BSBP Bead Hoarders Edition - PARTY!

Here it is - the reveal of the Bead Soup Blog Party - Bead Hoarders Edition!!! Welcome!!!

First, I would like to remind you what have I received from my partner Palak Udeshi (motidana):

A very generous bead soup, as you can see, and I definitely didn't use all of the beads that Palak sent to me, just a bit of them.

First I put my eyes on the gorgeous glass pendant. I've tried several combinations, but at the end I prefered the most simple one - with several strands of green beads from my soup. All the embelishments seemed superfluous, because the pendant is so striking by itself. For the clasp I've used a copper button.

The pendant has a loop at the top of the back side and when you wear the necklace, it seats exactly in the valley between the collarbones, so it's very confortable to wear!

Next I tried to use the seed beads and make a wide finger band with a ramdom pattern from 3 different colours of beads.

Doing this I've discovered two things. First, my sight for the tiny parts it's getting worse. "My arms are getting too short", as we say in Slovenia ... and usually it happens when you pass your 40's ... khm, khm ... What can I say, being there ...

And second, my brain doesn't really like random, it's much more happier when I follow a pattern or a scheme. That's why the band is two sided: when you turn it on the finger, there's another, more geometrical pattern.

My last piece is a pair of earrings:

Well, I hope you enjoyed my reveal and please take a look at my partner's Palak Udeshi's blog to see, what has she created with the bead soup that I've sent her - here!

All the links to the creations of all the other participants are available on the blog post by our hostess Lori Anderson - at the end of her reveal post:

http://www.prettythingsblog.com/2017/03/welcome-to-bead-soup-blog-party-bead.html

Be well,

Alenka

Workshop with Bettina Welker - part 1 / Delavnica z Bettino Welker - 1. del

  Huh, it's been 4 weeks already from the workshop with Bettina Welker in Ljubljana and I've still not written a word about it!!! 
  Uf, že 4 tedni so minili od delavnice z Bettino Welker v Ljubljani, jaz pa o tem nisem še nič objavila!!!

  It was my first workshop ever and those were two beautiful days!!! Two days just claying and chatting with other polymer clay enthusiasts! Just a blast!!!
  To je bila moja prva delavnica in bila sta dva res čudovita dneva!! Dva dneva v celoti posvečena ustvarjanju iz polimerne gline in klepetanju z drugimi poli-navdušenkami! Pravi užitek!!!
    

  Let's get this party started!!!

 
  Well, we started  with the hinged bracelet and this is the one I've made ...
   Začeli smo s pregibno zapestnico in moj izdelek izgleda tako ...

... and the whole pyramid of bracelets (with Bettina and the organizers):
... cela piramida zapestnic pa je zelo barvita (z Bettino in organizatorkami):

 The second day we started with the jellyfish earrings. Can you guess which ones are mine?
  Drugi dan je bil najprej posvečen meduzicam - uhanom. Ali uganete, kateri so moji?

Photo by Roberta M.

 The red ones!!!
  Rdeči, seveda!!!

 

towards the light / proti svetlobi

  Did you have any doubts??!! :-)
  They are quite small - about 2 cm/0.8 inch wide and very very light. It's so nice to wear them.
  Ali je sploh kdo podvomil v to?!! :-)
  Uhani so precej majhni, v širino merijo le 2 cm, in izredno lahki. Nositi jih je lepo, saj so kot peresca. 

