My Bead Journey: Echo Creative Club

Showing posts with label Echo Creative Club. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Echo Creative Club - August Spotlight and Reveal!

*** I have to tell you that this post was actually written in August in time for the Reveal but since my computer has been out of commission and all the information was on it, it did not get posted until today. Smartphones are only great if you know have all the information you need to use it! LOL***

Welcome to the Echo Creative Club Artist spotlight. I miss doing a monthly challenge for Jeannie so much so when she asked me to fill in I was more than delighted!

This time I got to pick and of course any of you who followed my journey with Jeannie know I LOVE her Gin Blossoms.

In fact I am kind of addicted.

This is the one I got to play with this time.

I have a love of black and white so you know I was totally thrilled to get it. I let it sit for a while to tell me how it wanted to be embellished. Then there it was! A beautiful pattern by ELLAD2!

If you have pinch and O beads you HAVE to make this one! I love the way it lays and feels and with my chosen colors it is perfection. I love working on Ella's patterns too because they come with clear instructions and pictures to match! This girl has skills!

Here is my finished piece Night Blossom and it is truly one of my favorites!!!

If you get the opportunity to play with one of Jeannie's amazing beads let me know!

Hugs
KK

Monday, November 25, 2013

My final Echo Creative Club reveal

Yes friends this is my final post for the Echo Creative Club. Jeannie had made some necessary changes to the club that will surly benefit her and her amazing artistic creations. This is such a hard post for me to write that I am writing it over several different days as each time I have thought about it bittersweet tears have fallen. I couldn't even bring myself to do the post earlier this month to show you what I will be working with because it was just too hard. I am sorry for that my friend.

2 years ago Jeannie took a chance and selected me to be a part of this amazing club. I not only had the extreme pleasure to play with her beads, she helped me grow as an artists and go on to start expressing myself through my creations. Each time I received one of her beads I was in awe. I thought I always wanted to create artisan beads for myself but as I began working with them I found that my place in this community is to appreciate artistic talent and put my own talent to work with them. To thank Jeannie for this would take a lifetime. And do you want to know the best bonus? She has become a friend. Even if our interactions are few I know that she is there to give me that boost and reassurance to move forward. I hope she feels the same.

So I wanted to show you where this journey began. I received my first gin blossom and frankly I was a bit intimidated. I loved the color and texture but it was the biggest bead I had ever worked with at that time. As I looked at it and played with it and searched my small stash to find the right beads the design began to take shape. Here is my Denim Blossom in all its glory.

I was beyond thrilled that she liked it. And this year at Beadfest I was able to wear it and share her creation with so many artists.

Over the last 2 years I have made so many beautiful enhancements to her beads. Here is a collage just for you Jeannie!

So I should tell you what I am working with this month right? Well I am working with this beautiful Peace Dove.

I have to tell you I was having a very hard time coming up with what to create. There is so much emotion involved in it that I needed it to mean something incredibly special just to me. A lot of thought has gone into this as well as some failures because it just didn't do it for me or pay tribute in the way I wanted it to. Then it hit me. You know I am also part of the Art Jewelry Elements team and this was my month for the Component of the month.

Look at that gorgeous nature palette. Adding Jeannie's Peace Dove to that would be perfect!

Yes I made an ornament. You have to know how special my ornaments are to me to appreciate the meaning behind this. I decorate my tree with my handmade, my children's hand made, or precious handmade ornaments from my friends. Each year as I put my tree up I remember the memories of receiving or making each and every one. It is a celebration of my life to me. Jeannie needs to be a part of that. I will take it out of the box every year from now on and as I place it on my tree it will be a reminder of a woman who took a chance on a new seed bead designer and helped her grow. It will remind me of the conversations between us and how I cherished each one.

Jeannie I truly do love you and have cherished being a part of this club for the last 2 years. For the club I wish you the best and that it brings more to know your artistic talent. I know this is not the end for us! This friendship is forever.

Please Check out what the other members have created this month!

Alicia Marinache http://www.allprettythings.ca/

Jeannie K Dukic http://site.jkdjewelry.com/blog

Maureen Connolly http://mrsbeadsley.blogspot.com/

Hugs

Kristen

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Echo Creative Club reveal

Here is that time again for the reveal of which awesome component of Jeannie's I played with. I know this should have been posted this morning but I had a few issues when I was working this design so it was actually finished just a few minutes ago.

I did show you a few days ago a tease of the pendant I got to work with.....

All I could think of while working with this one was a walk on the edge of the woods as peak of autumn colors begin. I love when the trees play and each year it is very different one of my favorites is when the trees actually color block themselves. Each section has a very different color. It makes me wonder why it happens and how it can calm my mind and remind me to take in all the wonder of nature. A time just to reflect the changes through the year. I used to collect leaves of each of the most vibrant colors and set them on my dresser as a child and each spring they would be sprinkles of dust. As I remembered that I pictured having something to remind me that will not turn to dust,

I give you Leaf Collector,

Thanks for stopping by!

