2020 Bead Peeps Swap N Hop REVEAL!

 

Welcome to our annual Bead Peeps Swap N Hop Reveal!  This is the 6th year that we've joined this creative project; it's an event where beaders and jewelry designers partner up, swap beads, create and then showcase their creations in blog and social media hops.  Take a look below at the swap we sent and the swap we received!


Our partner this year was Rozantia Petkova from Bulgaria!  She is a regular jeweler blogger known for her accomplished wire work designs, especially creations with beautiful sea glass.  We were so excited to have her as our partner this year, her passion for her craft really shines through in her wonderful creations. ♥

We sent Rozantia a curated collection of beads that focused on gorgeous lampwork beads and a lampwork pendant made by the Dry Gulch gals.  We also sent glass, crystal and stones plus Shibuichi findings.  We can't wait to see what Rozantia creates with her Swap N Hop mix!


  

The beautiful components Rozantia sent us include amazing creations from Bulgaria!  This whimsical collection features pretty lampwork Angel Cat and Hamsa Hand beads from Petrovna Lampwork in Bulgaria, a cute hand painted pebble by Bulgarian artist Niuffa, a flower ceramic component from an artist in Kentucky, USA and finally a BEAUTIFUL hand wrapped sea glass pendant from Rozantia along with her own decoupaged washi tape wood beads.

Each of us tackled a specific item in this collection - the wide range of artisan pieces really made us think out of the box!

Also, we had a twist in the Bead Peeps Swap N Hop this year!  Participants had to add something colored in the 2020 Pantone Color of the Year to our projects.  The color is Classic Blue, so we sent metallic blue crystal beads for Rozantia's project, and she sent us a handmade washi tape bead in Classic Blue for our project.






 


Our first creation came from Gianna, our resident seed beader!  She used Rozantia's washi tape beads as beautiful accents for her design.  She was inspired by the Asian style the washi beads exhibited, so she hand forged an oriental inspired pendant out of iron wire and dangled a gorgeous mother of pearl "gong" pendant from it.  The beautiful Classic Blue bead in the pendant (as well as several beads in the chain) is Rozantia's washi tape creation.  Gianna also wired together two matching linked chain necklaces with vintage glass, freshwater pearls and blue Chalcedony stones.  To really bring a taste of the Orient to this design, she also incorporated several colors and shapes of lovely cloisonne beads!

 

Next, Deborah tackled the brightly colored Hamsa Hand lampwork bead.  She hand knotted coordinating colors of beads using nylon cord and made a fun orange tassel for the pendant.  This bright and summery necklace features vintage Czech glass beads, blue Jade stones and a hand stamped "Good Vibes" brass charm from Catherine.  This necklace is actually a Mala, which is a design made with exactly 108 beads and used by ancient monks and modern yogis alike.  Fun fact, the warm pine wood beads in this Mala have been scented with delicious cedar.

The other artisan piece was a fabulous black Angel Cat bead made by the same Bulgarian artists that created the Hamsa Hand focal.  Catherine loves to wear bracelets and earrings, so she incorporated the Angel Cat into a multi-strand boho leather bracelet.  We've actually featured this Gypsy Spirit bracelet design in several classes for our bead shows, but Catherine used copper glass rings and Czech wampum tubes to "weave" the leather cording in her Angel Cat bracelet.  The clasp features a gorgeous red and gold Czech glass button too.

Finally, Rozantia's beautiful wire wrapped sea glass focal didn't need much to create a gorgeous necklace!  In this collaboration, Deborah hand knotted olivine sea glass beads and sparkling crystals on nylon cord.  Catherine then forged the "bail" connector and the clasp from brass and copper wire to finish off the hand knotted necklace.  This necklace absolutely glows and we love the nature-like colors. ♥

Thank you all for viewing our 2020 Swap N Hop creations!  We want to send Linda Anderson of Bead Peeps a big thank you for hosting the 6th Annual Swap N Hop.  Don't forget to hop to all the links below to see what the other Swap participants created!

2020 Bead Peeps Swap N Hop Partners! 

NON Seed Beaders 

Linda Anderson (Hostess) http://www.instagram.com/cherryontopdesign

Nadine Edris http://www.facebook.com/MoondanceJewelryMaine

Rozantia Petkova https://bairozan.blogspot.com/

Catherine La Vite https://drygulchbeadsandjewelry.blogspot.com/ YOU ARE HERE!

