And the winner is...

I printed out the comments...


I balled them up...


Shook them around in my hands and the first one to fall out was...



Kelly of Beadativity !!
Kell, I think I still have your address, but I will ask you to send it to me again just in case...

I did the drawing yesterday, but had several false starts, so I'll be working on it again tonight with a new plan :)


Kristen of My Bead Journey was the first place runner up, and the only other entrant, so if she would like to send me her address, I would like to send her something too :)

Thanks girls and Happy Holidays!

Last Chance-Ornament Giveaway!

The prize-a covered ornament, made by me, shipped to you :)

You can enter by:

Commenting on this post (or this post) with the answers to the following questions
1. What is your name (email address)
2. What is your favorite color
3. What is the average wing speed velocity of an unladen swallow? **
4. Which is your favorite ornament that has been posted on this blog thus far? I ask this so I know where to begin. *Note if number 13 is your favorite, it cannot not be replicated at this time-I haven't got enough flowers in NJ to do another one :( I have more in PA, but I wont be there until next weekend...

Bonus entries:
1. Following my blog-and leave a comment stating you are
2. Post about my giveaway on your social media of choice-leave a comment linking
3. The name of the movie in number 3 above and the proper response. Post this n a separate comment please :)

There will be a super quick entry process in order to get the ornament to you by Christmas, so the winner will be chosen Monday night. Perhaps I should have done this sooner :) The winner will be announced here on the blog, and an email will be sent to the email address provided above. Good luck!

Number 13 and a giveaway!

First thing's first-Number 13? What happened to Number 12?

Well, seeing as how number 13 is considered unlucky by some, I didn't want to have number 13 be the giveaway ornament! Ha!

Number 12 will be the ornament given away, but more on that later...

Number 13-Normally I hate to repeat a pattern twice in a holiday season, but since I didn't get a photo of number 7, and I really liked it, I made number 13 in the same pattern.

This ornament started as a silver Walmart ball, which I covered in a netting of 1.5mm cubelings with teal Delicas.


I then started at the top of the netting and added blue acrylic flowers in three sizes, green acrylic leaves, 3mm teal Swarovski 3mm crystals, and a few Delicas.



I added these accents in a swath around the ornament, following the netting lines.



My inspriration was a plant called Mile-a-Minute, which I think is a wild variety of morning glory. It grows on a vine, and really does seem to grow a mile per minute. It is a weed on our wetlands, because it creeps up any stationary object with little thorny stickers and chokes out anything living in its path to the sun. As morbid as it is, I think its a very pretty plant, and when you see a huge patch of it creeping over a hill in the sun...ahh pretty :)




Now, for the giveaway.



The prize-a covered ornament, made by me, shipped to you :)

You can enter by:

Commenting on this blog with the answers to the following questions
1. What is your name (email address)
2. What is your favorite color
3. What is the average wing speed velocity of an unladen swallow? **
4. Which is your favorite ornament that has been posted on this blog thus far? I ask this so I know where to begin. *Note if number 13 is your favorite, it cannot not be replicated at this time-I haven't got enough flowers in NJ to do another one :( I have more in PA, but I wont be there until next weekend...

Bonus entries:
1. Following my blog-and leave a comment stating you are
2. Post about my giveaway on your social media of choice-leave a comment linking
3. The name of the movie in number 3 above and the proper response. Post this n a separate comment please :)

There will be a super quick entry process in order to get the ornament to you by Christmas, so the winner will be chosen Monday night. Perhaps I should have done this sooner :) The winner will be announced here on the blog, and an email will be sent to the email address provided above. Good luck!

Number 11

Eleven. Eleven is one of those numbers that people tend to forget about. It is that number between 10 and 12, both of utmost importance. Eleven is the number of toes that some people have. Eleven (as written 11) has a bit of cool, as it appears in binary through decimal numbering systems. Eleven as an age is rather anti-climactic. You aren't a teenager, aren't almost a teen, but you are a bit too old to be considered a kid. You're in 5th/6th grade and its all rather meh, if I recall.

This ornament certainly isn't meh, it's actually the most Christmas-sy of all the ornaments I've done this year, in my opinion.

I used Delicas in an AB semi-matte bluespruce color, matte lima bean colored Delicas, brass colored Japanese 11/0s, and Red Velvet Chinese crystal rounds.

The inspiration for this one came to me over my Thansgiving break. Standing on my in-law's back porch at night. The evergreens were silhouetted against the purple snow sky. I wanted to make Christmas trees, and have them encircle the ornament. I pulled every type of green seed bead I have with me and began working in Russian...um leaf stitch? There is a name for that stitch, but my brain just went *derf* blink blink.

I made the first tree, and it wasn't quite right, nor was the second, then I just got caught up in the moment and accidentally made a leaf...oops :) Then I kept going.

I worked 4 parts in a Russian Leaf style with the Delicas, and used the 11/0s and crystals as "veins"


I then used the Japanese 11/0s and crystals to connect, but separate, the leaves


From there, I worked down the edges of the leaves with a dense vertical netting, ending in a crystal finial.



