Festive Fun Challenge Reveal

Thank you to everyone who joined in with the Festive Fun Challenge , as always some very beautiful and creative entries.

Sarah G.

Sarah made this beautiful embellished Christmas ornament.

Fatema

Fatema says - Since my favourite festival is "Ganesh/Ganpati utsav "-My Challenge piece is my very own and immensely popular creation-This palm sized  beaded idol of Lord Ganesha.I look forward to this 11 day festival break usually taking place in August/September.During this period, the ganpati idol is brought home or to public pandals and it is followed by festivities.Hundreds of ganesha idols ranging from tiny homemade ones to gigantic ones are ceremoniously welcomed into homes and pandals.Idols are immersed in water to chants of "Ganpati Bappa Morya,Pudchya Varshi Lavkar Ya"(Come back soon next year!)to mark the end of the festival.

This festival is one of the most important festivals of Maharashtra,India and is celebrated with great zeal and fervour!

Jenny

Jenny designed and made this lovely Christmas ornament.

Audrey

Audrey wrote - My entry for festive fun challenge it's my design using craw raw peyote and herringbone stitches.  I just love  celebrating the Christian festivals especially Christmas and Easter I love sparkle so I have combined these two things the sparkle of Christmas the cross at Easter.  The cross comes off the necklace and makes a Christmas tree sparkly decoration, back on for a Easter celebration necklace. So here it is Rejoice necklace.

Vidya

Vidya says -The Fall is a very festive season in our house. My entry consists of several "flowers" all made with beads of course. 

All the names were put into the list randomizer at random.org and the lucky beader whose name is at the top of the list is...

Jenny!

Congratulations Jenny, you're the winner of the £15 to spend at Old Bicycle Shop!

There will be no challenge through December, I hope you all have a happy and peaceful season!

Happy beading!

Sarah (T)

Festive fun challenge.

Hello,

I'm sorry that I was unable to kick off a challenge earlier this month! Instead we're having a 6 week challenge that will take us into the first week of December and we'll start back in 2018. Crikey that year went so fast!

This challenge is called Festive fun and I'd like you to create a piece, jewellery or non-jewellery, inspired by your favourite holiday. We are a diverse crowd and it will be wonderful to learn more about each other's traditions! It would be lovely if you could tell us about your inspiration too.

THE PRIZE:

This month our sponsor is Davida and she's offering £15 to spend in her online shop Old Bicycle Shop!

HOW TO ENTER:

Email a photograph of your entry to Sarah at ottbs@live.com along with any other details we have asked for. The challenge runs until Midnight on Sunday 3rd December 2017 and the winner is drawn and announced the following day. You can email your entry at any time during the challenge period . The challenge is open to beaders worldwide.

RULES & OTHER INFORMATION:

• Entries must have been started on or after October 23rd 2017.
• You can make a jewellery or non jewellery item.
• You can use any craft technique but it must include beads.
• Your entry must be a finished piece.
• If your entry isn't your own design you must credit the original designer.

There is more detailed information on the challenge here but if you have any questions please leave a comment below or email us. 

Happy beading!

Sarah

Stashtember Reveal.

Thank you to everyone who joined in the Stashtember Challenge! As always absolutely gorgeous entries! 

Louise

I chose Juno as my inspiration. 

As juno is part of the asteroid belt I took the colours and the swirling image to create a cellini spiral bracelet.

I have attached a picture of the asteroid belt to show the colours I saw and a final image of my Juno bracelet.

Fatema 

Here is my Stashtember challenge entry -A pair of peacock earrings - The pattern is  by my Russian friend Varvara Smith. Ihave created these earrings inspired by an aspect of  the First topic - The Ancient Roman Goddess Juno. Goddess Juno often appeared sitting pictured with a peacock. Thus I created these bright peacock earrings.

Sarah G

I chose the birth of Elizabeth 1 as my inspiration and square-stitched a Tudor Rose.

Audrey

I was inspired by considering space from mention of the German astronomer  so I have made Eridhans Polaris  pendant with Jupiter  beads on the strap.

Jenny 

Hashtag steps was inspired by the Blackpool illumnations - the miles we had to walk to see them on foot.

All the names went on to a list and Random.org chose...

Sarah G.

Congratulations Sarah! You're the winner of the £15 voucher from Celia at Jencel!

The October challenge will be announced in the next few days.

Happy beading,

Sarah

The Stashtember Challenge!

(First of all I would like to thank you all for your good wishes and understanding, they were much appreciated!)

I'm a bit early for this one, but I'm at home today and in work on Friday so I thought I'd get a head start!

Welcome to the September or should I say Stashtember Challenge!

This month, we will be digging through our stashes and pulling out those treasures that will help us celebrate the month of September. There are many interesting things listed on Wikipedia as having happened in September. I've pulled out a list below, please choose one topic to base your design on, you can then use any aspect of this topic to inspire your design. I can't wait to see where the inspiration takes you. But remember, all beads should be from stash!

• German astronomer Karl Ludwig Harding named an asteroid belt after the Roman goddess Juno.
• Richard the Lionheart was crowned King of England.
• Edvard Grieg, Elizabeth 1, Isambard Kingdom Brunel were born.
• The Blackpool Iiluminations were first switched on in 1879.
• Star signs Virgo and Libra represent September.

THE PRIZE:

This month our sponsor is Celia and she's offering a £15 voucher to spend in her online shop Jencel!

