Wednesday, 31 October 2012

Free Beads Anyone...?

Of course there's a catch - but only in so much as you have to make something lovely with them and share it on a blog hop...not too onerous is it?

My very talented bead making friend Kaz Baildon recently had a major overhaul of her studio to make way for some new projects she is planning and in the process she destashed this huge haul of lampwork beads in my direction - how incredibly generous is that?!


I've sat and played with this pile of lovelies for longer than I'm prepared to disclose but now I've decided that I need to pay some of Kaz's generosity forward and share the beads with you so here's the plan...

Everyone who comments on this post will go into a draw and I will randomly select 10 people to receive a bead or beads from this selection. The recipients of the beads will use them to create a piece of jewellery, accessory or ornament and share this at a blog hop on Wednesday 12th December. 

What the winners receive will be a complete surprise and could be anything from a large focal bead...


To a matched pair...


Or a few beads that I think work together...

And it may be none of those show in the pictures so you'll just have to wait and see...

In addition to the 10 free place there will be some extra slots available for people who would like to take part and pay the shipping for their beads - £3.50 overseas and £2.50 for the uk.

Fancy giving it a go? then here's what you need to do...

  • Leave a comment below this post. If you would be happy to pay for shipping please state this in your comment, it won't come into play until after the 10 free places have been selected but if you don't state it you will not be place in the draw for these extra slots.
  • Payment for shipping will be by Paypal only and beads will not be shipped until payment is received.
  • You must have a blog and be prepared to take part in the blog hop on Wednesday 12th December. Please don't enter if you don't feel you can commit to this.
  • If your blog does not have your contact details please leave your e mail address in your comment.
  • Entries will close at midnight GMT on Saturday 3rd November and I will announce the winners on Monday 5th November and contact them by e mail. Beads will be shipped by Wednesday 7th November.
And because I'm feeling really generous, as an extra bonus on the day of the blog hop I will randomly select one  person from all the comments on THIS post to receive a goodie bag of beads.

So get your comments in and I hope to see you there.

 Good Luck.

Lesley




Posted by at 73 comments: Links to this post

Tuesday, 30 October 2012

AJE Component of the Month Reveal




The Art Jewellery Elements components of the month for October are these lovely sets of 'beaded beads' by Kristen Stevens- aren't they pretty? When I saw these in their saturated autumnal colours the first thing I thought of were all those lovely old fashioned 'fruits' of the season that were so prolific where I grew up - rose hips, conkers, and the quince my mum used to add to apple pie...


I had no idea which set I was being sent but when they arrived I was delighted to find I had the red ones which meant I could use that first thought as my inspiration. Next stop the bead stash to see what I had to help conjure up the effect I was after - strong colours, shapes and textures with an earthy, slightly rustic feel. After a good rummage several things came together and I decided a bracelet was the way to go.

And this is what I came up with...


I've used a mix of carved ebony and handmade lampwork beads with ebony and Greek ceramic accents. I decided to use Kristin's beads as charms so that they were set apart from and set off by the other beads - I think the detailed texture adds a lovely contrast. The bracelet is finished with one of my own bronze leaf toggles, a bronze seed pod and some tiny lampwork dangles. Subtle it's not but I love that it's bold and bright and full of cheer.


Beaded beads by Kristen Stevens
Etched red and ochre lampwork beads by Kaz Baildon
Red ruffle discs by Alisha White
Bronze by moi - THEA too

You can see what the other participants made with their bead sets by visiting the links below:

And our special guests
 
Happy hopping!

 Lesley
Posted by at 19 comments: Links to this post

Sunday, 28 October 2012

Are you an AJE component winner...

Check out today's post to see if it's you...

And if you're not one of the lucky ones but would still like to play along there are some components available in my Etsy shop now discounted by 20% for AJE readers - see the AJE post for details.



Thank you to everyone who took part.

Lesley
Posted by at 1 comment: Links to this post

Thursday, 25 October 2012

AJE November Component of the month and Giveaway


I'm hosting the November Component of the Month challenge over on Art Jewelry Elements today and most of AJE team will be taking part to create a piece of jewellery with one of these new winter themed bronze snowflake discs designed especially for the event. I will also be giving one of these away to two lucky AJE readers who will join the team in the challenge and blog hop.

