ZNet Summer Challenge 2015

Summer is my favorite time of year- beaches, sun, a slightly more relaxed schedule and hopefully lots

 and lots of time around water. So, when offered a chance to be part of a sea inspired challenge,

 I was delighted!  The cultured seaglass that ZNet Shows offers is truly a pleasure to work with.

 Because I'm craving some beach time, I chose to use gorgeous beaches from around the world 

as my inspiration. If you want to see more of the fabulous sea glass beads that ZNet has to offer, just
click on the link.
First up are some bangles inspired by Malibu Beach in Barbados- the orange and blues make for 

a beautiful combination. The products used in these two bangles are Cultured SeaGlass shell beads

in Saffron Yellow (S72-B57) and  Cultured Sea Glass puffed 20mm coin beads in Opaque 

Blue Opal (S15-B460. 
Here's a picture of Malibu Beach...

and here's the bangles I made.

I recently discovered Summer Wind Art by Ashley  Bonney ( www.etsy.com/SummerWindArt) and knew that her Sand Dollar Bracelet connector would be perfect to pair with the Cultured SeaGlass pebble beads in aquamarine (BDS1926-03).  Menorca Beach in Spain has the same lovely color pallette as this bracelet, don't you think?

Next up were these 32 mm Cultured SeaGlass starfish in Light Aqua Coke Bottle Seafoam ( S27-B88P). I wanted to keep it simple but with a bit of sparkle and shine so added some Chinese crystal and antique brass spacers from a local bead store, and voila! The Abaco set with the antique brass chain and earrings would be perfect for dinner out after spending the day on this gorgeous beach.

Abaco Beach

Finally, I used 20 mm starfish in  Aqua Coke Bottle Seafoam (S27-B882XST) and some Chinese crystal Aquamarine rondelle dangles (RS101-27) to create a sweet little  necklace and earring set  titled the Bora Bora set.

 

  I hope you've enjoyed this little tour of sea inspired jewelry and the breathtaking beaches that inspired them!

There's lots more to see in the Summer 2015 edition of Creative Spark, so be sure to take a peek

Creative Spark Summer 2015 

Hope your summer was fabulous!  Thanks to Crafty Hope for her great work, and to Znet Shows for the opportunity to be part of such a wonderful design team.

Creative Spark Winter 2015 Reveal

I do love being a part of the Znet Design team. We get to play with beautiful beads, and this challenge was no exception.

When I need inspiration for a certain season, I love to look at my friend Deni's pictures on Instagram ( @Denesiachristine) and once again, she didn't disappoint. The theme for this challenge was ice, something in short supply here in Florida, unless you look in my freezer! I was a little stumped when I received my beads.

 They were beautiful, but how on earth did I translate them into icy pieces? So, after picking out a couple of lovely pictures from Instagram, I went with a Tropical Ice inspiration.

Tahitian Ice was my first venture.  I used cultured sea glass beads in that beautiful Sea Foam Green,
added a strand of freshwater pearls and a strand of crystal rondelles, and wire crocheted 4 different strands with some silver colored non tarnish wire, then twisted them all together for a set that I call Tahitian Ice.

                                 

 
The next project was a pair of earrings using Cultured Sea Glass sand dollar pendants, and keeping with the Tropical Ice theme,  I used some crystal teardrops and sterling plated beads, ending up with Snowy Shells. I love Deni's picture of this bird sitting in the midst of a snowy backdrop, and used that sprig of icy leaves as my inspiration.

 

Next up was Frozen Flowers. I wanted to use the lovely cultured sea glass rondelle beads in Peridot. This design went through a couple of versions before I found this pendant in my stash from a stained glass store in Tallahassee. It's a piece of English china that Susan of Glasswork by Susan  repurposed into a pendant. Paired with copper chain ,copper spaces. and some antique bronze wire it blossomed

into a complete set.

This picture was my inspiration

 

The final offering is a pair of earrings using cultured sea glass diamond pendants in Periwinkle Changes.

