Sue Beads

I'm so excited that I finally was prepared enough to participate in the Earrings Everyday Challenge this quarter - Tidepools! These photos from the Earrings Everyday blog show some awesome inspiration for the challenge.


Illustration by Hashime Murayama Hashime Murayama was a Japanese illustrator, born in 1879. He used to work for National Geographic until 1941.

Illustration by Theo CarrerasTheo Carreras was an illustrator of some well known books about insects, like "Marvels of Insect Life," and was known for his detailed still-life illustration
You may know the beach constantly changes over time - sometimes there are tidepools and sometimes there are not.  I have been going to Hilton Head Island since I was about 16 years old, and have been taking my children since they were 6 weeks old (they are now 20 and 17, so that's a LONG time!).  One of my favorite memories ever is of my son, who was 3 at the time, looking in a tidepool and seeing little tiny fish caught there…

Today is the reveal for the Bead Peeps Swap and Blog Hop!  My partner was Shai Williams.  I've "known" Shai in the cyber world for a while now, so was happy she was my partner.  This is what Shai sent to me.  Please visit Shai's blog to see what I sent her and what she made!




I've been quite over-extended this past month, and while I wanted to accomplish more with the beads she sent me, I just did not have enough time with the other obligations on my plate.  But I did manage to make three things.

First is a bracelet I made with the bracelet bar, some chain and the blue sea glass type beads from Shai.  I used one of my own lampwork beads and some brass filigree beads and Indian glass purple beads.  I have to say that I'm really not totally happy with it, and may play around later on when I have more time.

I also made earrings with these rough cut beads from Shai.  I used some brass tubes I had.  I wanted them to be longer, but the paddle headpins I had were ki…

I'm getting this up really late because I'm just really over-extended right now, but I was part of a challenge with Andrew Thornton - he sold kids with gorgeous beads called Amethyst Aether.  He did send along a wonderful polymer clay super-secret pendant he made for everyone, but I didn't get a chance to use it yet.  But here's the beads, and what I made!



The beads are all so gorgeous, I wanted to use them all.  I do have plans for the rest, but here's what I got accomplished. First, these earrings.  These beads all just wanted to be together, so I let them!

 Next, I knew I wanted to use these totally gorgeous stick beads in a necklace, and so I made a multi-strand necklace using all the beads I possibly could from the luxury mix.  I do like how it turned out!




Now, if I ever get around to making more things, I will let you know!  Thanks for sponsoring this challenge Andrew!  Sorry I'm late with the post!

Alison Herrington Shai's Ramblings Holly Baldwin Susan K…

The amazingly talented and incredibly kind Rita of Toltec Jewels (for Jewel School Friends) is hosting a blog hop today using none other than my flower chicklet beads!  I am very excited to see what you all made with the beads!  Here are some things I have made with them, some are repeats from yesterday and some are not.




I want to thank Rita for contacting me about this blog hop- she constantly surprises me with the variety and skill with which she makes jewelry, and her constant support and enthusiasm for bead artists and jewelry designers is amazing!  Please check out what everyone else made with their chicklet beads!

Just so you know, I will be visiting each and every one of your blogs, but I have two other blog hops to visit as well, so please be patient with me!  I appreciate all of you!


ARTISTS:
Guest of Honor & Featured Artist:Susan Kennedy
Sue Kennedy's blogs:                               SueBeads...A Beady Girl's blog Art Jewelry Elements Sue Kennedy's webs…

I met Alenka (Pepita Handmade) through an earring swap.  She makes some really great polymer clay creations.  She was having her year blogoversary and asked for participants to create something with a random component she would send. She didn't even know what she sent each participant, so the reveal was a surprise to hear too!  I received this bracelet bar:

Now, I had several ideas of what to make for the big reveal!  However, I did not have the right materials to make what was in my head.  And then when I decided to make something with parts I did have, it just didn't turn out the way I wanted. 

I made this bracelet, so that I would have something for the reveal:

I used three different kinds of antiqued copper chain, and an antiqued copper clasp that mimicked the lines of the bracelet bar.

However, this is not what I wanted to make.  I have an idea, and hopefully after Bead Fest I will be able to make what I really wanted to make.  I will show you when it's done!

Thank yo…

This month was my turn to provide the Art Jewelry Elements blog followers and designers with the Component of the Month.  If you may recall, this is what we're working with this month - my lampwork ruffle discs!






This turned into a very real challenge for me.  I may have mentioned I am working a lot lately, to help my boyfriend get this very large job finished up.  I have not worked outside of my home for quite a while, so it's a challenge for me to get everything done and do the whole jewelry/bead gig as well.  I had other ideas, but they did not pan out.  I probably redid this bracelet 4 times, but here's the final result!


I actually pilfered from another bracelet to finish this one.  I made it with freshwater pearls and turquoise tubes, with silver seed beads as accents.


I used the ruffle disc as the clasp, the back I somehow finagled to make work!  I'm sure there are some kind of tutorials out there to show how to make a clasp out of a one-hole bead, but couldn'…

Fellow lampworker Genea recently purchased a large lentil press from Zoozii's.  I mentioned to her that I had one and hardly ever use it!  She gave me a little challenge to get some beads done!  It was good for me, because I haven't been making a lot of beads lately.  I have no energy from working the job I am working right now, and no time if I want to accomplish anything in the house and yard and say HI to my kids now and then!  I took the challenge, and made some beads.  It was doable for me over two nights, I had a couple of hours and each of these beads takes a lot of glass and a bit of time.  Hope you like them, you can find them in my SueBeads etsy store!

Today is the reveal for the Art Jewelry Elements Component of the Month!  This month, Jennifer Stout Cameron of Glass Addictions provided us with a pair of glass headpins she made! 

I'm afraid I wasn't too imaginative, in that I made earrings from the pair.  While I wanted them to be dangles on something, like a bracelet, earrings just kept calling to me!  These are as close to mis-matched earrings as I will ever get!  The headpins came with a very long piece of copper and I cringed when I cut it - what if I dind't like the earrings I made?  Well, too bad, Sue, you'll have to live with it when you cut!  I feel like I need to add one more dangle to the earrings, and then I'll be happy with them!

Please stop by Art Jewelry Elements blog to see what everyone else made with their wonderful headpins!  And thanks Jennifer for the amazingly wonderful headpins!

It's the 7th Bead Soup Reveal day today, hosted by Lori Anderson of Pretty Things!  I have to say, she's pretty awesome to keep doing this, all by herself, with her health issues right now!  Thanks Lori! 

 My partner was Krista Quantrill, of Cornucopia of Crafts - she resides in Canada and is a newbie this year to the Bead Soup swap.  Above is a photo of what she sent me.
 I toyed with the idea of making a three-strand bracelet, but in the end, I decided to make a necklace with a "rosary chain" type design.  I just looked at Lori's soup from the second reveal, and I really like her idea of using jump rings to connect instead of the loops, so I may go back and do that.  But I am pretty pleased with the necklace as it is, too.  It is going to be for my daughter!

 Then I made a pair of earrings; I really loved those copper patinaed beads and had to use them for something!  I think the earrings turned out pretty cute!

Here's what I sent Krista - I'm looking …