I Heart Macro

Wow it has been a long time since I have done an I Heart Macro post. I have been so busy but I really loved the details on this bead and wanted to share it with you.

This is the bead that I was sent for the Echo Creative Club sponsored by Jewelry By Jeannie http://www.jkdjewelry.com challenge due at the end of April.

Enchanted Leaf

As of right now I have no clue what this little guy will become but I am loving playing with my letter stamps and copper sheet so I am thinking some sort of word tag, some chain, stones and silk :-)
Can't wait!

Check out what everyone else shot pics of at:

Colors of Spring Blog Hop Reveal

I was thrilled when I saw this post because I am a big fan of Sally Russick's enameled beads. I chose the Starfish palette and was sent (forgot to take before pics) a tan lentil, green rounds and some light colored tube beads. If you saw my post from yesterday I used some of Sally's beads in the necklace I made for Finally Friday. Here is the necklace I made for today's hop. I started by wire wrapping the front side of the lentil, then I added a bead from Gaea and a branch disc from Heather Powers. Then I layered a pendant from Marsha Neal with a pendant from Cynthia Thornton. Then I wire wrapped a lampwork bead from 2BeadSisters and some more of Sally's enameled beads. I finished the necklace off with silk from Marsha Neal and a Vintaj Natural Brass hook clasp. Thank so much for checking out my necklace and I hope you will hop along with the other participants: List of paticipants: Host: Sally Russick Margarita Theresa Frank Kim Bender Cabaret JLynn Jewels Christine Altmiller Sweet Lilac Cherrie Fick Jenny Vidberg Driftwood Sabine Dittrich Hope Smitherman Solar Power Nicole Rennell Erin Fickert-Rowland  Bell Flower Patti Vanderbloemen Kristi Bowman Starfish Shannon Chomanczuk <--YOU ARE HERE Elisabeth Auld Cockatoo Alice Peterson Donna Bradley Sodalite Blue Kristi Harrison Cilla Watkins Tangerine Tango Lesley Watt Maryanne Gross Susan Kennedy Courtney White Breul ~Shannon

Finally Friday March 30th Edition

Hello :-)
I am thrilled to report I reached 650 fans on my facebook page last night!
Thank you all so much.
So anyway it is the first Finally Friday!
Here is the palette I revealed last week:


Design Seeds

and here is the necklace I was inspired to make from that palette:

I used an etched copper piece I made, a lampwork bead from 2BeadSisters, bird and disk beads from Humblebeads, porcelain from Genea, silk from MarshaNeal, and a couple beads leftover from tomorrow's challenge from StudioSublime. I pumped up the color with the dark blue silk and the bird. I love how this turned out!

Here is the palette for next week's Finally Friday Challenge.
I hope you'll join in!

Design Seeds

Did you make something inspired by this palette?
Share your link!

~Shannon

Hoot

I have a wonderful collection of owls from Nancy Schindler of Round Rabbit. I have been hoarding them and am preparing for show season right around the corner so I thought it was about time I used them.
Here are 2 bracelets that I made:

Available in my etsy shop

Available in my etsy shop

Don't forget to stop by my blog on Friday to see what I made for Finally Friday and on Saturday for the Colors of Spring blog hop.
Have a great day!

Facebook Fan Page

Hello everyone!
I need help...
http://www.facebook.com/formysweetdaughter


I applied to receive the $100 in free advertising from Facbook for my fan page. I am almost there.

I need to get to 650 "likes" by April 1st. I am at 617, so close.
So I am offering a giveaway. When I hit 650 "likes" I am going to do a giveaway for my fb fans only.
Hopefully I can get there by April 1st.
Please help! Share my fb page if you would like to.
Thanks so much!
Http://www.facebook.com/formysweetdaughter

Echo Creative Club March Reveal

Hello :-)
Today is the reveal of the March Echo Creative Club.

Echo Creative Club http://site.jkdjewelry.com/blog/echo-creative-club/



Do you remember this post? That post is where I revealed the focal I was sent for this challenge.

Green. Yikes!

Vintaj Natural Brass Clasp

I had that focal lying on my bead table for a while and then all of a sudden it came to me, layer.

So I layered it over the filigree, added the beaded chain and the toggle.

Then I added a 3 bead drop.

I wore the necklace and those beads bothered me. 

Me: What do you need necklace?

Necklace: A tassel!

Me: A tassel?

Necklace: Yup, a tassle.

Me: I have never made a tassel before.

Can't be that hard *shrug*

Yes that big 'ole gin blossom needed a tassel. 