  The second post about the workshop with new pictures is coming soon ....
  Druga objava o delavnici z Bettino in novimi slikcami sledi prav kmalu ....

~~~

In the meantime 3 of my swap packages are wandering somewhere in the postal system:

- one to US for Fall inchies swap;

- one to Netherlands for the Christmas ornament polymer clay swap and

- one to Germany for the Bead Soup Cafe Holiday gift swap.

I really hope they all find their way to the final destination!!! At the moment the delivery is late for all of them ...

Medtem pa 3 moji paketki z izdelki za izmenjavo klatijo nekje v poštnem sistemu:

- eden je namenjen v ZDA za Jesensko izmenjavo inchijev (2,5 x 2,5 cm ploščice), 

- drugi je namenjen na Nizozemsko za Izmenjavo božičnih okraskov iz polimerne gline,

- tretji pa v Nemčijo za Praznično izmenjavo daril v okviru FB skupine Bead Soup Cafe. 

Res upam, da bodo vsi našli pravo pot do cilja!!! Trenutno namreč dostava za vse tri zamuja ...  

Be happy,

Bodite veseli,

Alenka

 

Surprise & Twinchie Polymer Clay Swap with Japanese Flavour / Swap presenečenj in ploščic iz polimerne gline z japonskim pridihom

  Yep, I've had a partner from Japan in this last International polymer clay FB group swap: the lovely Chieko Sasaki of MINA Creations!!!
  Tako je, moja zadnja partnerica v mednarodni izmenjavi izdelkov iz polimerne gline prihaja z Japonske - to je Chieko Sasaki, ki ustvarja pod imenom MINA Creations!  

  Chieko lives in the central Tokyo, Japan, with her hubby and six birds. She is a certified FIMO instructor/artist and teaches miniatures at a major handicraft store in Tokyo called Tokyu Hands once a month. She is also a certified metal clay artist/instructor of PMC (MITSUBISHI precious metal clay) and a practitioner of Findohorn flower essences. How cool is that!!!
  Chieko živi v osrednjem Tokiu z možem in šestimi pticami. Je certificirana inštruktorica/ustvarjalka ter enkrat mesečno poučuje izdelovanje miniatur v največji trgovini z ustvarjalnim materialom v Tokiu. Poleg tega ima certifikat tudi za dragocene metalne gline (precious metal clay) in se ukvarja s Findohorn cvetličnimi esencami.

   We decided to swap a set of jewelry - a necklace, a bracelet and earrings.
   Odločili sva se za izmenjavo kompleta nakita, in sicer ogrlice, zapestnice in uhanov.



  Let me first show you what I've made for Chieko.
  Naj vam najprej pokažem, kaj sem sama naredila za Chieko. 

 
  Chieko likes autumn colors, so do I, and as the autumn was just around the corner, I've decided to use yellow-orange + bronze palette. I used my currently favorite techniques - the combination of Hellen Breil's Shapes and Cosmic Ceramic of Iris Mishly & Hila Bushari, all combined my way.
  Chieko so všeč jesenske barve, ravno tako kot meni, in ker se je jesen hitro bližala, sem se odločila za rumeno-oranžne odtenke v kombinaciji z bronasto. Uporabila sem trenutno najljubšo kombinacijo tehnik, to je Shapes od Hellen Breil in Cosmic Ceramic od Iris Mishly & Hile Bushari, skombinirano malo po moje.

The necklace I made for Chieko / Ogrlica, ki sem jo izdelala za Chieko

 

 

 
   

The earrings for Chieko / Uhani za Chieko

The bracelet with the infinity symbol / Zapestnica s simbolom neskončnosti

The twinchie using the same texturing and coloring techniques / Ploščica, za katero sem uporabila isti tehniki teksture in barvanja

  I was a little late sending out my swap items for Chieko, so I've decided to send to her a little extra gift to apologize for the delay. I've decided for something related to the place I live - the Sečovlje saltpans:
  Ker sem tokrat malo zamujala s pošiljanjem paketka za Chieko, sem se odločila, da dodam še dodatno darilce v opravičilo. Izbrala sem nekaj, kar je povezano s krajem, v katerem živim, to so Sečoveljske soline:

A wooden spoon for salt and Grandma's Recipes cooking book / Lesena žlica za sol in knjižica z recepti stare mame

 ~~~

  And here is what I have received from Chieko:
  Tukaj pa vam predstavljam, kaj je Chieko izdelala zame:

 

The necklace Chieko made for me / Ogrlica, ki jo je Chieko naredila zame

Earrings from Chieko / Uhani od Chieko

 

Bracelet from Chieko / Zapestnica od Chieko

 

Chieko included even a ring / Chieko je dodala celo prstan

 

and not one, but two beautiful twinchies / in celo dve ploščici

 The beads look like glass and not polymer!! And have you seen her food miniatures??!! They are perfect in each detail!!! 
  Njene perle izgledajo kot steklo in ne polimerna glina!! In ste videli njene miniature hrane??!! Perfektne so v vsaki področbnosti!!!

  Thank you, Chieko, for being my partner in this swap! I've enjoyed every moment of it and I'm happy to have a new polymer friend in Japan. 
  Najlepša hvala, Chieko, da si bila moja partnerica v tej izmenjavi! Uživala sem v sakem trenutku in sem zelo vesela, da imam novo kolegico na Japonskem.

