BEAD PEEPS SWAP 'N' HOP
Welcome to my blog and the third annual Bead peeps swap 'n' hop.
My partner this year was Natlalie Davidson who's blog is here http://www.northshoredays.com.
I sent Natalie what i hope was a challenging mix of beads pictured below.
Lots of natural agates, amethyst , cherry quartz and beautiful ceramic focal.
The beads Natalie sent me were wonderful and very challenging! so many colours.
I got stuck in straight away using the main Paua shell focal and dyed hoplite.
I adore the colours in this focal so wanted to keep it simple with a basic silver chain dotted with the howlite and the little daisies , i had just enough left to make a matching pair of earrings.
After making this necklace i hit a wall and kept coming and going from my beads until something clicked!
'Smartie' Bracelets!
Whilst playing lining up the same colours these sweet little bracelets seemed to form themselves.
I absolutely love how these turned out, such a simple design but really eye catching.
My attention then tuned to the wonderful bird clasp and glass flowers and i decided to reverse it up like this.
Natalie had sent the flowers on a string and they looked so pretty i wanted to emulate that in the design. So each each connected to the other in a pretty waterfall and then attached to the dove clasp using a tiny silver flower cap. All i then added was some purple glad beads to the chain and placed the toggle through the clasp.
I thought i was beaded out at this point but yesterday (Friday) i had a last minute flash of inspiration when i found a little bead from 'Grubbie ceramics'
So i managed to put together this set which i am planning to wear today.
Adding simple wooden beads to the pretty shell diamond beads and focal bead i added made the perfect relaxed beach bracelet and earrings set.
Thank you so much to Natalie for being my swap partner.
And big THANKYOU to Linda for setting up the swap.
Cant wait to see what everybody has made and i hope you enjoyed visiting my blog.
The smartie bracelets is a great concept and would work great as impulse buys
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your kind words Divya.
DeleteThat is one gorgeously delicate necklace that you made with that lovely paua focal. Really lovely design. And those smarty bracelets look fantastic all lined up together in the first photo. Lovely to wear them all together.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much .
DeleteOMG Sam you did an amazing job! I love that you used my handmade clasp in a necklace. LOVE all your designs so much! Thank you for being an awesome partner. xx Nat
ReplyDeleteThank you Natalie, and thanks for all the lovely goodies you sent me.
DeleteLove all the pretties you created with your mix. I think the necklace that uses the clasp as the focal is my favorite. I can't resist a waterfall of flowers! Oh, and those bracelets, they remind me of candy. yum!!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much.
DeleteSam.... I'm dying of cuteness! GREAT pieces! By far.... my favorites are the bracelets. They're just so darn CUTE! Beautiful work!
ReplyDeleteLinda
Thank you Linda and another thank you for the hosting.
DeleteHi Sam, Your green and silver necklace is stunning. The simple design that you chose let the focal be the star. It is my favorite design from this hop so far. I like your "Smartie Bracelets" too. The flower fringe is perfect with the dove clasp. Great job using your swap beads.
ReplyDeleteThank you for you kind words Becky.
DeleteLove what you did with the birdie clap! And the Smarties bracelets look so fun!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Christina.
DeleteYou're pieces are awesome! Great job getting creative with such a variety!
ReplyDeleteThank you Kristina.
DeleteSam you outdid yourself! I love your first necklace and those simple little bracelets are so sweet-they look like candy! Fantastic!
ReplyDeleteThank you Robin, the little candy beads just made me think smarties :)
DeleteYour designs are so fun! I love the way you reimagined that clasp!
ReplyDeleteThank you Rachel. Cant wait to see your designs when your beads arrive.
DeleteYou handled the challenging shell focal beautifully! I thought the bracelets were a ladder necklace :) I love how you took a picture of them in a rainbow colors arrangement! My favorite is the necklace with the bird focal and the waterfall flowers!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, i never even thought of a ladder necklace! What a great idea.
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