"Winter Enchantment" with Artbeads

Artbeads asked their blog partners to create a ‘Winter Enchantment’ design that represents what you find beautiful or inspirational about the winter season.  Well, this one stumped me because, quite honestly, there’s not much that I find enchanting about winter!

The definition of enchantment is “a magical spell, charm or bewitchment, in traditional fairy tales or fantasy” so I decided to use the literal definition and create a winter fantasy!

"Enchanted Garden"

I cast a magical spell and created an “Enchanted Garden” where roses bloom in the wintertime.  Take the key, unlock the gate and step into my garden...

Roses are climbing everything in sight, a vision of pink against a solid backdrop of ice and snow.  The sun is shining brightly, making everything to sparkle as if it's been sprinkled with glitter.  The sun is warm on your shoulders allowing you to linger and enjoy the beautiful sight just a little while longer....

For my design, I chose Crystal and White Porphyr Czech Fire Polished beads (ice and snow), 10mm Round Silver Foil beads with Pink Roses, and Rose Swarovski Crystals from their glass beads.  I used a sweet little sterling silver skeleton key charm and I also chose a large silver-plated pewter twist ring to hang the key from as if it was a key ring. 

And last but not least I added the silver-plated Leaves Toggle clasp.  I thought it fit with the garden theme and looked like it belonged in a fairy tale.

Thank you, Artbeads, for letting me escape the reality of winter for just a little while!

Disclosure: I am a Blogging for Beaders partner with Artbeads. The above noted items were provided to me free of charge, to be used for design purposes, or for my honest review of them. I have not been paid for my endorsement as it pertains to the products received.

"Victoria Lynn", a Victorian style necklace

"Victoria Lynn"

Quite a long time ago I was the winner of this beautiful focal from the blog of  LLYYNN.  Lynn Davis creates amazing hand cast pewter components.  She describes her pieces as "invented vintage and fauxtiques" and they are awesome!  Please check her blog and her Etsy shop to see more of her work.

This piece has been on my desk since I received it, just waiting for the right thing to come along.  In my last order of wire I ordered "Gunmetal" and it was just the right color for it.  The beads are Czech Fire Polished in a "Luster" mix.  All in all, I think it has a very Victorian look.

  Thanks, Lynn! 

~Today's Quote~

"Every day tell at least one person something you like, admire or appreciate about them."

~Richard Carlson

A "Winning" Combination

"Audrey"

In earlier posts I told about winning a couple of blog giveaways.  This is a combination of beads that I won.   The larger beads are 8mm Fire Polish beads in "Crystal and Rose Porphyr" that I received from Jewelry by Jessica.  (Porphyr beads have "swirled" colors.) The seed beads are some of the seed beads that I received from JustATish.  They're a perfect match!  Thanks again, girls!

The center section is crocheted and I made a matching spool knitted "chain" to connect to each side.  I originally planned on attaching regular chain but nothing I had looked right so I decided to add the spool knitted pieces.

I like to give them names so I'm going to call this one "Audrey".  It's such a soft romantic piece and that name just seems to fit to me.

~Today's Quote~

"You may delay, but time will not."

~Benjamin Franklin

Isn't that the truth!

"Colors of Fall" with Artbeads!

As an Artbeads design partner, we're celebrating the gorgeous colors of fall!

For the beginning of my design I chose this beautiful Copper Heart Shaped Leaf Pendant.  The selection of pendants is huge, so this wasn't an easy task!  But I fell in love with this one.  I dangled it from the top but it also has a piece on the back for stringing it horizontally.  I used copper wire to compliment the copper on the pendant.

I chose the rest of the beads from their glass beads.  I chose rust picasso roundelles, carnelain opal, chestnut coral and siam from the Czech fire-polished beads for most of the design.  I was not disappointed in the colors!  I love them!  I also added a second strand of 3/0 Dark Copper TOHO beads and finished it off with a 12mm copper-plated curled toggle clasp from their selection of clasps.  I liked that the curled design of the toggle clasp matched the swirls on the pendant. 

I liked the colors together so much that I decided to use the leftover beads and copper wire to crochet this pendant.  I really like the look of it on a leather cord!

Thank you, Artbeads, for allowing me to work with these beautiful beads and to celebrate the glorious colors of fall! 

Disclosure: I am a Blogging for Beaders partner with Artbeads. The above noted items were provided to me free of charge, to be used for design purposes, or for my honest review of them. I have not been paid for my endorsement as it pertains to the products received.

~Today's Quote~

Ask not what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive... then go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.

~Howard Thurman

Apricot Bling!

Wow, this necklace is sparkly!  I love these beads combined with the bright copper wire.  They're Czech Fire-Polished beads in "Metallic Apricot".  Each bead is half metallic and half clear apricot.  They match the copper wire perfectly.  The color makes me think of Rose Gold.

Have a nice weekend!

~Today's Quote~

Don't wait for people to be friendly, show them how.

