Bead Soup Preview!

I have been paired up with someone fascinating and unknown to me before this fun experiment. Claire Maunsell. A woman of mystery and astounding talent! I am slowly unraveling the mystery as I travel through some of her blog posts and peruse her lovely Etsy shop. I have never seen work such as hers and find it wonderful and inventive! I love working with original pieces, and these will be no different.

I have honestly never worked with anything like this, but I am absolutely fascinated! Whatever comes from my hands will be like nothing else I have ever created! That makes it extra special! Perhaps I will discover a new side to my art! Maybe a new style will develop from the magical pieces she sent me! Perhaps I will fall flat on my face and not do them justice! I certainly hope it's not the latter. lol

All of Claire's art beads were created with Polymer Clay including the one of a kind toggle and pendant. I am in love with the pod beads, I am picturing a fun eclectic bracelet perhaps... I also see potential in the glass beads! How all things will be combined, no one knows. But perhaps you will be curious enough to follow this story and return for the final installment...

Thanks for joining me and please visit Claire and tell her I said hi!

Marie

ARTBEADS bracelet and earring set

I must say I have grown quite fond of these "Grace Lampwork Beads". The more I get the more I like them! There are so many to choose from so as long as she keeps making them, I will always have a special treat to look forward to!

This particular set of Grace beads are called Kaleras, I guess that must be the shape. I love the mix of purple and orange, I love that they vary from one bead to the other, and I love that you can get these in a few different  shapes too!

I can't wait to see what new Grace Beads Artbeads will bring in next...

These would look great with some co-ordinating Swarovski Crystals...


Hope to see you here again soon!

Marie

I received the products free of charge from Artbeads and I am honestly reviewing the products and have not been paid for my endorsement as it pertains to the products received.

BTW and MissFicklemedia

 Another Edition of BTW Bead Table Wednesday!

I finally thought of it at the beginning of the day instead of the end of the day! lol So I thought I would just go ahead and post it and let you see what I have been up to!

I have been experimenting, throwing a little science into my life and around the studio! I have officially discovered that Miss Ficklemedia's awesome verdigris patina does NOT work well on Vintage keys! Honestly, I did not really believe it would, but I had to try it for myself! lol Oh well, it would have been cool. I do love the few little pieces I have managed to get it to work on. I still need to polish and protect, but I am still pondering doing a couple more pieces before I do that part. Fun! I can't wait to try them out in some new Jewelry!

Here is a messy Closeup of my work! lol I also tried some blue, I have others I want to try, but I started with the patinas that were the easiest. Now as long as I did everything correctly, according to Shannon's Incredible tutorial, they should keep their lovely patina and become small works of Art!

 So here is a broader view of my small disaster, I have so many thing running through my head at one time I sometimes create chaos just because I can not decide what to do first! Wire work, patinas, metal work, stamping, beading, my pendants and charms, more jewelry, handmade clasps, even more jewelry, shopping, blogging, networking, facebook, bnrs, I am forever thinking of the amazing things that I can do and always have a hard time deciding! I need to be more organized, but living in the moment sometimes helps me create some fabulous and fun pieces that are totally unexpected!


Thanks for stopping in again and I can't wait to read your lovely comments!

Marie

And Life Goes on...

Sometimes life is hard. Sometimes you are given trials and you must learn to adapt to a new way of life because of it. Sometimes life is overwhelming and sad. I choose to look at the positive side of things. I am still sad, but I adapt and I work harder and I pray. God gives us trials to make us stronger. He never gives us more than we can handle! Why does it feel so unfair when you try so hard to be a good person? Why does it happen even when you show gratitude everyday and still pay it forward? I don't have answers to these questions, but I push one and I will be a stronger person in the end.

I may shed a few tears and feel like there is nothing left to do, but somewhere in there I feel Hope! I feel a small glimmer of it hiding and trying to push it's way through. A small ray of sunlight on a dark, dark day. There is Hope! No matter how bleak things may be for a moment, no matter if things get even harder for a little while, you have Hope! You Will come out of it stronger and you will become humbled and more grateful for the good things in life. Never lose Hope!

As we struggle through our hard times, I pray that my cyber friends will show kindness and share my shops with their friends. This is the first time in our marriage that my Husband has been out of a job. There are no jobs out there right now, so we will be living on what I can bring in from my small and humble artistic talents. Perhaps you need a gift for someone or you are looking for original supplies, well perhaps I can help! I also have discount codes available if you become a fan on my Facebook page!

I don't like asking for help. I don't like to look needy or desperate. I am humbling myself before you to take care of my family! Nothing in this world is more important than they are! I will do everything in my power to make sure they are well taken care of. I am not looking for a handout, but maybe more of a hand up!

I will be updating my supply shop in the next couple of days. I have over 100 charms and pendants that I started working on, on Saturday and half of them are done. Keep an eye out for those! There are some truly stunning pieces!
Have a great day and remember to never lose hope!

Marie