Kari Asbury https://www.facebook.com/kariasburyjewelry/

Divya N https://www.jewelsofsayuri.com

Joanne Bell https://www.facebook.com/twinkiedinkyshop/

Sarah Reid http://www.instagram.com/sarahreiddesigns

Gloria Allen https://www.facebook.com/GloriaAllenDesigns/

Jenny Kroeger http://www.facebook.com/reliccharm

Michelle Marson https://www.instagram.com/ellecountry/

Inge von Roos https://ingetraud.wordpress.com/

Colleen Foley https://www.facebook.com/colleenfoleycreations/

Marde Lowe http://fancimardesigns.blogspot.com

TerryJeanette Carter http://tappingflamingo.blogspot.com

Beccy Peterson https://www.facebook.com/Beccyp58/

Jackie Marchant http://www.instagram.com/jackiemariemarchant

Kathy Lindemer https://bay-moon-design.blogspot.com/

 Seed Beaders 

Dora Oresic https://www.facebook.com/nakitich/

Palak Udeshi https://www.facebook.com/udeshipalak/

Christina Hickman https://www.instagram.com/laughingsalmon/

Allison Rochelle http://www.instagram.com/akwindsong

Tina Hemr http://instagram.com/mariecaroldesigns

Naomi Knafla https://www.instagram.com/naomiknafla/?hl=en

Renetha Stanziano https://www.instagram.com/rrstanzi/?hl=en

Heather Canepa http://www.instagram.com/canepaheather

Dry Gulch Weekly Pick ~ Amazonite Stones

Welcome to the Dry Gulch Weekly Pick!  Each week, the gals at Dry Gulch Beads & Jewelry feature a bead or component or color of the week, and this time we're showcasing the very beautiful stone Amazonite.  We'd love to see what YOU have created with Amazonite, let us know in the comments!

Amazonite is a gorgeous and classic stone that has been used in jewelry since ancient times.  A form of feldspar (a common mineral within the Earth's crust), Amazonite is a brilliant blue-green opaque stone that is also relatively soft, which makes it perfect for beadwork and carvings.  In the country of Jordan, archeologists discovered over 2,000 pieces of Amazonite jewelry dating from ancient times!


The word Amazonite is actually relatively knew, a mineralogist in the 1840s renamed the stone from its original title Microline.  It is believed he derived the name from the beautiful colors of the Amazon River and jungles in South America, however, there are no known mines of the stone in the Amazon.  Today, Amazonite is mostly found in Russia, Myanmar, India, Brazil and the USA.

    

There are several varieties of Amazonite, including Russian Amazonite which features a deeper green color with zebra-like white striping, and Flower Amazonite, which features earthy colors like black, rust and cream mixed with the blue-green colors.  Flower Amazonite is a variety of Amazonite mixed with minerals like black Tourmaline, white Albite, metallic Pyrite (rarely!) and other minerals.  It is technically considered a lower grade of traditional Amazonite, but the range of earthy colors paired with the lovely sky blues really make this variety a true show-stopper.  Other trade names for this stone are Rainbow Amazonite, Black Cloudy Amazonite and Black Gold Amazonite; it is usually mined in Africa.

    

Click our banner below to shop these gorgeous stones on our website!

Shabby Chic Necklaces from Dry Gulch

Happy New Year from Dry Gulch!  It's been a while since we've blogged, but we've been hard at work behind the scenes creating and making for a big and fabulous 2020!  We joined the Bead Peeps Swap N Hop again this year, which is a blog/social media hop event where we partner up with other beaders around the world to swap beads and then post the creations we make with them.  Be sure to check out the Facebook group for more info on this fun event!

In December 2019, we started doing our Dry Gulch Weekly Pick videos, which are short snippets and info bites of some of the beads and stones we carry on our website.  Be sure to take a look at our newest video this week here on our website.  Some of the jewelry we've created with past edition's Weekly Picks are displayed below, you'll notice that we have a love for soft colors like cream, clear and pastel as they're perfect for making designs that you can wear with any outfit.  Let us know which of these creations is your favorite in the comments below!

