Gold Dust Special Challenge...

In one of the online forums, someone asked where they could see examples of what people made for the challenges.  So I posted the links to ALL the reveals.  In the process, I started counting them and realized that the next kit that I did would be the 25th kit since we rebooted the Design Challenges.  It boggles my mind that over 500 kits have been shipped out world-wide.

This is the latest Design Kit Challenge: Gold Dust!  If this is the first time you're finding out about these challenges, it's an informal and fun way to push yourself creatively by using an assortment of components that I've picked out.

To participate, you must purchase a Design Kit. This kit features a selection of premium Czech glass (both new and vintage), vintage lucite, waxed Irish linen, vintage German glass, vintage seed beads, 24k gold plated copper, brass, recycled sari silk ribbon, plated faceted pyrite rondelles and a Luxury Bead Blend.

The Luxury Bead Blend consists of Japanese Miyuki seed beads, Toho seed beads, Japanese Matsuno seed beads, vintage Czech seed beads, freshwater pearls, glass pearls, Czech glass (both old and new), pyrite, stone, vintage sequins, vintage German plastic, dyed wood, German glass, electroplated hematite, Swarovski crystals, vintage Japanese glass, Javanese glass, and vintage lucite.

But wait... there's more!  Each kit will come with a special handmade component that will remain a mystery until it arrives at your door! It may be more than one piece!

The mystery component(s) will be publicly revealed on Monday, November 9th, 2015!

When I started to plan this kit, I had already wanted to use pyrite as the source inspiration.  As I worked with it more, it reminded of a time when I found a piece of fools gold and felt like I had won a million dollars.  I wanted to capture that luxurious feel and bumped up the gold-tones, yellows, and metallics.  I broke the budget and splurged a little on some of the components.  I also wanted to launch the kit today, because it's the 25th and this will be the 25th kit!

With your kit, using as much or as little of it as you like, create a piece that showcases your creativity, individuality, and artistic expression! Ideally you'll pull from the components in the kit and spotlight them, but feel free to use beads from your own stash to supplement the offered selection. Whether you use a little or a lot of the kit, make sure you keep your project secret until the reveal date!

The Reveal Date for this challenge is: Thursday, November 19th, 2015!

Post a picture on your blog or send one to me to post on your behalf (if you don't have a blog of your own). The Gold Dust Special Challenge will end in a blog hop, sharing all the lovely things created with your kit with your fellow participants.

There are only 30 Design Kits available (with one set aside for me)! Once we receive your order, we will process your kit and send it out within seven Allegory Gallery business days. Hurry! Supplies are limited and are on a FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE basis! (Sorry, no exceptions!)

I also wanted to mention that all the Design Kits will be shipped with Priority mail. This can take anywhere from one business day to ten. For international orders, it may take longer! If you know that it take a long time to reach your destination (from Southwestern Pennsylvania) please place your orders early! I will do my best to get your kit out as early as possible, but unfortunately I can't be held responsible if it arrives late due to the postal service.

All sales of the Design Kits are final and there are no returns or exchanges. Sorry!

With all that being said... we really hope you'll enjoy working with the kit and have a ball playing with it! We can't wait to see what you make!

CLICK HERE to get your Design Kit!

Heather Powers Visit...

Take a look at this article that appeared in the Ligonier Echo about Heather's trip.  We are so lucky to be able to have her come out!  I'm really happy that we could make it work out!

Today was the optional field trip to Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater House.  We loaded up the car and headed over.  Our little gang included Alison, Heather, Rosanne, Terri and me.  Above is a picture of Alison, Heather, and Rosanne.  (Terri must have been further ahead on the trail.)

I don't typically post a lot of pictures of myself, but I had to post this selfie taken in front of the iconic cantilevers.

And here's the view of the house.  We had a fun time exploring the house.  Even though I have visited several times, I learn a little more each time.  It really changes depending on the tour guide.

While we were in the area, we headed over to Ohiopyle for a visit to the falls.  Since our retreat this weekend is waterfall themed, it was perfect!

After our adventures, we headed over to Mountain Palace for some Northern Chinese food.  I'm always really happy with the meals we get there.  Everything is fresh and just yummy.  

