Thought I would show y'all what we did in March for our monthly Craft Night at church - it was spring, and I wanted to do something with flowers.....so....

I used bell flower beads - the ones pictured are the palest pink, but I had several other colors from pastel to bright for everyone to choose from. We strung them on silver-tone wire, so they'd be different lengths, putting spirals at the bottom for interest and added two shades of green glass dagger beads for leaves. Then we found pearls (some real, some glass pearls), to match or contrast, and strung them on silver tone head pins, using the excess length to spiral down the bead a bit as we finished off the wrapped loop. The whole collection was then suspended from silvery chain, so they would move every time your head moved!

The results were extraordinary - everyone's earrings looked completely different, just from the different ways they decided to put the components together - that's what makes Craft Night so much fun - there really aren't any 'rules' - just a main idea to jump start the imagination!

Here is the sample I made....

More to come.......keep checking back....and if you're so inclined to want to purchase them....just send me a message!

 

Topsy-turvy world.....and life! Time has flown along with last year. Some obligations became too much to do, and so I just opted out. Had to.....just too much going on in my life that required my time and attention. Note to self...do NOT commit to long term projects....

Now...new year....new church to help with, as my dear husband is now pastoring a brand new work here - and as his wife, a lot of 'stuff' fell on my plate....exciting and fun, but boy, there is just no 'free' time any more!

Now January is about done, and I have finally gone and purchased the domain name to match this, my original blog....and soon will begin building it - I'll keep you posted on the progress! It will probably be slow - I have a new book on the latest revamp of HTML and CSS, and will be using that extensively in the building of the site - hope to have some cool stuff to show off.

Meantime, we have started a "Craft Night" at our new church, Arise Christian Fellowship - and this is a favorite thing of mine! I love trying to come up with new ideas for jewelry we can make - at a reasonable cost (I foot the bill), be able to be done by people with no crafting experience, be fun, and have something pretty to take home to wear!  Sometimes 
the cost part gets to be a challenge....when you have 20-24 people coming each month!

So...for January I thought it would be fun to do what I ended up calling 'dangly heart earrings' - as I never had the time to get a sample done til a couple days before the event! I had fun finding all kinds of hearts, along with pink and red pearls. Add in silvery chain, head pins, and pink jump rings....and there is the making of all kinds of designs. And that was the order for the night - my idea was to make earrings that deliberately did NOT match - who made up that rule anyway? Lol!  We had a fun time, and everyone surprised themselves by making some really cool earrings!

Therefore....I thought I would post the pair I made....just to show them to y'all....and I'd be happy to make them yours for the tiny price of $20 - just let me know, and I'll send you a Paypal invoice!

Here they are....mismatched heart earrings:

Show and Tell...

Not sure what is going on with my crafting equipment....the revenge of the machines? A few days ago, my tumbler quit....the little roller part that makes the tumbling chamber go round and round literally melted off. Guess it just couldn't stand the combination of the hours of tumbling, and the temperature of the studio when I'm not in there....gets right toasty!

So....no tumbling - no pretty copper jump rings shiny as a new penny....so that gets put on hold. I tried going back to the low-tech way of cleaning them up....salt and vinegar...but didn't get them clean and shiny enough for me to use....

Of course, the sites that sell the tumbler do NOT sell any replacement parts, even though the google search says they do...lol! Their idea of replacement parts is extra tumbling medium and rocks. Ummmm....no. Hoping my hubby can fix this and make it all new again!

Today, I went out to the studio....and there across my work station that I am using lay my lamp on its extension arm. Now this is not just a lamp....the lamp also has a large magnifying class in the center - makes it just marvelous to use to work on tiny things....my favorite kind of things...hmmmm....is there a message here? The block that holds the entire lamp, and clamps on to the counter top just split in half...or almost...it is split and bent at a very odd angle.....not gonna go back where it was.

But, I soldiered on....I promised a picture of the tiny dark iridescent blue pearl beads....guess they are what's called a 'potato' shape....kind of irregular....but that appeals to me. They are small - I forgot to put a dime or something in the picture to give it some kind of scale....but each one is about half the size of a pencil eraser....maybe a little smaller.
Here they are:

Open to any suggestions as to what I should make with these. This is only part of what I have....there are probably three times the amount shown in the picture. Can't wait to read what you think these beads should become!

Also....the person whose idea I decide to use will receive a pair of fringe earrings. And...for those who don't know what it is that I call 'fringe earrings' - here is a pair...I make several versions of these, but the basic shape and kind of beads is what is shown here....the pair shown are a pretty iridescent (love that shimmery color!) pinky-lavender...and the design is one of my favorites....

Here's your chance to own a pair of these - which normally sell for $15.00 - gratis! Free shipping too! Who can resist that? Bring on the suggestions!