We're Going on a Picnic!

 

You may be aware that myself and four of my bestest beading friends Anna Pierson, Monica Pena, Loralee Kolton, and Miranda Trebesch have been doing regular jewelry sales on Facebook as the Five Friends.  We are gearing up for our July show at the end of the month and our theme is going to be summer picnic.  I've been having so much fun designing new jewelry for this show that I just couldn't wait until then to share some of it with you all!

As I started thinking about the theme, my mind went to juicy watermelons (even though I don't enjoy eating it myself), fruit salad, ladybugs and other summer buggy friends, and, in case your picnic ends up lingering until dusk, fireflies!  

So... here's a sneaky peak at what I've been working on so far starting with some fun ladybug designs!

The first things I made were a couple of multi-strand bracelets with some Golem Design Studio focal beads.  These are so bright and fun... and who can resist the little Czech glass ladybug beads that decorate one strand in each bracelet.  I can't wait for a time that I can buy from Golem in person again... I need more ladybug beads to replenish my stash!  The design is from Lorelei Hill Eurto from a long ago bead magazine and one I revisit often.  

Next up, some ladybug earrings for your enjoyment.  I couldn't resist snagging a couple of pairs of cute enameled ladybug charms from C-Koop a while back and I'm finally using a pair!  I paired them with some vintage fluted acrylic beads and sliver plated accents for a fun look that doesn't get too heavy weight wise.

My second pair of earrings features more beady goodness from Golem Design Studio!  I paired them with blackened elements, red crystal, and some leaf charms.  

For when your picnic time stretches into dusk, let's switch gears from ladybugs to one of summer's other favorite insects... fireflies or, as I usually call them, lightning bugs!!  I finally relocated the box with my sweet collection of firefly jars that I ordered from Blue Hare Art Wear.  I have so many fond memories of running around the yard chasing lightning bugs and sometimes catching them in jars to try and keep... this just screams summer time to me.  

I just had to get at least one watermelon design finished for this blog post and the winner was a necklace featuring a long-hoarded Jade Scott pendant!  It's a sweet little piece of art so a daintier design was in order.  I strung it on a mix of Rose Quartz, Czech Glass, Peridot, and dyed Agate with brass chain and findings.  I'm pretty happy with how this one turned out.

I'm not done designing yet... we'll see what other summer picnic inspired creations come off my bead table in the next couple of weeks.  I know that the other ladies have some fun stuff up their collective sleeves as well!

If you're interested in these designs and other summery good stuff from the Five Friends, I hope you'll join us for our Facebook show starting July 28th.  You can find us over in the SagaHus Components group if you want to take part. (P.S. I really think you're going to want to be at this show!)

Artisans Create Together Color Palette Challenge: July 2017

I always enjoy a good color challenge and this month's Artisans Create Together Color Inspiration challenge is no exception!  These color inspirations are just one of the creative challenges that this Facebook group organized each month.  

Usually there are two different choices, but this time it's almost like having three since Challenge #1 is all about using either blue and white or red and white.  (Is it wrong that I was relieved that this was an either/or thing and not the full on red, white, and blue thing?)  Anyway, so many good choices just in this first challenge!  

My first two designs are variations on a theme... and that theme is super cute red and white enameled mushroom charms by Gardanne Beads.  I snatched up two pairs of these little mushrooms the first time she offered them up at an online trunk show and was thrilled to get them.  I kept one pair (fairly) simple with little links of Czech glass flowers and rondelles in red and red with brass.  I went a tiny bit "bigger' with the second set using adorable red and white polka dotted lampwork beads by Grace Lampwork that I got from Lima Beads with the mushrooms in mind.  I wish I had snagged more!

I had big plans of making a necklace with this amazing pendant that I also got from Gardanne, but I ran out of time and other things were screaming louder.  Eventually I'll get back around to this little beauty!  

For the Orange & Lime challenge, I went for more earrings.  I knew that I had some perfect charms in my stash for this one!  I started with some fun ceramic charms by Jana of Happy Fish Things.  I love the bright colors she uses... in this case green, orange, and turquoise!  I'm not always crazy about how the metal loops on ceramic components look and often hide them in some way.  This time I decided to leave them alone as I kind of liked the black and silver rustic look these have.  I picked some vibrant Czech glass beads to dangle from the bottom loops.  These are a little "louder" than what I often design but I think they're super fun!      