It was a great precursor to the weekend workshop and I can't wait to meet everyone and make lots of pretty things!

Warrior Stone Challenge Reveal...

Today is a fun day!  It's the reveal of the Warrior Stone Challenge.  I really want to thank everyone who participates and continues to make these challenges possible.  THANK YOU!  Each challenge is exciting for me, because I get to see how different people encounter the same materials and make them truly their own.

The color palette for this challenge started off being inspired by labradorite.  The kit includes shades of gray, gold, green, and purple with pops of silver and blue.  To read more about the inspiration and the component fixings, CLICK HERE.

And without further ado... here's the reveal:

These pieces were created by Melissa Wynne.  Here's what she had to say about them:  "The colors in this challenge were great, as all the challenge color selections have been.  As I've done in previous challenges, I utilized pieces of my late mother's jewelry and also beads I purchased from the "Bead Lady" – a woman who sold wonderful vintage beads at a long gone swap meet."

Here's a close-up of the bracelet.  "I've been on a bracelet kick lately.  So my favorite creation is the wrap bracelet.  It was quite an experiment in texture and design.  It also can be worn as a necklace.  I found this to be funny!  When I made the "circles" in the necklace using the stone chips, I thought I'd really done something unique... until... I saw stone chip circles everywhere!  Thank you again for exercising my brain!"

These pieces were created by Kathleen Ennis-Reid.  Here's what she had to say about them:  "So far, this has to be my favorite kit!  Labradorite is a stone of my heart and I wear it a lot.  I love the color story that Andrew has put together – lots of blue flash to be found in this kit!  The heart pendant has been languishing in my stash for quite awhile.  I decided to use it as the focal for this piece.  I usually do multi-strand pieces with a little more randomness to it, but this kit felt like it needed a more regimented look to it.  So two matching strands hold a handmade bail for the heart.  I made matching labradorite earrings with teardrop dangles."

This piece was made by Cathy Jakicic.  Here's what she had to say about it:  "I did a little free-form embroidery with the challenge treasures.  I used some seed beads from my own stash to add some background texture and to bring out the color of the labradorite.  As you can see, I used the secret component as the clasp."

Here's another view of Cathy's cuff. "I think the cuff has a "warrior" feel to it.  Think Wonder Woman without all the primary colors."

These pieces were created by Lisa Mendum.  Here's what she had to say about them:  "I have participated in a handful of challenges and sometimes they are the only beading I have time for and I love them!  The kits often feature colors outside my comfort zone, which is fantastic for creative growth.  I haven't much time for beading so the pieces I created for Warrior Stone aren't really complicated.  I did throw in some of my own skeleton beads for extra fun!"

This piece was made by me.  Originally I wanted to make something more tribal and look like it belonged to a shaman.  But as I played with the components the beads led me to this rather delicate and dainty piece.  On the left side of the piece is a wire-wrapped link chain with a few garnets for a pop of color and the rest is all chain with wire-wrapped link embellishments.  It took some playing to get the proportions and weighting right so that the large labradorite coin didn't migrate.  

But wait... there's even more to see!  Check out what these participants made for the Warrior Stone Challenge:

An InLinkz Link-up

Up next is the Lunar Eclipse Challenge!  I hope you'll join us to see all the great pieces on the reveal date!  I have it scheduled for Thursday, October 15th.

ALSO... keep your eyes peeled for another Special Challenge that will be released on my birthday, September 25th!  This will be the 25th kit (since we rebooted the challenges)!  Hurray!

Bead and Craft Bloggers...

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
This just in!  Pantone has announced the Fashion Color Report for Spring 2016!  What's your favorite choice for Color of the Year?

Chalk Paint Plaque - Something Wonderful
Learn recipes for chalk paint and how to use it to create an inspirational wall plaque.

Art Bead Scene
Check out Claire's inspiring take on this month's challenge painting and her art bead selections to whet your appetite!

Get Colorful
Coloring intricate designs is a new trend for adults and a great way to relieve stress.  The Crafty Princess has a free downloadable image from a new coloring book available on her weblog.

