Friday's Inspiration

I found this picture on Facebook the other day and it has become one of my favorites. 

 

  

The repetition of the waves, the spiral of the branches and the cloud and the rays of sunlight all draw me in each time. 

 

I think it's hard to create with just neutrals and pastels, but this picture certainly has given me the inspiration to try something new!



The Need to Create

I've been watching reruns of "So You Think You Can Dance" and something that one of the judges said has stuck with me. 

 

One of the dancers from last season had no formal training but was able to hold his own with all the other dancers and in all the styles he was asked to dance.  And one of the judges said that one of the things that made him stand out is that he "had" to dance. 

 

   As any business owner can identify with, it's discouraging when sales are slow.  But every time I start to think that I need to just put it all away and close up the shop, I find myself doodling new designs.   And looking how I can re-design a necklace in a more modern way. 

 

I guess its true...I just have to create. 

 

  So here's my latest "creation"...bracelets created with a simple peyote stitch and various sizes of beads to create a wave effect.  I want to try to work on this design as a necklace, but it's going to take some work for it to lay correctly.

 

 

This first bracelet is named "Sand and Surf."  I showed a friend of mine and she said that it had all the colors you see at the beach so the name seemed appropriate. 
 

 

I really liked how the colors I used in this bracelet give the design a whole different feel.  It reminded me of walking on the beach at night...dark water broken up by the reflection of stars on the surface.  I named it "Midnight Walk on the Beach."  

  

 

 

I decided to go a different direction with this bracelet and use earth tones as the inspiration.  I like how the dark and light beads help create movement along the waves in the design.  I named this "Golden Elegance."

    
I love how just changing something as simple as a bead size can create such dramatic results!  And when you add in the color combinations, it truly is amazing!
 
These bracelets are all available for purchase in my Etsy shop...here are the links!
 
Sand and Surf 
 Midnight Walks on the Beach
 Golden Elegance



Sand and Sea

Growing up, we lived a bike ride away from East Point Lighthouse.  It's located on a little inlet off the Deleware Bay in Heislerville, NJ and is an amazing place to visit.

 

  

 The ocean has always been a special place for me to go...the smell of the salt in the air, the sound of the waves crashing along the beach...I love everything about it!

   

This blog hop has been put together by Lisa Lodge and there are about 20 of us participating.  Lisa sent each of us a beautiful selection of beads, either "Sand" (tans, creams, oranges and browns) or "Sea" (blues, greens and purples).

   

  As you can see, my selection of beads was inspired by the sea.  Isn't this an amazing selection to work with?!?

  

   

(I have to admit, there are a few beads I didn't use in this challenge because they just didn't work in the designs I created, but I have some ideas I've been doodling that will showcase them perfectly!)

  

 

I love long earrings! (I have long hair and small, delicate earrings tend to get lost in it all.)  I like creating earrings with a bit of sparkle and movement. 

 

This wasn't the original design, however.  I planned to make these earrings dangle with lots of these amazing triangle beads and some of the round blue and green beads.  But when I put these on to start the design, I was struck by their simple beauty.  So I left the design alone instead of trying to make it fit the image in my head.

  

  

Charm bracelets are a favorite of mine to create and I really love the sparkle of this one!  I originally started with a silver chain, but the clasp Lisa sent looked so much better with the gunmetal chain.  I used a combination of black head pins and dull silver head pins just because I didn't want it to become too dark.  

  

The smallest beads on the bracelet are my favorite of the whole bunch.  They are small triangle-shaped glass beads that have blue and green and yellow hues.  They are so small and I wanted to create a piece where they were an important part of the design, not just an accent to the larger beads.

   

 

  This necklace was actually the first piece I created.  I wanted to make a longer length necklace than I usually do (it ended up being 30 inches!)  

 

I love the milky round beads that were part of my "Sea."  They compliment the bright blues and greens of the other beads. 