I also revisited a design I first made early in the year using enameled bead caps from C-Koop Beads.  This time I used some lime green flower bead caps and added some brass foliage bead caps that I painted bright orange.  The tendrils turned a bit looser than my previous attempts.  In Eric's words... "natural product, results may vary."

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my latest creations!  I'm off to pack for the Adornments Retreat in Galena, Illinois.  I can't wait to immerse myself in creativity for my birthday weekend!  I'll tell y'all all about it when I return!

Honey Do List: April 2017

Last year, my husband Eric has decided to issue me a design challenge each month to get me out of my comfort zone and to help clear out my bead stash... and we're continuing the Honey Do List for 2017!  I know that I'm not the only one who loves a good design challenge, so I'm hoping folks will continue to play along!  

Here's this month's inspiration and what Eric had to say about it:

I had hoped for some more color in my shot for this month, but "spring" in Minnesota is still much later than southern climes.  So I worked a little red into this action shot of a cute Chickadee!  The birds are back, and next month should be much more vibrant with the colors of spring.

I have a special place in my heart for chickadees... they were one of my Mema's favorite birds.  I spent a ton of time at her house as a child since she lived two houses up the street from us.  She had two window sills that she would always put birdseed out on (it was a brick house with a decent sized ledge) so she could watch all the birds from her bedroom.  I love that our backyard feeders are regularly frequented by chickadees.

For my first design, I finally used a pendant by Earthenwood Studio that I've had in my stash since very early on in my beading life.  While there's no bird to be found in this necklace, the cream and dark brown viney floral reminded me of the plants that Eric's little chickadee is perched amongst.  True story, I've had one of the black Czech glass flowers stored alongside this pendant for a couple of years now, waiting for the right time to explore a design.  Well, that time is now!  I added some other flower and leaf beads in earth tones as well as some smaller glass beads for an asymmetrical design.  The strung side came out a little bit longer than the other so I chose to even things out by having the clasp connect to the end of the side with the bead links.

Still in an asymmetrical mood, I started playing with beads for a second necklace featuring a wooden pendant by Skye Jewels.  I'd almost forgotten about this sweet little chickadee pendant... I guess that's why I always go through all my art bead drawers!  Since there's no hole in the pendant, I found a brass filigree piece to wrap around the pendant.  Luckily I had one that worked and didn't cover up the bird.  This necklace was one of those rare instances where the beads just cried out to be included.  I knew I had some coppery/bronze maple leaf beads that would echo the leaves on the pendant nicely.  When grabbing those out of my bead box I noticed the container of small turquoise flower beads that turned out to be the perfect compliment.  To complete the design I used a fun leaf shaped brass clasp.  (Memo to self: buy more of these... you like them.)

Lastly, I wanted to play with the idea of the vines a little bit more.  I revisited the idea of having vine-like tendrils coming out of enameled bead caps from C-Koop Beads for fun earrings.  I really need to just sit down and make more of these in a variety of colors... I keep forgetting about them!

An InLinkz Link-up

get the InLinkz code

Inspired by Reading: The Ladies of Grace Adieu

This month's Inspired by Reading Book Club selection is a book that I've owned for quite some time but just never got around to reading... The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories by Susanna Clarke.  This is a slim volume of fairy stories by Clarke that is illustrated by the amazing Charles Vess.  The stories are presented as if they were written by various authors and are in a variety of 18th and 19th century styles.  I'm not sure that I loved the stories (although I still want to read Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell) but this is a truly beautiful book that was a delight to hold in my hands.

I feel a tiny bit like I cheated this month since I had already hatched the idea for this necklace and earrings before I started reading the book selection this month.  Each year for the Bead Cruise, Heather Powers chooses a theme for a costume/cocktail party.  This year she chose "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

Even though I'm not great at coming up with fabulous costumes, I hate to pass up a chance to let loose and be a little wild so I started plotting early.  I had a mask that I got a good deal on at sci/fi convention a few years ago and have never worn.  I thought the great leaf design would be a perfect starting point for my fairy costume!  I did some searching online and found some fun, leafy fairy wings in orange and red and a simple orange tutu.  I still had to make some minor adjustments to the mask and find a suitable under layer for the tutu, but I was feeling pretty good about my costume by November and then sort of forgot about things for a while... and I hadn't even begun to think about jewelry!  Lucky for me, the January edition of Erin Prais-Hintz's Simple Truths Sampler Club got my creative juices going... it was the perfect complement for the rest of my outfit!

