Inspiration is everywhere - the finer things in life!

I've decided to make Saturday the day for my new, regular post titled

"Inspiration is Everywhere - the finer things in life" 

Each Saturday I will be sharing a photo I have taken.

The subject will be something very simple, something we may see every day,
something we may never notice.

Along with the photo I will then share an accompanying colour palette.

I think these days we are all so busy with work, family, friends, rushing around not to mention trying to squeeze in a few things we personally enjoy doing.

I think more than often we don't take the time to slow down, to look at the finer things in life, something I know I am extremely guilty of.

Hopefully my weekly post will be a reminder to us all to take a step back, pause for a few minutes and smell the roses and enjoy

the finer things in life.

There's a world of beautiful out there you know!

So without furtherado here is my shot for this week.

~*~*~

A beautiful kite flying amongst a glorious blue sky at Southport on the Gold Coast (Queensland).

I actually took this picture last year but have it stashed in my inspirational folder so felt I had to share.

Isn't the kite glorious not to mention that beautiful blue sky.

Be sure to check out my first post last week which included a few feathered friends as well as some stunning flowers.

Remember...
...inspiration is everywhere!

♥

Margie and Me - hoping to use both palettes this time!

I am loving that we now have two colour palettes to choose from for the Margie and Me Challenge hosted by Marcie at La Bella Joya.

The first is 

The Colors of Constructivism - #102

I am excited to share that I have already created my piece for this palette. I loved the mixture of blues and greys with a splash of green! I can't wait to show you what I have made!

This time around I am really pushing myself to use both of the colour palettes so here is the second inspiration photo and colour palette that Marcie chose herself.

Image from JMDasso

I love the mustard shades in this palette and can't wait to mix them up with some dark blues and even some cornflower blue...such a contrast but as you can see by the image above they really do compliment each other quite strikingly.

Watch this space to see what I come up with!

♥

Margie and Me - The River Sea - #24

As you probably already know Marcie's Margie and Me Challenge has kicked off for 2011.

For the first challenge of the year I chose

The River Sea - #24

The different shades of green and the hidden browns and coppers really appealed to me as they are colours I often incorporate in my designs.

Here is my creation.

I created this bracelet using Melinda Barta's "Sparkly Wheels" pattern which featured in a 

previous issue of Beadwork.

I have used size 15/0 seed beads, 3mm fire polished Czech beads as well as some drop beads.

These wheels are so fun, quick and easy to make that I already have a shopping cart full of more 3mm beads so I can make some more!

You could easily make this bracelet in a day!

The biggest problem I had was deciding what beads to use!

Be sure to check out everyone else's creations on Marcie's blog, La Bella Joya.

♥

Marcie, Margie and Me - Mosaic of Colour - #129

I am a few days late for this one but as you may have already read I decided to use my Challenge of Colour piece for the Margie and Me challenge as the colour palettes were so similar.

So here is my piece which you may have already seen from my previous post.

Eagle Eye cabochon stitched with size 8/0 seed beads and delicas and strung on gorgeous Amazonite beads.

Be sure to check out what everyone else has made at Marcie's blog, La Bella Joya.

♥

Challenge of Color - My pieces revealed!

When I first signed up for this challenge my ''colours of choice" were browns, bronzes and golds. I was all geared up to create a piece using my favourite colours and even had the beads ready to go.

So imagine my surprise when my colour palette arrived by email to discover not a drop of bronze in sight!

The closest to bronze was Calilfornia Dreams....more like Mustard Dreams!

I was a little stumped!

But isn't that what challenges are all about... making us take that uneasy step outside of our comfort zone?

So with that in mind I found this Eagle Eye Agate cabochon in my stash... 

and realised the cabochon matched my colour palette to a T.

So here is what I created.

A beaded cabochon.

"Simply Sumptuous"

I love the earthy feel this piece has and can see me wearing it many times!

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Now apart from the wee speckles of blue/grey in the cabochon I felt my first piece didn't do Niabelle Blue any justice so I felt the piece was calling for more blue.

So... I decided to string the piece with these gorgeous Amazonite beads.

"Flourish"

I would never have strung this pendant with these beads in a million years but now that I have I think the colour combination is just divine!

Two necklaces for the price of one!

I actually loved this challenge as yet again I was forced to work with a colour combination I would not normally work with.

I think I might continue to challenge myself further and pick up a few paint palette cards next time I am at the hardware store!

Hop on over and see what everyone else has created with their palettes.

Alice Peterson

Amy Freeland

Beth McCord

Brandi Hussey

Cary Scholes

Catherine Pruitt

Cindy Wimmer

Claire Maunsell

Cory Tompkins

Courtney Breul

Cristi Clothier

Cynthia Riggs

Emanda Johnson

Holly Westfall

Janea McDonald

Jeannie Dukic

Jennifer Cameron

Judy Campbell

Keirsten Giles

Kelly Morgan

Kristie Roeder

Kristin Stevens

Lisa Godfrey

Lisa Tracy

Lori Anderson

Mallory Hoffman

Marie Voyer-Cramp

Mary McGraw

Nicole Keller

Nicole Valentine

Paige Maxim

Patty Gasparino

Rebecca Anderson

Renate Stark-Krammer

Rita Parra

Shannon Chomanczuk

Sheila Summers

Stefanie Teufel

Yelisa Rojas



And don't forget to visit Erin at Treasures Found:Inspiration is Everywhere.