Art Elements April Theme Reveal - Cowgirls & Horses

Welcome to the Art Elements Theme Challenge Reveal from Dry Gulch! We joined the April monthly challenge and have enjoyed working on our projects for the reveal the past few weeks. We would like to send a thank you to hostesses Jenny and Cathy for putting this challenge together. Don’t forget to visit all of the participating reveals, listed in the links at the end of this blog.

The Dry Gulch Horses - Shorty, Rusty & Lucky

This month’s theme was all about the beauty of horses. We are inspired every day by the nature around us and our own animals, horses included, so we knew we wanted to create a project featuring cowgirls and their horses. As we have a vintage show that we are preparing for in May, we aimed at making several necklaces that we could bring to the show.

We love to create unique components and then assemble them together into new collage pendants. These necklaces feature patinaed filigrees, hand stamped charms and a hand painted bay horse charm. The pendant focals feature vintage cowgirl bezels that have been poured with resin, then bordered with handmade “barbwire” lariats. We finished off these rustic necklaces with our beaded stone and crystal chains, making them perfect for wearing out.

These vintage cowgirl necklaces will be available at our vintage show in May 2018 at Branson Market Days in Missouri. Visit our website for more info on this and more Dry Gulch shows.

Be sure to visit the links below to see all of the participants in this month’s reveal!








Participants:

Alysen

Anita

Beth

Catherine







Jill

Paulette

Raven

Sarajo

Tammy


Art Element Team Member Participants:


Caroline

Claire

Jen

Laney

Lesley

Marsha

Niky

Sue

Painting Hummingbird Pendants in 5 Easy Steps by Dry Gulch

In today's blog post, we're excited to show you a little step-by-step about our painting process!  We hand-paint all of our pendants and charms, and then seal with resin for an enamel effect.  Let's get started!

Materials:

♦ A charm or pendant needing some color (any metal will do)
♦ Vintaj Patinas (you can find these on our website at www.drygulch.com)
♦ Resin sealer (we use Ice Resin, found on our website at www.drygulch.com)
♦ Paintbrush
♦ Paper towel
♦ Cup of water
♦ Sanding block (optional, this creates a distressed look)

Step 1:

Vintaj Patinas work just like an acrylic or watercolor paint; they mix well with each other and can be used with water to dilute and extend the paint.  We wanted our hummingbird to look like a traditional Ruby-Throated Hummingbird, so we started by mixing greens, blues and yellows for the body.  Tip: To get the effect of changing colors for the hummingbird body, don't mix the green-blue-yellow on your palette; instead load the tip of the paintbrush with the colors so that they can deposit onto the pendant in layers.

 

 

 

Step 2:

After we added the green to the body,we started to add red and orange for the throat.  This was treated in the same fashion as Step 1; red, yellow and orange were loaded onto the brush so they could deposit in layers onto the throat.

 

Step 3:

Next came the wings and tail base coats.  We used the Bronze metallic Vintaj Patina with lots of water for a more watercolor-like wash over the wings.  I also added some green and black.  We just wanted a translucent feel to the wings, so the more water added to the paint the better for this effect.

Step 4:

Now the fun part; details!  Using white paint and a tiny brush, we added a white eyebrow, belly stripe and tail tips.  A little black was added for the beak and eyes.  Touch-ups were added with more green, yellow and metallic paints.  There's so much color and detail to a humming bird, so working slowly in layers and adding water where a watercolor effect was wanted helps to build that illusion of detail.

Step 5:

Now this is optional, but we love to distress our painted creations for that vintage look.  Take a sanding block and lightly scratch at your hummingbird.  The underlying metal will shine through the paint and bring forth that dash of vintage flair.

That's it! 

Your painted creation is complete!  And dashing as ever, too.  The final step is adding a sealer.  This must be done because the Vintaj Patinas will flake off over time otherwise.  There are several sealers on the market; like Ice Resin or Vintaj Patina Sealer Glaze.  Now you have a bit of hand-painted flair ready to use in your jewelry designs!

2015 Bead Peeps Swap N' Hop Reveal!

The Dry Gulch gals are excited to reveal our creations for the 2015 Bead Peeps Swap N' Hop!  Hosted by Linda Anderson at FromtheBeadBoard.blogspot.com, the Bead Peeps Swap N' Hop is an event were we swap beads with our partners, create jewelry with the beads, and then reveal what we created!  For this Swap, Dry Gulch was partnered with Annica Larsson from Zestyfrog.wordpress.com.  We sent her a collection of pastel colored fibers, handmade pendants, lampwork and stones.  Annica sent us a great earthy mix of her own handmade ceramic beads and pendants.

