Bead Hoarders Blog Hop 2014 - REVEAL !

Hi, my name is Audrey. Sometimes I do things. 95% of the time, I don't do things.

I realize there has been quite a long bout of radio silence. I spend the summer pursuing other hobbies but then things got pretty complicated as fall rolled in. I don,t really want to lay my troubles here when you are all here for shiny things, but I will say that things turned out a lot better than I thought they would turn out at the time.

But I will always do my best to be present for events by the lovely Lori so, here I am agaiu. Doing things. Ot at least pretending I can do things. At this point, qualifying any of my stash as 'hoarding' was not a problem at all, but the problem was, rather, which bit and which piece ?

So I decided to use something I bought right before life decided to throw me a curve.

(I must apologize for the subpar photo here. I, as always, forgot to take a picture before I began working, and this was the only thing I could find !)

I love, love, love, LOVE Moriah Betterly's ceramic work, and when she started doing kits of the months, this was the first, and I knew I had to snatch it up. I had a very clear idea of what I wanted to do with half of these amazing, tiny work of art, but I never quite got to execute the concept. They didn't change much in the time I finally set out to do this. I set out to do at least two pieces, and that is what I did.

Again, I must apologize, these photos won't be the best. I had a goalpost in my mind that pretty much consisted of finishing the necklace today (friday) to take pictures saturday to try to catch the scarce canadian light, then post sunday. Ha, ha ha ha... Anyone sees the problem here ? Thank to the amazing Lori for posting a reminder on facebook and therefore saving my ass so I acrually do have SOMETHING to show.

This cuff was literally what I bought the kit for. I went with the butterfly time by including flowers and leaves, as well as some other bits and bobs. Nothing you will see here has been bought, by the way - every single piece came out of my existing stash. I used an assortment of czech glass beads, as well as some agate and impression jasper I had left over from other projects. The cuff base consists of two skinny cuff bases from B'Sue Boutique that I fixed the cuff piece onto with a combination The of glue and apozie sculpt.after wrapping them in sari cloth. Once the apoxie was set, I wire wrapped the cuffs as well as the flowers and beads, gluing in the leaves as a last touch.

But every wrist shiny needs a neck shiny, right ? Well, neither pieces are shiny, per-se. But they are shinies. Trying to think up on how to translate the cuff design into a necklace wasn't suer easy at first, so I settled into using mostly cloth with metal accents and more danglies. The necklace got a little heretic because I ran out of 24g wire at EXACTLY the last cloth wrap. Phew... That was a close one.

I can't claim for sure that both pieces are 100% completely finished. Im not sure if I like the loops on the cuff, right below the butterfly. It looks kind of... odd to me ? I was thinking about cutting those loops off and using a pierced brass stamping to give it a cleaner look, but time got ahead of me. The necklace feels like it is missing something, too, but I can't seem to think up what it could be. So feel free to put your thoughts and ideas in the comments !

Thank you for dropping by ! I hope the dust didn't bother you too badly. Please give everyone else a visit as well !

