Celebration time - GIVEAWAY!

Hi, and welcome to my first ever GIVEAWAY! I wish to celebrate 2 things with this giveaway.

Firstly, I just got my 50th follower of my blog! I can't believe I have so many followers. Thank you all so much for being interested in what I have to say and do. I am really really honoured! You are all people I admire and look up to.

Secondly, I wish to celebrate my birthday which is on Wednesday the 30th of June. I get so much from all of you in the beading community and blog-o-sphere, and I wish to give something back aswell.

I have been thinking about this giveaway for some time now. What kind of theme should I have? I believe I couldn't come up with anything exciting or odd enough. So that's what I am doing, I have put together a soup of odd beads, one of each. They all come from my own bead stash. It is a mixture of high and low, big and small, cheap and expensive. Gemstones (some unusual ones like Gaspeite), coral, sugar beads, clay, porcelein, shell, brass, copper, wood, carved acrylic, metalized acrylic, glass, ceramic, lampwork, resin, charms, pendants, findings, trade beads, african, indian, german, czech, indonesian, american, unusual beads, common beads, patterned, plain, figures, geometric ... There are no art beads though, coz I don't want to give the ones I have away... and there are other beads of mine I haven't put in there, simply coz I have only very few of them. No seed beads and very few fire-polish. It is a kind of soup I would like to recieve myself. Just a crazy mix of this and that! I hope you feel the same way and want to participate in the competition.

So what do you need to do to have a chance to win? I wished to try something different, so ...

1. You have to be a follower of my blog, so if you are not yet sign up now!

2. Write a comment on this post, AND ...

3. ... give me a beading tip in that comment. Something you believe would be useful for ME. Just anything - a great shop, a clever technique, a fun class, a book I should look at, some beautiful beads I should discover, tools, tips on blogging ... Please surprise me - it is my birthday after all!

I will be compiling a list of the ten top tips. Top ten for ME that is! And I will present that list here on my blog. The person who gave me tip number ONE will be the winner of the giveaway. It is all very subjective, isn't it.

The last day for leaving a comment and have a chance to win is on Wednesday the 7th of July (one week after my birthday). And I will present the list and the winner on Thursday the 8th of July.

Please participate, it would mean a lot to me.

Thanks!

My studio!

Lately I have seen a lot of people on the beading blogs showing their studios. Thought I would show you mine. It is still in need of some changes and work. For instance there will be a new table going from wall to wall. And there shall be better general lighting. But check out the new "Ott-Lite-type-lamp" I got yesterday! It is great! Photo further down.

There has also been some talk about ways of storing your beads. I am rather happy with the system I have. I keep the beads in small transparent plastic cups meant for "snaps" (=shots of flavoured vodka). And then I put the cups on trays of acrylic transparent plastic. The trays have handles so they are easy to move. And you can also stack them on each other. It is a very versatile (one of my favourite words lately ...) system. I can move cups in and out of the trays just as I please and depending on what I need at the moment. I sort my beads after shape and material more than colour because I think it is easier to quickly spot a colour rather than a form among other beads when you are on the hunt. I did try once to sort from colours, but didn't like it at all.

Links:

Zionesse

P.S.

I will get back and write about the awesome Bead Soup Party soon. I want to check through everyones posts again. And also write some more comments.

Sailing 2.4 - I looooooooooooove it!

The 2.4mR is a one-person keelboat. It is the smallest keelboat there is. My friend Linda who has grown up with sailing said when she saw one:

"Oh, now I get it, it is so small you put it on, you are kind of dressed in the boat"

It is popularly called the "Two-Four". It was developed and designed by yacht designer Peter Norlin of Sweden in the 80's. Today it is an internationally well-known boat. And it is one of few classes designated as an International class. The boat is primarily used for racing and the class holds highly competitive national events in many countries. The Olympics for instance.

