Nicki's Reef

Janna - Palimpa-Lim.blogspot.com
Stefanie -
Stefaniessammelsurium.blogspot.com
I love jewelry - chunky, bold jewelry. I also like mystery-novels and cooking.

This is just a quick note that I will be announcing my first challenge on sunday.

So if you are sad that bead soup party is over and look for something to do in the next weeks, then come by on sunday and check what we're planning :).

And for all the lovely ladies that have left me a note on my bead soup post - thanks a ton, your comments mean so much to me. I will be visiting and leaving comments on all blogs (at least that's the plan), but I will take some more time hopping...
Have a happy week.

So not only did I receive a package from Janna, I also sent her one. And I need to say, with this one I had the most fun of all three bead soups. You might remember one of my previous posts where I explained about the metal-smithing class I took at the end of last year.


So I decided that I will not only challenge Janna in terms of my beady components, but also myself in getting her something handmade. You know Janna is talented, she makes really nice enameled beads and resin pendants, so I thought I should make something just for her. She told me she liked brass, so off I went to buy some and sawed, filed, sanded and polished a little flower pendant for her. The same process led to a tiny copper heart, which I attached in the end to the flower pendant.What you see in this picture is the pendant in an unfinished state, since the drilling of two holes became a major event (i.e. my dremel multi-tool came without drills, and when I finally got the ones I ordered, the fixture of the tool was too large for the tiny drills, so we had to buy a new fixture, plus obviously that I was not very skilled in drilling...) The whole time while I was making this, I was thinking of the words "un coeur pour une fleur" (a heart for a flower - with Janna obviously being the wonderful flower :) - yes, I know this is kitsch....)....

But for sure the bead soup wasn't complete with that. I showed the pendant to Stefanie of Stefanie's Sammelsurium, and she had the perfect matching clasp - thanks again !


I need to say that I head a hard time finding matching beads for the brass pendant. I have not been working with brass very often (= never), and that yellowish color is not something I use in general. So I went with greens and browns, hoping that one of them would suit Janna's color scheme. I got her a variety of gemstones, ceramic beads and a pendant from Indian Creek studio, lampwork beads from Kelley Wenzel and an unknown lampwork artist based in Plymouth, MI, some industrial chic components from Michaels (which you can't get in Germany, so my dear US friends, if you ever want to make a German girl happy, you know what you have to do, right, Janna and Stefanie?). 


There is also sari silk, rubber tube, and a alcantara ribbon, nut beads, wood beads, a nut charm and a bronze bead and some glass beads from France, chinese lacquered paper beads and a copper dragonfly charm from Summersstudio.
So Janna - ready steady GO!
Let's see what we can come up with. I am so ready for beads again - work has been keeping me away. Worked the entire weekend last week, this past weekend was purely dedicated to taxes, but now I am having a break before I need to go to Valencia, Spain (hello sunshine!) for work next Monday and Tuesday... so this weekend will be very beady.......

This is a picture of my shoes.
The story behind it is that they are new (see the part that is still shiny and white). I just bought them when we were in the US, at DSW (THE store, I just love it). They are Ryka's, running shoes. I didn't buy a new pair of running shoes in, let's say, 10 years? Or more? Why? Well because I did not need them - did not go running. But since November, I got on this trip, that noise in my head that tells me that my "youth" is almost over, and if I do not get slim right now, nobody will care in 10 years from now. So those shoes became an icon.


I started my fitness program in November. And it is working. Ok, slow in terms of weight loss (plus it keeps me a bit away from blogging you might have noticed), but it took quite some time to collect all of it, so I guess it is only fair that I need to be patient. I do my little hour every day, and added running to the plan since the weather is getting a bit dryer (not nicer, but dry at least).
That heavy mud on the bottom actually makes me proud, that I can do it, and stick to it. And eventually get to where I want to be. So to you, my friends who are hesitating of going where you want to be.... if I can do it, you can do it too.


The only suggestion: if you go running, make sure your cell phone stays at home or is secure in one of your pockets, otherwise you will lose it on the way, and have to re-run all the path, only to discover somebody else has picked it up before you. But if you are lucky, this person who found it will actually answer the phone when you call her, and let you know that you can pick it up at her house. Ok, you might be stepping into a deep puddle of mud while getting out of the car when you pick it up, as you are so excited to get it back. And your (formerly suede) shoes may look like that... But that's life.
Have a happy day and keep smiling.
And don't forget to kiss your valentines.

