Saturday, August 25, 2012

Echo Creative Club



I have the pleasure of being a guest blogger for Jeannie Dukic's Echo Creative Club. Jeannie not only sent me some of her Fractured Beads, she also sent a beautiful pendant by Marie Voyeur-Cramp of Skye Jewels. 

Jeannie wanted me to use her beads with the pendant. No prob. Got this in the bag. Hmmm....well, my first challenge was how I was going to hang the pendant. Oh, I'll bezel it. I've been bezeling everying in sight. Except...it didn't want to be bezeled. It was a horrible failure. Not a prob. I'll hang it from the hole....that is not centered with the butterfly. I'm just the tiniest bit ocd on stuff like that. The hubs to the rescue, drilled a hole on the other side so my butterfly would hang straight up and down.
I thought I would use a RAW rope that I've made a couple of times recently, and include the beads into it.
Hmm, nope, they didn't like that. Tried putting them at the beginning of the rope, just before the pendant. Nope.
Getting just a bit anxious here, cause Jeannie asked me to put them all together. But, well, those pretty beads wanted to be the center of attention all by themselves. So of course I listened!
I've recently learned kumihimo, and absolutely love it.
I love the echo of the dark brown that shows through the fracture of Jeannie's beads. I didn't have that exact color, so I picked it up in the golden seed beads, and also in the raku beads that have the brown, and blue hues. I also used a dark brown and golden tan cording for it.

See how happy it is? This is a new favorite in my wardrobe!

Next up is Marie's pendant...
Isn't she pretty? A beautiful garden of colors for my butterfly!

A flowery beaded button for the clasp. 

 See, all nice and straight! :)

My last piece is a new look for me. I really love where these beads took me.
A CRAW bracelet! For my non-seed beader friends, that would be Cubic Right Angle Weave. And it is a very special one, because the awesome Heather Collin wrote the tutorial for this after I asked her a question! You won't really be able to see the swirl pattern, since I used such soft colors, but it is there, I promise.


I love the contrast of structure and swirl in this bracelet. The Fractured Bead stands out proudly, surrounded by support and love. 
Thanks for having me guest Jeannie!
Here are the regular participants.

Cindy Cima Edwards http://www.cindycima.com/
Shannon Chomanczuk http://www.formysweetdaughter.blogspot.com/

Blessings, Shirley




Thursday, August 9, 2012

Bread and Soup....Bead Soup!!!

Hi all! Well, you know the title of my blog is Beads and Bread, right? But I have been sadly lacking in the 'Bread' department lately. It's been a busy summer, and I confess to being a total slacker. But I've made two different breads in the last two days, so I had to show you. And we have another Bead Soup reveal this Saturday, hence the title!!
I made some awesome lasagna yesterday, and what would lasagna be without bread, right? I happen to have a recipe for Roasted Garlic and Oregano Braided loaves that is mouth watering. Wanna see? Okey dokey....


See the flour bag in the back? Yep, this is NOT a healthy, whole wheat bread like I usually make!

The recipe make 3 ginormous loaves. And you'll be shocked at how fast they disappear!
If you'd like the recipe, just let me know.

The boys have a friend over, so I whipped them up some muffins this morning. Nothing fancy, but they sure do taste good. It's so super easy, just a can of pumpkin, and a box of cake mix. Easy peasy.


All my kids adore peanut butter, so I made a quick peanut butter frosting to top them off.

Have to say, that frosting is the bomb!!

And don't forget, Saturday is the next Hop for the Bead Soup Blog Party, hosted by the awesome Lori Anderson!!
Blessings, Shirley


Saturday, August 4, 2012

Giveaway Winner

Hi everyone! I have drawn the winner from my Bead Soup necklace. I used the highest technology available...

and here is my trusty assistant..

and the winner is....
Tanya Ozanne!!!
Congratulations, and a special thank you to all who participated! This was a lot of fun. Look for more of these in the future. Blessings, Shirley

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Echo Creative Club Guest Spot

Hi everyone! It's been a whirlwind last few days, between the Bead Soup Blog Party, Summer Lovin' Blog Hop, and now I'm excited to announce I have won a guest spot on the Echo Creative Club!
This group was formed by the wonderful Jeannie Dukic. She has a team of designers create pieces each month, using her signature polymer clay beads. Myself and several others won guest spots, and the month I received was August. Here is the package Jeannie sent:
Three of Jeannie's fractured art beads, and a pendant from Marie Cramp@ Skye Jewels. I've got a great idea simmering, so come back on August 25th for the reveal.
Blessings, Shirley

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Summer Lovin' Blog Hop

Today is the reveal day for the Summer Lovin' Blog Hop. And....I'm late to the party! Note to self: Don't book 2 reveals in the same week!  My sweet friend Amy put together an awesome kit, and sent it out to the participants.


I knew I wanted to bezel that focal, cause I've been all excited since I learned to bezel. I really wanted to use a rope technique from Sonoku's book, Japanese Beadwork. I didn't have the right size pearls, so it didn't work out quite right. I still like it, but I need your help. I couldn't decide what type of clasp to use for it, so any suggestions are welcome.
I finished the ends off with a loop, so I can add any type clasp.

I added two loops on the back of the pendant for the rope to slide through.
The pendant with the chain. I love the tree idea, and emphasized it with a few leaves dropping from the bottom of it. They were made from  the English Rose pattern of Kerrie Slades'. (Look for a review in the next couple of weeks)

A close up of the leaves. Let me tell ya, I don't do a ton of brick stitch, so this was a serious learning curve! I absolutely love how they look, and the rest of the English Rose pattern is just as lovely.

Close up of the focal. I love those lavender lined amber 15's.
I really  had so much fun with this project, and it sparked so many ideas in my head! There were several beads I didn't get to use, and I just ran out of time. I tried my best to use the peachy gold pearls, but they didn't want to play!
Here is the list of the rest of the players,
Lori B.
Shirley Beads and Bread  You are here!!!
Lois ¿Que Onda Q'town?
Lucy K.
Debbie Beechy Beetique
Tanya A Work in Progress
Audrey Dreams of Absolution
Sandra Stories from the City of Brass
Mary MLH Jewelry Designs

Blessings, Shirley