So I made my own.

Here is my necklace with fire polished glass, Czech glass, Vintaj and my very own handmade tassel :-)

This necklace is looong and was hard to photograph and these next 2 are when I was playing with new props, epic fail. Don't laugh. Oh and yes I do realize the first 2 beads are different colors, no I didn't realize that till I was writing this post. Yes I will be fixing that asap! Don't laugh those beads look almost identical.

But anyway I hope you like it and I hope you will check out what everyone else made.

Our Fearless Leader:

Jewelry By Jeannie  http://www.jkdjewelry.com

Participants:

Beth Emery http://storiesbyindigoheart.blogspot.com

Birgitta Lejonklou http://lejonklou.blogspot.com

Cindy Cima Edwards http://www.cindycima.com

Courtney Breul http://beadsbybreul.blogspot.com

Erin Prais-Hintz http://treasures-found.blogspot.com

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

Molly Alexander http://www.beautifullybrokenme.blogspot.com

Shannon Chomanczuk http://www.formysweetdaughter.blogspot.com  <--You are here! Yay!

Thank you again Jeannie for a wonderful challenge. I didn't even know I could create something with that color green but I love it!

~Shannon

Finally Friday Challenge

Hello!

It's finally Friday :-) Yay! I love Friday's because I am off from the salon so I am home and get to enjoy time with my daughter and beads. Yes, in that order.

I am starting a little challenge for myself.

The Finally Friday Challenge.

I am always so inspired by the Design Seeds palettes and have decided to use these as a jumping off point for my challenge.
Each Friday I am going to choose a palette and post it on my blog. I then have a week to design a piece of jewelry or choose beads inspired by that palette.
I will then post a picture of what I have made or gathered along with a new palette.

Would you like to join me?

Great, here is the first Finally Friday Challenge palette:

Design Seeds

~Shannon

Update- you can join in anytime, use the chosen palette, share your pics on your blog. You do not have to participate every week. You do not have to make jewelry it can be anything handmade or just choose materials to create something in that palette in the future. You do not have to use all the colors in the palette. If you post the palette on your blog you must link it to DesignSeeds.com. Thank you and I hope you will play along!

Flap Your Wings

I just spent the last hour watching my daughter napping, crying silently to myself at the news of the passing  my friend and fellow jewelry designer Judith Glende.
When I first heard the news that her cancer was back I never dreamed in a few short months the world would loose such a wonderfully talented soul.
I was inspired by Judy's style and told her so. She helped me find my style and helped me start etching copper, which is something I truly love doing and will be ever grateful for.
I have many of Judy's vintage pieces and when I heard of her passing I went to her shop Flap Your Wings and purchased a pair of earrings that have etched copper in them, something I will always remember her for. I also purchased a few of her hand cut blanks to do my own etchings on.
I wish I had enough money to buy this necklace too:

As some of you know I lost my friend and mentor Tom Holcomb, celebrity nail technician last year.
I have now lost another friend and mentor, Judith Glende.
I had heard once that loosing a loved one is like loosing a limb, you can go on without them but life will never be the same.
My prayers go out to Judy's family and friend's. I am so sorry for your loss.

I will miss you my friend.

Bead Table Wednesday

I want to thank everyone for your support on yesterday's post.
Although loosing a pet is never easy I am so thankful that it was quick and that she didn't suffer.

I wanted to take today and share a happy bit of my day.
My bead for the Echo Creative Club!!

Beads are such happy little things aren't they? :-)
Yikes, green!
I love Jeannie's packaging. I think it is just adorable and shows her attention to details. I always save the tops but I have no idea what to do with them, hehe.

I have been gathering bits and bobs to go with this little guy all week. I can't wait to show you what I have made on March 25th.
You will stop back right? Oh good.
~Shannon

and then there were two

Well this is a post I didn't think I was going to be writing so soon.
When my husband came home from work this afternoon he found our dog Hunter a black and white English Pointer had died.
I am still in shock as she showed no signs that she was sick.
I let her out to potty this morning, she ate her food, she pranced and ran around the yard before hubby and I left for work.
I had to tell my 2 year old daughter tonight that her dog died, we both cried.
Hunter was the worst dog ever. When she was a puppy she would eat everything in sight.
She ate the kitchen table and chairs. Not just the legs but the table top too.
One Christmas Eve she ate 5 bags of semi-sweet chocolate chips and threw them up all over my house.
She ate the kitchen floor straight through to the sub floor, you could see the basement from upstairs.
She ate every bed we gave her, sponges, plastic cups, stuffed animals, shoes, a plugged in lamp and a package of razor blades!
She was afraid of everything especially thunderstorms.
She was a sweet girl, gentle and affectionate.
We will miss you girl, I hope you running free, chasing squirrels and birds.