I know, work, baby and all that daily life stuff is keeping me really busy. And yes, I know this is no excuse to stop blogging...
But I have been active in the meantime. I prepared a bead soup for my wonderful partner, the lovely Janna of Palimpa Lim. She lives in Germany too, although a few hours away from me, but it is soooooo nice to finally meet some more people that have fallen for beads as well. 
Janna makes beautiful jewelry and I really like her blog as well. But I won't tell you too much about it, I would rather like you to hop over there yourself, and read and shop and leave comments (because in the end, that's what this is all about, right?)
So more about what I sent her in another post, but in the meantime, I need to share this package she sent to me.
This is so cute, I do not even have words for it. But looks at it yourself.


 This is what I saw when I opened the envelope. The large package even include a tiny sweater for my baby from the store where Janna is working (it is really really cute, but she hasn't worn it yet, so I do not have a picture to share - but it will follow....).







And when I opened the envelopes (with Stefanie by the way, and these are her pictures - yes, I know the quality is a bit different :) ) - there were lots of ooooohs and aaaaaahs. 
I love the colors of this soup (Janna was kind with me and did not send me bright pink flower and heart beads), but I got pearls in a wonderful brown and dark blue color, enameled beads (by Janna), a number of gemstones (Onyx, Nephrit, Prehnit, Howlit and Garnet - no guarantee for gemstone name translation into english). What you can't see well on this picture are the beads in the lower right corner - cast glass beads - GORGEOUS ! Then there are a few bone beads, metal components, and these cute glowing "Atlas" seed beads - I love this color. Janna took them from her treasure box as her source for them is drying out, so I feel really honered to get some of them. The glow is just great. And sari ribbon.
And I know - I saved the best for last, as I realize I do not have a close up shot of the pendant and clasp that Janna made for me - Copper with resin - TOP! If I ever learn to do resin pieces like those, I will get rich. I thikn we need to convince Janna to start to sell them, so I finally get a source for resin pendants in Europe and do not need to buy them always in the US (I am learning, but it will take some time until I get there).
The pendant is a leg - so cute, and the clasp is a toggle with the word "unendlich" which means infinite in german. This soup is perfect as it is. I don't even know what I would want to add.... I need to get close ups of that too.
Dear Janna, thanks a ton for this lovely soup. And I am so glad that I have met you. I can truely say you feel like a new very close friend, even if we have just met a few weeks ago.
And to Lori - thank you for hosting this party. All of my bead soup and bead swap partners have become really close friends. And who does not need more friends.
Have a good night all you beaders and readers.

Lori is not only fabulous because she is hosting another Bead Soup Party, but also because she is giving away a wonderful metal letter stamp set. Check out her blog over here to enter to win, or simply read about the bead soup and Lori's other projects.

Since I spent two weeks with my sister-in-law (and other family-in-law, obviously too), I thought it was a good idea to thank her for her hospitality and make her a necklace. I bought this focal at a local fair here in Cologne with Stefanie, briefly before Christmas, and thought about Kim right away.


But then again, a lot of sparkle, so what can you add to this? I decided to keep it simple and add more sparkle..... :)


So I added about 20 round crystals to a piece of chain dangling from the focal? And guess what? Love it.
Another one that I need to copy for myself.

I love the Life is Good shirts. Here is the new addition to my collection. Check out their website. And the company is helping kids with life-threathening conditions.

I know it is not dressy and sparkly, but it is perfect for rainy cold days, where you have a flu and need to sit inside the house - like today. And it reminds me always that in the end, life is good.

Hello sunshine !

This is a fun event - if you have a doubt about it - hop over to Lori Anderson's blog and check out how much fun it was...

First of all, happy new year to everybody. I know I have been away for some time, since we are on vacation in the wonderful city of Detroit. I have made a necklace, which is very sparkly and very American (sorry ladies), but I actually like it. I made it for my sister in law, but I really think I need to make the same for me - every girl needs a little sparkle, right? no pictures this time, sorry, but I will post them as soon as we are back home on Monday ( I am using my brother in law's computer here - by the way with an American keyboard which is totally different from the German one, so forgive any typos). I had a chance to buy the entire stock of Suzan LK's industrial chic pieces at the local Michaels (at least this is what it feels like, since we are trying to pack luggages today...) and I have got something with me for Stefanie....   :-)
Will be back with you soon, I promise, and I hope you had a great start of the year.
Hugs and kisses,
N

I have been distracted from my blog lately. A weird feeling since this is the home to my favorite things - beads and meeting nice people. 


