The Seasons blog hop

Lisa Lodge from Grateful Artist is hosting a few blog hops every now and then - she makes packages of beads and sends them out, and you need to create something with what she sent.

Thus the 'Seasons' blog hop came to life, where one can pick a seasons: either a weather-related one or a life 'season'.

I received my package looooooong time ago - beads in a gorgeous shade of purple! Purple, one of my favourite colours!

Of course I forgot to take a pictures of everything *before* starting to work on them :) There were a few lovely glass pearls, some silver spacers and bead caps, lovely crystals (one pink, you see it at the bottom), those snail shell-like beads in a gorgeous purple shade, some miniature seed beads (15 I believe), and a gorgeous ceramic 'pillow' bead. I added the 3 large rings you see left-top.

Forced by my own procrastination I added *nothing* from my own stash other than the wire (24ga and 20 ga). Forced by the same procrastination I was staring at the beads just 2 nights ago... and staring...

I had no plans, no ideas, no story :) What season is purple, after all? None or all :) What season of my life is purple? That's easy: pretty much all - since purple is a royal color, a color of power and positive. And that's the story of my life: trust in myself (power, in a sense) and keep positive. That's every day: trust, believe, and make it happen.

I wasn't this way as a young child or adult - I used to question every choice I made, until one day I understood it is only I who can make myself happy. Not in a selfish way, in a positive way: believe you can be happy and you will be happy. So this piece is going to be the representation of my road to happiness and content!

It started with links - in jewelry like in life you need links:

Wire wrapped crystals, 'shells', bead caps and spacers - to make one happy link after another.

Then it continued with the tiny seed beads 'strung' on 24ga wire... The 3 rings were wrapped together in a special 'bond' and beautified with one of the big pearls. All wrapped together in a free-form 'flower', much like real unplanned life. I decided to add the ceramic pillow as an anchor, to balance the light design and give it some weight. Working on the main part was very interesting, the piece really worked itself into this:

It needed only a few more connectors (simple looped shells) and the closure:

Thus I present you my Road to Happiness:

I am unusually happy with this piece, it just presented itself to me and it was easy to listen and follow it where it wanted to go. Another level of self-trust - something I've learned a lot through my other love (trapshooting), the moment when you can let your inner-self come out and take control. Which doesn't mean you are not in control, just the opposite: you are in such a deep level of control it becomes a true joy.

Enough about me and my purple moment :)

Thank you, Lisa, for organizing this beautiful virtual get-together, it's always so much fun to be part of your events!

Thank you all for stopping by and sharing your thoughts on the 'Road to Happiness' - and please make sure you'll visit the other participants, and check their take on a season.

Your Hostess: Lisa Lodge, Grateful Artist

Kathy Zeigler Lindemer, Bay Moon Design
Cassi Paslick, Beads: Rolling Downhill
Stephanie Sanner Haussler, PixyBug Designs
Leah Mifflin Tees, My Beady Little Eyes
Karin Slaton, BackStory Beads
Audrey Belanger, Dreams of an Absolution
Karla Morgan, Texas Pepper Jams
Christine Stonefield, Sweet Girl Design
Eleanor Burian-Mohr, The Charmed Life
Alicia Marinache,  All the Pretty Things <- you are here
Veralynne Malone, Designed by Vera
Kay Thomerson, Kayz Kreationz
Mary Govaars, MLH Jewelry Designs
Toltec Jewels, Toltec Jewels for Jewel School Friends
Lennis Carrier, Windbent
Tanya Goodwin, A Work in Progress
Renetha Williams Stanziano, Lamplight Crafts
Christie Searle Murrow, Charis Designs Jewelry
Melissa Trudinger, Bead Recipes
Shirley Jones Moore, Beads and Bread
Charlene Bausinger Jacka, Clay Space
Tara Plote, The Newbie Beader's Blog
Candida Elkins Castleberry, Spun Sugar Beadworks
Lori Jean Poppe, Lorillijean Creative Corner

Erin Kenny, Beadifultherapy

Cilla Watkins, Tell Your Girlfriends

Sierra Barrett, Giraffe Can Has

Dawn Horner, Northern Adornments

Miranda Ackerley, Daze and Days