Musical Challenge Reveal

Hi there,

here's at last my reveal, (a few days delayed). Thanks for checking in on me again!

Anyway, first off, a huuuuge thank you to Erin Prais-Hintz of Treasures Found, who once again has arranged an excting and interesting challenge. This time the theme was instrumental music. We were to pick a piece that would inspire one or more pieces of jewelry.

I almost immediately knew which music I would pick. Simply because it is a piece I love to listen to. And I also am a really big fan of James Bond. This 'song' is the soundtrack to one of my absolute favourite scenes ever in all James Bond films. Not only is it an amazing action scene in itself, but I also think the music really helps enhance the feeling. Film music in general is often very very interesting and superbly well composed. This one is made by David Arnold, who has been responsible for the Bond soundtracks for a number of the later films in the series. It's called African Rundown, from Casino Royale. And here's the link to YouTube, where you can listen to it (sorry I was not allowed to embed it). My tip is that you listen all the way through. It's about 7 minutes long, and it is building up constantly with a marvelous crescendo near the end. I get goose pimps every time I hear it. And I love to dance to it too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnT1x6bYsmo&list=PL49BEA58051AABADB

David Arnold is a genius I think :-).

I wanted to make a piece that was dramatic and exciting, with a lot of movement. I came to think of the typical Dinka corsets made in Africa. And a lot of other African jewelry that I had collected pictures of on a Pinterest board of mine during the end of last year. I was almost obsessed for a period. I simply looooove this kind of jewelry!!!

And my initial idea was something more alike the corset, sort of a blend between a necklace and the Dinka style, which you can see in the two bottom images in the collage above. But in the end I decided to go for something more easy to wear for us 'westerners'. A multi stranded necklace packed with trade beads and other more ethnic type beads that I have built up and collected (hoarded?) over a long time. 

It is suuuuuuper long, more than a yard/meter. And I believe it will most often probably be worn doubled, but every once in a while also just like that, really long. Interestingly, I don't think it is heavy to wear it, like I actually was worried it would be. The chain is a light weight one, and I did decide to not include a few larger heavy beads that I had first thought of.

I am very happy with my own creation to be honest. All those beads I have collected and had in my stash for so long, finally they came to use. And just in a way that I wished them to, but never had gotten around to put together before. So thank you Erin for that! I am looking forward to wearing this necklace to a summer garden party with my typically half-bohemic (or some might say fully bohemic ... ;-)) style summer clothes in white linen and my Jesus sandals. Or just for any summer excursion or get together really, doesn't have to be a party at all, does it.

Hope you enjoyed this!

And if you haven't yet seen the other blog hop participants contributions, pop on over to Erin's blog, where you will find all the links.

All my best,
Malin

Sorry - Reveal Delayed

I am so very sorry, but my Challenge of Music reveal is severly delayed. Due to a number of reasons. Mainly technical and internet connection ones :-( .  Anyway, I am happy I at least can finally manage to write this post even. And now I am having a busy weekend coming up, so my guess is I will be able to present it to you not until on Monday. I really do apologize, and hope you can bare with me, and please check back on Monday. In the meantime check out the other participants.

The Challenge of Music participants

Erin Prais-Hintz
Alenka Obid
Ali McCarthy
Alicia Marinache
Amy Severino
Amy Grass
Carolyn Lawson
Cece Cormier
Cynthia Riggs
Emanda Johnson
 Emma Todd
Erin Kenny
Evelyn Shelby
Evie and Beth McCord
 Gerd Andersson
Holly Westfall
 Jennifer Justman
 Jenny Davies-Reazor
 Jess Green
Judy Campbell
 Karla Morgan
Kristina Johansson
Lola Surwillo
Malin de Koning
Mallory Hoffman
Mary K McGraw
Melissa Trudinger
 Michelle Escano
Michelle Bourbonniere
Michelle Mach
 Molly Alexander
Monique Urquhart
Niky Sayers
Pam Farren
Rebecca Anderson
 Sally Russick
Sharon Driscoll
Susan Kennedy
Tari Kahrs
Veralynne Malone

Shopping and Subconcious love

I thought I would share with you a few of my recent acquisitions. And I made a random selection, well random I thought anyway, from my records files of my purchases. And I started to put together a collage.

