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

Finally finished!!!

  Do you remember my unfinished necklace from the A Time to Stitch Challenge? For the netted base I've used the "Round and Round Collar" pattern from Marcia DeCoster's book Beads in Motion.

 

  Well, I've just finished it, finally!!! I was so hurrying to take the pictures before the sun went down to show it here today, that the pictures are not perfect.

  The first part of the necklace was done quite quickly, but the second part needed much more time. The main problem was that I don't have a lot of practice in bezeling a cabochon (it was only my second attempt) and the shape was particularly challenging for me. In fact it was much easier to make the cabochon from polymer clay than bezeling it. 

  The first try was a failure ... but the second one was just right (I would exaggerate a little saying perfect)!!!

  

  I had anther idea flowing in my mind ... what if I make the focal detachable?? When you want the necklace to be a little less "important", you can wear it without the focal, but when you want a statement piece, you put the focal on ... 

  Why I have to complicate a simple thing?? Wasn't it hard enough to bezel that cabochon?? Apparently not and I've found a perfect system to make the focal invisibly detachable :-)  Happy, happy, happy!!! 

  Here's the first option - without the focal: 

   And here's the secon one - with the focal: 

 
Khm, khm, I've seen that little flaw ... or better two of them :-$ ... it seems I can not count to three each and every time ... 

 

   Anyway ... I really love it!!!
  And now just leave a comment to tell me what do you think ...

 Be happy,

Alenka

I have finally finished ... / Pa sem le dokončala ....

  ... my "Leaf in the wind" necklace.
... ogrlico, ki sem jo poimenovala "List v vetru".

After several diferent ideas that came on my mind, I've chosen a simple button closure. The polymer clay button is made using the same surface treatment as the leaf pendant.
Po poigravanju z različnimi možnostmi in idejami, sem se odločila za enostavno zapiranje na gumb, ki sem ga izdelala iz polimerne mase z enako površinsko obledavo kot obesek.

And - I'm so happy to announce that this pendant was featured in the November issue of Bead Chat magazine (on page 27)!!! I submitted the picture the last minute and I wasn't sure it will be accepted.
In - z velikim veseljem lahko povem, da je ta obesek/ogrlica objavljen v novembrski številki revije Bead Chat!!! Fotografijo sem poslala zadnji trenutek, tako da nisem bila prepričana, če bo objavljena - a je bila - poglejte na stran 27!!!

  This is the very first feature of a piece of jewelry made by me in a magazine and I'm soooo happy, I can't explain how!!! ***Happy dance*** 
 To je moja čisto prva objava v reviji, ki se ukvarja z nakitom in sem takoooo vesela, da ne morem razložiti!!! ***juppi-juppi-jaaaa***

  The Leave in the wind necklace will be available in my etsy shop later tonight. Oh, yes, I'm fnally opening my Etsy shop!
  Ogrlica bo kasneje zvečer na razpolago v moji Etsy trgovinici. Tako je, končno odpiram svojo Etsy trgovinico!

  Be happy,

Bodite veseli,

Alenka

Octoberfest 2013 Celebration of Autumn - Reveal and Blog Hop

  Today Rita of Toltec Jewels is hosting the Second Annual October fest:A Home & Hearth Blog Hop Celebrating Autumn's Splendor with Beads, Jewelry, Home Decor, Food, Friends & Family! 

  

  As you have probably noticed already, autumn colors are absolutely my favorites - I love all the different shades from yellow to orange and red!!! And how could I let go a challenge that celebrates these colors??!! No way!!! :-D

  I love the color of the leaves in autumn and I love the khaki fruit (persimmon) - it's one of my absolutely favorite food. I love the warm autumn temperatures, a little less the shortening of the days ...

  The first idea for my Octoberfest necklace was a big leaf pendant. I had no idea about the whole piece, I just knew I want to create a polymer clay leaf. I was playing a little bit with the clay, but my hands almost immediately had a pretty clear idea what they wanted to do, so I've let them do ...

   I usually like simple designs, so I was thinking about a simple beaded rope and I've taken out my seed beads, and put some different sequences on a beading wire to chose the one I like most. However, in my immagination the leaf had to be alive, on a tree playing in the wind, with some little branches around ... so I've used many more copper seed beads to build a net of branches.

 And this is the whole picture:

   I know you don't see the clasp ... it has to be added and then I'l show you the whole piece. I'm currently visiting my relatives and I've forgotten it home :-$


  I've played a little with some different backgrounds to show you how the colors of the pendant change ...  

The leaf pendant on dark wood ...

... on the green grass ..

