Long time, no see...

I am finally finished with the Battle of the Beadsmith piece, and the photos are submitted, so I am going to kick back and relax for today. I still have a load of beads and components which didn't fit the project so before relegating them back to the beadbox I thought I'd play a bit and treat myself to a bit of freeform.

The labradorite cabochon was just a bit too big for the competition piece but makes a lovely focal pendant. I'm adding more green to the bead soup to echo the bottom area on the stone, and I think it will be fringed as well! So far I'm thinking this will be a keeper, a souvenir of the travails I put myself through...

I'm going to take the BOTB piece itself to visit my local beadshop today to show them where some of the cabs I bought ended up, and then celebrate with a cup of coffee and a pastry. 

Look out for all the creations which will shortly be appearing on the BOTB'13 Facebook group, clicking the logo at the right should take you there. I'll post a picture of my piece here once it has gone live on the Battle page for those of you not on Facebook.

Thanks for all the messages of support  (and beads) which I've been receiving throughout the last 8 weeks, all were much appreciated, and helped me through my first foray into International competition waters!