Halloween/Day of the Dead Blog Hop

My post for the Rolling Blog hop is here.

Diana Ptaszynski, from Suburban Girl Studio, is hosting a fun, Halloween inspired blog hop.  How fun is that?

When Diana posted the sign-ups, it was a no-brainer for me.  I knew immediately what I wanted to do.

About a week before, I purchases these cute little ghost charms from Nancy Schindler.  I knew exactly what they needed and asked my friend Sharyl to make a few components for me.

Sharyl created two sets of round charms -- one set similar to a harvest moon and one set more "Halloweeny."

I used the "Halloweeny" set with Nancy's ghosts.

The charms turned quite a bit when I used jumprings to attach them to the earwires.  To solve this, I made custom earwires so I could attach the charms directly to them.

I love how these look together.

Nancy periodically adds beads and charms to her shop.  Watch her blog for updates.

I wanted to make something special to compliment the harvest moon charms Sharyl made and was excited to see this pattern from threadabead.

These little witches beaded up quickly and look perfect with Sharyl's moon charms.

You can find more of Sharyl's components in her artfire store.  She creates beautiful components in all shapes and sizes  AND she has finished jewelry as well.

In addition to the earrings above, I made two Halloween necklaces for Christine Altmiller's Rolling Blog Hop.  Christine sent us vintage spools, asking us to make something with them.

I'm never sure how beadwoven charms or beads fit into the "art bead" category, but I love how the spools turned out and wanted to show them to you.

For a closer look, check out this post.

Diana, thank you for this challenge.  I had fun getting into the Halloween spirit.

Please take some time to visit the other participants to see what they created.

Diana Ptaszynski http://www.suburbangirlstudio.com - our host

Staci Smith http://www.stacilouiseoriginals.com/

Kathleen Breeding http://99bobotw.blogspot.com

Sue Kennedy http://www.suebeads.blogspot.com

Dianne Miller http://www.artbydianne.blogspot.com

Lisa Liddy http://www.lisaliddy.wordpress.com

Toltec Jewels http://www.JewelSchoolFriends.com

Linda Landig http://www.LindasBeadBlog.com

Laura Medeiros http://Www.zoeowyn.blogspot.com

Veralynne Malone http://www.veradesigns.blogspot.com

Lynn Jobber http://thecreativeklutz.blogspot.co.uk

Michelle McCarthy http://www.fireflydesignstudio.blogspot.com

Karen Totten http://www.starryroadstudio.blogspot.com

Jayne Capps https://mamasgottodoodle.blogspot.com

Jenny Davies-Reazor http://jdaviesreazor.com/blog

Joan Miller http://metalmudandsand.blogspot.com/

Melissa Meman http://melissameman.blogspot.com

Melissa Trudinger http://www.beadrecipes.wordpress.com

Kari Asbury http://hippiechickdesign.blogspot.com

Inge von Roos http://www.ingetraud.wordpress.com

Andrea Glick http://zenithjade.blogspot.com

Stephanie LaRosa http://Www.stringaholic.blogspot.com

Lola Surwillo http://www.beadlolabead.com

Jennifer Cameron http://glassaddictions.com/blog

Diane Hawkey http://dianehawkey.blogspot.com

Kristi Harrison http://kristibasket-itsanewday.blogspot.com

Nicole Valentine Rimmer http://www.nvalentine.blogspot.com

Tanya Goodwin http://www.Pixiloo.blogspot.com - you are here

Shai Williams http://shaihasramblings.blogspot.com/

Sandra McGriff http://skyescreativechaos.blogspot.com

Sarajo Wentling http://www.sjdesignsjewelry.blogspot.com

Marie Covert http://thistledown-and-swaddlings.blogspot.com

Lisa Stukel http://www.carefreejewelrybylisa.blogspot.com

Laurie Vyselaar http://www.Lefthandjewelry.wordpress.com

Sherri Stokey http://www.knotjustmacrame.com

Pam Traub http://www.klassyjoolz.blogspot.com

Lori Dorrington http://lorisglassworks.blogspot.com

Kristen Stevens http://kristen-beadjourney.blogspot.com

Eleanor Burian-Mohr http://cornerstoregoddessjewelry.blogspot.com

Sally Russick http://thestudiosublime.com

Dawn M. Gallop http://www.flipflopsandpoptarts.com

Christine Damm http://storiestheytell.blogspot.com

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.