HoneyBee Creations

March 28, 2017 Bring on the sparkle by designing some jewelry with fire polished glass beads! Czech fire polished beads come in such a stunning array of colors and finishes that it won’t be at all challenging for our bead divas to whip up a glorious piece of jewelry! Sunday’s challenge would have fit this challenge perfectly too but here are a couple more pieces featuring these versatile beads! ... Price: $22 each

March 27, 2017 Design today’s piece around a cabochon or stone set in a Swarovski prong setting! We are so gaga over Swarovski’s brilliant collection of stones that we think they deserve a special shout out today. I must say I was not familiar with the Swarovski stone sets but when I came across these Trilliant Fancy Stone beauties in Blue Shade I had to get them. I love this shape and the settings they make for the are a perfect fit so setting them was pretty easy! I did n...ot want to take away from how pretty they were so I kept it simple just adding Swarovski Crystal Navette Charms and a few bi-cones, finishing with sterling chain and safety clasp. If you know someone getting married, this would be perfect as their something blue! Price: $55

March 26, 2017 Today is the day to learn that beading stitch you’ve always been meaning to try! Piqued by peyote stitch? Haunted by herringbone stitch? Seduced by square stitch? Last year I tried herringbone and although I really need to practice it I wanted to do a stich I have not used yet. I haven’t heard much about the serpentine weave, I am not sure why. It is quite a nice stich and works up quickly but leaves lots of options. I did two single weaves and then wove t...hem together. I also wanted to make sure I use a color other than green, lol! I must have been hungry, I went with Pomegranate (and copper ;} ) Czech crystals and Cranberry and dusty rose seed beads finishing with a Red Magma colored Swarovski crystal button closure. Price: $40

March 25, 2017 Make a bracelet or two! We’re still lovin the stacked bracelet trend, so we encourage you to make more, more, more! For an added challenge, try making coordinating bracelets with different techniqueslike a bangle paired with a loomed cuff. I didn’t get to far with the more, more, more part but I did get two coordinating bracelets done. I was planning on three but there never seems to be enough time in my studio!... While I am not fond of actual mushrooms, I am lovin these little Czech mushroom beads that I used for these two bracelets. I paired them with Czech DiamondDuo beads which the flower button clasp is comprised of. The other is finished with a ceramic button clasp.

March 24, 2017 Enjoy this casual Friday by stringing a wear-anywhere piece of jewelry! Yes, stringing might be easy compared to other beading techniques, but the results can be anything but simplistic! Did I mention I love Green, or Copper? My green beads are Chalk Turquoise with a few accent chunks of Green Apatite. I made an extra-long strung necklace that can be wrapped around a skinny neck twice -I can get it around my not so skinny one twice, but not comfortable enou...gh for me. I would have gone a little bit longer if I’d had more of the turquoise beads. :( I made a removable charm for added interest. Chalk turquoise is stabilized turquoise which has been injected with a color enhancer. This form of natural turquoise has a white chalk-like consistency and has the same chemical composition as natural turquoise with one exception, it doesn't contain copper, which is the element that causes the blue color of natural blue turquoise. Although turquoise has captivated man's imagination for centuries, no one is sure exactly when it was discovered. It is believed that prehistoric people used and prized it for its blue-green colors because carved pieces have been found in burial and archeological sites spanning the globe. The name Apatite comes from the word deceiver in Greek, because it is very easily mistaken for other stones, like tourmaline. Green Apatite connects with the heart chakra. It communicates wisdom of the mind with the emotion of the heart, balancing one to the other, assisting in acknowledging and releasing deeply held emotional patterns and traumas so one may move forward. Price: $53

March 23, 2017 We want hue! Explore color by using one of our Seed Bead Palettes to guide your design. Our palettes contain a hand-selected group of beads that harmonize well together and promise to work up into beautiful designs. Take your cue from these hues! I used their ‘Southwest’ palette for my color guide. I had a much different project in mind for today challenge but it required more time that I had available so I had to go with a plan I new I could complete in tim...e to post for you tonight. While I am not overly thrilled with todays creation I did at least use all 10 colors in the palette! And I have plenty of beads left to do the project I really wanted to try out at another time. These earrings are shoulder length (unless of course you have super long neck!) and have a lot of movement. Getting a photo of them hanging was a challenge! They are made with size 8 seed beads with Swarovski crystals and sterling findings. Price: $ 25

March 22, 2017 Beat the cool-weather blues with a beach-themed necklace, bracelet or earrings! Call on shell pendants, ocean-hued crystals, mermaid charms (you get the drift) to create an ornament of escapism. Cool weather!? Try COLD weather today! I didn’t go with any of the above but I still went with a beach friendly design. barefoot sandals! Yes, it brings to mind dreams of walking barefoot on the beach, nice warm sun and sand, sunny skies.

