Resin Bubbles Blog Hop

"I am drinking the stars!"

~Dom Perignon on his first sip of bubbly Champagne

When I saw that Miss Lorelei was hosting a little Michaels beading blog hop I jumped at the chance. Never mind that it was the going to be during the most busy week for me. I just had to do it!

I have been on the Halcraft/Michaels beading design team since last May. Each month we are sent an assignment for a particular style or using a particular set of Bead Gallery beads that are usually not even in the stores yet. Back in June 2012, we were given the theme of Vintage and sent lots of metal sliders and pendants to use. That is the first time I saw these resin bubbles. Their holographic quality mesmerized me.

{Jewel of the Nile}

I created a necklace that used a few of them as connectors called 'Jewel of the Nile.' I just used the holes at each end to connect to the pearls and the blue color brought out the turquoise in this pretty pendant.

But in the spirit of Miss Lorelei's challenge, I knew that I wanted to challenge myself to create something new. So I decided to buy the purple and peach color combination.

Their shape is what vexes me. I love the irregularity of it, and in this colorway, there are two sliders with the peach and purple and one with the purple only, which appeals to my asymmetric soul. As I moved them around on my beading table, I thought they looked a bit like a honeycomb. I wanted them to look like they were floating there. The trick was getting them to attach to one another in a way that made use of the negative space but also held a shape.

I had to go slow and connect each one individually to the next using jump rings, turning them over as I did so. And with each one that I connected it led to a whole new dilemma about where to place the next. It was as if I selected a 1000 piece puzzle and all the pieces were shaped the same but fit together in many ways, with the picture the only way to tell if you got it right. The pieces only have holes on the ends, and they only face in one direction. So it is more challenging to construct than it looks.

I wish that it didn't flop around when I pick it up. but when it is on and lying flat it really does have a stunning presence. To keep it simple, I dug through my stash of silk cord from Marsha Neal Studio and knotted a total of seven strands, doubled for the back part. And then I figured out that I made it a little too long. Doh! The silk cord stretches from the weight of all those metal sliders. But I do like the effect.

I call this Sweet Sparkling Rosé as this reminds me of a bit of pink champagne! Maybe I should take that as a sign that Mimosas are in order for Sunday's festivities! ;-)

Thank you Miss Lorelei for proposing this creative challenge. It was frustrating and fun at the same time, as all great challenges should be. Please go over to her blog and see links to all the other participants in the hop.