  Hope had suggested the black ice idea, and so armed with some annealed steel wire from my friendly Ace Hardware store, Periwinkle Points were born. As you can see from the picture of all the beads I received, there were plenty of gorgeous options to choose from, but most will have to wait for another day.  

Here's the link to the Winter Edition of Creative Spark- there's lots of gorgeous beads and designs waiting to be seen inside, so I hope you'll take a moment and look

Znet Shows Creative Spark

I've been remiss in blogging. Life changed lanes a few months ago and I was blessed with a new opportunity, which I am loving. However, being part of this new thing meant letting go of others, and I am no longer teaching jewelry classes or doing as much jewelry making. I'm also working an extra day a week, again, a blessing, but life got really busy very quickly. So, I'm sorting through beads and commitments to figure out what exactly needs to stay and what can be let go of. I've also discovered bangles, which are ever so much fun. I grew up in India, and bangles were a staple from the time that I was little. I love making them, I love wearing them and I love sharing them!

Znet Shows  is a great company to be part of. Their products are beautiful and their prices are amazing. For the fall issue of Creative Spark,  they came up with something different for us designers. Some would make fall themed jewelry, some would write tutorials and some would play with found object jewelry. I was fortunate enough to be part of the fall themed jewelry group.  Look at the gorgeous beads that came my way!

I went looking for some inspiration and found it on Instagram with my friend @DenesiaChristine. You'll see one of her stunning pictures inside the magazine, but please take a peak at her other breathtaking pictures.  They're a treat for the eyes. (And while you're there, I'm @CharisDesigns.)

I mentioned earlier that bangles are my new plaything, and so I got to playing. These were the first things that got made? Don't they just embody all the colors of fall?

There's a lot more beautiful things waiting to be seen inside. I hope you'll click on the link and take a peek at all the jewelry my fellow design team members have created. And, oh look!, I'm on the cover!!! How's that for a splash and dash of grace and joy?

   

        

Summer Days and Nights with Znet Shows

It's reveal day! As I've mentioned before, I love, love, love being part of the Znet Shows Design team. Their products are not only beautiful, but a great value as well. Here's a quick look at what I was sent as part of the Summer Days and Nights challenge:

You can find a more detailed description here, but let's get to the finished products.

For my daytime set, I chose those lovely opaque purple barrel nugget cultured sea glass beads.

Purple Haze

With the addition of some some purple stone beads and a few sparkly metallic crystal beads, this set came together very quickly.

I wanted to do something a little more dramatic for the nighttime set, and those Blossom Pink cultured sea glass free form flat pendants kept calling my name. While at a local bead store, I found some  light pink agate dagger beads, some light pink crystals and voila!

Pink Delight

Here's another look at this set:

 

 

But there were more beads waiting to be played with, and because I'm having SO much fun making wire bangles ( you can see some of the goodies on my Facebook page) these cultured sea glass rondelle beads in Cherry Red were just right to make this splash of color bangle.

Cherry Red Bangle

You can see all the lovelies in the Summer Edition of the Creative Spark Magazine here.

You can also visit the blogs of all those who participated:

Amy Severino

Andrea Trank

BeckyPancake

BobbieRafferty

BR Kuhlman

CharlieJacka

ChristieMurrow <---(you're here)

ChristinaMiles

ChristineStonefield

CynthiaMachata

CynthiaRiggs

DonettaFarrington

HopeSmitherman

KashmiraPatel

KathyLindemer

Kay Thomerson

KellyPatterson

KlaudeteKoon

Lee Koopman

Lisa Lodge

RenethaStanziano

SandraWashington

Shaiha Williams

SherylStephens

StephanieHaussler

TammieEverly

Hope your July 4th was filled with celebration, family and many dashes of joy and splashes of grace!

Christie

Just a teaser...

