A belated gift

Last year for Christmas, I received a Visa gift card from one of my aunts and uncles. I had been saving it for something special; a treat for myself. When I was cleaning out my wallet the other day, I noticed the card stuck in one of the pockets and decided that I should probably use it already! So, I logged onto limabeads.com and got myself some gorgeous new beads! I got a few gemstone strands, including Russian Amazonite. The color is incredible in these stones! I also treated myself to some great art beads, something that I rarely spring for. Below are pictures of the cute owl bead and fantastic green pendant made by Gaea Handmade.

 

Sparkle and shine

 

Bead Table View

There was just something that I loved about this crystal covered bead, and wanted to keep the design simple to show it off.
Happy Wednesday :)

What I made

This time of year I am just swamped with shows and what not, so I can only give you a quick post today! Here is an 'upcycled' necklace I made last night. I'm still exploring the two-toned thing, as you can see :)
Happy November everyone!

Pearls, Glass beads, Silver toned and Gold toned chain.

An Autumn Snow

 

Autumn Snow

 I can't believe it's snowing before Halloween. The beautifully colored leaves are still visible, but soon will be all white... and cold! Yuck!  My studio is the smallest of the rooms in our apartment, but that means that it is also the warmest, so I escaped the chill and spent my Saturday afternoon working on some new jewelry.
I have been using a lot of reds, greens and browns because of fall, but I decided to put those away today and let the snow influence my work :)

 Swarovski crystal, Moonstone, Labradorite and Sterling silver

 Pink pearls, Lapis, Rhyodacite, and Sterling Silver

Close up of Rhyodacite pendant

In the evening, Hubby and I ignored that crazy white stuff outside and had some traditional Fall fun: Pumpkin carving! We toasted up the seeds for a tasty treat and then caught up on our DVRed shows.

Project Accessory {Upcycled Jewelry}

There is a new show called 'Project Accessory' on Lifetime that is all about jewelry and other accessories. I was giggling like a little girl when I sat down to watch the premiere Thursday night! As you all know, I am I huge fan of upcycled jewelry, and this episode's challenge was all about that! So, I thought I'd share some of the amazing designs these guys came up with and to let you know about the show, if you don't already, because it was awesome! (Btw: you can watch the full episode on myLifetime.com!)

{The Show} Project Accessory is a spin off from Project Runway, in which 12 accessory (jewelry, handbag or shoe) designers compete in various challenges. In the first challenge, the contestants had only 15 minutes to search through piles of storage unit junk. Using the materials they chose, each designer had to create three accessories, a necklace, belt and accessory of choice. These three pieces would have to be cohesive and complete the classic 'jeans and white tee shirt' look that their models were wearing. 

{The highlights} I was really impressed with most of the designs when they finally came down the run way. Every one of the contestants has amazing amounts of talent. These are some of my favorite pieces from the collections:

Necklace by Christina   |   Necklace by Shea     

       Belt by David   |   Clutch by Kelly   



Necklace by Nina (the winning designer for this challenge)

  

All photos belong to myLifetime.com