Floral Holiday Blog Hop

For my entry in the 3rd Annual Challenge of Color, click here.

Lisa Lodge, from A Grateful Artist, is known for creating wonderful bead soup mixes and hosting fun (and challenging) blog hops using those great mixes.

This time around, Lisa sent bead mixes with lucite flowers and leaves.  The mix I received contained beads and lucite in soft shades of blue and pink.

I started with the seed beads, the copper leaves and the white drops.  I paired those with clear/pink seed beads and a bit of chain from my stash.

I used the bright pink beads in one strand and ended all three strands with the white drops from Lisa's kit.

This rhinestone link from Michaels is perfect for the holidays.

The end piece is this lariat.

Next, I tackled the lucite pieces.  I mentioned above that the lucite flowers and leaves were light blue and pink, yet the picture showed metallic leaves and flowers.  What happened?

Well, as I looked at the beads in the mix, I kept stumbling with the "holiday" part of the challenge.  For me, "holiday" evokes images of silver and gold.  How to make the pinks and blues play well with metallics?

Then it hit me.  A few weeks prior, I had read this post by Sherri of Knot Just Macrame.  Sherri posted a tutorial for painting lucite flowers.  I thought I'd try her technique.  I didn't have any patinas, but I did have the kiddo's acrylic paints.

This is what I ended up with.

I thought the lucite flowers looked wonderful doubled up.  For the center of the flowers, I made two mini cuboctahedra from the Infinity Ubercube pattern by Gwen Fisher and Florence Turnour.  (You can find this pattern and many others on their website, Bead Infinitum.)

I bezeled the pink rounds from the kit  and made more flowers using Jean Power's "Crystal Flower" pattern from her book, Geometric Beadwork.  (If you are a seed beader, put this one on your Christmas list -- it's wonderful!)

I thought all the flowers looked wonderful together.

I attached the lucite and beaded flowers to a strand of silk cord and a beaded herring bone rope.

I made a quick S hook with copper wire and applied a bit of gilders paste.

Here is the finished necklace.

I was happy to see it turned out like I had imagined.

I was sad that the lucite leaves didn't make it into the necklace, so I decided to make a bracelet just for them.

I've always liked chain maille, but rarely take the time to weave anything.  I made a quick Byzantine weave bracelet using copper, silver and black rings.

I attached the lucite leaves here and there, along with the remaining pink beads from the kit and a few of the flowers I didn't paint.

I love my floral holiday charm bracelet!

So does the kiddo.  She loved modeling it for you.

Lisa, thank you for such a wonderful hop!

Please  take a few minutes and see what wonderful things the other participants did with their soups.

Our host: Lisa Lodge, Grateful Artist (Pine Ridge Treasures)

Courtney Breul, Beads by Breul

Jeannie Dukic, Jeannie's Blog

Kimberly Flood, Goddesses and Beads

Mary Govaars, MLH Jewelry Designs

Tanya Goodwin, A Work in Progress - you are here

Kathy Lindemer, Bay Moon Design

Alicia Marinache, All the Pretty Things

Cheri Reed, Creative Designs by Cheri

Toltec Jewels, Jewel School Friends

Rana Wilson, Definitive Designs by R. Wilson