Bead Peeps Swap N Hop 2018 Begins with the Reveal

Red Heart Earrings by Hope Smitherman

I am participating in Bead Peeps Swap'n Hop. Bead Peeps is a Facebook group made up of jewelry designers and it is administered by the very kind and talented Linda Anderson.  Linda does a wonderful job organizing this.  She set the  reveal date of  March 26, 2018.   I am thrilled to be paired with Hope Smitherman. I feel like I know Hope really well.  I read her blog Crafty Hope regularly  and we have cross paths on other blogs and Facebook. Hope has an Etsy shop and I do too. 

 Hope grew up in the south.  Presently she lives in Fairhope, Alabama in a lovely country home in the woods that she shares with her husband and their pets.  She has been making jewelry for over 15 years..  Hope dabbles in lots of  mediums. She also loves to go thrifting for items that she can use in her jewelry like buttons, ephemera, vintage beads, and all kinds of other quirky odds and ends.  Her creative range enables her to make really unique pieces of jewelry. These red heart earrings are a perfect example of her using those skills to create a unique pair of earrings. The hearts for these earrings were cut from a gingersnap cookie tin from World Market. Brilliant find! I also appreciate the time and skill it takes to cut these hearts out. Hope then distressed the hearts, filed them smooth, aged, and sealed.  That is a lot of work and requires lots of skills. 

Cherish Key Necklace by Crafty Hope

This Cherish Key Necklace by Crafty Hope is another example of her creative talents. The focal of this necklace is an old key that serves as a base for assembled elements. A strip of rhinestone chain, an old filigree earring part, and a scrapbook embellishment with the word "cherish" on it make up the assemblage key. The chain is made of antiqued copper beads on antiqued silver tone eye pins and closes with an antiqued copper lobster clasp. The back of the key says "Fits Ford Cars". This is a one of kind piece.

Pantone's Ultra Violet

I decided to give Hope a choice of color palettes, I picked Pantone's Color of the Year Ultra Violet as my first offering. I love using this color and buying this color.  The large round ceramic bead is from Marsha Neal Studio. I put in a little assortment of beads which included a purple Humblebeads and shell, some Wooly Wire.

Her second choice is made up of the earthy colors turquoise and browns. I centered my bead choices around the large ceramic focal by Firefly Studio.  I included some jasper beads, polymer clay beads, and wood beads.   I included the turquoise beads because I love the size and color.

I also included a copper clasp by BayMoonDesign.

Package from BayMoonDesign Headed to Crafty Hope

I packed everything into a box and sent it to Hope.

I suggest that you visit Hope's Etsy shop to look at more of her work. If you are in the southern Alabama area you can stop by her booth Southern Antiques and Accents in Fairhope (the one on Greeno Rd.) where she has a small boothtop.


Stop by my blog on March 26, 2018 to see what Hope creates with these beads. I know I can't wait to see what Hope comes up with!