Focus on Life Week 1

Happy New Year, everyone.  I plan to be more active on my blog this year.  I have joined several groups and challenges that should get me going. 

The first one is The Studio Sublime's Focus on Life postings.  Once a week Sally sends us a challenge to take a photo that meets her challenge and post it on Saturdays.  I have my photo so let's begin.

January's focus is: minimalism: there are many definitions of minimalism but the most prevalent is bare mininum.

Week One: The Minimalist Photograph - Focus on one object

I was leaving work one day last week and saw this little fellow by the bus stop.  He is very tiny compared to other birds around.  I actually thought he was a leaf and almost stepped on him.  He does not seem to be afraid of humans as I was able to walk by him and he didn't move a muscle.  Does anyone know what kind of bird he is?

Please stop by the other blogs that are participating.  Here is a link to Sally blog where we all link up to our blogs:  Focus on Life Week 1

Be sure to come back next week to see what the next focus is going tobe.

Thanks for coming by.

Carolyn

I Love Clay Blog Hop reveal

Today is the reveal for the I Love Clay Blog Hop hosted by Lisa Lodge of A Grateful Artist blog.  I love to participate in Lisa's blog hops as they are always a challenge to me.  She prepares kits that the participant purchases and includes the best things.  In this blog hop, I received a piece that (Oh fudge, I forgot her name.  I have the name but it is not handy for me to get and insert right now.  I will add her name as soon as I can as I think it is important to recognize their work.) Earthenwood Studio made.  I have never worked with her handmade pieces before and enjoyed using the piece that I received.  Lisa included some additional beads to use.

Here is a picture of the pieces that I received.

The additional beads were nice but if you have ever noticed the pieces that I make, I tend to be matchy-matchy.  I haven't been able to break myself of that habit yet.  So I dug into my beads and came up with some that I used instead of Lisa's.  I will be using Lisa's beads, probably to make some earrings.

I used some bone beads, red rounds, and matte amethyst faceted rounds.  Can you guess what I made?

I love ice cream cones and now I have my very own ice cream cone necklace.

I used the bone beads to make the cones with a bead cap to act as a napkin at the bottom of the cone, then I layered the amethyst beads as ice cream scoops and topped with a cherry.

I did make earrings but soemthing happened with the picture and I will have to add them later. 

Please visit the other participants in the I Love Clay Blog Hop.

Your hostess:  Lisa Lodge, A Grateful Artist

Melissa Trudinger, Bead Recipes

Kathy Zeigler Lindemer, Bay Moon Design

Eleanor Burian Moore, The Charmed Life

Jo-Ann Woolverton, It's a Beadiful Creation

Chris Eisenberg, Wanderware

Carolyn Lawson, Carolyns Creations

Bonnie Coursolle, Jasper's Gems

Dolores Raml, Crafty D's Creations

Therese Frank, Therese's Treasures

Christine Stonefield, Sweet Girl Design

Carolyn Lawson, Carolyn's Creations  you are here.

Mowse Doyle, Mowse Made This

Janine Lucas, Esfera Travel Blog

Karin Grosset Grange, Ginkgo et Coquelicot

Kelli Nelson, Zenith Jade Creations

Ann Schroeder, Bead Love

Jasvanti Patel, Jewelry by Jasvanti

Candida Castleberry, Sugar Spun Beadworks

Robin Reed, Artistry HCBD

Katrina Taylor, I Wanna Go Out

Thank you for stopping by.

Carolyn

4th Challenge of Color Blog Hop

COLOURlovers.com - berries and cream
Raspberry
RGB: 209, 48, 168
Hex: D130A8 Strawberry
RGB: 232, 55, 58
Hex: E8373A purple for payola
RGB: 63, 22, 86
Hex: 3F1656 couldnt get back
RGB: 33, 18, 51
Hex: 211233 Branco I
RGB: 254, 252, 255
Hex: FEFCFF

This the color palette I came up with but I did mine backwards.  I chose the colors and then had to find out the names and they don't make any sense at all.

I recently got a destash item from Lisa Lodge of  A Gratedul Artist that she called Raspberries and Cream.  I decided that I would add the other berries into the color scheme.

The best laid plans of beaders can fail.  I had planned to use the color scheme above for my color challenge piece and when I was putting the piece together realized that I didn't have any strawberry color beads.  So slight change of plans.  I decided on cranberry instead of strawberry in my piece.  I now have to go and find a new color palette but not today.  I want to show you my piece.

I ended up with blueberries, cranberries, raspberries, and blackberries as my berries along with some cream.

What do you think?  I think I got kinda of close to my original color palette.

Here is the link to Erin's post for the list of other participants:  http://treasures-found.blogspot.com/2013/12/4th-annual-challenge-of-color.html

Thanks for stopping by.

Carolyn

Upcoming blog hop - 4th Challenge of Color

Erin Prais-Hintz over at Treasures Found Blog issued the challenge to join her for the 4th annual Challenge of Color blog hop on December 2, 2013. 

I was thinking that this would be pretty simple on my part - Erin would issue a color palette and I would make something following her colors.  But no, Erin decided that this year she would be doing the challenge differently.  (I should have known, she has never done her other challenges the same way twice.) 

She gave us two options:

1. The Simple Challenge - go to Colourlovers.com and chose a palette from the ones that they already have on file or

2. The Twist Challenge - go to Colourlovers.com and make your own palette by searching the colors and making a palette or

There should have been a 3. go to Colourlovers.com and make your own palette by making your own colors and naming a palette.  This was the way I did it.  Not exactly following the rules but I kinda of like my colors.

