Lori Anderson presented the idea of this blog hop as a way to honor the memory or to thank someone who means a lot to us. As she simply states, "You never know what you might mean to someone". The idea of this blog came about after the passing of another beader, Marianna Adams, who sadly I did not know, but who's daughter, Lena Adams, I recently 'met'. What a special young lady she is. Her mother would be so proud!Rather than touch on the memory aspect I chose to focus on the thanks. There have been so many wonderful, talented beaders I've come to know over the years, many of whom I've come to call friends. One such person is Marlene Cupo of Amazing Designs by Marlene. I 'met' Marlene through a Cup of Bead Soup that I was invited to participate in. Marlene was 1 of 4 participants besides Lori Anderson and we quickly forged a friendship. We even had plans to meet in NYC when she came up north for a visit to her daughter and grandchildren. But then Hurricane Sandy hit and the meeting never took place. In my heart of hearts, I know that we will 1 day meet.
Even before this blog I had intended to make her something special as a surprise. When I ran a fundraiser for Hurricane Sandy victims recently, Marlene bid on a pair of hand knit socks that she knew I was dying for. She outbid me, but before long, those socks showed up in my mail, bid on and purchased for me by my dear friend. She said that she wanted to do something to support the relief effort and do something nice for a friend. That's just the kind of person she is.
So, when this blog hop idea came up, she immediately came to mind. I was already planning on making her something special and this provided me with the idea. Marianna's favorite color was red. I have been making lampwork glass ribbon hearts in all sorts of colors, red being one of the most popular. I attached it to a beaded spiral rope in white with red crystal accents, with one of my white swirled lampwork beads one 1 side and a vintage red elongated bicone on the other, finished off with a matching sterling heart clasp. I hope she likes it and makes her smile as I did while making it for her.
I hope you'll join me in checking out the other amazingly talented artists to see what they've come up with and their inspirations. I had issues with posting the complete list here so please go to Lori Anderson's blog, Pretty Things, for the complete list.
Pretty Things
Pretty Things
26 comments:
Lovely work! I love multiple stranded necklaces, and especially like the red and clear on this one.
Beautiful necklace,I love that heart.
I love it Lea. What a beautiful post.
Is there anything you can't make? You omnicrafters kill me. I'm sure she'll love it.
What intricate and lovely bead work. Such a wonderful gift....
OH WOW! You are a naughty girl!!!!
Not only do I have to get knitting another 5 pair of socks for you (my other blog post from today can show you how much I have!), but have to get hubby to decide where he is taking me out to show off my new neck bling! Thank you so much for this, {{{friend}}}}!
You do NOT have to knit me more socks! I've been busting a gut the past few weeks trying to keep this from you. So glad you like it! I wanna see a picture of you wearing it.
Beautiful necklace - and for such a deserving friend! Marlene is special and so are you, for making sure she knows (and we do too now :))
I love it, perfect in every way, right down to the heart clasp.
Wonderful tribute...seems like saying "thanks" gets lost in the day-to-day living. The necklace you created is beautiful
IT is a beautiful way to say thank you. Thanks for sharing.
This is a wonderful tribute to both Marlene & Mari. Kudos. Thanx for sharing your story with us.
Lea, the necklace is just beautiful. And I cannot help but agree that Marlene is so very deserving! What wonderful friends we make here!
Lea, Marlene must love love love this necklace. Your tribute to her is so sweet, and it just represents our community of artists so well! Hey, was CupO bead soup named after her?! Thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting too! If you ever get the urge to travel 3000 miles west, we'll make a special trip to gather us all together; I would so LOVE to meet you in person!
What a beautiful tribute to Marlene. Isn't she a neat lady? I always smile when I read her posts.
It's exactly this type of blog post that made me say "I want to play, too"! I'll bet Marlene is over the moon with your tribute to her.
A lovely idea for thanking somebody! I read Marlene love it - who wonders, it's a very special gift!
Your work is always incredible! This necklace is no different. I'm sure Marlene loved it!!
thank you all for the great comments. LOL Mona! No, it wasn't named for her, but should've been. ;-) I'll be out west next month! going to pay my younger son a visit. He moved out there in May. Combining a trip up the coast while we're there. getting really excited!
Gorgeous necklace.
How nice of you. I am sure your friend will enjoy the lovely necklace.
I've admired your work for awhile now. This piece is beautiful! Thank you for sharing.
Peace and Love.
Your necklace is beautiful - what a lovely tribute to your sweet friend!!
Beautiful necklace.
Thanks for sharing your story!
Alright you two are both just far too sweet, you guys are going to be out nicing each other for years to come I can see it now! Beautiful in oh so many ways
Isn't it wonderful when we come across those few special gems we can call close friends? I can say my blogging and jewelry journeys have given me so many of those gems and I'm so thankful! :)
I love the necklace you created for your special gem of a friend and I love the fact you chose to focus on thankfulness!
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