Kristen

Monday, September 23, 2013

An Update, New Feature and Echo Creative Club

Hey there my amazing and oh so patient blog friends. I know I have been absent and quiet the past few months but in a nutshell here is why...

I was honored to make some gorgeous pieces for my friends that were vending at Beadfest this year.

My amazing and sweet daughter worked an internship, was hired and had to moved out. This all happening within a 4 day time frame and then a week of shopping to make sure she has all she needs.

We went to Beadfest in August where frankly my world got a bit more complicated in a very good way!!!!

My computer got sick and I was without it for 3 weeks! I just got all the things loaded last night so that I could upload pictures. I am still working getting the camera to talk it but that should be resolved tonight.

So with that said I can not which of gorgeous pieces I am working with but hopefully it will be completed by the 25th as planned!

Now I want to tell you about my plans for my blog posts. First I will tell you that I am going to be focusing more here because frankly I miss my blog. Being without my computer and not being able to really interact on FB was VERY enlightening! So I have decided to go back to pattern reviews as well as an artist spotlight. My Spotlight will focus on what I know. Whether it is a shop I have had dealings with, art components that I have had the pleasure of using or a designer I love and this will be all my opinions and thoughts and I will not be contacting the artist before hand.

So that is what is up with me!

What is up with you?

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Echo Creative Club Reveal!!!

Welcome once again to one of my favorite posts. I love working with Jeannie's beads. This month I chose to work with one of her amazing Enchanted Leaves!

I told you in my last post that one of the reasons I chose to work with it was that I had lost a treasured necklace I had created with one of her Whitewashed Knots.

I will forever miss that necklace. So with the intention that I was going to use the same colors as you see here the plan was to recreate the chain.

Well my brain was working in a different direction so it ended up taking a bit longer to work on. I did get the necklace finished and here is the picture.

Oh you can not see it? No you can not! After many attempts at trying to get published using one of Jeannie's beads this might just be the one. I have not received confirmation yet but I am keeping my fingers crossed!

Please hop over to all these other wonderful and lucky artists that are participating this month!

Alicia Marinache http://www.allprettythings.ca/

Charlie Jacka http://clay-space.com/

Jeannie K Dukic http://site.jkdjewelry.com/blog

Maureen Connolly http://mrsbeadsley.blogspot.com/

Patti Vanderbloemen http://www.myaddictionshandcrafted.blogspot.com/

Hugs and Blessings

Kristen

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

2013 Already? So much to share!!!

I know we are a week into it but really I still can not believe that it is already 2013. Last year was so full of so many ups and downs for all of us. One of the things that I have felt is that I really let my blog friends down. I had so many challenges, design team pieces and book reviews that seemed to be all I had time to post about. I loved all of them but I really missed just writing a post for the sake of writing one. I also get so caught up in chatting with most of you on FB that I lost track of the time most days. I do so love the immediate responses and fun you can have. But I have decided that I need to remember to make time for all your blogs as well as mine so just before I began writing this post I checked out all the blogs posted today. I think I will have to make a schedule for myself to follow.

So I have to tell you this is going to be an exciting post full of eye candy and announcements. Are you ready?

Jeannie has once again chosen me to participate in the Echo Creative Club. You all know I have truly loved being a part of this and was so happy when she picked me again. Even more exciting this is what she sent!!!

Yes this gorgeous box is full of treasure! Since I am doing 6 months this year instead of every month she sent them all at once. I love looking in this box! It was hard to choose which one to start with (sort of) I knew this is the one I needed to work with.

I loved these Whitewash knots from the first time she shared it! It is a dainty pendant with the most gorgeous colors!!!Remember to stop by every other month on the 25th for the reveals.

On Art Jewelry Elements were are hosting an earring challenge please go here for the official information. This will be a challenge for me because as you all know I do not generally make earrings. I do look forward to it though.

So the other day I had the most wonderful phone conversation with Kelli of the Hole Bead Shop. I have to tell you we have been friends on FB for a while and she is always so sweet and supportive. We chatted about so many things including our favorite colors of Tohos. Since she has a shop she has so much more access to colors than I do so there I was when she mentioned a color I looked it up online and drooled! She said she wanted to send me a few of her favorite colors. I told her she wasn't and she said she was. This is what she considered a few of her favorites.

I ( as you all know if you have followed for a while) cried. I still find it amazing how sweet, supportive and generous this beading community is. You really need to check out her shop too because she carries so many amazing colors at very good prices.