I love being part of the ZNet Show design team! Their products are not only pretty, but so much fun to play with. A while back we were given the opportunity to be part of the ZNet Summer Days and Nights challenge Blog hop, and while I can't show you the finished products yet,  here's a look at what they sent for me to work with.

A whole tray of cultured sea glass in a variety of colors just begging to be made into summer pretties. You'd like a closer look? Yes, that can be arranged:)

Opaque Purple sea glass barrel nugget beads

Blossom Pink cultured sea glass freeform pendant and drops

Cherry Red sea glass beads

Turquoise Bay sea glass beads and pendants

As soon as Crafty Hope has the Creative Spark magazine ready to go, we'll be all blogging about our creations, so stay tuned!

Until then, may your summer days be filled with dashes of grace and splashes of joy!

Christie

Ocean Blog Hop

I must apologize to our hostess, Lisa Lodge of A Grateful Artist, for posting late.  There were some major difficulties this past week with all sorts of technology at my house this past week. However, most issues have been resolved and here I am!  (If you're looking for my BSBP post, it's here.)

Once again I forgot to take pictures of the beads in their original state, so I'll point out the goodies in the pictures below and keep this short and sweet.

Lisa sent me those amazing seaglass cobalt blue rounds and heishi spacers from ZNet Shows.  The color is so deep and rich, and when I realized it would pair perfectly with some flowered spacers and a pendant I had purchased from Glasswork by Susan in Tallahassee, it all came together very quickly.

Cobalt Delight

Next to be used were these sweet little blue glass beads. They wanted to play with some bigger beads in the same color and some matching crystals, which were left over from an earlier ZNet project. When a pendant from long ago joined the party, the set was complete.

Wildflower Blues

There were a couple of adorable starfish charms, and those quickly became earrings. Lisa also sent the green  crystal beads in the first pair of earrings.

Starfish dangles

Crystal Tropicale

 I found these right angle weave crystal balls hanging around my desk, and added just a little bit of sparkle and shine to these antique brass starfish.

And then there was this amazing focal from Michelle McCarthy of Firefly Design Studios. I wasn't familiar with her work, but will definitely be browsing her goodies from now on! She's also a Florida gal, and has some great ceramic beads and pendants.

Digging through my stash I found these beautiful navy blue pearls that complimented the pendant perfectly and decided to pair them all with some antique brass chains to make something a little different. Double strand necklaces aren't something I usually do, but this seemed to work out. The third strand is a separate piece that can be work with or without the focal piece- you can see all three in the first picture.

Nautical Navy

Here's a look at the third strand by itself- gotta love wire wrapping. I also used the toggle clasp that Lisa sent.

There are a few green crystals that will be paired with an antique brass pendant, and some more light blue seaglass beads that hid until after I was all done.

Thanks, Lisa, for another fun blog hop.  Hope you'll stop by and visit the other participants. Hope your day is filled with splashes and dashes of grace and joy!

Ocean Blog Hop May 31^st Reveal:

Your hostess:  Lisa Lodge, A Grateful Artist

Christie Searle Murrow, Charis Designs Jewelry (you are here)

