Wednesday, February 27, 2013

BSBP - Beady Goodness!

Alrighty... so both my partner and myself now have our respective soups... so the teasing can stop now ;)

Sorta ;)


Remember my pretty little mosaic I sent Lucie?


Here it is :)

 
A Marsha Neil pendant for the focal,  as well as a pretty glass seahorse ( creator unknown) as an extra focal. The clasp is a brass clock toggle that I got in a swap from Lori a while back, and my friend Shay sent me some recycled sari silk for my birthday last fall, so I decided to share a wee bit of that as well.  The rest of the soup consists of some peachy potato pearls, a strand of swarovski crystals with a swarovski element on the end, some assorted Czech glass, brass bits, and a few kyanite and...my brain fails me on the other stone.. lol >.< I know it.. crazy lace agate maybe? It'll come to me after I hit publish ;)  I also included a few random metals, including a shoe charm... Lucie LOVES shoes. I'd hoped I had two so I could make her some earrings, but nope... just one lonely little shoe.

She loves the soup and I can't wait to see what she comes up with :)


Here's the lovely serving she sent me :)


Now for those who missed it, my soup created a wee bit of drama over at BeadSoup Cafe.  See those pretty red seeds on the bottom left with the black dots on them? One of the ladies at the BSC recognized them as being poisonous and having been banned here in Canada! We quickly verified that yes, they were indeed the 'bad seeds' in question, and Lucie called the supplier she'd got the beads from and gave him hell...and got a refund ;) The beads were tossed, hands and the accompanying seed pod washed, and all was well :)

I still have a fabulous soup to work with, one that I already have divided into baggies for various ideas... PLUS  the 'deadly bead seed' incident has inspired a special piece :D hehe  

Leave it to me to draw inspiration for the weirdest things;)

So there you have our soups :) Make sure to pop back round for the third reveal to see what we turn them into ;)

 

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

SNEAK ATTACK !!



Yes that's right... another Bead Faerie attack!

This one was an extra sneaky surprise attack on one of our own faeries! While I had her working in the secret head quarters on Lena's gathering, I was coordinating a second one for her through FB messages and email ! :) 

Yes I'm sneaky ;) She had no clue :)

So who did the Bead Faeries visit? Why, Shelley Graham Turner, whom you may remember from my first Shop Feature :)
ToriSophia

 Shelley's sister Jilly was a victim of Alzheimer's. Last year Shelley made a bunch of purple earrings, and her and her grandson handed them out to those who ran for the cause. This year she planned on making a lot more, but was running low on purple beads. She'd put in a trade request in one group but didn't receive many offers from what I understand. Marlene brought it to my attention, since I'd somehow managed to miss the news ( I blame not enough coffee on my end ;) ). And so, a Bead Faerie Sneak attack plan was hatched!  

Since Shelley is a busy little Bead Faerie, she'd have become suspicious  if she wasn't invited into the group for another round. And trust me, she'd have KNOWN if we had one running, whether anyone told her or not... the woman would KNOW. 

So... we ran one and invited her in. Luckily we 'd been considering two, so we just did both :D Since Marlene was already acting as the Collection Faerie for Lena, I asked Rita of Toltec Jewels to play Collection Faerie for Shelley. Let me just say, the woman had WAY TOO MUCH FUN! She took the purple theme and RAN with it BIG TIME! lol

I have a total of 24 photos she took, showing all the beads and ear wires that were donated, and all of these gifts wrapped in different shades of purple tissue paper and tied with ribbon.... several shots of the card, including the picture, the signatures& message, and the envelope  ( she even used purple ink! )... and the stages of packing the box ! lol  Plus, as the topper, she printed out the Project Bead banner and taped it to the top of the box!

I understand she's setting up a photo account somewhere to host all the Project Bead Photos, so when she does, I'll edit in the links here so you can see them all. In the mean time, I'll share a few of the highlights :D

The card - photo courtesy of Rita


Message inside card -photo courtesy of Rita


Pretty gifts to open! - photo courtesy of Rita




the goodies INSIDE the pretty paper - photo courtesy of Rita


The box with the banner :) photo courtesy of Rita 

It's been decided that from now on, we'll have to include kleenex with the beads ;)

Shelley's Bead Faeries

Rita/ Toltec Jewels, Sandra McGriff, Marlene Cupo , Alicia Marinache , Heidi Kingman , Robin Reed , Jana Perex Stribel , Christine Crowe Smith , Sandra Wollberg  , Ali McCarthy, & Kristen Stevens


Sadly, Shelley's sister just recently passed, making this gift even more bittersweet. Her self appointed task of making these earrings will keep Jilly in the forefront of her heart and thoughts, and every single pair she makes will no doubt carry a piece of her love for her sister with it.  Now that Jilly is free of the curse that is Alzheimer's, I know she is watching over Shelley and loving what she's doing for her :)



... and now that I've made Shell cry again, I KNOW she'll be plotting some form of revenge... ;) I doubt even the little note I slipped into my donation will do much to save me.  What did my note say?  Just two simple words...

