Summertime Creations

The challenge this month from Artbeads was to create something with a summertime theme using glass beads, charms or pendants. My first thought was to do a charm bracelet with some shell or boating themed charms. However, I wanted to do a little something different.

I fell in love with the simplicity of the sand dollar sterling silver pendant. Artbeads has a great selection of pendants to choose from. Normally that is where I start with an idea for a necklace, with the pendant, because it is the focal point in the design. I liked the shades of green and blue in the glass pearls and added some Swarovski crystal for a little sparkle.


My favorite colors right now are orange, red and yellow. I like vibrant colors during the summer. In browsing the selection of glass beads it was hard to narrow it down! I selected a strand of big bright flower beads as they were not something I would ordinarily pick and I thought they might be fun to try. I combined them with some lemon yellow swirled beads I had in my inventory and thought they made a good combination. This is a fun piece to wear on a hot summer day!


My final piece uses one of my very favorite design elements - furnace glass beads. I just love these! I picked the bright citrus package with random beads, some solid and some striped. I really wanted the solid orange bead to stand out so I put in some big bold silver beads. The pinstripes on the other beads remind me of candy. I really like this bracelet!


As always, I really enjoy these challenges as they allow me to think outside my normal style and have have a lot of fun with it!

Disclosure: The sand dollar pendant and glass beads were kindly provided free of charge by Artbeads.com as part of their blogging program. The author of this blog has not received any payment from above-mentioned company. The post represents the personal opinion of the blog author.

Bracelet from WhimsyBeading

I am the very proud owner of this shiny metallic multi-colored bracelet created just for me by my team members and friends Kelly & Joey Graves of Whimsy Beading. Each time I am around them, they are nonstop, constantly creating new things while at the same time socialing with those around them. They certainly know how to be productive and get more time out of their day!

I fell in love with this bracelet and had to have it! I picked out the button after seeing the beads in September and Joey was able to attach it and custom fit it to my wrist at our last team meeting.

Isn't it lovely and unique?

Check out their beadweaving jewelry creations at the WhimsyBeading etsy shop.

Monte Carlo Night Donation

My father is involved in a boating safety organization and this is my donation to their Monte Carlo night auction. I had a matching pair of earrings with the bracelet.

New Sparkly Creations!

Visit my etsy shop to see my new creations!

Stretching Myself Creatively

This was another recent project for a friend of mine. She needed a birthday gift for her neighbor who had a really nice new ring with a shell like finish to it. My friend wanted to have something designed to compliment that ring. I sent her some shell bead images to see what might work. She selected a pink shell from Artbeads that was described as "freeform." (i.e. no two pieces are the same shape or size)

This seemed like it could be a challenge as I am used to beads being pretty uniform. The shell beads were lovely but needed to be assembled like a puzzle. And what would I put with them? The photo below shows some of my ideas which I again asked people which they liked. And like before with the bronze and ivory pearl bracelets, I always got a different answer from each person I asked.



The sample on the top row had roundish ivory fresh water pearls, the center piece has flat purple fresh water pearls and the bottom piece uses stick pearls, one of my favorite beads ever.

My friend selected the version with the stick pearls and here is the finished piece. The light pink color looks so pretty when held up to your wrist. I sprinkled some sand out of the sand dollar for the last image!

Peace Jade & Swarovski Crystal Bracelet

Aaah, peace jade, also known as harmony jasper. I love the green stone with flecks of white and lavender. Along with the harmony jasper, I included light Amethyst round Swarovski crystal and bali silver spacers. The bracelet is finished with a sterling flower toggle. After spending a great deal of time in my studio, I noticed everything I made that night had a theme of green and purple! I really like combining those two colors.

Pretty in Pink Lampwork Bracelet & Earrings Set

I love this set! A friend of mine spotted the pink dotted lampwork beads at a bead show in Cincinnati. Unfortunately, there was only one strand. I paired them up with a frosted white glass beads, some Swarovski crystal AB bicones, bali silver spacers and a heart toggle. Very romantic!