The reveal is Monday, December 2, 2013.  I have to get crackin' to get my piece done by the deadline.  Come back on Monday to see my piece and the list of the other blog hoppers to see what we have created.

Carolyn,

Thanks for stopping by.

Vovs Jewellery Blog Christmas Giveaway

Vovs Jewellery Blog is having a Christmas Giveaway to celebrate her blog's first Christmas.  You can read more details here:  http://vovsjewellery.blogspot.com/2013/11/christmas-giveaway.html

She is giving away a selection of glass beads (from seed beads to large glass beads) in a Christmas color scheme along with a silver-plated engraved bookmark.



Don't they look great.  Putting my name in for the draw.

Siobhan Keogh is a British jewellery maker who has been published in several of their magazines (Making Jewellery, Beads and Beyond, and Make Jewellery) and makes some beautiful jewelery.  Just looking at what she has made has given me some ideas of what I could also make.

Please stop by her blog, follow her for some great tutorials, and sign up for the giveaway.

Thanks for stopping by.

Carolyn

Lampwork and Clay Blog Hop

Welcome to the reveal for Lisa Lodge's Lampwork and Clay 2013 Blog Hop.  I had my choice of a kit with a clay piece or a lampwork piece.  I received a kit with a total of seven lampwork beads by Lisa Anderson.

Five of the beads were very similar in coloring, blue with some dark smooching (what do you call the color added to the bead?), that I decided would be the focal of the piece.

Two of the beads did not have the dark blue background color but matched so these became earrings.

I was looking for some in progress pictures and didn't find any.  I dug through my beads and quickly decided that I would be using some of my crystals.  I settled on brown, topaz and a frosted/matte aqua.

 A full view of the necklace and earrings.

A close up of the beautiful beads that Lisa Anderson made.  I think the topaz and brown pick up the smoochy color and the aqua picks up the blue of the bead.  (As people that have seen my blog before, I tend to be a matchy-matchy person especially when beading.)

 I used a simple lobster claw clasp as  the necklace is very light weight.

 Tha necklace in all its glory.  I really love the colors.

 There are the earrings.  I used brown crystals with the lampwork beads made by Lisa.

I have enjoyed working with Lisa's beads and actually have the opportunity to do another piece with some of her beads.  I will be sure and post what I make.

Please be sure to visit the other people that are participating in the blog hop.  Here is a list:

Your hostess:  Lisa Lodge, A Grateful Artist

Mary Govaars, MLH Jewelry Designs

Melissa Trudinger, Bead Recipes

Kathy Zeigler Lindemer, Bay Moon Design

Laurie Vyselaar, Lefthand Jewelry

Annette Rivers, MamaOwl's Mess

Karin King, The Sparkle Things Blog

Shaiha Williams,   Shaiha's Ramblings

Mimi Gardner, Baubles, Beads and Other Curiosities

Dee Alcalde, Agape Creations Jewelry

Kay Thomerson, Kayz Kreationz

Karla Morgan, Texas Pepper Jams

Lori Jean Poppe, Lorillijean Creative Corner

Eleanor Burian Moore, The Charmed Life

Leah Mifflin Tees, My Beady Little Eyes

Terri Wlaschin, Dances in Fog

Sharyl McMillian-Nelson, Sharyl's Jewelry

Jo-Ann Woolverton, It's a Beadiful Creation

Veralynne Malone, Designed by Vera

Linda Aspenson Bergstrom, TBD

Toltec  Jewels, Jewel School Friends

Judy Turner, Silver Rains

Gloria Allen, Gloria Allen Designs

Kathleen Douglas, Washoe Kat's

Connie Tipton, TBD

Christie Searle Murrow, Charis Designs Jewelry

Andrea Glick-Zenith, ZenithJade Creations

Michele Dotson, Star Jewels

Chris Eisenberg, Wanderware

Jennifer Clifford, TBD

Kathleen Breeding, 99 Bottles of Beads on the Wall

Molly Alexander, Beautifully Broken Me

Loretta, Loretta's Boutique

Carolyn Lawson, Carolyns Creations - you are here

Shirley Moore, Beads and Bread

Bonnie Coursolle, Jasper's Gems

Alice Craddick, Alice's Beads and Baubles

Be sure to come back December 2nd for Erin Prais-Hintz's Color Challenge blog hop and on December 7th for another one of Lisa's blog hops - I Love Clay Bog Hop (and I do love my clay piece).

Thanks for stopping by.  Comments are always welcome.

Carolyn

Autumn 2013 Bead Design Challenge!

I just sent in my entry for Bead Happily Ever After's Autumn 2013 Bead Design Challenge!  The theme this year was “Break Out of Your Color Comfort Zone”!  All you had to do was make something with at least two itmes that you purchased from their etsy store etsy bead shop.

If you have ever read my blog, you will have seen that I tend to make things in my favorite color range which are the autumn/fall colors of orange, brown, yellow with some green and red thrown in.  This time I didn't use any of my favorite colors unless you count the gold chain and gold bead caps.

I used lapis blue spacers as the focal with moonglow blue rounds and moonglow white tubes.  I plan to wear this with either a blue or red shirt and blue jeans.  I just need to get a set of earrings made.

I need to improve my photography skills as it is much prettier in person.  I sent in the middle picture as only one picture was allowed.

Thanks for stopping by.  Comments are always welcome.

Carolyn