Week 3 - AJE Earrings Challenge

Week 3 of the AJE Earrings Challange being the week of Valentine's Day, my theme was hearts and earrings featuring handmade hearts by two very talented artisans.

Bronze heart charms by Candice Wakumoto (purchased from Andrew Thorton's shop)

Lapis Lazuli coins

Golden pyrite rondelles

Earwires by Mishel Designs

 Sterling Silver Lone Star heart charms by Cathy Dailey

Sponge Coral nuggets

Sterling Silver earwires

Make sure you stop by and check out all the other earrings made with very creative AJEs on Pinterest.

You have heard Ringo Starr's Octopus's Garden, now see mine...

I'd like to be under the sea
In an octopus' garden in the shade   

My Octopus's Garden...

A Clematoons cartoon featuring Mr Starr's song!

He'd let us in, knows where we've been
In his octopus' garden in the shade

I'd ask my friends to come and see
An octopus' garden with me
I'd like to be under the sea
In an octopus' garden in the shade.

We would be warm below the storm
In our little hideaway beneath the waves
Resting our head on the sea bed
In an octopus' garden near a cave

We would sing and dance around
Because we know we can't be found
I'd like to be under the sea
In an octopus' garden in the shade

We would shout and swim about
The coral that lies beneath the waves
(Lies beneath the ocean waves)
Oh what joy for every girl and boy
Knowing they're happy and they're safe
(Happy and they're safe)

We would be so happy you and me
No one there to tell us what to do
I'd like to be under the sea
In an octopus' garden with you.

Octopus's Garden by Ringo Starr (Richard Starkey), 1969 (Lyrics from Lyrics007)

Did you know that July 7th 2012 was his 72nd birthday?
Makes me feel old! Not the songs but the fact that he is 72 years old!
Have a great week!

Winner of my Fish Bead Giveaway

The winner of my Fish Bead giveaway from the previous post is...

Kym Hunter of KymHunterDesigns. Congratulations Kym. Please email me your address and I will get your brass Fish Bead out to you.
Thank you to all you visited me and had nice things to say about my necklace. See you again soon.
Enjoy your weekend and have a Happy Independance Day!

Hot Summers and Fish Beads and a Giveaway!

Mortira of Inspirational Beading has posted today about her wish list for fish beads. Check out her blog post for a variety of fun fish beads for your summer beading. Reading her post reminded me of a fish bead necklace that I strung together not too long ago.

I purchased a necklace made by Tibetan artisans from Nepal. Unfortunately, I did not take a picture of the original design. I decided to take it apart and re-string it... and here is my design. I used only the beads that were part of the original necklace, stabilized turquoise beads, red coral discs, tiny brass spacer beads and a brass hook and eye clasp.

Don't you love the vivid detail on the reversible fish bead, It is made of brass, and has a turquoise cabochon for eyes (on both sides). I call this 'Hot Summers in Florida!' The heat, the beach and the fishing...

The original necklace had two such fish beads, but as you can see I only used one of them. So I will gladly give away the other fish bead (Note: only the fish bead) to one randomly chosen commenter, so that you can design your own fun summer necklace. The fish bead I am giving away looks quite like the one pictured above. To be entered in my giveaway, please leave a comment, telling me what you would like to make with such a fish bead. Spreading the word about this giveway would be appreciated too. I will pick a winner on June 30.

Have a fun summer!

Soup's done and Thank you!

Yesterday, I finally finished my - around the world - tour of all the Bead Soup Party blogs! 

All of the other 209!
If you are still blog hopping here is my soup creation!

A big THANK YOU to Lori Anderson for organizing this great Bead Soup Party.
I can only imagine how big the next one would be.
I would need to take a few days off from work to do the blog hopping!

What a journey this has been! So much talent, so much creativity, such wonderful jewelry and some other items, so many great beaders out there, made new friends and many new blogs to follow. I left a comment on almost all the blogs I visited, a few I could not, I tried, but was not abe to because of the site (I think). Some could not reveal their creations due to family emergencies, health issues, but I am sure we will see them as soon as they are able to post. A few, I think just plain forgot!

As some of us are still making the rounds, so I decided to postpone my earrings giveaway till Friday March 11th. I hope you all don't mind.

Thank you to Suzette, my bead soup party partner for the wonderful beads she sent me. 

Thank you to everyone who stopped by and for all your wonderful comments. 

I am thrilled that my chained heart was so well received. The brass pendant that I received from Suzette, though beautiful was plain and needed to be dressed up. Since I am not versed in texturing or stamping, I was looking for another way to enhance it. Playing around with my soup beads, I saw the chain... I thought why not?

As you know, I am donating this piece for a fund raiser for the JDRF. Ann asked me if I would be auctioning my necklace online. No, that's not how I do it. The bank that I work for in Tampa encourages the staff to be involved in the community we work in. The 'Walk to Cure Diabetes' takes place in the Tampa Bay area on April 9th, and many of my workmates will be walking. As part of that effort, this necklace will be 'raffled'. Everyone at the bank gets to buy a ticket, prized at a $1.00 or 5 tickets for $6.00, the names dropped into a hat and one lucky name pulled out. The bank has about 200 employees  we are not a big bank. This makes it affordable, allows us to collect money for our cause, so much more than we would with one single highest bidder at an auction. And the lucky gal or guy gets to take home my necklace! The necklace is my contribution.

I, so enjoyed the wire wrapping while making this necklace, that I tried a few more pieces. I will show these to you in the next few days. Enjoy your Sunday and your week... and thank you again!

Summer Design Contest from Happy Mango Beads

I found Happy Mango Beads through an advertisement in a bead magazine and was thrilled at the selection of exotic beads they carry from far-a-way lands. They have ancient beads and modern day beads, the store is a history lesson on beads!

Some of the purchases I made from them resulted in this memorable necklace, using a handcrafted brass face mask and recycled sandcast glass beads from Ghana in West Africa.

Happy Mango Beads is now sponsoring a beading contest and the theme is 'Songs of Summer'

You must hurry as the contest deadline is August 6, 2010. The categories that you can enter in are as follows:

Summertime Blues  - all shades of blue

Under the Sea – seashells, coral, pearls, fish

California Sun – yellows that feel like sunshine, touches of orange and red

Hot Fun in the Summertime – fun & funky!

Kokomo – a tropical flare using colors such as: lime, aqua, hot pink, orange or coconut wood

Saturday in the Park – green grass, leaves, blue/green ponds, specks of floral

Rocky Mountain High – nature inspired, gemstones

Under the Boardwalk – wood, recycled glass

Summer in the City – metals, glass, ceramic

Tiptoe through the Tulips – think flowers! 

That pretty much covers every creative avenue, and you do not have to use beads purchased from Happy Mango Beads!

The overall winner gets a $100 gift certificate to Happy Mango Beads, while winners of each category get a $25.00 gift certificate to be used at the store. Check out the contest rules and lets get beading!