Saturday, October 29, 2016

Exploring the French Countryside

Hopping with Pine Ridge Treasures



New!


Another Blog Hop from Pine Ridge Treasures. This time, I went literal and did some research on just what the French countryside looks like. I had been expecting a different color way from the selection of beads in this hop. Turns out, these are colors that fit very well with the theme.

Here is what Lisa Lodge sent us: 



Here are some of the images of the French Countryside that appealed to me:


And the jewelry that was inspired by those pictures:





Do you love these blue doors and shutters? 

They were a real surprise to me. They seem to turn up everywhere.  (Can you tell I have never been to France? ) I found some square blue beads, and this metal piece, which I blackened with some metal patina. I combined them with the black beads, crystals and elaborate toggle clasp from Lisa's bead collection, and voilĂ ! I love the blue and black. Little bead earrings complete the look.

Next, my little wine grape pendant. 



I love the little silver leaves, and they go well with the little "grape" amethyst beads I found. And I knew I was saving that cork for something!

But wait, there's more......






My salute to lavender. I even included a little picture of my late season lavender bush blooming. Dreamy green beads from the collection, and some blue beads from my stash, combined with some silver wire and chain, give this set a light and airy look. 

And finally, the earrings that inspired a necklace. 



I was fooling around with some beads from the collection to make a pair of earrings, and liked them so much, I made a necklace to match. These are all beads from Lisa, and are a reflection of all my French Countryside pictures. 

I can't wait to see what the others have made!


Your hostess:  Lisa Lodge, A Grateful Artist
Kim Dworak, Cianci Blue
Beti Horvath, Stringing Fool Jewelry
Shaiha Williams, Shaiha’s Ramblings
Karin Grosset Grange, Ginkgo et Coquelicot
Ann Schroeder, Bead Love


Saturday, October 1, 2016

Pine Ridge Treasures - Favorite Things

In which I choose my favorite favorites!


Another Blog Hop, from Pine Ridge Treasures. This one is entitled "Favorite Things." It's so hard to choose the beads from one of Lisa Lodge's hand picked collections... but it had to be done. 

I had thought I photographed this batch as they came in but, no such luck. So here are the pieces I came up with from a beautiful collection. You will just have to believe that I had some hard choices. 

I love black and white, so grabbed these geometric beads, added the black disks and some round white beads and some chain. the clasp included went perfectly with the geometric theme. 




I kind of get a fifties vibe from this necklace. 

In any challenge I have to sneak in some earrings. Aren't they cute? 



And these blue beads were begging to be made into a bracelet. A few tiny blue beads, those white rounds, string them up, add a magnetic clasp and....


How about visiting the other hoppers now?

Your hostess:  Lisa Lodge, A Grateful Artist

Kim Dworak, Cianci Blue
Beti Horvath, Stringing Fool Jewelry
Veralynne Malone, Designed by Vera
Rosee Hanemaayer, Silver Penny Artisans
Chris Eisenberg, Wanderware
Inge von Roos, Inge's Blog
Shaiha Williams, Shaiha’s Ramblings
Karin Grosset Grange, Ginkgo et Coquelicot