Hats Off Challenge/Blog Hop from Churchill Downs

Bobbie from BeadsongJewelry gave us a challenge to use what inspiration we had gotten from BSBP.......



Worried what you might do to occupy your beady imaginations after the BSBP?  Come join me for the first Hats Off Challenge!

This springs from my observation a couple of years ago that the timing of Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding and the Kentucky Derby were very close, so I took it upon myself to declare it Hat Week.  I found pictures of some of the fabulous hats being worn in London and Louisville, and paired them with jewelry from my worktable that seemed reminiscent of them.  See here and here for some examples.

This year, I'm expanding the celebration by kicking off the Hats Off Challenge, where participants will create a piece of jewelry inspired by one (or more) of the fabulous hats below.  Look through the photos (it is a little photo heavy), get inspired, and leave me a comment below to sign up.  Then on May 4th, we'll get in the mood for Derby by blog hopping to enjoy everyone's creations!.

Then she gave us a group of hats to choose from you can check them out here:Bead Song Jewelry Hats Off . I won't show them as there are a lot... But from the lot I chose 5 I liked...then I narrowed it down to 3 then chose this one...















This is the necklace I came up with:

I used a large Orange button, then crocheted a cover for it. I then made the fringe from some Home Dec trim I had. I took each fringe piece and restrung it on thread then attached it to the crocheted bottom rim. I have aqua and clear glass beads around the inside and a gold metal bead cap stuck in the middle with a clear crystal bead strung on the top with the thread going through the button holes and being tied on the back.  I then strung it on a orange cord and finished off the ends.

So there you have it.  My take on Hats Off!

Thanks Bobbie it was great fun and I can't wait for next year!

Art Bead Scene - April

April Monthly Challenge

Walk in the Meadows at Argenteuil, 1873

Claude Monet
Oil on Canvas, 54.5cm x 64.5 cm
Private Collection

About the Art

Impressionism is a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists. Their independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s, in spite of harsh opposition from the conventional art community in France. The name of the style derives from the title of a Claude Monet work, Impression, soleil levant (Impression, Sunrise), which provoked the critic Louis Leroy to coin the term in a satirical review published in the Parisian newspaper Le Charivari.
Impressionist painting characteristics include relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage of time), ordinary subject matter, inclusion of movement as a crucial element of human perception and experience, and unusual visual angles. The development of Impressionism in the visual arts was soon followed by analogous styles in other media that became known as impressionist music and impressionist literature.

When I saw this I knew exactly what I wanted to do, BUT, getting from my mind, to paper, to fruition wasn't that easy.  Any way, the blue and yellow flowers were made of rick rack by Kathy Jo. I added the green leaves.  The Bib, I made using material and green lace. The butterfly, which I realize is too big, I need to make smaller, I made using wire, crystals and beads.  All I have left to really do is put on the gold tone chain, but I was still waiting on the flowers to dry to the material....but you get the idea. I love doing these challenges to see what I can come up with.

Without flash......                

With flash

Once I redo the butterfly smaller and put the chain on I will re-post.

Macro Monday 042213

This cute little guy was found in my dad's garden. As it is a black snake I wasn't really scared. I had already seen him moving around in the garden, and I guess now he wanted a drink!  Enjoy!

Macro Monday - 041513

Well I have been out of the loop for a bit, but trying to get back into the swing of things so here goes!


Now I am not a fan of  "bugs" but living in the country you tend to run into a few. This little critter, he is really only about 2 inches, went running across my desk the other day. Being more startled than scared he got away before I could grab my camera.  So later that night, my son happened to see it on the door between the dining room and family room and was able to get some pics.  To look at it you would think it was a spider, then no...the front legs are to long and he has "10" legs.  Sooooo being that I HAD to know what it was I set on an adventure to find it.  It was very illusive to say the least. I even emailed Glen at http://www.spiderzrule.com/wind.htm   to find out what it was. But lo and behold, it ISN'T a spider. It is an arachnid. It is called a sun spider, wind scorpion, camel spider and so on. Non venomous, but kills it prey by ripping it apart.  (Sounds like The Terminator) anyway, it is good for catching other bugs.  So I guess it can stay as long as it stays OFF my desk!  Oh yea, when they curl up, they bring those longgggg legs up close to them and look dead......

Thanks for looking and for more wonderful Macro's hop on over to Macro Monday.

Bye!

IT'S HERE, IT'S HERE, IT'S REALLY REALLY HERE! BEAD SOUP BLOG PARTY = 7

This is my first bead soup blog hop and I have learned so much just by hopping around the 1st reveal.  I think I may have over done it with what I sent my partner, Tanya Wiles,  as you can see...

