Earth As Art Color Challenge From Treasures Found

It's here! The first of November I signed up for the Color Challenge that Erin Prais-Hintz, of Treasures Found, always has in November. I did it last November for the first time. If you're really wanting to challenge yourself or just get new inspiration, you should really check out her Color Challenges. Just as the name implies, they will challenge you.  She has a different theme every time and selects one or two color palettes for you to use to make a piece of jewelry.  This time around, Brandi Hussey from BrandiGirl blog picked out 40 of the 120 NASA pictures from their Earth As Art photographs and made color palettes from those. They are truly inspiring.  Then Erin picked out the 2 color palettes for each of the 80 participants and e-mailed them to us, letting us pick which palette we would work with.  These are the 2 palettes I received.  The first is the Great Sandy Scars from Australia.  I love these colors and picked this one to be the main one to work with.  Description: In a small corner of the vast Great Sandy Desert in Western Australia, large sand dunes—the only sand in this desert of scrub and rock—appear as lines stretching from left to right. The light-colored fan shapes are scars from wildfires. Isn't that cool?

This is what I came up with from my Color Palette.  I used some Glass Beads from Hobby Lobby, some Purple Potato Pearls and Green Daggers (can't remember the name of the bead on these) I had on hand, some Light Green/Yellow sari ribbon I had and the cutest little blue/gray owl I received from Natalie Pappas along with a brass colored Leaf toggle clasp to make it appear the owl was in the leaves of a tree high overhead the Great Sandy Scars. (I know, he probably wouldn't be in that part of the world, but I liked the idea.)  I added some dark brass colored chain I had to wrap around the Green and Purple strand.  Did I catch the essence of the Great Sandy Scars?

Here's the second palette I received. This one was really a challenge for me. I'm not a fan of blue and these are not colors I usually or ever work with.  I'm still trying to get my Kumihimo braid finished off for this necklace, so not sure I'll get it done in time to post.  But I took Dyed Imperial Jasper Sapphire, Natural Shell rice, and Carnelian dyed nuggets from Michael's along with some Yellow Round hole beads from Hobby Lobby and some Copper Filigree beads I had received as a gift and strung them to hang with the Salsa yarn and Gold and Orange ribbon to make my Kumihimo braid. Finished off the braid with brass/copper bead caps and attached all 3 strands to copper jump rings and chain. Then I finished it off with a Copper Square Toggle clasp to match the square Filigree beads.  It is from the Color palette Lake Eyre, also in Australia. Description: Do you see a scary face looking back at you? The hollow-appearing eyes, narrow nose, and slash of a mouth are inundated patches of shallow Lake Eyre (pronounced "air"). Deep in the desert country of northern South Australia, Lake Eyre is an ephemeral feature of this flat, parched landscape. When seasonal rains are abundant, water fills the lakebed to some degree. During the last 150 years, Lake Eyre has filled completely only three times. When brimming, it is Australia's largest lake.

Unfortunately, I've run out of time, between company, appointments, cooking for some volunteers that are coming this weekend to help us and other things, so I don't quite have this piece done, but here it is so far. I still have to finish off my Kumihimo braid, then attach all three strings to the copper chain and the copper toggle clasp, which is in the picture. Hopefully I'll get it done and post the finished project Monday or Tuesday. So if you'd like to see it finished, check back then and let me know what you think.

I thought it was interesting to read about each of these spots, too, so I included the description of each from USGS/EROS Image gallery. To see more great Earth as Art pictures click the name.  So what do you think?  Did I capture the essence of Lake Eyre in this necklace?  Did I meet the challenge of using colors I never work with and make something you would wear? Keep checking my blog or Etsy shop as this one at least will be listed for sale soon. If you like either one and want it sooner, you can e-mail me or convo me from my Etsy shop, KayzKreationz and let me know.  And be sure to check out Treasures Found for the other 79 participants in this Color Challenge.  And if you're looking for more Stained Glass, Mosaic, Fused Glass Kreationz for your Home or Garden, or more Beaded, Wire-wrapped jewelry for yourself or as gifts, check out my shop for those, too, KayzKreationz.

Texas Pepper Jams: !Crazy Hot Nuts!

This is a great article about Nuts and their health benefits.  Plus they're adding Spicy Hot nuts to their shop. Be sure to check it out and get in on the fun.

Texas Pepper Jams: !Crazy Hot Nuts!: A nut isn't just a nut anymore! There are 53 varieties of nuts. Can you name them all? Some nuts we love to eat are: almonds, pecans, walnut...

And if you're looking for some great Stained Glass, Mosaics or Fused Glass Kreationz for your home or garden, or Wire-wrapped, Beaded jewelry for yourself or as a gift, check out my shop, KayzKreationz.

Kalmbach Books Bead Soup Blog Party

With the release of Lori Anderson's new book Bead Soup-32 Projects (for my review of her book, click here)  Kalmbach books asked Bead shops across the country to send in 'Soup' mixes of a focal bead, a clasp and some coordinating beads to go with it.  Then they asked for jewelry designers to sign up and drew names to send these soups to.  I was fortunate enough to get a soup mix and it came from Wired Up Beads in Texas!  Yay!  We were to take that soup and create a piece of jewelry or more from it, using at least the focal and the clasp. We could use just their beads or we could raid our stash and add to it.  This is the soup I got from Wired Up Beads.  Isn't it great?  The focal is one from Patti Bullard at Wired Up Beads.