And lo and behold! I discovered a theme there. Mainly a color theme. It is both what I actually have bought, but also what I did pick to be included in the collage for you. Because I have bought for instance yellow things too, but I didn't include them in the collage.

(Btw, do YOU keep organized records of your purchases? I do!)

Here's what I see anyway:

1. Dark blues, midnight blues, matte or frosted and/or metallic. 
2. Whites, beiges, ecru's, greys. Well these colors I always have a weak spot for. As combination, background or in between colors sort of. I love to use them to help lift forward what I wish to lift forward. But sometimes they have the main role too of course.
3. Oranges, rusty oranges
4. I purchased that Harbinger clasp from Lorelei. I love the pattern and I was so happy I got my hands on it. But then funnily, about half an hour later I had also bought some beads from Pam Wynn. Not at all aware at the time that the one with turqouise edges sort of related to the clasp. Pam's bead is a large focal one about the same size as Lorelei's clasp I believe. And I felt at the time that it wasn't really my normal style, and I hesitated as I looked through my cart. But in the end I couldn't resist it. What do you think? Was it my subconscious that saw the pattern? I do! And I do love my subconscious!!!!!
5. How about those unique figure beads from Reduction Nation then? Well I saw them and I thought "How absolutely wonderfully quirky they are! I gotta have them." Bought them a couple of days before my visit to Pam Wynn's shop. Would I have bought those orange tube beads from her without the figure beads? Maybe. One thing is for sure when it comes to Pam Wynn's beads. They are absolutely gorgeous in reality! No picture can do them justice! I know that, because I bough my first set from her a little more than a month back. And I was completely blown away about their marvelousness when I opened my package. And I have already used them in a set of three bracelets related to each other, that I have not yet shown you. I might submit them to a magazine you see. We'll see what happens. Thank you Lorelei Eurto for making me aware of Pam Wynn!
6. Thank you Rebecca Anderson for making me aware of Scorched Earth! I bought the ceramic links from her, and a few more gorgeous beads and pieces. An adorable Seagull pendant among other things.

(Open the picture in a new side window if you wish to see it larger, and please note that the pictures, and what's on them are not in scale to each other.)

From top left and so on:

• All the seed bead type beads in the upper left corner are from Fusion Beads
• Orange speckled tube beads from Pam Wynn
• Harbinger clasp from Lorelei Eurto
• White flat wide rubber o-rings from Swedish shop Fru Parla (=Mrs Bead, isn't that a great name!). I shall enjoy playing with those!!! Never seen that style before. And I have never used rubber o-rings before either.
• Ceramic links from Scorched Earth
• Polymer clay focal bead from Pam Wynn
• Rusty orange figure beads from Reduction Nation
• Pink flower etched ovals from Reduction Nation
• Dark blue matte lucite rice beads from Reduction Nation

All my best,

Malin

Bracelets

Can there be too many bracelets in the world? I believe not. Or if it can, I don't care, because I so much enjoy making them. Here are three new ones I have made recently.

• Red facetted ceramic bead by Gaea
• Golden speckled round lampwork bead by Gardanne
• Lemony-lime large rice shaped lucite beads with golden stripes
• Golden swirly hook clasp
• Brass heishi rings
• Waxed linen cord

• Golden filigree beads
• Lime green lucite beads with a golden heart pattern
• Golden toggle clasp
• Waxed cotton cord
  

• Rombic heirloom colored cubes by Elaine Ray
• Pale blue semiprecious stone smooth nuggets (chalcedon or lace agate? I can't find my records on these stones right now ...)
• Vintaj brass clasp
• Brass findings

Coming up soon, now on Friday, is the musical challenge reveal. With 80 signed up participants!!!! So much looking forward to do the blog hop and see what everyone has done. It is a great theme this time. Instrumental music!



For myself I am slightly stressed about it to be honest. I have my idea ready since a good while, but I haven't even started putting my piece together. And it is an ambitious project to pull off (it's not a bracelet he he). Or at least that is what I believe, before I even started. So I better get going then, don't I.  See you on Friday hopefully, or maybe even before.