I finished the whole thing with a few strings of 11/0 and crystal swag. This ornament is unlike alot of my ornaments in that the ornament ball itself can be changed. I think it looks quite nice over matte white, but if someone doesn't like it, it is easily changed.



And just because he looks so cute and innocent in this picture, here is the Cat-Beast. That face doesn't say "I got into the mini marshmallows and sprinkled them all over the hotel room", does it?

X

Number 10! Woohoo! Officially into the double digits now :)

I am really proud of number ten. I hope, I think, I know that when this baby goes on someone's tree, it is going to reflect some MONSTER light!

I am trying to find patterns that bezel rivolis and end up with a nice flat back so they lay nicely on the ornament. I started this one with a pendant pattern from Smadars Treasure I was looking for ways to use the new long magatama beads and this pattern seemed perfect. I got the front of the pendant finished, but found that once the back half was finished, it was a bit too bulky. Off the back came, resulting in what you see below

I used 14mm rivolis in AB olivine, Japanese 11/0s in silverlined green and purple transparent, Japanese 15/0s in dark silver/light gunmetal, dark amethyst 3mm Swarovski bicones, AB olivine 4mm Swarovski bicones, 8/0 Japanese seed beads in black and silver, and long magatamas in a deep forest green

This is a startlingly easy pattern, with breathtaking results. I highly recommend a visit to her shop . It is difficult to determine which way the magatamas should be picked up though. Nothing to do with the pattern, they are just a pain in the hiney. My mantra became boat 8 hoof 11 11 boat 8 hoof 11 11...


I adapted the pattern to make a collar for the ornament, then started working in netting down to a point where I could attach the medallions. I then made a bottom netted cap and connected with 11/0s, 8/0s, 3mm crystals and 4 mm crystals.


I got it all done and ready to photograph when this happened! DOH! I think I trimmed a thread that wasn't ready to be trimmed yet, as in wasn't woven in. Ah well, I get to play with this beauty for a little while longer before it goes into the "to gift" pile.

And her shoes were Number Nine (and loot!!)

Number nine was created using mainly loot from my spree-it consists of 3 ladder stitched strings of bugle beads in a weird AB matte translucent amber, lots and lots of strings of Czech 11/0s in a red and purple blend



The ladders end in finials made using the Czech 11/0s and red velvet crystal rounds. In certain lights the colors on this ornament are gorgeous and work really well together. In other lights, not so much. I think the cover would work well on a larger ornament, but, sadly, I don't have any larger ones, and don't plan to buy any. My mother may have a few stashed in her attic so I'll have to check when I get home.


The real star of this post is the loot! I love my husband. And he spoils me rotten :)

I got a bunch of silver feather charms, 2 wolf charms, a strand of red and green mottled crystals and Husbeast picked out 2 turquoise Zuni bears and a greenish shard (not sure what it is-it was in the bargain bin)


I acquired 2 strands of daggers, one a stripey blue and the other is clear with blue, pink and green spots, 2 strands of 3mm Czech fire polished beads, and a strand of half mirrored blue drops


From the seed bead bargain bin, I got a tube of long twisted black bugles, a tube of the bugles used in the ornament above, a tube of Japanese 11/0s in a basic opaque mix, size 6? seeds in black and black and white, and 2 half and half tubes of size 15/0s. Their bargain bin kicks butt. I love picking through for size 15/0s. I only buy 6" tubes of the ones I know I will use regularly (golds, silverlined, silver, black, etc) I get all my other colors from the bargain bin. Really, at 5 tubes for $7, who would blame me...(one of the tubes was $2.00 in this picture)



I really needed to add to my bugle collection. I want to try my Indian Ornament using bugles as opposed to the craft store 10ishes. I also picked up a tube of silver short bugles. I believe these are the ones that are fire polished after being cut, so as to not butcher one's thread


Not too many crystals this time, but I found I was seriously lacking in terms of blues, so I picked up a strand of Dark Indigo and a strand of Montana Blue 4mm bicones. Also at the top are the remains of my hank of Czech 11/0s in reds and purples. Finally a strand of silver 13/0 Charlottes, seeing as how I had none in silver.


Finally, we get to what makes this bead store so amazing-nearly every color, size, shape, etc of seed bead. This makes me such a happy girl! They always have the latest shapes and sizes of things-example, peanut beads-I bought some 2 months before they made it into the What's New section of Beadwork, same for 2.8mm drops, and the new long Magatama Daggers.

Anyway, back to the loot! I got a tube of blue 1.5mm cubes, dark silver 15/0s, a tube of mixed opaques, red metallic 11/0s, bronze(color) 11/0s, brass(color) 11/0s, AB Clear peanut beads, silver drops, red-lined red, and green-lined pale violet 3.4mm drops.


Not picured-packet of split rings and Dec/Jan Beadwork

One day I am accidentally going to move at Beyond Beads North of Spokane. They will find me just sitting and staring at the seed bead colors. That or staring at the wall of Swarovskis. I may be drooling... So much color, so few eyeballs to drink it in.