Showing posts with label blog hop. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blog hop. Show all posts

Saturday, 24 May 2014

Waxed Linen Blog Hop

Welcome to the Waxed Linen Blog Hop kindly and most ably hosted by the Diana Ptaszynski of Suburban Girl Studios.


I was even later than usual getting my pieces done for this hop to the point where I was still finishing up at 2am this morning so I had to keep them fairly simple. That's one of the things I love about waxed linen though - it's very easy to put something simple but eye catching together very quickly.

My first piece is a braided strung bracelet with a lovely pewter button clasp and heart charm from Mamacita Beadworks and rustic blue/grey seed beads from Smitten beads. The tails have been finished with some tiny pewter beads I was given as part of a bead soup four year ago. Very simple but the kind of thing I wear a lot.




My second piece is a reprise of a necklace I made last year with wire wrapped beads but this time I used double strands of waxed linen to string these lovely Czech glass beads - again from Smitten Smitten Beads, The ceramic heart focal is by Karen Totten of Starry Road Studio and the bronze text connector is by THEA elements - that's me!


the quote is from one of my favourite poems by W B Yeats...

Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.


And finally I whipped up a pair of five minute earrings using some red ceramic beads from our host Diana and some cream ceramic discs by me. A scrap of linen, a few copper accent beads and some ear wire and that's it done...I frequently make earrings like these when I'm about to go out and find I have none to match my outfits.


So those are are a few ways to use waxed linen and I'm sure the other participants will have demonstrated many more so I hope you will join up on the hop using the links below and many thanks to Diana for hosting this hop.

Have a great weekend.
Lesley


Diana Ptaszynski  


Wednesday, 12 December 2012

Bead Giveaway Blog Hop ...


Hello and welcome to the 'Kaz Baildon Bead Giveaway Blog Hop'. Way back in October a group of designers where randomly selected receive a free bead or beads from a huge stash very kindly gifted to me by the super talented glass artist Kaz Baildon. Since then the recipients have been working on designs for jewellery, accessories or ornaments using those beads and today's the day they reveal what they've made. I don't know which beads went where so I'm really looking forward to seeing the results.

This is the bead I kept to use for myself and yes, I forgot to photograph it before I made my piece! I thought the tartan like design was rather fun and the shape was something different to work with. Unfortunately things didn't quite go to plan for me...


As always I left everything until this last week having decided that being a last minute Mary is part of my genetic make up and there's no point trying to change now. But since late last week I've been somewhat under the weather and for the last few days have been confined to bed dosing myself on antibiotics and painkillers. So when I did get around to starting on my design on Monday I had to limit myself to simple ideas and tools that I could use from bed - no sharp objects or heat involved here then.

Anyway, all that aside I had already decided I wanted to make something fun and as the focal is quite detailed I thought a simple treatment was suitable. I also happen to have a rather large jar of odds and ends of lampwork spacers so I had a good sort through those and came up with some in co-ordinating colours. I've got a bit of a thing for stringing and knotting with cotton and linen at the moment - I think it's because after working with metals so much when making my components it makes a change to use something different in my jewellery designs. I used a Double strand of waxed linen and strung the spacers so that the 'ring' side was featured rather than the edge of the bead. Kaz's focal was strung onto the linen as a pendant and I left tails beneath it which I finished with little Czech glass beads and the necklace is finished with a simple brass lobster clasp. As I've said - quite simple but I hope you like it none-the-less.




Now, I don't usually make holiday themed jewellery but when I was clearing up the beads there were a pair that had a definite seasonal feel to them so I thought I'd make a little extra item. I knew I had just the right beads to turn these 'cool' lampies into a pair of seasonal earrings which I thought would be a nice tribute to Kaz who I happen to know is besotted with earrings and has a huge collection of them. So here we have a pair of icy, alternative Christmas trees complete with red Czech glass 'tubs' and Hematite stars...cute huh?



Just before before you dash off to see what everyone else did with their beads, you might recall that in addition to the beads I gave away for this blog hop, I also promised a grab bag of beads for one lucky person from the original list of commentators. Well this is what's in that grab bag...


And I'm delighted to announce that this will shortly be winging it's way to...

Leigh Thow of JewellrLeigh

Congratulations Leigh, I hope you enjoy creating with your early Christmas present.

So let's get back to the bog hop then...I hope you'll join me and come and check out all the other participants designs using the links below - now that I can do from bed! Many thanks to Kaz for her very generous gift of the beads that made this event possible and of course, to everyone who has taken part in the hop - I hope you had fun designing with your surprise beads and who knows...maybe we can do it again next year...

Lesley Watt - www.thegossipinggoddess.blogspot.com
Cory Tompkins - http://tealwaterdesigns.blogspot.com
Rebecca Anderson - http://songbeads.blogspot.com
Marie Cramp -   Marie is unwell and has had to withdraw
Claire Braunbarth - http://smittenbeads.blogspot.com
Heidi Post - http://http://expostfactojewelry.blogspot.com
Tiffany Smith - http://southerngalsdesign.blogspot.com
Sharyl Macmillan-Nelson - http://sharylsjewelry.blogspot.com
Ailsa Cordner - http://www.bramalfiebeadsetc.co.uk/
Linda Landig -  http://lindalandig.wordpress.com
Caroline Dewison - http://blueberribeads.com
Renetha - http://lamplightcrafts.blogspot.com
Kari Asbury - http://hippiechickdesign.blogspot.com
Niky Sayers - http://silverniknats.blogspot.com
Purple Cobwebs - http://www.purplecobwebs.blogspot.com
Cilla Watkins - http://www.tellyourgirlfriends.com/
Therese Frank - www.theresestreasures59.blogspot.com
 Claire Ennis - http://clairescrystalclassics.blogspot.com
 Emma - http://apolymerpenchant.blogspot.com
Kathy Lindemer - http://bay-moon-design.blogspot.com 
Alicia - http://www.allprettythings.ca
Sandy Huntress - http://keepsakecrafts.net/blog/
Lori Bowring Michaud - http://artfullyornamental.blogspot.com
Amy - http://copperdiem.blogspot.com
Katherine Gale - http://terrabeadworks.blogspot.com

Lesley