneware Pendant by Diana of Suburban Girl Studio

 

 

It's the component for the

Suburban Girl Studio Design Team Fall Challenge.

 

I know,....It's so beautiful and perfect, isn't it?! 

 

Diana creates such lovely pieces!

 

You really should hop on over to her Etsy Bead Shop and check out her work - you won't be sorry!

 

Oh, and a little side-note,...everyone on the design team got one of my 'blackened' copper swirl clasps

to add to their fall design.  

 

 

 

I thought that was nice of Diana to let me include one for everybody.

 

Hop back on over here on Thursday, November 1st and see what everyone on the team has designed for fall.

 

Fall's one of my favorite themes to design around, so I'm excited about this. 

 

Guess it's time to get my bum in gear and get busy, huh?!

 

Until Next Time,

 

Peace, Love and "Hearting" Falling Leaves!!

 

 

Cheers,

~Shel~

Echo Creative - See What I Got!

I wanted to share with you the lovely components that Jeannie Dukic (Jewelry By Jeannie) sent me for the next two Echo Creative Club Design Team Reveals.

 

 

 

Oh quick,...shut your mouth,...you don't want drool spilling over onto the keyboard! 

I'm really in love with this beautiful Cherry Blossom - aren't you?  Although I take a lot of pictures of flowers, I don't particularly design with them that often, so this will be a great challenge for me.

 

 

 

 

And oh this Aspen Leaf is just super!

I really love fall colors and leaves!

 

 

 

 

I'm able to participate in both the October and the November Reveals, so Jeannie sent me both pieces together and said I can choose which one I want use this month and which I want to use next month.

I am choosing to use the Cherry Blossom pendant this month and the Aspen Leaf for November.

 

Come back here on Thursday, the 25th of October and you can see what all the participants have created for October!

 

Until Next Time,

 

 

 

Peace, Love and Echo Creative Goodness!

 

Cheers,

~Shel~

Macro Desert Fun!

I Heart Macro - It's Sunday!

 

(As always,...click the photos to enlarge them)

 

 

Yesterday we went out to Canyon Raceway to let the "Masked Rider" have some fun on a real track.

 

 

 

He's usually just blazin' his own trails out in the desert, kind of practicing for the Baja races that he eventually would like to run in.

 

He said it was fun. He didn't ride the national track yesterday, just the vet-track because they were getting ready for a big race that's taking place out there today and so there were tons of kids riding, jumping, flying through the air,...making me nervous.

 

 

 

 

With the exception of a few other guys, he basically had the vet-track all to himself; which he said was awesome!

 

 

 

It was great watching him have so much fun and I loved trying to get pics (wish these would have turned out better - I might need a different camera than a point and click to get the type of pics I want).

 

I got to take in some lovely desert landscape, too. 

 

 

 

 

It's amazing what you can see in the cacti up close - see the ants?  They were running all over the place!

 

 

 

 

The "Masked Rider" and the hubby are going back out today to do some track-free, desert riding.

 

I won't be at the bottom of any hills or standing in the middle of a track trying to get pics, so he can ride with out me getting in the way this time. 

 

 

 

 

 

How much you wanna bet he comes home and says, "Mom!  You should have seen it!  I got so much air and did the most awesome riding!"  Yep, that's how it always goes!!

 

I'm linking up with I Heart Macro

over at Studio Waterstone today.

 

 

 

 

The macro shots over there are always drool-worthy!

 

 

 

 

Until Next Time,

 

Peace, Love and Hangin' in the Desert!

 

 

 

 

Cheers,

~Shel~