Mixed Blues

Hi everyone!

This month for the Pretty Palettes inspiration, Molly picked an ombre selection of yarn for our inspiration.  This yarn fades from soft green to purple.


Here is the palette created from the yarn:


These are the beads she selected from the palette.

Since I am designing last minute (again!),  I decided to pull out beads from the piles and bins around the room.  Here's what I found - some sodalite, blue shell beads, turquoise howlite, blue quartzite and purple amethyst chips and a few blue ceramic rounds.

I didn't use the turquoise or the sodalite, but I did add some amethyst rounds and a few multi luster hematite spacers (also from the Halcraft lines).  It seemed natural to add some fiber since the inspiration was yarn, so I created a wrapped bead focal with some recycled sari ribbon and yarn and a wooden bead.

Mixed Blues

I don't often make multi-strand necklaces, but with a large focal and small chips, I needed more than one strand.  At the top of the strands, I needed a way to bring them all together.  I had some large silver cone bead caps, but they were too bright and shiny.  So, I marbled them with a two colors of some new ink samples sent to me from ColoriQue.  It's easy to create any color cap to go with your beading.

Stop over at the Pretty Palettes Reveal and see the gorgeous work from the designers that participated.  Amazing!

Thanks for stopping by!

Terry

June Pretty Palette Reveal

Hello!

Today is the reveal day for the June Pretty Palette challenge.  This month Molly put together a palette with some great colors with geometric and Southwestern influences.  I love this color selection; it's got turquoise, a pinkish red, a chocolate brown and a couple of neutrals.  I can live with that!  In fact, it's a staple of my wardrobe, especially in the summer.


And, the photo has additional inspiration:


I love the geometry of Southwestern patterns, so I'll try to capture a bit of that in my design.

Here are some of the Halcraft beads I used.  Some are from Michaels Bead Gallery line and some came from JoAnn's and their Bliss Beads line.

I also used some shell rondelles from Bead Gallery that didn't get into the photo along with a few beads from my collection.

Southwestern Fourth

I wrapped and tied some red twine around the turquoise cross and added a bone feather for the focal. It's not a large focal, so I didn't want to overpower it with a lot of beads.  So, I decided to space out the beads on chain for a lighter look.  I left the chain long with no clasp.  Maybe later I'll add a bracelet because I love these beads and the color combination.  And, I'm ready for the Fourth of July barbeque!

Thanks, everyone, for stopping by my blog.  Take a look at the other designs inspired by this color and design inspiration here.  There are some fantastic designs there.

Pretty Palettes Challenge for August

Hi friends,

The Pretty Palettes inspiration for August is a wonderful color palette based on a basket of blueberries.  Beautiful!

{ berry hues } image via: @djmight

Here are the beads that Erin Prais-Hintz selected for the color palette.

Here are the beads that I selected.  I picked up Bliss Beads from Halcraft at my local Joann's.  My time is limited right now since we're in the midst of our annual harvest, not of blueberries, but of grapes, and Joann's is closer.

And, here's the necklace that I created with them.  I tried to capture the look of a cluster of ripening blueberries in this simple tassel necklace.

Blueberry Tassel Necklace

Here's a close-up to show the tassel.

Blueberry Tassel Necklace

The larger blue beads are the ripe blueberries and the smaller ones are in various stages of ripeness! 

I added cobalt patina from Ranger to some of the bead caps.  I'd like to add a pair of earrings when I get some time - maybe in October!

Thanks for the challenge, Erin! 

To take a look at everyone's scrumptious blueberry designs, go to the Pretty Palettes::August Reveal.

Pretty Palettes :: January Reveal

Hi Everyone1

Before January is totally gone, I wanted to squeeze in a little playtime for myself and create something for the January Pretty Palettes challenge on the Halcraft blog.  This month, Erin has found some amazing snowflake photographs for inspiration.  For me, January has been filled with tax forms, needlepoint designing and the Craft and Hobby Show, so this designing time is a great little break to play with the beads.

Life is so full that I didn't have time to head down to Michaels, but I did have some AB rondelles already on hand from the Bead Gallery and I picked up some Bliss Beads (also made by Halcraft) at my local JoAnn's.

So, here is what I created.  I made a pendant with a wire ring and some of the crystal AB beads in the shape of a snowflake and added it to a quick and easy necklace. 

I'm finishing this after the light has gone, so it is not as sharp as possible, but I like how the pendant came out.  I can see a necklace with a flurry of these in different sizes.

Snowflake Necklace

Happy Creating! And, check out all the other snowflake-inspired designs! 

Photos the next day:

Snowflake Necklace

 And, here's a close-up:

Close-up of Snowflake Pendant

It's so much easier to get a good photo with the right light.  I'm still working on it as you can see.  It's part of the learning process! Now, I'm wondering if I should have a dark background....