Creative Minds for Charity Challenge

Here's my final contribution to a very special and worthy project. It's called the Creative Minds for Charity Challenge, and it's a collaboration between three Etsy Street Teams.

Artists from etsyBEAD were paired up with the glass artists from Creative Glass Guild of Etsy (CGGE). Each glass artist sent a glass creation to a bead artist to make into a beaded jewelry piece. The final creations were sent to the Helping Others Street Team (HOST), and you can see them all at HOST's etsy shop, link at right.

This glass pendant layered with delicate shades of purple is from glass artist LaWatha. I hung it on a wiggly loop of sterling silver flattened and textured by my chasing hammer. I love the way the silver "facets" sparkle inside the glass. I then strung the pendant on a two-strand necklace of freshwater pearls and Czech glass crystals.

The necklace is 22 inches long; the earrings are two-inches from top of earwire to bottom of earring.

I named it "Fresh Blossoms."



Like the necklace set? It will be available in the HOST store, and all of the proceeds will be used to assist fellow Etsy members in need. Go to Fresh Blossoms at right to buy it!

Two Strands

Here's my final necklace. I love the hand-formed and textured silver wiggly inside the pendant and the curves and textures of the clasp. Left over from experiments for this project are quite a few roundish-squarish-ovalish rings I'm going to make into a project all on their own. I'm in love with 18 gauge sterling silver dead soft round wire and my chasing hammer!


This necklace turned into a long one at 22 inches. It will hang nearly 24 inches including the pendant.


The pendant is hand-formed glass by Lawatha ~ find the link to her shop at right. It is amazing and I think this closeup shows you what I mean!

Lavender Loveliness

This is my first go, a one-strand necklace.



Here we are with two strands. I think this is the right visual weight for pearls versus pendant, but I miss the dark purple rondelles in version one.



Here's three strands ~ I'm trying for luscious but I don't think I've done it. Just a bit much. I do like how the rings kind of mimic the round-ish shapes of the pearls and the silver squiggle within the interior of the pendant.



Here it is, closer. I think the rings deserve center stage on their own. They're a bit much here. Maybe tomorrow I'll feel differently?

I am hoping my etsyBEAD sisters will come here and weigh in!!!

Frustration!!!

Frustration!!! is these terrific pieces, and since they are commissions, I can't post them up to my Etsy shop. They are one of a kind. The Lucky Eye necklace, above, is for my son's Pre-Kindergarten teacher, who's an Israeli gal with a Middle Eastern background. She believes in the magic of evil eyes! It's not quite done ~ I want the focal part to measure 7" so it can be a bracelet if she wants, and the other part 14" so it can be part of this necklace or a choker by itself.

The piece below is an adaptation of Penny Acosta's lovely chaine maille design from the April 2007 Bead & Button magazine. This I wouldn't sell unless I checked with Penny first!