Creative Spark Summer 2016 |
While I edit the publication and manage the social media for ZnetShows.com, I'm also a designer for them. So, you'll find some of my designs within the pages. The whole theme for this magazine was to promote some of the new bead shapes and styles. As such, I divided it up by those categories. When I first saw a few of the beads, I immediately saw particular designs.
First up were the cultured sea glass top-drilled teardrop nugget pendants. When I saw the two sizes of the pendants, I knew I wanted to created a layered necklace. It took some finagling, but this beauty finally came together with some tubes and Chinese crystal beads, all from ZnetShows.com.
While I had the jet black sea glass beads out, I decided to play with altering them. Clear nail polish was a quick and easy way to give them some shine. I simply added dots to one side of the teardrop nuggets and a stripe (as best as I could) around the tube beads.
The double-hole flat freeform pendants also struck a chord with me from the first moment I saw them. I just had to make them into bracelets. Initially, I knew that the matte nature of the cultured sea glass leaned perfectly toward casual-wear. Using leather flowed naturally from that idea. It took a little force to get the leather through the holes (because I was too lazy to go find thinner leather), but I totally got these to work. As well, I learned to make adjustable knots so these could fit any number of wrist sizes. Oh, and I couldn't help myself again from altering at least one of them. I simply stamped a text stamp with some permanent ink onto one of the pendants. Because these are flat, it was a perfect base for stamping.
Once the leather ones were made, I decided to attempt to dress up the cultured sea glass a bit. Use of Chinese crystal beads in a rondelle shape made it easy. I used the light aqua 'coke' bottle seafoam-colored glass but wanted to make them match the crystals a bit more. As such, I altered two of the pendants with alcohol inks. The original-colored one is in the center of the picture below. Each of the bracelets work great on their own or stacked together. The construction of them also makes it easy to link all the bracelets together for one long wrap bracelet.
Even after making all that jewelry, I still had plenty of pendants left on my desk. With some E6000 glue, I quickly dressed up a square candle votive from the Dollar Tree. It totally matches the upcycled TV stand in our living room. It's no surprise that that's where the votive now lives.
My designs are just a few of the ones you'll find in Creative Spark Summer 2016. If you want more information on the beads I used, there are direct links to the products inside the magazine. Click over to see more, or use the viewer below to flip through the pages. I know you'll find something that inspires you.
Let me know what you think of the e-magazine and if you have any questions about how I created my designs, please don't hesitate to ask!
It is your best issue! I love how nice it looks and how well it works. I love the fact you put nail polish on the black beads in your earrings. Great idea!
ReplyDeleteOh Kathy, I'm so glad you like the magazine. I really had a vision for this issue of how I wanted to lay out the pages, making the images take up the hole pages if I could. I'm pleased that you like the direction I took!
DeleteI simply cannot keep myself from altering things. Though these beads would have been beautiful on their own, I had to put my own little spin on them. What a relief that you like them too! I'm still not sure what made me reach for the nail polish on those earrings, but it totally worked! Ha.
Thanks so much for popping in and for all the support! :)
Beautiful designs and another great job putting together this inspiring magazine!
ReplyDeleteWEll Hope! You did it again, only this is the very best e-mag yet!!!! Keep it up, you'll be syndicated :) before you know it! I also think your fingernail polish drops are a very clever idea! I might just have to borrow that one! :)
ReplyDeleteKarla, So very glad you like the magazine. I couldn't do it without the talented designers involved!! As for the fingernail polish drops. . .I have to admit that I tried a stencil first but that was a disaster. The drips worked much better. Go for it!! :)
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