June Moodboard - And the winner is...

Thanks to everyone who took part in our June Moodboard, what a lot of beautiful submissions we received! But before I show you them in their entirety and annouce the winner, let's have another look at the mosaic I posted for your inspiration at the beginning of the month.

Clockwise from top-left: otro "joven indie", blue eyeshadow with dotted eyeliner by m.a.c. and coastal scents, Blue [Friday], Silver & Metal Buttons & 1 Silver Finding

And here's what you made...

Carol



Lesley



Liz



June



Maria



Eleanor



Dee




Mandy



Catherine



Anna



Jen



I'm using Random.org to randomly choose a name from the list and the beader who is in 1st position is...

Congratulations Eleanor!!! Sarah will be in touch shortly about your prize.

Well I hope you've all enjoyed this months challenge, don't forget to drop by again tomorrow when I'll be posting the brand new moodboard for July along with details of an extra special prize!

June Moodboard Weekly Update 3

Four more gorgeous submissions to share with you today and it seems rings were very popular this week ;)

Dee made two items, this fabulous ring...



...and a matching bracelet made with flat spiral weave...



Mandy made this stunning bubble ring made with drop beads...



And Catherine made a beautiful ring using a rivoli, cylinder beads and drops...


There's still a few days left if you want to join in with the moodboard this month and be in with a chance to win Sarah's gorgeous kit. Please see the original post for details on how to take part.

Stashbuster Bracelet Swap!

Hey there Stashbusters,

Do you want a nice new shiny bright beaded bracelet?


Bracelet by Catherine

Would you like to bust some of your stash and make a nice new shiny bright beaded bracelet for a fellow blog reader?


Bracelet by Liz

Yes? Fantastic! Then read on...

I just love swaps and it's been a while since I was involved in a group one, so I thought it would be fun to set up one for OTTBS. Since it's my 1st time organising a swap, I'm keeping it nice and simple, no themes or special colourways but as this blog is supposed to be dedicated to stashbusting, at least 75% of the materials should be from your stash! It's fine to go out and purchase a pretty new clasp or the perfect focal that will just set off those seed beads you have had for 6 months but let's see if we can make use of the lovely stuff we already have!


Bracelet by Sarah (me!)

Here are the details,

Sign up by emailing me at librabeader at gmail dot com, include your postal address, bracelet length and details of any metal allergies.

Sign ups close 12.00 midnight Friday 1st July 2011

Partners will be assigned & sent out by 12.00 midnight Sunday 3rd July 2011

Please, no spoilers on blogs etc, let's try & keep who is beading for who secret until the swaps are received.

All bracelets should be posted by 8th August 2011, please remember to take a photo before you post your package and email it to me at the address above so it can be included in the big reveal!

Once you have received your bracelet, let me know, once all are received, I will then post all photo's and partner details here on the blog.

Hope that all makes sense! Please contact me if you have any questions.

Happy swapping!

Sarahx

Bead Shop Review - Yashma Creations

Yashma Creations is a shop that I recently discovered on Etsy.com. I was immediately drawn to the beautiful artistic photographs used in the listings, each one well thought out and making the most of the gorgeous beads on offer! As Etsy is an American site a large proportion the shops are based there, so you can imagine my surprise - and delight - to find that Yashma Creations is based in the UK.


At the time of writing I found 29 beautiful pages of flowers, leaves, firepolished crystals, bead caps, drops, rondelles and other Czech pressed shapes in many colours and finishes that I haven't seen before (and believe me, I've visited many online UK bead shops!). There is also a lovely selection of brass findings and pendants.


The listings themselves are very informative, telling you exactly what you're getting. I love how she lists all the colours and finishes that are included in the firepolished crystal mixes! If you shy away from Etsy due to the currency conversions then have no fear, the currency at Yashma Creations is set to British pounds so you know exactly how much you're paying. Postage is very reasonable too at £1.30 for the first item and then just 5p for every extra item added.


I've placed several orders and my beads have always been extremely well protected, with the packets wrapped in bubble wrap as well as placed inside a padded envelope. Delivery is speedy, something that's very important to those of us who want our beads yesterday! In fact I placed my last order around Midday and unbelievably it was through my door the following morning. Customer service is excellent, Valentina lets you know when your order is on it's way via a 'convo' (short for 'conversation', Etsy's internal messaging system) and it's this personal touch that I've often found lacking in orders for supplies from the US.


Put simply, browsing and shopping at Yashma Creations is pure delight!

And now for some fantastic news...Valentina has very generously offered to sponsor some of our challenges with collections of beads for the lucky winners. Now if that's not an excellent incentive to join in with our Moodboards then I don't know what is!