Be happy,

 Bodite veseli,

 

Alenka 

 

Earring Swap Blog Hop Reveal

Welcome to the Earring Swap blog hop, wanted by Jessica Wensell of Whimsical Monkey.

Well, earrings are the piece of jewelry I prefer to wear and I mostly make, so I picked the invite for this swap immediately.

 
My partner was Susan Kennedy from Suebeads, a talented lampworker. Just look at these gorgeous beads she makes

 

I've asked Sue to take a look at my Flickr gallery and tell me which style of earrings she prefers. I already knew she loves turquoise, silver and green, so I've chosen some peppermint and turquoise Fimo and made a pair of both sides textured rings with a texture plate made by me; then just a little touch of silver Inka gold. I've added filigree silver beads and seed beads and this is what I have sent to Sue:

  ... packed in my Pepita red box:

  I've added a lucky charm - one of my clowny beads, but forgot to take a picture of it.

I still haven't received the package Susan sent, even if she sent it three weeks ago!!! But I'm sure it will arrive soon!! If you would like to know what has she sent to me, just take a look at her blog here. 

UPDATE - 23 March 

Yesterday I have finally received my package from Sue. Just look at these gorgeous earrings and she even included some of her beautiful lampwork beads!!!   [happydance]   How lucky I am!!!

No need to say I had to wear them today at work :-D 

Thank you Sue for being my partner in this swap!!!

And here's the list of the other participants (you get the direct links on the blog posts by clicking on the names):

Jessica Wensell

Inge von Roos  

Nancy Smith

Marianne Baxter
Leah Tees
Andrea Trank
Miranda Ackerley
Cheri Mitchell-Reed
Susan Kennedy     <-- My partner
Michele Dotson
Deanna Cox
Shelley Graham Turner
Ingrid McCue
Lennis Carrier
Ginger Davis Allman
Mary Anne Flesch
Nicole Valentine Rimmer
Stephanie Weiss
Silvia Sernicola
Karla Morgan
Kay Thomerson
Paula Hisel
Carol Dillman
Spun Sugar Beadworks
Tara Plote
Rachel Baron
Laurie Keefe
Kashmira Patel
Gina Hockett
Shellie Grindy
Shai Williams
Dyanne Cantrell
Mimi Gardner
Jessica McMullen
Jennifer LaVite
Laura Medeiros
Alenka Obid    <-- You are here
Elsie Fonseca
Cheryl Dunham
Sandra McGriff
Tania Spivey
Mowse Doyle
Mischelle Fanucchi

Facebook:
Beccy Peterson: Beccy's Baubles

Marde Lowe: FanciMar Designs

Be happy,

Alenka

Carpe diem ...

  When you are going at the doctor's office and you know that you'll be waiting your turn for one hour at least, you have to find a way to pass that time in a pleasant way.
  Ko si namenjen na zdravniški pregled in veš, da se boš načakal, se je potrebno organizirati, da boš ta čas preživel kar se da prijetno.

  Guess what I did. Do you need a hint?
  Ali uganete, kaj sem počela jaz? Potrebujete namig?

  Here it is:
  Tukaj je:

  I've discovered another use of a food container ;-D 
  Ugotovila sem, da je posodica za hrano lahko uporabna tudi drugače ;-D

  Here's what I've made while waiting my turn:
  to pa sem naredila med čakanjem na vrsto:

   If you consider that I'm a beginner in beadweaving ... you can imagine how much time I've spent there last evening ....
  Če upoštevate, da sem začetnica v šivanju perl ... si lahko mislite, da sem včeraj zvečer kar nekaj časa preživela v čakalnici ...

  Well, I've just started enjoying it, so couldn't stop stitching ... and finished these today:
  Sicer pa sem ravno dobila rokico za šivanje in se nisem mogla ustaviti, zato sem danes zaključila ta dva para uhanov:

 Carpe diem :-D

  Alenka

March 8 Swap / Osmomarčevski swap

  The girls from Izdelovalnica malih umetnin organized again a swap between Slovenian polymer clayers (of all levels). Well, this time they went international as one of the participants is from Serbia.
   Dekleta iz Izdelovalnice malih umetnin so spet organizirale swap izdelkov iz polimerne gline, ki je tokrat postal mednarodne narave, saj se nam je pridružila tudi udeleženka iz Srbije.