 'Blame Marlene'

:D

Monday, February 25, 2013

Attack of the Bead Faeries!



The ' Bead Faeries'  of Project Bead have struck again!

This time, we singled out Lena Adams, who agreed to make jewelry for a program in her home town - 'Dressed for Success' is put on by her local women's shelter, that helps provide women with clothing and jewelry to help them make a good impression for job interviews and new jobs :)  And committed herself to making 100 pieces of jewelry for them! Personally, I think with the big ol' box of beads we gathered up and sent to her, she can do a lot more than that ;)

photo courtesy of Marlene Cupo

Here's a glimpse at what was stuffed inside the box. This was tallied in at 8.6 lbs, and included a few finished pieces of jewelry to be donated to 'Dressed for Success' as well :)

photo courtesy of Marlene Cupo
photo courtesy of Marlene Cupo
photo courtesy of Marlene Cupo

The cast of faeries changes for each gathering, with no faerie contributing to more than three in a row.

Lena had 13  Bead Faeries taking part in her gathering ;


Sandra McGriff, Marlene Cupo, Alicia Mariache, Mimi Gardner, Gina Hockett, Tammy Everly, Shelley Turner, Michelle Dotson, Elaine Ray, Rita aka Toltec Jewels, Shaiha Williams, Robin Reed, and Ali McCarthy.

photo courtesy of Marlene Cupo

  Marlene was once again our 'collection faerie' - everything was sent to her, and she packed it all up and sent it to Lena :)

The first round with Kashmira, we had fun stalking the usps tracking page to see where her parcel was. For Lena's I didn't get a chance to even check! Parcels within the states seem to move quickly... as long as the weather doesn't get in the way ;)

Project Bead is a big success  and warms hearts, whether they take part or not :)  If you know of any one who works with beads, and donates their work or time to a cause, let me know and we might consider them for a future faerie attack ;)




Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Here We Go Again!

I decided to hop on board the BSBP train again this year :)

This is my third 'helping' of Bead Soup.

First round I got the fabulous Shai Williams, who opened my beading world to so many new fabulous materials that I'd been afraid to try do to what I thought they'd cost... and whom I am still friends with :) I even ended up friends with her hubby, Saje, and have bought two of his books :)

The second round I was paired up with the talented, Mária Horváth,who challenged me with a some of her seed bead work, and some crochet :) It was a fun lot to work with, making me think out side of the box! Unfortunately, we didn't connect the same way for a lasting friendship, but we had a language barrier to overcome that seemed to join forces with a lack of shared interests. 

This round, I've been dealt an unexpected hand ... a fellow Canadian! 



Lucie Bouvier, owns "Carlos Little Bead Store" out west in Alberta.

A real, brick and mortar shop where she has ; 'free classes and over 1000 square feet of products, giftware, etc.'  ( yes I stole the info right from her about page..I wanted to get it right ;)  )
'Glass, resin, semi-precious beads, crystals, pearls, seed beads, chains, wire, cord, leather, tools and all the findings you an imagine, from all around the world.

We offer a variety of classes, parties, lunch and learn and customized workshop during hours of business or on appointments outside regular hours.'
See... that gets me right there... not only does she offer a full selection of beady goodness...AND classes... but she does parties and stuff, too! Makes me wish I lived in Alberta >.<

Her blog and fb page have very little about HER, so it hasn't been easy to come up with a post to introduce her. Of course, I COULD have sent her some questions and done an interview deal, but she has a family,  a business... and she just got back from the gem show in Tucson! (jealous!) so I figured she'd be a tad busy ;)

I did manage to find out a few little things... like, in addition to loving beads, she LOVES shoes ;)  Seriously loves shoes.. to the point they're part of her logo...
 lol  I tried SO hard to play with this, thinking it would be cute to make a pair of earrings or a charm bracelet featuring shoe beads or charms to send her as a little gift... but you know how fate goes... when there's something you really need, it's impossible to find... until you no longer need it, of course :(

I also learned , that she started n the jewelry business as L.B. Creations ( apparently, there are a few jewelry based businesses by that name on Facebook, however >.<). I did have too fun fun looking through her gallery. I had to message to make sure they were all her pieces, since many bead stores, especially ones that host classes, often have a page to share clients and students work... but this gallery is all hers .  After much consideration... and nail biting and ooohing and awwing... here are some of my favorites...

pearl tree necklace
via
wire crochet
via

gemstone lampwork chain
via
glass drops
via







 Check out her gallery... there really are too many beautiful pieces there. Her bracelets are all the same style but in different colors and materials, but they're too pretty to chose between >.< I could just keep posting her entire gallery here... 


