2012 Fall/Winter Pantone Bead Swap :
LATE NIGHT SHOUT OUT TO......Nancy Dale!!!
I could not wait until tomorrow to write this post!!
I am in awe of the complete and utter kindness
of strangers...
so I have to share.
I have artist friends online.
I have come to love chatting, comparing notes, getting advice and even ordering beads and findings
from many of my new friends.
In the past,
I have observed many folks
participating in bead swaps and blog hops.
For a long time,
I wondered what in the world
a Bead Swap might entail.
Well, around the middle of September,
I entered my very first bead swap!
I made the choice to participate in a swap that was hosted by "Bead Diva" Lori McDaniel Anderson.
I picked one of her swap/hop
because I have been a follower of her blog
and a friend on Facebook for awhile now.
I find Lori to be kind, encouraging, helpful and
LOADS OF FUN!
I felt this would be a "safe" place to start.
The majority of bead swap/blog hops out there, randomly places partners together.
They all have some type of theme to follow and
a date is set to have your bead picks
mailed to your partner.
Once participants receive a bead package
from their partner,
they post pictures on their blog.
Then each person takes their bead packages
and creates one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces
using items from the package.
On a specific date,
there is a blog hop reveal
where everyone "hops"
to all the participants blogs
to see the wonderful goodies
that have been designed.
It seemed to be incredibly fun
and I thought it would be a great way
to step out of my box and try something new.
This first swap that I chose to participate,
did not require a finished jewelry piece
or a post on my blog.
Since I am new at blogging,
this one sounded perfect for me!
In the instructions,
we were told to
"send a thoughtful package
of
excellent beads to your partner,
as if you were giving a gift
to your
best friend".
Now I can do that!!
The theme of this swap was the new
2012 Fall/Winter Pantone Colors.
Yum!
Names were randomly paired by Lori
and the names of partners were issued.
I received the name of a wonderful designer,
Nancy...Nancy...Nancy
was an absolute
first-time-swapper-dream-come-true!
She was so encouraging,
sweet and thoughtful!
Her work is wonderful
and you can check out her sites here:
I will confess...
I was a little overwhelmed
when I went to her web page
and saw her Magnificent beading projects!
Complex beading that produces
absolutely breathtaking works of art.
I felt a little out of my field
but Nancy was so sweet.
We were instructed to coordinate
with our partner and decide which colors
we want to use in our swap.
Nancy and I both loved
the "French Roast" and "Honey Gold".
We were drawn to the "Bright Chartreuse",
even though it isn't a color we use often.
So, to make things interesting,
we decided to include this color
in an effort to push our designs
outside our comfort zones.
So, Nancy sent me a delightful package
with seed beads, crystals, glass beads,
agate, pearls and more!!!
I love everything she sent!
However, dear dear Nancy felt
that she had not shared
enough goodies with me.
(Silly Woman)
And it is here,
that I have to confess ...
I have been overwhelmed by her kindness!
Nancy put together ANOTHER package
and sent cabochons, shell beads,
more crystals in all shapes and sizes
along with MORE seed beads!!!
And I ♥LOVE♥ the enameled pendant!!!
I have got to learn how to do that!! LOL
I just ♥LuV♥ Nancy!!!
Below is the 2nd package I received (yesterday now):
Aren't these items just
yummy, yummy, yummy!?
So, as you can see
I've got my work cut out for me!
I was going to post the bead swap package
that I put together for Nancy
but I am now embarrassed
at how pawdry my package looks
in comparison to Nancy's!
I hope that you will go to Nancy and Lori's
site and see their fantastic work
and maybe join in the fun.
Until next time...