I just couldn't decide.....

Anyway I am all excited to see what she makes with them...The little pendant with the two rose's pictured I made...I was bored but I think it came out pretty good.  I included some buttons too and some clay mushrooms that I have had for a couple of years and didn't quite know what to do with them. I am sure she will have loads of fun.

This is the wonder soup I received from Tanya,

Fabulous!  I love the focal bead. Reminded me of some thing underwater...

Then there were two beautiful very blingy Swarovski spacers and a really cool flower closure!

A selection of the beads are shown below...

Of course they sat on my table for a bit while I decided what to do with them.  I had also been given a challenge to use ALL the beads and I am always up to a challenge!

Anyway, I have been done for weeks and have just been sitting on pins and needles to post. So with out further ado, I will show what wonderful soup I made!

 For this set I used the main focal with some handmade paper beads from Cheryl Tippett

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 BeadsByCheryl and the silver beads and flower closure Tanya sent me.  I really like how the colors just seem to flow!I also made matching earrings and will soon have this up inmy Etsy shop. Couldn't post them til after the reveal.......

Next, I really wanted to try and think out of the box for something and decided to try using "other" components.

I designed and created the bobbin center piece with bobbins I had, wire and then some seed beads I had along with the perfect blue and crystal drop beads.  I used black beading thread to pull every thing together. The purple piece is one I had in my stash and just seem to really want to join the party. The necklace part I used chain and the beading thread to "weave" more of the beads she sent and a few of my own. It is the first time I tried it. I think I will keep this one for my self!

Next, I wanted to change gears so I created these two necklaces with more of the beads she sent and some of mine.


For this one I used the pearls, black beads and then pearly tube beads to put together with some of mine then attached it to a chain and closure.








This one I used black floss...and made a double strand necklace with the little diamond drops and some more of my beads. ( you would think by now I would have run out.......)








Ohhh no I didn't.  Wanting to something else...I made three bracelets from my soup beads and my stash.

The one above are blue glass beads are from my soup and the rest destash. I like the look.  Then to the right the first one I used the leaf beads and salmon colored beads on stretchy cord. The second one is with the Swarovski sliders and the black and blue beads from my soup. I was trying a new technique, bead weaving using my pattern......not sure if works. May redo it.


And last but not least. I used the left over beads and created these purse fobs...The face beads are poly clay that I had for a while.

So there you have it. My Bead Soup for 2013. To see what everyone else made hop over to Second Reveal - 7th Bead soup Blog

Thanks for stopping by and make sure you hop to Tanya's site to see what goodies she came up with!

March Art Bead Scene Challenge

March Monthly Challenge

Deer In the Forest, 1911

Marc Franz
Oil on Canvas, 100.97 x 104.78 cm
Philips Collection, Washington DC, USA
(Please note this art is copyrighted and is to be used only as inspiration.)

About the Art

"Amidst and integrated with the form of the deer is a panoply of force lines and transparent planes; an underlying organization of these exists in the pattern of parallel diagonals moving downward from the right and left edge, meeting in the middle. A secondary pattern exists in the rectilinear planes of color on the left opposing circular patterns on the right. while a blue mountain is absent, a smaller triangle encloses two of the deer; it and the blue tree at the left edge provide an uplifting quality. Contrasting the blue is the intense red throughout the center of the picture, oranges at top and bottom, and the feathery black in the upper right.

The all-over organization of the canvas uniting animal to landscape, diminishes the heroism of the animal subject as depicted by Marc in 1911. Supporting Marc's latest conception of the world was Wilhelm Ostwald's theory of energy, in which matter is considered illusory. Only energy lines reveal appearance such as it is. In Deer in the Forest, this conception results in an energized atmosphere of randomness and chaos. the sense of an inchoate environment demonstrates both Marc's feeling of the world as a whole and his developing urge to represent Creation, and aspiration that is present in the works of Wassily Kandinsky and Paul Klee."

This month's challenge inspired me with so many different ideas.  I am trying to use new techniques to help broaden my knowledge base.  The first two I tried didn't work out very well. So I decided to stay with what I could do for now.  I made this fun memory wire bracelet with the brown variegated brown stones centered between beads that picked up the primary colors in the picture.  

I enjoy these challenges as I like having to think and work outside my comfort zone!  Thanks ABS!

  

For more fab jewelry hop over to Art Bead Scene and click on current entries.

I Heart Macro 3-24-2013

It was really hard to choose for this weeks...but I think I have three to share!

For more hop over to Studio Water Stone