Sunday, March 31, 2013

Things That Go Boo in the Night



From ghoulies and ghosties
And long-leggedy beasties
And things that go bump in the night,
Good Lord, deliver us!


Traditional Scottish Prayer
~~~
From ghoulies and ghosties
And long-leggedy beasties
And things that go Boo in the night,
Bring 'em on!


Traditional Cornerstoregoddess Philosophy 


Boo is a friendly little guy.  You can tell by his toothy grin.  He's made of lampwork glass, created in Colorado at Silver Leaf Glass.  He is set off with sterling silver daisies and a  Swarovski crystal.   He dangles beneath a fire polish crystal.



His chain is handmade, as well, with fire polish crystals of orange and black wire-wrapped with sterling silver, onto sterling silver chain.  It closes with a Bali silver toggle clasp.




The chain is approximately 24" (60.96 cm) in length.  The Boo pendant drops approximately 1-1/2" 3.81 cm).




Boo Monster necklace is available in my etsy shop.



Just click the link!

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Honey? Where's My Flamethrower?


The wonderfully talented Lori Anderson has staged the biggest Bead Soup Blog Hop ever, with three reveal dates and buckets and buckets of beadery.  Today is the first reveal.

My partner, Dolores Raml, is a very talented bead artist.  She works with a lot of metal, straight from the hardware store, which her husband joyfully hammers and textures and torches for her.  I love her pieces.



But I was a a bit apprehensive; those are areas I have yet to explore.



Mostly because my husband is afraid I would burn the house down.


He is probably right.

Dolores was kind.  She sent me beads that were challenging...
 but ones that did not require a welding torch or hammer.
And in colors I love!




She also sent me some little goodies she made.
Aren't they cool?



I am predominantly a wire-wrapper and, in these Bead Soup challenges, 
I have been determined to try new things.

In a recent challenge, sponsored by the lovely Lisa Lodge 
I tried crocheting beads with wire and, after a lot
of tangled wire and dropped beads, I found that I liked it.  
I used a 28GA wire, and a G hook.
You can take a peek at what I made here.

This time I thought I would experiment with different gauges
of wire, and different sizes of hooks.  I tried 30GA, 28 GA, 24 GA, 22 GA. 
I tried a variety of hooks.


Guess what I ended u using?
Yep.  
28 GA wire and an G hook.

To shake things up a bit, I went for symmetry.
Symmetry is not my best friend.
I never met an Asymmetrical Challenge I didn't like.
I'm a bad counter.
1, 2... oh look!  Shiny things!


So I laid out and counted and spaced.
I stayed focused.
George doubted I could pull it off.


But I did.


Another challenge was the focal.  While I wire-wrap,
I have never done a briolette where I wrapped down
the gemstone.  So I tried some tutorials online.


George stuck around to help.
Got it on my third try.



I also rely heavily on split rings.  Not this time.
I wire wrapped the clasp right onto the necklace.



And a necklace was born.


Ta-dah!!




I was happy with how it turned out.  Next time I do wire crochet, I think I'll

use a bigger hook for bigger beads,
and a 
smaller hook for smaller beads.




It also sparkles when the sunlight catches it,
but I wasn't able to capture that in the photos.


This is my necklace, reclining.




Maybe next time I'll try that flamethrower.

Here is What I sent my partner.  You can go to her blog to see what she made!



And here's the hop.




Alicia Marinache
Amber Dawn Goldish
Barb Solem
Bev Breisinger
Birgitta Lejonklou
Breana Fry


Brenda Sue Lansdowne
Bridget Torres
Carol Dee Myers
Carolyn Chenault
Cassi Paslick
Cece Cormier
Cheryl McCloud
Cindy Wilson
Crystal Thain


Cynthia Riggs
Dana Hickey
Dana James
Darlene Fortier
Deana Hager
Deanna Cox
Deb Brooks
Debra Behrends
Denielle Hagerman
http://www.somebeadsandotherthings.blogspot.com/
Denise McCabe


Diana Frey
Diana Welte
Dini Bruinsma
DiYana Alcalde
Dolores Raml
Donna Millard
Dot Lewallwn
Duane Clark
Dyanne Cantrell


You are here:
Eleanor Burian-Mohr
Elisabeth Auld
Elizabeth Owens Dwy
Emily Greer
Enikö Fabian
Erin Grant
Eva Kovacs
Eva Sherman


Gina Hockett
Grace Rotenberg
Gretchen Nation
Hannah Rosner
Heather Davis
Heather Marston
Heather Powers
Ingrid McCue


Jacqueline Marchant
Jan Petek
Janeen Sorensen
Jane-Michael Stallings
Jasvanti Patel
Jayashree Paramesh
Jayne Capps
Jean Yates
Jennifer Cameron
Jennifer LaVite


Joan Williams
Jodie Marshall
Judy Riggs
Julie Anne Leggett
Kat Barron Miller
Kathy Lindemer
Kim Hora


Kim Houston
Kim Sparks
Krafty Max
Kris Lanae Binsfeld
Krista French
http://expressyourfaith.webs.com/apps/blog/
Kristen Stevens
Kristi Harrison
Kumi Fisher


Laren Dee Barton
Laura Bracken
Laura Demoya
Laurie Hanna
Laurie Keefe-Cecere
Lea Avroch
Leanne Loftus


Lee Anne Messerschmidt
Leslie Schenkel
Linda Anderson
Linda Djokic
Linda Murphy
Linda Sadler
Lisa Liddy
Lisa Suver


Liz DeLuca
Liz Engriser
Lola Surwillo
Loretta Carstensen
Lori Anderson
Lori Bergmann
Lori Bowring Michaud
Lori Poppe
Lori Schneider


Lyn Foley
Maddison Langford
Magdalena Sikora
Mallory Hoffman
Marcella Austenfeld
Marcy Lamberson
Maria Clark
Maria Rosa Sharrow
Marianna Boylan


Marie Covert
Marti Conrad
Mary Ellen Merrigan
Mary Harding
Molly Alexander
Nan Emmett
Niky Sayers
Pam Chesbro


Pam Farren
Pam Sandy
Pam Traub
Pamela Gangler
Patricia Buchanan
Patricia Johnson
Patty Miller
Paula Hisel
Peggy Gabrielson


Perri Jackson
Rachel Baron
Rachel Stanley
Rain Hannah
Rana Wilson
Renetha Stanziano
Robin Reed
Rochelle Brisson
Rose Rushbrooke


Ruth Szapa
Sally Russick
Sandi Volpe
Sandra Pendragon
Sandy Richardson
Sarah Small
Shannon Hicks


Shari Replogle
Sheila Daniels
Sheila Davis
Shiraz Biggie
Shirley Moore
Skylar Bre'z
Staci Smith
Stacie Florer


Stacy Pomerleau
Stephanie Weiss
Sumi Rani
Susan Sheehan
Suzette Bentley
Tamera Norris
Tracy Choy
Tracy Stillman
Valerie Norton
Vicki Holliday

Or you can link to the list here. Happy hopping!