A beautiful autumn day is upon us . . . a chill in the air, scattered raindrops, beautiful colors all around, spiced cider brewing and family arriving soon! It truly is one of my favorite kinds of days and so too a fitting day for the reveals of Pine Ridge Treasures' Favorite Things Blog Hop! Somehow I think that our amazing hostess, Lisa Lodge, had this all planned out from the get-go! So grab some cider and enjoy not only my post but all those listed at the end.
Here were the treasures I received from Lisa . . . a challenge as usual! In my world I have so many "favorite things" that it was also a challenge to decide which ones to share so I let the materials make the decisions for me! I choose my favorite beads from the stash, the little transparent green drops and decided to showcase them in one of my favorite and earliest beading projects. I added some little glass blown grape clusters because, honestly, wine is also one of my favorite things also!!!
VINEYARD
I have never used black in my designs so that seemed like a good challenge for me. I love all the seasons and the holidays associated with them so I decided to couple the little matte black discs with a purple focal, purple beads and a hand forged antiqued brass chain to celebrate the upcoming Halloween festivities. This piece helped me overcome my insecurities of using black in my designs and turned out to be my favorite piece in this collection!
JACK
My favorite new artistic adventure is working with wire . . . both humbling and satisfying at the same time! Golden spirals combined with the faceted crystal rounds reminded me of frosty cold winter days and the glittering, hopeful light of that season's holy days. I added a gorgeous sparkling Swarovsky crystal snowflake as a focal and tiny bicones on the chain to finish this icy piece.
BRRRR
My final piece might look a bit familiar to those of you who are regular participants in Lisa's blog hops. Last year I made a piece for the Ceramic Blog Hop called "Go with the Flow" and Lisa commented that I should submit it for publication. I dragged my feet for almost the whole year but finally took the leap and my piece was accepted by Bead and Button!!! Getting published is my new favorite thing!!! It was suggested that I make another piece using the same technique but with a twist, so here is my "Go with the Flow" bracelet!
CHRISTMAS FLOW
Thank you so much Lisa for your encouragement and support of all of us who are so lucky to know you and participate in your wonderful, challenging and growth-full events. I am looking forward to seeing my fellow artist's favorite things creations and I am sure I will find a few new favorites to love in the process. So grab that cup of cider and check out all the amazing sites below. Happiest of everything to all . . .
Your hostess: Lisa Lodge, A Grateful Artist
Kim Dworak, Cianci Blue
Veralynne Malone, Designed by Vera
Inge von Roos, Inge's Blog
Karin Grosset Grange, Ginkgo et Coquelicot
