Andrew Thornton's November/December/January Reader's Challenge

Hi Y'all,
Back in October 2011 Andrew Thornton announced that he had 20 November Reader Challenge mystery kits for sale, well I jumped right in and was able to get one of the kits.  Unfortunately Andrew had some unforeseen problems arise and was delayed on getting the kits sent out.  But no worries the kit arrived and he set the reveal date for January 30th.  So without further ado here is what I created with the November/December/January Reader Challenge Kit.

The kit contained these beautiful jonquil colored beads and crystals, a cute little ceramic branch, a bead soup mix of jonquil, gold, and green colored beads, a brass chain, and the mystery component a bronze Tree of Life charm made by Andrew.  I purchased the little yellow clay bird from Sarah Kandell-Gritzmaker's Etsy shop to sit on top of the ceramic branch.

I hung the bronze charm on some bronze colored aluminum wire and then strung the yellow fluted glass bead, a jonquil round crystal, a jonquil glass roundel, the ceramic branch, and the clay bird to finish out the pendant. I then made a chain with the rest of the larger beads in the kit with some of the bead soup mix and connected it all to the brass chain making it long enough to just slip over one's head without having a clasp.

With the bead soup mix I made this spiral rope bracelet.

This was my first time participating in Andrew's Monthly Reader's Challenge.  I was also able to get a kit for Andrew's last Monthly Reader's Challenge which consist of a bunch of yummy pink beads, my favorite color.

Please be sure to visit the others participating in the Reader's Challenge. I will update my post with the participants when the list is available.

I just got the list from Andrew so please go and check these wonderful and creative people out!

Kate Richbourg

Christina Porter

Kim Dworak

Tara Linda

Jessie Nelson

Dawn from Morning Glory Beading

Michelle Burnett

Pine Ridge Treasures

Rebecca Anderson

Karin Slaton

Cynthia Riggs

Therese Frank - this is me!

Alice Bavaud will have pieces on Andrew Thornton's blog

Happy beading Y'all 

Therese

    

I Heart Macro - Something has fooled Mother Nature

Hi Y'all it is Sunday and time for I Heart Macro.  When I went out to feed my good boy Loki, I noticed that there were some plants with blooms that don't normally bloom here until April.  The weather has fooled Mother Nature in 2012!

Azalea buds setting on

Azalea bloom

Lady Bird Johnson called these DYC's (Darn Yellow Components)

My good boy Loki (Australian Shepard and Chow mix)

I hope you enjoyed viewing my macro shot as much as I enjoyed bringing them to you.  If you would like to see more macro shots head on over to Studio Waterstone where you will see what everyone else is I Heart Macroing!

Happy beading Y'all

Therese

Beading Daily January Earring Challenge Weeks 1 - 3

Hi Y'all,
I have been keeping myself busy by doing all of the challenges I signed up for this month.  One of the challenges I signed up for was the Beading Daily January Earring Challenge.  All one has to do is make one pair of earrings a day for the month of January, easy right!  Well I thought okay I can do this, how difficult can it be to make one pair of earrings a day? Um yeah well not so easy, because of all the other beading projects I have going on at one time.  I commend those of you that can crank these beading projects out with no problem, well if you have problems you hide it well.  I have to send a compliment to Salla of blog by salla she is doing this challenge and has manage to make a pair a day and they are all so very pretty.

Okay, okay enough jabbering here are my earrings so far...

Week 1

1. Compass Rose - Linda Goodman - Beadwork Favorite Bead Stitches

2.  Crystallized Medici Drop - Marcia DeCoster's blog

3.  Floral Chandelier - Teresa Meister

4.  Red Polka Dots - my design

5.  Ruffled Beaded Bead Caps - Melinda Barta June/July Beadwork 2009

6.  Washer design - Tamara Alison Vanishing Pearl 

7.  Mosaic Medallions - Lisa Stahl Bead and Button web site

Week 2

1.  Hexatious Earrings - Callie Mitchell The Peregrine Beader

2.  Clay beads made by Alison Sachs Beads by Earthtones

3.  Glass flower beads given to me by my Secret Santa Marla Gibbons Spice Box Designs 

4.  Bronze rectangle dangles made by Lesley Watts The Gossiping Goddess (who by the way is having a giveaway to celebrate her 100th sale in her Etsy shop. Go check it out) paired with pink died jasper.

