A Rolling Blog Hop

A few months ago, Christine Altmiller, of One Kiss Creations, found a few times at an antique store and decided to host a blog hop.

She asked several of us if we would be interested in using the items she found, but didn't tell us what the items were.  Always up for a challenge, my answer was an enthusiastic "yes!"

When I received the package, I was a little mystified and a bit excited.  Christine sent us vintage wooden spools along with other beads she thought we might like.

(Of course, I had painted one of the spools before I remembered to take a picture.)

Here are the other beads Christine sent.

In a note, Christine mentioned that she liked "the idea of spools and thread and how we all have that common thread running between us in the blog world."  I thought that was such a sweet sentiment!

As I was looking for ideas, I came across this craft, which uses thread and spools to make cute little monsters.  I immediately started playing around with the idea and came up with these.

I started with Frankenstein's monster and used Gwen Fisher's DNA double helix tutorial to create the beaded portion of a necklace.

I thought the DNA helix was perfect for the monster.  Luckily for me, Gwen's video tutorial was made using Doceri software and it is so easy to follow.

I also wanted to incorporate a bit of chain maille, so I made a variation of Rebeca Mojia's Lancelot bracelet.

 This is a fun way to embellish helm weave.  The instructions can be found in Rebeca's book, Chained.

I used brass rings when I made this and could not get the brass to patina with liver of sulfur.  I then opted for an ammonia patina.

(By the way, ammonia, salt, and annodized aluminum do not mix well.  I had to replace most of the purple and pink rings and chalked this up to a learning experience.)

It was worth it, though.

I made the pendant removable, for those non Halloweeny occasions.

Next, I added some orange to the seed beads Christine sent to make a cellini spiral.

I matched the spiral with a helm weave chain.

This finished product is another great Halloween necklace.

I really love this one.

I have a few ideas for the last spool, but it's getting close to Halloween and I wanted to show these to you while they were still seasonal.

I'll probably have another spool post for you in a month or so.  :)

Christine, thank you for the opportunity to participate.  I had a blast with these.

This is a rolling blog hop, so the posts will be sporadic.  Christine was generous and gave us two months to complete our pieces and post.

Janet, from Honey from the Bee, posted her creation a few weeks ago.  If you are interested, you can see her beautiful necklace here.

Hope, from Crafty Hope posted her creations here.

Keep an eye on Christine's blog over the next few months to see what the other participants made.