Bead Soup Blog Party #8 !!!

My partner: ANDREA FRANK
Her blog is here:
http://andreajewelry.blogspot.com/

THIS IS WHAT I SENT:
http://zenithjade.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-goodies-for-bsbp-i-sent-to-my.html

THIS IS WHAT I GOT:
http://zenithjade.blogspot.com/2014/03/bead-soup-blog-party-8-first-post.html

Pretty cool stuff, right?! I was at a loss for quite a while on how to make all these awesome elements mesh well together. !!! Awesome, amazing beads and a rockin' focal and TWO cool clasps. WOWSA.

It took me until about two and a half weeks ago to finally decide on a design for the necklace. Even then, it was touchy because I wasn't sure it was finished... until I added that cool fiber to it. :) Only then was it perfect. The necklace uses copper wire, pink briolette pearls doubled up, coin freshwater pearls, red faceted agate from Auntie's Beads, fiber, a bead by Sheila Davis, some copper elements (including the cool head pin the focal is on), a copper clasp from Andrea Frank and an amazing focal by Sheila Davis of Stone Designs. Here are some photos of the necklace:

 An awesome bead by Sheila Davis... watch this space for more of her beads!

 Yes, I Galaxy Wrapped the Red Agate from Auntie's Beads. I love that look!!!

The front of the focal by Sheila...

 What I consider the "back" of the focal, and equally as pretty!

 Hey look! I used one of the clasps that Andrea Frank sent me in this necklace! :)

A cool looking necklace, I think!

After that, I created some funky rainbow earrings using the same fibers as the necklace:

I got the zebra print mother of pearl shell beads from The Beehive on facebook... click here for the link.

Andrea Frank sent me those awesome industrial style yellow rings... there's more of where that came from...

I paired the other industrial style yellow rings with more of Sheila Davis' beads, the red faceted agate from Auntie's Beads, and I provided the iridescent purple freshwater coin beads and all the copper findings. :)

These are SO COOL, but WAY TOO HEAVY. :( I'm going to have to re-work them, methinks. But they sure are neat!


After I created those lovely things, I focused on making a couple of simple and cute pairs of earrings. Here's the first pair:

I used some lovely jasper? coins, blended with the topaz elements from Andrea Frank, some button freshwater pearls I had, and some neat gold crescent moons I got from the metals box from BeadSwap-USA, *hat tip*. :)

Next up:

A pair of simple earrings using those neat industrial style rings again. Andrea Frank sent me a set of three different colors: yellow, these amber ones, and some green ones... I managed to use the yellow and amber ones, but the green ones still need to make it into a project! It should be noted that I've been trying my hand at making my own findings, and these extra-large jumprings are one of those experiments. :)

Lastly, I made a bracelet! I broke out of my copper mold, and used some gold... (I also used gold on the two pairs of earrings right above!).

 Andrea Frank sent me these lovelies along with everything else! The amethyst glass is awfully pretty with the red faceted agate, I thought. I debated about using some real amethyst to go with it, but my amethyst wouldn't fit on the gold wire! :( Boo!

I had this gold Swarovski-encrusted clasp in my stash because I thought it was pretty. I didn't think I'd ever use it because I pretty much never make anything gold! Shows what I know! ;)

And that wraps up my Bead Soup Blog Party #8 Postings!

You can CLICK HERE for the MASTER LIST of participants. There's a lot of us, but it's so worth it to see what we all created, IMHO!

Also, don't forget to visit my partner's blog to see what she made using all the goodies I sent to her! :) (Some of which I made, like the clasps & focals!!!)

I hope you like the flower photos I took- they're at the beginning of this post!
HELLO SPRING! (It's about time!)

Also, here's a link to our helpful community of artists, all linked through the BSBP (Bead Soup Blog Party) and a love of beads: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BeadSoupCafe/

*hat tip* to Lori Anderson, who makes the BSBP happen every year!!! +++ her helpful hands, aka assistants.

Sea Glass Explosion!

So, I am once again participating in a lovely blog hop- this time sponsored by Bill of ZnetShows! He has some lovely, and I mean LOVELY, beachy manufactured sea glass.

This is what I received:

 

This was my first project using his sea glass- a lovely copper, blue shards and Swarovski crystal bracelet!

You can find these by clicking here!

This is my second project, which I have to admit isn't TOO BAD for my very first attempt at making a wire-worked cuff:

Beach glass made by ZnetShows!