You are sitting with your bum under the water line, so you are so very close to the water. You have the most amazing feeling of being one with the elements. And you alone control the sailing. Well I personally am a learner still, so I have an instructor following me in another boat. It is undescribable how marvellously wonderful it is. I loooooooooooove it! The first time I tried it was about one and a half years ago. And I cried from joy. My tears was just pouring of happiness. I realized I had been sitting there with the biggest grin ever on my face for about 1 hour, totally focused. "How do I get it to go faster?", I asked my instructor. "Pull the sail tighter", she replied, which is not the true answer I know now, but for the level I was on it was all I needed to know. So I pulled for all I knew, and the boat was leaning more than 45 degrees. And it was swoooshing forward at high speed, coz it was a windy day. And I was in heaven. I was laughing out loud. This was on a friday, and I was so obsessed with the experience I had my husband and children to go there with me again on the sunday just looking at the boats ... caressing them. It is more than one hours drive. And I dreamed I would end up racing in the Olympics winning the gold-medal. And maybe I will ...

Yesterday I was there again, sailing. It was a lovely sunny day. Perfectly beautiful. Not windy enough for my taste, but on the other hand it gave me a chance to experiment and get a bigger understanding of some of the details of sailing.

I just recommend everyone to try it out. Please do! It is good for the soul!

An article about 2.4mR on Wikipedia

Bead Soup Party #2 - My Release

Hi,

today it is my turn to release what I have done with the exciting and inspiring soup of beads that Joanne Tinley of DaisyChainDesign in England sent to me. I have looked around at what everone who has had their releases so far, has done. And I am stunned about some of the things you have done with your soups, so many beautiful and inspiring things. So now I am a little bit nervous. Will I be able to match that? Especially since I have noticed that most of you have done ONE main piece of jewellery. I don't know if that is supposed to be, if it is, I am sorry but I have missed out on that detail. I have finished 3 pieces so far with a fourth one almost done. And I believe I will also be able to do a fifth one aswell, hopefully a pair of earrings. The fourth and the fifth I will post at a later date.

My first reaction when I saw my soup was of course WOW! Lot's of beauty here.

And then I had it digesting for a couple of weeks, just looking at it every day. I didn't get a strong idea where I could use all the ingredients in the same "dish". And to be honest, as late as this last weekend I didn't have a clue what I would do overall, just a few sparks of details. I thought the pendant by Lisa Stevens of C-Urchin was the most difficult one to see in a piece, (don't get me wrong, I love it, I just didn't SEE how I would use it), so I started with that one. And I don't really know what happened, but suddenly within 5 minutes or so I had created that pendant with the rolo chain aswell. Something new for me, but I liiiiike it a lot. I gave you a sneak peek a few days ago. And here is the whole thing. I named it "Lisa" after Lisa Stevens, who's work I admire so.

So now there was the "Rounds" theme concept created, easily of course together with Joanne's hammered copper rounds. And then it just continued from there.

I had thought I would do something with the hammered copper together with the lilac Swarowskies (such a great colour combination there Joanne!). Different ideas with them put together as a chain, like they ended up doing, but for longer necklaces and assymetrical. How about a short necklace. A symmetrical one. Yes, that sits nicely around the neck.

Dangles - now I wanted to make dangles. But didn't have any good material to use so that it would look the way I wanted. So I ended up just squeezing the wire for that paddle and stopper effect. I like it a lot, it allows the crystals to sparkle without being outmanouvered by a too dominant finding.

The "BP" bracelet came to me easily. I have already used that way of putting beads on jumprings before. And I really like the effect. I came up with the name just now. The oily ones and the green ones. What else can you think of than that horrible oil floating on the top of the water in the Carribbean Sea? That catastrophy is so so sad! Perhaps it is good to name your jewellery after bad events also sometimes, as reminders for history. I don't know ...

There is a bracelet with the wonderful vintage buttons on its way too. I thought I would name it something "Royal ... ". And I still have a bunch of Swarowskys left over. I thought of earrings for them.

Joanne! It had been such a pleasure to work with your soup! A good and fun challenge for me! Thank you soooooo much for everything. I have enjoyed it big big time! And how amazingly nice it was of you to send me a piece of work by Lisa Stevens. Now let's just wish for England to win the World cup!

Here are all today's releases for the Bead Soip Party:

48. Nan, Spirit Rattles
49. Amy, Copper Diem
50. Malin, Beading by Malin de Koning - that's me, that is! :-)
51. Anne, Gardanne Glass Lampwork
52. Alice, Alice's Beads and Baubles
53. Barbara, Second Surf
54. Amanda, Articulations
55. Heather, Humble Beads
56. Melissa, Melissa Meman, Art, Life, Love
57. Kate, Organic Odysseys
58. Patti, PJ Clark Designs
59. Stefanie, Stefanie's Sammelsurium

Merry Happy - I am chosen "Designer of the Week" on ABS

I've been walking around singing Kate Nash's "Merry Happy" for the last few days. Great song although the lyrics are actually rather sad. But now I am feeling very very Merry Happy!

This is quoted from Art Bead Scene:

"MONDAY, JUNE 21, 2010

Designer of The Week - Malin de Koning

Each Monday we feature the Designer of the Week. One of our editors pick their favorite from the Monthly Challenge entries. This week's featured designer is Malin de Koning !

ABS editor Shannon LeVart had this to say about Malin's entry for this week's challenge: "You may think me biased here. You may think all you need to do is name something Shannon and I will call it my favorite, but you are incorrect! I scanned the entries for this week noting something I like about each piece, bookmarking them in the order of my preference. But this piece pulled at my heart strings before I saw my own components included in its lay-out, before I saw it carried my name sake.

It quite simply made me feel like dancing. Yes, I wanted to put a big pink flower in my hair and with bosoms heaving, do some fancy foot work for the entertainment of a crowd with proper posture.

The painting by Lautrec contains rich, deep colors that contrast with the swirling pink of the dancers skirt. I feel Malin studied these colors intently in order to include so many of them in her bracelet and the way she evolved the almond blossom beads from March's challenge into a new purpose for this months challenge was invigorating!"

Please visit Malin at her blog and view more of her work at her flickr photostream."

And this here below is quoted from myself and my earlier post about the piece:

"This month's inspiration painting for the ABS monthly Challenge by Toulouse-Lautrec had me creating right away. I just couldn't hold myself back. Such marvellous colours! And forms. The whole composition. The dancing lady's pink fluffy underskirts, her red hair, the flower in it, the different shades of greens, the rusty colours, the ivory arches in the background, the white socks of the bystander, the lilac twins ...

Materials:

3 pink flowers by Shannon Levart/MissFickleMedia, mounted on headpins and with black swarowskis.

Enameled greenish flowers by Barbara Lewis/PaintingWithFire.

Green patinated chain by Shannon Levart/MissFickleMedia.

Rusty Dupioni silk ribbon from Ornamentea,

White tubular porcelain beads from Africa.

Black and ivory facetted bone beads.

Turquise e-beads.

Carnelian roundels.

Lilac matte glass beads.

Leather cord.

Ginger patterned button in plastic.

"

Links:

ABS - ArtBeadScene Blog

ArtBeadScene June-Monthly-Challenge

ArtBeadScene on flickr

Barbara Lewis of PaintingWith Fire

Shannon Levart of MissFickleMedia

Me on flickr

Buns, the garden & bums

Arabella & Mark is making Swedish Cinnamon Buns.

Views of our garden. Both from the front and the back. But hey ... whats that in the lower left corner?

And now even more heeeey! What do I see just across the pathway? Of course ... yes ... it is my neighbour, Outrageous Radka!

Bead Soup Party - Sneak Peek

Hm, my release date is the 23rd, on wednesday next week. But here is a little sneak peek of what's going on in my studio at the moment. Perhaps we could call it "the Round Theme". I guess we'll see when it is all released.

In case you haven't got a clue what I am talking about, it is the Bead Soup Party #2. Lori Andersson is the organizer, and people from all around the world are participating in the swapping of bead soups. The swapping has already happened and everyone is now creating things with the soup that was sent to them by their partner.