  For the swap everyone had to make a set of a necklace + ring or bracelet or earrings or brooch (mainly from polymer clay, but allowed to be mixed media) and send it by March 6, to be at the destination by March 8, the International Women's Day. The interesting thing about this swap was that you knew only who you have to send your item, but don't know who will you receive it from. It means it was not a one to one swap, but a circular one.
   Za swap je bilo potrebno izdelati komplet ogrlice + prstan ali zapestnico ali uhane ali broško delno ali v celoti iz polimerne gline (navodila v celoti so tukaj) ter ga poslati do 6. marca, da ga prejemnica dobi do 8. marca, kot darilo za dan žena. Najbolj zanimiv del te izmenjave pa je bilo to, da je bil "krožne narave" - vsaka sodelujoča je vedela samo, komu mora sama poslati, ni pa vedela, od koga bo darilo dobila.

  Here's the set I've sent to Tjaša:
   To je komplet, ki sem ga poslala Tjaši:

    I have to admit my first idea of the surface treatment was a little different, but did not work out as I wanted, even if the result was interesting. I'll show some other time. I hope she likes it and will wear it sometime.
   Moja prva ideja za površinsko obdelavo je bila sicer drugačna, a ni izpadla tako, kot sem želela, čeprav je bil rezultat kar zanimiv. A o tem več kdaj drugič. Vsekakor upam, da je Tjaši komplet všeč in da ga bo vsaj kdaj tudi nosila. 
 

  Let's go now to the "receiving part"!
The sender of the package for me was Sandra. She made this beautiful set in my favourite colours!!!! She said she made the set before she knew who was the recipient, so it was a really nice coincidence.
   No, pa gremo še na skrivnostni del swapa!
Točno 8. marca sem prejela paketek, pošiljateljica katerega je bila Sandra. V paketu je bil ta čudovit komplet v mojih najljubših barvah!!! Sicer je bilo to le srečno naključje, ker je pripravila komplet, še preden je izvedela, komu ga mora poslati, a pravijo, da naključja ne obstajajo ;-).

  Thank you, Sandra, very much!!!
   Sandra, najlepša hvala!!!!


  If you would like to see what have the other participants made - go here. The site is in Slovene language, but you can see the pictures of some beautiful sets.
  Če vas zanima, kaj so ustvarile ostale udeleženke, si lahko ogledate tukaj - videli boste nekaj zares čudovitih kompletov.

  Alenka

Faux Stained Glass Earrings

  One of my favourites techniques for polymer clay is faux stained glass - my way. I made two pairs of earrings this week:
  Spet sem se zabavalo z eno mojih najljubših tehnik s polimerno glino, to je posnemanje vitraža, malo po moje. Ta teden sta tako nastala dva para uhanov:

Sunflower earrings / Sončnica

Tulip earrings / Tulipan

  Be happy!
  Bodite srečni!

  Alenka

A Time to Stitch 2 - Reveal

  Okay, it's time for for the reveal of the A TIME TO STITCH 2 challenge, hosted by Therese and Christine.

  I'm a bit nervous as these are my first steps in beadweaving, but I already love it very much. That means this is only the beginning and you will see more from me in the future :-)

  Let's start with the CRAW - the first one I've tried. I made a bracelet

and a pair of earrings.

  The second stich I learned was St. Petersburg and I made a bracelet (with polymer clay buttons), 

a pair of earrings

and two rings.

  My design is quite simple, I'm still learning the basics, but I like it that way. They are all my experiments, I did not use any tutorials (except for learning the stitch itself). I know I havent't invented anything new, but I came to this solutions by myself. I'm kind of proud of it ... and I already have a lot of ideas to realize in the future :-) 

  And now, here's the complete list of participants - I'm sure you will find gorgeous creations on their blogs as they are all much more skilful than me:

Therese Frank and Christine Altmiller
Nikki Byers
Kristen Stevens
Shirley Moore
Cynthia Machata
Lola Surwillo
Maryanne Gross
Alenka  ß you are here!
Karin Slaton
Katherine Gale
Sally Russick
Amy Severino
Alicia Marinache
Sonya Stille
Tanya Goodwin
Lisa Stukel
Marla Gibson
Sarah Sequins
Mandy
Andra Weber
Kim Hora
Karen Williams

  Happy hoping!
  Alenka

First time ...