... and on my hand. Well, I have to warn you, my hands are quite big so the dimensions are not the standard ones ;-)

If you have some time or if you'd like to see how the autumn inspires other artists, you're more than welcome to take a virtual trip and  hop to the following blogs:

Toltec Jewels (Rita, our hostess)  www.JewelSchoolFriends.com  
Caroline                                       http:// Carolynscreationswa.blogspot.com
Andrea Glick-Zenith                     http://zenithjade.blogspot.com/
Dolores Raml                               http://craftydscreations.wordpress.com/
Karla Morgan                               http://TexasPepperJams.blogspot.com
Susie Harris                                 http://jewelleryjunkie.blogspot.com/
Susan                                          http://libellulajewelry.com
Mischelle                                      http://micheladasmusings.blogspot.com/
Billi                                               http://billi-rs-rothove.blogspot.com/
Kay Thomerson                           http://kayzkreationz.blogspot.com/
Jean Yates                                  http://prettykittydogmoonjewelry.blogspot.com/
Kelly Hosford Patterson               http://travelingsideshow.blogspot.com
Kathy Lindemer                           http://bay-moon-design.blogspot.com
Liz E                                            http://beadcontagion.blogspot.com
Jasvanti Patel                              http://jewelrybyjasvanti.blogspot.com
Christie Murrow                           www.charisdesignsjewelry.blogspot.com
Jodie Marshall                             http://marshalljodie.blogspot.com/
Andrea Trank                              http://heavenlanecreations.com/
Dini Bruinsma                              http://angazabychanges.blogspot.nl
Elsie Deliz Fonseca                     http://ladelizchica.blogspot.com/
Pepita                                         www.pepita-handmade.blogspot.com   <--You are HERE!
Karla Morgan                              http://texaspepperjams.blogspot.com/
Kathleen                                     http://99bobotw.blogspot.com/
Vera Lynn                                   http://veradesigns.blogspot.com/
Rana Wilson                               http://ranaleadesigns.blogspot.com/
Catherine King                           http://catherines-musings.blogspot.com/
Lily Vincent                                 http://thecreativeklutz.blogspot.co.uk/
Janice Hidey (Janimar)               http://drawingthelinesomewhere.com/
Cory Tompkins                           http://TealwaterDesigns.blogspot.com
Candida Castleberry                  www.spunsugarbeadworks.blogspot.com
Cynthia Kent Machata                http://antiquitytravelers.blogspot.com/
Alicia Marinache                         http://www.allprettythings.ca
Linda Anderson                          http://fromTheBeadBoard.blogspot.com
Leah Curtis                                 http://beadyeyedbunny.blogspot.com/
Jennifer Reno (JenRen)              http://jenrenjewelry.blogspot.com/
Robin Reed                                 http://willowdragon.blogspot.com/
Tanty Sri Hartanti                        www.tjewellicious.blogspot.com
Lisa Lodge                                  http://gratefulartist.blogspot.com/
Ingrid A.                                      http://lilisgems.wordpress.com/
Judy Turner                                www.silver-rains.blogspot.com
Gina Hockett                               http://freestyleelements.blogspot.com/
Nelly May                                    www.smellynelly.blogspot.com
Tanya McGuire                           http://tanyamcguire.blogspot.com/
Ahowin                                        http://www.blog.ahowinjewelry.com
Sonya Stille                                 http://dreaminofbeads.blogspot.com
Pam                                            http://www.klassyjoolz.blogspot.com
Carol D.                                      http://dillmansdallies.blogspot.com/
Asri Wahyuningsih                      http://asribeadwork.blogspot.com/
Ginger Bishop                             http://lilmummylikes.blogspot.com
Janine                                         http://www.esfera.me/travel/blog/travel-stories
Shaiha Williams                          http://shaihasramblings.blogspot.com/

Be happy,

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 

 

A Time to Stitch 3 - Update 1 (After Reveal)

If you are looking for the reveal of the Bead Soup Blog Party, please go here!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  The reveal for this challenge organized by Christine Altmiller and Therese Frank was a few days ago, but at that time I've had two still unfinished pieces, the Cellini spiral and the Russian spiral - as you can see here.

  Today I have finally finished the necklace with the Cellini spiral:

  The flower and the clasp are made from polymer clay - with a technique I've learned from the tutorial Cosmic Ceramic by Iris Mishly and Hila Bushari.  

   
The bead caps (for both ends of the Cellini spiral) and brown oval beads are also made from polymer clay.

 

  I'm quite proud of my first Cellini and these are the colors I wear very often, so I'll keep it for me :-D     However, I'll be more than happy to read your comments! 

  If you want to see the finished Russian spiral necklace, come back in a few days as I'm waiting for the seed beads to arrive...

  Be happy,

  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