Eye Won A Giveaway!

Ok, so this is obviously going to be a post full of 'eye' puns. 

I think it is only fair to apologise now! 

I, or should that be 'eye', recently was lucky enough

to win a give away over at Operation Tackle That Bead Stash. 

The generous prize on offer was a set of six stunning 

glass eye cabochons 

from Liz at The Crimson Moon .  

Aren't they fantastic! 

They range from the more naturalistic browny eyes
(styles Rowan and Cosmos) 
 to the out of this 
world 'Plasma' purple.
(Wouldn't it be great to have purple eyes!)

I think the blue (Azure)  is stunning and the slit eye 
(Apollo) 
reminds me of Lord Of The Rings ,
so I feel a little Frodo and friends inspired project coming on... 

I headed over to The Crimson Moon to take a 
look at what other beading goodies were 
available and I have to say 
Liz has the coolest shop banner,  
to take a peek click  HERE.

I am very excited to be the winner 
and I just hope I can do them justice.. 
...time to get the thinking cap on!

OTTBS October Challenge Entry

My Operation tackle that bead stash entry 

for the October challenge. 

We had to create something using 

the colour scheme of gold, orange, grey and black. 

I had the golden peacock lolling in my stash for 

sometime and so I was pleased to have an excuse to 

use him in a project at last! 

To see all the other lovely entries 

click HERE.

Sabine Lippert Three Crosses Necklace

This is my version of Sabine's
 Three Crosses Necklace. 
(I decided not to add the dangles
under the pendant.) 

 

It was really fun to make and is 
definitely the project to go to 
if you want some impressive looking 
bead work reasonably quickly. 
 
This took me about two hours to make
but I think it looks as if it took far longer.

I love this design so much that I can see 
it being made in other colour ways 
in my near future!

 

Inspire Me: A Gothic Romance

A selection of Gothic beads and black craft lace,

 just perfect for a 

dark and romantically inspired 

jewellery project. 

Beads available from 

Blue Streak Beads 

and lace  from

Josy Rose . 

Inspiration images 

from 

Mystic Pieces 

Pinterest board

 'Noir'.

Why Not: Enjoy The Changing Season

It's October and the leaves are falling into crisp piles 

of Autumnal loveliness. 

Why not enjoy the changing colour scheme in nature 

and let it shape your colour choices 

for your jewellery projects this season. 

Beautiful shades of rich brown, auburn, orange, green 

and red combined with the tactile textures of

soft wool, crispy leaves and lots of layers, 

can create a woody and organic feel. 

Just perfect for Autumn.   

* All pics via Timea Varga's Pinterest board 

' I love Autumn' * 

Beads Direct Launch Shine Magazine With 20% Off Discount Code

Beads Direct have launched their exciting new 

on-line magazine 

'Shine' .

Click HERE to visit their website

and download your free copy. 

There is a discount code for 20% off 

on the back page. 

Code: 

SHINEBD 

Email them with how Shine has inspired you

and you could be in with a chance to win a 

£100 bead hamper!

How exciting! 

See the magazine for more details... 

Operation Tackle That Bead Stash - September Challenge

This month the challenge theme was 

'animals'. 

You could chose which ever animal you liked 

and be inspired in anyway 

whether it was literal or more abstract. 

I decided to use beads that were actually piglet shaped. 

They are made from rose quartz and are a lovely pale

pink which is great but very hard to photograph the detail. 

You could say they were a 'pig' to photograph - boom boom - groan..... 

hence the photo collage!  

Little Pink Piglet Beads

These little pig beads are made out of 
rose quartz. 
I've been busy making  a necklace and earrings 
out of them ready for the 
Operation Tackle That Bead Stash 
September challenge. 
The theme is 'animals' 
and it was the perfect reason 
to work with  these cute 
little piglets :-) 

My Beading Diary: Recent Buys

One of the things I love about  summer time 

is the Beads Direct  enormous sale.

I could seriously have spent a small fortune on 

semi precious stones this year 

but I was VERY restrained 

and edited my basket right down to just the few items

 I actually had plans/ideas for. 

A  bamboo agate dyed purple drop pendant,

some faceted lavender dyed jade, and some sun stone rounds which 

I've had my eye on for ages.

You know in The Simpsons when Homer says ' mmmm Doughhhhnuts' 
that's just how I feel about these: 
'mmmm Beeeeeeads...'

Inspire Me: Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills

Backbiting, b*tching and bling 
set to a back drop of unimaginable wealth 
and luxury. 
The Real House Wives Of Beverly Hills is reality tv 
from a city which seems totally unreal. 
Plastic surgery and Hollywood glamour galore! 
I have to admit it is my guilty tv pleasure to watch.

 It's a little escapism and a fun way to take 
a peek into the homes and lives of the super wealthy.
Even if, like me, the super bling look is not your style
I hope you can live vicariously and enjoy this selection
of tinsel town inspired beading goodies. 
All from Beads Direct except the shoe charm which is 
from Spoilt Rotten Beads. 
*Pics from Bravo, and google search.*

Currently Working On ...

I am pleased to be working on another project 

from Sabine Lipppert's

book ' Beaded Fantasies'.  

The Three Crosses Necklace looks gorgeous 

so I've decided to give it a go. 

Rather than add all the dangles I think I'm going to 

keep it as a pendant in its own right. 

Take a peek here at the Swarovski 

crystal drop pearls:

Lovely, no? 

I haven't used Swarovski crystal pearls before 

and as with the actual crystals I feel a love

affair coming on...! 

The Bead Shop Manchester Offers Free Delivery

the-beadshop.co.uk

Why Not: Support An Artisan Lampworker

Lampwork beads are made by hand 

by a skilled artisan

melting rods of glass in a flame. 

Tricky work when you think about it!

Especially when you look at how detailed

 and beautiful the beads can be.

Lampwork mouse by Izzy Beads 

It is a craft that requires great skill and attention. 

The results can be phenomenal! 

Blissful Garden Beads (also in top pic ) 

The beads can be more expensive than your average 

mass made glass BUT you are buying real art work, 

something that has

been made with love, care and attention. 

Supporting an artist and allowing that craft to carry on 

through time. 

All that AND you get some wonderful beads to work with. 

What's not to love?!