Etsy again / Etsy de novo

Pela terceira vez, tive uma peça incluída num Tesouro. Desta feita, a curadora foi Nan Smith do blogue WiredNan. Algum dos meus leitores tem loja no Etsy? Qual o seu nome? A minha chama-se ACBeadsJewellery. 

For the 3rd time, a piece of mine was included in a Treasury. Nan Smith from WiredNan blog curated some of the bracelets she loves in Etsy. Does anyone from my readers have an Etsy shop? What's its name? Mine is called ACBeadsJewellery. 


By clicking on the image, you will be able to see the Bracelets I Love Treasury in Etsy.

PS: This is an edited post. I've removed the link to the CraftCult website as the whole treasury took so long to display.

My Country Blog Hop

8th Bead Soup Blog Party post
A Time to Stitch 5 post

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Today is the reveal for My Country Blog Hop, an international event hosted by Canadian Nan Smith. A big thank you to Nan.

A bit about myself. My name is Ana Cravidao and I am from Portugal, a country in Southwestern Europe. In general, Portugal is associated with sunshine, beaches and good wine.

(click on any photo to enlarge)

Less known aspects are the old architecture, the tile making art and the pavements made with black and white limestone.

Tile making is a traditional art here in Portugal. It was introduced by the Arab peoples many centuries ago in the Iberian Peninsula. Their intricate designs were of the utmost beauty.

Tile work has evolved. From geometric motifs where the blue colour was generally used, nowadays any colours and motifs, or no motifs at all, can be used.

Traditional tilework

old artistic tile work 

traditional tile work

artistic tile work

artistic tile work

My fascination with the elaborate geometric motifs in the Arab tiles as led me to choose, or should I say, to 'borrow' the Persian tile pattern from Marcie Abney.

I had planned to make a bracelet with several 'tiles' connected by wire links but I must confess that I ran out of time. I ended up with one 'tile' that I've attached to a silver plated trace chain. I hope you like it.

I look forward to seeing everybody's creations in this blog hop. Be ready to be amazed because there are great artists participating. 

Nan Smith - the hostess (Canada) http://nanmade.blogspot.ca

Ana (Portugal)                            http://acbeads.blogspot.pt   <--- you are here

Rita (Mexico)                              http://www.jewelschoolfriends.com

Dini (The Nederlands)                 http://angazabychanges.blogspot.nl

Robin Reed (Indiana, USA)         http://willowdragon.blogspot.com

Lilik Kristina (Indonesia)             http://pcbylik.blogspot.com

Karen Mitchell (South Australia)   www.overthemoon-design.com

Melissa Trudinger (Australia)       http://beadrecipes.wordpress.com

Johana Nunez (Puerto Rico)       http://artincendi.com

Kepi (Alberta, Canada)               http://kepirasmussen.blogspot.ca

Deb Fortin  (Ontario, Canada)     http://studiok24.blogspot.ca

Divya  (India)                             http://www.jewelsofsayuri.com

Tammy Adams (Arizona, USA)  http://paisleylizard.com

Baizoran (Bulgaria)                    http://bairozan.blogspot.com

Carolyn (Calif.&Pacific Northwest,USA) http://carolynscreationswa.blogspot.com

Linda A.(Washington DC, USA) http://fromthebeadboard.blogspot.com

Inge Van Roos (California, USA) http://ingetraud.wordpress.com

Natalie (New Zealand )               http://www.northshoredays.com

Lori Schneider ( )                       http://beadaddicted.blogspot.com 

Mary Harding (New York, USA) http://maryhardingjewelrybeadblog.blogspot.com

Bouchra Rebai (Algeria)              http://bouchrarebai.wordpress.com

Michelle McCarthy (Florida, USA) http://Fireflydesignstudio.blogspot.com

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Photo credits:

1,4 Município de Setúbal - Galeria de imagens

2  Praia da Califórnia (Sesimbra) 

3  Port wine

6  Avenida Luísa Todi, Setúbal

7  Mekhnes Place El-Hedine Mosaique3

8,9,12  Viúva Lamego

11  Carlos Botelho, Painel de azulejos, Av.Infante Santo, Lisboa

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My Country, of Thee I Bead - REVEAL

Welcome to the Reveal Day of My Country, of Thee I Bead Challenge, hosted by the amazing Nan Smith. Thank you, Nan for setting up this beading challenge!

My Country, of Thee I Bead CHALLENGE

First, a bit about myself. My name is Ana Cravidao and I come from Portugal. For those who don't know where Portugal is, I almost can't see it on the map above, it's a rectangle shaped country, located in the Iberian Peninsule, in western Europe. I live in Setubal, but I was born in Lisbon (the capital). I'm new to blogging (not one year yet) but I've been designing jewellery for five years. Despite my pseudonym, ACBEADS, I don't make beads but one day I'm  going to take that road too.

