Bead Soup Blog Party-3rd Reveal

It's finally here. I'm in the last reveal (the 3rd one) for the monstrous Bead Soup Blog Party.  Lori Anderson of Pretty Things blog hosts this every year and this time around, there was about 540 participants from all over the world.  The basis is this: you sign up for the party, she matches you up with a partner, you communicate, exchange beads and then get to work designing something with your 'soup' from your partner. You have to send and use a focal and clasp, along with a few co-ordinating beads. You are only required to use the focal and clasp, but it's so much fun trying to use everything you receive.  This is my 3rd or 4th soup, can't remember for sure.  And my partner this time is Ann Sherwood  from Ann's Blog.  Be sure to check out what she made with the soup I sent her.  If you want to see the soup I received from Ann, click here. 

 And here's my pieces.  I absolutely loved the ceramice dragonfly focal she sent me. But I had the hardest time coming up with something that I thought would do it justice and let it shine.  I finally hit inspiration in a book my friend Karla Morgan from Texas Pepper Jams lent me about multi-strand necklaces.  (You have to check out their pepper jams. They're to die for!  And she's also participating in this 3rd reveal for the BSBP, so see what she made with her soup.)  So here is my Floating Free necklace with the dragonfly focal.  This was my first time trying to texture, patina and create my own bale from copper strip wire and then rivet it to the focal. I was terrified I'd break the focal while trying to rivet.  But I think it turned out great.  I used the ribbon Ann sent me, the focal, and a few of the green discs she sent. And here's a pair of earrings made with some more of the green discs and the big hole beads used in the necklace.

 
Next up, is my Sweetheart necklace made with the pink and white freshwater pearls Ann sent me and the wonderful blingy clasp she sent. I thought it went very well and matched wonderfully with the shell focal I had and the Pink Rhodondite puff beads as well as some pewter beads I had in my stash.

So there you have it.  My 3 pieces for the BSBP reveal. I'm still working on some earrings to match the second necklace and an idea for the wire knitz Ann sent me, plus the cute little pewter flower beads. I've never worked with wire knitz before, so I'm having a little bit of a hard time getting my idea to work.  Be sure to check out all the participants for the third reveal here on Lori's blog, Pretty Things.  She also has links to the first 2 reveals if you haven't had a chance to check them out yet.  These pieces will probably be available in my shop, KayzKreationz shortly.

Spotlight on Wire Book Review

My newest book review is Spotlight on Wire by Melissa Cable.  It is published by Kalmbach books.  They have an amazing variety of books on all types of Jewelry designs, techniques and more.  This book is a great example.  Melissa has done an amazing job highlighting so many different techniques, design ideas for wire.  She owned beadclub bead store in Woodinville, Washington for 7 years and quickly realized her passion for creating and teaching students projects that would allow them to not only learn fun skills, but walk away with a finished piece.  And she has accomplished that with this book.  She starts out with How to Use the Book and all the abbreviations you'll see throughout all the projects.  She also has Spotlights on Tips and Techniques, Basics and Tools throughout the book. Then she delves right in.  Chapter 1 deals with woven Wire.  I especially love the very first project in the book and this chapter, clustered Jewels and how to make a flat rectangular focal really stand out. I can't wait to try this.  Chapter 2 talks about Textured strip wire and has the neatest idea for a 'Poor-man's Rolling Mill'.  I'm anxious to try this out, too.  And a sneak peak/tip, I got my idea for one of my Bead Soup Blog Party pieces/focal bale from this chapter.  So watch for it on the 20th of this month.  Chapter 3 helps us out with Corrugated Wire.  Roundabout Road and Rippled Bangle are great examples of this and next on my list to try from this chapter.  Chapter 4 deals with Heavy Wire.  Chapter 5 moves on to Chain and Wire and Chapter 6 finishes off with Basics.  If you're looking to widen out in your skill with wire in your jewelry work, this is a fantastic book. You won't regret adding it to your Jewelry Library.  It's for sale here at Kalmbach Books.  Here's just a sample or two to whet your appetite for this wonderful book.