This was my next project, some dainty and cute feather earrings on some very soft green sea glass:

Tibetan silver feathers, silver-plated wire, and sterling silver earrings hooks with the soft green beach glass!

Did I mention that Bill sent me a TON of sea glass?! These were my next project- I mean, who can resist some swanky cats and fish bones?

Again, Tibetan silver kitty cats, pewter fish bones, white/translucent sea glass from ZnetShows, silver-plated wire, and sterling silver earrings wires!

This is, BY FAR, my favorite out of everything I made so far. Czech? glass ovals and stars, blended with Swarovski crystals, Sea Glass from ZnetShows, some blue chalcedony on copper!

Necklace and earring set!

Overall, I am absolutely THRILLED with the Beach Glass Beads from ZnetShows- very, very impressed. By the way, they also do wholesale!

7000 Bracelets for Hope & a Giveaway!

So, I'm going to enter another contest... this one has a condition that I would be happy to fulfill- donate a bracelet to 7000 Bracelets for Hope. It is an organization that donates bracelets to Adults and Children with rare genetic diseases. You can read more about it on their website, here: http://globalgenes.org/7000-bracelets-for-hope/.

So Sandra, the woman who is hosting the contest, put up a blog post about it here: http://skyescreativechaos.blogspot.ca/2013/02/ff-14-with-twist.html . You can read about the bead soup she's giving away, too! And of course, it's a set of blue beads, since 7000 Bracelets for Hope takes blue bracelets! :)

Here are some pictures from the website of others' donations, (the images didn't list credits, so if this is yours, please let me know so *I* can give you credit!!!):

There is a list of donors- here's the link if you'd like to check out their shops: http://globalgenes.org/contributor-list/.

The link/image to donate to this worthy cause is on the RIGHT HAND SIDEBAR. There isn't a direct link, so please look for the DONATE image. Thanks!

Sparta, WI Art & Craft Show

HUNDREDS OF VENDORS.  

We're booth number 246 in the New Gym!

506 N Black River St, Sparta, WI 54656 // (608) 366-3504

We're selling JEWELRY, JEWELRY and more JEWELRY! Hope to see you there!

If you'd like something custom-made and want to pick it up there, please message me with your request on facebook (Andrea Glick) and a phone number where I can contact you. Thank you!

♥,
Andrea and Candy

This is SOME of our inventory:

You can also JOIN our event on Facebook by clicking here. Thanks!!!

Non-Blogger & Blogger Challenge - Turmi

Once again, I've signed up for a Bead Soup Cafe beading challenge. (It's a fancy title for a contest!) Here's one of the pieces that I'm hoping will score some "likes" on facebook:

The main focals of the necklace are Zebra Jasper, and I just love the play of browns in them! They look like fancy chocolates to me! The other beads are, (in no particular order): crackled quartz crystal, baroque freshwater pearls, Czech glass tubes in brown/gold AB (aurora borealis finish), and golden seed beads. All copper findings. :)

Here's the inspiration picture:

 

I really hope I captured the essence of the picture! Anyways, I'm gearing up to make some more pieces with this as my inspiration.

If you'd like to join in on the fun, you can visit Bead Soup Cafe right here:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/BeadSoupCafe/. If you'd like to sign up, go to this thread: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BeadSoupCafe/permalink/556739097684268/. And you can upload your picture here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.556732894351555&type=1. 

The DEADLINE is MARCH 12th!

Then the voting will commence!

A Simple How-To on SEO!

Here's the link: http://www.afterninetofive.net/2013/02/how-to-make-blog-posts-more-seo-friendly/ .

A great simplified tutorial on how to make your blog SEO (Search Engine Optimization) better. :)

One of my favorite hair clips! It's earthy. You can find more like it in my Etsy shop, here: http://ZenithJade.etsy.com/ .

How To Host An Online Trunk Show

I actually wrote a post for it on Artisan Whimsy! You can view it by going to my page, here: http://artisanwhimsy.ning.com/profile/AndreaGlick! It's all the way at the bottom. If you can't read it, it probably means you need to make an account at Artisan Whimsy! And I wholly suggest you do so. :) It's a GREAT community of jewelry artists.

If you have any questions about it, feel free to shoot me an email at zenithjade AT yahoo DOT com. (I'm preferring to avoid spam-bots, LOL!).

And for kicks and giggles, here's a picture of one of my pieces:

A Little Slow on the Uptake

I'm having an online Trunk Show and you're invited!

Here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/events/153920814759414/

Here's some photos to whet your appetite:

The Trunk Show ends tomorrow at 7pm. Many thanks!