 The first BSBP I did was some where around three hundred and some odd participants I think... I'm thinking 360 or somewhere in that area.

This round.... OVER 500..... PLUS there's an extra group doing a Facebook version! A ..BSFbP lol ;)  Luckily, it's divided into three different hops, and I'm in the last one :)


Want to see what I sent her? I SHOULD use it in a second post, but I delayed a bit too long on getting this one up and she could be getting her soup any day now... so...


:D
I'm looking at this trying to remember what each blob is ;) hehe



Sunday, February 10, 2013

Checking In

A quick note to let everyone know that the winners from the Sadafulee feature post have been chosen via Rafflecopter. 

Zan & Stephanie have both won $15 towards their shopping at Sadafulee :)  They've both been notified and responded .... and no doubt are trying to decide what to buy right now ;)

Don't worry, next month will see another shop feature and giveaway... and the month after that, too ;) You'll just have to keep an eye out ;) 

And don't forget, you can still enter F.F# 14 ! This is a short month, so you won't have as long to get your entries in ;)

Despite this being a short month, there are more blog posts on the horizon. This week will see my intro to my partner for this years BSBP, Lucie Bouvier, plus my soup teaser ;)

As well, I've been trying a little 'product research' idea that I'll be sharing my findings on soon, plus I'll have a photo update on my 'bead tornado' living room ... I can see carpet again! ;) .... of course... I can't see my kitchen table, but... hey I have FLOOR! :D hehehe

Jewelry wise, I have managed to get a few pieces done :) A couple escaped before I took photos, sorry, but they were only simple little earrings, so no biggie ;)  One I can't share yet since it's for a blog hop, but I can share it's predecessor. Well... a part of it, anyhow. 

Those on CBC may remember my whine about my swarovski pendant breaking... Here it is when I'd finished and taken the first photos... then noticed the marring... see it right beneath the bail? A line that goes almost straight across. It wasn't as noticeable in person as it is in the photo... more of a light scratch. I'd decided to do a loose wrap bail to cover the scratch... when the 'scratch' revealed itself as more than a scratch and broke >.<

death of sparkle >.<

Luckily I was able to find a different focal that still worked with the rest of the necklace... but the death of sparkly pretties just makes you want to sulk >.<

That was the only jewelry causality that comes to mind though... aside from this month's non-blogger challenge which I failed miserably with what may be the worlds ugliest earrings... and no, I'm not sharing them lol They're back in pieces and may be made into the bracelet they were originally intended to be... once I get more head pins the right size.

I WILL leave you with another bracelet that DID work and that I rather like :)

Keith Novakak,  lampwork,  Lauren Potts
success at last ... lol


Made with black Chinese crystal rondelles, two big amber coloured Czech glass beads, a vintage metal button for a clasp... and a couple tiger swirl lamp work beads from Keith Novakak  via Lauren Potts. I got these ages ago and kept meaning to make something and share them with you all, but nothing I made with them felt right... so I'd take it apart and put them away again.  THIS  feels right... :)


Monday, February 4, 2013

Sadafulee ~ Always in Bloom

Here we are in the second month of my new Features :) Last month we did Tori Sophia and gave away some of Shelley's lovely glammed up wires.

This month we're featuring Kashmira Patel's labor of love, Sadafulee  .

Etsy Shop Link

Look at these gorgeous butterfly wing earrings!

Etsy Shop Link

And these fun twisted hoops !
Etsy Shop Link


And this gorgeous blue & ruby red bracelet :)

Not only is does little shop have some gorgeous jewelry, but it's full of love, since Kashmira donates all the proceeds to benefit the kids of Project Why ( http://projectwhy.blogspot.com ).


First... same rules apply as for the last one.

