Into the Forest Blog Hop

Welcome to another special creative challenge and blog hop hosted by Lisa Lodge of "A Grateful Artist" and Pine Ridge Treasures Jewelry! 

Today we are all designing with a forest theme, almost as if we are walking through the woods together as we move "into the forest" with color and texture and style. It's a rich and uplifting challenge, warming us in winter and renewing us for the New Year as we paint the trees, greenery, sweet earth and soft light of the woods with our jewelry and beads.

The "Into the Forest" bead mix I received was full of rich olive green Czech rounds, spring green rondelles, leaf green Swarovski bicones, Czech AB peridot leaves, two shades of druk beads, aventurine nuggets, green mosaic turquoise, moss agate barrels, AB peridot size 10 round Czech seed beads, and silver leaf findings for a pendant and earrings:

I had so many design ideas from the kit! I planned on using my multicolored beadwork "leaves" (see below the triangles in autumn colorways) with the silver leaf focal to create a colorful leaf necklace, and use lots of Vintaj antique brass with the gorgeous olivine Czech fire polished beads. 

I had ceramic tree and moon by beadfreaky and a bracelet cufff by Humblebeads out on my bead table to use also. I thought the small glass light & medium green rounds might be perfect as a rosary, and I could imagine some cool earrings made from the bicones and Czech leaves. I wasn't sure how to use the aventurine nuggets, although going through my gemstone beads, I realized I do have a strand of pretty amazonite large nuggets. They would be pretty together! 

 I wanted to use the stunning seraphinite gems and the beautiful cabs the amazing  Lennis Carrier of Windbent made and gave to me -- inspired to celebrate friendship & the magic of the forest with her art beads & the rare, angelic (with wisps of white like angel wings) seraphinite! The combination would express my love of the forest, and the peaceful memories I have of being in the woods outside our suburb as a child. The stillness of the woods, the grounding beauty. As a girl, I spent years just sitting, enjoying, relaxing, talking to God in the woods. The woods feel nurturing and safe, renewing. How I love them! 

I decided I would finally use my very special bead -- one so hard to find -- a bead of color! Most art beads of fairies or faces are all white folks, I came to realize, so that even Native, aboriginal, ethnic jewelry often ends up with a white person or Caucasian looking face in it! Don't get me wrong, my mom is Irish -- a very, very pale and beautiful redhead -- but I want to create diverse jewelry reflecting a diverse world. So, I'm always on the look for beads of color :) 

This sweet fairy treasure is created by Sally Sutherland of Soul Silver! And she's not only a bead of color, but a fairy too! I knew right away she belonged in forest jewelry. And although I wish I'd created everything I felt inspired to make, I am still grateful to have the ideas for the jewelry & the spark of inspiration to create. Since I was thinking our hop was the 18th, I ran out of time -- but creating the fairy felt good and she deserves a special day of her own! I'm happy to have created Forest Fairy jewelry, and am so pleased that she can now be worn & enjoy being out & about  -- fairies don't like to be stored away or they'll create mischief! ;) 

I created a simple netted chevron gothic necklace (in a day! so it works up quickly) using Lisa's light green Druk beads and the perfect color AB seed beads (the free tutorial pdf is at the PBS Beads, Baubles & Jewels website, series 700, show 707-6, "Gothic" ). I added erenite ABx2 Swarovski bicones, blue crystal quartz rounds, and some Toho AB seed beads to reflect both shades of green in the fairy's gown & the three petal flowers. 

Thank you Lisa for hostessing and everyone for creating another lovely hop! 

Goodnight xxoo Rita

Artist Unknown -- A beautiful quilt! 

Enjoy all the enriching and wonderful jewelry art created by all the hop participants! 

Your hostess:  Lisa Lodge, A Grateful Artist

Melissa Trudinger, Bead Recipes

Kathy Zeigler Lindemer, Bay Moon Design

Eleanor Burian Moore, The Charmed Life

Jo-Ann Woolverton, It's a Beadiful Creation

Chris Eisenberg, Wanderware

Christine Stonefield, Sweet Girl Design

Carolyn Lawson, Carolyn's Creations

Janine Lucas, Esfera Travel Blog

Jasvanti Patel, Jewelry by Jasvanti

Shaiha Williams,   Shaiha's Ramblings

Kay Thomerson, Kayz Kreationz

Karla Morgan, Texas Pepper Jams

Veralynne Malone, Designed by Vera

Toltec  Jewels, Jewel School Friends

Christie Searle Murrow, Charis Designs Jewelry

Molly Alexander, Beautifully Broken Me

Monique Urquhart, A Half-Baked Notion

Janet Bocciardi, Honey from the Bee

Dini Bruinsma, Angaza by Changes

Heather Richter, Desert Jewelry Designs

Christina Miles, Wings n Scales

Elizabeth Engriser, Bead Contagion

Alice Peterson, Alice Dreaming

Alicia Marinache, All the Pretty Things

Catherine Yvonne King, Catherine's Musings

Alice Craddick, Alice's Beads and Baubles

Ema Kilroy, Ema K Designs