Starry unicorn

After almost one year of no beading and crazy upside-downs in my life (finally more ups than downs), I lost control of my credit card and made agin a big bead order.
Ok, not so big, but enough to get inspired again to squeeze some time to sit on the table with thread and needle.

What I did, needless to say, is again another star, just notnChristmas related this time...

Was supposed to be a unicorn and needs still some details adjustments,  but I am happy to welcome back my muse..hope she will stay longer this time.

EBW July Challenge: The Most Colorful Animals

Yes, I am alive! And, hear hear, I am finally partecipating to the monthly EBW challenge!
This month the theme is The Most Colorful Animals, and my mind couldn't stop thinking about this creature:

Source: Pinterest

I discovered the Mantis Shrimp thanks to The Oatmeal, and I suggest you all jump to his amazing website and read this infographic he created.
Stunning, isn't it?!
This little, amazing creature can break glass. Can you imagine that?!
So playing with CRAW I attempted to make a tiny Mantis Shrimp

and I came up with a wrap bracelet

I love how the tummy came out, even though this part is a work of fantasy

I promise better pics in the morning, in the meanwhile it's already dark in here and I had to rush to post this last minute creation.
Don't forget to jump on out team blog http://etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.co.at/ to vote for your favourite colored animal from the 5th July until the 16th!!!

8th Bead Soup Blog Party Reveal

Welcome everybody to the 8th  Bead SoupBlog Party Reveal!!!

An amazing event created by Lori Anderson with about 500 partecipants every year!

Let me start by saying how life is a never ending learning experience, and the Bead Soup Blog Party is one of the most exciting occasions to learn: not only you meet a new fellow beader, but you get to know new materials, new countries, costumes and tastes - yeah tastes, because there’s often a lot of chocolate involved!

Last year I was blessed with an incredible partner, Dorota, who spoiled me rotten with a huge amount of goodies.
To honor her generosity I decided that this should also become a way of learning new techniques, so I tried myself at bead embroidery, a bit of chain maille, knotting and new shapes in general. I was very proud of the result, which you can see here. It was a celebration of spring and happiness and colors while I was actually spending a lot of time at home, looking for a job.

This year my situation is completely different, as I moved to Austria 3 months ago and I am going to school (again) to learn the language, I am proving myself at living in a foreign country with a really different mentality – and did I mention German is not exactly the easiest language…but I am loving every second of it.

And again I was lucky to be paired up with a really interesting woman, Rosantia, who chose the most beautiful variety of beads and materials for me.

If you would like to know her better, jump to my post about her and visit her blog, because I am sure she will have prepared something amazing for the reveal!

I MUST APOLOGIZE AS I AM STILL BEADING FOR THE SOUP, SO I WILL PUBLISH FURTHER WORKS DURING THE WEEK. What can I say, my Muse likes the last minute inspiration!

With no further ado, here is my main piece, which is so close to my heart

I used the focal and the toggle clasp from the soup, with the matching ceramic beads, and added some beadweaved elements – I just love this shade of light aqua turquoise with orange and blue.
I felt so alike to the little birdie, I guessed he was looking for a place to call home just like me.

The second piece, quite simple, was made using the crazy washi paper beads that Rosantia made herself for me. They are so luscious and beautiful, but I decided to use them in pairs instead of all together

Something about this pendant I won last year looked like the perfect match. Wood, gold and aqua green.

I had a lot of fun playing with the 12 mm beads Rosantia sent me. They are the perfect size for a variety of designs that can really make a difference out of a simple stringed necklace. So again, I played with both beadweaved elements and simple beads.

I love this green chrysocolla, a gorgeous, rich color. Patterns here are from Kerrie Slade (flower pendant) and Eveline (3er Kringel).

For these yellow quartz beads I used Carol Ohl’s tutorial Earthly Hues and just continued with other beads in my stash. 

Did I ever mention how much I love grellow??? :D I guess I did.

Finally a sneek peak of another piece I am working on...

More washi paper beads, a czech button from my previous partner Dorota, some beaded beads and gorgeous ceramic beads. Still have to figure it out!