March 21, 2017 Whip out your wire and wow us with a piece made with wraps, loops, whatever! When I went into my studio I had no real plan on what I wanted to make today. I found a piece of thick copper wire on the floor from a bundle my husband had saved. I just started bending it by hand and came up with a shape. Then looked around to see what to add and came across these porcelain beads. I decided it needed a little bling (what doesn’t right!). Still it was missing s...omething and I knew right awayI needed my grandmother’s vintage Lucite beads to tie all together! Needless to say, unless you are a direct blood relative to Mrs. Catherine B. (Krol) Poplasky this necklace is not for salebut I would be happy to make a piece just for you with the beads of someone just a special in your life!

March 20, 2017 Stuck on what to make? Find a design in our Inspiration Projects gallery that sparks your creativity! This gallery is sorted into various catego...riesby type, by technique, by themeto help you zero in on the type of design you want to make. I wasn’t really stuck on what to make but I went ahead and chose some of their projects to use as inspiration anyhow. Theirs are marked with a blue X and mine is the next picture. Price: each are $18 a piece except the leather which is $12.

March 19, 2017 "Time for spring cleaning! Organize your beading studio or table! Sometimes a little reorg can spark your imagination and inspire new projects. Snap a pic of your tidy space and inspire others." BHAAA HAAAA HAAAA HA *Snort*.. Yes I snort when laughing hard....family trait! ... Since this is impractical to accomplish in one evening/afternoon (let alone entire day!) we will jump right to todays and get back on schedule. In all honesty, I AM working on reorg of my studio and plan to have an open house so you can stop buy and see all this month's challenges in person!

March 18, 2017 Don’t forget to incorporate memory wire into today’s jewelry design! Memory wireavailable in both bracelet and necklace sizes is the simplest way to create cute jewelry in an instant. Just string beads, finish with memory wire end caps, and wear! Well I didn’t go the simple route. I wanted to do something different with memory wire instead of a wrap bracelet. So, I used all three sizes of memory wire that I had and incorporated them into this different yet ...fun Tiger Eye necklace. I used three different bead shapes of Tiger Eye and finished with a copper hook clasp. The meaning of this stones name relates to its resemblance to the eye of a tiger or cats eye. Traditionally it was carried as an amulet against curses or ill-wishing, and is known to give you courage, self-confidence and strength of will. Roman soldiers wore tigers eye in battle for protection. During that time, this stone was thought to bring clarity and deep insight about the current situation, instantly, here and now, therefore enabling the soldiers to see the truth at the battlefield clearly without deception. Price: $35

March 16, 2017 Rediscover a fabulous finding design a piece using bead caps! We love how a bead cap placed on each side of a bead can instantly create a more polished look, and we’re equally thrilled to see innovative uses for caps. For this challenge, I decided to ferret thru my copper stash for some unique bead caps. Copper is such a warm (and electric!) color and metal and I am ready for warmer days! One of my favorite stones paired with copper is the intense blue of... Lapis Lazuli! I used a mishmash of cap styles for the necklace but a matched set for the earrings to go with the necklace. I also made the necklace length adjustable. Lapis Lazuli is one of the oldest spiritual stones known to man. The very earliest cultures valued lapis lazuli more highly than gold. It has been used by priests, royalty, and healers to bring peace, wisdom, power and psychic abilities. Some say that the Sapphire spoken of in the Bible was actually Lapis Lazuli. It is said to block psychic attacks, and even help you on your spiritual journey. Egyptians regarded lapis lazuli as a heavenly stone and often used it on the statues of their gods and in burial masks, as protection for the next life. The stone has been used in many famous pieces throughout history, including the mask of Tutankhamen, or King Tut Lapis Lazuli is best used with the Third Eye and Throat Chakras. Using this stone with the Third Eye Chakra will help you to see things much more clearly. You can improve your communication and enhance your perception. Using Lapis on this chakra will also bring physical healing to the area. Price: $40/set

March 17, 2017 Celebrate St. Patty’s day by designing with the year’s hottest Pantone color, Greenery! Create a necklace, bracelet, earrings, ring or pin composed of beads in this fresh shade of green and, who knows, a little bit of luck might just come your way! I move ahead one day because this challenge was specific to St. Patty’s day! How could I not pick Green Aventurine for today! (read the gem notes!). This bold necklace not for the faint of heart with its massive... amount of Green Aventurine! Gotta have that pot of gold to go with the green so I accented with Vermeil spacers and Gold Filled finings. Surprisingly, for its size it is a very comfortable necklace to wear. Aventurine is a translucent form of Quartz known for its bright inclusions that give it a shimmery look, Aventurine can be found in different colors such as orange, blue, gray, brown and yellow, but it is most often Green . Green aventurine is known as the stone of opportunity. It is considered the luckiest of all the crystals, bringing good fortune in many different forms. Aventurine is also known to aid in breaking unhealthy patterns and habits, encouraging growth and change. It brings optimism, creativity, confidence, and motivation. It also helps those who are overcome with obstacles in life, persevere, and get through the hurdles. It is known to have soothing vibrations for the mind and body. Green aventurine is also a great stone for those who are looking for love late in life. One only has to be near the crystal to benefit from it.