~Author Unknown

Blue Turquoise Grotto & Copper Necklace

For this necklace I used a seed bead mix called "Blue Turquoise Grotto", Czech Fire Polished beads in "Blue Turquoise" and "Carnelian", and some "Cinnamon Spice" bicones all crocheted on dark copper wire.  I also crocheted a matching pendant for this one. 

I'm not real sure that this color mix makes me think of a grotto but it sure is a pretty name!

~Today's Quote~

"Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us every day."

~Sally Koch

Inspired by Wedding Flowers and The Wedding Story

Erin of Treasures Found::Inspiration is Everywhere does a monthly challenge.  The challenge this month is to create something “Inspired by Wedding Flowers".   I decided to use my daughter’s wedding flowers as my inspiration. 

Please note that I didn't properly follow the rules for this challenge.  I just used it as a starting point for my own enjoyment!  If you're interested in joining the challenge please read the rules!

The Wedding Story…
Once upon a time there was a 16 year old girl who fell in love with a 25 year old guy.  They decided it was time to tell the parents. The young man came to talk to my husband.  Now my husband is a big guy so you have to admire the courage it took for this young man to tell him that he was in love with his daughter!  Well, my husband told him in no uncertain terms to stay away from his daughter!  We knew him and didn’t have a problem with him personally. He’s a nice young man and we approved of him, but as parents had a problem with the age difference since our daughter was still in high school.

Well, they continued to talk on the phone, but I’m sure they didn’t see each other because that was forbidden.  (Uh huh, I’ll just keep on believing that!)  The subject of them dating kept coming up and finally my husband agreed, with strict conditions!  They continued to date through her high school years and the day came that he proposed.  The wedding plans began!


We planned an outdoor wedding for May 6 at a garden a few miles from here.  Imagine walking through a vine covered canopy, down a lovely wooded path, past a small waterfall to arrive at the wedding site.  It was going to be beautiful!  Her flowers were Stargazer Lilies.  The wedding colors were hot pink and lime green.  She walked down the aisle to "Beautiful Mess “ by Diamond Rio.  A little unconventional but that is “their” song.  That’s what I love about weddings now days.  You can be unique, you can be you, you can do anything you want to do!


We planned to have the reception there, also.  I envisioned this lovely “afternoon tea” setting with guests lingering, enjoying the beautiful gardens, while having their cake and punch. Well, that was not to be…


It rained and rained and rained.  All day.  It wasn’t sprinkles, it wasn’t pouring.  Just a nice steady shower.  There was a small chapel on the property and that was our back-up plan if necessary.  We knew it would be very crowded but it would work.  She was so disappointed and determined that she wanted to be married outside.  Luckily, one of the guests was a Boy Scout leader and, “always being prepared”, he arrived early AND he had a canopy with him! They quickly set it up for the wedding party.  We sent someone to town to buy all the umbrellas they could find and she was married in the garden!


It was a quick ceremony due to the rain.  The unity candle and reception were moved to a hall they had rented for the party afterwards.  Due to our oldest daughter “knowing people” we were able to have an arch and yards of tulle and twinkle lights delivered and managed to set up a very pretty backdrop for the reception table!

As they say, “All’s well that ends well“.  It wasn’t exactly the wedding of her dreams but it still turned out beautiful and they just celebrated their 4th wedding anniversary!

I put together a little slide show with some of the wedding pictures.

And now for the jewelry:

"Katie's Bouquet"

I used small white seed beads with a pearl finish, and pink, green and yellow seed beads as accents on black wire.  I added some Czech Fire Polished beads. The color in these beads ranges from the palest pink to dark pink.  The pendant is from a garage sale find.  I think it resembles a lily.  If I had shopped for beads for this project it would have been more elaborate, but due to the distance of the nearest bead shop and the temptations involved with ordering online I just used what I had on hand!

  I enjoyed this trip down memory lane and hope you did, too! 

~Today's Quote~

"Some see age as a restriction, some see age as a number, I see age as mind over matter.

 If you don't mind it don't matter!"

"Callie", Inspired by California Dreaming

♫ "California Dreaming on such a winter's day..." ♫

I was working on this necklace this weekend as 10" of snow was falling.  I must say it was just a little depressing for the first day of spring!  The colors in these beads cheered me up a bit.  They remind me of  beach glass.  It was nice to imagine a nice warm walk on the beach on such a nasty day! 

I used a mixture of Czech glass beads, Czech Fire Polished Beads, and 6/0 seed beads to make the focal point of this necklace and completed it with silver chain.

Don't forget you have until March 31st to enter the giveaway in my previous post!

~Today's Quote~

There are many things in life that will catch your eye,

 but only a few will catch your heart...

Pursue those.

~Anonymous

"Stardust"

The silver fire polished beads sparkle like stars in the night sky.

I used 6mm Gray Czech Fire Polished, 4mm Silver Fire Polished beads and Black Diamond seed beads on silver wire to create this five strand necklace.

It's hard to get a good picture in this dreary weather.  Like everyone, I'm longing for warm weather, green grass and sunshine! 

~Today's Quote~

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.