I chose to use only the beads they sent me and added chain and fiber from my stash.  This was my first time making a Kumihimo braid. I found 8 different strands of fiber/yarn that I thought would compliment these beads and went to work.  It wasn't long enough, however, so I capped it off, after winding some smaller chain around it and attached it to the heavier chain to lengthen the necklace.  I then attached the Teal beads to the small chain wound around the Kumihimo braid.  I then added another shorter length of chain to the main part of the necklace and made dangles with the orange/red beads and the green beads to attach to that.  I also used the smaller chain to make 3 dangles with one each of the beads, attached it to a headpin and ran it through the focal bead to make my focal pendant.  Then I had to figure out how to hang the focal pendant.  So I used the heavier chain, draped it around the Kumihimo braid and attached the Focal to it.  I used the end caps for the Kumihimo braid to make a pair of earrings, hanging one each of the 3 beads on the small chain again and running through the bead caps to the earwire.  Although it didn't really come out as I envisioned it, I think I like it.  My mother said she thinks it's gorgeous, except that my focal reminds her of a 'fishing lure'!  LOL  Didn't really expect that.  What do you think of my Bead Soup Necklace and earrings?  I think I have enough beads to make a dangle/charm bracelet to go with it.  Thanks for stopping by. This set will be showing up in my Etsy shop KayzKreationz before long, unless it sells before I get it listed.  I've had some interest in it.  And for Stained Glass, Mosaics or Fused Glass Kreationz for your Home or Garden, stop by my shop, KayzKreationz.  Plus you can go to Kalmbach's Facebook page and vote for your favorite piece. The winner gets prizes.

Thanks for stopping by and all your lovely comments.

Toast of the Town-Michael's Blog Hop

I'm a little late, but here goes. Recently Erin Prais-Hintz worked together with Michael's, the hobby store to celebrate Jewelry month and created her Toast of the Town necklace. It was gorgeous. Talk about blingy and fun.  So she decided to have a little blog hop. 3 people won a set of beads from Erin and the rest of us were encouraged to play along.  While I wasn't one of the 3 that won beads, I loved one of the color palettes Erin had picked out for the beads for the winners.  So I decided to make my own Toast of the Town necklace with that red and black set.  However, my Michael's didn't have all the beads Erin had picked out, so I went out on my own to add more beads. At first I wasn't sure I liked the added beads I'd picked, but the more I looked at it, I really love it.  My next problem was, this blog hop came right on thee heels of my Kalmbach soup that had to be done by the same day and then I ended up having to go out of town, so I didn't get my Toast of the Town necklace post up by last Friday.  However, here it is.  I hope you like my palette and what I did with it.  I couldn't find a toggle clasp I really liked, so I found this great pendant that fit right in with my color palette/beads and made my own Toggle bar to go with it. And instead of cutting off the ring to attach it with, I made a dangle to hang from it. I may change it later, because I'm not sure it hangs like I'd like, but for now I really like it.  This necklace can be worn several different ways. You can keep it doubled like it is, you can twist those strands or you can separate it and wear it long with the toggle/pendant off to the side.  I'll probably wear it shorter, but you never know. I may be daring and wear it long once in a while, too.  Thanks for letting me play along, Erin. And be sure to check out her blog, Treasures Found to see the rest of the participants.  You'll have to scroll down to the post on the 2nd, but it's well worth it.
Be sure to check out my shop, KayzKreationz for more Wire-wrapped, beaded Jewelry, Stained Glass, Mosaics and Fused Glass Kreationz for your Home and Garden.

 

I used Natural Shell, Ruby Bamboo Coral spacer beads, Ruby Glass bicones, Jet Millefiori Lentil glass beads, and Hematite chips. 

Bead Soup-32 Projects

I recently received Lori Anderson's new book Bead Soup-32 Projects Show What Happens when 26 Beaders Swap Their Stash, from Kalmbach books. It's a great book. Lori started with the Bead Soup Blog Party basically by accident back in about December 2010.  She decided to see if people would want to swap bead stashes and create, preferably with things they hadn't or wouldn't have chosen to use to challenge themselves and then blog about it.  Since then it's grown to over 400 participants this last summer.  I have gotten to participate in 2 of those Bead Soup Bog Parties. They are fantastic and cause you to really challenge yourself to create something you might not have otherwise.  This book is written like a Bead Soup Party.  There were 26 designers involved, asked to swap beads and design.  I love the way the soup is written on 'recipe' cards in keeping with the soup theme.  Then the directions are described as 'recipes'.  What's fantastic about this book, is that although you can follow the directions exactly if you wish, it also teaches or encourages you to work with your own stash and see how you can create these projects or something very similar with what you already have.  This is great, since it gets us to go through our stash and see things in a different light.  The first chapter focuses on the Leftover method, where you use beads left over from other projects. It moves on to the Focal method which focuses on the focal of our piece.  It finishes up with the Color Palette method and the Random Purchase method.  Each project is named, gives us the 'utensils' (tools) to use and then encourages us to stretch our imagination.  She gives us little tips and substitutions to try.  She's very thorough in the way she approaches each project and then describes it. The photos are great.  In the back she introduces us to all the designers and contributors of the projects and gives us a shopping list, if we just have to have the same 'ingredients' used in a particular project.  In accord with the release of this book, Kalmbach books asked Bead stores from across the country to send in Soup mixes and then asked people if they'd like to sign up to participate in another Bead Soup party to celebrate the release of this great book.  I am thrilled to say, I was chosen and sent a fantastic soup from a Bead Store from my own great state of Texas, Wired Up Beads!  They're in Southlake, Tx.  Stay tuned in the next day or two for the reveal of my pieces.  In the meantime, run right out (or get online) and order this book. You won't regret it.  It will help you stretch your wings in your beading creativity.
And if you're looking for some of my Wire-wrapped, Beaded jewelry or Stained Glass, Mosaics or Fused Glass Kreationz for your Home or Garden, check out my shop, KayzKreationz.  I'll be glad to help you any way I can.

Don't forget, check back for my Kalmbach Bead Soup reveal from Wired UP Beads.