04 June 2011

Fairy Tale Bead Soup: Jenni's Secret Garden

 "In my garden there is a large place for sentiment.  My garden of flowers is also my garden of thoughts and dreams.  The thoughts grow as freely as the flowers, and the dreams are as beautiful."  ~Abram L. Urban

I have the worst luck with flowers.

I buy the most expensive hanging baskets from Lensmire's each summer and as soon as I take them out of the greenhouse they seem to deflate just a little, as if they know what fate awaits them on my front porch.
This year I picked out two beautiful hanging baskets. One with New Guinea impatiens with their large hardy blooms in the cheeriest shade of bubblegum pink with stripes of red and a double impatien that looks like tiny red roses surrounded by these fluffy white bitty blooms. 

I put them in the wrought iron hangers on my back porch so that I could see them when I looked out side the back door. But the wind came and battered them around quite a bit in the past week. And the sun is much hotter back there for a much longer time (I thought this was a shady spot! Well, it is when I come home around 5:30-7:00!). I have moved them to a shadier part of the house, but I feel sad, because they look as though I have abandoned and abused them, when I have been lovingly tending to them, watering them, and even fertilizing them. 

I wish that I had something other than a black thumb.

I admire lush gardens. I love to see a profusion of blooms as if floral fireworks have exploded showering down petals of every hue. I love the idea of a secret garden, with a creaky old gate that has ivy almost completely obscuring the entrance twining all around. You would jiggle the key that fits in the lock and when you pushed the heavy gate open you would spy the most extraordinary sights and smell the most incredible scents. It would be a feast for your senses.

For the Fairy Tale bead soup swap I gladly volunteered to be paired up with a new international friend. I was lucky to swap with Jenni Connolly of Jenni Bead from all the way Down Under. Since I won't likely get to travel there, this is the next best thing! 


Jenni sent me a very pretty palette of purple, chartreuse and lavender. There were lampwork glass beads with confetti colors, bright green faceted glass rondelles, really cool ribbed glass beads (that I saved for another day) and some lilac colored lucite petals. 

From my own stash I found some antique silver floral filigree that I layered with the lucite petals and a perfect glass headpin with the same purple and green palette from the immensely talented Kelley Wenzel of KelleysBeads.

To that I added stacked silver toned bead caps and daisy spacers along with a pewter skeleton key from Lynn Davis. I love what Lynn does. I sent her the original of this key and a few other pieces back last year and challenged Lynn to work her magic and create pewter castings of these items. I still have the original, but I love that I can keep using this piece through Lynn's ingenuity.


The result is a very fresh and springy look that is a departure from the color palettes that I usually gravitate to. I call this "Jenni's Secret Garden" in honor of my new friend Jenni. 
{Jenni's Secret Garden}
Please go and check out what everyone else made!

Lori Anderson, Pretty Things
Rebecca Anderson, Song Beads
Courtney Breul, Beads By Breul 
Loretta Carstensen, Designs by Loretta
Evelyn Hall, Dragon Lady Evelyn
Sandy Richardson, Sandy's Coloring Box
Tara Plote, Newbie Beader
Christine Brandel, A Hot Piece of Glass
Lisa Sittniewski, Alterity Art
Joanna Matuszczyk, Filcowe
Jenni Connolly, Jenni Bead
Geneva Collins, Torque Story
Elisabeth Auld, Beads For Busy Gals
Sally Russick, Wireworked
Mary McGraw, MK's Creative Musings
Norma Turvey, Moonlit Fantaseas
Erin Prais-Hintz, Treasures Found You are here!
Stephanie Haussler, Pixybug Designs
Shai Williams, Shaia's Ramblings
Johanna Rhodes, Fire Phoenix Creations
Sandi Lee James, Do Be Do Bead Do
Valerie Norton, Hot Fused Glass 

Enjoy the day!

32 comments:

Andrew Thornton said...

What a lovely necklace! You did an awesome job! I love the key element. It really makes it a secret garden. Nicely done!

OH! And I wouldn't be too hard on your self. Impatiens can be somewhat fickle, as I've learned in my own experiences, and if they get too much sun or not enough water, they can look like a droopy mess. But in the right lighting conditions and with the right amount of water and fertilizer, they can be really beautiful... even their flowers seem to glitter! Like really glitter. I thought I had something in my eye the first time I saw them sparkle. But I didn't (have anything in my eye) and they do (sparkle)!

Jenni said...

Erin, I love your necklace. I knew you would come up with something fab. I love the floral centrepiece and how you layered it together.And of course, the key element, so YOU and so great for the 'secret' story. Cute little leaf toggle closure, too. Thankyou, too, for your sweet comments.
I hope your impatiens recover, I have cut them back somewhat severely in the past and have had success with them springing back.. good luck with that.
Jenni

Aquariart said...

Oh Erin, this is gorgeous and if you know me those are my favorite colors. I will go visit the others tomorrow after I get some sleep...Insomnia because I took a nap earlier today... I stopped by because I finally posted about the family crest I mentioned back in March and linked to your blog. Hopefully you will get even more traffic. Please stop by to see the crest- it will be worth the trip.

Regina said...

What a gorgeous necklace, love the way you have created the focal flower and it is all beautiful! You certainly have a bead thumb!

Mary K. McGraw said...

This is an absolutely gorgeous necklace. The floral centerpiece just sets the whole thing off.

