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If you're looking for my Bead Hoarders Blog Hop reveal piece, I'm sorry, I couldn't get anything finished. I had a case of Heat Exhaustion and haven't been able to finish my pieces. I'm still working on them and hope to post them soon. In the meantime, please read about my Tree Wings Reveal piece which I had already finished before this happened. Thank you so much for understanding.
Recently I signed up for a chance to win a set of polymer clay beads from Rebekah Payne of Tree Wings Studio. I love her beads. I have a set with the most adorable little pony and some additional beads and I haven't had the time to make up a bracelet with them. It will be for me, since I love horses. Just need to make the time. Anyway, I got chosen to receive one set of a large and small round bead. I was overjoyed. I love the colors in them, to me very earthy and rustic. And as usual, forgot to take a picture of them before I started. I knew I wanted something very rustic, but since there were only 2 and they were different sizes I had to figure out how to use them. I had started hearing/reading about Chinese knotting and this intrigued me. It seems to be very similar to macramé which I used to do in the 70's and have been starting to re-add to my repertoire. (See my macramé anklet here and a fused glass piece I did a couple of years ago and added a small macramé hanger to it and sold in my shop.)
As I perused the internet for ideas and information about Chinese knotting I found a knot I like, the Chinese coin knot, I think they called it, also known as the Celtic knot a and thought it would make a great bracelet with the larger bead as the focal and the smaller one as the clasp. I found some hemp in a neutral color that matched the main color in the beads and then some wonderful 6/0 seed beads in the coordinating colors in the bead to add as pops of color. I set to work tying off a knot with a small seed bead as a stopper for the small round bead for the clasp. Then I started tying Coin/Celtic knots and adding the seed beads in between each knot. I was hoping both pieces of the hemp would go through the seed beads instead of having to put a bead on each piece, but it didn't work. I figured out how long I needed the bracelet and added the larger focal bead. Then I finished tying off the rest of the knots and the seed beads. Finally, I tied another knot, left a loop for the small bead/clasp to slide through, tied another knot and then 2 small seed beads on the end. I love the way it turned out. Very earthy, rustic that would go with so many things. The only thing I'm not fond of is the way it turns. I think I should have reversed the strings I was using working from left to right and then right to left as I would in macramé to keep it straighter. However, the tutorial I found didn't say anything about doing that. Next time I'll try it to see if it helps. Anyway, tell me what you think of my Chinese/Celtic knotted bracelet. Hope Tree Wings studio thinks I did justice to her beads. Here's the bracelet and a closeup of the larger bead/focal. Thanks for letting me play. Be sure to check out what everyone else did with their beads on Tree Wings Studio.
For more of my Wire-wrapped, Beaded jewelry or Stained Glass, Mosaics, Fused Glass kreationz for your Home or Garden, check out my shop, KayzKreationz.
Here's the participants:
If you're looking for my ZNETshows Summer Challenge and Giveaway, click here
But first check out my reveal for the Season's Blog Hop below. Thanks
Recently I signed up with Lisa Lodge from Pine Ridge Treasures for her 'Season's' Blog hop. We were sent a package of beads to imitate either a season of the year or a season in our life and had to design something. I fell into my usual forgetfulness and forgot to take a picture of the entire package of beads. However, here is what I have left and you can see what I used in my pieces.
I had the hardest time with this. I couldn't figure out what to make, although the soft purples, white, some black, dark purple crystals, clear and muted white crystals and teardrop beads all evoked 'Winter' to me. There is also some snowflake charms, some wings, a couple of great purple focal/pendant beads and some grayish/mauve smaller beads along with a couple of silver/pewter keys and a toggle clasp. I haven't gotten anything to work for the purple focal/pendant beads yet, but for some reason I also kept thinking of when I was younger and how much I liked the 'hippie' look with all the fringe and dangles. (I still do and wear a lot of fringe and dangles) so I decided I needed a 'hippie/fringe/dangly' bracelet. I really challenged myself with this as I have never done any chainmaille before, but I wanted to make this a chainmaille/hippie bracelet. So I ordered some enamel jump rings in colors I felt would also feel kind of wintry and match the beads and set to work. I picked a very simple/basic chainmaille piece called WiggleMobius as it looked fairly easy for my first piece. While the chainmaille part of it wasn't a problem at all, all the dangles like to drove me insane. I can tell you, I'm really tired of wire-wrapping right now, but I got all my dangles made with the seed beads (which I don't use much), the white muted teardrop beads, the dichroic clear/purple square beads and the black pearls. Then I had to start reopening jump rings to attach all the dangles without messing up my bracelet. But I finally got it all done. I added a simple clasp so as not to detract from the chainmaille and dangles. This took quite a bit longer than I figured.
