Saturday, December 6, 2014

Bead Hoarders Blog Hop

I pondered which beads to use in this blog hop, because, like I'm sure many bead hoarders, I don't just hoard handcrafted beads.  I hoard any type of nice beads and findings - afraid to use them because I think I may not do the beads justice.  Which is quite the irony, because I'm certainly not doing justice to the beads (or the people who made the beads) by keeping them in my bead drawer.
So, today I made two pieces.  The first is with a beautiful heart lampworked bead from RachelBeads (by Rachel Goetz).  I looked for her website but it doesn't seem to be working.  I bought the lampworked bead at the Bellevue Beadery in Kentucky, which has undergone a change and no longer sells loose beads (only jewelry) and Rachel was at the last Intergalactic Bead Show in Cincinnati.  I like the simplicity of her 'kits' that are simple silver spacers to go with her more detailed and beautiful lampworked heart and flower beads.  Click here for some of the only information I could find online about the artist.
A friend who got me into the craziness of the beading world actually made me a necklace with one of these beads in the past.  And I was happy to find the beads at the store and really liked the multitude of colors she offers.  Such pretty hearts!  I kept the necklace simple to highlight the focal bead.  3 strands of purplish seed beads braided.
**When the lighting is better around here, I will take a picture that does this bead justice.

--Each side of the heart is special.

The second necklace comes from my bead hoard of gemstones.  I really like gemstones but don't generally like to make expensive looking jewelry - I generally wear workout clothes most days.  So, the beads stay in my drawer.  And my favorite gemstone is tourmaline.  I've purchased both really nice tourmaline and really cheap tourmaline - what a difference.  This necklace is made with glistening, very nice stones that I got at one of the first bead shows I went to.  The internal shiny striations of the briolettes are just gorgeous in the light.  Even the small disc tourmaline is crystal clear and so colorful.  
Unfortunately,  the light around here has been absolutely depressingly abysmal.  Horrible cloudy, grey, rainy and even foggy days have abounded.  So the pictures are taken under lots of lights and an Ott light - which is not ideal, but will have to do.   No matter what, this necklace adds a ray of sunshine to the day - I may even have to wear it with my workout clothes.

Edited to add better pictures:


20 comments:

  1. Nice pieces. It is a bit disappointing to find out your favorite artists have moved on or stopped 'arting', isn't it? Glad you were able to do something lovely with the piece.
    And that Tourmaline? Wow. Gorgeous coloring. And Tourmaline is soooo grounding. It really should be worn everyday. Who says you can't have a sparkle with the sweats?
    Great stuff!

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  2. gorgeous colors - even with poor lighting. I really like the briolette necklace!

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  3. The lack of nice sunny days for lighting may not do the colors justice, but it's still easy to see the designs. Which are lovely.

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  4. I love how you used those briolettes, and those colors... oh wow ! You definitively made justice to those beads !

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  5. Your pieces are very pretty! Well done!

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  6. Beautiful and brilliant designs! Love the color palate too.! Feels good to de-stash!

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  7. I struggled with my pictures as well, except I get home after the sun sets. Nonetheless your pieces are pretty. I do love art beads and understand why you would hoard them- now you can wear it. I hope you have plenty of opportunities to wear your new pieces.

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  8. Oh how I love how you beaded that first necklace, especially! Multi strand jewelry always makes such a huge impression on me...gorgeous heart bead! The beauty of your second necklace, with all of those yummy gemstones, is that is goes with everything!

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  9. Beautiful! Thank you for sharing your work with us.

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  10. What a beautiful lampwork heart. The beads you used are perfect for it. That tourmaline is so gorgeous. I don't think I would be able to sell it. I would wear it proudly.

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  11. Love tourmaline. Very lovely necklace. That lampwork heart is beautiful the seed bead colors are perfect for it and don't compete for it's beauty!

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  12. Hi Denise, The lampworked heart is beautiful and you chose the perfect beads to accent not compete with it. Tourmaline is so yummy, what is not to love there? Your design really shows it well.

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  13. Love both they are so pretty. That heart is exceptional and the simplicity of the rope is perfect. Great job. Again the simplicity of the gemstones is brilliant. Great designs.

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  14. These really are such pretty pieces. I love briolette gemstones and those tourmaline gems are just divine!
    The colours you've used in the heart necklace are just perfect too :-)

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  15. Your necklaces are beautiful. I love both the heart and the tourmaline and what you've done with them.

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  16. That tourmaline necklace is awesome! And I wear jewelry in my pajama - earrings always!

    If you happen to be able to go into the Wholesale section of a www.intergem.com show, go find Shoba. He has tons of jaspers that instead of being faceted in the normal 64 way, they're done in the 128 way and even onyx shines. He has not as many gemmy-gems, but does have some relatively affordable baby chunks of tourmaline that I swear are so beautiful, even for a bead that doesn't have a defined shape. If you see him, tell him hello!


    Thank you so much for participating, and don't forget to post your pieces in the special Pinterest board, http://www.pinterest.com/limamike/bead-hoarders-blog-hop/

    Plus, join the Facebook group (also welcome to your friends) www.BeadSoupCafe.com -- hope to see you at other hops!

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  17. I love both your necklaces. To be honest, I cannot pick a favorite. They are both so different and so beautiful.

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  18. What great designs! I am totally in love with your tourmaline necklace as it is one of my favorite stones also.

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  19. Your gemstone tourmaline necklace is awesome.

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