 ~Anne Bradstreet

~♥~

Dragonflies for Mom

Wednesday was my Mom's birthday.  We celebrated with Dairy Queen ice cream cake, gifts, and lots of giggles!  Hope your day was happy, Mom!  We love you!!!

 I made this necklace & earrings especially for her because she likes Dragonflies. A "fried marble" is attached to the tail.  My granddaughter{Delaney} & I like to do crafty things together.  One day we fried marbles.  They turned out quite pretty & sparkly!  Delaney gave one of the marbles to Mom and she has saved it so I knew it would have special meaning on the necklace. 

I used Czech Fire Polished beads in "Moonlight Mist".  These are so pretty, aqua with bronze-y accents, which went perfectly with the Vintaj bronze wire.  I used a Vintaj Scrolled Filigree Ring & Art Deco Dragonfly, and used a Vintaj bead cap to attach the marble.  The earrings are Dragonfly Connectors with a "Moonlight Mist" dangle.

~Today's Quote is in Honor of my Mom~

"All that I am or hope to be I owe to my Mother."

~Abraham Lincoln

~♥~

"Confetti"

Multi-color Madness!

I was talking to a young lady at one of the craft shows recently and she asked about a multi-color necklace that would go with anything.  This is something I have rarely done so I thought I'd give it a try. I gathered up some beads that I had on hand including seed beads, Czech Fire Polished beads, and Celestial Crystal.  It will definately go with just about anything and it does look cute on.

~Today's Quote~

"For every minute you are angry, you lose sixty seconds of happiness."

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Jewel"

Finally, some time to create! I received these beads as a Blogging for Beaders gift from Artbeads before Christmas and I've been so anxious to get started! I was allowed to choose from their selection of Sterling Silver and Glass beads. When I saw this Black, Pink and White Pillow bead I knew that's what I wanted to use as the starting point for my design! It reflects the theme I have chosen for "Be~Jeweled by jana":  Black,White, Hot Pink & Swirls .

I used the following items from Artbeads selection of Glass Beads: Black, White, & Pink Pillow Bead, Black 5 x 4 mm Jet Roundelles, 8mm Glass Druk Beads White/Black (these are very cute, 1/2 white & half black), Jet 4mm Czech Fire Polished Beads, White 4mm Czech Fire Polished Beads & Toho 6/0 Beads in Gilt-Lines Hot Pink Opal.  I used black wire and added some small 3cut black seed beads that I had on hand.

It is finished with the cutest Bali Cones with a swirl pattern & a Sterling Spiral Toggle Clasp.

Disclosure:  I am a Blogging for Beaders partner with Artbeads. The above noted items were provided to me free of charge, to be used for design purposes, or for my honest review of them.  I have not been paid for my endorsement as it pertains to the products received.

~My Wish for you in 2010~

May peace break into your home

and may thieves come to steal your debts,

May the pockets of your jeans become a magnet for $100 bills.

May love stick to your face like Vaseline

and may laughter assault your lips!

May happiness slap you across the face

and may your tears be that of joy.

May the problems you had forget your home address!

"Merry" Inspired by Grandma's Jewelry Box

This necklace was inspired by a found object challenge from Erin of  Treasures Found. The challenge for this week was "Grandma's Jewelry Box" ~  to make something new out of an old treaure in your jewelry box (or someone else's!).

This brooch belonged to my grandma.  I think it's just beautiful.  I keep it in a dish on my dresser and usually wear it during the Christmas season because of it's beautiful red color and shape. 

I used assorted gold beads, Czech Fire Polished beads and some small Swarovki crystals in red, and gold wire.  I attached the brooch with a jumpring without harming the original pin back.  What a fun challenge!

~Today's Quote~

"Memories of a loving family linger in the Heart."

"Josie"

"Josie" is a mix of amber, bronze and antique gold. Glass seed beads and bugle beads are crocheted on bronze wire. I added a Vintaj natural brass filigree ring and a Czech fire polished bead attached with a large brass jumpring. This is one of my all time favorites!

~Today's Quote~

"A successful marriage requires falling in love many times

always with the same person."

~Mignon McLaughlin

"Inspiration" Necklace

I've been wanting to try metal stamping. Recently I bought a set of metal stamps and some copper washers to play with. My sister and I were talking about it and I asked her to give me a word. Her word was "Inspiration". This is what I came up with. I stamped the word on the washer and gave it some texture. The necklace is crocheted using copper and dark brown wire and frosted purple ab seed beads. The pendant is layered on a filigree square with a purple Czech Fire Polished bead and an aqua Swarovski crystal.

~Today's Quote~

"Enthusiasm is excitement with inspiration, motivation, and a pinch of creativity.”

~Bo Bennett

"Whitney" Necklace

I thought it would be fun to start naming my pieces. This one is called "Whitney". It means "from the White Island" which seems fitting. It's loaded with shades of white and clear Czech fire polished beads and seed beads. The pendant is accented with little Swarovski crystals.

~Today's Quote~

"The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right time,

but also to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment."