Anchors Aweigh Design Challenge and Blog Hop

Rita of Toltec Jewels, an extremely talented jewelry design artist and maker, blogger and writer, is a huge supporter of the Handcrafted Art Bead community. Hosting blog hops that feature Bead Artists that make the most amazing components for Jewelry Artists to use in their jewelry designs is only one way that Rita supports the Handcrafted Art Bead community. She often buys these beads herself and gives them to bloggers who use them in an original design.  Thank you, Rita, for your amazing talents, support, and hostessing of these fantastic blog hops!!

Today, the featured bead artist is Diana Ptaszynski of Suburban Girl Studio. She made the beautiful Anchor Porcelain Beads that everyone used in their designs. There were two colors--

Sapphire or

Here is the necklace I made from the Sapphire color anchor beads. I wanted to represent the water, the wind, the beach, the treasures--as summer's journey ends, so does another begin. The blue beads under the seagull flying over the water represent the water, and the anchors are under the water--usually invisible, but deciding how those anchors weigh in our journey's decisions affect how the journey goes. The treasures are memories and keepsakes of the summer journey, the coral is the substance on which we build.

Featured is a Polymer Clay seagull flying over the water bead by Rebekah Payne. Also included are blue striped glass beads, blue and white ceramic beads by an "artist whose name cannot be known", brass jelly fish, copper sand dollar, etched copper round by Lisa Liddy, blue coral cubes, copper spacers, lampwork glass discs and lampwork glass shells, whose maker's name I cannot remember, light and dark blue chalcedony drops, silk ribbon, and a brass clasp with the featured Sapphire blue anchor porcelain beads by Diana Ptaszynski.

Thank you so much, Rita, for the opportunity to participate in the Anchors Aweigh Blog Hop!!

Take a look at the following blogs to see what everyone made using the awesome Anchor beads:

Anchors Aweigh!! Design Challenge & Blog Hop 

Participating Artists

Featured & Honored Artist:        Diana Ptaszynski

Diana's Shop:                           Suburban Girl Beads

Diana's Blogs:                          Suburban Girl Studio

                                                 Art Jewelry Elements

Hostess: TJ                               Jewel School Friends

Bobbie Rafferty                         Beadsong Jewelry

Chris Eisenberg                         Wanderware

Heather Richter                         Desert Jewelry Designs

Michelle McCarthy                    Firefly Design Studio

Kathy Lindemer                         Bay Moon Design

Dini Bruinsma                            Angaza by Changes

Cynthia Machata                       Antiquity Travelers

Kathleen Breeding                     99 Bottles of Beads on the Wall

Linda Younkman                       Lindy's Designs

Robin Reed                                  Artistry HCBD

Marla Gibson                              Spice Box Designs

Gina Hockett                               Freestyle Elements--you are here!

Renetha Stanziano                      Lamplight Crafts

Marianne Baxter                          Simply Seablime Jewelry        

Christina Miles                             Wings N Scales

Marybeth Rich                            A Few Words from Within the Pines

Shai Williams                              Shaiha's Ramblings

Cheri Reed                                  Creative Designs by Cheri

Monique Urquhart                      A Half-Baked Notion

Jennifer Reno                             Musings of a Crafty Jenny

Shirley Moore                             Beads and Bread

Tammy Adams                           Paisley Lizard

Melissa Trudinger                       Bead Recipes

Jill Bradley                                  JillyBeads