Howdy Partner! - Znet Shows - Summer Challenge and Giveaway

    Bill Zhang's of Znetshows latest Summer Challenge has us partnering up, and getting to know our design team-mates a little bit better .....
    and there's a giveaway.
                  Wow!  
                        What a giveaway it is.
 So make sure you read  through for all the details.

    My partner is Hope Smitherman of  "Crafty Hope". She is participating in this challenge with, not 1, but 2 partners, and she's helping to coordinate all the minions as well.
    Hats off to Hope for all her ambition. She's doing an amazing job of coordinating her very first blog hop.

    A little bit about Hope.... 

I dabble in a little of everything when it comes to jewelry-making. I love to collage, solder, play with clay, paint, bead, wirework, embroidery, and whatever else I can. This past Christmas I received a kiln that I want to learn how to use with PMC and fused glass. As such, there's no telling what could end up in my shop. 

Thrifting for items that I can use in my craft is one of my favorite activities. I'm always on the lookout for buttons, ephemera, vintage beads and jewelry, and all kinds of other quirky odds and ends. It's a sickness really.

    This quote actually came from Hope's profile page in her etsy shop, but it could very easily have been from mine, right down to getting the kiln for Christmas. I even have the metal clay waiting around while I do my homework on the kiln.

         Coinkydink?
                          I think not.      
                                         I sense a kindred spirit!

    Just look at this amazing piece

      My favorite shade of green, probably Serpentine Jade, shredded sari silk ribbon, re-purposed vintage mother of pearl buttons, and I'm in love with the tropical blossom pendant.
                  Gorgeous!
   It has all my favorite elements, and I'm really digging the way the double strand comes off the mother of pearl square there.
                Very cool.

    Not to mention, she has all sorts of yummy and amazing recipes on her blog as well. I find myself salivating every time I visit.

    I found this brilliantly fun and easy recipe on her blog the other night for
  Peanut Butter and Jelly Croissants 

 

I plan to whip this one out at our annual Tahoe family reunion. The kids will love to get in the kitchen and make this special treat for the family.

    This yummy goodness that the kids are all so excited about is banana bread, "frosted" in peanut butter and Cocoa Crispies.
     It's not often they're allowed cake for breakfast.

She's got another recipe posted for Shrimp Mac-n-Cheese with Bacon that I'm completely intrigued by.
    It's a lot of rich and savory flavors blended together.    
                            Sounds decadently delicious.

    Make sure you pop on over to her blog next time your in need of culinary inspiration. She is sure to have something to entice the senses.

On to the challenge.....

    Where does the partner come in, you ask? Well, This is a "Bead Soup" swap of sorts, with the twist being, we shopped for beads in Znetshows warehouse instead of our own stash.

    How cool is that.
 
This is the collection of goodies I picked out for Hope.

    I'm a travel junkie and have always loved those globes, so that's where I started.
    I love the markings on the Sardonyx. It reminds me of the ocean.
    I thought the shapes in the chain felt tropical, and I just couldn't resist those darling little star-burst crystals.

    I imagined a sand, sun, sea theme.
    It looks very different seeing them all together than I imagined they would look when I picked them out.
    It will be very interesting to see where Hope takes it. 

Here's the batch of goodies that Hope picked out for me to work with. 

    Aqua colored sea glass rings, Tanzanite crystals, raspberry rice pearls, Amethyst nuggets,and silver Mykonos spacers, amongst other goodies.

    It's not the colors I would traditionally pick for a beach theme....

    I'm thinking tropical sunset......

    It is a bit reminiscent of a photo I took on a trip to Maui a few years ago.


   Memories of warm afternoons lazing on breezy beaches.

    Ok, now I'm in a tropical mood. The ideas are starting to flow like the East Australian Current.~

    Let's get on to the give away part so I can go make Margaritas and get to the creative fun.


    Here's the deal.............

          Znetshows is a whole sale company. Each of us designers was sent only a portion of the wholesale lots. The other portion of those bead lots was held back for the giveaway. That's a lot of beads. 7 items per designer, times about 30 designers.    
                        WOW!
      You can see 2 of the batches right here and make sure you check out the rest of the team to see what else will be up for grabs and view all the awesome designs they made with the selection. There's a list of all the design team members on Znetshows blog.

    The reveal and giveaway will be on July 6th. I'll see you back here.
                 Until Then , Happy Hopping!!!