The January/February Challenge

Hi everyone,

Sarah here, I'm kicking off the 2017 challenges with a 2 month creative challenge - In the Shadows.  

Before I get to that though, I'd like to say a big thank you to Liz for all the work she's done on the challenges and the pleasure she's given us through them! I know lots of us have explored different colour combinations, tried new stitches and expanded our skills through participating and I'm sure you’ll all join with me in saying thank you! Liz isn't leaving the blog completely though, so I’m sure you'll see her around and about on occasion.

This months challenge is a 2 month creative challenge on the theme of “In the shadows”, I haven't included a picture because I want you to interpret the theme in your own way.

To get you thinking, here are some starting points; a monochrome colour scheme including light and shade, representing a movie/character/song/book etc that in your opinion is overshadowed, creating a piece for a creature that lives in shadows, eg a Vampire. Don't limit yourself to these though, let your imagination run wild!

Alongside your entry please write up a short paragraph including your inspiration and how your entry relates to the challenge theme.

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 Tuesday the 28th of February and the winner is drawn and announced within 3 days. You can email your entry at any time during the 2 month period. The challenge is open to beaders worldwide.

RULES & OTHER INFORMATION:

• Entries must have been started on or after January 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

The December Challenge Reveal

Thank you so much to everyone who joined in with our winter themed December challenge where we asked you to create something fit for a Snow Queen. As always the entries are beautiful!

Before I show the entries and announce the winner, I wanted to make a quick announcement. I've been organizing the blog challenges for six years now and while I've enjoyed it immensely, I've decided that it's time for me to step back and let someone else take the reins. That person is the lovely Sarah Tucker, founder of the OTTBS blog! I hope you will all continue to join in with the challenges that Sarah will be setting for you. I'm very much looking forward to them and hope I can join in with them a little more often. 

Ok, so on with the reveal and here are all the wonderful entries we received for this month's challenge!

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


Shirley Moore!


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


Wishing you all a very beady 2017!

~ Liz ~

The December Challenge

Welcome to the December challenge! This month we would like you to create a piece of jewellery FIT FOR A SNOW QUEEN!

Image by Princess00lyl on DeviantArt

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 Liz at ottbs@live.com along with any other details we have asked for. The challenge runs until Midnight on Saturday the 31st of December 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 December 1st 2016.
• You can make any item, it does not need to be jewellery.
• You can use any craft technique but it must include beads.
• Findings are exempt from the colour challenge.
• 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!

The November Challenge Reveal

Thank you so much to everyone who took part in our November challenge. What a lovely collection of seed bead creations!

All the entrants names were put into the list randomizer at Random.org and the lucky beader whose name appeared at the number 1 position is...


SARAH GORDON!

Congratulations Sarah, we'll be in touch with your shortly with details on how to claim your prize.

The November Challenge

Welcome to the November challenge! This month our theme is THE JOY OF SEED BEADS!

We would love to see what you can all make using ONLY seed beads. So put aside your crystals, your pearls and your cabochons for a little while and try the seed bead challenge!

For the purposes of this challenge we are classifying seed beads as round seed beads (also known as rocailles) up to size 6 and cylinder beads. Other small bead shapes like hex, triangle, cube, bugle and drops etc are not allowed. You may use a larger bead inside 3D shapes that need core support, like a beaded bead for instance, but it must not be visible. And of course you can use whatever findings you like.

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 Liz at ottbs@live.com along with any other details we have asked for. The challenge runs until Midnight on Wednesday the 30th of November 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 November 1st 2016.
• You can make any item, it does not need to be jewellery.
• You can use any craft technique but it must include beads.
• Findings are exempt from colour challenges.
• 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!

The October Challenge Reveal

Thanks to everyone who took part in the October challenge. There were just a few entries this time, but as always, very beautiful beadwork from you all!

The list of names was randomized at Random.org and the luck winner whose name is at the top is...

JENNY ARGYLE!

Congratulations Jenny, you've won the £15 voucher to spend at www.Jencel.co.uk!

The new challenge for November will be posted shortly so please pop back in a little while to see what our chosen theme is.

The October Challenge

Welcome to the October challenge! The theme this month is FIREWORKS!

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 Liz at ottbs@live.com along with any other details we have asked for. The challenge runs until Midnight on Monday the 31st of October 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 October 31st 2016.
• You can make any item, it does not need to be jewellery.
• You can use any craft technique but it must include beads.
• Findings are exempt from the colour challenge.
• 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!

Taking a break

Just to let you all know that there's no September challenge as I'm taking a short break. But don't worry, the challenges will be back next month!

In the meantime, happy beading!

~Liz~

The July Challenge Reveal

Thanks to everyone who joined in with our July challenge where the theme was Brick Stitch. Here are all the gorgeous entries we received...

Everyone's names were put into the list randomizer at Random.org and the lucky beader who's name is at the very top is...

RHONDA TOL!

Congratulations Rhonda, you're the winner of the £15 voucher to spend at Old Bicycle Shop courtesy of Davida!

I hope you enjoyed this challenge, there will be a new once posted for August just a little later on.

The July Challenge

Welcome to the July challenge! This month sees the second of our stitch challenges and this time we would like you to create something using BRICK STITCH.

If you've never tried this stitch before then this is a great opportunity to learn - and to start you off we have a basic tutorial for you right here. Flat, circular, tubular and sculptural brick stitch are all accepted for this challenge.

Please note: Your piece can contain other stitches but the majority of your work must be brick stitch.

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 Liz at ottbs@live.com along with any other details we have asked for. The challenge runs until Midnight on Sunday the 31st of July 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 July 1st 2016.
• You can make any item, it does not need to be jewellery.
• You can use any craft technique but it must include beads (and this month's stitch).
• Findings are exempt from the colour challenge.
• 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!

Prize update for the June challenge

Hi everyone, just to let you all know the details of the prize for the June challenge. We have something a little different for you this month! I have raided my stash and put together a collection of beads in lovely summery shades of purple, blue and green.

Everything in the photo (apart from the bowl) is up for grabs. There is a specially made sparkling bead soup which includes seed beads, fire polished crystals, Swarovski crystals, glass pearls, drop beads and cubes.

There are also: piggy beads, flowers, leaves, dagger beads, shell hoops, donuts, a string of matt crackle beads, larger matt round beads, three lengths of faux suede thonging, a pair of butterfly connectors, some face cabochons and a few orphan artisan lampwork beads. I may add a few more bits and bobs by the end of the month!

So if you'd like to win this little lot, then get beading! The details for the June challenge are here.

The June Challenge

Welcome to the June Challenge! This month we'd like you to create something in TURQUOISE BLUE, PINK, GREEN AND WHITE.

Any shades of these colours are accepted but please make sure that you use all FOUR colours in your entry. Don't forget that you can use multiple shades of each colour if you wish!

THE PRIZE:

Please click here for details on this month's prize!

HOW TO ENTER:

Email a photograph of your entry to Liz at ottbs@live.com along with any other details we have asked for. The challenge runs until Midnight on Thursday 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 2016.
• You can make any item, it does not need to be jewellery.
• You can use any craft technique but it must include beads.
• Findings are exempt from the colour challenge.
• 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!

The May Challenge Reveal

Thanks to everyone who participated in our May challenge, we hope you enjoyed creating your 'eye'catching jewellery! As you can tell from the gorgeous entries below, the theme for the challenge was Eyes... 

The list of names was randomized and the lucky person whose name has landed right at the top is...

MARY MARSHALL!

Congratulations Mary, you're the winner of the £15 voucher to spend at Jencel! 

Well that's it for May, the June challenge will be posted later on today with a colour scheme to be inspired by :)