All my best,
Malin

BSBP 7 - Partner and Beads

My partner for the 7th Bead Soup Blog Party is Agi (short for Agatha) Kiss from Hungary. Yes, her surname is Kiss. How cool is that?! I realize that it of course doesn't mean the same thing in Hungarian, but still ...

Her business name in jewelry is MoonSafariBeads. 

Check out her blog here. It's bilingual.

And her Etsy shop here.

We are in the third reveal, on the 13th of April.

Hungary is a central European country, with a long and interesting history, and a very exciting cultural heritage. I am not overly knowledgable about it all at the moment, but my curiosity has been awoken now, so I will definetely look into it a bit more. It might perhaps lend some inspiration to the pieces I will make with what I got from Agi. I certainly hope so anyway.

Agi is a wiz with the polymer clay. Just check out these absolutely beautiful earrings below. I adore them!

She is also a skilled seed beader.

I got an exciting and beautiful soup from Agi. With a colorful mix of her awesome own made beads, and a clasp, in polymer clay, and other beads as well. Do you see the large blue rivoli bead in the bottom left picture? Now I will have to give it a go for the first time in my life to bezel a rivoli/cabochon. And I already have an idea for the polymer clay beads with the metal wire going through them. And check out that large metal pendant ... yum!

I sent Agi a, in my own mind, rather diverse soup, with no special theme to connect it all together. If anything, it would be the three different color themes, red, purple and green. And I did put a lot of art beads in there in materials other than polymer clay, for Agi to play around with. 

All my best,

Malin

Art Bead Scene Challenge February 2013

Art Bead Scene's Monthly Challenge for February:

Heijinja, 1941

Tōshi Yoshida

Woodblock Print

(Please note this art is copyrighted and is to be used only as inspiration.)

What first caught my attention was of course the beautiful and striking color scheme with the orange-red buildings and all the subtle hues of beiges, pinks and greys. Secondly I was attracted to the people in the picture, and particularly the lady and the child feeding the birds, and also the beautiful blooming tree. And in fact I started there, and I have a few more sketches laid out for two or three more bracelets that I don't yet know if will end up completing.



But then I somehow ended up with this bracelet. It came about because I one night, as I so often do whilst sitting in front of the TV in the evenings, was making beaded beads. I thought I could maybe make one especially inspired by this challenge. And so, after a few attempts, a new design was born. One that I am very pleased with, and I believe I will end up making many of, but in different color constellations.



I saw the beaded beads inevitably combined with the round opal pink beads in a bracelet. And as a final celebration to the bloomy-ness in the inspiration picture I added one of Joanne Tinley of DaisyChainExtra's absolutely beautiful handmade copper clasps.

On a final note:
I have given myself the task of making at least one piece for every month of Art Bead Scene challenges this year. And I did indeed also make one for January. But for some reason I was never pleased with the photos I took, and the month went by and I had missed my chance to present it on Art Bead Scene. Never mind, it is still sitting here on my table, and when I have the photos I find good enough I will show it to you.

I was inspired to give myself this task by the always inspiring Cece Cormier of The Beading Yogini. She did it last year you see. And I find that for myself I always stretch a bit further for these challenges when I participate. So, there you go. I hope I will be able to live up to my task for all twelve months of the year.


All my best,
Malin

Two Bracelets

Macrame bracelet - Art Beads:

2 Wing Ding glass beads by Genea

1 Ceramic disc by Golem Beads

1 Lime green ceramic round by Gaea

Seagull bracelet - Art Beads:
1 Polymer clay Seagull bird by SomethingToDoBeads
1 Blue Erudite facetted polymer clay bead by Second Surf

All my best,

Malin de Koning

Celebrate Love

Two new necklaces, just in time for Valentine's day. But I personally think you can celebrate love on just any day of the year. These were made about a month ago, but I haven't gotten around to take any photos until now.

Find Love, ceramic raku focal by Jubilee.

Red heart toggle Clasp by MissFickleMedia

Red Erudite facetted polymer clay bead by SecondSurf

All my best,

Malin

New beaded beads

I have listed a few new beaded beads in my Etsy Shop. You will find most of the ones in the picture below there already, and with the rest coming up within at least 24 hours. 

Apart from these I have about 30-40 more I could list, and I plan to do so in the coming days or week or so. So don't forget to keep checking in :-).

All my best,
Malin