Kim Dworak, Cianci Blue

Marybeth Rich, A Few Words from within the Pines

Karin Grosset Grange, Ginkgo et Coquelicot

Candida Elkins Castleberry, Spun Sugar Beadworks

Veralynne Malone, Designed by Vera

Monique Urquhart, A Half-Baked Notion

Katrina Taylor, I Wanna Go Out

Mary Ann Macri Jacobs, Trucksville Crafts

Jeanne Steck, Gems by Jeanne Marie

Ann Schroeder, Bead Love

Kathleen Breeding, 99 Bottles of Beads on the Wall

Marianne Baxter, Simply Seablime Jewelry

Terri Wlaschin, Dances in Fog

Margaret Pelech, Margaret Pelech's Ocean Blog

Jo-Ann Woolverton, It's a Beadiful Creation

Kathy Zeigler Lindemer, Bay Moon Design

Heather Richter, Desert Jewelry Designs

Andrea Glick-Zenith, ZenithJade Creations

Short but sweet

As you may recall, back in September I was invited to join the ZNet Shows Design Team. I shared one post where I participated in a lightning round challenge for 7000 Bracelets for Hope, which was a lot of fun. We were also asked at the time if we'd like to be part of the Winter edition of Creative Spark which would feature pearls. I was on board with that! Well, it's out now, and chock full of beautiful designs as well as a couple of tutorials. It's a honor to be part of it ( you can find me starting on page 47, and then at the back). Merry Christmas to me!! Click on the image below to see all the lovelies ( I'm jumping up and down right now because I figured out how to insert HTML to make it work). Hope did an amazing job of putting this all together, so a big shout to her.

Click to view Creative Spark Winter 13-14 on GLOSSI.COM

Hope it adds a splash of joy and a dash of grace to your day like it did for mine!

Christie

Jewelry for a Good Cause: Ears to You and 7000 Bracelets of Hope

It's easy to get caught up in our day to day stuff and focus on the necessary and the busy things of life. However, every once in a while it's nice to take some time to be creative on someone else's behalf. I've had two such opportunities in the past couple of weeks and it's nice to be part of something bigger than yourself.

The first took place in October. Three of my wonderful jewelry students joined me for a couple of hours and we made 50 pairs of earrings for a wonderful organization called Ears to You. This great cause supplies earrings to women who are fighting cancer. The founder, Ruth Crane, is a cancer survivor herself, and wanted to give back to women by brightening up their day with pretties for their ears. There are many ways to support  Ears To You, and you can send in new earrings as well as money. Take a peek at the results:

The next opportunity I had was through the Znet Design Team. If you take a glance to the right of the blog, under Design Team members you'll see my name. How exciting is THAT??  This was my first time participating in a lightning round challenge for 7000 Bracelets for Hope.  The number 7000 represents the amount of rare genetic diseases that affect 1 in 10 people. The bracelets are distributed to the families that are fighting these rare, genetic disesases.

 If we chose to participate we got to pick 2 items from the Znet Shows website from the Tiara Chinese crystals, cultured sea glass or glass pearls. I picked the light Sapphire AB crystal rondelles and Light Sapphire 10 mm cultured sea glass rounds which you can see pictured below.. I thought I'd receive one strand of each since we were asked to make one bracelet and mail it in. To my delight, Znet sent me three strands of each. Aren't they pretty?
                       
And here's what I came up with...

7000 Bracelets for Hope

 In her email, Hope, who oversees the Znet social media, encouraged us to use designs that were a one fit all, so I did two on memory wire and two as stretchy bracelets. My mom had sent me the big chunky beads and they were perfect for the last bracelet. I used other beads from my stash and had a ball making these. Hope had also encouraged us to write a note with the bracelets and I was a little apprehensive. After all, what do you write to someone you've never met dealing with something you've no clue about? But after taking a deep breath and saying a prayer or two, I found something unique to say with each bracelet. I hope that it encourages and brings joy to each of the recipients.


One more look:

After these were in the mail, I realized I needed to make one more. My nephew, Josiah, has Spinal Muscular Atrophy and is wheelchair bound. He's an adorable, funny, bright, articulate kid who I've only had the pleasure to meet a couple of times since they live on the opposite side of the country. My brother and sister in law are his caretakers and I cannot begin to imagine the energy, time, and sacrifice it takes on their part- especially with two other children, including a very active toddler. So, when I get back from Texas ( more about that in another post) I'll be using more of these gorgeous beads to make one for my sister in law- or maybe two, for my oldest niece too!

Thanks, Hope and the Znet team for letting me be part of this opportunity. Two great causes- two great ways to get involved in spreading a little splash of joy and a dash of hope....
Christie

And then it was Fall....