Lori Anderson	www.PrettyThingsBlog.com  (Hostess)
Audrey Belanger	esperianterra.blogspot.com
Jenny Kyrlach	http://anafiassa.blogspot.com/
Kathy Lindemer	http://bay-moon-design.blogspot.com/
Lori Schneider	http://beadaddicted.blogspot.com/
Dee Elgie	http://cherryobsidia.blogspot.co.uk
Dolores Raml	http://craftydscreations.wordpress.com
Rebecca Ednie	Http://eclecticendeavours.blogspot.com
Lili Krist	http://emjestudio.blogspot.com/
Marybeth Rich	http://forestofjewels.blogspot.com/
Hannah Rosner	http://goodrivergallery.wordpress.com/blog/
Nicole Prince	http://healingbeading.blogspot.com/
Deana Hager	http://justdeesarts.blogspot.com/
Jackie Ryan	http://kydojewellery.blogspot.co.uk/
Elsie Deliz-Fonseca	http://ladelizchica.blogspot.com/
Mowse Doyle	http://mowsemadethis.blogspot.com/
Evelyn Shelby	http://raindropcreationsbyevelyn.blogspot.com
Lisa Johnson	http://spudandmrsbutters.blogspot.com/
Terri Gauthier	http://terrisbloomingideas.blogspot.com/
Patti Pruhs	http://threebeadsandastring.blogspot.com
Shai Williams	http://www.shaihasramblings.com/
Andrea Glick	http://zenithjade.blogspot.com/
K Hutchinson	https://jumbledhutch.wordpress.com
Marci Brooks	https://thatnothingbewasted.wordpress.com/
Jo-Ann Woolverton	itsabeadifulcreation.blogspot.ca
Jasvanti Patel	Jewelrybyjasvanti.blogspot.com
Laurie Vyselaar	Lefthandjewelry.wordpress.com
Lisa Knappenberger	LIRaysaDesigns.blogspot.com
Mary Lindell	marylindell.com
Niky Sayers	silverniknats.blogspot.co.uk
Sandra McGriff	skyescreativechaos.blogspot.com
Patricia Handschuh	thecolorofdreams.blogspot.com
Erin Prais-Hintz	treasures-found.blogspot.com
Maria Rosa Sharrow	willowstreetshops.blogspot.com
Kathleen Breeding	www.99bobotw.blogspot.com
Monique Urquhart	www.ahalfbakednotion.blogspot.com
Jackie Locantore	www.artfire.com/ext/shop/blog/MorningStar
Sheryl Stephens	www.babblebead.blogspot.com
Becky Pancake	www.beckypancakebeaddesigns.blogspot.com
Mona Arnott	www.bijouxgemsjoy.blogspot.ca
Michelle Escano	www.cabbycraft.com
Denise McCabe	www.cabewoman.blogspot.com
Carolyn Lawson	www.carolynscreationswa.blogspot.com
Sheila Prose	www.catswithbeads.blogspot.com
Kim Dworak	www.cianciblue.blogspot.com
Iveth Caruso	www.CreativeAtelier.net/blog
Deborah Apodaca	www.deborahapodacadesigns.blogspot.com/
Elizabeth Bunn	www.elizabethbeads.blogspot.com
Janine Lucas	www.esfera.me/travel/blog/travel-stories
Kari Asbury	www.hippiechickdesign.blogspot.com
Inge von Roos	www.ingetraud.wordpress.com
Divya N	www.jewelsofsayuri.com
Debbie Rasmussen	www.kepirasmussen.blogspot.com
KJ	www.kjsbeadaciousbeads.blogspot.com/
Klaudete Koon	www.klaudetekoon.blogspot.com
Ghislaine Kruse-van Erp	www.kruseartllc.com
Ginger Bishop	www.lilmummylikes.blogspot.com
Kelly Schermerhorn	www.meanderingwithkelly.blogspot.com
Mischelle Andrade	www.micheladasmusings.blogspot.com
Sue Kelly	www.midlifegreaterexpectations.blogspot.com
Rachel Mallis	www.mintmonarch.com/#!Blog/c1jlz
Susan McClelland	www.mistheword12.com
Mary K McGraw	www.mkaymac.blogspot.com
Tania Spivey	www.moobiegracedesigns.blogspot.com
Stephanie Perry	www.mustardbeadbystephanieperry.blogspot.com
Mitzie Crider	www.NeedfulLuxuries.Blogspot.com
Nicole Rennell	Www.nicolerennell.com/blog
Nicole Valentine	www.nvalentine.blogspot.com
Karen Mitchell	www.overthemoon-design.com
Tammy Adams	www.paisleylizard.com/blog/
Patty Miller	www.pattymillerbeads.blogspot.com
Blanca Medina	www.peru-medesigns.com
Stephanie Haussler	www.pixybugdesigns.blogspot.com
Roxanne Mendoza	www.roxidesigns.blogspot.com
Claire Fabian	www.saraccino.blogspot.com
Bridget Torres	www.shears58.net
Donetta Farrington	www.simplygorgeous-donetta.blogspot.com
Lee Koopman	www.stregajewellry.wordpress.com
Deb Fortin	www.studiok24.blogspot.ca
Susan Walls	Www.susansartcircus.com/blog
Cece Cormier	www.thebeadingyogini.com
Heather Otto	www.thecrafthopper.com
Lizzie Clarke	www.theneedtobead.blogspot.co.uk
Elizabeth Hodges	www.thewhisperingseas.blogspot.com
Fay Wolfenden	www.torchfairy.blogspot.com
Kelly Hosford Patterson	www.TravelingSideShow.blogspot.com
Nan Smith	www.wirednan.blogspot.ca
Jayne Capps	wwwww.mamasgototdoodle.blogspot.com