I picked out lots of Czech glass flower and leaf beads in the colors of the pendant (and my new leggings that I bought to go under the tutu) and arranged them (along with a couple of rondelles) in an asymmetrical design.  I used brass chain and findings to go with the brass pendant bezel.  

Needing earrings to go along with my new flower fairy necklace, I got to work playing with some enameled bead caps from C-Koop Beads.  I bought a lot of different colored pairs of flower bead caps a while back with the idea of making earrings featuring vine-like dangles, but hadn't gotten around to figuring out how to make my vision reality.  This was do or die time!  I ended up using a skinny mandrel intended for making wire loops to wrap my long head pin around to form my "vines."  They aren't perfect, but I'm pretty happy with how these turned out considering they were a first attempt.  I'm eager to play with some of the other colors and shapes of enameled bead caps that I've been hoarding!

And here's a look at me in my full costume for our party night on the cruise!  It was a great night dancing and cavorting with the other Bead Cruise fairies!

Me in my fairy costume with my roommate Lissa.

2017 Muffin Tin Challenge!

In the spirit of getting her followers pumped up and creating in the new year, Heather Powers of Humblebeads fame has once again thrown down the beady gauntlet and challenged us to participate in her Muffin Tin Challenge!  Heather set the reveal date for January 16th but I'm traveling that day, so I'm posting a little early.  The good news is, you may still have time to join in if you wish!!

The idea is pretty simple... grab a muffin tin (or similar container with multiple compartments) and fill each well up with all you need to make one jewelry design.  Then sit down and power through some jewelry making with a goal of finishing at least 6 pieces.  You can read all the details on Heather's blog HERE.  Full disclosure:  I'm not always the best about making sure I've gotten absolutely everything needed in my little muffin cups.  I tend to go with just grabbing the core items and adding to them as I go... that's just how my brain tends to work.  My muffin tin projects include some VERY late Christmas presents for my sister and niece, an even more belated project for my extremely patient friend Kathleen, earrings that have been waiting to be made for varying lengths of time, projects for this month's Honey Do List challenge, and more!

My "muffins" ready to bake!

I started with the lowest hanging fruit... necklaces for my sister and niece that should have been done ages ago!  I found a broken strand of fun orange sodalite pieces at the last Dakota Stones showroom sale and snatched them up immediately.  Most of my family (including these two ladies) went to Auburn University whose colors happen to be orange and blue, so this was a very lucky find!

Next up, a pair of earrings meant to go with the necklace I made for the December Art Bead Scene challenge.  You can see that necklace HERE.  The earrings are the same as the flower dangle off the bottom of the pendant.  Sweet and fairly simple!

Next up, a couple of pairs of earrings that have been UFOs (UnFinished Objects) for quite some time.  I have more earrings that are partially thought out, but at least I've knocked out a couple of them!

Next, in a fit of art bead madness, I made two more long necklaces with Heather's seriously amazing new "Gilded Bramble" bird beads as the main event!  (She has a few of these in her Etsy shop HERE if you are now drooling for one of your own!)  For the coppery one I used a ceramic branch by Diane Hawkey and a ceramic leaf by Tracee Dock of The Classic Bead.  The blue one features a pendant by Gaea and enameled bead cap by C-Koop Beads.  I really couldn't be happier with how these necklaces turned out!

And finally, my 7th "muffin" and 8th project from this challenge: I finally made a bracelet with the beads I picked out to work on during Heather's Inspired by Nature Retreat.  I learned a lesson... I did NOT need to bring extra projects.  I kept plenty busy working on the fun things that Heather had planned for us!

