It is time for the Anchors Aweigh Design Challenge Reveal!!! The wonderful Rita over at Toltec Jewels was kind enough to put together a blog hop featuring the absolutely beautiful beads created by Diana at Suburban Girl Beads. The Sweet porcelain anchors just called to me and my love of the sea. I was so happy to be chosen by Rita to participate, and I appreciate all of the hard work she puts in to making these blog hops such an enjoyable experience for everyone.
I was certain that I took a picture of my sweet little anchor beads when they arrived, but after searching my very well labeled photo files, I couldn't find it. So, I borrowed Rita's photo to show you how cute Diana's beads are. They were such a pleasure to work with and I am excited to share with you the necklace I created.
I knew I wanted to make a necklace, the anchor beads deserved to be the focus of a sea themed piece. It only took me a few minutes to decide to use cultured sea glass, but I wanted to add a bit more; maybe challenge myself a bit with the piece.
So, I took a Vintaj brass blank, embossed it with a sand dollar and then added a soft blue patina and glaze. I wanted the brass round to remind you of a coin from a ship that had sunk many many years before. A treasure that can be found in many places very near by. If you ever get the chance to visit Florida, Sebastian Inlet has a nice little museum that includes a lot of information about sunken treasure.
What do you think? Does it remind you of a coin who has spent 200 years at the bottom of the ocean? I added the porcelain anchors to a strand of small round aqua cultured sea glass, then my signature touch of sparkle with some aqua crystal spacers. Half way up the necklace, I created interest with aqua blue lampwork glass. There are some small rounds and the nice square pieces as well.
Earrings you ask? Of course I did earrings! I just can't resist making a pair for a challenge :) I used the same aqua cultured sea glass rounds, an aqua crystal spacer and added some Vintaj brass sand dollars to carry along the theme of my necklace.
Thank you so much Rita and Diana for creating such a fun blog hop. It was a pleasure to participate and I can't wait to see what everyone else has made. To check out all the participant's designs, please use the links below:
Participating Artists
Featured & Honored Artist: Diana Ptaszynski
Diana's Shop: Suburban Girl Beads
Diana's Blogs: Suburban Girl Studio
Hostess: TJ Jewel School Friends
Bobbie Rafferty Beadsong Jewelry
Chris Eisenberg Wanderware
Heather Richter Desert Jewelry Designs
Michelle McCarthy Firefly Design Studio
Kathy Lindemer Bay Moon Design
Dini Bruinsma Angaza by Changes
Cynthia Machata Antiquity Travelers
Kathleen Breeding 99 Bottles of Beads on the Wall
Linda Younkman Lindy's Designs
Robin Reed Artistry HCBD
Marla Gibson Spice Box Designs
Gina Hockett Freestyle Elements
Renetha Stanziano Lamplight Crafts
Marianne Baxter Simply Seablime Jewelry
Christina Miles Wings N Scales
Marybeth Rich A Few Words from Within the Pines
Shai Williams Shaiha's Ramblings
Cheri Reed Creative Designs by Cheri
Monique Urquhart A Half-Baked Notion
Jennifer Reno Musings of a Crafty Jenny
Shirley Moore Beads and Bread
Tammy Adams Paisley Lizard
Melissa Trudinger Bead Recipes
Jill Bradley JillyBeads
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