CC7A Reveal for June 2014: I Do!

Welcome to reveal day for the June edition of the Creative Continuum of Seven Artists, brought to you this month by Cynthia of Antiquity Travelers. Cynthia sent some lovely components reflecting her theme, "Something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue", for which she shared a little history ('cause she's good at that!)

"I picked a theme that I thought we could have some fun with that is an old adage for brides. And then I sent out the mixture to match: something old (reclaimed sari silk), something new (imperial jasper), something borrowed (several remaining leaf toggles from a ZnetShows hop) and something blue (apatite rounds). 

Meaning: It is said that something old represents continuity, something new offers optimism for the future, something borrowed symbolizes borrowed happiness, something blue stands for purity, love and fidelity and a sixpence in your show is a wish for good fortune and prosperity."

I originally wanted to make just one design incorporating all the components, but they had other plans :) The first piece I designed was a simple bracelet with the apatite rounds, which I paired with the pretty clasp sent by Cynthia, and some infinity links ('cause we all want love to last forever, right?)

I threaded through a bit of the white sari silk, but I'm not sure which look I prefer.

I recently bought multiple strands of wonderful Indonesian glass beads from my favorite supplier, Karine of Yukidesigns. One strand had the perfect pale green beads (seen at bottom of the photo) to match the striations in the imperial jasper teardrops:

I added some matching Czech beads, small silver Heishi spacers and beads, and a cord crocheted from the sari silk:

I like the contrast of the frayed and uneven silk against the cool elegance of the jasper and glass.

And the design is delicate enough to be worn as a triple-wrapped bracelet:

Thanks for dropping by! You can visit the other CC7A members here:

Alicia... All the Pretty Things

Christine... One Kiss Creations 

Cynthia... Antiquity Travelers 

Emma... A Polymer Penchant

Sally... Sally Elizabeth... dream, design, create 
Therese... Therese's Treasures

Ocean Blog Hop 2014 Second Reveal (Links)

Two weeks ago I had the pleasure of being part of the first reveal of Lisa Lodge's Ocean Blog Hop.  Yesterday was the reveal day for the remainder of the artists taking part. Please check out the wonderful ocean-inspired designs they have created :) 

If you missed my reveal post, with another great group of creators, you can also visit at the link above :)

June 14th 2nd Reveal:

Your hostess:  Lisa Lodge, A Grateful Artist

Carolyn Lawson, Carolyn's Creations

Ev Shelby, Raindrop Creations

Toltec  Jewels, Jewel School Friends

Karla Morgan, Texas Pepper Jams

Ema Kilroy, Ema K Designs

Candida Elkins Castleberry, Spun Sugar Beadworks

Catherine Yvonne King, Catherine's Musings

Melissa Trudinger, Bead Recipes

Shaiha Williams, Shaiha's Ramblings

Chris Eisenberg, Wanderware

Eleanor Burian Moore, The Charmed Life

Kay Thomerson, Kayz Kreationz

Jill Bradley, Chat 2 Jill

Rebecca Ednie, Eclectic Endeavours 

(Direct links will be added as I visit each post.)

Ocean Blog Hop 2014 First Reveal

Welcome to the first reveal for The Ocean 2014 Blog Hop, created by Lisa Lodge of A Grateful Artist. Each participant received a beautiful selection of beads curated by Lisa. In the interest of allowing you to visit all the participating blogs, I will limit my commentary to bead sources I added over and above my package from Lisa, and let the designs speak for themselves:

Two designs inspired by the cold northern oceans:

Crossings and Discoveries

Brown ceramic focal spike by Susanna Lehto, organic ceramic disc beads by Ingrid Mueller, jadeite squares, red Indonesian lampwork rounds and ribbon from Yukidesigns, hemp and waxed linen from Jewelry Accord.

Bubbles Eclectic

Large striped lentil lampwork by Cherie Ranfranz, organic ceramic disc beads by Ingrid Mueller, pale green lampwork "wing-ding" by Genea Crivello-Knable, additional lampwork by unknown artist (destash), jadeite square, Czech glass seed beads, waxed linen from Jewelry Accord.


