Soaring Home...

Hello All! Remember last week when I mentioned that I had something up my sleeve in connection to the ArtBeads Blog Partner Program ?
I have the first Creation finished and ready to show you!
Artbeads has so much bead-y goodness to choose from that I knew I would have fun playing with all the materials from them! Here is a photo of some of my loot from them!

I was intrigued by the Swarovski Crystal Yarn and decided to combine the Smoked Topaz Suede Yarn and Montana Blue Cotton Yarn with a bit of hand-dyed Art fiber in a beautiful mix of smokey Fall colors that I’d purchased some years ago. My inspiration for the color scheme were the sunsets in the Fall and those vibrant yet dusky hues of blue, russet and brown. Once I saw the Soaring Bird link in a rich brass color, a second inspiration struck and I knew I had my focal. I’ve been playing with nests lately (if you’ll remember the Dreaming Nest I created a little while ago) and the migratory cycles of birds coincided perfectly with my Fall theme! I was surprised and delighted to find that Artbeads carried Leaf Chain I loved, but left behind, at a trade show a few months back! I snapped up a length of it in a rich copper finish and found a matching Antique-copper Spiral Clasp in a delightful texture reminiscent of the wind swirling about on it’s journey elsewhere. I was ready to create!

I wove the basket and added the faceted resin-encased pearl ‘eggs” first, then hung it from the Soaring Bird link. I was happy to note that the link is both sturdy and quite detailed! I then cut and sewed the fiber strands together and folded the brass filigree tubes around the necklace ends. Next came the hanging of the Bird and I was delighted and gratified to find that the blue of the nested pearls matched the Montana Blue of the Swarovski yarn as closely as I had anticipated! Final touches included cutting and hanging the copper colored leaves from the necklace, securing the clasp and adding the pearl ‘egg’ near the clasp. I found the Swarovski Yarn easy to work with (when cutting, bear in mind that the crystals are secured with thread and thus can fall off) and provided just the exact amount of sparkle I envisioned accentuating the rich but more subtle colors in the necklace. The Leaf chain was fun to play with (danglies!) and I look forward to using it in more creations. The clasp is well-made with crisp detail and a vibrant copper finish.
And here it is!
Title: Soaring Home


Legalese: I have received the following products free of charge from ArtBeads.com and I am honestly reviewing them. I have not been paid for my endorsement as it pertains to the products received: Swarovski Crystal Yarn-Smoked Topaz Suede and Montana Blue Cotton, Antique Brass Soaring Bird Link, Tierracast Antique Copper-Plated Spiral Toggle Clasp and Antique-Copper Plated Leaf Chain.