Robin Kae Reed                                       http://www.willowdragon.blogspot.com/
Melissa Trudinger                                   https://beadrecipes.wordpress.com/

A Sky Full Of Stars

(Looking for my BSBP reveal ? go here ! <3)

'Cause in a sky, 'cause in a sky full of stars
I think I see you
I think I see you

This piece is a bit personal for a few reasons, the first of which being because it features a bead by my very talented lampwork artist friend, Donna Millard. I remember her making this bead a few days after she saw an aurora. I fell in love with that bead, but I did not have the money. And so that bead was gone, slipping in between my fingers.

Some time later, Donna made another. Again, I did not have the money. But that one bead, for some reason, sat there.It sat there and it waited, for months, until Donna had a sale. Then, I was able to bring my little dream of a bead home.

And I could not have been happier. There are no photos that can give that bead any justice. It is breathtaking. A sky full of stars, indeed. I had a really fun time trying to replicate the glow and iridescence with the shattered fire opal from the iced enamels line. It's far from the same, but it is still such a lovely effect ! I did the bowl of the two spoons as well as the round part of the handles, then poured resin on top. They all just glow ! I fear I am even more addicted to the medium than I once was... Please send help more of it, yes. I will have most of the new colors soon, minus one - they're still a bit hard to get !

The beads are blue goldstone, which is actually a man-made material rather than an actual stone. I always thought it looked like a starry sky to me, so adding a few was a given.Then I made a tassel with my star chain. The tassel addiction continues, ever and ever <<;

So I had the focal part done. I had no idea what to do the neckline with. I thought about just using more star chain, but it didn't seem to fit for some reason. This is the proof that an idea can happen everywhere and nothing is laughable... I was at the bakery, getting a tart for dessert. It was being boxed, and that box was then being wrapped in lengths of black ribbon. That was my AHA moment. As you can see this is not cheap plastic ribbon. This is a very nice fabric ribbon that worked perfectly for this purpose and provided the final touch.

Bead Soup Blog Party 8 :: REVEAL !

“I pray to the birds because they remind me of what I love rather than what I fear. And at the end of my prayers, they teach me how to listen.” 

― Terry Tempest Williams

2012 | 2013

Hi, and welcome to my reveal of the 8th Bead Soup Blog Party ! Enjoy your stay !

As a reminder, the soup the lovely Sandra sent me is here. Sandra set me a challenge - to use yellow, a color which, along with orange, just isn't a color I... dig. Or use. Or think about most of the time. She provided me with a few yellow beads for this purpose, and early on I ran into a setback. Not so much because of the color, but because most of the yellow beads she sent me, along with the pearls and the lovely coral I was so looking forward to using, had holes too small to be strung on 20 gauge wire. 22 would have compromised the strength of the pieces, so I pulled out what little yellow that I do own from my own stash and set out to work, finding creative ways to use the small yellow beads and the pearls in a different way.