You can earn entries by paying a visit her shop and leave a comment about your favorite piece here, fave her shop, like an item in her shop, and share her shop link. ALL ENTRIES MUST BE SAVED THROUGH RAFFLECOPTER! If you can't use rafflecopter, send me an email @ mattiashogan@gmail.com and list your entries and I'll see that they get in for you :)

ONE MORE THING!! Due to the nature of the prizes ( yes TWO) , you MUST have paypal account.

This is because there are two $15 reimbursements to Sadafulee up for grabs. Since Etsy redid it's gift card deal, we can't figure out how to do 'in shop only' gift cards for a set amount. So rather then stick Kashmira with a hassle of pulling items upon request and creating a special order, or refunding part of the cost... we just figured it would be easier all around to do it this way. 'We' being myself and Marla James who has generously donated the second prize :) The winners will be chosen and their names will be given to Kashmira. When they place their orders, she'll let us know, at which point we will send the winners the money. This way, the money can't be spent in anther shop, thus denying this lovely shop a bit of business it deserves, as could happen with an Etsy gift card, or if we sent the money first ;)



a Rafflecopter giveaway


Saturday, February 2, 2013

Project Bead

So those of you around Creative Bead Chat might have seen some posts about this. I figured I should blog abut it and let you all know a bit more about it. ;)

First off... This was FUN, let me tell you!

The idea came to me when I contacted Kashmira about being part of my monthly blog feature. My plan had been to send business to her shop, thus my purchasing a gift card... she however suggested donating a pair of earrings. I think I said something along the lines of that being silly, since all her work is donated already.

Bingo.

Idea.

I contacted Marla James to discuss my idea, since she has more experience dealing with groups and fund raising, etc, and could let know what she thought of it... and perhaps who might be interested in hopping on board.

Within hours, I had created Project Bead. In total, we had 14 ladies taking part... each of whom packaged up some amount of beads/ beading supplies... Some just a few that they could spare, and some enough to choke an elephant under the guise of 'cleaning out their stash' … they know who they are ;) lol

I waylaid Marlene Cupo to act as a 'middleman' and we all sent our contributions to her, where they were all packed up together into one box... and sent to Kashmira :)

What I had expected to be a dozen ladies sending a handful of beads or so a piece, pulling together to fill a small box with maybe a couple pounds of goodies... turned into this...

photo courtesy of Marlene Cupo

this pic shows all the loot together.. but doesn't really let you get the full feel of JUST how MUCH is there...

For more photos, visit Kashmira's album in CBC 'Project Beads'.

That pile... contains NINE AND A HALF POUNDS OF BEADS!!

Can you believe that?! In two weeks, we got a little over a dozen ladies to gather up almost TEN POUNDS of beads and get them to Kashmira... and then we all bounced around on our toes waiting for it to arrive at her door... and some of us ( re ME) stalked the usps tracking page waiting for the delivery confirmation ALL DAY :D

So my little group of Bead Faeries pulled together to gift a box of goodies for Kashmira to create more jewelry out of to raise money for her Project Why kids :)

Sure, we could've just donated the money, but where's the fun in that?! ;)

Despite the gathering and delivery of goodies for Kashmira being finished, I've decided to leave Project Bead active.. There are plenty more angels out there, slipping past under the radar, and sooner or later they'll come to our notice... then we'll send out the call for beads again!

If any of you would be interested in joining and becoming a 'Bead Faerie', each bead drive will be done separately, so if you don't agree with the cause, or if you can't participate in one, there's no worries. You'll receive a new invite for each one and you can decide based on the info provided whether or not you want to join in :) I'll just add your name to a list of people to contact when the time comes; IF you're interested, send me an email, or a pm on fb :)

If you'd rather no one know you're a 'bead faerie', you can join the ranks of Anoymous B.F's and chose a 'codename'. I'll have your real/ FB/Blog name on my list, with your 'faerie name' beside it. The cards sent with the goodie boxes you took part in will have your codename listed among the participants :)

As for what to donate, that will no doubt change from gathering to gathering. Beads for the most part, but some times other items would be appreciated as well. Since each gathering will be done in a short span of time, you should be able to use only what you have on hand. If you want to purchase or make something special to send, it must be able to be ready to mail to our Collection Faerie with in a week. If something comes up where specialty items are needed, we will send out invites and notes in advance of the actual gathering, so if you wish to, you'll have time to make or order items in.

As for what not to donate- nothing too big or too heavy. Remember, these items are all being gathered together and sent to the recipient as one package. As well, we do NOT collect money - the sole exception would be if we were taking on an overseas case where we had no Collection Faerie close to them. If that were the case, we MIGHT consider doing a small fund for shipping costs, HOWEVER, we'd most likely just coordinate things so that each would be sent separately, but on the same day with a note stating it was from the group.

