Beading For A Cure 2010

Its done!!! I feel like this has been in the works forever, but am quite satisfied with myself now that its done. Beading For A Cure is a charity that I started donating to a few years ago. It was started by some friends of a woman named Layne, who died of colorectal cancer. Every year there is a kit, and the rules are simple. Use at least one of every bead in the kit, and add no more then one type of bead to it. When all of the pieces are done, they are auctioned off on eBay, with all of the proceeds going to help support colorectal cancer research. This year, I had no idea when I bought my kit, that colorectal cancer would play a part in my life. A family member was diagnosed, and had a tumor removed just about a month ago now. He is doing well, and hopefully will continue.
I absolutely loved this years kit. Bronze and purple work so well together and there were so many beads in the kit, it didn't really need any additions but I couldn't help myself. I added the focal piece, which is a 37mm fancy octagon Swarovski crystal in Light Colorado Topaz (from Artbeads*).

I bezzelled the octagon, and then added 4mm cyclamen opal crystals, some from the original kit and some that I added. The kit also contained 4mm Czech crystals, and 4mm freshwater pearls, which are in the connecting strands of the necklace.

I made some squares with right angle weave (R.A.W.), and then used 6mm cyclamen opal crystals inside the little windows. Each square has two little fringies off the bottoms, that add some movement to the whole piece.

I made the toggle with another R.A.W. square, and a bar also in R.A.W.. From the square I dangled a little cancer ribbon charm to remind the wearer of the necklaces significance.

I was horrified when I was making this, to find out that as I was getting ready to connect the clasp, I was four pearls short! ACK!! I of course tried the bead store I worked at to find something similar, to no avail. Many thanks go out to Tracy for helping me out and sending me some more pearls so that I could finish my necklace the way I had envisioned it. Thanks Tracy!!!

*disclaimer - all products recieved by Artbeads.com are free of charge and are given to me for my honest opinion of the products.

Bloomin' Turtle

So for the first few months, I felt like I was keeping on track, and would be able to pull these things off in a timely fashion. WRONG! This is March's Bead Journal Project...and although it has been done since the beginning of April, I am obviously just getting around to taking the pictures! I still haven't finished Aprils, and now its May, and I don't even have a clue as to what it will look like this month, let alone when I will get to it. Oh well, at least there is no BJP police, to track me down and make me feel guilty, even though I rationally know that I shouldn't.
So this little turtle is bloomin'! Of course March is the time when everything starts to turn back to green, and come alive. It also happens to be the month that the Beadwork Challenge that I participated in hit the news stands! I used a lot of the left over beads from my challenge kit to make this months project. I just added a turtle (still have lots more) and a few seed beads. The leaves and flowers, and a majority of the seed beads came in the challenge packet. I was especially happy to work in the olivine, flat-backed, leaf shaped swarovskis , because I have no idea where else I could have used them!

I am trying my hardest to get more done, and post the finished pics! Stay tuned (probably this weekend) for my finished Beading For A Cure piece. I'll admit that April and Mays BJP will be on the back burner, while I create something for one of Margie Deebs Color Reports (I'm super excited to get started on this )! Bead on!