Stop by Heather's blog HERE (starting January 16th) to see what everyone else "baked up" for this year's Muffin Tin Challenge!  Even if you missed out on the official challenge, I recommend this as a great way to get some concentrated creating done!  I didn't finish making everything in my tin yet, but I'm going to keep on trucking with these projects... at least some of them!

We're All Ears: November 2016

Miss Erin always finds the most delicious things to inspire our earring making... this month that is true both literally and figuratively!  She found a fascinating video of hand crank candy machines from the 1800s that a Tallahassee, Florida candy company has restored and put back into use.  So cool!  And I love the company's name: Public Displays of Confection!

A big ol' pile of the Victorian Nectar Drops

I was inspired by the color of the Victorian Nectar Drops, the cool vintage machinery, and the idea of the pressed shapes achieved through this candy making process.  I ended up with three pairs of earrings this month!

First up a pair that is all about the golden amber color of the Nectar drops!  I thought the Czech glass looked a little like the shapes that rolled out of that machine.

Next is another pair that features beads with a cool pattern that I could imagine being used with drop candies.  The color is darker and less true to the inspiration, but I used gold plated and filled findings to bring in the amber tones.

My last pair is also my favorite.  I'm finally making use of some enameled gears made by C-Koop Beads that I've been hoarding forever.  I wanted to tap into how cool that machinery is and the gears are my way of representing that.  I added some yellow vintage glass beads (thank you, Allegory Gallery!) that remind me of gum drops to the bottom of the gears.  And of course, I used brass findings because the brass rollers in the machine!

I hope you enjoyed the candy-inspired ear candy I made this month!  These will be at my Holiday Open House on December 4th.  You can check out what everyone else was inspired to make over at Earrings Everyday HERE.

We're All Ears: December 2015

Yeah, you read the title correctly... this is my very belated entry for the December We're All Ears challenge over on the Earrings Everyday blog.  Well, another month went by where I just couldn't get it together for We're All Ears.  December is always super busy, but some extra challenges got thrown our way right when the this challenge was due.  That's just the way it goes sometimes.  I was really inspired by the December challenge so I wanted to share my efforts... better late than never!

We were basically challenged to take pictures of our "craftermath" (all that beading goodness that never gets put properly away after a creative session) and make earrings with what we found.  Within the allotted time frame, I did take pictures of my beady mess and started sorting things for possible earrings... I just never got around to actually making anything until after Christmas.  What I found as I started sorting was that what I have is less craftermath (although there certainly is some of that!) and more half thought out projects that got abandoned.  So... here's where I started:

So far I've managed to finish 8 pairs of earrings... not too shabby of an effort!   

In this first set I've started with a variation on a design I've made in the past.  I had a strand of the ocher colored maple leaves sitting out (I had cut the strand for my guest post on the Earrings Everyday blog and never put them away) along with a matching pair of the oak and acorn decorivets that look a little more rusty than the Arte Metal from Vintaj normally does.  Next, there's a pair with some C-Koop charms that I've had for more than 5 years (there's a matching pendant that will hopefully soon be a necklace to go with these!).  I kept these pretty simple and just added some Czech glass and crystal rondelles in coordinating colors.  The last pair includes some beads that have been languishing on my never-used-anymore bead board.  I inherited the barrel shaped beads when my mother in law gave me all of her old beading supplies when I took up the hobby back in 2008 or so.  They were sitting in one of the wells of my bead board along with at least one of the blue flower beads.  The barrels have a Picasso finish with a lot of blue in it so I thought this was a great match.  While I did have a short length of copper plated chain that gave me the idea for the design, I ended up pulling a finer chain out to use instead.

Keys seem to be the theme of the next two pairs of earrings!  Although you can't really tell from the photo, the pair on the left features copper blanks that I textured with a texturing hammer.  They are leftovers from some play I did at a class this summer.  I kept it simple and added some Vintaj Arte Metal key charms and called it good.  The pair on the right puts some etched brass luggage tag blanks to use.  I probably made these several years ago when I first got my BIGkick machine and then set them aside... possibly because they weren't a perfect match but I really don't remember.  I added some speckled blue ceramic beads and brass plated spacers to complete the design.