Five designs inspired by the warm equatorial oceans:

Shell Pastels

(From Lisa's package, the blue shell focal by Michelle McCarthy), spotted lampwork rounds by Amy Hall, pink shell charm by Susan Delphine Delaney, yellow carved bone bead and pink triangular lampwork beads from Yukidesigns. The swirled polymer lentil directly above the focal is by yours truly.

Guardian Angelfish

Commercial glass focal (Fire Mountain Gems), ceramic tube bead by Sharleen Newland, lime lampwork spacers by Amy Hall, rainbow Indonesian glass tubes from Yukidesigns, green 1 mm leather cord from Roberta McIver.

Starfish Dance

I love these colours!

Ceramic bracelet focal by Ingrid Mueller, lampwork spacers by Juls Cannon,  waxed linen from Jewelry Accord.

They Sailed West

Porcelain pendant by Nancy Schindler Adams, rayon sparkle chainette thread from Lorraine Stobie. All additional glass beads from Michaels and Fire Mountain Gems.

Reef Life in Technicolour

Multicolour resin ovals and yellow carved bone beads from Yukidesigns, commercial striped ceramic teardrops (destash). A fun bracelet on elastic thread ( a first for me) :)


Whew, that's all I had time to finish :) However, I have a few beads left and components ready to go when I get a chance:

Thanks everyone for dropping by! For lots of ocean-inspired loveliness, check out these bloggers:

Your hostess:  Lisa Lodge, A Grateful Artist
Thanks for the inspiration, Lisa!

Christie Searle Murrow Charis Designs Jewelry

Kim Dworak Cianci Blue

Marybeth Rich A Few Words from within the Pines

Karen Grosset Grange Ginkgo et Coquelicot

Veralynne Malone Designed by Vera

*Monique Urquhart A Half-Baked Notion*
*You are here*

Katrina Taylor I Wanna Go Out

Mary Ann Macri Jacobs Trucksville Crafts

Jeanne Steck Gems by Jeanne Marie

Ann Schroeder Bead Love

Kathleen Breeding 99 Bottles of Beads on the Wall

Marianne Baxter Simply Seablime Jewelry

Terri Wlaschin Dances in Fog 

Margaret Pelech, Margaret Pelech's Ocean Blog
Jo-Ann Woolverton It's a Beadiful Creation
Kathy Zeigler Lindemer Bay Moon Design
Heather Richter Desert Jewelry Designs
Andrea Glick-Zenith ZenithJade Creations

Ocean Blog Hop Sneak Peek

This Saturday, May 31st, is the first reveal day for the Ocean 2014 Blog Hop, a creative event by Lisa Lodge of A Grateful Artist. Participants each ordered a themed kit, which Lisa individually selected for us. Here are the lovely ocean treasures I received from her:

Cultured sea glass in two colours and shapes; a pretty ceramic shell pendant by Michelle McCarthy of Firefly Design Studio; matching glass teardrops, rounds and faceted beads; and two pairs of silver components.

I have already designed several pieces and still working on more (I am the poster child for procraftination). So please join me, along with fifteen other sea-faring artists, for the reveal this Saturday :)

CC7A Reveal for May 2014: Semi-Precious

Welcome to reveal day for the May edition of the Creative Continuum of Seven Artists, brought to you this month by our leader, the lovely Alicia Marinache of All the Pretty Things. I received a beautiful picture jasper cabochon and matching 8 mm round beads from Alicia. I wanted an "old-fashioned" design for this month's challenge, so I used some components I've actually had for a long time. (I may have bought them from Fire Mountain Gems, which was my primary supplier way back before I discovered the world of art beads and handmade).

Gold-coloured figaro chain, delicate bead caps and bezel cup. This was a workout for me as far as wire-wrapping, which is a skill I seldom practice. I originally wanted to use some silk ribbon as part of the necklace, but I didn't receive my order yet. That's me, always last minute LOL. This may be altered or it may become a graduation gift :) 

You can visit the other CC7A members here:

Alicia... All the Pretty Things

Christine... One Kiss Creations 

Cynthia... Antiquity Travelers 

Emma... A Polymer Penchant 

Sally... The Studio Sublime 
Therese... Therese's Treasures