Saturday, July 21, 2012

Summer Color Surprise Blog Hop - the reveal

As you may know - a few good weeks back Lisa at Pineridge Treasures decided to de-stash a number of surprise packages. As we bought her surprises an idea formed: why not a blog hop? And a blog hop it became.

When I ordered mine, Lisa had a few different colours displaying - and for a few minutes I toyed with the idea to ask her to not send me one of them... then I said - oh, that's OK, we'll see what fate brings. A few days later, in the mail - the package from Lisa. I opened it before I reached the door - and what do you think? fate is a funny lady. In was this gorgeous package:

Summer Color Surprise Blog Hop: the package :: All Pretty Things


Why is fate funny? Because that's the only colour I do not work with - black. I starred at the package for a long moment, then ever-optimistically I told myself "self, *this* will be the challenge: make black work". I spilled the content on the table and I admitted it was still gorgeous :)

There were this beautiful lampwork animals, flowers, and a heart:

Summer Color Surprise Blog Hop: the package :: All Pretty Things


there were shiny black (I presume onyx) rectangular beads:

Summer Color Surprise Blog Hop: the package :: All Pretty Things

there were absolutely delicious grey-shaded cracked agate round beads:

Summer Color Surprise Blog Hop: the package :: All Pretty Things

and many other shinny pretty things:
Summer Color Surprise Blog Hop: the package :: All Pretty Things



Black or in some shades of grey... Now what?

By now you'll probably ask yourself: what's your problem? Well... in our culture black is a mourning colour. I grew up associating black to deep sadness and complete loss. My mom wouldn't allow black in our house - except for skirts, pants, and shoes / bags. Tops and accessories - no way!

As an adult - in certain conditions - I started to wear black tops: only the occasional summer cotton tanks, or that LBD (which I wore once, in fairness). But accessories?! absolutely not! My first black bead was the onyx I used in the black and red set - and I could wear the set just because they were so shinny and the red beautifully complemented the onyx. Thinking of the Red & Black set I realized that Lisa didn't say we *must* use only her beads... so I can mix the black. Oh, now we are talking.

Once the mental block was dispersed with - I truly got into a frenzy.

First, I got some of the beads from Dee: the sparkly blue eclectic glass mix, and after a very short moment of thought this is what I came up with

Summer Color Surprise Blog Hop: Blue Necklace (wire crochet) :: All Pretty Things

I love wire crochet, but this necklace was beyond my imagination: it is playful, happy and dances beautifully on your neck (I wore it the second I finished it!). I decide to add the tassel, but it is as beautiful without (I just liked the added focal point).

The lampwork was a bit more difficult: black cats and owls are kind of 'unlucky' thingies... and no matter how much I tried, I just could not put them together in some wearable design. I do accept suggestions :)

The flowers and the heart - ended up in this Victorian set.

Summer Color Surprise Blog Hop: Victorian Set (chain, lampwork, wire-wrapping) :: All Pretty Things

The original idea was to use the black chain (oval links) as a base for the cats and heart, wrapped on wire like charms. I forgot to add the weight of the glass beads in the equation, so the charm-like idea did not work. I already had the 3 chains (bought them specifically for this project) - after some playing around I settled on the Victorian necklace. With the silver chains and the little red dots on the lampwork is not that dark anymore, I wore it once (I do wear all my designs to figure out if they work or not :)) and it had a very nice fluidity. I got many compliments on it that day.

I still had a few items on the table - no good idea for the black chips (onyx?), or for the silver charms... and a big pile of faceted black crystals (one side in gorgeous blue-green shades), black and silver metallic beads, and simple black beads. Another wire crochet didn't seem to work well... and then it downed on me:

Summer Color Surprise Blog Hop: Bracelet :: All Pretty Things


What's wrong with a simple and very elegant memory wire bracelet?! Nothing, if you ask me (but I am biased).