How did it get to be October already? The DH and I hit the road for two weeks to visit several ministries that have been birthed out of Dunklin Memorial Church, where we live and work. It was a joy to see dear friends who are now running their own alcohol and drug regeneration programs. I've had a lot of goodbyes during the 26 years we've lived here, and hellos are always a welcome change! We'd hoped to make the trip for the changing of the leaves, but that didn't work out so I guess there's always next year now that we don't have to plan around the girls' school schedule. Being an empty nester has its advantages!

We stopped in South Carolina, and then made a side trip to Forest City, NC where I took was able to take a beading class at Off the Beaded Path where Darlene and Patty made me feel right at home. The very talented Kelly Dale was off on maternity leave, but I was delighted when I heard that familiar voice from all the videos and was able to meet her and her sweet baby boy. Because the DH was waiting patiently out in the car due to a change of schedule I didn't have time to poke around the store, but next time? Yep. It's part of the game plan. Then it was off to Franklin, NC, for a couple of days.

Up in Franklin, NC

Dry Falls

 From there we drove to his home town of Bonlee, where we had a lovely couple of days with his brother and wife and went to the church where he  grew up.

Bonlee Baptist Church

Next stop? Virginia. Gorgeous scenery along the way, with wonderful friends waiting for us.

Pilot Mountain

From there we made the circuit back to Florida stopping to see each of our three girls. During some down time, we hung out at Lake Ella in Tallahassee, after I made a stop at Glasswork by Susan. This is her Facebook page link, and it's one of my "have tos" when we get up there. I snagged a few lampwork beads and always love her stained glass pendants and other goodies.

Lake Ella, Tallahassee

After stopping in Gainesville and Orlando, it was home, sweet, home where our cat was elated to have us back. Two weeks is too long, even with a dear neighbor girl watching over her. She( the cat) has developed a medical condition which means that we won't have her around for too much longer. That will be hard.

Someone's happy to have us home!

My other big news?? I AM SO EXCITED!! While we were gone, I got an email inviting me to be part of the Znet Shows design team. I am beyond thrilled!

I'll be part of a couple of blog hops at the end of the month, so stay tuned for those.

Until then, may your October will filled with colorful splashes and dashes of grace and joy

Christie

A Labor of Love...

I blogged earlier that I was one of the lucky winners of beads from Znet Shows. These were the beauties I was given to work with:

And boy! did I have fun. Here are some of the things I made:

Crystal Blue Persuasion

 I love, love, love the pairing of the Watercolors sea glass beads and pendants with the Tiaria Chinese crystals. The colors are beautiful and this set got the creative juices flowing.

Autumn Seashells

Aren't those spacers amazing? I used them in a couple of different things, and hoarded  saved some for another project.

Pagoda Wave Pendant

 This curved sea glass bead threw me for a loop but I decided to go out of my comfort zone, and I'm rather pleased with the result.

Peridot Crystal Dangles

I've had these hoops from Hobby Lobby for awhile and they paired up nicely with some of these beautiful green crystals.

Fish in the Sea

Kept looking at these great fish beads and the round spacers, and again, a chance to use more of those lovely crystals. I had some matching bicones for little dangles.

And then it was time for more earrings :)

Golden Dangles

Cobalt Blue Shells

Here are more of those dark blue crystals paired with chain and dark blue sea glass seashells.

Green Goodness

 Went to go post a picture on Instagram ( come follow me : Charisdesigns) and realized I hadn't included these sweet little green earrings. What's not to love about sea glass and crystal? The color combos are endless.

Crystal Hoopla

It took a little bit of finagling, but I was delighted when I was able to stack the crystals inside the hoops that I bought from my local bead store. As you can tell from the pictures, I'm still loving my Rhonna Designs app.

There's another set in progress but it's being a tad persnickety, so it'll wait for another day. I still have lots of beads left, which is very exciting.  Thank you again, Hope and Znet Shows for letting me play with all the lovelies!

Happy Labor Day! Hope it's filled with splashes and dashes of joy and grace-

Christie