HBBH#3

What...? You thought the holiday swap & hops were over with? Don't be silly... plenty more holidays to celebrate :) And Marlene Cupo & Shelley Graham Turner have decided to encourage us to celebrate !

Holiday Bling Blog Hop #'s 1 & 2 were Christmas / Yule / Solstice type themed.

#3 has a wider selection of choices... we could chose ANY holiday that occurred withing February or March. They even provided a list of some... want to see some of what they found for us?

  · Ground Hog Day - Feb 2

· Chinese New Year - Feb 10

· National Foundation Day (Japan) - Feb 11

· Mardi Gras thru Feb 12

· St Valentine's Day - Feb 14

· National Flag Day (Canada) - Feb 15

· Do a Grouch a Favor Day - Feb 16

· International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day - Feb 23

· Purim - Feb 23-24

· Saint David's Day (Wales, UK) - March 1

· Barbie's Birthday - March 9

· Commonwealth Day (UK) - March 11

· St. Patrick's Day - March 17

· Feast of St. Joseph (Italy) - March 18

· Big Bird's Birthday - March 20

· Greek Independence Day - March 25

· Start of Passover - March 25

· Easter - March 31

...plus we could use any others we discovered, as long as they took place in the Feb./ March time line.

My partner for the hop was Alicia Marinache, a fellow Canuck who actually lives a few hours away from me :) Rather decide on a holiday together, we left that up to inspiration.  

Alicia said she had the perfect one but that it wasn't on the list so it would be a total surprise.

I had Mardi Gras stuck in my head, but wanted to do something that Alicia would love, so I haunted her fb page and blog for holiday inspiration. The perfect one appeared - her sons birthday - but without any hints as to his favorite colours or even the actual date for me to discover birthstones... I couldn't grab onto enough inspiration to get it going.  I did however discover a bunch of Easter photos of her and her family enjoying the holiday. 

Still hemming and hawing over ideas, I decided to let it stew for a bit, hoping she'd post something to help kick start the birthday idea. I had plenty of time after all.  Then while picking up some envelopes and glue for another project, I did my usual stroll past the beads and my eye got caught on some new sparklies. They'd got in some Swarovski Elements with coordinating crystals and they were all screaming at me to buy them >.< I managed to make it out with just two... both for homes other than mine... and one of them was in pinks, greens and clear; perfect for an Easter theme. It sat beside me for an entire day as I let ideas flow, then started work.

Unfortunately, after it was finished, I noticed a flaw in the focal... and in trying to 'fix' it... it broke >.< Luckily I was able to find a replacement focal that enhanced the theme even more I think...

Here's the original design with it's flawed focal just prior to breaking...

 

And here's the completed necklace with the new focal...

The death of the sparklie was sad... however I think the rose quartz lily adds a much more delicate touch, plus lends itself to the holiday a bit better :)

As for what Alicia sent me... wow. The holiday she chose was a special one that her family keeps alive in their own traditions, and I was touched to be a part of it :) The holiday she chose? Martisor. It's a traditional celebration of spring in Romania on March 1st :)  I LOVE what she made for me :) Go check out her blog to find out more about Martisor  and see what she made for me ;)

Then go check out the rest of the blogs to see what other holidays were represented!

 Alicia Marinache

  Catherine King  

 Chris Schlicht  

 Cynthia Machata
 Dyanne Everett-Cantrell  

 Gina Hockett  

 Jennifer Reno 

 Laura Reed  

 Leanne Loftus  

 Lennis Carrier 

 Lori Bowring Michaud  

 Marti Conrad
 Mary Govaars  

 Renetha Stanziano  

 Rita/ Toltec Jewels
 Sarah Goode  

 Sherri Stokey  

 Sonya Stille  

 Tammie Everly  

 Therese Frank  

 Tiffany Goff Smith
 Marlene Cupo 

 Shelley Graham Turner

Holiday Bling Blog Hop #2

I missed out on number 1 since I just had too much on the go at the time, but when Shelley and Marlene decided to hold an encore, I had to jump in :)

For those who stumble across this form outside of the hop list,  Shelley of Fabric of My Life , and Marlene Cupo of Amazing Designs tossed all the applicants names into a hat and pulled out two at a time to partner us up... 

... well okay, I don't think that's EXACTLY what they did, but you get the idea ;)

We contacted our partner to get mailing addresses and some ideas on likes and dislikes, and discuss what type of gifts to exchange. Jewelry, non-jewelry, religious or non-religious... etc etc etc.  I'm not sure what all everyone discussed... I just know we were supposed to decide between the two of us any specifics without giving away what we were doing.

Both my partner, Jo-Ann and I were very open and easy going and didn't really set any limits, leaving the floor open to lots of possibilities.

As all of you creative types know... that is both a blessing and a curse >.< It leaves you wide open to any inspiration... and to ALL inspiration >.< I did have a few likes  to guide me, as well  a 'do not use' colour.... which of course became a prominent colour in my layout until I remembered it >.< lol

I blame the owl for that though.... seriously. He was the one demanding I use pink >.< Him plus some gorgeous multi coloured fabric that, due to the pink issue, I ended up not using.... nor did I use the fuzzy non-pink multi coloured yarn I'd grabbed as a substitute.  As a matter of fact, in the end, I didn't use any fabric at all :)

Instead I used some gorgeous cranberry colored, top-drilled potato pearls that I'd been hoarding forever, that had been sent to me all the way from Sweden in a bundle of goodies I'd won from ' Maneki' of Wild Roses & Blackberries :)

Want to see?

alright, alright... here...

Cranberries & Ice

Cranberry Potato pearls & quartz chips, with a cute owl from TreeWings Studio :) 

Oh.. btw... that one pearl is not backwards... the strand is flipped since I have it curled around and I didn't notice it until after I'd put the camera away. You can see the two above it are the same ;)

I was playing with buttons at the time too, and while going through the whole' pink/no pink' issue, I made these...

She can add a hook and hang them on her tree... or add ear wires and make them big chunky earrings ;)

So now you've seen what I sent her.... pop over and see what she made for me at It's A Beadiful Creation ;) then pop through the rest of the list to see all of the other goodies made this round :)

Shirley Moore http://www.beadsandbread.blogspot.com Lori Bowring Michaud http://artfullyornamental.blogspot.com Catherine King http://catherines-musings.blogspot.com Dyanne Cantrell  http://deelitefuljewelrycreations.blogspot.com Sonya Stille http://dreaminofbeads.blogspot.com Elaine Ray http://elaineray.blogspot.com Gina Hockett http://freestyleelements.blogspot.com Jo-Ann Woolverton http://itsabeadifulcreation.blogspot.ca Debbie Rasmussen http://kepirasmussen.blogspot.com Renetha Stanziano http://lamplightcrafts.blogspot.com Ginger Bishop http://lilmummylikes.blogspot.com Miranda Ackerley http://mirandack.com/category/thoughts Tammie Everly http://ttedesigns.blogspot.com Alicia Marinache http://www.allprettythings.ca Melinda Abrahamson http://www.firstreetcrafts.com Rita/ Toltec Jewels http://www.jewelschoolfriends.com Chandra Merod http://www.junipergoods.blogspot.com Mary Govaars http://www.mlhjewelrydesigns.com Kelley Fogel http://www.mylifeonebeadatatime.blogspot.com Tiffany Goff Smith http://www.southerngalsdesign.blogspot.com Heather Rats Otto http://www.thecrafthopper.com Anitra Gordy Boyers www.leelucreations.blogspot.com  Marlene Cupo http://amazingdesigns-marlene.blogspot.com Shelley Graham Turner              http://www.shelleygrahamturner.blogspot.com