There will also be a limited number of snowflake discs available in my Etsy shop from October 28th with a 20% discount for AJE readers so, you could still take part even if you're not lucky enough to win.

To find out more and enter the draw for the giveaway head on over to Art Jewelry Elements now - winners will be selected randomly on Sunday 28th October 2012.

Good luck!


 Lesley
Posted by at 5 comments: Links to this post

Sunday, 21 October 2012

For the Love of Owls...

I love owls and so it seems, does a large portion of the jewellery making community.


Artisan Whimsy is giving us all the chance to show off our owl creations with a little competition called 'Show Us Your Hooters'. Now I'm not normally one for entering competitions but as owls have been figuring quite heavily in my work recently I thought why not. There are two categories - one for handmade components and one for handmade jewellery featuring owls - and I'm entering both!
 
In the jewellery section I'm entering this necklace which is actually already on it's way to it's new home but I was really pleased with the way it turned out so I think it deserves some exposure and I'm sure it's new owner won't mind.


The ceramic owl is by LeAnn Weih of Summers Studio and he's framed by a beaten copper domed disc that's been treated with Liver of Sulphur and Ranger patina to give the impression of a silvery moon. The necklace is a combination of Aquamarine, Ebony and Czech glass beads with coppered Greek ceramic accents. I love the contrast of the dark wood with the pale blue beads, it has an earthy richness but at the same time seems cool and calming.

My entry for the component section is somewhat fortuitous as I just happened to be playing around with some polymer clay to see if I could make my own molds and textures and decided to try some owls. A couple of them looked ok so I made them up in bronze and am actually rather pleased with how they came out - It's amazing how you can change the expression just by adjusting the eyes. This little fellow is made to order and available from my Etsy shop now.

 

Winners will be chosen by Artisan Whimsy members voting for their favourites between October 28th and October 30th so if you like my little Hoots I hope you'll pop over and show them some love here. If you're not a member yet you can join here too and of course, if you  have owls of your own you can enter them too - lets get ourselves a real parliament of whimsical owls!


Lesley

Posted by at 8 comments: Links to this post

Saturday, 20 October 2012

Outwest Bead Giveaway...

Much as I'd rather keep this to myself I feel honour bound to let you know that Julie of Outwest is having a giveaway over at her blog. These are some of my very favourite beads so if you really must join in here's the link:

That's all the encouragement you're getting from me!


 Lesley
Posted by at 5 comments: Links to this post

Tuesday, 16 October 2012

Mismatched Earring Swap Reveal


Welcome to  another fabulous Art Bead Earring Swap hosted by the lovely Diana Ptaszynski of Suburban Girl Studio. This time around Diana tasked us with making mismatched earrings for the designers she paired us up with. Each earring has to include at least one art bead and as the name says, should be mismatched but form a cohesive pair. I've neither made nor worn mismatched earrings before, well not intentionally anyway...so this was a really interesting challenge for me

My partner for the swap is Lori Bowring-Michaud of Artfully Ornamental who not only makes beautiful  jewellery, she also paints and works with stained glass (check out the adorable Christmas decorations on her blog) - a very talented lady indeed!

So when my earrings arrived I was absolutely delighted to find that Lori had put these talents to work on them. I had mentioned to Lori that I loved autumnal colours and she took that on board and created these wonderful vintage earrings for me - aren't they beautiful?


They combine a vintage copper love knot, copper leaf chain, ceramic beads and some vintage German glass pendants that Lori has decorated with a hand painted oak leaf and and acorn.


These are truly one of a kind and I am absolutely love them. Lori lives in Maine and said in her note that I should enjoy the crispness of fall in New England when I wear these and I just love the idea of having a little piece of New England here in old England. Thank you so much Lori, I really appreciate the work that you put into my earrings and thanks too to Diana for organising the swap.

Pop over to Lori's blog now to see the earrings I made for her and then you can see what all the other participants designed by hopping through the blogs below - have fun and I'll see you there.

Charlene Jacka   http://clay-space.com/blog

Lesley


Posted by at 16 comments: Links to this post
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)