Now I also have to share with you the most exciting news! Preciosa Ornela has a program called "Beads for Blog Post" and every month they choose 4 bloggers from around the world. Well guess what? Yep I was picked! I am so amazed and blown away words escape me! They are sending me 1000 grams of seed beads!!! 1000 grams!!! Here is a little video of what they packed up in previous packages.

Don't you just want to swoon and faint? I know I have and will again when my package comes. Thank you so much for this opportunity Preciosa!!!!!

It is also because of all of you that I have been chosen so thank you all so much for following my little blog!

Hugs and Blessings Always!!!

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Echo Creative Club - December Reveal

First I wish all of you the Happiest of Holidays. I wish you all love and thank each one of you for your friendship. And I hope this note finds you all well and loved!

So here is the last installment of the 2012 Echo Creative Club!

I have had a blast using all of Jeannie's beads and pendants and each one has challenged my creative process and also pulled me out of more than a couple slumps! Thanks you so much Jeannie for not only the club but the friendship that has blossomed with it!

I am going to make this post real quick as this is Christmas Day and we all are going to be busy. I had wanting one of these little birdies for so long.

I used yet another one of Jill Wiseman's patterns from her Beautiful Beaded Ropes book and although it looks pretty I have to tell you there were just a few times I wondered what she was thinking when she created it. You need to set aside a lot of time to make this one but the results are spectacular in my opinion! Thank you Jill for your creativity.

So with that I give you.......

In a pear tree!

I will not be able to hop today but promise to get to it as soon as I can. Check out what everyone else created and Merry Christmas!

Hugs and Blessings

Kristen

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Echo Creative Club - November

Only one more month left in this years design team and I have to say I am getting very melancholy about it. I have loved working with Jeannie and her amazing beads as well as being teamed up with so many amazing designers. We have formed friendships that I hope will last and I have been challenged to think outside what I had considered outside my creative range. This month is no exception. I had been eyeing these beads for some time now and I have to tell you once again I am not disappointed at all.

Here is what Jeannie sent me this month....

Isn't it cute!! Check them all out here

I had a few ideas or at least I thought I did when I first received it but then when I lost it I lost the ideas. After finding it I kept it close but with all that is going on here as of late it had totally affected my creative flow. I needed to look back at patterns and what my friends have been creating to find the spark. Well thanks to Marla of Spice Box Designs for the initial spark and then again I referred back to Sonoko's book Japanese Beadwork.

Here is my Glacial Ice necklace

Isn't it cool that it is also reversible! Thank you once again Jeannie for letting me be a part of this club and working with your amazing creations but most of all your friendship!

See what everyone else has created!!! I am sorry that this post is a bit late today and that I will not be able to look at everyone elses til tomorrow as we are leaving for the day. See you all soon!

Alicia Marinache http://www.allprettythings.ca/

Charlie Jacka http://clay-space.com/

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

Dagi http://kokopellidesign.blogspot.com/

Donna Martin Bradley http://strandedbeads.blogspot.com/

Jeannie K Dukic http://site.jkdjewelry.com/blog

Jessica Klaaren http://www.cellardoorjewelry.blogspot.com/

Karen Williams http://baublicious.blogspot.com/

Kashmira Patel http://sadafulee.blogspot.com/

Michelle Buettner http://www.misheldesigns.blogspot.com/

Shannon Chomanczuk http://www.formysweetdaughter.blogspot.com/

Sonya Ingersoll-Stille http://dreaminofbeads.blogspot.com/

Kristen

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Edited for your enjoyment...Echo Creative Club and the Frantic Search!

****So I actually wrote this yesterday and scheduled it to post .......or so I thought. Just before I went to school to volunteer I wondered why I had no comments yet so I checked. Yeah I scheduled it for December 13th. Note to self double check the calendar when scheduling!****

Last month as most of you know I had a lot and I mean a lot of reveals! One of which you haven't seen if you are not on FB. As I was putting my schedule for this month together I set my November and December beads from Jeannie aside to insure I pick one and get it photographed. In a safe place right? We all say that! Why is it when we say that and put said thing in that said safe place that is precisely the said thing we lose? I have been frantically searching all week to find it to no avail. Oh no!!! I can't lose these I love all my beads and to think one is lost and lonely is total torture!!!

Well now that you have all begun to have that sinking feeling and are thinking of what possible tragedy may have befallen them.....I did find them and you will see with this picture that my November bead is safe and will remain safely under my pillow from now til I decide what treasured part it will play in my next creation.

I have to also apologize to you all because I am not that much into me as of late so my blog has suffered. I think I am finally out of the slump which is good because I have been getting tired of myself. So I want to show you all that I revealed this month and a sneak peek of what I have for you on Thursday ( yes it still looks like this so I hope something comes to me)

Thursdays Reveal