This final set of earrings are obviously variations on a theme.  I had etched or embossed then painted all of these brass and Arte Metal blanks when I was prepping for the Art Wander in September but ran out of time to complete them.  As so often happens in my studio space, all the unfinished projects got swept aside when I was cleaning up and forgotten.  I finally took the time to dap and seal the blanks and allow them to become earrings.

Even though I'm super tardy, this was a fun way to jump start my new year.  It felt good to complete some half-finished projects and use up some supplies that needed to be up away.  My studio is still a disaster, but I feel like I've got the energy to start tackling that space.  I'll keep my muffin tin handy for now to collect any other possible projects as I begin my clean up... I'm sure I'll be sharing some of those soon!

Art Bead Scene: June 2015

This month's inspiration artwork for the Art Bead Scene challenge is a rich floral fantasy by Séraphine Louis.  So much vibrant color and movement in this one!  The color palette makes me think fall more than summer, but that's ok.  You can read more about the artwork and the artist HERE.

Feuilles, 1928

By Seraphine Louis

I always have great intentions of getting started on the ABS challenge as soon as the inspiration for the new month is revealed... it rarely works out that way and June was no different!  When I finally had time to sit down and design something, the first thing that popped out of my bead stash was a gorgeous enameled leaf by C-Koop Beads.  It's beautiful red-orange color (and the leaf shape of course!) were a perfect response to the artwork.  Despite the riot of color and motion in the painting, I wanted to keep my design fairly simple.

I originally had picked out one of the many orphan beads from Firelily Glass, but my husband (and color consultant!) immediately told me no.  He went to my art bead storage and fished out a set from Firelily that he had given me for Christmas two years ago and insisted that I use one of those.  As is often the case in matters of color, he was totally right so I switched out the beads.  The one he chose has more of the pale greens and some nice movement that mimics the painting.

I just picked out some Czech glass with a Picasso finish and some smaller, brighter red Czech glass rondelles (playing up the bright colors of the enameled leaf) to place along the chain, added in a filigree ring between my two art beads, and called it good.

Art Bead Scene Challenge: December 2014

It's been another great year of inspiration from the Art Bead Scene!  Here we are at the final challenge of 2014.  I'm proud of myself that I managed to play along every month except one (and I still have the beads set aside to make something for that... I'll get there eventually!)

This month's inspiration is Pieter Saenredam's painting "Choir of Sint-Bavokerk, Haarlem."  You can read more about the artwork and the artist over on the ABS blog HERE.

"Choir of Sint-Bavokerk, Haarlem" by Pieter Saenredam

This one was really tough for me to get started on... thus the super late entry this month!  I love the shapes in the arches, but really didn't have any art beads that fit the bill in my stash.  I was also somewhat stymied by the lack of color in the artwork.  Luckily for me, when my sweet husband was out doing some last minute Christmas shopping for me, he found a C-Koop pendant and some fun faceted brechiated jasper beads and bought them for me with this challenge in mind!

I decided to mix in some bronzite rectangles and golden horse jasper coins to pull out different shades from the artwork.  I used copper wire to pull out the colors in the pendant and brighten up the design a bit and finished with copper plated chain and clasp.

Even though this month truly was a challenge for me, I'm pretty pleased with the end result... and with the fact that I didn't give up!  I'm looking forward to what the ABS editors have in store for next month and the rest of 2015!

AJE Earring Challenge - Weeks 35 & 36

Where does the time go?  I mean, other than away!  I can't believe that it's already mid-September and the air is finally taking on that lovely fall crispness in Minnesota.  Once again it's time for the latest installment in the Art Jewelry Elements Earring Challenge.  Participants are challenged with making one new pair of earrings each week that feature artisan made components.

This week I'm featuring two pairs of earrings featuring enameled copper components from C-Koop Beads.  Once again, I'm guilty of having quite a few C-Koop items that have been languishing in my bead stash for way too long... so this week helps make a little dent.

First up I started with a cute little rectangle charm pair with a cool matte gold finish to them.  I think these got stuck in my stash because I don't really do much with gold tones.  I paired them with copper plated components from Nunn Design, copper earwires, and some olive green shell pearl beads.  I love the way the green pearls pull some green from the charms.

My second pair is a little more dainty with small blue and lime green circular charms.  This time I went for Vintaj natural brass and a little bright green Czech glass.