Snowman ornament

Last year, I saw this snowman ornament pattern at threadabead and made a mental not to try it.  Believe it or not, I actually remembered!

I really like the way it turned out.  The beads fit snugly over the ornament.  There is no danger of the beadwork "slipping" a bit.   The pattern was easy to follow and fun to do.

I love the attention to detail:  the buttons, eyes, carrot nose (I used a bicone) and the hat.

 This Santa ornament is a similar ornament (and my next project).  Here's hoping I finish him before the real Santa makes an appearance.

Christmas earrings

These earrings get a ton of "wear" during December and January.  They are very inexpensive to make (about $1 a pair) and are just plain cute.  :)  Several years ago (more years than I care to count), I made about 10 pairs and gave them to my aunts and cousins.

I have seen similar designs, like this one and this one, both from Fusion Beads.  I like my snowmen a bit better, though, because the scarf seems to be blowing in the wind.

While browsing, I saw this design and couldn't resist.

(My version used bordeaux  and white pearls instead of the red coral and ivory pearls the design calls for.)

I can't decide if these remind me more of a dancer from the "Nutcracker" or of Santa.  Either way, they are adorable.

Speaking of nutcrackers, Fusion Beads has nutcracker earrings here.

I posted about these earrings last year, but wanted to show them to you again.

These earrings combine this hanging Santa pattern from threadabead with a Christmas tree made from Swarovski margarita beads (like this one).

These earrings are a bit big, but I enjoy wearing them.  As I mentioned in my previous post, they would make a great ornament.

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

Santa, Baby

Sometime in October, I saw a pair of Santa earrings in my local bead shop:  a brick stitch Santa climbing up to a swarovski margarita bead Christmas tree.  I remember thinking, "I'll definitely try that after Thanksgiving."  Well, in the first part of December, I went back to the shop to get a closer look.  To my dismay, the earrings were gone.  The lady at the shop had no idea what I was talking about.  Now, either I'm confused (very likely), dreaming (somewhat likely), or in a parallel universe (not so likely).

Of course, these earrings became somewhat of a mission.  After a bit of searching, I found this pattern on threadabead.    This site has a ton of peyote and brick stitch patterns for almost any occasion.  (There is even a brick stitch karate student.)

While searching for the hanging Santa pattern, I found several other awesome patterns.  Who wouldn't want this snowman on her tree?

Speaking of trees, I needed to make some for my earrings.

Trees + Santa + ring = the cutest Santa earrings

They are a little big, but I like wearing them.  I think they are also a perfect size for an ornament.

My plan is to take these into the bead stores I frequent and ask around.  If I find the name of the person who made the pair I originally saw, I'll update this post.

If any of you remember seeing them in a magazine or other publication, please let me know and I will give credit where credit is due.