For the cracked agate I had a good plan - and it worked beautifully from the first try:

Summer Color Surprise Blog Hop: The Opera necklace (agate, glass pearls, sterling silver, wire wrapping) :: All Pretty Things


Summer Color Surprise Blog Hop: The Opera necklace (agate, glass pearls, sterling silver, wire wrapping) :: All Pretty Things
I just added some glass pearls in the most beautiful shade of grey and a bright, clean white, some wire, some chain - and now I am in possession of the necklace I dreamed of making myself for a couple of years :) It is a whooping 56" long and the most versatile piece I made: a 4-in-1: you can wear it as a long opera necklace, you can wrap it twice and wear it as a double strand, you can use it as a lariat (one end goes through the loop of the other end) and you can even wrap it around your wrist like a bracelet! The bracelet version is not easy to untangle when you take it off, though :) However, it's fun to wear (I might make a multi-strand bracelet for the set... I need to find those agate somewhere first).

Here we are - at the end of a long story. My challenge was trully... challenging - but I am very happy with how I turned it out. Even if some of the pieces I can't get myself to wear (old habits die very hard - pun intended), I like them very much. And I know there are many people out there having no troubles with the colour.

Summer Color Surprise Blog Hop: The results :: All Pretty Things


Please visit the other participants too - for more surprises!

Alicia Marinache <-- You are here

35 comments:

  1. wow you've been busy! lovely pieces, each one of them! that first one is stunning - love the mix of color with the blue, and the pearls are gorgeous ... all of these are just beautiful

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you - it seems the Black & Blue is a preferate with the crowd, and not surprisingly so. It looks even more sparkly and happy in reality :)

      Delete
  2. Oh... Oh my. So many lovely things ! And oh, the first one... Soooo lovely. (black and blue are my colors, I can't help myself)

    For the cats I think I would have made a bracelet with them... with clear, white and red beads as accents.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Audrey - the Blue and Black necklace is my favourite too, I think I'll keep it :)

      I'll give a try to the bracelet idea, thanks!

      Delete
  3. I love all of the things you made, but the first necklace is my favorite. I would totally wear that with about anything! I wear a lot of colors and that would go with about any of them. I love the neutral quality of it, but it still has some ZING of it's own! Wow, you really did deal with a color challenge, and whipped it right into shape. Nice job!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you - yes, it's a very 'wearable' piece, indeed: it goes with jeans, and it goes with a cocktail dress too, perfect amount of glitz on it :)

      Delete
  4. Wow the package of beads was truly awesome and all colour co-ordinated too.

    Love the jewellery you have created with them - pretty, original, and very collectable.

    I fell in the with the little chicken especially - I keep a flock of rare breeds.

    I love visiting your blog - there is always a fabulous surprise awaiting

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, yes, all Lisa's packages were very co-ordinated and all beautiful. I had a blast (once I started :)). Thanks for visiting, please come by any time :)

      Delete
  5. Dear Alicia, For someone who has an aversion to black, you more than did it justice. You know how much I love simplicity (and flowers), so it is the three chain set that really has me oogling. You have been a very busy girl!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Marlene - that's the right word 'aversion' (and you have to know my mom to see her level of anti-black). You're right, the Victorian set has a very quiet elegance in it - it's a pleasure to wear too: light and flowing and with those beautiful curves.
      You've been very busy too!

      Delete
  6. Alicia - Way to conquer your fear and make those black beads talk! I rarely use black beads myself and would have found them a challenge, but it seems like you had so much fun and created some really elegant pieces. Lovely choice using the blue and silver with the black, and really impressed with how you used blended the lampwork beads and chain. Congrats - Love them all. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Lisa - it was an interesting journey, that's for sure!

      Delete
  7. Love the crocheted piece, the colors compliment each other nicely. You can donate those fun lampwork animal beads to Beads of Courage. Some child will think they are awesome :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Tammie - and that is a gorgeous idea, I was thinking to make something with them and donated it, but I like the idea to give them to fighting kids; I'll check the BoC!

      Delete
  8. Like you I never work in black. However that being said after seeing your lovely work maybe I should! Beautiful pieces!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL, Marla - yes, you should. Even if you don't wear it, someone will :) To be honest, nothing beats a certain elegance of black.

      Delete
  9. So many gorgeous pieces!! I don't like to work with black, either, and you've made it look so easy! Thanks for the inspiration :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. You have been really busy!

    Love the wire crocheted necklace and the last necklace... Wow! Is wire crochet difficult?