But there has been a lot going on. We acquired another company at work, and I am leading the integration of the  new team. That meant a lot of work in a part time job. Last week I flew to Paris for a day, and it felt like an instant flashback to the time when I lived - and loved :) - in France. I studied there for a year at a private highschool that had just opened. In the first couple of months we were about 40 people in the entire school. We had our own school champagne (since the school was located in the center of the Champagne - region). We had party nights with cocktail dresses. We had picnics at the lake. I was fluent in French. And the French guys.....
So nice we have that new company I might have to travel there more often and I will practice my favorite language a bit again.


Yesterday we went to the Xmas market in Cologne and had a few Glühweins. In case you don't know - try it out: heat but do not boil wine, add Xmas spices like orange peel, cinnamon, anise, and maybe a bit of sugar. If you like you can also add a shot of rum or amaretto or you favorite liquor - rum is the most common one though. So we stood outside, it started snowing like crazy and we froze out feet off but it was oh so nice to meet my friend Michael again. We used to hang out a lot together when we took Greek classes and I think we will start doing this again. On the negative side, this freezy night made my cold a bit worse, so I have a bit of a fever and feel yucky this morning. Baby too. Daddy needs to get us over the day.


So after this distraction part, I show you my second piece from the metalsmithing class. It is still not perfectly clean in some spots. But I wanted to start wearing it and it looks really nice. It is made out of sterling silver sheet. I cut two discs, then made a hole into one of them, domed them both, soldered the whole thing together added three silver balls and a bail on the back. Sounds easy, right? Well it is not that difficult but all you metalworkers out there know that this really takes time. And I think it turned out nice for a first attempt. It was so much fun too. I need to do this again. Anybody up for joining me?












Please leave a me a comment and let me know if you like it :)

Erin of Treasures Found had an idea to create this wonderful challenge. I had to pick a primary color (mine was blue) and she selected this wonderful paint chip for me. The colors are called Earthy, Composition, Coconut Milk and Dipped in honey.
I blogged about it HERE.

I signed up really early with the target of having my piece done in mid-November, but here time flew again, and I really just started thinking about it December 1.

I called my piece "Composition d'une romance" which means composition of a romance in english. (can you tell I went to Paris lately and enjoy speaking French again?)

I used this pendant I had forever in my stash made by Artisan Clay. It is clay with crackled glass inside. The blue reminds me of the ocean I have so nice memories of. The raw clay is to me like sand under my feet.
I added some recycled African cast glass beads that I bought recently on a fair in Cologne. They seem like beach glass to me and have almost the same color. At the same fair,  I bought these nut beads and their color represents the cocobut milk from my color palette. I do not really have a a big love for coconuts as the smell provides me with an instant headache. This dates from my childhood where we used to go to Spain for vacation, which was always a 2.5 day car ride, no aircon in the car, and paired with the smell of coconut sun lotion - goodbye Nicki.I love the color though and I think it is perfectly matching the pendant.
To represent the "dipped in honey color, I chose a few different glass beads, and the earth color was added by the wood beads.
Birds are always present on a beach - so I could not leave them out of here. Then finally I added the copper chain, the clasp with those cute metal spacers, and to add a bit of a sound, I also included 3 small bells. The whole piece rings in my ears. I love it. I think it did not only bring all the colors together but also nicely represents all the elements. Everything needed for a lovely romance :).

Ready for the reveal?








So Erin, I think that means that I get 7 entries in your giveaway. I think I managed to do everything you suggested. Thanks for being so wonderful and hosting this fun challenge.

For everyone that is interested in my pieces, please keep checking my etsy page regularly - I add jewelry as well as components on a regular basis:
www.etsy.com/shop/nickisreef.


Please visit the other beady artists and have a look at their wonderful creations. A list with all the links can also be found on Erin's website.