Blue Mood
Connie's added a new chart to her Etsy shop that will be easily adapted to any holiday or season.  Find links to all her pattern sources in the blog post as well.

Beading Arts
Cyndi shares some strategies for combining bead embroidery with free form beadweaving.

Snap out of it, Jean!  There's beading to be done!
Jean reviews a fab book by Keiko Nakamoto on wrap bracelets, "DIY Wrap Bracelets: 25 Designs Using Beads, Thread, Ribbon, Cord, and More!"  So fun!

Last Harvest Challenge Kits SOLD OUT...

I'm always blown away with how quickly the challenge kits sell out.  The Last Harvest kit is now sold out.  It really means a lot to me that they are so well received.  Sometimes when I'm in the studio and I'm pulling strands and mixing combinations, it's hard to envision how others will respond to the components I select.  There are so many other challenges nowadays and so many other kits available.  It's a good feeling to know that people like what I put together and want to challenge themselves creatively!  So many thanks to everyone who purchased a kit!  I'm curious to see what you guys will make!

Last Harvest Challenge...

I'm so pleased to announce our latest Design Kit Challenge: Last Harvest!  If this is your first time learning about our challenges, they're a really fun way to play with your creativity by working with an array of pre-selected components.

To participate, you must purchase a Design Kit. This kit features a selection of premium Czech glass (both new and vintage), vintage acrylic, carnelian, waxed Irish linen, vintage German glass, vintage seed beads, Javanese glass, and a Luxury Bead Blend. 

The Luxury Bead Blend consists of Japanese Miyuki seed beads, Toho seed beads, Japanese Matsuno seed beads, vintage Czech seed beads, freshwater pearls, glass pearls, Czech glass (both old and new), carnelian, red tiger's eye, red agate, stone, vintage sequins, vintage German plastic, dyed wood, German glass, electroplated hematite, Swarovski crystals, vintage Japanese glass, Javanese glass, and vintage lucite. 

But wait... there's more!  Each kit will come with a special handmade component that will remain a mystery until it arrives at your door! It may be more than one piece!

The mystery component(s) will be publicly revealed on Monday, October 26th, 2015! 

For the past few challenges, I've been looking to gemstones for as a starting off point.  Once I've thought about the stone, I go from there.  This kit was inspired by carnelian.  Growing up in Florida, we didn't really have seasons.  Everything stayed pretty monochromatically green and then brownish in winter.  When I moved up North, I was shocked by the color displays that accompanied the coming of fall.  I would spend hours in Central Park absorbing the glow of burnt oranges, honey golds, and russet browns.  I remember sitting at the Bethesda Pavillon, taking in the explosion of color while listening to a man play the string bass, breathing in cool crisp air, smelling roasted almonds, and sipping on hot apple cider. When I look at carnelian, I think of autumn and this riot of warm, rich, colors.  It's hard not to think of pumpkins and spice.  This provided the perfect autumn color palette.

The longer that I stayed in the Northeast, the original excitement of autumn was replaced with a bittersweetness.  While I love everything fall, knowing that the cold and bleakness of winter is right around the corner certainly tempered my initial enthusiasm.  It also made me appreciate the abundance of the autumn all the more.  It is the last hoorah before the landscape goes to sleep.  And this was the inspiration for the title of this challenge.  It's a celebration of the Last Harvest before the cold of winter sets in.

In coming up with the color scheme, I was also strongly influenced by the Pantone Color Forecast for Fall 2015.  I pulled heavily from Cadmium Orange.  I sprinkled in bits of Oak Buff and even a dash of Marsala to complete the autumnal palette.

With your kit, using as much or as little of it as you like, create a piece that showcases your creativity, individuality, and artistic expression!  Ideally you'll pull from the components in the kit and spotlight them, but feel free to use beads from your own stash to supplement the offered selection.  Whether you use a little or a lot of the kit, make sure you keep your project secret until the reveal date!

The Reveal Date for this challenge is: Thursday, November 6th, 2015! 

Post a picture on your blog or send one to me to post on your behalf (if you don't have a blog of your own).  The Last Harvest Challenge will end in a blog hop, sharing all the lovely things created with your kit with your fellow participants.

