Jul 17, 2014

Michael's Beading Challenge Blog Hop Co-Hosted By Lorelei Eurto & Heather Powers




When I read that Lorelei Eurto of Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio and Heather Powers of Humblebeads were co-hosting a design challenge and blog hop, I was so excited to join in!! Participants simply purchase the following Michael's beads and design away:

Round Cut Horn Beads 91920
Aqua 9.5 x 10mm Table Cut Glass 55809
Purple Glass Round 6mm 80842
Green Ceramic 12mm Round 92927
Aqua Opaque Table Cut Glass 99069
Bone Amber Rectangle 12 x 20mm 93294
Reconstituted Turquoise White Rondel 93741

I found most of the beads! 

Heather made the bead choices based on fabric that inspired her: 


Preparing for our hop, I was inspired to buy this beautiful ceramic focal from Spain. 
The focal is by Mari Carmen Rodriguez Martinez of MAJOYOAL
Won't it be luscious to design with when it arrives? 

Focal by Mari Carmen Rodriguez Martinez of MAJOYOAL

 And, another boon! My sweet spouse finally found the elusive & mysterious "purple" 
glass 6 mm rounds on one last trip to Michael's Sunday night.  
                                                         Tada! Thank you Lee! :) 

On Monday I became sick with a burning sore throat. 
The illness made me want to sleep & sleep... but I've kept going.




SUMMER GARDEN



Laurie Ament of Isinglass Design Lampwork with brass flower, glass rounds, ceramic & wood beads.




青花  (BLUE FLOWERS)





Swarovski bicones, Chinese glass & howlite rondelle beads, ceramics, wood.






WINDWOOD 



I created a pendant focal from a Swarovski  pear drop (necklace still in progress), and was delighted
 to discover three sided teal & metallic beads in my stash that matched the Michael's window glass.

I made Inca Puño chainmaille links with antiqued copper & turquoise rings for the teal glass items,  and decided to use a beautiful copper focal made by Krist Bowman given to me by Jennifer Cameron. 

Windwood 

Inca Puño Chainmaille Earrings



And another surprise: in a swap box for BeadSwap USA, there were
two teal & gunmetal coordinating glass hearts! I made a second pair of earrings. 


Windwood Bracelet

Copper focal by Krist Bowman, with teal & metalic glass windows, Swarovski bicones, copper chain & clasp.





Visit Lorelei Eurto & Heather Powers to hop the other blogs in the Michael's challenge.
Thank you both for co-hosting the blog hop. It was great to discover that Michael's has some very cool beads and great to design with them! I can't wait to see how others used their beads in designs! 










Toltec Jewels is an author by day, jewelry maker by night. Her literary work is housed by the San Francisco MOMA and is published internationally in popular magazines, literary quarterlies, and university publications. She has won a number of awards for both her literary and jewelry arts. She is happiest making handcrafted jewelry with her entire family, snuggling with her doggies and grandkids, sewing, singing, reading, and learning more jewelry techniques.  

8 comments:

  1. Gorgeous! Way to push through when you are not feeling your best! Love your creations. I'm hard pressed to pick a favorite!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Beautiful creations as always, Rita. Amazing considering how sick you've been feeling. However it is hard to ignore your muse when she's singing your song! You are the Queen of Blog Hops this summer so I'm sure there will be many more pretties to come. I especially love the first necklace....a gorgeous combination of elements.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have caught a fancy to green-pink combination recently so I love the first necklace and then your chainmaille earrings are adorable

    ReplyDelete
  4. What beautiful pieces you made Rita!! I am hoping you are feeling better too! I am in love with Blue Flowers. I keep scrolling back up to peek at it :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Even while feeling under the weather, you designed some awesome pieces! My favorite is the matching heart glass beads in the earrings. Perfect!

    ReplyDelete
  6. They are all incredible designs! When I am feeling ill, I just curl up and listen to e-books. There is NO way you would find me coming up with such beautiful designs.

    My favorite has to be the Summer Gardens but I know myself. I would admire it from afar but because my skin can so touchy, I would probably never wear it. Now the WindWood, both earrings and bracelet, would get a lot of use in my wardrobe.

    ReplyDelete
  7. What pretty designs, Rita! I also can't wait to see what you make from Mari Carmen's lovely pendant. (I bought several bead strands on her last big sale but haven't had a chance to create much this summer... sad face.) I hope you get well fast :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Rita these are all lovely! So glad you were able to participate. I hope you start feeling better soon!

    ReplyDelete

Gracias for your comments and for visiting! I appreciate every word :)
Namaste --
Rita