5.  Tiger's eye hearts

6.  Peace sign Peacock feather earrings

7.  Peace sign earrings

Week 3

1.  Polymer clay beads made by Pat Haight  (a bead soup partner)

2.  Pewter sun charms

3.  Black Polka Dot glass 

4.  Ceramic earring charms by Marsh Neal

5.  Ceramic earring charms by Marsh Neal

6.  Blue Botswana glass beads given to me by Pat Haight paired with bronze charms made by Lesley Watts (by the way she is having a giveaway on her blog, you really need to go check it out)

7.  Ravishing Rosettes - Smadar Grossman Bead & Button Dec. 2011 

Here is a cuff that I did for Kinga Nichols blog challenge Illuminated by Candlelight.

I enjoy Kinga's challenges they are helping me improve my bead embroidery.  For this cuff I used a rectangle Quartz for the candle and two black gold stone cabs for the objects being illuminated and the 4mm glass pearls represent the light of the candle.  The candle stand are the gold bugle beads and the flame of the candle are the orange Czech fire polished crystals.   I am not pleased with the clasp and will be changing it soon to a slide clasp.

Oh and in case you missed it earlier in my post Lesley Watts is having a giveaway for her 100th sale in her Etsy shop please go by her blog and check it out.  The Gossiping Goddess - Magic Number Giveaway 

Happy beading Y'all

Therese

Secret Snowflake Challenge Blog Hop - hosted by Michelle Mach

A few months ago I read about a Secret Snowflake Challenge hosted by Michelle Mach, that was using a clay snowflake pendant and two snowflake charms made by Mellisa at Chinook Jewelry, so I jumped and bought a challenge kit.

When the kit arrived I took everything out the the little box it was packaged in and poured all the beads out and looked at them and started visualizing what I wanted to do with all of these goodies I had to play with.

I went to my stash and started pulling out seed beads and crystals that would compliment the pendant.  I set all of my gatherings aside, because I had to finish several Christmas gifts and other projects that I was working on at that time.  

Michelle told everyone that joined in on the challenge that it was okay to make something for the challenge and give it as a Christmas gift as long as you took a picture to be revealed on January 15, 2012.  So knowing this information I took the two little snowflake charms and made a pair of earrings that I sent off to Kinga Nichols in Colorado for my Christmas surprise to her. Kinga is a bead embroider, so I wanted to give her something that she would not necessarily make herself.

I took two head pins and strung a silver daisy spacer and a frosted glass drop on to each and connected them to the bottom of the snowflake charm. I then took a piece of silver wire and make a double loop connector to connect the charm to the sterling silver ear wires.  They are simple earrings, but I wanted the snowflake charms to stand out. 

After the holidays I got the rest of the items for the challenge and sat down and started bringing the design idea I had in my head to life.  When I first saw the pendant I knew that I wanted to bead embroider around it.  So I glued it down to some stiff non woven material and started beading around the pendant.  I used size 11/0 navy blue seed beads and size 15/0 aqua lined seed beads in a peyote stitch around the pendant to anchor it to the material.  I then used some size 8/0 cylinder silver lined white seed beads and then some  3mm swarosky Montana blue crystals and silver 15/0 seed beads to further enhance the pendant.  I used some blue ultra suede for the backing and the aqua lined 15/0 seed beads in a whip stitch to hide where the backing meets the front.  For the chain I used the bead soup that came in the kit along with some beads I received from my Beading Daily web site Secret Santa Marla the beads she sent to me were perfect for this challenge.

This was a fun challenge and I hope to be able to join in on more of Michelle Mach's wonderful challenges in the future.  Please go check out the other's that participated in this Secret Snowflake Challenge hosted by Michelle.

Blog Hop Participants

If there is no blog link listed next to a person's name, check Michelle's Beads & Books. Participants without blogs will be posting their photos on her blog.

