A Year in the Making, day 199

Some of you may remember I'd posted about a set I made where I accidentally "stole" a bead from my daughter. Well, I finally returned her bead to her, as I found a replacement pendant for the set this week!

Clear Faceted Glass Necklace and Earrings



I'm also playing around with some different backgrounds, a few different sheets of scrapbook paper I picked up today while we were stocking the munchkin up on craft supplies.

And a new set for the day, more Swarovski crystals. Have I mentioned before how much I love them? No? Well, really yes, I know. But I have to keep saying it. I am a magpie girl.

Sweetheart Romantic Fuchsia Swarovski Heart Earrings



I also began, and the husband finished (which is how a lot of these projects go) repainting a stand a friend found for me. I've been needing something on which to display my pouches at shows.



Here's how it looked originally, covered in glitter:



You know the saying about glitter, right?



Just in the 10 minute drive home after picking it up, it completely infected the back of my van. Poor van! It's had two turns with the shop vac and there's still some sparkle left. I sanded as much of the glitter off as I could, and then the husband primed it:



And then he painted it nice and black for me:



The stand will have its premiere with me next weekend at Portland's Vampire Ball:



That's six days from now! Eep!

A Year in the Making, day 198

Well, day 193-198 - this is what I've been working on all week, another installment in Artbeads' Beaders who Blog program:


Swarvoski Spring Waterfall by *dbvictoria on deviantART

The theme this time was "The Beauty of Spring", and I decided to try to recreate the look of a field of wildflowers. Sparkly wildflowers. Make another necklace with Swarovski crystal beads? Twist my arm!

The style is the same as I used in my Manna from Heaven necklace.



Their shipments always come so nicely packaged!



I used 3mm peridot bicones and fuchsia flowers in this set:



And here's some more close-up images of the finished product:







There will be a second installment to this post, as I have a dragonfly pendant from their Sterling Silver Components section that has flown away and is looking for more flowers someplace in my living room or dining room!

And now off to rest my arm. It seems I did something horrendous and violent in my sleep, as when I went to bed things were fine but this morning my left arm is very unhappy. I can't extend it all the way without painful twinges, and it's letting me know that it very much does not like picking anything up or typing. Luckily I am a master of one-hand typing, thanks to the cat. And I'm grateful that if one arm has to go out, at least it's my left arm.


***Disclaimer: I have received the products showcased in this post free of charge from ArtBeads, and I am honestly reviewing the products and have not been paid for my endorsement of the products received.