The spoils from Staci and Karen+Super *Secret* news with Staci Smith REVEALED

Hello friends!

Well the time is finally here for the super *secret* news you have been hearing about!  But first, I want to share some of my goodies with you. Don't worry this is like the pre-story for the main event ;)

So let's start out with my friend, Karen. I had the extreme pleasure of a trade with the amazing, Karen Totten of Starry Road Studio! Wow did she SPOIL me!

 

Just look at all of these AMAZING BEADS! If you don't have any of Karen's beads in your stash, you totally need some! Not only is her work amazing, but the details, and skill in her work are just outstanding! Did I mention the packaging as well?! Wow, she has literally given me the BEST packaging I have EVER received! It's such a treat to open her packages!

Your goodies from Karen will arrive in some of these pretty recyclable textured craft boxes.

Upon opening them you will see this.

Under this, you will see this.

 

If you ever wondered about the scale of her work this shot will give you an idea.

Karen's work is so masterfully detailed and tiny. She told us she has little elves that come help her do her work. There were 3. I can't think of their names at the moment, but they sure do a good job, don't they?!

Here is another shot of the beautiful oil lamps Karen makes. You can find them in her shop here I just love this awesome black clay with the glaze at the top and the bottom left "raw"!

 

See! Look how teeny he is! This is one of her infamous whale beads, if you have heard of their legends. I think she will be making some more soon if you don't see any in her shop. If not you could always send her a nice little message to see when she will have more in stock ;)

 Not only is Karen, super amazingly artistic, but she is probably one of the NICEST people I have ever met as well! I have enjoyed getting to know her so much, and I am so grateful to call her my friend :)

Here are the GORGEOUS spoiles I received from Staci, whom is also one of the most amazing people I have met. I am so happy  and honored to call one of my good friends! She is such an amazingly talented and super sweet person! I don't think I can say enough nice things about her!  If you have not seen Staci's work, then you simply must run over to her shop and familiarize yourself!

Aren't the BEAUTIFUL?! I just LOVE everything she sent! Oh, did I mention she SPOILED me as well? (A girl could get really used to this spoiling business! Being the oldest, I normally get shafted! ;P )

Wow, well where do I begin? Staci makes some amazing bronze clay pieces and patina's them. You can find them in her shop here.

She is also doing some AMAZING new painted polymer pieces. OH the HEARTS *swoon* All of the colors and texture in them. They remind me of beautiful batiked fabric! Some even have these little kinda barbell guys sticking out of them. They kinda look like they have little piercings ;)

I made some matchy wing dings(more about this below).

She even creates these wonderful nautilis shell connectors and such with this amazing crackle finish!

So just one more thing before I deliver the news.... Staci ended up picking up some of my recycled glass bottle beads and created this amazing bracelet I want you to see.  I take the bottles and simply melt down the glass to work them into beads. Here is a quick photo I took from my phone as I was making them :)

Here are the finished beads  and glass headpin from this photo. These are in the hands of Miss Karen Totten, but don't worry. I will be making more soon. Stay tuned for updates on those ;)

So about that bracelet....

 

This is the bracelet she just "whipped up" LOL. I was like just "whipped it together" huh?! This is AMAZING! Don't you LOVE it?! I think it's absolutely fantastic!!

So speaking of inspiration(this is the part you were finally waiting for ;) So When I received Staci's package I was so INSPIRED by her work I just HAD to match some beads to her wonderful pieces(You can read about more of my inspiration in my LMAJ Blog post here).

You know how much I LOVE color and I have such an eye for color matching, it's retarded ;)

 

So off I went, matching, and matching and making, and making. WING DINGS galore!

I was so excited about it I came up with this wonderful idea and ran it past Staci.

So here is the BIG BIG NEWS... I am excited to announce that Staci and I are working on a collaborative project together! We will be making some LIMITED ADDITION beads to offer up together complimenting each others work!!

 

Here is a little teaser! Staci will be creating some of her beautiful hearts and I will be making matching wing ding sets! We will only have a LIMITED amount of these color sets and focals available so when they are gone, they are GONE. 

In the coming weeks we are both busily creating this special collection for our friends and designers out there! We are SUPER excited about this wonderful project and can't wait to see what you all think!

As we get further on this project we will be updating everyone on our blogs(here((If you are reading this then obviously you know my blog address ;P lol)) and Staci Louise Originals) and facebook pages Genea Beads and Staci Louise Originals)so do check in to see how our project is going!

See you soon and thanks for stopping by!

xoxo Genea