When I signed up for this challenge, I had no idea of what I wanted to make. So I started to look for inspiration. According to the rules, the piece should be based on something that is distinctive to one's country, for instance, the flag, the emblem, the anthem or anything that one feels is representative. I didn't know what an emblem was, so I looked up in the Wikipedia, and to my surprise, the emblem to Portugal was the Rooster of Barcelos. For me it was an traditional object made of clay with a ancient legend associated - a legend about the miraculous intervention of a dead rooster when an innocent man is wrongly sentenced to death.

Galo de Barcelos / Rooster of Barcelos
(Click here to go to Wikipedia's article to read about the legend )

Now, while I'm writing this, after some research, I'm not so sure about it being the emblem of Portugal, but it definetly is a symbol of my old and beautiful country. And it is a colourful and fun rooster.

The symbols of Portugal are the flag (the most important), the Portuguese shield, the cross of the Order of Christ, among others. If you're curious you can read more in this article from the Wikipedia.

Flag of Portugal/ Bandeira de Portugal

Inspired by the colours of the flag, I started to imagine a piece of jewellery. But how to design with red and green without making it look like a Christmas decoration? That is a challenge! The gorgeous filigrees of Portuguese traditional jewellery were also an inspiration. 

Pendente Coração de Viana (Viana Heart Pendant) - photo taken from Alma e Coração (Portuguese online Jewellery Shop)

For my piece, I've put an intricate brass heart pendant hanging from a chain I made using 7mm and 4mm brass jump rings and Swarovski red and green crystals. It is a short necklace and I like the way it looks when worn. 

I hope you like my post and my necklace. Don't forget to check out all the beautiful creations made by the other participants. Below you can find the full list for the blog hop.

Nan Smith (Canada)              http://wirednan.blogspot.ca  <----- THE HOSTESS

Dini Bruinsma (The Netherlands)   http://angazabychanges.blogspot.com/

Stephanie Weiss (USA)          http://uniquelymebwd.blogspot.com/

Ana Cravidao (Portugal)         http://acbeads.blogspot.com  < ----- YOU'RE HERE

Liz E (Pitcairn/USA)                http://beadcontagion.blogspot.com

Vera (Germany/USA)               http://veradesigns.blogspot.com/

Andra Marasteanu (Romenia)    http://bijouxdemonange.blogspot.com

Delilah (Romenia)                    http://mssdelilah.wordpress.com/

Jessica Murrey (USA)                http://whimsicalweavings.blogspot.com/

Mischelle Fannuchi (USA)          http://micheladasmusings.blogspot.com/

Rebecca (France/USA)             http://www.godsartistinresidence.blogspot.com

LiliKrist (Indonesia)                http://www.pcbylik.blogspot.com

NK Valentine Studio (Canada)   http://www.nvalentine.blogspot.com/

Karin (Canada)                       http://www.maverickbeads.blogspot.ca/

Diah Anggreni (Indonesia)      http://www.pernik-manik.blogspot.pt/

Karen (Australia)                   http://www.overthemoon-design.com/

Cath Thomas (The Netherlands/Switzerland)    http://samohtac.blogspot.com/

Asri Wahyuningsih (Indonesia/USA)     http://asribeadwork.blogspot.com

Crysalis Jewelry Design (Denmark/Canada) 

Jasvanti Patel (Brazil/USA)     http://www.jewelrybyjasvanti.blogspot.com

Lola (Serbia/Canada)             http://beadlolabead.blogspot.com

Becky Peterson (Sweden/USA)

Paula Hisel (USA)                   http://simplybeadiful.weebly.com/

Inge Von Ross (Germany)        http://ingetraud.wordpress.com/

Laurie Vyselaar (USA)             http://lefthandjewelry.wordpress.com/

Toltec Jewels (Mexico/USA)      http://www.jewelschoolfriends.com

Anindita Basu (India/USA)       http://www.alankarshilpa.blogspot.com

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Para os meus leitores em português, vou fazer um pequeno resumo. Este post surge na sequência de um desafio lançado pela canadiana Nan Smith do blogue Wired Nan, que consistia em elaborar uma peça de bijutaria inspirada em algo representativo do país onde nascemos ou do país de onde provêm os nossos pais ou antepassados. 

Como base de inspiração escolhi as cores da bandeira de Portugal (vermelho e verde) bem como o Pendente Coração de Viana da joalharia tradicional portuguesa.  

O resultado foi um colar curto, com um pendente coração de bronze, suspenso numa corrente feita por mim com argolas de 7 e 4 mm e cristais Swarovski em verde e vermelho. Espero que gostem e não deixem de visitar os outros participantes que constam da lista acima. Divirtam-se.