• Alice Peterson
• Amy Freeland
• Beth McCord
• Brandi Hussey
• Cary Scholes
• Catherine Pruitt
• Cindy Wimmer
• Claire Maunsell
• Cory Tompkins
• Courtney Breul
• Cristi Clothier
• Cynthia Riggs
• Emanda Johnson
• Erin Prais-Hintz
• Holly Westfall
• Janea McDonald
• Jeannie Dukic
• Jennifer Cameron
• Judy Campbell
• Karyn White
• Keirsten Giles
• Kelly Morgan
• Kristie Roeder
• Kristin Stevens
• Lisa Godfrey
• Lisa Tracy
• Lori Anderson
• Mallory Hoffman
• Marie Voyer-Cramp
• Mary McGraw
• Nicole Keller
• Nicole Valentine
• Paige Maxim
• Patty Gasparino
• Rebecca Anderson
• Renate Stark-Krammer
• Rita Parra
• Shannon Chomanczuk
• Sheila Summers
• Stefanie Teufel
• Yelisa Rojas

I went to a metalsmithing class on the weekend that was a gift from my mom for my birthday back in June.
I had tons of fun and I could do this the entire day all days of a week.


I have a couple of tools already, but now need to get the ones I am missing like a ring mandrel, a plastic mallet etc.


Anyways. I made three pieces. The first one was this sterling silver ring. In the beginning, I wanted to add something to it, but decided against since baby is tearing most of my jewelry apart and a big ring would not be the thing to wear. It wears super nice. The size is just right as I adjusted it for my middle finger.


I will show the pendant maybe tomorrow - still need to do some sanding. And then I started a third ring made out of brass, but this is still in the infantary stage.


Like it?

“The world of achievement has always belonged to the optimist.”






Harold Wilkins


British journalist, historian (1891-1960)

How cool is that. My autumn birds necklace made me "Designer of the week" at Love My Art Jewelry. Read all about it here.

This is so special to me. I often feel that I do not really have a real space out here in the jewelry world, and now these talented bead and jewelry artists Kelli Pope, MaryAnn Caroll, Maire Jane Dodd, Barbara Lewis, Shannon LeVart, Patti Lakinsmith and LeAnn from SummersStudio have selected ME as designer of the week.

I am truely speechless. Need to go back to my bead table and continue to make something new to submit it to the LMAJ blog. Wouldn't something like this make your day? It truely makes my day!

I checked out my stat counter today. And this was the map I found when I checked for recent visitors. So one of my biggest findings of today: I am well on track with my goal of conquering the world!
(We need to set ourselves targets, don't we :) ?)

The second finding from today is the reason for this blog post. It is you, my dear JCI Holland Michigan reader. It is just a question, but would you let me know who you are? Since we both work in the same company. And I wonder if I know you. I live in Germany, but who knows, maybe we met. Leave me a comment or if you prefer, send me an email to: nickisreef@hotmail.com
I am so curious and I would love to chat with you. Thanks for stopping by.

And I hope everyone else will have a wonderful day too.

For the first time I submitted something to the ABS challenge. I always wanted to do it, but by the time I had decided on my design, it was usually the next month with a new challenge. But this time, it came natural to me. The tree of life directly remembered me of a giveaway I won a long time ago and that has been sitting in my stash ever since.





I created this necklace based on a wonderful ceramic swirl bead set (beads, pendant and button) from Tracee Dock aka the Classic Bead. For the clasp, I made a double wire gunmetal hook and used it together with the button.
I also wanted to add some color and had that bright orange sari silk ribbon left that complemented the colors of the bead set really nicely (life should be colorful). I made some wire wrapped chain out of gunmetal wire and created a nest with coral beads that I attached to the clasp. Assymetry strikes me so to balance the ceramic beads I used czech glass beads. A wire ring was added to the pendant and voila - hatching life.









So here is my first submission ever. I hope you like it and buy some beads from the Classic Bead as well. They are really gorgeous.

So three questions for you today, since I made some more pendants and need some direction on where to go with it.

1) Which one is your favorite?
2) Do you generally like the plain ones better or the ones where I tried the image transfer?
3) What would you pay for it?

I have put some on etsy but did not sell any so far. I made one necklace with a bird pendant and I think it turned out quite nice (check it out here).

Your choices are the following:

1) Bamboo

2) Water and Air


3) Lotus


4) Field of flowers


5) Orange blossom


6) Pink swirl


and a few for Xmas
7) Snow heart


8) Snow rings


9) Snow waves


They are not totally done yet, and need to be sanded on the edges. But I like all of them. I will list some of them in my ETSY store, and some others will directly go into jewelry. I like creating with them, they are lightweight, and unique and made by me.

Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think.