Unknown said...

Wow! That is so lovely, and the colors are so vibrant! Very pretty, and sorry to hear about your black thumb! At least you jewelry "gardens" don't die!

Paige said...

Oh Em Gee!!! I don't think there are other words for this piece! It's absolutely gorgeous...stunning....beautiful. I love purple and green together, and that floral focal you created??? Ah-Maze-Ing!

Courtney Breul said...

I love the magic this creates! The key toggle is perfection! Stunning piece! Congrats.

Alice said...

Gorgeous!! Just gorgeous! I love how you layered the focal, and the colors work so well together.

It was always said that my maternal grandmother could poke a broom handle in the ground and make it grow. I did NOT inherit this trait, much to my dismay. I love flowers and lush gardens, but have never been able to make it work for me.

I received your Simple Truths pendant in the mail yesterday (thank you!). It's just beautiful, and I urge everyone to sign up for these one of a kind pieces of art!!!!!

EmandaJ said...

Hi Erin, I have brown thumbs to my shoulders -- on both arms! The only things I can grow are weeds and beads. You did a fabulous job with Jennie's offerings. Congratulations of a successful garden necklace.

Emanda

somethingunique said...

Hi Miss Erin, what a lovely piece you are so talented & never dissapoint i am :( i could not load the video and as for your flowers i was an advide gardner and i designed patio and hanging baskets until i could physically no longer do that now i have about 60 house plants and my secret is donot water too much it's best if you let them dry out a little bit and make sure they have good drainage on the bottom or the roots will rot my rule of thumb is when my plants begin to wilt a little bit that tells me they are thirsty or poke your finger into the soil if it is still moist wait a bit to water and impatients donot like sun at all they are mostley a shade flower & you can also over fertalize usually when it comes from the garden center it has been fertalized and never fertalize in the sun it burns the plant. i hope i helped it should come back nicely for you. take care and have a great weekend
ttfn L:)

Loretta said...

Wow, what a beautiful Secret Garden. Love it!

Pretty Things said...

Oh I'm so jealous of those beads -- they're RIGHT up my alley! And I love the stacking technique -- will you let me try that?

This entire creation is so beautiful.

As for gardening -- that was my passion before Zack and before beads. People actually used to stop by my house to compliment me on my flower beds. Alas, I now grow weeds with an equally green thumb.

Shai Williams said...

I don't know about you having a black thumb. Anyone looking at this necklace can see otherwise. And the best part. It will last year round.

Off the Beadin' Path said...

You do indeed have a "bead" thumb, that was cute! You have created a lasting garden in that necklace, right on target!! You certainly had the brilliant sun-loving colors to work with and then the way you arranged it all is a real display of your talent, as always! I totally relate to the flower dilemma, but you got good advice. They have to thrive!

Christine said...

Lovely!! Your pictures capture all your beautiful elements!

Green Shoot Jewellery Designs said...

Absolutely gorgeous, you did a fabulous job!

Diana said...

Stunning piece...love how you created the focal and the colors. I would like to visit your secret garden someday....sounds like a slice of heaven to me.
Ta Ta
Diana

Jenny said...

What a beautiful necklace! The layerd focal is lovely!

elisabeth said...

I agree, the layered focal is really wonderful, and the piece is pulled together so nicely - you amaze as always :-)

Torque Story said...

This is beyond stunning. I'm not all the way through the blog hop yet, but this is my favorite piece so far. Love the multi-layered, multi-textured focal, the key-as-toggle clasp, the color combination--everything.

Lisa said...

Just gorgeous! I love it when everyone posts the picture of the beads sent to them first. I take a little extra time looking and trying to imagine what beauty I will see when I scroll down. I am always amazed, and certainly never disapointed when I am on your page! You absolutely created a stunning piece! Have a beautiful Sunday!

Anonymous said...

STUNNING! Erin, the color palette of the beads is so striking and the necklace you created is an absolute show stopper, especially that gorgeous focal floral pendant you created! Great work as always!

Cindy said...

Erin, what a gorgeous set of beads you received from sweet Jenni! I've gone back to look at them again because they are just so pretty. And your necklace! You are still channeling that incredible creative mode you were in recently for Verse & Vision at Gallery Q!! They key is an fantastic element. I love it all - the floral focal and the assymetrical design (you are so good at that!). I know I would sure love to wear this one this summer!

Anonymous said...

You always create stunning pieces of jewellery, Erin, and this is no exception! This is amazing, I just simply don't know how you do it :) I love this piece!

Anonymous said...

Amazing! That is gorgeous and makes quite a statement! Love the filigree components...right up my alley!

JeannieK said...

Yes I agree, you do have a bead thumb. That glass headpin is perfect with the beads Jenni sent you. Very Pretty.

Joanna Matuszczyk said...

A secret key to a secret garden. Wonderful necklace. I love it so much:)

Erin Siegel said...

Lovely, Erin! Your necklace really does capture the magical secret garden perfectly. That's one of the things I find so amazing about you. You are always able to take an idea or theme or abstract concept and translate it into an iconic jewelry design.

steufel said...

Just one word: Beautiful:-)

Tara P. said...

Wow, Erin - it's just a stunning necklace! The color combination and what you did for the focal is amazing!

Brandi Hussey said...

Gorgeous, Erin, absolutely gorgeous! I love seeing bead swaps like this!

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