Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Diane's Double Dare

 Diane dared us to! 

She double-dared us! 

Then she enabled us by sending us doodads!

Isn't she a special lady?

She sent me two 1/2 inch doodads with eight petals.  I thought about it a little bit, then found some thread and beads that worked well together and gave it a try. 


My first try is made in Lizbeth #662, Turquoise Lt in size 20 with matching seed beads. 

You can't see it in this picture but it didn't want to lay flat, it was three dimensional.  Because of the length of the chains on the outside round every other leg was raised.  It looked pretty cool but made it a real bear to photograph.   

I liked the result well enough that I thought I'd try it again but shorten up the chains a bit. 


My second try is made in Lizbeth #638, Christmas Green and silver seed beads.

The reflection off the silver beads and the doodad really made this hard to capture with a picture.  And the darker thread made finding a good background hard, too.  The picture doesn't show just how striking the green thread set off the silver beads and center.  In person this looks much, much better!

Thank you, Diane, for sending me the doodads, and for daring me to use them!  These are #5 in my current 25 Motif Challenge. 

p.s I have posted the pattern on the Pattern Page if you're interested.

"Take a chance! All life is a chance. The man who goes farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare."
Dale Carnegie

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21 comments:

  1. You definitely have an eye for designing!! Both of these are outstanding! I'm amazed at all the designs everyone is coming up with! The doodads give the design that extra zing!

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    1. Yes, there have been some amazing motifs coming out of this dare of Diane's. It's been a lot of fun, too!

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  2. Fantastic! I love them both! I am getting a real kick out of seeing what everyone is doing with their doodads!

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    1. Thanks! It has been a fun challenge. I just love the doodads I received!

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  3. Lovely, and a clever idea to add beads.

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  4. Beautiful! Great design!
    Fox : )

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    1. Thanks! I just had to join the fun on this one!

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  5. I think the green one in particular is stunning! Your use and placement of the silver beads really sets this apart.

    Glad to have found your blog!

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    1. I had thought it would look pretty good in this combination but it turned out even better than I thought it would!

      So glad you stopped by!

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  6. p.s Is that single bead on the outer ring string on the shuttle or ball thread?? I think it is shuttle thread (right hand) but just want to be sure!
    Fox : 0

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    1. Yes, that's it. You can see what I did, I've posted the pattern on the pattern page.

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  7. Those are both really gorgeous!!! I love your design!!! :)

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  8. These are great! I do think there must be some secret formula for getting the chains the right length so we don't have to experiment--if not, I wish there were!

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    1. There is kinda sorta a formula, (number of stitches in rings, curve inside/outside, etc) but I still don't usually get it quite right the first time. Besides, sometimes things happen that turn out pretty cool, even when you weren't going that direction.:)

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  9. It's really amazing the difference a little tweak can make, isn't it? When I saw the turquoise one, I was in awe of the beauty of the design; but when I saw the green one, I said, "Yes, that's the way it should look!"

    I really love the way you've place the beads in this design, and I especially think that matching the silver beads to the doodad was a good choice.

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  10. Thank you, Miranda, I really appreciate that. It's funny, because that is pretty much what I thought about the first result, too. And the second!:) I'm just glad I had the silver beads handy, I might have tried it with different beads and probably wouldn't have been as happy with it.

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  11. They are both lovely, I have done one and on my second, but may start again with it as the beads re playing up. First did not have beads but you can't take everything on holiday, weight being the problem, Hubby said if you drop beads on the hotel floor they will stay there he's not going down on all fours to move the bed as it won't move. Thanks for sharing your pattern
    Margaret

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  12. Can't tell if the first motif is "3D"; seems fine the way it's photographed. Both are beautiful.

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