bead soup party

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Michelle's Winter Challenge










Well, it's a little late in the day for my post but, as they say" better late than never".  This challenge was definitely just that for me.  Due to circumstances in my life, my beading has been about nil lately.  I signed up for the challenge to try and get a jump start on the year and my beading.  I loved all the beads in my kit but I hit a block in design.  I can't tell you how many designs I tried to come up with to do the beads justice.  My own sensibilities did not like the glass with the beautiful ceramic pendants.  I am sure others out there were able to combine them but I just could not find a way to do it and my design block just got worse.  So, what was a body to do?  Well, I needed an eyeglass holder/badge holder so the glass beads got made into something for me.  I then took the pearls and the purplish daggers and did a sort of wintery choker.  I really had not done any right angle weave so I challenged myself with that and combined it with netting and embellishment.  I even used the ribbon from the box my beads came in as the closure.  That still left me with the pendants.  I tried all sorts of stuff from my stash and these things just continued to block me at every turn.  I finally resorted to doing a beaded kumihimo rope in the colors of the pendant and then embellished it with white seed beads to symbolize winter snow and then used the ceramic elements as a pendant suspended from the rope. I finished off with a pair of earrings that could be worn with any of the pieces.  I can't say that I like what I did with the pendants but I managed to get through the block and do something and at least this challenge got me beading again.

Be sure to visit everyone and here's the list:

16 comments:

  1. I had the same challenge trying to mix the ceramic and glass -- but you made it work! And the beadwork is truly breathtaking.

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  2. I love your beadwork. I particularly like the kumihimo with the pendant. I just recently started doing some kumihimo and I enjoy seeing what combinations people make with this technique. I think you made it work. The netting piece is spectacular!

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  3. I really like the lacy, white piece with the ribbon. Very wintry and delicate looking! I'm amazed you made so many things with your kit. I'm glad you were able to work through your block. Sometimes the pieces we don't like are necessary to get us to our next breakthrough.

    Thanks for joining the challenge!

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  4. Wow, you went into bead overdrive! Amazing!

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  5. I am in love with the kumihimo necklace. I have been wanting to embellish a length of braiding I made last year, now I am inspired! All of your pieces are so beautiful, and I think you did a fantastic job with the pendants.

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  6. Lovely beadwork! Very creative. I envy those with the patience for seed beads!

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  7. a lovely necklace! its amazing how each person sees the beads in a different ligt, and creates something so different from anyone else

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  8. Wow, I love all of the bead work that went into your pieces very beautiful. I'm just getting into kumihimo and have not tried adding beads yet.
    Therese

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    1. thanks for your kind comments. The beaded kumihimo is really fun and I enjoy it. It is a little time consuming stringing on the beads and figuring out which strand to put what subject to what pattern you want and if you want to mix sizes, gemstones etc but once you figure it out, it is fun to do. If you ever want tips, I will be glad to help you out. It certainly goes much faster than a herringbone or peyote rope and you can get such interesting combinations with a little practice. It is great when you just don't know what else to do which was my case here.

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  9. I LOVE what you did with the pendants! I think the heft of the kumihimo rope is a perfect balance for the pendants. Plus, I like you used all 3 together. Very nice!

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  10. Wow - so many pieces! Very very pretty.

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  11. Wow, I love the beadwork in your pieces! I've always been a bit jealous of those who can work with these little beads. Your pieces are gorgeous!

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  12. WOW amazing, they are all very beautiful!

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  13. Such beautiful work! I love the lacy looking white necklace...gorgeous!

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  14. Everything you crafted turned out beautiful.
    Lovely work.
    ~cryssT

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  15. You did really well, considering how you were feeling. Love it all. ;-)

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