  

Without further ado, here are our creations made with Annica's collection!  There are four of us Dry Gulch girls, and we each took pieces of Annica's swap mix and began creating. 

 

First up is Deborah's creation!  This necklace features Annica's Raku fired ceramic pendant and red leather.  Deborah added wooden cheetah print beads and crystal chain, and Cat stamped a small dangle charm that says "... Courage dear Heart...".

 

Next up is a necklace made by Gianna!  Using Annica's lampwork leaves and quartz drops, Gianna made a chain necklace using frames that she soldered together!  The frames were definitely tough to make, lots of filing and making sure the corners joined up well.  The little boxes give extra dimension to the electro-plated quartz.

 

Jennifer took several of the Czech glass beads and semi-precious stones that Annica sent and created a multi-strand bracelet.  So earthy!

Catherine created two pieces for the Swap!  The first showcases a handmade metal-smithed pendant made by Cat using sawing techniques on copper.  It also has little handmade ceramic drops from Annica.  Also included is leather, sea glass and vintage seam-binding ribbon.  Cat has been on an asymmetry kick lately, and this piece definitely shows that!

Catherine's second piece was made with the amethyst, wooly wire and geode slice from Annica.  Cat also added sea glass nuggets to the necklace.  This is Cat's favorite of the two, probably because purple is her favorite color!  The swirlies on the geode were made with iron wire.

Thank you to Annica for being our Swap partner!  And thank you to Linda Anderson for this fabulous event.  Hop on over to all the other Peeps' blogs and see what they're doing.  Thank you!