HOW TO ENTER:

Email a photograph of your entry to Sarah at ottbs@live.com along with any other details we have asked for. The challenge runs until Midnight on Saturday the 30th of September  and the winner is drawn and announced within 3 days. You can email your entry at any time during the 1 month period. The challenge is open to beaders worldwide.

RULES & OTHER INFORMATION:

• Entries must have been started on or after September 1st 2017.
• You can make any item, it does not need to be jewellery.
• You can use any craft technique but it must include beads.
• Your entry must be a finished piece and include a paragraph on your inspiration and how your entry relates to the challenge theme.
• If your entry isn't your own design you must credit the original designer.

There is more detailed information on the challenge here but if you have any questions please leave a comment below or email us. 

Have fun and happy beading!

Sarah

Apologies for the radio silence.

Dear all,

Please accept my apologies for the lack of challenge this month. There has been a lot of "Life" happening. Our beloved old dog fell ill and passed away and I'm afraid that, on top of an extremely busy time in work and covering the school holidays for kiddo, has fried my brain and I forgot!

I'll try to be back on to of it still on, in the meantime I hope you have some beady fun!

Love,

Sarah

June Challenge Reveal

Hi all,

Apologies for my tardiness this month, I couldn't quite fit everything I needed to do in the last few weeks!

In order to try and catch up, I'm going to take a break from the challenge in July, but will be back with something tricky in August!

Thank you to everyone who joined in and beaded some beautiful pieces, taking us on a lovely trip around the world!.

Fatema

Here is my June blog challenge-A kangaroo (and her joey) keychain.The pattern has been taken from a japanese book "animalia".Sine childhood,I have been fascinated with kangaroos.Kangaroos are endemic to Australia and have been depicted in Australian art,official currency,literature and continue to be used today by sporting teams and fans and advertisers as a symbol of all things Australian.Their amazing hopping ability,the pouch on the bellies of the female kangaroos to cradle their babies called joeys makes them such extraordinary marsupials.I would love to see them if I ever get a chance to visit Australia!

Coral

I picked Sinkiang, China because I had some pendants in my stash (one I did just make a necklace from last month) but they made me curious about the area. The necklace I've made for this challenge has the pendant that represented the Queen of Sinkiang...here is what I learned about the province from Wikipedia..."Sinkiang (or Xinjiang) refers to a former province of the Republic of China. First set up in 1884 as a province of the Qing Dynasty, it was replaced in 1955 by the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomus Region of the People's Republic of China. The original provincial government was relocated to Taipei as the Sinkiang Provincial Government Office until its dissolution in 1992.

I made this all from stash some going back to the 1960's...rhinestones, chain and crystals.

Audrey

This is my June challenge  entry it's my interpretation of Hindia by Heather Collins.  I have always been interested in the Persian Mogul influences on India  so I have made this necklace up in the colours that reflect Persian culture  but Indian style. 

Kristen 

At first I thought I'd bead a Huichol Mexican bracelet.

I have long admired the bright colors in traditional Huichol pieces.

But!

I'm part of another FB group who focused this month on Loom pieces.

The group will be working on "Gerdan" or "Split Loom necklaces" for July.

This inspired me so much that I made the necklace over a weekend!

My country of inspiration: Ukraine

Jewelry piece: Gerdan necklace 

It can be a few different styles, one commonly found a long strip of loom work.

Long meant to put on over the head. Featuring geometric patterns.

These patterns can express world views in times past. 

Horizontal lines meant land, wavy ones meant water, a cross was fire, circle meant the sun.

Google: "Gerdan Ukrainian" - and the screen fills with vibrant color, lots of flower and geometric motifs.

Design credit by Anna Belous (aka Anabel) at www.anabel-beadpatterns.com

Jenny

A design inspired by Chinese Philosophy.

All the names were put into the list randomizer at random.org and the lucky beader whose name is at the top of the list is...

Audrey!

Congratulations Audrey,  you're the winner of the £25 voucher to spend at Beads and More by Yashma!

June Challenge

Welcome to the June Challenge! The theme for this challenge is:

Wander where you will.

Puerto Pollensa, Mallorca 2015.

There are so many wonderful, fascinating countries in this world of ours each with a unique history, intriguing traditions and a sense of beauty of their own. For this challenge I'd like you to take a virtual trip around the Globe, stick a pin on a map or lose a few hours on Google to choose a country that interests you and bead a piece inspired by anything about that country that tickles your fancy! You can find a list of sovereign states on Wikipedia to start you off on your journey.

Please include the name of your chosen country and a short paragraph on your inspiration so that we can all learn a little more about our world.

THE PRIZE:

This month our sponsor is Valentina and she's offering £25 to spend in her Etsy shop Beads & More by Yashma!

HOW TO ENTER:

Email a photograph of your entry to Sarah at ottbs@live.com along with any other details we have asked for. The challenge runs until Midnight on Friday the 30th of June and the winner is drawn and announced the following day. You can email your entry at any time during the month. The challenge is open to beaders worldwide.

RULES & OTHER INFORMATION:

• Entries must have been started on or after June 1st 2017.
• You can make any item, it does not need to be jewellery.
• You can use any craft technique but it must include beads.
• Your entry must be a finished piece.
• If your entry isn't your own design you must credit the original designer.
• The photo above is for decorative purposes only, please refer to the text below it for details on the theme or colours allowed.

There is more detailed information on the challenge here but if you have any questions please leave a comment below or email us. 

Good luck everyone and happy beading!

Sarah