June Moodboard Weekly Update 2

We have three more lovely blue and silver submissions to show you this week!

June created this beautiful shell brooch...



Maria made these gorgeous polymer clay cabochons...



And Eleanor made this wonderful necklace...



There's still plenty of time to join in with us this month, see the original post here for details.

Stashbusting Project Idea - Bead Soup Rings.

We have all got them lurking about at the bottom of drawers or bead boxes, those almost finished tubes of beads with just a gram or so of seed beads in, just a little bit too much to throw out, but not quite enough to make anything with. This week I have been on a mission to clear out these tubes by making bead soups and stitching them up into wide peyote rings with a button focal bead.

The pink, cream and gold ring was the 1st I made and has just the 3 colours, but still works out quite nicely. The proportions can be tricky, don't use the same amounts for all colours, I found this looked a little odd and not random enough. The purple ring has 6 different shades and finishes. The brown button ring has brown as the main colour in the mix with beige and 2 different shades of gold.

I found that having one shade as the main colour (at least 50% of the finished mix) worked well and then add different amounts of related colours in different shades and finishes. One of my most successful mixes was a blue one with 6 closely related shades of teal and blue, each one a different finish, it stitched up really nicely too.

Once I had my mix I then stitched up the rings using 2 drop peyote stitch, these are 12 beads wide. I then zipped them up and added a focal.

Great little stashbusters and I think if you made them wider and longer, they would make great napkin rings!

Happy beading,

Sarahx

Call for Submissions - 500 Beaded Jewellery

Lark are publishing another in their fabulous 500 series - Beaded Jewellery and they are currently calling for submissions on their website http://www.larkcrafts.com/submit/calls-for-submissions/#500beadedjewelry deadline is 15th July.

June Moodboard Weekly Update 1

Hello fellow bead addicts! Just a quick update to show you the submissions we've had for the June moodboard so far...

Carol made this pretty flower pendant using metallic silver seed beads and miracle beads...



Lesley made a gorgeous bracelet using size 8 seed beads, thonging and a silver bead...



And Liz (that's me!) made this ring using a felt cabochon embroidered with delicas and seed beads...


Want to join in with us and be in with a chance to win Sarah's gorgeous Chrysanthemum earrings kit? Then see the original post here for details and get beading with your blues and silvers!

Show and Tell - Mad Rings 2

I am glad that so many of you loved Heather's (Beading Patterns by Heather)Mad Ring 2 Design as much as I did! A few of us have made the ring and really enjoyed making it, the general agreement is that it is lots of fun to make! Thank you again to Heather for her generous discount!

A few of us have now completed the ring and I thought it would be fun to have a show and tell.

Dee made this gorgeous purple ring using version 1 of the pattern,



I also made version 1 using peacocky colours, although the lime green was a bit too close to the gold so for my next version I will be sure to use all high contrast colours,



Catherine made these beautiful vibrant rings using version 2 of the design,



And Liz also made version 2, isn't it gorgeous?



I love them all and can't wait to make version 2 myself, the pattern is easy to follow and great fun to make.

Happy Beading,

Sarahx

June Moodboard

Welcome to the June moodboard! Trying to decide which colour scheme to choose this month I started thinking about the start of summer and what we'd all really like to see at this time of year - clear blue skies in the day and twinkling silver stars at night! With this in mind I've put together a mosaic of images using blue and silver.

You can use any shades of blue from turquoise and navy to teal and cobalt and you can include the silver as beads or as the findings in your piece - or both - the choice is yours!

As well as colours there are also shapes, textures and materials to inspire you...swirls, circles, dots, metal, buttons and wood.

Clockwise from top-left: otro "joven indie", blue eyeshadow with dotted eyeliner by m.a.c. and coastal scents, Blue [Friday], Silver & Metal Buttons & 1 Silver Finding

Submitting is easy! You can either email your photographs to me at thecrimsonmoon7@gmail.com or you can add them to our Flickr group pool. If you have a website, blog or an online shop that you'd like us to link to your name then please include it with your submission.

What can you make? Anything as long as it's made with beads! Any technique is accepted, from beadweaving and stringing to wire work and bead embroidery. Lampworkers and polymer clay artists are also welcome to submit pieces they've made.

We're happy for you to make something using a pattern from a book, magazine or tutorial but if you do please let us know the designer's name and where it was published, including a link if available, so that we can give full credit.

The deadline for entries is 6pm (GMT) on Thursday June 30th and as usual a prize will be awarded at random to one of our lucky entrants! Sarah is providing the prize this month and it's a kit to make a pair of these fantastic Crysanthemum earrings (although the actual kit will be in a different colour)...



So have yourself a wonderful June and don't be blue...unless it's with beads!