And the party will start on saturday the 19th. The day of the Royal Wedding here in Sweden. It was difficult for me to choose which one of the two parties I would go to, but I finally decided that Crown Princess Victoria and her husband to be, Daniel, will have to just live with the fact that I rather hang out with my beading buddies than royal people and other celebreties from all over the world.

There will be a cortege through the city on saturday, and my husband keeps asking my daughter Arabella if she wouldn't enjoys seeing that. I don't know, it kind of seems that HE really wants to see it since he has been asking several times now. Arabella doesn't seem too bothered at the moment. But I guess we will go and watch it anyway. But I simply can't make it to the wedding party in the evening. The Bead Soup Party feels faaaaar more important to me.

Read more about the party at Lori's blog "Pretty Things"

Drewling Time!!!!!

I have been struggling with that cube peyote bracelet and the button clasp for a few days now. The one I asked for advice for in my previous post. Have tried 2 versions of metal hook, which I by the way made both myself from wire and the look really good if I may say so myself. But the hook didn't work so well for me, so now I will look into some of the other suggestions I got from you.

And Mary Harding has posted about a bracelet in peyote and a shank button clasp. She had the sides overlapping so no skin will show. I am gonna look into that, although I am afraid it might become a bit thick with 4 mm cubes. I will let yoyu know when I have completed it, and show you.
So ... and I also have a few other semi-finished projects on my desktop. Will take photos tomorrow or day after. I AM gonna fullfill my task of "one-a-day"! I am just a little behind at the moment. Have been feeling rather bad from the MS the last few days, and that steals a lot of energy from me.

Hey!

What better way of cheering oneself up when a little down than doing some BEAD SHOPPING! All the photos in this post are of beads I purchased yesterday and now am waiting for to arrive in my mail. Am I happy about these purchases or what? Are you envious? I would be!

From top to bottom - all on ETSY:

Sedona spacers, lampworked, from Loupiac.

Pomegranate Seed Beads, lampworked, by BoulderGlassMonkey.

Large Hoops, Silver Circles, lampworked, by OutWest.

Wooden Carved vintage beads, from MissUFO.

Blue round fruit nut pit, Indonesia, from YukiDesigns.

Buttons, carved coconut, Indonesia, from YukiDesigns.

Sig-id wood tubes, Philippines, from YukiDesigns.

Discs/tubes, Tiger Ebony aka Camagong wood, from YukiDesigns.

Stuck, String and Treasury

Please help me, if you can! I am stuck on this one. As so often before I get stuck on a detail in the production/manufacturing of a piece. I hate when it happens and it is actually one of the main reasons why I gave myself this One-a-Day-Challenge. I wish to come over this barrier so that I get some tempo in my production. I have soooooooo many unfinished pieces laying around. This one I am very pleased with design-wise. I really like the cubes in peyote and the colours, and that button just lift the whole piece. The thing is that I want that button to work as a clasp, and after pondering about it for a few days I decided that the way of making it work would be this way that you can see in the picture (gosh what an awful sentance). But it doesn't work, coz there's a big gap. I will have to redo it. But how? Should it be some metal hook construction hidden under the button? Should it be magnets? Or what? Please please I need some experienced advice from you!

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One-a-Day-Challenge No 3 is a simple strung bracelet with dark coloured rustic trade beads in glass, a few small trade beads in white and some buttons. All strung on double black waxed linen cord with knots in between. The bracelet is worn two laps around the wrist. Casual and very easy to wear, I've been wearing it ever since I made it a few days ago, also together with other bracelets.

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And finally - another treasury on Etsy by me. I wanted to name it "The feeling of sitting on a fallen pine tree log on a cliff by the open sea on a sunny, warm but windy day". But it was a too long name, so I had to shorten it. All the picks are favourites of mine already, either the actual pice or the seller. I do wanna own all the things in this treasury.

Andrew Thornton: Thursday Giveaway...

Andrew is giving away these extraordinary beads by Barbara Basha.

Check his blog to find out what you need to do to have a chance to win them:
The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton: Thursday Giveaway...