Be sure to keep watching my shop, KayzKreationz for unique jewelry pieces made from inspiration from this book.  I also carry Stained Glass, Mosaics and Fused Glass pieces for your Home and Garden.

 

(The book above was provided by Kalmbach Books for review. The author of this blog has not received any other payment from above-mentioned company. The post above represents only personal opinion of the blog author.)

Bead Soup from my partner, Ann Sheridan

A couple of weeks ago, I received my bead soup from my partner Ann Sherwood, for Lori Anderson's 7th Bead Soup Blog Party.  It took me a while to get pictures of it so I could post it here.  Here's what Ann sent me. This wonderful ceramic Dragonfly focal. She couldn't remember the artist.  I love dragonfly's.  Plus the great Swarovski beads, 5 each of 3 different colors, this gorgeous blingy pewter toggle clasp, these great pewter flower beads and 2 hole connectors, this strand of tourmaline (I also LOVE tourmaline),these pearls, plus this great ribbon and wire knitz. I've never worked with wire knitz and really like the look of it, but not sure how to use it.  Isn't it a great soup?  The only problem is, I'm having the dickens of a time, figuring out what I want to do with it.  I love them all, I'm just not liking any of my designs.  I've google online several times, trying to figure out what/how to work with the wire knitz.  I've come up with several designs for the focal, but nothing is really coming together. And I'm running out of time. I have to use the focal and the clasp and my reveal is the 13th of April.  So stay tuned and see if I get past my design block with this wonderful soup and what comes of it.

And here's what I sent Ann. She said she loved it.  Be sure to watch her blog to see what she creates with the soup I sent her, Ann's Blog.

And if you're looking for some of my Stained Glass, Mosaics or Fused Glass designs for your Home or Garden, check out my shop, KayzKreationz.  You'll also find some of mine and my mom's beaded, wire-wrapped jewelry there, like this great Boot Jewelry with these Jasper stones.

Simple Soldering Book Review-Kate Ferrant Richbourg

I recently received Kate Ferrant Richbourg's new book, Simole Soldering - A Beginner's Guide to Jewelry Making from Interweave/F+W Media. I've been wanting to learn to solder and this looked like just the book to help me.  This is a great book. She starts off with all the basics, an overview of what soldering is, how it works and why.  Then she talks about all the tools we need and the materials we'll use in the projects.  I love the fact that she starts you off making a 'sampler' of all the techniques, just like you would if you were beginning quilting.  It focuses on the process instead of the results and lets us learn at our own pace. This is great, because it helps you get over the fear of messing something up.  I know that's usually one of my biggest fears whenever trying something new. I just don't want to mess up and feel like I've wasted all that time and money/materials.  Plus the 'sampler' helps you learn how to correct your mistakes before you start on a project.  I think the 'sampler' itself will be a cool piece of art to use in some way.  And you start off with the easiest skills/projects and then move on to the more difficult ones.  Another great thing about this book is the included DVD.  There is an icon for the DVD that shows where techniques featured on the DVD are highlighted, so you can watch it in action.  I always find this very helpful, if I can see someone performing the techniques.  There's all kinds of tips, plus a section on how to get organized and set up your work space. I found that very helpful, too. I always seem to have everything just scattered around and have to search for it.  I did find the list of tools a little daunting, so won't be able to complete my sampler right away, as I don't have everything she lists, but she does start out with the basics you'll need for soldering and then moves on to the more advanced tools. So you could do several of the 'sampler' pieces without having everything she mentions.  It is a very comprehensive list.  The book is well-written and illustrated. It is also very thorough. I feel like I can really do this now.  Then she gets into the projects after you've finished your sampler.  She talks about making your own findings, like clasps and dapped bead caps to make your projects uniquely your own.  Two of my favorites are the Tube-Riveted Pendants and the Copper Tube bead. These both look very exciting to try.  All in all, I loved this book and am anxious to jump right in and start on my sampler so I can move up to the projects.  If you've been wanting to learn to solder and enhance your jewelry/metalsmithing talents, this is a great book.  Get it now here at

Amazon,

Barnes and Noble or

Interweave. 