There are only 30 Design Kits available (with one set aside for me)! Once we receive your order, we will process your kit and send it out within seven Allegory Gallery business days. Hurry! Supplies are limited and are on a FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE basis! (Sorry, no exceptions!)

I also wanted to mention that all the Design Kits will be shipped with Priority mail. This can take anywhere from one business day to ten. For international orders, it may take longer! If you know that it take a long time to reach your destination (from Southwestern Pennsylvania) please place your orders early! I will do my best to get your kit out as early as possible, but unfortunately I can't be held responsible if it arrives late due to the postal service.

All sales of the Design Kits are final and there are no returns or exchanges.  Sorry!  (Also, I have to mention that this kit is not sponsored by or affiliated with Pantone.  I just really dig their Color Reports!)

With all that being said... we really hope you'll enjoy working with the kit and have a ball playing with it!  We can't wait to see what you make!

CLICK HERE to get your Design Kit!

Pantone Fashion Color Report Spring 2016...

They've just announced the Pantone Fashion Color Report for Spring 2016!  Hurray!  I love the Color Reports.  I think of them almost like a secret decoder ring and whenever I look at fashion magazines or the latest color trends, I feel like I'm in on the secret workings.  Of course, they aren't secret at all.  CLICK HERE to see the complete Spring 2016 Color Report and learn more about it.  The theme for the upcoming season is "A Transporting and Transformative Canvas".  Leatrice Eiseman, the Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute, said, "Colors this season transport us to a happier, sunnier place where we feel free to express a wittier version of our real selves."  The bright, almost primary colors are grounded with muted tones and pastels.  What do you think the color of the year will be?  I'm rooting for Serenity or Lilac Gray!  

Away and Back...

I don't often get to see my parents.  They still live in Florida and while I try to get down there when I can, with the business still in the first few years and growing rapidly, it's hard to make time for extended visits.  My mom was visiting my sister in North Carolina and while it is still a long trip, it's much closer.  I also wanted to see the kids since they are growing like weeds.  (Plus I was able to squeeze in a little bit of business, which made the trip much more doable.)

I didn't take that many pictures this past weekend.  I'm usually compulsive about pulling out my phone and snapping photos, but it just didn't happen.  Above is a picture I took of the Apple Festival in Hendersonville.  It's one of the few that took over the Labor Day Weekend.

Cynthia and I started work on some projects, but we were both recovering from colds and weren't as energetic as usual.  Mostly the time was spent talking with our mom and playing with the kids and working on puzzles.  It's interesting how we have changed over the years and still continue to change.  When I was growing up there was this empty space in our family and that absence influenced everything.  So much blame and guilt brewed beneath the surface.  Now that we finally have answers and my brother has returned, we're all sort of learning our new roles and there are new things to contend with.  While my mom is thankfully healthy, when I look at her now, I can see the years creeping in on her.  And while I didn't get to see my dad this trip (he stayed back in Florida), I can hear it in his voice.  It's even more pronounced when I see Azalea and how she is quickly transforming into a young lady.  There was a time when she was so small and I was afraid to hold her because I was worried that I'd break her.  Now she's almost as tall as my mom.  It's so strange and I don't think I've fully processed it yet.  As I drove back, I tried to make sense of time and change.  I don't think I came to any solid conclusions... except to cherish the ones you love.

Bead and Craft Bloggers...

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
Soldering is fun and Andrew has been obsessed with making rings.  But... he took a short break to whip up a pair of earrings!

SAL Diamond Three
Connie has posted the latest Diamond section for the free SAL (Stitch-along) and she shows two different examples of how it could be stitched.

Necklace Tutorial
Crystals, pearl beads, and chain make a colorful necklace that has an antique feel to it.

Art Bead Scene
Check out September's gorgeous new challenge piece from artist, Vanessa Bell!

Decoupage Outdoor Furniture
Check out products and techniques to decoupage outdoor furniture, including step-by-step picnic table directions.

Beading Arts
One of Cyndi's favorite pieces won a silver medal in Fire Mountain Gems' seed bead contest!

Snap out of it, Jean!  There's beading to be done!
Jean discusses the beauty of wrap bracelets and shows her most recent creation!