♥

Marcie, Margie and Me - Mosaic of Colour - #129

I missed the last LaBellaJoya "Margie and Me Challenge''.

Thankfully I was able to finish my Ice Queen Challenge piece to allow me enough time to get something completed for this one.

This month Marcie selected

Colour Palette #129

~~

Mosaic of Color

Thankfully the inspiration colours are nearly identical to my colour palette for my Challenge of Color.



 As a result I plan on submitting my piece for both challenges with both requiring submission this weekend!

♥

Marcie, Margie and Me - Weis Church Fresco #80

It's hard to believe another 2 weeks has passed since the most recent Margie and Me challenge was set by Marcie at La Bella Joya.

The colour palette for this challenge was 

Colour Palette #80

~~

"Weis Church Fresco"

I used the masterpiece, that is the ceiling as pictured above, as my inspiration. 

I decided not to go with the colour palette created in the colour generator but focused on the pinks, blues and golds that make up this incredibly amazing ceiling.

The focal piece is a glass fused cabochon I made especially for the challenge in my microwave kiln.

After a little trial and error I managed to create a mix of colours  I felt reflected those found in the church's ceiling.

The cabochon was very difficult to photograph due to the glass being extremely shiny and no matter how hard I tried I continued to have a lot of reflection on the glass...until I took a shot of the piece on it's side!

It's hard to tell from the images but the picot edge is so pretty and shimmery. 

The seed beads are a mixture of size 15/0  gavlanised gold seed beads as well as Rainbow Cream Soda beads in size 11/0, producing some really pretty colours in the light.

Delica beads were used in the peyote bezel and the piece was backed with ultrasuede.

 I have to admit that again the color palette isn't something I'd normally go for. 

I don't consider myself the most "girliest of girls" so when I chose the church's ceiling for my inspiration I was a little concerned with the very ''pretty" colours.

  

But yet again this challenge has resulted in me not only using colours together that I normally would not...

....but yet I have again created a piece that I love!

Thanks again Marcie for yet another great palette choice 

and encouraging me to create out of my comfort zone!

♥

Marcie, Margie & Me - Weis Church Fresco #80

Marcie at La Bella Joya is kicking off her Margie & Me Challenge for another week and this week the colour palette from "The Beader's Color Palette" is 

Colour Palette #80

~~

"Weis Church Fresco"

Now the question is do you use the church itself as inspiration for your colour palette?

The masterpiece that is the ceiling inside?

Or the stunning architecture?

Hmmmmmm...decisions ....decisions!

Watch this space.

♥
Colour palettes created using Big Huge Labs color palette generator.

Marcie, Margie and Me - Portrait of a Lady with an Ermine #63

I am excited to announce that this week I will be taking part in ''Margie and Me".

Each week Marcie from La Bella Joya chooses a colour palette from Margie Deeb's book, The Beaders Color Palette, and then creates a piece using those colours.

This week Marcie and I were chatting and kind of decided on the colour palette together and selected 

Colour palette # 63
~~

''Portrait of a Lady with an Ermine''

This will be an interesting palette for me...not because of the colours themselves but the combination of colours.

Using Big Huge Labs color palette generator here are the colours that were chosen.

I have also included the shade of blue below as the this wasn't picked up in the generator.

We have until 16 October to complete our pieces so be sure to check out

Marcie's blog to see what she and others create this week!

♥

Speaking of books

You might have read my recent post about shopping carts and how long we leave items in them.

Well here are a few I've had in my shopping cart at the Book Depository for a few months and as I type the first three are hopefully making their way from the UK to me here in Australia! 

The last one I ended up ordering from the US as a friend was placing an order and with the dollar being so awesomely awesome right now I ordered that too!

I am so excited as I have had my eye on these books for some time now.

So here is what I bought.

This book is a complication of designs from previous issues of Bead & Button magazine. 

I took advantage of the ''Look Inside'' feature and there are some stunning designs, including the peyote links on the front cover, which I can't wait to tackle.

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I am soooo excited to be ordering this book. A few of my friends own this book and said it ''blew their mind'' when they received it! 

The beads on the front cover alone are enticing enough so I can't wait to flick through the pages of this one.

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I don't own Laura McCabe's previous book, Creating Crystal Jewelry, as I have never really worked with Swarovski crystals... until recently! 

But as I love beadweaving I thought this one would be right up my alley! 

No doubt I will come away with a lot of new skills from this one!

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Marcie of La Bella Joya recently invited me to take part in her Margie and Me challenge where she picks a colour palette from Margie Deeb's book and then creates a piece using those colours.

I absolutely cannot wait to take part... what a fantastic concept not to mention a great way to get me to use colour combinations I would not normally dare to use.

Thanks Marcie! My book has hit Australian shores so I should be receiving it on Tuesday!

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How is your beading book stash? Bought any good books lately?

♥