• Alice (Alice Dreaming)
• Chris (beadjewelry.net)
• Christa (Adventures of One Beady Woman)
• Crystal (Here Bead Dragons)
• Cynthia (Cynth's Blog)
  
• Dawn (Morning Glory Beading)
• Donetta (Simply Gorgeous)
• Erin A.
• Jennifer (JenniferJW)
• Jennifer (Jewelry, Art and Life)
  
• Kari W.
• Kate (We Can Make That at Home)
• Kay (Palm Coast Art)
• Linda (Lindy's Designs)
• Lisa C. (A Bead a Day)
  
• Lisa (Inspired Adornments)
• Mary (MLH Designs)
• Michelle (Beads & Books) 
• Michelle B.
• Millie (AMM Jewelry)
  
• Norma (Moonlit Fantasies)
• Pam (The Crazier Sister)
• Rebecca J.
• Renetha (Lamplight Crafts)
• Rosemarie (Gem Rose Designs)
  
• Shannon (Falling into the Sky)
• Susan (Bead Inspired)
• Therese (Therese's Treasures)
• Therese (Domestic Goddess Enterprises)

Happy beading Y'all,
Therese

  

And the winner is...

On Sunday I decided to make a game using my I Heart Macro shots, and the prize was these earrings.

All one had to do is answer this question "What is it?" and the first person to get all four questions correct would win the earrings.  So here are the answers to the questions and the name of the winner.

1. Oatmeal, 2. Peanut butter, 3. Pineapple, 4. Counter top.

Lola of BeadLolaBead blog was the first to get all of the answers correct.  Way to go Lola!

Now don't be sad, because I have decide to giveaway a second pair of earrings to one of the others that played along.  Here is the pair that one lucky winner, who will be drawn at random, will win.

These earrings are made using copper etched charms by Cat at BooBeads, blue died Agate beads, copper wire, 4mm clear crystals, and bronze ear wires by ShelsJewelrySupplies.

The winner of these earrings is...     Result: 7    

Lisa S. carefreejewelrybylisa please send me an e-mail to theresestreasures59@gmail.com with your address so I can send you the earrings.  

Thank you to all of you that played along.  This was a fun game and one that I will have again sometime.

Happy beading Y'all

Therese

I Heart Macro - Breakfast

I know it has been a minute since I have posted on I heart macro Sunday, but anyway not going to give excuses, cause there is non, just being lazy!

Can you guess what I had for breakfast this morning?

This is oh so good with brown sugar, cinnamon, and a little bit of butter.  What is this?

This is best when spread on your bread straight out of the toaster.  What is this?

This is a sweet treat found on the Islands.  What is this?

Every kitchen has one. What is this?

For the above shots I am giving away these earrings to the first person that can answer all of the questions correctly.  Also make sure I have a way to contact you for your mailing address.

The earrings are made with lampwork glass beads from EB Bead and Metal works, the copper ovals are from Kristi Bowman Designs, the ear wires are sterling silver from ShelsJewelrySupplies 

One last thing before I go...

Yep that's right I do!   I drink coffee from this cute mug.

To see more I Heart Macro click on the I Heart Macro button in my side bar.

Happy beading Y'all

Therese

My word for 2012

While reading the wonderful blogs that I follow I have discovered many of you choose a word to inspire you through out the year.  I thought this was a good idea, so I gave it some thought and came up with the word...

"Awake"  

 awake - mentally perceptive and responsive;"an alert mind"; "alert to the problems"; "alive to what is going on"; "awake to the dangers of her situation"; "was now awake to the reality of her predicament...

Completely conscious; not in a state of sleep.

Vigilant; watchful...

I chose this word because of some of the events that happened in my life in 2011.  If I had been more awake the out come would have been different.  Let me just leave it as lesson learned and I am moving forward with my eyes wide open and I will ask more questions to further understand or get a true grasp of the situation. 

Being awake will also lead me in new and exciting paths in my creativity as well as my everyday life.  Which leads me back to the word I chose for myself when I started this blog back in May of 2011.  The word was "Adventure" , and it has been just that, an adventure.  I have discovered and learned so much since starting this blog from all of those that I follow.  I want to thank each of you that have left comments and also those that have decided to follow me.  I still get a rush when I log in and see that I have a new follower.  I invite all of y'all to come along on the my adventure and be awake to what life brings our way!

The best to all of y'all in 2012!

Happy beading Y'all,

Therese