    Ambra

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey, Ambra, glad to 'see' you again! I don't fint wire crochet difficult, but then I crochet since I was a kid. I have a tutorial right here on the blog (no pictures, I should make one with pictures next time): http://www.allprettythings.ca/2011/10/how-to-make-crochet-necklace-technique.html

      If you know how to crochet it goes something like this:
      * Step 1: add beads on wire (I use 28 ga)
      * Step 2: crochet chain
      * Step 3: repeat step 1 & 2 for the number of chains you need (in my case 3, but you can add more)
      * Step 4: braid the chains, finish the endings
      * Step 5: wear it!

      Of course, there are different type of wire crochet, I like braiding multiple chains together :)

      Delete
  11. My first cat as a child was black, so I am fortunate to have only positive connotations with that. Since you are uncomfortable using those particular beads, perhaps you could save them for novelty jewellery around Halloween. If you have kitty beads in different colours or other animal beads to put with them, maybe that could make a cute children's bracelet? I myself love black as it really plays up bright colours, like you have done so successfully with the blue crochet necklace.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What I found surprising was how deep certain things are rooted into your brain :) I like the idea of a Halloween bracelet very much - I might do a combination of BoC and Halloween for a child that will enjoy it!
      Thanks for visiting with us today :)

      Delete
  12. Alicia - you took a color that you didn't work with before and totally rocked it! All of your creations are just beautiful! The black and blue necklace is my personal favorite. I am sorry that you can't use the black cats and the bat beads. I do like the idea of donating them to the children at Beads of Courage. I will message you regarding replacing these beads with other beads that you can use. Thank for participating in the hop!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Lisa, for organizing it! I had a blast, truly - it was a very new concept for me, it was a new experience, and I think it did me good to think outside of this box :) The black and blue necklace seems to be the crowd's favourite! And no worries about the cats and bats, it's not that I 'couldn't use' them, more of I 'didn't come up with any idea to please the eye' (my eye, at least :)). Now I got 3 good ideas: combine them with simple red and white beads for a funky bracelet, combine them with more spooky beads for a Halloween bracelet (or necklace), or donate them to BoC - all 3 are wonderful!

      Delete
  13. That blue looks awesome with the black.

    And I must try wire crochet one of these days. That gives such cool shape to the strand.

    I think your 4 in 1 necklace is my favorite. So light and elegant.

    Beautiful job!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It does, doesn't it? I do love the look of that necklace! And yes, you must try wire crochet. As I should try the Viking (in plan for a couple of years now... can you say 'procrastination'? :))

      Thanks for visiting!

      Delete
  14. Very nice jewelry. My favorite piece was the wire crochet necklace. I have done wire crochet, but it looked very different. I like the dangle with the chain.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Inge - the black and blue necklace is just 3 simple chains braided together, with the added dangle (I am fond of tassles / dangles right now :))

      Delete
  15. I am in love with all the pieces you have created. I love the tassel on the fist necklace. Stunning. The memory wire bracelet.. gorgeous. Wonderful job.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you - I am happy you (and everyone else who commented) liked the pieces. I had fun for sure :)

      Delete
  16. I love them ALL. Amazing, considering you had such a block against black. And they are all so cheerful!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Kashmira - I think I still have the aversion to black; I just figured out how to get it off my way, one bead at a time :)

      Delete
  17. Splendide, toate !
    Drept e că , pentru mine, culoarea neagră e pe ultimul loc, intr-o ierarhie proprie, dar , cum ţi-am mai spus , îi recunosc puterea şi, în anumite, eleganţa supremă.
    Iar ce ai realizat , în combinaţie sau nu, e ceva cu totul deosebit !
    Succes !

    ReplyDelete
  18. It's like you've created an entire "line" of jewelry from these beads! I think your family history about wearing black, and how it has impacted you in the past, is very interesting. I'm glad you shared that with us. It gives what you did here a whole new meaning. You broke through the barrier beautifully while staying true to yourself!

    Every piece here is lovely, but the first with the bits of light blue is my absolute favorite!

    ReplyDelete
  19. For someone that has a history with the color black I feel that you totally rocked it. That lariat necklace is just gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for sharing your thoughts! I appreciate and love to read your comments!