You guys, I have the most exciting post to share with you today! Danielle Wickes and I have cooked up a special bead swap just between the two of us and today is the big reveal day! She’s a supremely talented artist and you should be sure to check out her Etsy shop for her finished jewelry and loom patterns.

So, a while back, we decided to send each other some beads and challenge each other to design with them. I didn’t get a nice snapshot of what I sent Danielle, like a dummy, but she was sweet enough to provide me with some photos. I went with a purple and gold palette with a few fun focal beads.

She’s gonna be posting her own reveal of what she made. She’s gonna be posting it to her Facebook and Instagram first and then later we’re gonna get a write-up on A Beaded Life, so stay tuned! She sent me some amazing pieces and they were wrapped up so prettily! Look at the cute tape and all the stickers!

And the beads inside were even more beautiful! She sent me this amazing mix of Fire-Polished beads, a Firefly focal from SummerWindArt, seed beads, Czech flower beads, and this amazing little owl! It was gorgeous mix and I was so lucky to dabble in it!

The first thing I made was this necklace with the Firefly focal. I used lots of the Fire-Polished Czech crystals to make the beaded portion and the rest of the necklace is a batik dyed ribbon.

I mean, just look at this adorable little bug. Summer Wind Art makes great focals.

After that, I used the rest of the 6mm Fire-Polished beads to make this simple bracelet with copper rings. The colors are SO good together. Danielle has a great eye for color!

After that, I actually made this bracelet that you might have seen before – one of my Sextet bracelet samples! I just released this pattern last weekend, so check out that post if you missed it!

I desperately wanted to use the little owl, so I attached him to this cute little branch and added some chain and beads in a cool, blue/brown glass. I think the necklace turned out nifty! Kind of a cool forest, witchy vibe!

I absolutely adored the little flower beads, so I stitched them into a bronze ring and practices my brick stitch to embellish them. I’m super into how they turned out. These orange ones might just stay with me!

For the amazing blue flower beads, I found that I had some mini silver ones in a similar style! I matched them with some Czech rondelles from my stash and strung them in a double-strand knotted pattern with the beautiful clasp Danielle sent.

ALSO, I used the “clear” seed beads she sent me and THEY GLOW IN THE DARK, YOU GUYS! I am not joking, they really do! Look at this picture I snapped in a dark closet. I didn’t edit the photo at all – they’re just delicate and blue and I love them. And how clever – for a firefly themed gift bunch of beads!

The last piece I made was so late that I actually made it last night. I HAD to find the perfect way to use these stunning flowers and I decided on a double wrap bracelet.

It wraps around the wrist twice and then the flowers end up offset. I’m pleased with it!

I had so much fun with this swap and I can’t wait to see the details of what Danielle made. I felt so inspired by the palette Danielle sent me and I had an absolute blast.

I had an amazing time. Thank you so much for playing at this swap with me, Danielle! I haven’t felt so inspired in a while. I highly recommend organizing a little bead swap with your friends, even with only two people – we had such a great time! <3