This bracelet contains one of the focals Sandra sent me. I wanted to keep the top hole to hang from, as well as keep the bird straight, so rather than hook from the provided bails, I mounted (of sorts) the lovely bird focal on a round mother of pearl doughnut that another good friend of mine (also, aptly, named Sandra, but she will be represented as her online handle of Efte for purposes of clarity). The MOP links came with copper links that covers the inside of the inner hole, so it was easy to punch an hole though the decorative element, afix a wire to the back of the bird, then wire everything up neatly. To make sure nothing came undone, I poured resin on the backside. This bird isn't flying away ! The heart with kanji came from Efte as well, though I used ice enamels to color it. Sandra sent me the flower bead caps separately upon realizing she forgot to send me some, and they worked perfectly in this lovely little bracelet !

The clasp is handmade by the lovely Lisa of Metal Me This, painted with lumiere paints and adorned with a tiny wire nest. Sandra sent me a trio of lovely egg beads, but they were a little big for this purpose, so I painted this smaller trio to match them. The bird spacers are from Sandra as well, but are guarding tiny nests of pearls and hearts rather than spacing anything ! Most of the gemstones on this bracelet were part of my soup, with exceptions of the smaller agate round, the wooden beads, and the round yellow stones, that came from my stash. The three strands were made separately and then I wired them together with jump rings to keep things tidy. this is a substantial piece, as per my usual, and a nice weight on one's wrist. I made this within a week of getting my soup, and have been wearing it nearly constantly since !

But, Audrey, you mentioned three big egg beads, where are they ? Well...

There they are ! I first made this to be an element in the bracelet, but it was much too big to work well. Rather than cut the whole thing apart, I thought to make a ring with a spare bit of bookchain much like I've seen Harry of Oscarcrow do. This is very similar to how I mounted the bird on the bracelet - I used apoxie sculpt to fill the hole, then pressed the focal. I found that it wasn't strong enough in the nest's case, thanks to all the irregularities of the wire wrapping, but it left me an impression that made it easy to simply glue it back in place once the clay had cured. Bookchain is expensive, and having a good way to use up small bits and bobs is very handy !

But, Audrey, those who know me might say. Two whole pieces, and nary a necklace in sight ? Are you well ?

Worry not, my dears.

There's a necklace, as one could expect from me :P The base is assemblage of three different brass pieces - the backplate with the holes, the winged cartouche, and the heart. The heart was painted with vintaj inks in a mix of garnet and black, then had iced enamels applied on. I painted the little bird with lumière paint for the golden, and the leftover red from the heart. I used crystal clay to fix the heart of the winged cartouche, and then went around it with the pearls Sandra sent me to hide how raised up it was. They worked perfectly for this purpose !

The base itself had some red painted onto, then I used tissue decoupage on top of it. Once the two parts were together, I put resin on everything, making sure to not cover the pearls. Then I put the backplate on.

I made the neckline while keeping in mind that the piece was going to be relatively bottom heavy - the sari ribbon on the back keeps the necklace from being harsh on the neck, where the beaded segments offer decoration on the sides. The clasp is the clasp Sandra sent me, though it gained a little birdy friend who made a nest upon it.

The lower part is definitively kitchen sinky. The sari ribbon adds a lot of volume to the bottom part while not adding too much weight. A lot of the gemstone beads that Sandra sent me ended up here, along with a little bottle full of coral. I made yet another little nest for the center tassel part, with a cloisonne bead Efte sent me. The rest came from my own stash. Here's a better look of the whole bottom part pulled out :

And, as a finale, something a little more unusual (well, for me...)

These earrings all use the bead caps and the yellow beads Sandra sent me, as well as some scrap bits of sari and chain. These were actually really fun to do, and I plan to do more of them ! I love to use the little brass spoon Brenda sells as elements like this. They work very well for earrings, or elements in assemblage. Im sure to make a bunch more !

Well, that's about it for me for this year ! Please make sure to visit my partner, Sandra, as well as everyone else involved in the party ! Have fun !

The Color of Dreams Blog Hop :: Reveal !

((Feel free to skip the tl;dr bullshit and go right to the pretty. I won't blame ya.))

Dreams are a bit of a... slippery subject for me, to be honest. I've struggled with self-esteem issues all my life, and am still struggling with them now. I will probably be struggling with them all my life.