Finally I made a wintry pair of earrings with the Snowflake charms and some more wire wrapped dangles using some of the clear crystals with the purple/mauve seed beads, the muted white teardrops and the black pearls. I attached them to some silver plated earwires.
I'm still working on the purple focal beads and the wings. I have a great idea for the wings, just haven't quite gotten it to work yet. Hope you like my 'Winter'/'Hippie' kreationz for the Seasons blog hop. Be sure to check out Pine Ridge Treasures blog for the full list of participants in case the links don't work here.
Your Hostess: Lisa Lodge, Grateful Artist
Kathy Zeigler Lindemer, Bay Moon Design
For more of my Beaded, Wire-wrapped Jewelry, Stained Glass, Mosaics and Fused Glass Kreationz for your Home or Garden, check out my shop, KayzKreationz.
Once again, I've been fortunate to be chosen as a designer for ZNETshows. This time it was a little different, though. We were partnered up and the partner chose beads from a list to send to us and then we were challenged to design something with them. I was partnered with Rachel Baron, who has been nursing a broken hand for the last few weeks. But she's hoping to have something created for the reveal and hop. Please check out her blog RBaronDesigns and see what she created. I didn't get the memo to her in time though, that I DON'T DO BLUE! LOL, so as you can see, most of my beads were Blue. I'm becoming pretty proficient at designing with blue though, since my last several challenges have included Blue. This is what I received:
Blue Square Cultured Sea Glass Nuggets, code S45
Khaki Round Glass Pearls, code BDS1618
Labradorite Oval Pendant Grade AAA, code PT513
Meridian Blue Chinese Crystal Rectangle Glass Beads, code RS176
Blue/Turquoise Bay Cultured Sea Glass Conch Shell Beads, code S29
Antique Brass Base Metal Conch Shell charms, code M0078-AB and
Antique Brass Base Metal Starfish charms, code M0477-AB Aren't they all great and very Summery and Beachy? In fact that was the theme for this challenge. We were to think 'The Beach' for our designs. So here's what I created.
First with some freeform Blue Cultured Sea Glass beads I had for another challenge, I created my Beach bracelet, using the Antique Brass Starfish and Conch Shell charms. I think it turned out great.
Next, I used the Blue Square Nugget Cultured Sea Glass, the Meridian Blue Chinese Crystal and the Khaki Glass Pearls to string 3 strands. Then I used some Silver Plated chain I had, took it apart and made links to attach links of the Blue Chinese Crystal and Khaki beads and the Blue Sea Glass and Khaki beads. I also used the Labradorite Pendant as an extra focal in between all the chain and strung a long necklace.
Finally I used some Wine cooler bottle caps I had that seemed very beachy to me with the Palm trees on them and hung a Blue Conch Shell bead along with a Starfish and Conch Shell charm from them to make some fun Beach earrings.
I still have a few beads left and will be creating more beach item with them later. Hope you like my Kreationz. Be sure to check out ZNETshows.com for their great wholesale beads.
And now for the GIVEAWAY! Run to ZNETshows blog to see all the participants on Saturday, July 6th and to enter the contest for some of their beads so you can make your own Beach Kreationz.
If you're looking for these pieces or more of my Wire-wrapped, Bead jewelry or Stained Glass, Mosaics and Fused Glass Kreationz for your Home and Garden, check out my shop, KayzKreationz.
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