Monday, February 7, 2011

Artbeads Rocks!!!!!

First I want to thank all of you for your kind words and sweet e-mails.  I have come into a wonderful world of support and friendship and you all mean so much to me.  I have been able to finally sit for a bit and bead and let me tell you it is great therapy for me.

As I have told you before I am very lucky to be a part of the Artbeads Blogger Program and I received my first challenge and review opportunity and once again I can honestly tell you that I LOVE Artbeads.  I showed you a few posts ago what I was able to choose for their Winter Theme.  Here they are again.....


I am probably repeating myself but I was in 2 very different moods when choosing these palettes.  First was inspired by the impending winter storm that was supposed to have finally come our way and how I was feeling mentally.  I had also recently purchased a pattern from Sabine Lippert called "Bundle of Bling" and so I choose very carefully and worked on this bracelet.  First I will tell you again (because it is worth it) that Sabine's pattern was AWESOME!!!! It was easy to follow and the diagrams (which I need) were perfectly shown.  It was so neat and fun to see each section take shape and at the same time it added sparkle to my mood.  I have a new love of 3mm firepolished beads and Artbeads has a great selection of them.  So let me introduce you to my Winter Bling....


And LOOK LOOK LOOK it is a Pairing too.  My first of the year!  It was such a blast to make with such a great grouping of beads.  At first for me when I started buying beads online I was worried about if the colors would actually be what I expected them to be and oh boy they are.  Artbeads has done such a good job on their site that when I received my beads they were as pretty as I thought they would be.  I was going to use this for Margie and Me but I just couldn't wait.  (I does match this months palette though)

Okay on to my second piece.  I have to tell you I fell in love with these Rose/Gold luster rounds!  I don't really care for fru fru stuff but I do love pink.  These were the perfect compliment.  I decided I wanted to use my rivolis (I can buy em, I can spell em, but I still say ravoli sometimes) with these and I also picked up the perfect metallic bronze seeds to go with it.  One thing I have to say is I love TOHO seed beads.  They are so uniform that I don't worry about sizing when I am beading and that is a huge plus for me.  Anyway this is my Vintage Valentine bracelet and it is my own version of Sparkly Wheels by Melinda Barta.  The picture does not do the blend of colors justice though (I really need to get better at that) The rivolis pick up the color of the rounds making this really pop without fru fru.



Thank you so much Duchess and Artbeads for this great opportunity and challenge.

I suppose this post is long enough for now but I have just a couple of quick things left I promise.

First this is my 98th post and I am actually thinking of giving something more than my gratitude away.  I have some beads and spacers that I have made and while I love them I can't get them to work for me.  Would anyone be interested in them is my only quandary.

Second don't forget to stop by Second Surf for Monday Militia to get this weeks assignment.  It is really gratifying to try this and the rewards can be addicting.


Hugs and Blessings
KK

Disclaimer
I am a reviewer of products for Artbeads.com. I received the beads above free of charge. I have used and reviewed this product and my statements are an honest description. I receive no compensation from Artbeads.com for my endorsement as it pertains to the product above.

10 comments:

  1. Wow- they both are Fabulous Kristen! Fantastic Job and Sabine's Tutorial Piece looks Gorgeous,! I LOVE it!
    Lori

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  2. Both pieces are simply gorgeous. I just wanted to say I love Toho beads also. It is hard to find seed beads so uniform and such lovely colors. The permanent finish metallic's are such a pleasure to work with and they hold up well.

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  3. You did a beautiful job on your winter assignment! I'm expecting my first design partner shipment any day now! I selected a color scheme very similar to yours!!!

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  4. Kristen, the bracelets are both stunning! They look so intricate, and the colors are wonderful. I'm so glad you are back to beading.

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  5. Karen Thanks that is so true.

    Amy Oh now I am nervous your stuff is awesome and I can't wait to see it!

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  6. I love your bracelets! They're both beautiful and the colors are wonderful! I love Sabine Lippert's patterns and I've been looking at Bundle of Bling and trying to decide if I really need to buy another pattern!

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  7. Now that I am back in the land of the living and not the land of the crud I can post "I LOVE THE BRACELETS!" You rock girlie!

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  8. Very cute! I love both of them! Congrats on the 98th post..only 2 more to go before the big 100!!!
    Oh and I'm off to check out Monday Militia...sounds inspiring....

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  9. oh i am jealous!!! I order from artbeads all the time. How very fun to get freebies to test!!! You deserve good things like that :)

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