Every time I have reached out for my dreams, I have failed. Sometimes a little harder than other times. It just seems that whatever I do is never good enough, and I'll never go anywhere. It's easy to wonder 'why me' and go down that slippery slope, so I try to do my best not to go there at all.

I think my dreams right now are simple - I want to be happy. Yet that seems just as unattainable as the rest of them. Maybe one day I'll get there.

Maybe.

This piece came about really quickly and basically on it's own. The cameo was tinted from blue to purple with the help of Lisa's lovely color me this line, allowing me to tint the cameo without losing too much details or staining the white. The cameo is also a reference to my mother, who has left us seven years ago now. She loved cameos very much. The bead I have gotten as part of the blog hop sits nestled safely in it's little frame, surrounded by flowers. I think that's what I want. I want to feel safe, surrounded by things that I love.

The frame and the back plate was first darkened then built up in a very subtle patina. It's a hard to see on the photo, but in real life it's quite visible.

The leaves are brass stampings that I painted with lumiere paints then sealed. And the flowers, as easily seen here, are inverted bead caps with the inside painted, wired with spectra glass beads. I've always thought these little bead caps looked like flowers. I think I've used them more as flowers than as their actual purpose !

This piece is also my entry for B'Sue April challenge, a pop of color. So don't get confused if you see it floating around a bit !

Thanks for visiting me. Please go take a look at everyone else as well~

Honorary Artist: Patricia Handschuh
Patricia's blog:            The Color of Dreams        
Patricias Etsy:             The Color of Dreams

Hostess: TJ                Jewel School Friends
Kay Thomerson           KayzKreationz
Audrey Belanger          Toki No Hourousha <=== You are here

Alicia Marinache          All the Pretty Things
Terry Carter                TappingFlamingo
Lori Schneider             Bead Addict
Jenny Kyrlach             Wonder and Whimsy
Asri Wahyuingsih         Asri's Beadwork
Dini Bruinsma              Angaza by Changes
Karla Morgan              Texas Pepper Jams
Debbie Rasmussen        A Little of This, A Little of That
Veralynne Malone          Designed by Vera
Kathy Stemke               Vintage Memories Jewelry Design
Mowse Doyle               Mowse Made This
Heather Richter             Desert Jewelry Designs
Lori Poppe                   Adventures in Creativity with LorilliJean
Jayne Capps                Mama's Got To Doodle
Andrea Glick                Zenith Jade Creations
Kathleen Breeding         99 Bottles of Beads on the Wall
Becky Pancake             Becky Pancake Bead Designs
Karin Martinez              Fairies Market
Miranda Ackerley          Mirandack
Penny Houghton           Smelly Nelly
Carolyn Lawson           Carolyn's Creations
Chris Eisenberg            Wanderware
Christie Murrow          Charis Designs Jewelry
Monique Urquhart        A Half-Baked Notion
Eve Shelby                  Raindrop Creations Jewelry by Evelyn
Cryss Thain                 Here Bead Dragons
Jasvanti Patel               Jewelry By Jasvanti
Nan Smith                   NanMade Handmade Jewelry
Sue Kennedy               SueBeads
Jean Yates                   Snap Out of It, Jean! There's Beading to be Done!
Debbie Rogers             Debbies Treasures
Marybeth Rich             A Few Words From Within the Pines
Shirley Moore              Beads and Bread
Shaia Williams             Shaiha's Ramblings
Kathy Lindemer           Bay Moon Design
Linda Anderson           From the Bead Board
Judy Turner               Silver Rains
Gloria Allen                Gloria Allen Designs
Regina Wood              Ginas-Design
Robin Reed                Artistry HCBD
Mary Goovars            MLH Jewelry Designs
Marlene Cupo             Amazing Designs
CJ Bauschka              4 His Glory Creations
Robin Showstack        The Crazy Bead Hoarder
Cynthia O'Toole          Sparkles and Sweets
Jael Thorp                 Jael's Art Jewels
Renetha Stanziano      Lamplight Crafts

A Collection Of Favorites

So, my soup is simmering nicely... Im at four pieces now ! And some of them are surprising, for me :) But I can't show those pretties, so consider this an intermission of sorts.