Take a look at what my partner Rosantia created, here you'll find her blog which is so full of inspirational handmade creations!

I hope you enjoyed this hop, which continues here:

http://www.prettythingsblog.com/2014/05/welcome-to-8th-bead-soup-blog-party.html

or, for a fast look, on our BSBP Pinterest board here:

http://www.pinterest.com/limamike/8th-bead-soup-blog-party/ 

So many eye candy goodies are waiting for you on all these blogs, please take the time to jump over and scroll over and you won't be disappointed!

The 8th Bead Soup knocked on my door

A little bit later than it should have been, my amazing Bead Soup partner Rosantia and I finally sent each other our soups.
Mine arrived this morning in only a couple of days!

I think images will speak louder than words here. Better to just look at the beads, or I will write an endless list of adjectives that wouldn't convey how I feel anyway.

My super sweet partner Rosantia is at her first Party, yet she can put up a terrific soup like this:

What we have here is an arrangement of cool ceramic beads, that I love so much, so SO much. The shade of green is perfect and also look at those complementing lampwork beads.

Two words: POLKA DOTS. Love them.

Then yellow quartz  and green chrysocolla12 mm beads.

Something funny: I love to find healing properties of crystals online. It said chrysocolla crystal has "an energy that helps to calm the nervous person who has difficulty in keeping silent"...seriously??! That's perfect for me!

Some beautiful copper chains and bead caps, as well as coordinated cords that I so much needed, having left my stash in Milan.

Then look at those crazy beads. Covered in washi paper, handmade by her, just gorgeous. Can you feel my Japan-radar activating?!

A beautiful Greek casting antiqued copper toggle clasp, with a cool patina treatment, the right compromise between the copper elements and the aqua-green beads, right?!
Then let's have some drum roll before I introduce the gorgeous focal I received.
Here it is

A ceramic birdie from Shaterra. Need I say more?!
I am so overwhelmed right now that I can only keep looking at this soup and hope to make some order in my mind to decide what to use first.

A huge thank you to Rosantia and hope your soup comes fast!

In the meanwhile head to the BSBP board to see what everybody else has received from their partners!

Are you blue?

This is not definitely the time to be blue with this amazing spring weather, but what we mean here is, of course, the colour blue.
Yes, march challenge arrived and the Etsy Beadweavers members did their best to honor the theme

Looks like blue is everybody's favorite! 46 entries which will put you in a very difficult situation when the time to choose will come!
Head to our team blog to vote for your favorite blue creation, you have time until the 16th!

8th Bead Soup Party Partner

Hello everybody!
I am finally writing again about beads, and bead parties.
That time of the year has come and I have a new partner for the amazing Bead Soup Blog Party, which reached the 8th edition and has as usual hundreds of partecipants.

Without further ado let me introduce my Bulgarian Partner, Rosantia Petkova.
She is a 360° crafter and likes to experiment with every kind of material and shape. And I am not talking only about beads.

Let me show you some of her works:

Textile necklace, how clever is that?!!

Crocheted earrings

Gorgeous color choices here!

It is always inspiring to have partners who like to play with new materials and love challenges, I am so curious of how things will develop!

We are both still "stirring" our soups and adding the final touches, so stay tuned for more news about the soup!

In the meanwhile jump to the official Bead Soup blog to see who the other partecipants are and what they're up to!

Warmth

This month has been so cold and full of weather alerts all around the world, so the Etsy Beadweavers Team decided to warm you up with its latest challenge:

"As the wind blows the snow around outside, and ice covers the world, humans retreat into warm places by their fires, under blankets made of wool, while animals outside use fallen leaves as blankets. Some hibernate in groups, their breathing slowing down huddled together in a furry pile, and as for us humans, we grab a cup of tea or hot chocolate with marshmallows, put on wool socks or sheepskin slippers, comfy sweaters and blankets, and enjoy the feeling of warmth, coziness, that is the sweetest when you know there is bone chilling cold outside.
Think flames, ember and ashes, think wool, fleece and fur, warm things for the tummy and warm things for the soul.
Think of whatever it is that makes you feel warm on a long February night, and turn it into a cozy warm beaded piece."