They Were All Yellow

Treasury on Etsy ... wonder what that is really? Oh, I can make my own one! Excellent! Fun! I can pick from my already favourites then. Oh, there are quite a few yellow ones. So now it seems I got stuck with making a treasury instead of posting about my latest jewellery. I guess you will have to endure with me until tomorrow night. Hope you will enjoy "They Were All Yellow" in the meantime. But please don't buy that hat. Coz I looooove it. Unless you will give it to me as a present on my birthday on the 30th of june of course ... ;-)

Arrival

Crazy beautiful arrival from Happy Mango Beads. I am slowly becoming dependant of their large christmas beads strands. I wonder if I could subscribe on them. Regular delivery of two strands every other week ...

Happy Mango Beads - I just love the rustiqueness of a lot of their beads in general. Glass, gemstones or other natures materials. And just look at those pink resin-beads to the far left on the picture. Cute and summery enough, eh!?!!

I believe today's "One-a-Day" will contain some of these beads. How about those large rough facetted brown glass ones. They are just wonderful. Well the whole lot is gorgeaus really.

"One-a-Day" of yesterday and today will be posted tomorrow.

Until then - all my best!

ABSJune - Bracelet "Shannon" (One-A-Day no2)

This month's inspiration painting for the ABS monthly Challenge by Toulouse-Lautrec had me creating right away. I just couldn't hold myself back. Such marvellous colours! And forms. The whole composition. The dancing lady's pink fluffy underskirts, her red hair, the flower in it, the different shades of greens, the rusty colours, the ivory arches in the background, the white socks of the bystander, the lilac twins ...

Materials:

3 pink flowers by Shannon Levart/MissFickleMedia, mounted on headpins and with black swarowskis.

Enameled greenish flowers by Barbara Lewis/PaintingWithFire.

Green patinated chain by Shannon Levart/MissFickleMedia.

Rusty Dupioni silk ribbon from Ornamentea,

White tubular porcelain beads from Africa.

Black and ivory facetted bone beads.

Turquise e-beads.

Carnelian roundels.

Lilac matte glass beads.

Leather cord.

Ginger patterned button in plastic.

Links:

ArtBeadScene June-Monthly-Challenge

Barbara Lewis of PaintingWith Fire

Shannon Levart of MissFickleMedia

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I was invited to go sailing today, on a catamaran. I brought my friend Linda, and it was all marvellously nice and relaxing. We sat/laid on the net in the front most of the time just

relaxing in the sun. Sailing is very good for the soul Linda and I concluded.

"One-a-Day-Challenge" - No 1 - Bracelet "Lori"

I have given myself a new challenge. I shall complete one piece of jewellery every day. I call it my own " One-a-Day-Challenge". This is the first piece. Completed on friday the 4th of june 2010.

Coincidentally, (or perhaps not), I got very inspired yesterday when I saw Lorelei's latest jewellery using hard wire. So I was gonna try that style myself. But I got somewhat carried away during the process, so it ended up that you can't see any of the wire at all. But I am very pleased anyway. And I just had to name this bracelet "Lori", after Lorelei Eurto of course.

Materials:

Dandelion focal - Heather Powers of HumbleBeads

Patinated brass wire - Patina Queen

Two brass dangles - Objects & Elements

Creme roughly facetted glass beads

Turqouise e-beads

Etched brass round

Copper clasp

Brass rolo chain

My cat Charlie likes to squeeze into tiny spaces as I have mentioned before here on my blog. This is today's attempt. A shoebox for the new shoes we bought yesterday for my daughter Arabella. And ... he succeded very well, didn't he.

Bracelet in progress & Buttons

I am working on this wide bracelet at the moment. Width: 1 inch and 1/4 or 3,3 cm. Peyote stitch with 4 mm cubes. A huge shank button shall work as the clasp.

Look! I have expanded my button collection. From no buttons at all, to this bunch. A really lovely one in my own opinion. I am planning to start using a lot more buttons in my jewellery. Mainly as clasps, but also just incorporated instead of ordinary beads.

Sia Furler sings Buttons: