When I see the words "free beads"' I get very excited. Of course there's a catch - but only in so much as you have to make
something lovely with them and share it on a blog hop...not too onerous
is it? This blog hop is sponsored by The
Gossiping Goddess Lesley Watt. Don't you just love the name "The Gossiping Goddess". I wish I had thought of it first.
Leslie's very talented bead making friend
Kaz Baildon
recently had a major overhaul of her studio to make way for some new
projects she is planning and in the process she destashed this huge haul
of lampwork beads in her direction. Leslie decided that 10 people were to receive a bead or beads from this selection. The recipients
of the beads will use them to create a piece of jewellery, accessory or
ornament and share this at a blog hop on Wednesday 12th December. How generous is that?!
What the winners receive was a complete surprise. It was anything from a large lampwork bead...
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| One of my beads is here! |
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| My 2 beads |
Some folks received matched pairs like:
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| Matched Pairs |
I faced 2 challenges in working with the beads that I got. Do I put both beads in the same piece? What colors do I work with? I decided to create 2 pieces. I still had to figure out what colors to work with. I guess I was a
coward and took the safest route. Also, I was limited to working with
the beads that I had in my stash.
For my first piece, I decided to pull out all of my white beads and
in doing so I noticed that I had some 26 gauge lavender Parawire which
seemed to match the color of the bead perfectly. I had this on hand
because I crochet wire necklaces frequently, but I wanted to do
something different this time. I have never worked with Parawire before
so I looked on the Internet to see what people do with it. I located a
great
tutorial by Little Red Robin from Bristol, Avon, United Kingdom where
she made a twist wire bracelet with 26 gauge silver colored florist
wire. I always wondered how folks made this style of jewelry so I
thought I would give it a try. I used her basic directions to create a
light and delicate necklace.
For my second necklace, I created a
red, white and blue necklace which is19 inch (48.3 cm) and includes glass
pearls, denim blue fairy ribbon, and sterling silver bead caps. I love
the patriotic red, white and blue colors. The center of the necklace
features the beautiful, lampwork focal by artist Kaz Baildon. Two large
blue glass pearls are framed in sterling silver bead caps. The necklace has
some white czech beads, small glass pearls, and denim blue swarovski
crystals. The denim blue fairy ribbon by
Marsha Neal Studio helps to give this necklace a contemporary look. These same large blue glass pearls and sterling silver end caps are used in creating matching earrings.
I think it is interesting that both lampwork beads looked to be the same color and yet when paired with lavender one looked more like lavender blue. The other lampwork bead looked more blue when paired with blue glass pearls and denim fairy ribbon.
I would like to thank
Lesley Watt for giving Kaz's lampwork away and creating this blog hop. She is generous with her beads and time! Please give everyone a visit.
Lesley Watt -
http://thegossipinggodess.blogspot.co.uk/
Cory Tompkins -
http://tealwaterdesigns.blogspot.co.uk/
Rebecca Anderson -
http://songbeads.blogspot.co.uk/
Marie Cramp -
http://skyejewels.blogspot.co.uk/
Claire Braunbarth -
http://smittenbeads.blogspot.co.uk/
Heidi Post - http://
expostfactojewelry.blogspot.co.uk/
Tiffany Smith -
http://southerngalsdesign.blogspot.co.uk/
Sharyl Macmillan-Nelson -
http://sharylsjewelry.blogspot.co.uk/
Ailsa Cordner -
http://www.bramalfiebeadsetc.co.uk/
Linda Landig -
http://lindalandig.wordpress.com/
Caroline Dewison -
http://blueberribeads.co.uk/
Renetha -
http://www.lamplightcrafts.blogspot.co.uk
Kari Asbury -
http://hippiechickdesign.blogspot.co.uk/
Niky Sayers
- http://silverniknats.blogspot.com
Purple Cobwebs -
http://www.purplecobwebs.blogspot.co.uk/
Cilla Watkins -
http://www.tellyourgirlfriends.com/
Sandy Huntress -
http://keepsakecrafts.net/blog/
Also, stop by later in this month to see what earrings I wore to the White House Christmas tour last week.