Bead Peeps Swap N Hop 2015  Partner List    Our Hostess: Linda Anderson from http//:fromTheBeadBoard.blogspot.com   Linda Anderson http://fromTheBeadBoard.blogspot.com Marica Zammit http://www.beadlovelies.com Jessica Hocutt https://faithfamilyandadventure.wordpress.com Kristina Hahn Eleniak http://www.peacockandlime.wordpress.com Debbie Jeffries http://wordpress/debrasdivinedesigns/blog.com Rosantia Petkova http://bairozan.blogspot.com/ Shalini Austin http://jewellerybyshalini.co.uk/my-blog/ Catherine La Vite http://drygulchbeadsandjewelry.blogspot.com Annica Larsson http://zestyfrog.wordpress.com/ Lori Schneider http://beadaddicted.blogspot.com/ Divya N http://www.jewelsofsayuri.com Mowse Doyle http://mowsemadethis.blogspot.com Fay Wolfenden http://torchfairy.blogspot.com Kathy Lindemer http://bay-moon-design.blogspot.com/ Claire Fabian http://saraccino.blogspot.de/ Janice Warden Bergeron http://thejewelryroom.blogspot.ca Natalie Davidson http://www.northshoredays.com Deb Fortin http://www.studiok24.blogspot.ca Inge von Roos http://ingetraud.wordpress.com Karen Mitchell http://overthemoon-design.com Robin Reed http://willowdragon.blogspot.com Marie Covert http://thistledown-and-swaddlings.blogspot.com/ Alicia Marinache http://www.allprettythings.ca Nan Smith http://www.wirednan.blogspot.ca Johana Nunez http://artincendi.com Kelly Hosford Patterson http://travelingsideshow.blogspot.com/ Lori Blanchard http://alainnjewelry.WordPress.com Sue  Kennedy http://suebeads.blogspot.com Shai Williams http://shaihasramblings.com Niky Sayers http://silverniknats.blogspot.co.uk Melissa Trudinger http://beadrecipes.wordpress.com Candida Castleberry http://www.spunsugarbeadworks.blogspot.com Erin Guest http://www.renlish.com Nicole Rennell http://nicolerennell.com/blog Ien Temaluru http://ienmaginationsjewelry.wordpress.com Robin Showstack http://heartsdesiresjewelryforyou.blogspot.com/ Sam Waghorn http://palemooncreation.blogspot.co.uk Marianne Baxter http://www.simplyseablimejewelry.blogspot.com Elsie Deliz-Fonseca http://ladelizchica.blogspot.com Shai Williams http://shaihasramblings.com Lee Koopman http://stregajewellry.wordpress.com Jayne Capps http://mamasgottodoodle.blogspot.com Marti Conrad http://marticsclay.blogspot.com Tina Bosh http://bookbug-somanybookssolittletime.blogspot.com/ Eleanor Thomas http://woolywireetc.blogspot.com Jeanne Steck http://www.gemsbyjeannemarie.blogspot.com Gloria Allen http://www.wingsandbeads.blogspot.com Rachel Mallis http://www.mintmonarch.com/#!blog/c1jlz Andrea Glick http://zenithjade.blogspot.com/ Stephanie Stamper http://skwds.blogspot.com Chris Haussler http://pixybugdesigns.blogspot.com Betony Maiden http://www.beadwenches.blogspot.com/ Kari Asbury http://hippiechickjewelrydesign.com/blog/ Jenny Kyrlach http://anafiassa.blogspot.com/ Colleen Foley http://colleenfoleycreations.blogspot.com Marybeth Rich http://forestofjewels.blogspot.com/ Marcy Lamberson http://www.StudioMarcy.blogspot.com Dyanne Everett-Cantrell http://www.deelitefuljewelrycreations.blogspot.com Ginny Lones http://www.Skippingintotheunknown.blogspot.com Maria Rosa Sharrow http://willowstreetshops.blogspot.com Loretta Carstensen http://designsbyloretta.blogspot.com Dolores Raml http://craftydscreations.wordpress.com Michelle McCarthy http://www.fireflydesignstudio.blogspot.com Louise McCormick-Glazier http://jewelrytreasuresbylouise.blogspot.com/ Heather Richter http://desertjewelrydesigns.blogspot.com Tammy Adams http://www.paisleylizard.com/blog/ Shirley Moore http://beadsandbread.blogspot.com Seed Beaders Susanne Stelljes http://pearlify.blogspot.de Sheila Prosterman http://catswithbeads.blogspot.com Pallavi Asher http://kalaabhushan.blogspot.in/ Jami Shipp http://celebratinglifewithdamamashipp.blogspot.com Peggy Kosier http://www.kosydesigns.blogspot.ca/ Andra Weber http://andrasjoyfuljourney.blogspot.com Catherine King http://catherines-musings.blogspot.com Krafty Max http://kraftymax.com Sierra Barrett http://giraffecanhas.wordpress.com Lois Sherwood http://thiznthat5454blog.wordpress.com Katy Heider http://onthepondcreations.blogspot.com Rebecca Robertson   (White) http://morganafeycreations.121hub.com/ Heather Richter http://desertjewelrydesigns.blogspot.com Brandy Collier http://bhjewelry.wordpress.com Stephanie Haussler http://www.pixybugdesigns.blogspot.com Lori Blanchard http://alainnjewelry.WordPress.com Kathleen Breeding http://99bobotw.blogspot.com Becky Pancake http://beckypancakebeaddesigns.blogspot.com Renetha Stanziano http://lamplightcrafts.blogspot.com/ Tami Norris https://jewelrybytami.wordpress.com/ Ginger Bishop http://lilmummylikes.blogspot.com/ Peggy Johnson http://charmbarn.blogspot.com

Dry Gulch at the Tulsa Vintage Market Days

Dry Gulch Beads & Jewelry had a blast vending at the Tulsa Vintage Market Days this past weekend!  Vintage Market Days is an upscale vintage-inspired indoor/outdoor market featuring original art, antiques, clothing, jewelry, handmade treasures, home décor, outdoor furnishings, consumable yummies, seasonal plantings and a little more.  Dry Gulch not only brought our one-of-a-kind vintage-inspired jewelry creations, we also showcased our brand new lines of accessories and home decor!  We also created custom stamped leather message bracelets and did repair work on-site.  This show was definitely a lot of fun for us!

    

Our Dry Gulch mascot, Dave the Vizsla!  He helped Catherine and the rest of us set up.  He's got his work-glove!  This show was held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at the Creek Country Fairgrounds.

  

  

All set up and ready and raring to go!

The event was packed!  Besides having our jewelry and beads/findings, we also had new handmade bohemian purses, birdhouses made from scratch, and remodeled shabby chic decor.

We also did custom stamping on pendants and leather bracelets!

It was a super fun time to be had by all.  Thank you to the gals at at Vintage Market Days for having us, and thank you to all the customers who came to see us!  We can't wait for the next one!