Keen readers of this blog might have seen me mention the B'Sue Boutique Creative Group a few times. B'Sue Boutique is the place were I buy a large amount of my supplies, ran by the lovely Brenda Sue and her son Jordan, along with her small team. The service is top notch, and I have never gotten even the slightest problem with any order I have placed.

Brenda does a lot more than sell bits and bobs, she runs a monthly challenge using her brass and components every month, she offer advice to anyone who asks in her facebook group, and she also makes a collection of free videos, usually one every friday. These videos are light hearted, uncensored, funny, and chockfull of amazing information, techniques, and ideas. I personally adore them, and the fact that she keeps her mistake in them. It kind of shatters the whole 'perfect' image most tutorials videos will show us, and it gives me the feeling that im right there beside her, watching over her shoulder.

Im going to present to you a few of my favorites, in order to make you, my lovely readers, discover them and fall in love in turn.

Get rid of your resin fear ! It's easy ! (And addictive.) This video also touches on iced enamels. They're easy ! (And addictive)

This one was a real eye opener for me. Cameos are a thing I did like as a base, but I hated just how much detail was usually lost in the whiteness of the carving. It never occured to me to do this ! Durr. This is also a good way to do cameo jewelry and yet make it unique, in a way.

I gotta say I've really been into tassels lately - I love the flow it adds to a piece ! There are a bunch amazing ideas in this video.

These little charm bracelets are so fun and easy to make ! You can see my takes on them here and here.

This one of a general showcasing of three of my five main tools in my colorization arsenal - Vintaj patinas (though they are more like metal paints than actual patinas), Swellegant (which is actual patina. I don't dig the dye oxides too much, personally, but the rest of the line is BOSS as hell), and gilder's paste.

Bead Soup Blog Party 8 :: Chirp chirp... Chirp Chirp ?

You know what they say about great minds, right ? Well, this is more than a little funny... Sandra and I both received our respective soups today, and... well...

We sent along the same themes. XD Just different colors and executions of said themes ! My other soup was much different, and Sandra had three soups to pick from... What were the odds of this ? XD

Before anything else, I would like to say that I have been completely and utterly shamed in the packaging department. Just look at this ! And there I just tucked everything safely into a box.... Sadly packaging is not my strong point.

But man, look at this haullllll. Two focals, lucky me ! One if a beach glass find that Sandra wire-wrapped herself - isn't it lovely ? I've done some wire-wrapping of stones - in fact, that's where I started because this is what my lovely mentor Bee excels at. And yet, a year later, our styles have diverged so much that Lori paired us up !

The second focal is that lovely bird by Rebekah of Tree Wings Studio whose shop I should not have looked up because LOOK AT THOSE CUTE BEADS ASDF ASDF I think im gonna raid it someone please send halp. The two bigger red and black disks are also by Rebekah.

Also pictured is coral - which is something I've always wanted to work with !, small pearls, an assortment of lovely gemstones, a clock claps barely peeking out from under the bird's wing, and my nemesis... The yellow. Those are very interesting yellow beads, however, and this set will work very well with the few yellow beads I do already own, mostly from swaps and soup purchases.  I already have ideas swirling in my mind, so this will be very interesting indeed.

As for the soup I have sent...

...Buuuuuuuurds. <<; The fact that this was completely unintentional really makes this even better. My soup features a clasp from Cat of BooBeads, some of the favorite clasps I have ever owned. :) You might have seen another similar a few posts down, in my remake of the star necklace.

Sandra's challenge will come from the focal - which is bigger than what she usually uses. I always tend to work with volume and big focal points. The ribbon will also be a bit of a challenge for her. Basically, I provided her with materials that are things I commonly use, but are completely foreign to her. I can't wait to see how she uses them ! Likely she will use them in very different ways than I usually do.

BONUS ROUND :

Warning, birds may attract cats...