  ... BEADWEAVING!!!

  During the 6th Bead Soup Blog Party I've seen the wonderful creations of my bead soup partner Amy and beautiful, sometimes even breathtaking pieces of other beadweavers, and I said to myself "I have to learn this!". And yesterday it was just the right day for a first attempt.

ŠIVANJE PERL - MOJ PRVI POSKUS!

 

  Med sodelovanjem v 6. Bead Soup Blog Party-ju, sem se srečala s čudovitimi kreacijami moje partnerice v izmenjavi Amy in krasnimi izdelki iz drobnih perlic ostalih sodelujočih - pri nekaterih sem ostala celo brez besed... Takrat sem si rekla, da to moram vsekakor poskusiti ... in včeraj je bil ravno pravi dan za to.

  Preamble:
In my stash I had only: white and baby-blue Rocailles (2,6 mm), no beading thread - just some dark blue sturdy sewing thread, 3 beading needles and some Beading Daily free tutorials. The Hexagonal Netting tutorial by Dustin Wedekind seemed quite acceptable for a begginer and I decided to try ...

  Opozoriti moram, da sem doma imela samo bele in svetlo modre 2,6 mm perle, iglo za šivanje perl, za nit pa sem vzela kar čvrsto nit za šivanje džinsa, ki je ne moreš pretrgati na roke. Naj omenim še, da je bila temno modre barve, torej ne ravno idealna za svetle perle. Imela pa sem tudi nekaj tutorialov od Beading Daily, med katerimi se mi je zdel Hexagonal Netting tutorial (avt. Dustin Wedekind) kar primeren za začetnika.

  The beginning was not so difficult and a self-confident thought passed through my mind: "oh, it's easy!" ... and just a few minutes later finishing the second (white) round I bumped into a mistake I made in the previous round (see arrow). Aaahhhhh!!! And my self-confidence faced a steep fall ... 

   Na začetku mi je šlo kar dobro in čim je moja samozavest zrasla, je prišel prvi šok - o sem zaključevala drugi krog (svetlo moder), sem naletela na napako v prejšnjem krogu ... Ajajajaj!!! In moja samozavest strmo dol ...

 Let's try again! I was working just fine, finishing the first round (first if not counting the circle in the middle) ... thinking "this time I am not going to make the same mistake" ... when another surpise was waiting for me just around the corner* - the thread stuck! Arrghhhh!!!  :-$

  * In this Hexagonal Netting pattern the "corner unit" is the increase unit of the round on each corner to keep the netting flat.

  No, pa poskusimo še enkrat - lepo počasi in natančno, da ne ponovim iste napake ... ko ravno zaključujem prvi krog (če ne štejemo osnovnega krogca na sredini), pa spet presenečenje!! Nič kaj prijetno, seveda: nit se je zataknila in ni šla ne naprej ne nazaj ... Grrrrr!

  "I'm not giving up!!! If I need a whole day to make it "perfect", I'll keep trying!"  The third attempt ... and  I reached first base! YAY!!!  :-D

  Seveda se ne bom pustila kar tako - če bo treba, bom poskušala ves dan!!! Na srečo tega ni bilo treba in je bil že tretji poskus uspešen! Juhuuuu!

#25/52 PAIR OF EARRINGS

  A piece of wire and here's my very first beadweaved earring. I made another one and this is also my 25 pair for the 52 earrings a year challenge.

  Dodala sem še malo žice in že je bil moj prvi uhan iz šivanih perl končan! Nato sem naredila še drugi del para in to je sedaj moj 25. par uhanov za izziv 52 earrings a year.

  There will be absolutely more beadweaving by me - I find it really relaxing (I know, it doesn't seem so when you read my previous words ;-)) ...  almost a kind of meditation. I just need to get some practice and some material for it. 

  To je torej šele začetek, vsekakor se bo moje prijateljevanje s šivanjem perl nadaljevalo - res je sproščujoče (čeprav iz zgornjega opisa ne izgleda ravno tako ;-)), celo neke vrste meditacija. Potrebujem samo nekaj prakse in pravega materiala.

  Hugs & love,

  Alenka