I can already see that Project Bead is going to be kept busy... so to keep people from getting burnt out, each gathering will be limited to between 12- 20 'faeries', depending on how big a gathering we need to accomplish. The participants will change through out, cycling through the list so people aren't being asked constantly to donate beads to various causes. 

My Beading Faerie List, however, is going to continue to grow. All are welcome :)

If you join my list and then something comes up and you find that you won't be able to take part in any for a while, or you receive an invite but don't agree with the cause... all you have to do is just respond to the invites with a 'sorry, not this time. Try me again next round' and we'll send that invite on the next person in line. 

 Being on the list doesn't mean you HAVE to accept the invite when it comes. No pressure to take part. 
If you DO accept the invite, then you ARE expected to get your donation into the mail as quickly as possible, and meet the deadline. The deadline will be mentioned in the invite note, so if you can't make it, don't accept! Wait for the next round when things might be easier for you.

... and whoever stuck that term 'Bead Faeries' in my head... thanks >.< Now I have this image that I'm totally going to need to doodle out and make into a logo or mascot lol

So if this sounds like something you want to be a part of... leave a comment asking to be put on the list. Make sure you leave a way for me to contact you. If you don't want your contact info known, or don't want anyone to know you're joining, email me :)  mattiashogan@gmail.com  OR skye_sands@hotmail.com


Friday, February 1, 2013

F.F. #14 – With a Twist


* For those who asked, no I didn't make the bead I used n my Death Star earrings. They're bettlenut (sp?) and they just worked out perfectly :D


So long time no chat! Sorry... again... lol

I have nothing to blame but my procrastinating tendencies.

On the up side, I DID get a blog hop in PLUS I managed to get my Christmas tree down … it's still in my living room, BUT it's all boxed up and ready to get hauled back into storage, just as soon as I move crap around in there again.

… that only took me a month to do ;)

Here's to hoping February will see me being a bit more productive! :D

So, you are all no doubt wondering what I've been up to.

Well...I STILL have the reorganizing I started originally back in.. November, I think. I did progress ( sort of) away from my desk and is spread out over my floor where I can access everything to see that it gets where I want it.... see...?

View from my desk....

View form my couch...
That's my Pit .. aka Pit Baby, or Pitters... An no, that jackolantern does not have candy in it... it has empty bead bags... the candy is in the caldron tucked away in the bottom right corner ;) lol

Of course... I get my stone, shell and half my glass sorted, and realize I'm going to need something bigger for my metals... those little gray guys just aren't going to cut it anymore >.< Luckily I managed to catch them on sale again and got the last one in the size I wanted!! Once I finish getting those little drawers all filled and labeled, I have to clear off the desk and shelves and figure out the best place to put them all :) But hey... I'm getting there!

And... while procrastinating over THAT, I created a NEW mess, by recycling some of my bubble mailers :) I only got about a third done when I ran out of glue, but here's what my new butterflies look like...

Pretty new butterflies to travel to your mailbox ;)


For those wondering … and too lazy to go check the rafflecopter widgets to see the name displayed...

1) the winner of the Tori Sophia ear wires was Angela :) She has already received her goodies and no doubt has used them all up by now ;)

2) the winner of F.F. #13 was Shaiha .. and I shall get it in the mail to her soon :)

3) the 'With a Twist' n the title of this post does indeed go with the Freebie Friday giveaway ;)

For those of you who don't like this idea... blame Kashmira... she suggested it ;) lol

The last day of February is World Rare Disease Day ( http://globalgenes.org/world-rare-disease-day/ ) As such, I thought we'd try a little something different with this goodie bundle.

Most of you have heard of the Global Genes Project & their 7000 Bracelets for Hope campaign. Each year, thousands of blue bracelets are made and donated to this group, who then gifts them to the mothers and caregivers of children with rare diseases.

So this round there's a condition … you can only enter if you're willing to do something in exchange for winning ;)

The goodie bundle this month is primarily blues... and whoever wins it, must make and donate one bracelet to the Global Genes Project. They don't have to use all of their prize, they don't even have to use ANY of it... they can use beads from their own stash instead. They just have to make sure their bracelet complies with the groups requirements ( http://globalgenes.org/7000-bracelets-for-hope/ ) :)

Winter Blues Bead soup
Since it's still winter, I'll add some pretty silver snowflake charms to this, as well :)

Think you can make a bracelet to donate? If so, go ahead and enter.