  

  

This is my favorite creation of this challenge!  I wire wrapped alternating clear and blue beads for the main part of the necklace.  I added a silver toggle clasp that reminded me of the life preservers on boats and kept with the nautical theme. 

 

I love the front section of the necklace!  I took the long beads, the rest of those little triangle beads, some blue beads, two rondelles and a bunch of daisy spacers and strung them together.  I tried wrapping them into sections but just didn't like the look.   

  

 

Here is the list of the other people who are a part of this blog hop...I hope you are able to check out the amazing jewelry they created with their kits! 

     

Eleanor Burian-Mohr, The Charmed Life

Mary Govaars, MLH Jewelry Designs

Tanya Goodwin, A Work in Progress

Kathy Lindemer, Bay Moon Design

Toltec Jewels, Jewel School Friends

Sharyl McMillian-Nelson, Sharyl's Jewelry

Marla Gibson, Spice Box Designs

Melissa Trudinger, Bead Recipes

Dot Lewallen, Speedie Beadie

Ema Kilroy, Ema K Designs

Kim Booth, The Pink Martini Boutique

 

Jami Shipp, Celebrating Life

Leah Tees, My Beady Littleeyes

Christie Murrow, www.charisdesignsjewelry.blogspot.com

Monique Urquhart, A Half Baked Notion

Gloria Allen, Gloria Allen Designs

Cindy Anderson Wilson, It's My Sea of Dreams

Suzi Campbell, Suzi Campbell Creations

Shaiha Williams, Shaiha's Ramblings

Annette Rivers, MamaOwl's Mess



Sand and Sea Preview

 

I'm really looking forward to being a part of two jewelry-creating blog hops...they are challenging and a great way to see how other people's vision and talents can inspire your own. 

 

This is the first blog hop for me in March (the second will be Lori Anderson's Bead Soup Blog Hop on March 30). 

 

The challenge here is that Lisa Lodge, artist and mastermind, sent us a bead soup that either was based on sand (browns and beige) or sea (blues and greens) and we have to create something using those beads and a few of our own if we wanted. 

 

 

This is my bead soup...lots of pretty blues and greens (and even a few fish thrown in there!)

 

 

I was so excited to see these little triangle beads in my soup!  They change colors from purple to blue to green to light beige, depending on how the light hits them.  You can see the 5 mm silver daisy spacers next to them to give you an idea of how small they are.  I really want to find a way to have these steal the spotlight!

 

 

These beads have a hole drilled near one end so they will add some fun to how the design looks.

 

 

I love these green glass beads...they remind me of the waves on an overcast day. 

 

 

I'm not sure what these beads are made from, and the shapes are really different from what I usually work with so that will be a challenge.

 

 

I love these Pandora-style beads and the colors are just yummy!  I came across an artist who used these type of beads as connector beads instead of just stringing them into the design...another idea that may or may not work.

 

 

I love this clasp that Lisa sent!  I'm hoping to be able to use it as part of the design and not have it hidden away in the back. 

 

I'll be posting as I work on this piece, but you'll have to wait until March 9 to see the final design!

  

 

On the 13th Day of Christmas

 On the 13th day of Christmas

My true love gave to me...

A green sea glass pendant on a white beaded necklace

 

 

Summertime Beauty Sea Glass Necklace

 

Sometimes you just have to break the rules, and that's what I did with the necklace!  The color and shape of this piece of sea glass drew me in as I was walking the beach...and I didn't even care that it wasn't 100% jewelry grade. 

 



 Green Sea Glass Necklace

 

As you can see in the photo above, there are some places along the edge that are still a bit shiny and not frosted.  But I think that adds to the beauty of this piece.  I added a beaded necklace created with glass beads that reminded me of shells to create this one of a kind look.

 

 

And as I promised...here's a picture of our Christmas tree decked out with all the lights and decorations.  It makes the house seem more like Christmas now that this is done!

 

Do you have a special decoration or ornament that you always have to put out at Christmas?