As usual there is time until the 16th to vote for your favorite on our team's blog!

Last day cleaning?

This morning I received 2 unexpected mails while cooking for tonight.
One was from Preciosa Ornela...amazing neon seed beads!

The other one was, well, one thing I didn't thought I would receive.
Remember my necklace beeh chosen by Nina Design as one of the Bead Soup winners?
Seems like after so many months my little price arrived...

So much generosity from our amazing hostess Lori Anderson, who provided basically everything except the silver Nina Design pendant. Thank you!
The post label says it was sent on april 1st...seriously! Do post office make last day of the year cleaning???! If so, I would love to have my necklace back!

In the meanwhile, here are some better shots of the necklace been published on Jewelry Affaire.
I am so proud!

First shot of the article!

The before shots

I guess we can close this year properly now.
I wish a sparkling new year to everybody!

Published and lost

This will be long and boring, but I had patience enough and deserve to steam off a little.
Let me start by saying how deeply I respect the work of anybody and that I am always extremely polite when addressing people, no matter what. I know what it means to work in customers care, and I would never be a nasty, angry, rude customer.

Last June I was contacted by a magazine to publish my Red Lady necklace in an article related to the amazing Bead Soup.

I was so happy! Couldn't believe it!
I didn't want to part from my necklace, but I was going to leave in a couple of days and didn't have time to take proper pictures as they wanted. So I sent it.
I didn't receive any news from them for almost 2 months, as they went on vacation in august. I was kind of resigned that my necklace was lost, but nope: it had arrived safely!
The magazine was due on 5th october and I couldn't wait to receive my copy.
I was sent an e-mail that I had actually been published (yeah!!!) and I was going to receive a copy and my necklace in my hands within a couple of weeks.

Weeks passed by and no sign of any package behind my door.
I wrote to the magazine and was answered, after 6 days, that the necklace had been sent to my address...I look at it and it says n.16 instead of 14...
What? SERIOUSLY??!?!?

Rules are you need to write down your address almost everywhere, on the box, envelope, on a card tied to the piece of jewelry. No way I could have written 16 in any of these places.

Also, it was too late to go nextdoor (that's where n.16 was) and ask to people if they could pay attention to any mail they would receive with my name on. It was already lost or going back to the magazine.
Well, after one more month I can say it never went back to the magazine.

The nasty thing is, the mail wasn't trackable since day one, when it still was in the USA. Tracking number didn't work - I don't know why, they didn't know why.
They left me with promises of sorting things out for me, but they obviously didn't.

How should I feel now???
Devastated. Especially because the raw materials were a precious gift from what has become a dear friend.
So I only have 2 pics of the magazine, my BF took them yesterday night with his phone so you need quite a lot of imagination....

Looks gorgeous and can't wait to have in my hands.
It's a bittersweet triumph for me.
I am thankful for being published but I am so sad now. And I miss my beads so much.

EBW december challenge: "Out of this World"

This month we have a very sci-fi challenge from the Etsy Beadweavers Team.

Out of this World:
"In this theme, I ask you to be inspired by things that are “out of this world”. Whether you choose to explore elements of science fiction/fantasy or real world celestial bodies, the only requirement is that you let your imagination run wild and “aim for the stars”.

Extremely cool, right?!!
Go on our team blog and cast your vote, you have time to think about it and spread the word until the 16th as usual!

Tiffany

This color is so popular now, I felt compelled to make a pair of my can tab earrings using my last delica purchase

which also perfectly matched my favorite summer nail polish.
The result is delicate yet sparkly in a subtle way.

Beady morning

I am so happy that I can finally talk about an amazing opportunity I had.
At the end of summer I was contacted by a jewelry supply website, Eozy, proposing to try some of their products. Unfortunately the materials I selected (mostly beads, of course) arrived a couple of days after I had already left for Milan, so I just received them this morning and can finally make something with them!

What I have been thinking since the first moment I saw those bicolor seed beads was to make a chunky peyote/crochet rope and possibly some kumihimo.
I think I'll start stringing right away!
Stay tuned to discover what I will do with this treasure!