Soup's On!

Today is the big reveal of the piece(s) we made for the Bead Soup Blog Party.

Here is what my partner Rochelle of A Creative Chelle Blog  sent me:

A challenge for sure this grouping of beads was but that is exactly 

why I love participating in these blog hops. 

I love the challenge and getting beads I wouldn't normally buy myself 

because that is how we learn that is how we move outside of our comfort zone.

I made 3 pieces with my soup 2 necklaces and a pair of earrings.

Necklace One:

I started with this Gaea pendant because I knew I had to make something with it 

and it was the one piece in the bead soup I was most uncomfortable with. 

I found these recycled glass beads in my stash and this cool copper chain from Michael's. 

I wire wrapped the glass beads with copper colored 20 gauge wire. 

This necklace is on the long side so it was hard to take a picture of it in all it's glory.

The Earrings:

These were easy peasy because I love Unicorne glass 

and I had 2 of the beads leftover from making the necklace.

I altered the Vintaj beads and the washers with a hammer and pliers :-) good times!

These are made with the Unicorne Glass beads that Rochelle sent me,

recycled glass, and Vintaj natural brass ear wires, beads and washers.

Necklace Two:

And here is the clasp! I wanted to use it in the front of a necklace 

sort of like those necklaces you can hang your glasses or work id from. 

This little guy gave me such a hard time! I knew I wanted him (yes him) blue to go with 

this blue theme so I grabbed alcohol inks first. They slid right off, poo. 

Then I grabbed paint, that didn't work at all, double poo. Then I grabbed my gilder's paste. 

Hmm, I was onto something here. 

That was till I tried to cover the gilder's paste with permalac and renaissance wax, 

the blue smeared and slid right off. So back to the drawing board -with the help of my handy hubby 

I got the gilder's paste to stay with a special lacquer he had at work.

Then I made my own bead soup with different sizes of seed beads, Swarovski crystals, 

pearls Rochelle sent me and Czech glass beads. 

This necklace is super, super long and so lightweight. I love it.

Thanks Rochelle for stretching me outta my box! I will def. be making more pieces like the last necklace, I found a new technique I love using with my Vintaj beads and I am no longer afraid of Gilder's paste and *gasp* bead soup. Oh and my daughter grabbed all the rest of the beads and is hoarding them for herself :-)

Be sure to visit the other blogs but especially my partner to see what she made with what I sent her:

Silk Color Palette

As some of you know I love Marsha Neal's beads, pendants and especially her silks.

Her silks are the best I have come across and I like to buy them, hoard them and use them in my jewelry.

In February Marsha asked 12 headers to choose a palette of silks from her etsy shop based on a photograph.

1. Carrie Can Blog 
2. CreativeRuts on Tumbler 
3. The Lurie Garden's Salvia River 4. Marsha Neal Studio Macro Cone Flower

Here is my bundle:




I can imagine having a tea party with my daughter and her faerie friends.


From Marsha's Blog:


Why should you purchase these?
1. You can help these 12 artists reach milestones of silk knot bundles sold & they get free stuff (you could be one of these lucky 12 next time if you come up with a palette & get voted in).

2. For every 1 palette that you purchase in these 12 finalist palettes during this 1st round - ends May 2, 2012, you get 1 entry into winning a $50 Marsha Neal Studio Clay Pieces Gift Certificate.

3. There will be design challenges hosted here on my blog designed around the inspirations from these silk knot bundles and inspirational photographs for anyone purchasing these palettes & using them in their designs, then entering the design challenge posts.
Prizes for winners will be determined as events are scheduled.

Oh, and don't worry, there will be some blog post tutorials coming up on how to use these in some basic ways to create jewelry.


sign up to receive Marsha's email newsletter:

https://madmimi.com/signups/join/28284

Details about the "Silk Knot Bundles":

(10) 2mm silk ribbon cords are in each silk knot bundle.

These silks are over a yard in length (40-42" long each).

They are color fast and hand washable in a mild detergent.

The 2mm silks are hand stitched and can be cut at any length without them unraveling.

Now I need you to go vote for my palette, go buy my palette of silks and go share my palette with your friends. Please visit Marsha's Blog more info and Thank You!

~Shannon