 You won't regret it.  To whet your appetite, here's a picture of some of the projects.

Stay tuned to my shop, KayzKreationz for jewelry/projects I'll be listing as I practice my soldering techniques and making things.  And if you're looking for some great Stained Glass, Mosaics or Fused Glass Kreationz for your Home or Garden, you'll find it at KayzKreationz.

(The book above was provided by F+W Media for review. The author of this blog has not received any other payment from above-mentioned company. The post above represents only personal opinion of the blog author.)

Zinio Magazine giveaway Winners!

Yay!  Here it is!  I finally heard back from all the winners and as promised, here is the list of winners for the Zinio magazine subscription giveaway.  I hope you all enjoy your digital magazine subscriptions.  And stay tuned. I've got another book review coming up in the next day or so.  This one is on Simple Soldering by Kate Richbourg.

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Karla

 

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Ana

 

True Random Number GeneratorMin:Max:Result:15Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Shaiha

 

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Tiffany

 

True Random Number GeneratorMin:Max:Result:8Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Sherry

 

True Random Number GeneratorMin:Max:Result:6Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Kim

 

True Random Number GeneratorMin:Max:Result:5Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Susie

 

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Tracy

 

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Jen
Congrats to all the winners. Zinio should be contacting you directly within the next 3 business days for info on how to access your subscription.  I hope you enjoy them and enjoyed this. 
Looking for Stained Glass, Mosaics and Fused Glass Kreationz for your Home or Garden?  Looking for unique, eclectic wire-wrapped, beaded Jewelry? Check out my shop, KayzKreationz.

Challenge of Music

I'm so disappointed and apologize to Erin and the rest of those participating.  I eagerly signed up for Erin's of Treasures Found blog for her Challenge of Music Hop and Reveal.  We were to pick a piece of instrumental music, listen to it, let it inspire us, etc. and then design a piece of jewelry or something else from the inspiration from the song. I knew which song I wanted to do from the beginning.  I have always loved the song 'Wipeout' by the Safari's.  (Although this cheats a little, because they start the song with the words "Wipeout")  In case you don't know the song you can hear it here at YouTube. (Hopefully I did this right)



 

I've listened to this over and over. I started on Erin's ideas of  drawing and free writing while the music is playing. (I haven't gotten very far with this yet)  and I finally got some ideas of what I wanted to do.  But nothing is coming together.  Although the picture is a surfing scene and you usually think of beaches, waves, etc.  I found myself going back to psychadelic colors, frenzy, hippies, etc.  I wanted to do something with some polymer clay, perhaps some crazy colored dagger beads and smaller round clay beads in between.  But then life got in the way. I had signed up for an earlier challenge (the AJE jewelry component challenge with an enameled disc from Francesca Watson-see reveal Here).  Due to circumstances, she couldn't get the disc mailed right away and I had 2 weeks of some volunteer service I'd signed up for by the time the disc came. Still I was working on it and thinking all the while of my Music challenge piece.  Then last week, my 83 year old father developed appendicitus (very unusual in people his age the doctors tell us) and had to undergo an emergency appendectomy Thursday. So I spent all of Thursday and Friday at the hospital with my mom, sister and  him.  That was the final clincher.  I lost that time to work on my idea for beads and had to finish my volunteer work this last weekend.  In the meantime, I hurt my knee again, so have been having to keep it up with heat and ice on it.  This was stressing me out so much, I finally had to let Erin know I wouldn't have a piece done in time for the reveal yesterday.  She suggested going ahead and sharing what I had done/been thinking of while going through the process, so this is my post about that.  I loved the idea of just listening to the music and letting it take you where it will.  And I still intend to finish my ideas and my piece and post it later on.  So if you're watching or following me, keep an eye out for my Music Challenge piece at a later date.  Sorry to disappoint everyone.