Back on the saddle

After a long pause I feel recharged enough to start beading again.
I hope to be more productive even though embroidering and knitting and studying are taking a considerable part of my days...so I started with something old and safe, which is always a good way to ignite inspiration

I usually don't even consider blue, but this shade is so beautiful, plus the AB finish on the crystals and the confetti polish gives them a festive twist.
Maybe too much :D

Beaded locket

Some weeks ago I bought an amazing pattern from Chloe Menage of Pinkhot.
It's a beaded locket!
These last days I finally had some time to make one

This is for my BF so I used grey and stole from a fellow beader the idea of putting a guitar on it (an old earring I had).
The pattern is so easy you ask yourself "why didn't I had this idea!" and it's really fast, but gives great satisfaction. The picture is trapped inside a beaded frame and the closure, for which I had so many fears, actually works without any struggle.
I am happy and definitely will make more!

Agate chips

I finally got back to beading something.
I have had so many occasions to buy beading material and was so excited and unpatient to use it, but as usual life had a different idea.
Without further ado, here are my new babies

which style you have obviously seen before, but I am now looking for new shapes and options on the bottom.

So, inspired from some crystal jewelry I had pinned, I tried to use some agate chips I had bought for a necklace.

Despite the weird shape, I love them.
Hope this juice will continue to flow and I'll get to use some stash pretty soon!

EBW October challenge: The Art of Geometry

Haven't been much around lately, but I couldn't miss the appointment with the Etsy Beadweavers team monthly challenge.
The October theme is "The Art of Geometry":

 "Artists have used geometry for centuries to create aesthetically pleasing works, whether it was a matter of determining proportions or using geometric shapes to create abstract designs. This challenge is an opportunity to participate in this grand artistic tradition. Geometry's concern with shape, size, area, and volume make it a resonant field for many forms of beadweaving, most notably those techniques for creating geometric shapes and structures out of beads.
Think broadly with your interpretation of this challenge theme - consider probing geometric issues of two- or three-dimensional beadwork, play with lines, angles, and shapes. Experiment with symmetry, explore the possibilities of repetition with tessellations, work with the geometric forms found in nature, or draw inspiration from classic works of art such as Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man."

Vote for your favorite until October 15th on our team blog!!!

Mini cards

I just received (way ahead of time!) the minicards I had ordered from Moo, using a wonderful promotion from the Etsy Italia Team.

I had tried the regular cards from Moo before, but these cute little babies are soo beautiful and different!

Here's a little discount code I received for a new client:

Enjoy!

A new capricho

Capricho means whim in spanish and it's really close to the italian word, which is "capriccio".
As you may know it is also a beautiful cuff made by Alex Unicornio, who shared the pattern on her blog.
It was on every beader's blog some time ago and I joined this madness making a rainbow version.
This week I decided to make another one in gold

I'm going to attend a wedding in a couple of weeks, I have a dark orange long dress and I suddenly pictured myself wearing a big, bold golden cuff to match my purse.
So I made this.

I didn't remember how easy and fast it was to make one.
I used cheap crystals (there are way too many!), but made a netted base with amazing silky metallic amber color Preciosa Ornela seed beads, and used size 15/0 Toho rainbow smoky topaz seed beads between the crystals to give some contrast.
I can't wait to wear it!
I need ideas for the earrings now!

Cute and cuddly, boys. Cute and cuddly!

Thinking about ice and cold really helps when it comes to such hot days.
So here is my new buddy, directly from the South Pole:

I've had him and a lot of other charachters in my mind for such a long time, and I hope little by little to write tutorials for all of them.
Here is the link to the tutorial.
He might give Santa some company...

P.S. a speciale thanks to my dear Ile for testing the tut!!!

EBW challenge Sea Adventures

This month couldn't have a more proper theme for the Etsy Beadweavers challenge:

"...thinking of hot summer days, vacations, and traveling by the sea or under the sea, whatever inspires you..."

Amazing creations ready to be admired one by one and voted until the 15th, as usual, on our team blog.
Don't waste time!