For the third Valentine swap that I joined, I hosted a charm swap with sixteen participants.

With thoughts of love, friendship, and heart shaped everything in our minds, the girls in my mixed-media swap ended up with a beautiful collection of 16 charms to adorn them or their homes. Since there are so many girls with so many talents in this group I left the materials open to interpretation. The only firm rule is that each charm had to contain metal as a design element, either soldered, or metal bezel, or wire wrapped or something to give a cohesive look with soldered charms.

The main colors were pinks, white, silver, creams, and hints of muted Valentine colors. The size could range from 1″ all the way up to 3″ and this collection gave us all a nice combination of sizes to be used as a garland, charm bracelet, necklace pendants or as ornaments for a Valentine tree.

Pretty packaging was optional but these girls came through with some gorgeous and daintily wrapped presents!

I went for a new technique using FIMO polymer clay and I’m so happy with the way they turned out. This was my first time using it this way and I’m going to be using this technique again in the future.

Creating your own embellishments gives the artist so many different options than just purchasing store bought embellishments!

Here are all of mine all lined up with different ribbons on them. I just loved looking at all of them together! And don’t they look gorgeous with all of the different colors of Lovebug Creations Rumple Ribbon?  You can find this beautiful and versatile ribbon in the Lovebug Creations online shop!

Here’s a detail shot so you can see the pretty swans. You probably know by now that swans are my latest infatuation. I found some adorable sterling silver heart head pins and added ballet pink pearls and a pink crystal onto them. I added some glass beads that reminded me of petite chandelier crystals and some tiny pearls.

Participants:

1. Michelle Duke
2. Carrie Reid Harney
3. Lonnie Jenck
4. Hope Habbe Ellington
5. Jeanine Stowe Weiss
6. Linda Vinson
7. Nicole Goodwin
8. Lori Stewart Dams
9. Pam Munns
10. Michelle Hurtt
11. Debbi Udall Wilcock
12. Carol Lucero
13. Ann Hammes
14. Rochelle Kretz Gaukel
15. Julie Gordon Weller
16. Christine Barker

Thank you so much for stopping by! I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing all of the Valentine inspiration that I’ve been steeped in. It’s been really wonderful. Tomorrow I’ll show you what all of the charms look like and you can adore them just like I have been!

xo,

Christine Barker

Want to see my other Valentine Posts?

Blog Hop: Loves Me, Loves Me Knot

Sweet:  Pretty Jelly Jar with Lovebug Creations Ribbon

Swap: Queen of Hearts Valentine Swap

Swap: Precious Hearts Swap